Chapter 426: A Throne in Turmoil

Christiana Blackwood – The Breaking Point

The weight of what just happened pressed down on me like a mountain.

Father was alive.

For ten years, the world had mourned him. For ten years, the empire had moved forward under my mother's reign. For ten years, we had all believed we were shaping the future.

And now?

He walked back in and shattered everything.

The moment Ethan read the constitution, I knew. Mother had overstepped.

She was still standing tall, her posture unyielding, her face unreadable—but I knew her.

Inside, she was calculating.

The guards looked to her for orders, but she said nothing.

Classic's hands were clenched into fists at his sides. His entire world had been turned upside down in minutes.

I swallowed hard. I had to do something.

Stepping forward, I addressed the hall, forcing my voice to be steady.

"This is not a battlefield." My gaze swept across the room. "This is the Blackwood Empire, and we do not self-destruct."

A murmur spread through the audience. They were afraid. Conflicted.

I turned to my father, keeping my voice measured. "You have been gone for a decade. The world believes you are dead. If you wish to reclaim your place, then there must be clarity."

Father's piercing gaze landed on me, sharp and unreadable. "And what do you suggest, Christiana?"

I inhaled. "A public statement. A meeting with the Council. A decision made within the laws of the empire—not through chaos."

Classic's eyes darted between us. He looked betrayed, like I had just taken a side.

But this wasn't about loyalty. It was about survival.

Mother had made her move.

Father had countered.

And the empire?

It was one wrong step away from collapse.