After a few moments of much-needed laughter, everyone finally managed to control themselves.
Princess Iris wiped the tears of joy from her eyes and cleared her throat with a soft internal cough.
"Father, thank you for explaining and answering my question," Princess Iris said, though her voice still carried manageable hints of small, leftover giggles.
As the humor faded, a profound silence took over the grand chamber as everyone quietly processed the bizarre nature of the King's side of the story.
Breaking the silence, Captain Geldbarun raised a hand. "Your majesty, I have a question for you, if I may?"
While they waited for a response, Sliviy nudged her father to snap him back to reality. "Father…" she prompted, urging him to address the captain.
Miyi did his best to shake off his lingering depression and act like a king again. "Ermm, what is it?" he replied softly.
"Your majesty, if what you say is true, that Her Majesty foresaw this incident. Why couldn't her majesty simply tell us in person?" Geldbarun asked, presenting a highly logical question to the throne.
"That's…" Miyi paused, trailing off as he tried to formulate a thought. He found the underlying truth of the question far too complicated to touch upon.
"I can't give an answer to you for that... I am sorry," Miyi finally answered, looking defeated.
"Your majesty, she is your wife. You should know something, If you know something, why could you tell us in advance or quickly inform us? This incident can be avoidable entirely."
Geldbarun pressed, determined to uncover the real reason behind the Queen's mysterious absence.
"Geldbarun, that's enough. Look at the King's face. That is your answer. On the good side, thanks to the king invention, there are no casualties at the end."
Commander Jold interjected firmly, stepping in to stop the captain from pushing the matter any further.
Miyi offered a weak nod of gratitude.
"Thank you, Jold. And Geldbarun, I am truly sorry I cannot give you an answer right now," he added with genuine concern.
Sensing that the debrief had reached its absolute limit, Princess Sliviy stepped in to wrap things up.
"Alright, that's enough for today. I can see sister Rory's face are feeling sleepy," she concluded, officially bringing the question-and-answer meeting to a close.
Later that night, inside her private quarters, Princess Iris sat quietly near the window.
The soft moonlight poured through the glass, illuminating the room as she sipped a warm cup of tea to soothe the lingering guilt in her chest.
Looking out into the night sky, a small, genuine smile touched her lips.
"Father, Mother... Thank you.." she whispered softly into the open air.
Meanwhile, in the King's royal bedroom, Miyi lay flat on his back, staring blankly at the ceiling as Geldbarun's difficult question echoed continuously through his mind.
Slowly, he raised his right hand into the empty air above him.
"My lover, Miyuki, I wish I could tell my daughters who you and I truly are," Miyi murmured to himself.
"I can still vividly remember when you gave birth to Iris and Takao, but…"
His gaze hardened with profound determination.
"I promised myself that Rory and Sliviy will always be kept safe from danger. I don't ever want that to happen again. Right, Miyuki?"
Despite receiving no answer, Miyi slowly lowered his hand back to the mattress.
He closed his eyes and eventually drifted off to sleep as the pale moonlight shone brightly through his window.