A few days had passed since the intense clash on the ruined plains. Inside the grand royal throne chamber, the atmosphere was dense and heavy with anticipation.
Princess Rory, Princess Iris, Captain Geldbarun, and Commander Jold stood before the dais.
Together, in perfect military unison, they dropped to one knee and bowed their heads before the throne. King Miyi sat at the throne while Princess Sliviy stood tall and vigilant directly beside his right side.
Miyi lazily raised his right hand, slicing through the formal silence.
"At ease," he commanded smoothly. On his word, everyone looked up to meet his gaze everyone, of course, except Sliviy, who kept her sharp eyes trained forward.
"I believe you have a mountain of questions to ask," Miyi demanded, his tone shifting into one of absolute gravity as he subtly checked on Sliviy's reaction.
"But I shall declare what happened here, and it must stay here at this moment. This is an order, as well as Sliviy's."
Acknowledging the dual authority of their King and the strict fourth princess, the group replied in unison, "Yes, your majesty."
The room grew taut. The tension spiked as everyone internally debated which burning question to put forward first.
Breaking the ice himself, Miyi softened his gaze and looked toward the third princess.
"Hmm, I think I shall start first. How is your injury, Rory?" he asked, his genuine concern breaking through his royal facade.
Rory took a brief moment to check herself over, patting her sides and arms.
"I am feeling better. I don't have a serious injury," she assured him, a small smile playing on her lips.
"But how?! I saw you get shot!" Iris interjected, the raw guilt of the battle leaking into her voice.
Realizing she had spoken out of turn, she quickly bowed her head again. "Sorry, Father. I shouldn't have jumped in like that."
Miyi offered a gentle nod. "You are forgiven. But Iris, you mean a question about how she is still alive, correct?"
"Yes, your majesty," Iris replied honestly, looking up.
Leaning back into his throne, Miyi exhaled and began to explain.
One hour before saving Rory.
I was completely alone in the King's bedroom, fast asleep during the middle of the day exactly when I was supposed to be actively executing my royal duties.
My body felt incredibly heavy, almost as if invisible iron chains were pinning me flat to the mattress.
"I don't want to do anything today,"
I thought miserably to myself, rolling over and tightly hugging my plush body pillow.
The crushing weight of missing my wife washed over me.
"Miyuki… when are you coming back home?"
The thought made my chest ache, and I squeezed the body pillow even harder, wishing it were her.
Suddenly, a sharp knock rattled the heavy bedroom door.
"Your majesty, please wake up! It is already noon. You are supposed to do your duties," one of the head maids called out through the thick wood.
"I don't want to! Nah!" I whined back, burying my face into the pillow.
"Not this again, your majesty!" the maid sighed, her voice laced with deep concern.
A few minutes of absolute silence followed, during which I happily let a faint snore drift back through the door.
The silence didn't last.
"Your majesty!! Don't let me tell Princess Sliviy about this!" the maid suddenly shouted.
The mention of that name shot through me like a bolt of lightning.
I snapped awake, my body instantly jerking upright into a rigid sitting position.
A terrifying flashback of exactly what happens whenever Sliviy finds out I'm slacking played vividly in my mind.
Panicking, I bolted out of bed and threw the door open, looking so pale and terrified that I looked like I had just seen a ghost.
"Your majesty, I will help you change in your attire," the maid said with a satisfied bow, seamlessly proceeding with her duties.
A short while later, I stood frozen in the middle of the room, looking blank and entirely sleepy, still desperately wishing I could skip the day's paperwork.
But just as the final pieces of my royal attire were secured, the world abruptly changed.
Time stopped.
It felt as though the universal clock had simply frozen in place, refusing to click forward.
Staring out the grand window, I watched in awe as everything outside stood utterly motionless. I spun around and tried waving my hand directly in front of my maid's face.
There was absolutely no reaction; her expression was completely frozen in time.
Then, a voice echoed. It was a woman's voice, drifting directly into my mind, sounding impossibly, beautifully familiar.
"My dear Miyi, my daughter Rory is endangered. She needs your help."
"Who is that?! Did you do this?!" I shouted aloud to the empty, silent room.
The voice responded with a soft, melodic laugh. "My dear Miyi, how could you have forgotten your beloved wife?"
"Miyuki??" I gasped, shock freezing the breath in my throat as my brain finally registered that unmistakable voice.
"Miyuki, did you-" Before I could even finish my question, a loud, resonant bell cut me off.
Ring, Ring.
"Oh, sorry, my dear… it seems my time is up,"
Miyuki explained, her voice carrying a gentle but hurried tone.
"Don't worry about me. You need to help your daughter. Oh, and don't worry about traveling there. I have purposely teleported Rory straight to your arms ahead of time. Bye-bye, my dear Miyi."
"Miyuki, wait!" I yelled, desperate to ask a million more questions.
But it was too late. A deep, dark-colored magic circle erupted violently underneath my feet.
In a fraction of a second, space fractured, and I was teleported out of the palace with Rory appearing exactly in my arms, just as Miyuki had planned.
Miyi rested his hands on the armrests of his throne, looking down at his stunned audience.
"And I concluded," Miyi finished, his voice echoing in the quiet chamber, "that is exactly what happened."