Chapter 97: Go All-In?
The terrified imperial envoy did not dare to waste another second.
He scrambled out of the warm study, clutching the edges of his official robes as if the northern frost were biting directly at his heels.
Back within the royal palace, the atmosphere was suffocating.
The Emperor sat passively upon his throne. As a ruler, he was well-versed in the rules of survival. If his elite court froze to death in their own luxury estates, his entire reign would descend into a full-scale aristocratic revolt.
With a heavy stroke of his golden ceremonial pen, the old Emperor signed the emergency procurement documents. He authorized the unconditional release of the crown’s deepest liquid gold reserves.
Standing beside the throne, Prince Elian watched in horror.
His teeth clutched together tightly as he realized the brutal reality: his entire future inheritance, the very lifeblood of his political backing, was being completely drained to satisfy a single woman’s markup.
The imperial transaction did not take days; it occurred with immediacy.
Less than two hours after the envoy’s departure, a grand royal convoy arrived at Evelina’s capital guest estate.
Dozens of heavily armored iron chests were wheeled directly into the central courtyard, their hinges groaning under the weight of half a million gleaming imperial coins.
It was a staggering transfer of wealth that effectively left the capital treasury entirely bankrupt.
The moment the massive avalanche of royal gold officially registered as personal Alvarez property, the translucent blue interface behind Evelina’s eyes shook abruptly.
BZZZT!
[CRITICAL SYSTEM OVERLOAD DETECTED!]
[Source: Sudden Influx of 500,000 Imperial Gold Coins.]
[The unprecedented scale of this transaction has forcefully breached the System’s local data thresholds. Secret storage item is now fully unlocked within the Emperor’s private vault.]
Evelina set her spiced teacup down on her desk, her mind racing. The secret storage item she had partially unlocked earlier... actually belonged to the Emperor’s private vault?
Across from her, Ace instantly rose to his feet when he noticed the change in her expression.
"Did they tamper with the compensation?" his protective instincts hit high-alert.
Although everything looked fine with the money, Ace seemed to care more about what she thought instead of what was laid out in front of his eyes.
Evelina couldn’t answer him.
Her vision was entirely consumed by the System screen.
[Data File Extracted: SNOW.]
Snow? Is it related to Snow Family?
[To know the detail, we must remove the seal, Host.]
Evelina frowned. In the Empire of Aurelia, the only Snow Family that existed was the one she came from.
It did not stand as one of the most prestigious families but she would have known if there was some other surname Snow. She didn’t have any knowledge of it in both her lifetimes.
And the System did not reveal much but it would not have treated this secret storage item and then the file as matter of great importance had it not been linked to her in any way.
But the Snows were barely influential enough... Why would anything related to them be there in the Emperor’s private vault?
The System pinged again, shattering the trail of her thoughts.
[Status: File is locked in a blood seal and self-destructing.]
Evelina stiffened, ’How can I stop it?’
[To open it immediately, an account liquidation is required.]
[System Requirement: 725,000 Gold]
[Current Balance: 576,000 Gold]
[Warning: Proceeding will drain your account to absolute zero. Balance deficit will be automatically deducted from your current Heart-Wrecker points.]
[Proceed or Cancel?]
’CLANG’
Evelina snapped out of her trance only to find Ace completely kneeling in front of her.
"Sweetheart, look at me... Are you fine? Say something!"
She paused, realizing that she had completely zoned out while looking into the space. No wonder he looked at her like he was worried about her losing her mind.
’’I..." Before she could say a word, her stomach rumbled.
A cloud of red rose to her cheeks for a second before her eyes glinted with an idea, "I am hungry!"
Ace, who had been worried sick for about half an hour by then: "_"
His eyes softened as he rose to his feet, and his palm unconsciously stroked the top of her head.
By the time both of them realized what he was doing, it had already happened.
Ace coughed and retracted his hand when she glared at it.
"I will have them arrange a feast...."
"Wait... A feast?"
Ace had barely taken a step when Evelina blinked.
He looked at her from above his shoulder, "You have worked so hard, a celebration is necessary. I won’t want my wife to starve herself to the point of sickness, ever again."
Without giving her a chance to tell him to keep it low, the man turned around and left.
His words lingered in her mind only for a moment before her eyes sharpened again.
The System had dropped countless warnings during the time Ace was talking.
[Warning: Proceeding will drain your account to absolute zero. Balance deficit will be automatically deducted from your current Heart-Wrecker points.]
[Proceed or Cancel?]
Evelina looked at the last warning again.
The system was presenting a business magnate’s worst nightmare: going completely bankrupt in a blind second.
But to Evelina, who had become the wealthiest person in the the entire Empire, gold and heart-wrecker points were never treasures to be hoarded; they were merely tools she had been happy to have to keep herself warm, at first.
Then, she had used them purchase leverage, to ensure financial security for herself.
She believed that if she could do it once, she would do it again.
But right now, she needed to know, what was this matter related to Snow family that could trigger such a reaction from the System?
Was it... by an extension, related to her too?
[Host, do you want to Proceed or Cancel?]
Evelina inhaled a deep breath, "Proceed."
[Processing Universal Liquidation... Host has decided to go All-In!]
[Current Gold Balance: 0]
[Current Heart-Wrecker Points: 0]
[Imperial Blood Seal: SHATTERED]
Thud.
A piece of parchment materialized out of thin air, dropping flat onto her desk.
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