Once Rune, Vane, Percy, and the local knight were in the throne room, they were forced to their knees before the king.

Vane stole a glance at him. The king looked far younger than Crowned Prince Ronan Conrad of Estora (27), Crowned Prince Aiden Evander of Ignia (26), or even Princess Misthaven Faye of Aethria Isles (21). This young king seemed younger than even Cassidy, who was 19.

"According to my court, you rebelled against the law and contracts," the young king said. He had sharp blue-gray eyes that read older than the rest of his face—the eyes of someone forced to think too much too young. Dark hair, somewhat unkempt from stress. A smaller, slighter build than most royals. He was only sixteen.

"And now I know why," he continued sharply. "Still, it's surprising to see a Silaxen and Estoran vanguard and what seems to be an Aethrian mage—his magic style is nothing like our Solarian standard healers and mages."

People around the king gasped. The local knight who'd helped them froze in horror, believing his life would end. Yet some strange relief washed over him, knowing he'd at least tried to help those trapped under the rubble.

"With all due respect, Your Majesty," Vane spoke, "it's one thing to save people because you have a deal with them, and quite another to leave innocent people to die because they don't have enough funds to give away."

"Your Majesty, these foreigners don't understand our economy!" one court member protested. "Safety is not free. Magic, healers, and knights cost funds. If we heal non-contracted citizens for free, Solaria's financial reserves will collapse, leaving the entire kingdom undefended!"

But the damage Vane had done to the young king's mind was already taking root. Nothing the court advisors could say would undo it.

"What's so hard about magic that it requires a whole contract to protect people?!" Percy argued. "If you just knew the right technique to rest and use your tools properly, why do you need a contract to save your own people?"

Rune noticed the king grabbing at his cufflinks, toying with them. Then it hit her.

"You can't tell the difference between truth and lies, can you?" Rune's voice cut through the throne room.

Silence fell instantly.

"How dare you disrespect our king!" another court member shouted.

"How did you know?" the young king asked, his sharp blue-gray eyes softening, as if part of his royal mask had cracked.

"It's not that hard to notice," Rune said softly. "You freeze for a moment, trying to process, as if a glitch happened in your system. You automatically reach for those cufflinks like a lifeline." She paused. "Believe me, I know. I used to know people who worked in that field."

The young king looked at Rune, searching for any lies in her words. Rune read what his eyes sought.

"Oh, I can't lie either, don't worry. My tongue seems to be cursed or something—I can tell truths but I also can't lie." Rune said softly.

The moment broke. Knights aimed to attack Rune, followed by their fellows. Vane prepared to fight, moving to shield her from as many as possible.

But without even drawing her sword, Rune simply reached for the solar plexus nerves in the abdomen, behind the stomach and just below the diaphragm, disabling the knight's body temporarily.

Forced silence fell on the room. Rune looked around casually.

"He's not dead, just temporarily disabled so royals can talk in peace," she announced. "Kind of glad the King of Silax never gave his own kids an easy path in their fields."

It was true. Despite being king, he never used his funds to make life easy for his children the way he did for his nephews and nieces, who he spoiled so thoroughly they started thinking they were better than the main royal branch.

Almost none of the king's own children had an easy path. He chose their fields: Crowned Prince Hunter was finances, Prince Marshal was tech-focused, Seraphina was architecture, and Rune's original field was fashion and clothes. But Rune was a fighter, a storyteller by nature, aware of her own being and driven by the urge to choose for herself.

The only one of the eldest five who chose her own field was Princess Amara Solar—bio-engineering—and she was the only one the king supported and respected.

Rune knocked herself out of that thought and walked past the frozen, horrified knights. Vane and Percy were equally shocked.

"Just who are these people?" the local Solarian knight thought. "Aren't they worried for their lives? How can they be so fearless?"

"King Orion," the royal court still tried to regain control, "don't fall for their—"

A sharp look from the king silenced him.

"I don't even know if I should trust you anymore," Orion said sharply, shutting everyone up before looking back at Rune. "I warn you, you're risking your heads with what you claim."

"I swore on my name, the Third Princess Rune Vesper of Silax," she dropped to one knee, placing her right hand over her heart plate. Vane and Percy, sensing the shift, immediately followed, kneeling beside her on the cold marble floor.

"No fine print. No hidden cost. No master but the truth. I swear my blade not to the land, but to the life that walks it. If the world stands against you in deceit, my steel will answer in plain facts. I am your shield in the storm, bound not by royal decree, but by my own choosing. I swear to stand when the court grows cold, and to speak when the world lies. My steel is not for the throne, but for the soul who sits upon it. By the armor on my back and the truth in my breath: where you walk, I guard. Where you fall, I stay. Where others offer silence, I stand as your shield. Until the balance is restored, my blade is your guard, and my voice is your anchor."

Silence hung heavy over the throne room. The court advisors looked horrified, their predatory hold crumbling. The local Solarian knight, still kneeling behind the trio, stared in awe, his heart hammering as he realized he was witnessing history.

On the throne, young King Orion stopped fidgeting with his cufflinks. For the first time since the shadow attack, the tight, overwhelmed line of his shoulders relaxed. In Rune's direct, unvarnished words, he heard no trap, no legal loophole, no court scam.

He heard the plain, absolute truth.

Orion leaned forward, his blue-gray eyes fixed on Rune. "Rise, Princess Rune Vesper," he said quietly, a genuine spark returning to his gaze. "Tell me everything about my kingdom that my council refused to say."

Rune smiled. "Would you like to give us a hand in that, sir?" She shifted her gaze to the local knight. "You know the kingdom best and every shortcut and path. When you were digging for survivors, you dug with intention—as if you knew exactly where to find them."

Though Rune intended to praise him, the local knight felt a heavy nervousness.

"What is your name again?" Orion asked.

"Tristan Mercer, Your Majesty," Tristan's voice shook.

"Tristan Mercer," Orion repeated. "As in, Tristan Mercer of the House of Ashford?" His tone was hopeful.

"Y-yes, Your Majesty," Tristan said, taken aback, confused like everyone else. But he noticed the royal court advisors' faces darkening with horror.

Orion looked at his royal court. "You've got to be kidding me!" He snapped.

In the background, Rune joined Vane, Percy, and Tristan.

"Umm, shouldn't we do something? What's going on?" Vane asked, irritated by the sixteen-year-old king's fury.

"No clue, but I'd like to see," Rune stood beside them. "Usually I freeze like everyone else when my father gets pissed, but this is elite drama." She signaled the nobles to leave. "Now, Percy, make some popcorn for the show. It's getting fired up."

"What?! We're in the middle of a throne room!" Percy argued.

"So?" Rune shrugged. "Back when I was a knight in Silax, Logan and the other ten knights used to sneak snacks to watch noble dramas unfold—things I couldn't do as a princess when I was expected to keep a nice face for the public. Now, shush and make that popcorn, Burrito Mage!"

"You told me he died shortly after my parents died!" Orion roared.

"W-we were protecting you, Your Majesty," the court defended.

"He has a damn pure heart! What is there to protect me from my own parents' last order as king and queen!" Orion said furiously. His magic crown and the room around him turned dark crimson, matching Rune's red hair. Things started moving in waves beneath their feet.

"What kind of magic item is that?" Percy breathed. He'd studied craftsman magic before but was never good at crafting from scratch, even as an elite mage of Aethria Isles.

"Interesting," Rune said, completely engaged in the drama and eating popcorn.

Tristan stepped forward. "What are you talking about? What do you mean the king and queen's last order? I don't remember any last orders of the late queen and king. What is a 'pure heart'?"

Orion shaped a jail around the court, sharpening it to break their bones. Rune dropped her popcorn and stopped him.

"Hey, buddy, let's not do that," Rune said softly. "They're still your people. The last thing we need is for your people or the other crowns to think you're a monster of a king."

"T-thank you," the oldest court member breathed.

"For what?" She asked. "I said not to end your lives, not to not punish you for your crimes against the throne." Her voice turned sharp.

Neither Percy nor Vane understood what she meant, or if she had the right to punish people in a foreign kingdom. But the look in her eyes was too terrifying to question.

"What are you thinking of, Princess Rune Vesper of Silax?" Orion asked, unable to read the room.

Rune smiled. "Let's make it a surprise for them," she said softly with a wink at Orion. "For now, you should see what's happening in your kingdom with Sir Tristan and our Burrito Mage, if you'll let me clean up the system a little and search for who's truly involved."

As Orion smiled, his crown returned to its normal color, and things around him calmed.

"Alright," he whispered. "I trust you, Princess." His tone carried childlike ease. Orion looked at Tristan. "So where do we start our tour? Oh, do I need a disguise? Oh, wait!" He remembered. "From now on, Sir Tristan Mercer Ashford is rightfully my personal advisor and protector. And if anyone tries anything against it, you don't want to know how things will end."

With his commanding voice, the ground swallowed the cage the court was in, teleporting them to the Solarian dungeon. Rune and Vane watched Tristan, Orion, and Percy walk off as Percy tried to cheer the young king up. Rune started looking around to figure out how to fix things in Solaria—so the little king could at least have a normal teenage life, even a little.