Severed Ties: The divorce was just the beginning.

Scarlett POV The wine hit my face, cheap and sticky, dripping down my chin. I blinked, disoriented. One second I was on a Seoul highway, watching a semi-truck barrel toward my car. Now I was on my knees, wearing a dress so heavy my ribs ached. My head throbbed with two sets of memories. Scarlett Reinhard. Empress of the Eastern Empire. And me. A corporate negotiator who had just died in a car crash. "Apologize to her. Now." I looked up, silver hair, ice-blue eyes, military uniform with a dragon crest. Raymond, My husband... The man who despised me. Beside him, Evelyn clutched his arm, sobbing. The Holy Maiden. The woman everyone loved. Her copper hair was perfect, her tears staged just right, so every noble in the hall could see. "She didn't mean to push me," Evelyn whimpered, loud enough for the whole banquet hall to hear. "The Empress was just upset you danced with me first." "She poured wine on you," Raymond said, eyes locked on me. "No excuses." The old Scarlett would have screamed. Begged. Thrown a plate. I could feel her instincts pulling at me, urging me to cry, to explain, to make him understand. I wiped my face and stood up. Locked my knees. Pulled my shoulders back. Old habits from boardroom battles kicked in. Raymond frowned. Waiting for me to c***k. I reached into my skirt and pulled out a small dagger. Evelyn shrieked. "She has a weapon!" Her hand flew to her mouth. Her eyes went wide and innocent, like a startled deer. Guards drew swords. Metal rang through the hall. The nobles gasped and scrambled back from their tables. Chairs scraped against marble. A woman in the front row dropped her wine glass. "Put it down," Raymond warned. His holy Mana flared. The pressure made my ears pop. Wine glasses shattered on nearby tables. "One step toward Evelyn and I cut you down." I looked at the dagger. Laughed. "You think I want to stab her?" I grabbed my left sleeve and drove the blade through the silk. One violent slice. The whole sleeve fell to the floor, soaking up the spilled wine. The hall went dead. You could hear a pin drop. Evelyn's theatrical tears stopped mid-sob. Her lips parted slightly, confusion flickering across her angelic face. "What are you doing?" Raymond demanded. "Severing the tie." I tossed the dagger on the table. It clattered loudly in the silence. "In my family's tradition, tearing bridal silk avoids the contract. I'm done begging for your attention. I'm done being your villain." I pulled a folded parchment from my corset and slapped it on the table. "Divorce papers. Sign them. You get your freedom. I get to stop looking at your face." Raymond stared at the paper. His jaw tightened. A vein pulsed in his temple. Evelyn's hand dropped from his arm. She looked between us, her composure cracking for just a second. "Are you insane?" Raymond stepped closer. "You forced this marriage. You swore you would die before letting me go." "Look at me." I stepped into his space. "Do I look like I'm playing?" He searched my face. No tears. No desperation. His ice blue eyes narrowed, scanning for the breakdown that never came. I watched his confusion shift into something else. Suspicion. "You don't get to demand anything," he said, grabbing my wrist. His grip was tight. Painful. "Your father is under investigation. You think you can just walk away?" "Take your hand off me." He didn't. I stamped my heel onto his boot. Sharp silk shoe right into leather. Raymond hissed and let go. He stumbled back, face twisting with rage. No one had ever struck the Emperor in public. The nobles gasped. Evelyn covered her mouth, genuine shock this time. "Guards! Arrest the Empress for treason!" Four knights stepped forward. Halberds raised. I pulled out a black iron token from my pocket. Imperial Audit Bureau symbol. "Touch me," I said, holding it high, "and you arrest the whistleblower who handed over Duke Reinhard's secret ledgers three hours ago." The guards froze. They looked at Raymond, unsure. Raymond's eyes widened. "What?" "Your investigation was failing. I found his records. They're at the auditor's desk right now. I have given you the evidence to execute my entire family." Evelyn's face went white. Her delicate hands dropped to her sides. For the first time all night, she had nothing to say. "Why would you destroy your own backing?" Raymond's voice shook. "Without the Duke's House, you have nothing." "I don't need parasites," I turned and walked toward the grand exit. "Sign the papers by tomorrow. Otherwise, I will start charging you rent." "Scarlett!" I pushed open the oak doors and stepped into the cold night. The courtyard was empty. Silent. Stone steps led down to the gardens. I started walking. My brain was already running numbers. The Duke House was going down. I had a few thousand gold hidden in my quarters. The magic mines in the lower district were bankrupt. I could buy them cheap before the Crown seized everything. The stone beneath my feet felt wrong. Humming. Alive. I paused. The palace was built on ancient ruins. I remember that now. Scarlett's memories told me the lower levels were forbidden. Sealed for centuries. No one talked about what was buried there. I kept walking. The ground shook. A low thumping echoed from deep below. Rhythmic. Like a heartbeat. My left hand burned. I pulled back my sleeve. A black crescent moon was burning into my skin. Smoke rose from my flesh. The pain was white-hot. A voice echoed inside my skull. Deep. Smooth. Ancient. Finally. A soul worth binding. I stumbled. The black mark flared. Dark light pulsed from my wrist, casting shadows across the courtyard. Palace alarms blared behind me. Sirens cut through the night like screaming metal. Black veins crawled up my arm. Spreading fast. "Who are you?" The voice laughed. Low and cold. The one they buried here a thousand years ago. The one they sealed with virgin blood. The one who has chosen you. Power pulsed through my blood. Cold. Dark. Vast beyond comprehension. My knees buckled. I fell onto the stone steps. Footsteps pounded behind me. Guards were coming. I could hear Raymond shouting commands. The voice spoke again. Your husband's ancestors sealed me here. Your husband's ancestors cursed me to rot in the dark. And you, his wife, just broke the seal. "I didn't break anything." You tore your bridal silk. You declared the marriage void. The seal was tied to your wedding vows. The mark pulsed again. Pain shot through my entire body. Welcome to your inheritance. You wanted a divorce. You got something much worse. Darkness crept into my vision. Raymond burst through the palace doors. Holy sword drawn. His face twisted in horror as he looked at my wrist. "What have you done?" he screamed. Darkness swallowed me whole.