Chapter 427: The Emperor’s Return

Chris & Ethan – A Reckoning Begins

Chris

I couldn't help it.

I laughed.

Loud. Deep. Unbothered.

The kind of laugh that sent chills through the entire hall.

Skylar's face remained unreadable, but I could see it in her eyes. The calculations. The way her mind raced, searching for a way out.

But there was none.

I took a slow step forward, looking at the gathered officials, the guards who had dared raise their weapons at me.

"My throne was never taken," I said, my voice carrying through the room. "It was just… warmed for me."

I chuckled again, shaking my head. "And now that I'm back, I see just how comfortable everyone got."

Skylar's expression didn't falter, but she remained silent.

She was waiting. Thinking.

I turned my gaze toward Ethan.

"All these silly guards… these people who dared raise weapons at me… you know what to do."

Ethan's lips curled into a smirk as he stepped forward.

Ethan

Finally.

I had been waiting for this moment. All these fools who forgot who they serve—who they fear—were about to be reminded.

I turned to the guards. Some had already started lowering their weapons, realizing their mistake.

"Too late," I said coldly. "You chose your side the moment you pointed a weapon at the Emperor."

A few men tried to step back. I signaled my team. They knew what to do.

Swiftly, my men moved, surrounding the guards who had dared to defy Chris.

"Seize them," I ordered.

One by one, weapons were stripped, armor removed, and the very guards who had stood tall moments ago were now on their knees, heads bowed.

The audience in the hall watched in stunned silence.

And then Chris turned to Skylar.

A smirk tugged at his lips. "And my beautiful wife… you are funny."

The entire hall held its breath.

Because now?

The real war was about to begin.