Chapter 605: The Palace on the Brink of Destruction (I)

The Emperor only laughed. "You should worry less about me and more about what is coming for this place."

With those words, he suddenly threw himself out of the open window.

The moment the palace stopped trembling, Edmund rushed toward the window and looked outside. However, to his surprise, there was no sign of the Emperor anywhere.

He wasn’t falling through the sky, nor was his body lying on the ground below. It was as if he had simply vanished into thin air.

And that alone was enough to prove that the Emperor had somehow gained access to an ability that should have remained sealed inside the evil chest.

"Your Majesties!"

The door to the guest room suddenly swung open as Solene and Callen hurried inside. They had barely managed to regain their balance after the violent shaking, but neither of them seemed to care about their own condition.

Primrose immediately turned toward them. Before either of them could ask what had happened, she quickly gave her orders. "Lady Solene, please check on Lady Nina and Lorelle! Make sure they’re both safe!"

She then looked at Callen. "Sir Callen, please make sure the women are safe and help them evacuate. Guide them and everyone else out of the palace as quickly as possible."

Her expression grew serious. "This place is no longer safe."

Solene and Callen exchanged glances for a moment before Solene finally spoke. "But Your Majesty, you’re our priority," Solene protested. "We can’t just leave you here. We’ll take care of everyone else once we’ve made sure you’re somewhere safe."

"There is no safe place for me, Lady Solene." Primrose slowly rose to her feet, her voice calm despite everything that had just happened. "Even if I hide underground or run somewhere far away from the palace, the Emperor will still come looking for me. It doesn’t matter where I go. He’ll find me eventually."

Solene opened her mouth, wanting to argue, but Primrose continued before she could say anything.

"My safe place is with my husband."

There wasn’t even the slightest hesitation in her voice.

After everything she and Edmund had been through, Primrose understood one thing better than anyone else.

If they were separated and forced to fight alone, they might end up repeating the same painful fate as before.

She didn’t want that.

She didn’t want to lose him again, and she certainly didn’t want either of them to suffer through another lifetime of regret.

But if they stayed together and fought side by side, things would be different.

Even if luck was no longer on their side, even if they failed to change their fate, at least neither of them would have to face the end alone.

And if this truly was the end of their story, the end of everything they had fought so hard to protect, then so be it.

This time, whatever happened, they would face it together.

Meanwhile, Solene and Callen still looked reluctant to leave.

[This is ridiculous!] Callen thought angrily. [I’ve been training so hard just to protect Her Majesty, but now that she’s actually in danger, I’m not even allowed to stay by her side?! What’s the point of all that training, then?! Is it because I’m still not strong enough?!]

Solene, on the other hand, had a different thought. [I don’t understand what’s going on, but... Her Majesty looks as though she’s already prepared herself for the worst.]

There was something about Primrose’s calm expression that made Solene feel uneasy. It was almost as if the Queen already knew what was coming and had accepted it.

"What are you waiting for?" Primrose asked when she noticed that neither of them had moved. "Go, now. Before the entire palace collapses to the ground."

She looked at them both before adding, "I trust you two to do the right thing."

Those words immediately made Solene and Callen fall silent.

Trust.

It was such a simple word, yet it meant so much to both of them.

Until a moment ago, they had thought Primrose was sending them away because she didn’t believe they were strong enough to protect her, but now, they understood that wasn’t the case.

She wasn’t looking down on them. She was trusting them with something just as important as protecting her.

In the end, they both lowered their heads and answered, "Understood, Your Majesty."

Without wasting another moment, they hurried out of the room to carry out her orders.

Once they were gone, Edmund walked back to Primrose’s side.

He didn’t try to convince her to leave, nor did he insist on sending her somewhere safer.

After all, deep down, he felt exactly the same way.

"I won’t let you be alone anymore," Edmund said softly.

He gently took her hand and brought it to his lips, placing a kiss on the back of it.

"The three of us should stay together."

Primrose looked at him, and a gentle smile slowly appeared on her face.

"Yes," she replied. "We should be together."

BOOOOM!

Before either of them could say anything else, another explosion suddenly shook the palace.

This time, it was far worse than before.

The floor trembled violently beneath their feet, and the walls shook so hard that it felt as though the entire palace might collapse at any moment.

Edmund didn’t waste another second. He immediately swept Primrose into his arms and rushed toward the open window.

"Hold on to me," he said.

Primrose didn’t argue or ask what he was planning to do. She simply wrapped her arms tightly around him and buried her face in his chest, trying to find some sense of safety in his embrace.

The floor beneath their feet began to crack and collapse, but fortunately, Edmund was fast enough to reach the window before it completely gave way.

Without wasting another second, he jumped out with Primrose still in his arms.

Although they were quite high above the ground, Edmund managed to land without much trouble.

Primrose, on the other hand, felt as though her heart was about to jump out of her chest. Even though she had done nothing but stay in his arms, the sudden jump had still frightened her.

"Get out! Everyone, get out now!"

The soldiers were shouting as they hurried everyone out of the palace.