Chapter 50

Azalea, Kalt XVIII, and Shizuku stand around a floating mana-table displaying the territorial layout of Raureif.

Notes, maps, logistics, and rotating holograms of key infrastructure blink gently in the cold air. The aroma of wild mint and warm mana blossoms lingers from Rhodendris Azalea Flores' arrival.

Kalt XVIII
(arms behind his back, nervously straight-faced)
So… how should this country be run? We’ve been ruled by cold and silence for too long.

Azalea
(pensively, tapping the table)
You begin by asking the right questions. That’s already better than most monarchs.
We’ll stabilize local mana currents first. Then set up democratic councils for resource allocation. Education, health, mana supply—all prioritized. The people need consistency.

Shizuku
(nodding, arms crossed)
Raureif isn’t just frozen in climate, it’s frozen in governance.
Let it thaw slowly. Sudden reform breaks kingdoms.

Kalt XVIII
(glancing between them, curious)
...Are you two related? The way you talk to each other feels… oddly coordinated.

Shizuku
(grinning)
Yeah. Azalea’s my first cousin once removed.
He's also a saucy bastard when he isn't serious.

Azalea
(flicking his hair, unbothered)
Regenora is the younger sister of Emrys, of which you’re descended from.
It is only natural for you to be irritated by my pure ✨elegance✨.

Kalt XVIII
(utterly lost)
Wait—Emrys? The primordial? You’re all connected to them?

Shizuku
(smiling dryly)
Family tree’s a tangle of myth, power, and people who don’t die when stabbed.
I wouldn’t recommend it.

Azalea
(leaning in with mock smugness)
You’ll find that being related to living cosmic forces is both a burden and a fabulous skincare routine.

Kalt XVIII
(raising a brow)
I… don’t even know how to respond to that.

Shizuku
(shrugging, deadpan)
You get used to it.

Azalea
(straightening his robe)
Now, back to governance. We’ll station the first Universal Guard teleportation relay just outside the capital. That’ll ensure instant access if things get dire.

Kalt XVIII
(grateful but composed)
Thank you. Both of you. For helping me learn… and for not laughing when I mistook a mana-stove for a comms unit.

Shizuku
(smiling, walking toward the map again)
That was kind of funny though.

Azalea
(teasingly)
Don’t worry. By next month you’ll be using a scythe, passing legislation, and sipping Star-Sparkling Water like a true ruler.

Kalt smirks faintly. For the first time, the cold doesn’t bite—because warmth now surrounds him, not just from the chamber’s climate controls, but from the rare thing no ruler of Raureif had seen in decades: 

                                                                          trust.