They Hated Me in My First Life, But Now I Have the Love System
Chapter 350: So cold, So Powerful

Chapter 350: So cold, So Powerful

She was serious. She was really standing here, willing to be punished just to defend Abuchi.

She didn’t realize what that meant to him. She didn’t understand what it did to him. He wished he was the one she was protecting…

His jaw tightened.

“No,” he said finally, voice low but firm. “He’s the leader. He’ll be punished. That’s final.”

Nnenna opened her mouth to argue, but the tone in his voice stopped her cold. It wasn’t just final, it was desperate. As though he needed her not to fight this.

He was shutting the conversation down before she could make him do something he would never forgive himself for.

Punish her?

Never.

Not now. Not ever.

Her words could hurt him, her silence could confuse him, but her pain? He would never accept that again.

She didn’t know how close he was to breaking the walls he had built over the past ten years. Walls that were already cracking just by seeing her hurt.

“As for the rest of you,” Somto said, his sharp gaze sweeping over Ekene and John. His voice, now colder and more commanding than before, echoed across the execution ground. “You will be punished as well. Not just for agreeing to this reckless mission, but for failing to stop your prince from endangering himself and others. What kind of citizens blindly support such recklessness?”

Ekene and John bowed their heads, shame washing over their faces. They couldn’t argue. They had gone along with the plan, knowing the risks, yet unable to turn away from their loyalty to Abuchi.

“That said,” Somto continued, his tone softening slightly but still firm, “your loyalty is not unnoticed. You stood by your prince and protected my siblings when you could have walked away. For that, you will be rewarded. But only after you serve your punishment. It will be light.”

“Thank you, Prince Somto,” Ekene and John replied in unison, exhaling in visible relief. Their legs had nearly buckled from the tension. Facing death was one thing. Facing Somto’s wrath was another entirely. But now, with his judgment passed, they could breathe again.

Somto didn’t miss the way their shoulders relaxed or how their eyes darted to Nnenna, worry and awe mixed in equal measure. He ignored it.

His gaze sharpened again, and this time, it turned icy.

“Where is the other girl?” he asked.

His voice dropped lower, deadly calm. Everyone knew who he meant.

Karen.

But no one had an answer.

Confusion passed over the gathered group like a storm cloud.

Where was she?

She hadn’t been brought out with the others. Had she been released? Hidden? Dead?

All eyes turned to King Eglon.

The man paled again, sweat dotting his forehead.

“She has been released, Your Highness,” Eglon said quickly, sweat forming on his brow, “I’ll send someone to get her now. Just say the word, execution, firing squad, hanging, life imprisonment, I’ll make it happen immediately.”

He didn’t get a reply.

Somto didn’t even look at him. It was as if Eglon had turned invisible.

Everyone standing there could feel it Somto’s anger towards Eglon. But whether Somto spoke or not, Eglon had already made up his mind to never allow Karen go free if he made it out of this. Not after what she had done. Withholding information from him. Not after everything that had happened.

At the platform, one of Eglon’s guards who had been standing behind him this whole time quietly took a step back, then two, and slipped into the crowd. He no longer wanted to be seen on Eglon’s side.

And he wasn’t the only one.

More of Eglon’s men slowly began to drift away, casting fearful glances at Somto as if he could see them even when his back was turned. The aura he carried was not just royal, it was lethal.

Somto turned to the loyal guards and remaining officials that had already been released from prison by his men.

“Since we’re settled now,” he began in a voice that sent chills down several spines, “capture the disloyal ones immediately. Secure them for judgment.”

The loyal guards didn’t waste a second.

They surged forward, surrounding the trembling officials and scattered traitorous soldiers who still lingered in shock. Some resisted, others didn’t. Screams echoed across the square, but no one dared interrupt the order of justice being carried out.

“Eglon,” Somto called, not even looking back, “You’re no longer a king. You’re a prisoner. From now on, you will obey King Mesha’s commands.”

Eglon didn’t argue. He couldn’t.

His legs nearly gave out beneath him, but two guards stepped in and grabbed him firmly by the arms, dragging him down from the platform like a discarded puppet. His crown had already fallen. Now his dignity followed.

And all the while, Somto stood tall and silent, watching as the false kingdom was peeled apart, layer by layer, lie by lie.

The livestream had exploded a long time ago.

People across the continent, and beyond, were glued to their screens, watching in stunned silence and then in bursts of cheers as the tide turned in the square. Comment sections filled up faster than they could be read.

@MunchingonWaterMelonSeeds: “Wait, was that the crown prince of Lionara?!”

@LiveLove: “I KNEW Lionara wouldn’t stay quiet forever!!”

@TooLatetoChangeMyMind: “Did you hear his voice?! So cold, so powerful… I got goosebumps.”

@Don’tTakeLifeSoSeriously: “Eglon is DONE. Finished. The man didn’t even have a comeback.”

@RunRunAway: “Wait, why didn’t they show his face?!”

@Where’sMySword: “Is this the real prince of Lionara?”

@OneFeetInLoveAnotherOut: “So powerful… he showed up just in time!”

@Can’tLetPainShow: “I can’t believe it, Purlit was about to fall apart before he arrived.”

Across the world, many sighed in relief. They had feared the worst. Some had even started mourning the downfall of the Purlit royal family. But now, hope sparked again.

Still, among the praise, there were questions. Accusations.

Why hadn’t Lionara sent help sooner?

Why did they seem so… absent, when their own prince was engaged to Purlit’s princess?