Soulmate of the Vampire Prince

Chapter 377: The Fallen Queen

With slow, confident steps, Eve made her way toward Queen Elara, whose eyes were practically spitting fire. When Eve stopped directly before them, everyone in the background held their breath, witnessing the future Queen and the current Queen standing face to face.

Technically, Elara had not been so much of a queen over the past three years after the war ended. However, upon returning from his trip to Versailles, King Solan had begun to set things in motion for his daughter, rocking the entire kingdom to its core.

First, he had bypassed the royal court to announce Evelyn as his successor directly to the kingdom. It had caused utter chaos among those who still supported Elara and Ryan, but that was exactly the interference the King had intended to avoid.

By announcing it to the public first, he ensured that no one would be able to contest his decision.

When some still attempted to oppose this decision, the King threatened to expel them from court or, better yet, he challenged them to a duel against Evelyn herself if they truly wanted Ryan to sit on the throne.

Those who had served on the front lines remained silent, wisely accepting the decision after witnessing her incredible powers with their own eyes.

Even those who had been absent had heard enough to know that challenging her would be a death sentence; their own allies had warned them not to be so foolish.

In the end, they relented and accepted Eve as their future Queen.

But that was not all. When the King dropped the second bombshell regarding her marriage to the Vampire Prince of the strongest kingdom on the continent, a cold shudder ran down their spines.

They knew exactly what would happen if they opposed such a union.

The consequences would not be limited to facing the brunt of the Lumen Princess’s wrath; they would also have to answer to the fearsome Vampire Prince himself.

The Kingdom of Roseville, where Queen Elara hailed from, was not at all pleased with these announcements.

Naturally, they attempted to stir up an uproar and civil unrest among the people; however, this time, King Solan did not cower or succumb to their pressure as he had in the past.

Instead, he stepped up as a true Lumen King, challenging them to war should they dare to interfere in the affairs of his kingdom.

Furthermore, King Iskara issued his own threat to Roseville, vowing to join forces with King Solan because this matter now concerned the future and happiness of his own son.

This unified front was effective enough to force Roseville to back down immediately.

Regarding Queen Elara herself, Solan had initially intended to banish her and their son from the kingdom as punishment for the years they spent tormenting Evelyn while he had looked away.

However, Evelyn had made a personal request: she asked to be allowed to determine the punishment for both mother and son upon her return to the kingdom.

Complying with his daughter’s request, Solan did not banish Elara immediately.

However, he could not allow her to roam free and create further problems for Evelyn. Effective immediately, he stripped Elara of her authority as Queen, leaving her as a figurehead in name only until his daughter could deliver her own verdict upon her return.

Furthermore, the King issued a command to the entire palace staff to report to him immediately should Prince Ryan attempt to use his powers to cause chaos or terror. This brought a wave of relief to the servants and guards who had long suffered under the young Prince’s cruelty.

It was certainly not enough to make up for everything Solan had failed to do, but it was the beginning of his repentance. It was the start of a long journey before he could ever hope to hear Evelyn address him as "father" again, or for him to have the right to call her "daughter."

Releasing a soft sigh, the King watched as his daughter finally confronted the sinners at whose hands she had suffered more than he could ever imagine.

"I believe we have some unfinished business?" Eve spoke calmly, her cold eyes giving the mother and son a slow once-over.

"So, you finally came back. Are you happy watching us suffer? After everything you have taken from me... and from my son... do you still have more to take? More damage to cause?" Elara shrieked at Evelyn. Her eyes were bloodshot as she glared viciously, her true colours finally on display for everyone to see.

The once warm and celebratory atmosphere turned grim at the sight of the Queen’s outburst.

Eve did not even flinch; she simply continued to watch the snake that had successfully tightened a grip around her neck like a noose for so many years. freёwebnovel.com

And now, the woman dared to claim that she was the one who had been wronged?

Eve clicked her tongue lightly.

The sound made Elara flinch instantly, even though Eve had not yet lifted a single finger.

Despite her outburst, Elara remained wary. Even though she had been stripped of her authority, she was still the Queen in name only, and that fact alone provided a lingering sense of security. She believed she could not be truly harmed.

Since Solan had already delivered his punishment, she assumed the worst was over. She imagined that once Eve was married and safely away from the kingdom, she would begin establishing her roots once more, slowly reclaiming the power that had been stripped away.

But her delusions had made her overlook one fundamental truth that governed their world.

Only the most powerful could rule.

Whether one was a vampire, a Lumen, or a human... in the end, power remained the greatest deciding factor, the very thing that opened the path to the throne. Only after that did other qualities come into question, determining whether a ruler would be just... or a tyrant.

And although Ryan possessed power by virtue of being Solan’s son, he could not even begin to compare to Evelyn in that regard. Nor did he possess a single redeeming quality that suggested he would ever become a just ruler.

Everyone knew it.

He was a tyrant in the making.

And more than anyone else, she knew exactly how cruel he could be, despite his young age.

Eve began, "I had thought that after all these years, after being stripped of your power as queen, you might... perhaps... have gained some perspective on everything you did wrong. That you would come to realise that after subjecting me to years of abuse, physically, mentally, and emotionally, you might feel even a trace of regret for what you did to me, from my childhood into adulthood."

Eve paused, letting her words settle heavily in the air.

"...but how wrong I was."

"Wh-what nonsense are you spouting?!" Elara snapped. "Why are you lying? You do not have any proof!"

"That is right!" Ryan stepped forward, his voice rising. "You have no proof of anything you are accusing us of! My mother and I are the ones being wronged here! You do not deserve to be queen. You are no ruler, only a liar, emboldened because Father supports you now!"

He turned sharply towards the court officials gathered beside King Solan, his expression filled with outrage.

"Do you all see this? Without a shred of evidence, she dares to accuse us of something so grave! For all we know, she might have used her powers to manipulate the king himself!"

Ryan’s voice dripped with scorn as his accusation echoed through the hall.

Elara was about to add to her son’s words, but faltered when she saw a cold smile spread across Eve’s face.

Eve turned her gaze towards the court officials standing beside King Solan, who watched the unfolding scene with keen interest. Her eyes then shifted to Cece, Edward, and Septimus, all of whom remained completely unbothered, fully aware of what she was capable of.

Her gaze briefly flickered to Solan, who looked furious and on the verge of stepping in, but a single look from her was enough to stop him.

She then turned back to Elara and Ryan, who continued to glare at her with unrestrained rage.

A heavy silence settled over the hall.

Then....the air shifted, and every person present felt it.

A sudden, crushing pressure spread through the room as immense power began to radiate from Evelyn.

Shocked gasps filled the space, especially from those who had never witnessed their princess’s true strength, or had never felt it so closely that it made their knees weaken.

Their stunned gazes fixed on her as her body began to glow with radiant gold. Her dark brown hair transformed into shimmering gold, and her eyes burned like twin suns.

Elara and Ryan instinctively stepped back in fear, yet their eyes remained locked onto her, unable to look away, as though held captive by the overwhelming force before them.

Suddenly, they felt an invisible, ancient force compelling them to speak.

"Confess your sins... confess everything you have dared to call a lie," Eve’s voice echoed through the room. It was cold and quiet, yet it carried a level of power unlike anything anyone had ever seen.

Elara’s lips trembled before they began to move on their own.

"I-I... I tortured you when you were a powerless, pitiful child, so that you would learn never to disobey me. I threw you into the lake, hoping you would drown and spare me the effort of training you... but if not for Septimus, you would have been gone long ago. I bribed people and sowed doubt in their minds, convincing them that you were weak and unfit to rule, not only physically but mentally as well, so that they would support Ryan wholeheartedly."

"M-mother..." Ryan’s voice shook as he turned to her, watching in horror as she continued to confess without any control over her words.

Elara tried to bite down on her lips, desperate to stop, but she could not.

"I tortured you every day, starved you for days on end, and locked you inside your room so that you could never step out, all to prove to others that you were weak and unfit to rule! I even tried to force Valen to marry you and told him to use you as he pleased, knowing his obsession with women."

The moment the final words left her lips, she collapsed to her knees, her body shaking as she broke down, defeated.

Silence fell over the hall.

The court stood frozen, utterly horrified as the full extent of her cruelty was laid bare, the weight of her atrocities against a child echoing through the chamber.

Some staff members who had known of these horrors bowed their heads in shame, while others fumed as they learned just how vile the woman truly was.

Cece thought it a blessing that Ivan was not present to hear this; he surely would have delivered a gruesome end to the woman.

However, she knew this moment belonged to Evelyn alone, for she had been the victim of these atrocities for so many years.

While Elara continued to sob, Evelyn turned her cold, golden eyes toward Ryan.

The same magical compulsion took hold of him, forcing him to confess to every petty and cruel act, from adding filth to her food to using her as a lab rat to test his growing powers and torturing her and the palace staff physically over the years.

A collective shudder ran down everyone’s spine, but no one dared speak before Eve’s cold, authoritative voice rang out.

"You tried to break me, again and again... yet I stand before you."

Her gaze remained unwavering, "You tried every pitiful, cowardly way to destroy me, and yet I rose above it all to become the ruler I was always meant to be... for these people, and for this kingdom."

She paused before adding, "With the sins you have confessed, you have proven not only that you are vile and disgusting... but that you are cruel and calculating, willing to go to any lengths to get what you desire."

"I had asked King Solan not to banish you both earlier because I wanted to see, over these past years, whether you were capable of showing even the slightest sign of repentance. But there is truly no hope for either of you."

Her gaze remained cold, "You have proven that you are a threat, not only to the people of this kingdom, but to the world beyond. I have seen this pattern before... in those who eventually fall into the depths of their own corruption, becoming the worst versions of themselves, bringing harm to everyone around them."

She paused briefly, "And I will not wait for that to happen."

Eve then turned to Solan, "King Solan, do you permit me to pass judgement upon these sinners?"

Solan was momentarily taken aback by her question, as he had not acted until now only because he was following her wishes. However, catching the expressions of the shocked court officials, who were staring at Evelyn with visible fear, he realised exactly why she was asking.

She was demonstrating that, despite being the most powerful person in the room, she still respected the hierarchy. Even though most present knew she surpassed them all as a superior being, they still lived in a society that relied on established norms to maintain peace and stability.

With that realisation, pride gleamed in Solan’s eyes. He gave her a firm, supportive nod. "Go ahead. You have my will to pass judgment."

The moment he responded, Eve turned back toward the terrified mother and son and raised her hand. The palace trembled with the sheer force of her power.

A glowing golden circle appeared beneath Elara and Ryan, encircling them in a shimmering cage of light.

"The evil within you does not deserve to possess power simply to use it against the innocent in the future. In the name of Goddess Theia, my mother, I take back the gift she once bestowed upon you. Only the pure of heart are permitted to wield the power of Light, not vile beings such as yourselves."

As she spoke, the light from the circle intensified, becoming magnificent as it engulfed them whole. A second later, their screams echoed against the palace walls... walls that had once been far too familiar with Eve’s own muffled cries of pain.

Eve closed her eyes, and for a brief moment, she allowed herself to hear it...to feel it.

Yet even as she did, she knew her own wounds, though beginning to heal, were still raw. They would not vanish overnight.

She knew it would take a long time to come to terms with everything she had endured for most of her life, along with the nightmares of the war that still haunted her. Those terrors were only calmed by Ivan’s constant, grounding presence beside her.

But she refused to be a person enslaved to her own nightmares or defined solely by what had happened to her. fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm

She wanted to grow beyond it.

She wanted to pave a path toward a happy, prosperous life with the love of her life, rather than remaining trapped in her own mind because of vile people like them.

Slowly but surely, those wounds would mend one day, and she would be patient throughout the process.

With that thought, as their cries finally died away, Eve opened her eyes.

She looked down to see the mother and son heaving for breath, struggling to cope with the ordeal she had just put them through.

They felt their bodies growing incredibly weak before they collapsed onto the floor like heavy sacks.

Silence followed until Elara’s weak, quivering voice broke it. "W... what did you do to us?"

The golden aura around Eve began to fade, and she slowly lowered her hand.

"Did you know," Eve began calmly, "that every magic wielder possesses something called a magic reservoir within their heart? It is where your core energy is stored, the very source you draw upon each time you use magic. You could call it a powerhouse, one that generates energy depending on your capacity, until it must be replenished."

Her gaze hardened, "I simply destroyed it within both of you. You will never be able to use magic again... and even if you attempt to turn to dark magic, it will no longer answer you."

Gasps of horror rippled through the hall as everyone stared at Eve in disbelief.

"No! You are lying! That is not possible!" Elara hissed weakly.

"It is possible only because I am the daughter of the goddess herself," Eve replied calmly. "The gift that she gave so generously, I possess the power to take away when I see it misused. You are now nothing more than human... and even below that, for you cannot even practise sorcery anymore."

"No! Nooo!" Elara cried, while Ryan turned desperately towards his father. "Father, look at what she has done to us!"

Eve ignored their pleas.

Turning to face the stunned court officials, the king, and everyone present, she spoke in a clear voice.

"As the crown princess of this kingdom under King Solan’s will, I hereby strip Elara and her son, Ryan, of their titles as Lumen royalty and banish them to the broken city of Zareth. There, they will live as commoners, dedicating their lives to rebuilding what was destroyed in the war, as an act of repentance."

Every person in the hall fell silent, their shock evident.

They all knew what that meant.

Zareth was now the harshest place in the world.

With multiple active volcanoes, the city was no better than living in hell itself. Much of its population had already fled, leaving it partially uninhabitable. Only a handful of workers remained, striving to rebuild what little they could.

The High Council had long begun using it as a place of punishment, sending offenders there to labour under strict supervision. With the area heavily guarded, escape was impossible.

And now...Elara and Ryan would share the same fate.