Night has come, if the day still should be divided into time periods, when the King takes a few deep breaths. Another lonely dinner for him, which he hates the most, is his present for now. Despite every chaos, he still managed to get dinner as fancy as if Valria was not in danger. Yet, a rich flavored meal tastes very bland for him, as if he is only eating flour directly from the sack. He misses his dear wife, his indifferent son, and all the past before the celebration.

Deep inside, he wishes that the celebration would never happen.

Deep inside, he curses the perfume.

Deep inside, he curses himself for letting the Queen have it before being examined by the Royal Physician.

‘It is also my fault, in a sense. I know.’

His fist hits the table. His heart asking where the hell did he go wrong. Who is truly behind the perfume incident? He can’t believe himself that Cenric would do that far for the throne, as Nicola said the possibility to him when the urgent meeting occurred between ministers, the Royal Physician, and Stargazer. For him, Cenric is no more than a simple brat, just a kid who simply has not done his rebellious phase, a twenty-three acting like a sixteen. Yet, all facts seem to point to Cenric only, and the strange feeling where they are wrong, both at the same time, bugging him. 

As if they are not enough, his brother is also bugging him with a proposal to make Atreus as the crown prince, and Erhard is bugging him to let Atreus go with Erhard to somewhere with a very simple, absurd reason: ‘Because the stars asked so’, both happened in the afternoon. Just right when he wants to curse the fact, he realizes something.

‘That.’

Eureka moment hits the King. His thought maneuvered drastically from Cenric to his own brother, and, Atreus. Cenric is very close to Atreus, his brother just returned from the South, who can also stop by anywhere to buy the damned perfume in the middle of the trip back to Valria. 

‘Is it possible that brother bought it, and asked Cenric to give it to Agnessa through Atreus? So my brat is simply a stupid scapegoat? Then, the stars simply asked Atreus to go away with Erhard, no, Erhard, simply knows and asked to go with Atreus to save my throne?’

His fist changed into an opened palm, hitting the table. His eyes widen as he feels ecstatic finding out what may be the meaning behind his brother’s proposal. 

‘I knew it! That bastard, as always!’

***

"...ey!"

The faint voice gradually brings Cenric back to consciousness, and the second thing he realizes is the cold, hard floor beneath him. Nevertheless, he finds himself unable to open his tremendously heavy eyes, nor move his body which feels frozen in the moment.

"Wake up, will ya?"

When he finally hears Ilze’s sentence in full, Cenric starts to open his eyes slowly. He stares at both Ilze and Benette who sigh in relief.

"We thought you were dead for a second there," says Benette, while Ilze silently helps Cenric to sit up. 

It is only when Ilze supports his back that Cenric realizes he is almost immobile. He has lost the strength to even get up. In addition to that, he feels empty, extremely exhausted, and unsure whether he can grasp anything. Yet, Benette gives him water and forces him by assisting him to drink from the glass she has prepared beforehand. As Cenric starts to come to his senses, he notices something in front of his eyes: his long bangs, usually brown, are now purple.

With widened eyes, Cenric rushes to look at Benette and Ilze who are confused by his sudden movements. His lips tremble as he says, "My hair…"

"We don't know what exactly happened. We kept chanting with our eyes closed to enhance our focus. Once we were certain you had entered the dreamscape, the realm beyond reality, our job here was complete. We both stopped chanting, opened our eyes, and saw that your hair had already turned purple. We assumed that 'the seal', which is the very reason why you have to come here, is unlocked," answers Benette, then turns to Ilze, "Yet…"

Rather than cooperating with Benette, Ilze stands up abruptly and says harshly, "I need some air," before leaving them alone in the room.