The morning mist had not yet fully dispersed, and a few strands of golden light filtered through the pines and cypresses in the Eastern Imperial Garden. Queen Evelyn stood silently on the Jade Observation Platform, her scepter hanging at her side, her silver silk robe fluttering sharply in the cold wind. Her gaze stretched beyond the layered garden walls, fixed on the distant east, where snow-capped mountains rose like ink-washed paintings—but beneath them, an unceasing undercurrent of unrest surged through the mountain passes.
Lucian hurried from the side pavilion, reporting in a low voice: "Your Highness, the southern border stronghold 'Blood Amber Camp' is in crisis—border soldiers and bandits have mingled, and over sixty men crossed the border to raid last night, hiding in the fir forests." He handed over a tattered secret letter: "This was sent by the 'White Seal Envoy,' ordering remaining forces everywhere to rise in rebellion."
Evelyn took the letter, her eyes flashing with cold light. "They see the dawn breaking, so they seek to stain the kingdom's soil with blood. Lucian, this is no trivial matter. Take the elite fire riders and Silver Oath shadow guards, and march to suppress the rebellion." She flicked her scepter, sending her cloak billowing around her, as if channeling the sun's will into her very being.
Lucian dropped to one knee, his vow as firm as iron: "I shall cut down all shadows of enemies for Your Highness, and never fail the Snow-Flame Decree."
That night, Evelyn donned light armor and personally led three hundred fire riders and Jingwei shadow guards along the winding mountain paths, striking straight for Blood Amber Camp. In the snow, dark figures surged like tides, while torchlight sliced through the cold mist. At Lucian's command, spears formed a formation, trapping the rebels in the heart of the fir forest.
"Disciples of the Envoy, show yourselves to be judged!" Evelyn slammed her scepter to the ground, and holy light flared alongside fiery runes. The rebel leader drew a blood-amber blade and charged forward. Lucian and the shadow guards cut through the forest's tripwires, while Evelyn's sword sliced through the ranks, its cold light glinting off bloodied blades, closing in on the leader's throat.
The rebel leader, terrified, stammered: "Queen… we only seek to restore the old covenant!"
Evelyn sneered. "If the old covenant is to be reborn, it must first burn in blood and fire!" With a wave of her scepter, flames erupted, encircling the leader and his blade in a ring of fire.
Dust swirled through the camp as the rebels fled, their torches still burning at dawn. Evelyn and Lucian stood side by side at the main tent's entrance, while Chancellor Gu and Ilea led the remaining captives away.
"The test is over," Evelyn said calmly. "The remaining traitors across the realm will be rooted out one by one. Tomorrow, I shall announce the 'Frost Decree' in the hall—balancing calm resolve with fiery courage, establishing border defense autonomies where blades as sharp as snow and wills as hot as flame shall walk together."
Lucian nodded in admiration. "With this new decree, a path of peace shall be carved from iron and fire."
Deep into the night, the imperial garden lay blushing white with snow. Evelyn, draped in a dark cyan frost-robed cloak, stood by the spring, lost in thought. Lucian approached, removing his own cloak to drape over her shoulders, murmuring: "After blood and snow, should Your Highness not rest a while?"
Evelyn turned, her hair stirring slightly in the wind. "While the people still shiver in the storm, I dare not claim warmth for myself."
Lucian wrapped his arm around her waist, drawing her close, his fingers brushing the warmth of her skin beneath the cloak. "Let me drive the cold from you with my body."
He led her to the brocade couch, where candlelight mingled with the spring's murmur, silk and frost-robed fabric tangling. Lucian kissed her neck softly, his fingers sliding to her waist, as if seeking the gentlest spring amid the snow. Evelyn looped her arms around his neck, her fingertips undoing his silver pauldrons, feeling the solid heat of his chest.
The night's cold and the fire in their hearts tangled on their lips. Lucian whispered, "In your arms, even if snow covers the world, only warmth remains."
Evelyn's fingers slipped beneath his chest plate, exploring the endless current of heat, murmuring: "To be held by you, where ice and fire become one—this is the deepest truth of my life."
In the darkness of this seventy-first chapter, their figures merged into the kingdom's unbreakable vow: a will as cold as ice and a heart as hot as flame, together guarding the realm where holy light forever shines.