It beca a battle of wits the mont King Garick opened his mouth.
He had expected his daughter to sit quietly and accept his decision. After all, he was finally allowing her to stay. And that’s what she wanted, right?
But no. What he got instead was a full-on argunt that would have put two wild beasts to sha.
Princess Kira was on her feet in an instant, her voice sharp. "Father, you can’t expect to just sit around here while you throw yourself into danger."
"That’s not fair! You get to feel at ease because I’m safe here, but what about ? I’ll likely go crazy because you plan to march in with Orcs who might not even be loyal to you?"
Her golden eyes blazed.
King Garick’s own glare was unflinching. "You will do as you’re told. This is not a request."
Around them, the cadets’ heads kept turning back and forth like spectators at a match.
Back and forth.
Back and forth.
And then Duchess Alia finally sighed.
"King Garick. Princess Kira."
Her voice cut through the tension like a blade.
"Is this how you plan to spend your remaining free days? It would be best not to spend precious ti arguing over this. As a ruler, you must return and cannot afford to show weakness. And if that is the case, then it would be wiser to spend what little ti you have with your daughter instead of wasting it here in anger."
Kira blinked, startled by the calm authority in Alia’s words.
"But Your Grace..." she started, her lips pushing into a pout.
Alia’s sharp gaze t hers.
"Your Highness, won’t you be able to provide better aid to your father by staying here? You have access to resources. To DG. You could send aid and support him from here, in ways you cannot if you recklessly follow him back."
Kira’s brows furrowed as she thought about it.
And she hated to admit it... But the Duchess was right.
If she stayed and coordinated with DG, she could probably do more than if she just ran after her father on impulse.
But still. She clenched her fists at her sides.
She was worried. And who wouldn’t be worried about their own father?
King Garick’s voice rumbled low, almost disappointed. "I didn’t earn my place by being weak. If you worry too much, then you’re telling you don’t believe in my strength."
Kira flinched at that, then stomped around the room in frustration. Her boots thudded against the floor as she muttered under her breath.
Finally, she stopped, crossed her arms, and huffed.
"Fine," she snapped.
But she wasn’t done. Not by a long shot.
Her eyes narrowed, and she tilted her chin up stubbornly.
"Then tell this," she said. "If I can’t go ho yet...how do you expect to exact my revenge?"
"I’ve been wronged too, you know?"
The room fell silent at her question.
Her gaze fixed on her father, sharp and demanding.
"Father, what happened to Grakkar?" she asked.
Her voice was quiet now, but it carried enough weight to make everyone pause.
King Garick actually balked at the question.
For once, he seed caught off guard by his daughter’s blunt demand. His lips pressed into a thin line, and for a second, it even looked like he might refuse to answer.
But then he let out a long, heavy breath.
"He’s alive," he said finally.
Kira’s head snapped up, her eyes narrowing.
Garick’s expression darkened as he went on.
"Grakkar is currently sealed inside a Crystal Prison. I considered killing him right then and there. It would have been easy. Quick."
The King’s knuckles flexed slightly, as though just thinking about it made him itch to strike again.
"But no. That would have been too rciful. And too soon."
He lifted his chin, his tone turning sharp.
"He’s bait now. The perfect lure for the others who dared to betray ."
"That idiot couldn’t have possibly orchestrated my sister’s death alone. He wasn’t even old enough to attend school when that happened. If anything, his main concern during that ti was likely potty training."
"Therefore, there’s got to be others who are much older and far smarter. And when the others realize that he’s alive and suffering, they’ll reveal themselves trying to rescue or silence him."
The air was thick as he spoke.
But Cece, who had stayed quiet up to this point, suddenly frowned faintly.
Her gaze turned toward Garick, and then to the faintly glowing shard she could see tucked into his gauntlet.
"Your Majesty, that crystal," she murmured.
Everyone turned to look at her.
"It’s familiar," she continued. "We’ve seen it before. Back during the crystal quake."
That got everyone’s attention.
For a mont, suspicion flared in the air, and they all seed to glance at Garick at once.
The King only snorted and shook his head.
"No. Do not misunderstand. That crystal quake of yours had nothing to do with us. This relic was claid long before your ti, back when the Orcs still fought the Elves regularly. It’s one of their cursed little weapons, turned against them after we crushed them on the field."
Cece tilted her head, filing that detail away quietly. She didn’t say more, though, and the King returned his focus to Kira.
"I’ll leave his head for you," Garick said flatly. "When I’m done extracting everything I can from him, his head will be yours."
Kira, still pouting, only crossed her arms tighter and looked away with a faint "hmph."
The King pinched the bridge of his nose, visibly exasperated.
He didn’t even know what to say anymore.
It was great to have such a wilful daughter, but it’s tis like these when he realizes just how hard parenting could be.
That was when Luca, who had been unusually quiet, raised his hand shyly.
"Um," he began, his voice tentative, "if it helps...maybe you’d be interested in...destressing, Your Majesty? By touring the original destination for today? Since it’s already prepared."
The offer hung awkwardly in the air.
But Luca really couldn’t think of other ways to at least give them so ti to cool their heads. And maybe the energy in the complex would help relax both of them.
To everyone’s surprise, Garick actually paused. Then he let out a low chuckle, though it didn’t sound entirely amused.
"Fine," he said finally. "Lead the way. Let’s see if your little tour can smooth this ss out.
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