Vol 1 Chapter 5: Cocoon of Light and the Secret of the Kingdom

The Arrival of the Grand Witch

The air in the room changed.
It wasn't cold, it wasn't warm—but it was like someone had arrived, bringing with them the whispers of time long dormant.
A subtle vibration, invisible but palpable… like the ticking of an hourglass that only an anxious heart could hear.

Then… the door opened.
Slowly. Soundlessly. But the world seemed to bow in respect.
Someone stepped in—a long shadow like a purple twilight cloth billowing in the wind.
Her figure was petite, her steps quiet, but every movement carried the weight of a time unrecorded in history.
The Grand Witch of Elaria… had finally arrived.

Her hair was white like moon dust falling on the altar of dreams.
Her crimson-violet robes flowed like the congealed blood of the heavens.
Atop her head, a large witch's hat hung gracefully, adorned with star beads that shone softly like memories of the old sky.

Her eyes… were something no ordinary creature could possess.
They were eyes that had seen empires crumble, lovers reborn, and stars fall silently.
Eyes that held the answers to questions yet to be born.
And in her hand—a winged crystal staff, the tip trembling gently… as if feeling the weight of time standing still.

—

Elaria Checks Lune's Condition

Elaria didn't greet.
She didn't ask any questions.
She simply walked. Slowly. In a silence that barked louder than thunder.
Her steps were like the song of the wind around an ancient tree—understanding everything, without needing to be explained.
She stopped at Prince Lune's bedside.
And in that instant… time held its breath.

All eyes—Anna, Queen Eleanor, King Aldebaran, even Doctor Reiss—were on her.
But Elaria paid them no attention.
She raised her staff.
A magical shimmer began to bloom.
Like petals of light falling from the fifth heaven.
Ancient magical symbols—like the writing of a forgotten star—encircled Lune's body.
They didn't shine brightly, but they shimmered like hope in a dream that was about to fade.

But Lune… remained asleep.
Too still to be alive, too warm to be dead.
As if this world weren't worthy of waking him.

“…There is no curse.”

Elaria finally said, her voice softer than a mother's prayer.

“No evil magic. No external manipulation.”

Queen Eleanor paled. Her eyes trembled like glass about to shatter, but she forced them together.

“Then… what happened to my son…?”

Elaria didn't answer immediately. She closed her eyes.
Then she pressed the tip of her wand to Lune's chest.
Instantly, a white light enveloped the prince.
It wasn't blinding light, but a light like a heavenly embrace—warm, holy, and… sad.

“…This is no ordinary sleep,” she said softly.
“This is not magic. This is… a blessing.”

Everyone fell silent.
The words weren't just a diagnosis, but a judgment from the heavens.

“Not human magic.
Nor from the gods of the scriptures,” Elaria continued.
“But an entity… older. Higher. More… indescribable.”

“An entity?” King Aldebaran frowned.

Elaria nodded slowly.

“An unnamed entity. One that transcends form and identity.”

She stared at Lune.

“That sacred mana… not only protects.
It also isolates. Like… a cocoon.”

“A cocoon…?” Anna asked, her voice nearly drowned out by her heartbeat.

“Yes. Prince Lune is changing.
This isn’t weakness. This is… a phase of transcendence.”

—

The Apple That Refuses to Be Forgotten

As everyone silently processed the meaning… Elaria walked to the other side of the bed.
And there it lay, still—a red apple.
A bitten apple, as if touched by time itself.
Elaria lifted it with one hand. The fruit glowed faintly… almost invisible… yet every ray of light held the mystery of the heavens.

“This apple… is filled with sacred mana.”

Everyone turned.

“If he did eat it,” Elaria said quietly,
“Then this wasn’t an accident.
This was a choice. This was… a summoning.”

Queen Eleanor closed her mouth. Anna stared at the apple as if staring at a door to destiny that had only half opened.

“He couldn’t have been careless…” the Queen spoke. “Lune is not a foolish child.”

Elaria simply stared at the fruit in silence.

“Perhaps… he knew.
Perhaps… he met the entity itself.
And… perhaps, he chose to sleep.”
“To change.”
“To become something… we don’t yet understand.”

And while everyone tried to interpret the meaning of it all…
Prince Lune still slept.
With the sacred apple beside him.
With a serene smile… as if dreaming of an undiscovered sky.
And Elaria, the witch from the end of time, stood there…
As the first witness to a destiny that was just beginning to unfold.

—

When Will the Prince Wake?

The once bright morning now felt like a thick curtain hung over the entire kingdom.
There was no wind. No ticking of time.
It was as if the world itself refused to move, refused to speak, refused to… understand.

Queen Eleanor stood at the edge of the bed, her hands trembling, like old branches no longer able to support the falling snow.
She stared at Lune's peaceful sleeping face—too peaceful.
Her eyes, usually filled with the brightness of stars, were now tightly closed.
Her smile remained, small, warm… and devastating.

“…When will he wake?” she whispered.

It was more like the prayer of a child lost in the woods.
Fragile, soft, and seeking an answer that would not change reality, only lessen the pain.
Elaria lowered her head.

“I don't know.”
“A month…?”
“Maybe.”
“A year…?”
“…Perhaps.”
“…Ten years…?”

Silence.
And though there was no sound, everyone felt it.
Crack.
A crack that didn't come from the glass, but from within their chests.
Like the shattering of a hope held too tightly.

Queen Eleanor let out a nearly silent scream.
She stepped forward and grabbed her son's shoulders.

"No! It's just exhaustion!" her voice cracked.
"Lune is strong!
He always wakes before the sun!
He always smiles...
He... He won't go like this!"

Her hands shook Lune gently but desperately.

"Wake up, son...
Mother, please..."

Tears fell.
The clear droplets touched Lune's cold but alive cheeks.
She didn't flush.
She didn't twitch.
She didn't respond.

Anna held her breath.
She stood frozen in the corner...
Her fingers clutching her dress...
As if she were going to tear the world apart...
So her prince could return.

Doctor Reiss lowered his head.
His eyes were wet, though not dripping.

And King Aldebaran...
Silent.
But his shoulders trembled as he hugged his queen.

"Restrain yourself, Eleanor," he whispered.
“We… must not be destroyed.
Lune doesn’t want to see us destroyed…”

Anna clenched her fists.
Her frame was petite, but her chest was heavy.
The weight of everything she couldn’t say.
All the guilt she didn’t understand.

“…Prince Lune… after three months of your departure to the frontier…”

She lowered her head deeply, her voice barely audible.

“…why did you come back… to sleep…?”

Her eyes burned. Her voice choked.

“If I can’t guard you while you’re awake…then let me guard you while you’re asleep…”

—

To be a Royal Secret

And amidst all the sadness and sorrow that rolled in like morning mist, the King’s voice rang out—sharp and certain:

“From now on… this is a royal secret.”

His words pierced like a sword of peace that could not be negotiated.
Anna looked up, startled.
Queen Eleanor held back a sob.
Elaria simply closed her eyes as if in agreement—or lamentation.

“Anyone who reveals this… will be punished.”

The King’s voice held no threat. He didn’t need to. It was the law.

“Why…?” asked Doctor Reiss, quietly.

“We will declare that the Prince is severely exhausted.
He requires complete rest.
No visitors… can be seen… except with direct permission from the palace.”

He looked at them each in turn.
His gaze was like a steel shield, blocking out any possibility of weakness.

“If you love Lune… protect her honour.
The world must not see her… weak.”

Silence.
Then… one by one, they nodded.
Not out of fear.
But out of love.
A love that knows no other way to save, except by protecting silently.

The Queen wiped away her tears, though some still fell.
Anna stared at her trembling fingers, then clenched them again—as if making a vow.

Elaria placed the sacred apple on the table, then closed her eyes…
As if offering a prayer…
And amidst all this…

Lune remained asleep.
With a small, unchanging smile.
As if dreaming of another world—a world no one had ever seen before. A world she might… bring back when she opened her eyes.

—

The Silence that Rocks the Palace

The prince who fell asleep in blessing.
The queen cried because she could no longer hold her son.
Servants who want to look after… even if only silently.
A wizard who can't give answers, only interprets the stars.
And the King...
Which silently turns the wheel of history, behind a curtain of silence newly woven by light and secrets.