Both the queen and the empress vanished.

At the same time, my hands went through the fog.

One moment they were there, solid and real.

Their shapes are sharp against the air.

And the next they were nothing but a thinning mist that slipped through my fingers.

I felt the cold pass through my palms.

Like touching the early morning air.

And then even that was gone.

I stood still, hands half-raised.

I kept staring at the empty space where they had been.

Lucy slowly came down from the sky and said to me.

"Looks like they had already prepared a spell for escape."

Her voice was calm, steady.

Like this was something she had expected.

She landed lightly, her boots touching the ground without a sound.

The air around her settled.

And the faint shimmer that followed her descent faded away.

I nodded at her, not trusting myself to speak just yet.

And we both walked to the girls.

Aria was puking currently.

Her body shaking as she leaned forward, one hand braced on the ground.

Her breathing was rough, uneven, and every few seconds she gagged again.

The rest were unconscious, sprawled where they had fallen.

Their eyes closed, faces pale, chests rising slowly.

They looked small lying there.

And fragile in a place that had nearly swallowed them whole.

Lucy slowly walked to them and made a spell, and they all slowly flowed away.

She raised both hands, palms open, fingers relaxed.

A soft glow formed around her wrists and traveled outward.

Forming thin threads of light stretching from her hands toward the girls.

The light wrapped around them gently.

Like invisible arms lifting them without touch.

One by one, their bodies rose from the ground.

Not jerking or snapping upward.

But… drifting.

As if the air itself had decided to carry them.

Aria's head lolled to the side as she was lifted.

Her breathing evening out little by little.

The others floated beside her.

Their clothes stirred softly as they moved.

They hovered next to Lucy, aligned with her steps.

They kept following her as if tied by unseen strings.

Their feet didn't drag, their limbs didn't hang awkwardly.

It was smooth, careful, almost tender.

Lucy looked at me and said,

"I will take the girls back to my house.

You can stay here and look around.

I will try to wake them up and we will unite at the throne room."

Her eyes met mine, serious but trusting.

She didn't wait for me to argue or ask questions.

This was a plan, simple and clear.

Then she made a hand gesture and both her and the girls vanished.

She drew a slow circle in the air with her index finger.

Then closed her hand into a loose fist.

The light around her hands flared once, bright but brief.

Like a spark catching fire.

The air folded inward, and in a blink, Lucy, along with the girls dissolved into a flash.

The space they occupied was suddenly empty, silent again.

I stood there for a moment.

The quiet pressed in, then turned and walked back into the castle.

The doors loomed ahead of me, tall and heavy.

The shadows stretch across the stone floor.

Each step echoed faintly as I crossed the threshold.

The smell of old stone and dust filled the corridor.

It mixed with something sharper.

Like burnt air left behind by magic.

A group of guards came running to me.

I just looked at them calmly.

Their armor clattered as they moved.

boots striking stone in uneven rhythm.

They were tense, eyes wide, hands tight around their weapons.

One of them shouted something I didn't bother to catch.

I didn't raise my weapon. I didn't rush.

I simply stood there, shoulders relaxed.

And watched them close the distance.

Once they reached me.

I sidestepped them easily and struck the back of their necks.

The first one lunged, too fast, too eager.

I moved half a step to the side, my motion smooth and measured.

And my hand came up in a clean strike.

He dropped without a sound.

The next two followed just as quickly, their momentum working against them.

A turn, a precise hit, another body hitting the floor.

Each movement flowed into the next, no wasted effort, no hesitation.

They all fell after it on the ground, and I kept walking.

Their armor echoed softly as they collapsed, metal against stone.

I didn't look back.

My pace didn't change.

It felt almost effortless.

Like walking through tall grass that bent out of the way.

There was something cold and focused inside me.

A quiet certainty that didn't need to prove itself.

The corridor stretched ahead, dimly lit.

And I followed it without slowing down.

But once I made it inside the corridor…

Suddenly, a green portal appeared.

And from it walked the queen.

The air twisted in front of me, folding in on itself.

Green light spilled outward.

It kept painting the stone walls in an eerie glow.

The portal stabilized, humming softly, and she stepped through.

She was still in her pink nightgown.

The fabric was light and loose, clinging softly to her form.

It brushed against her thighs.

Showing her fair legs as she moved.

Her hair fell over her shoulders.

It was slightly messy, like she hadn't bothered to fix it.

She stood there facing me, completely at ease.

Like she hadn't just fled moments ago.

"How about you follow me?

I could offer you anything if you want,"

she said slowly and seductively while walking to me.

Her voice was low, smooth, each word stretched out.

She took her time with every step.

She kept closing the space between us bit by bit.

Her eyes stayed on mine, unblinking.

A faint smile playing on her lips.

But before she could continue anymore.

I pointed a dagger at her and said,

"Are you alone? Where is the empress?"

The blade caught the green light, sharp and steady in my grip.

I didn't raise my voice. I didn't need to.

She just gave me her back and started walking.

She kept swaying her hips.

She turned away slowly, deliberately.

As if the dagger didn't exist.

Her steps were unhurried.

Her hips moving with a soft, confident sway.

The nightgown shifted with her movement.

The fabric whispered against the skin.

She didn't look over her shoulder.

She wanted me to follow, and she knew it.

When she reached the window.

She kept looking outside and said casually,

"She… she no longer needs me, so she just threw me away.

I have only two options."

Her reflection showed in the glass.

Her expression is distant now, voice quieter.

One hand rested against the window frame.

She leaned slightly forward.

She kept gazing out at the dark beyond the castle walls.

She paused, letting the words hang.

Then continued without turning around.

Her tone was light but edged with something sharper underneath.

"Be treated like a traitor in the new kingdom order.

Or… a better way."

I raised an eyebrow and said, "A better way?"

She shifted her weight, fingers tightening on the stone.

Her shoulders lifted slightly as she took a slow breath.

Then she tilted her head just enough for me to see the curve of her smile in the reflection.

Then she added…

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