A Royal Welcome

Inside the Royal Chamber, Leonora gestured for Skayla to continue ahead before stepping into a room at the back. Skayla continued down the expensive blue wool carpet embroidered with golden patterns as she slowly approached the King and Queen seated at the far end.

King Ernest (47), a grey-haired man in a wrinkled grey button-up shirt, black trousers, and loosely tied boots, sat on the throne to the left, his cheek resting against one hand. He looked as though he’d been woken up and given barely enough time to dress.

Directly next to him sat Queen Seraphine (48), a beautiful blonde woman who looked as if she were still in her early twenties. She wore a fitted, deep-emerald dress that showed off her slender figure, with her crossed right leg visible through a slit. The pearly-white heel on her raised foot moved up and down as she swung it impatiently.

Standing directly before them was Lina, dressed in a severely undersized, dirty prisoner’s tunic made from discarded burlap sacks. The tunic barely reached halfway down her thighs, while the openings along its sides left parts of her waist exposed. It looked as though someone had grabbed the first prisoner’s uniform they could find without checking the size, and Lina had put it on without a single complaint.

Black shackles engraved with mana-suppression spells were wrapped around her wrists and ankles, preventing her from using magic or accessing her item box.

The moment Skayla spotted Lina’s scarlet hair, she rushed forward and tackled her onto the expensive carpet, completely ignoring the King and Queen.

“LINA! ARE YOU OKAY?!” Skayla cried, frantically checking her for any serious injuries.

Without warning, Skayla lifted Lina’s tunic, revealing a paper-thin white undergarment held up by a narrow string.

She stared beneath the tunic for a few seconds, then glanced up at Lina’s scarlet hair.

“Hmm... so the carpet really does match the drapes,” Skayla muttered, giving a satisfied nod.

Lina’s face turned bright red as she drove her right foot into Skayla’s stomach, sending her tumbling across the carpet, where she curled into a ball.

“REALLY?!!?” Lina shouted, struggling back to her feet as her tunic rode up and exposed her backside. “That’s the first thing you do in front of the King and Queen?!” she snapped, yanking her tunic back down.

TEH! Skayla stuck out her tongue and pressed a finger to her cheek as she slowly got back to her feet. She then charged toward Lina and pinched her swollen cheek.

“Anyway, how are you feeling?” she asked, smiling with her eyes closed as she pinched harder.

“OWWW! I’D FEEL BETTER IF YOU STOPPED PINCHING MY FACE!” Lina shouted, shoving her away.

“WELL, YOU WOULDN’T HAVE THOSE INJURIES IF YOU HADN’T GONE BERSERK LIKE THAT!” Skayla shouted back.

Lina immediately lowered her head and stared at the carpet in shame.

Skayla sighed, placed one hand on Lina’s shoulder, and gave her a thumbs-up with the other.

“Next time, if you’re going to pick a fight with the Royal Family, at least let me join in the fun!”

AHEM! King Ernest cleared his throat. 

“I would like to request that you both refrain from planning any more fights with the Royal Family,” he said, watching Leonora return from the back room and kick a hunched-over Edgar in the backside to hurry him along.

Skayla sighed in annoyance and finally turned toward the King and Queen seated on the white marble dais.

“Well, we wouldn’t need to fight the Royal Family if you’d acted like a proper father and taught your son how to read signs,” Skayla said.

Ernest pinched the bridge of his nose and let out a long sigh. 

“You really do take after your Master, Asclepius, when it comes to your poor manners and complete disregard for how one should behave in front of royalty,” he said. “That man used to call me ‘Ernie’ in front of the entire court. And here I was hoping you’d grow into a proper lady like his wife, Ofilia.”

TSK! Skayla clicked her tongue and folded her arms, annoyed by his rude comment.

“With all due respect, Your Majesty...” she said mockingly. “What exactly do you plan on telling Master Al when he returns and discovers that a member of the Royal Family burned down his home, along with all the priceless memories he made there with his missing wife?”

The chamber fell silent. Everyone knew how terrifying Asclepius could become whenever his family was involved.

“WHY CAN’T YOU JUST ACCEPT THAT YOUR MASTER IS DEAD?!” Edgar suddenly blurted out. “IT’S BEEN FOUR YEARS SINCE ASCLEPIUS LEFT! IT’S ABOUT TIME EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM ACCEPTED IT!”

Edgar had never respected Asclepius. To him, the man was a grown adult who acted like a child, always playing pranks on people. He was tired of hearing everyone praise him.

The air in the chamber began to tremble as light-blue mana leaked from Skayla’s body.

“M-My Master... IS NOT DEAD!” she shouted as an immense surge of mana erupted from her and spiraled wildly around the chamber.

Skayla’s light-blue hair began to glow, and her ash-grey eyes darkened as she slowly approached Edgar with a cold expression.

Edgar’s confidence vanished as his legs shook and buckled beneath him, sending him crashing onto the carpet, terrified that Skayla might kill him.

“If you ever disrespect my Master like that again... I’ll crush you like the vermin you are,” Skayla declared, extending her left hand toward Edgar’s throat. “Even if it means making everyone in this room—or the entire world—my enemy.”

“THAT IS ENOUGH!” Queen Seraphine shouted, slamming her right heel against the marble dais as she stood up. 

A greater surge of deep-emerald mana streaked with gold erupted from the Queen, sending her long blonde hair and the skirt of her dress fluttering around her.

The two powerful waves collided, producing crackling sparks and a deafening sound like metal striking against metal. 

“Before you consider making everyone in this world your enemy and becoming the next ‘Demon Queen’, wouldn’t you rather learn the truth behind this case?” Queen Seraphine asked, glancing toward Lina, who immediately averted her gaze. “After all, this involves your best friend, who is currently standing trial before us with her head practically resting on a serving platter.”

TSK! Skayla clicked her tongue and drew back her mana. “Fine! You win this time.”

The tension eased, and everyone returned to their places before the King and Queen.

“I’m glad we can all agree on that.” Queen Seraphine smiled pleasantly before sitting back down and crossing her right leg over her left. “Shall we continue?”

“I can see who really wears the pants in this marriage,” Skayla whispered, leaning toward Lina.

Lina glanced toward King Ernest, who was still clutching his chest and struggling to catch his breath after being caught in the full force of the Queen’s unique skill, War Cry.

“Not a doubt in my mind,” Lina whispered back as the two quietly giggled.