Peaceful Life System: I only need to live peacefully-Chapter 155: Sherry’s Past (2)

Sherry’s face fell. "But you just got back."

"I know, my sweet," Kael said. "We hate it more than you know. But when we return," he promised, "we will spend an entire week with you. No laboratory, no scrolls. Just us. We’ll even visit the Shadow-Drake Hatcheries."

The promise of the hatcheries was a powerful lure. Sherry’s pout lessened. "A whole week?"

"A whole week," her mother confirmed, kissing her forehead.

Sherry hugged them both tightly. Sebastian, who had appeared silently in the doorway, gently led her away. As she left, she glanced back.

Her parents were already turning back to the glowing table. Their faces were once again masks of intense concentration. Their world shrank back to the dangerous, secret work that always pulled them away.

The promised dinner was a quiet affair. Sherry sat between her parents at the long, darkwood table in the grand dining hall. Sebastian served the courses with his usual silent efficiency.

"Sebastian’s spiced serpent-stew," Kael said, forcing a cheerful tone as the butler placed the dish before them. "Your favorite, my shadow-blossom. So, tell me, did Professor Vael finally get to the Chapter on resonant decay?"

Sherry poked at a piece of meat. "We finished that last week, Father. Today was soul-gem entropy."

"Ah, entropy! Excellent!" Sorina chimed in, smiling brightly. "A fascinating subject. Did you master the harmonic stabilization patterns? They are key to preventing soul-fade."

Sherry blinked. "We only learned the basic principles, Mother. Not stabilization patterns."

A flicker of distraction crossed her mother’s face. "Of course. The basics. Very important."

"Yes," Kael added, his gaze distant. "One must always stabilize the core before attempting a full resonance cascade. Otherwise the entire matrix could unravel."

Sherry stared at him. "A resonance cascade?"

Kael blinked, snapping back to the present. "Just an... advanced concept, my dear. Eat your stew."

Sherry looked from her father’s far-off eyes to her mother’s strained smile. They were here, but not really. She picked up her fork, but the taste of the stew was ash in her mouth. The promise of a week together felt like a fragile, distant star.

After the meal, they hugged her goodnight at her bedroom door. Their embrace was tight, almost desperate.

"We love you, my sweet shadow-blossom," her father whispered.

"Be good for Sebastian," her mother added, her voice soft but strained. "We will be back before you know it."

Then they were gone. The heavy silence of the manor settled around her once more.

The first day passed in a haze. Sherry sat through her lessons at the Academy, her mind wandering. She didn’t raise her hand. She didn’t answer questions. She just stared out the window at the obsidian spires, waiting.

The second day was the same. And the third.

Sebastian tried his best. He brought her favorite black-ink pastries. He read to her from ancient tales of shadow-drakes and void-walkers. He even allowed her to practice minor levitation spells in the main hall, a rule her mother would never have bent.

Sherry offered small, wan smiles. She appreciated his efforts. But he wasn’t them. The silence of the manor grew louder with each passing day.

By the fifth day, the previous promise started to feel like a lie. A knot of dread had begun to tighten in Sherry’s stomach. Her parents were late many times, but this time was different. There wasn’t even a projection message.

This had never happened before. Never.

On the morning of the seventh day, the knot of dread burst.

It wasn’t a quiet knock. It was the splintering crash of the manor’s grand front doors being smashed open.

Sherry was in the dining hall, pushing a piece of toast around her plate. Sebastian stood by the window, a worried frown on his face. At the sound of the crash, he spun around, instinctively moving to stand in front of Sherry. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

Heavy, armored footsteps thundered into the hall. They weren’t the household guard. These were the Emperor’s Legionnaires, clad in black-iron plate armor etched with glowing, intimidating runes. Their faces were hidden behind menacing, full-face helms. They carried massive, energized halberds that crackled with contained power.

An Imperial Justicar, his robes the color of dried blood, strode in behind them. He held a scroll, its seal the fearsome visage of the Dark Emperor himself.

"Sherry of House Kael," the Justicar’s voice was cold and flat, devoid of all emotion. "By Imperial Decree, you are to come with us. You will face judgment."

Sebastian stepped forward, his body shielding Sherry. His usual gentle demeanor was gone, replaced by a cold, protective fury. "She is a child. What judgment could she possibly face? On what charge?"

The Justicar simply unrolled the scroll. "The charge is treason. The sentence has already been decided. Resistance will be met with lethal force."

He didn’t need to say more. The Legionnaires raised their halberds, the crackling energy filling the hall with a low, menacing hum. Sebastian looked from the emotionless Justicar to the terrified child behind him. He knew a fight was pointless. It would only end in their deaths.

Slowly, he lowered his hands. "Very well," he said, his voice tight. "We will come. But I will not leave her side."

The Justicar gave a curt, indifferent nod. "As you wish. It makes no difference to the verdict."

They were dragged from their home and thrown into an armored transport. For Sherry, the city of Nocturne, once her magnificent home, was a blur of dark spires and terrified faces as they were paraded through the streets.

They were taken to the Imperial Citadel, a monolithic fortress of black stone that clawed at the sky. They were marched through cold, echoing halls, past grim-faced guards, and into the heart of the fortress: the Judgment Hall.

The hall was vast and circular. A single throne of polished obsidian dominated the room, and upon it sat the Dark Emperor. His features were hidden by the shifting shadows of his own powerful aura, only two points of piercing, purple light visible where his eyes should be.

Below the throne, bound in chains of pulsating, dark energy, knelt two figures.

"Mother! Father!" Sherry screamed

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