❈.❈.❈

The immaculate garden path eventually opened before another private residence.

It was smaller than the West Villa, though its architecture made its importance unmistakable. Elegant arches framed tall windows, pale stonework rose toward delicate spires and royal guards stood at a respectful distance from the entrance.

G6 slowed.

“I thought we were going to a chamber?”

Edmund offered an apologetic smile.

“Her Majesty refers to this entire private residence as her chamber.”

G6 looked at the building.

“What a fancy one.”

The grand doors opened.

A butler waited inside.

His poised expression faltered for the briefest moment when he saw Reise’s crimson dress, but years of training restored it almost immediately.

“Greetings, Lady Reise Worthon.” He bowed. “Her Majesty has been expecting you.”

G6 glanced toward Tina.

“I sent a message ahead while you were dressing,” Tina explained.

G6 turned back to the butler.

“The pleasure is mine. Please, lead the way. I would not want to keep Her Majesty waiting.”

He stepped aside and guided them through the residence.

They ascended a grand staircase toward a set of ornate doors.

The butler knocked.

“Lady Worthon has arrived, Your Majesty.”

The doors opened.

The room beyond carried the same disciplined luxury as the rest of the residence. Nothing appeared excessive by royal standards, yet every object had clearly been selected by someone powerful enough to choose exactly what they wanted.

The Queen sat upon the central couch with immaculate posture and an expression of effortless composure.

She looked entirely at ease inside authority.

Her eyes moved over G6.

Surprise appeared for only an instant before a warm smile replaced it.

“My dear Reise. You have finally freed yourself from your bedchamber. I cannot tell you how relieved I am to see you well.”

So this is the Queen.

G6 approached and offered a carefully measured bow.

“Thank you for sparing the time for my sudden visit, Your Majesty.”

The Queen’s eyes lingered on her for half a second longer than necessary.

“I was delighted to hear you wished to see me. Please, sit.”

G6 took the chair opposite and crossed her legs.

The movement shifted the high slit of her dress.

The Queen's otherwise composed expression barely changed, though one brow twitched.

Leo abruptly developed great interest in a painting across the room.

A moment later, small hands appeared beside G6.

Lilia carefully spread an embroidered blanket across her lap.

“To preserve decorum, Lady Reise,” she whispered.

Then she hurried backward.

G6 glanced down.

Ah, right. Noble society.

“So,” The Queen began, “I see your taste has undergone a rather striking transformation.”

“I prefer to think of it as finding my comfort, Your Majesty. This feels more like me.”

G6 smoothed the blanket over her knees.

“It is certainly daring.”

The Queen examined the gown.

“The style reminds me of your cousin from the Elora Kingdom. Such cuts are far more common among certain northern courts.”

Oh, the one Tina mentioned? I should visit the North. They have good fashion sense.

“A gift from her, years ago,” G6 confirmed smoothly.

“It is outrageous,” The Queen said.

Then she smiled.

“Yet irritatingly flattering.”

“You are too kind. I will delay no longer.” G6 straightened slightly. “I am here to request a Professional Card.”

Genuine curiosity crossed the Queen’s face.

“A Professional Card?”

She leaned back.

“How unexpected. I confess, I anticipated that your first question would concern Prince Dio.”

G6 almost forgot about him.

Prince Dio. Right.

Then an idea occurred to her.

Reckless, perhaps, but convenient enough to test.

“Would you allow me to dissolve the engagement, then?”

She asked it with the same casual tone one might use to inquire about the weather.

The room froze.

Tina’s breath caught.

Edmund straightened.

Lilia looked as though she had forgotten how lungs worked.

For one full second, even the Queen’s composure broke.

Then she laughed with a lightness that came just a little too quickly.

“Oh, my dear. You must be jesting. You have been promised to my son for ten years, and the official announcement is only months away.”

G6’s interest disappeared almost immediately.

Boring.

“Which is precisely why I am asking you, not him. You see… I am not really a fan of commitment.”

A shadow crossed the Queen's expression.

“Has my son’s cold behavior finally exhausted your patience?”

“This is about maturity, not pettiness. Ten years ago, I was eight with no right to object. I was vulnerable and given very little space to decide what I actually wanted.”

Silence pressed across the room.

The three servants remained perfectly still.

The Queen watched her for a long moment.

Then she smiled again, though this time there was more understanding than warmth in it.

She stood and moved to the chair beside G6 before taking both of her hands.

“I understand, Reise. More than you may think. And I am relieved to see you speaking for yourself.”

Her fingers tightened unexpectedly.

Hard enough to surprise even G6.

G6’s eyes widened slightly.

The Queen’s hands looked delicate.

They were not.

“But,” The Queen continued quietly, “there are consequences neither you nor I can ignore.”

Her gaze flicked briefly toward the crimson dress.

“I will tolerate changes in fashion. I may even tolerate a few wounded egos.”

Her grip tightened once more.

“But I will not permit a scandal capable of destabilizing two houses.”

The ring upon her finger gave off a faint glow, and the pressure disappeared.

“Your parents would never forgive me if I simply allowed their deeply treasured daughter to run free without considering what follows.”

G6’s eyes narrowed.

“I see what you are trying to say, but calling me treasured still sounds suspiciously close to assigning value to me, Your Majesty.”

The Queen’s brow twitched.

Her smile remained.

“Forgive my unfortunate choice of words. I meant only that you are deeply loved by your family.”

“None taken.”

The Queen released her hands and returned to her seat.

Leo approached with tea, and within moments the room outwardly resembled any other royal conversation.

“So,” the Queen said, “you truly intend to enter the Royal Collegium?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Queen studied her.

“Very well. I can authorize the Professional Card, but palace protocol requires an appraisal before registration.”

She looked toward Leo.

“Have the appraisal orb brought here once we finish.”

A flicker of satisfaction crossed G6’s face.

Progress.

“I also heard about yesterday’s tea gathering,” the Queen added.

G6’s expression shifted.

“Keith came to see me afterward. He apparently considered the entire affair the greatest entertainment he had witnessed in weeks.”

G6 rubbed the side of her neck.

“I… may have woken on the wrong side of the bed.”

The Queen laughed, genuinely this time.

“Oh, do not apologize. Keith had me laughing until my sides hurt.”

G6 studied her.

The Queen seemed warm, amused and remarkably easy to speak with.

That was precisely what made G6 suspicious.

People who held this much authority rarely survived by being as uncomplicated as they appeared.

She’s hiding something.

The Queen’s smile faded slightly.

“If only the King’s brother had produced an heir, Prince Dio would never have needed to inherit the Grand Duchy.”

G6’s attention sharpened.

“And perhaps neither of you would have been forced into this arrangement.”

The Queen lowered her cup.

“I am sorry, Reise. Truly. You were placed inside a gilded room long before anyone thought to ask whether you wanted an exit.”

The King’s brother?

G6 filed the information away immediately.

The novel had never mentioned him.

Neither had Reise’s diary.

It was another gap in a growing list, although not yet proof of anything beyond what she already knew: romance novels made terrible intelligence reports.

“The Three Pillars already hold extraordinary political influence,” The Queen continued. “The Upper House watches every shift among them. Adding the Grand Duchy to that balance was never a simple decision.”

For the first time since their conversation began, fatigue showed beneath the Queen’s composure.

“Try to understand Prince Dio as well.”

G6 said nothing.

“He is not heartless.”

The Queen’s gaze lowered.

“He is drowning beneath expectations he did not choose any more than you chose yours.”

G6 was still deciding whether that information mattered when the doors opened.

Leo returned carrying a crystal orb upon a velvet cushion.

“Your Majesty.”

The Queen gestured toward the table.

“Place it there.”

Leo complied.

The orb itself was clear and colorless until faint runes appeared across its surface.

“The appraisal is straightforward,” The Queen explained. “Simply place both palms against the crystal.”

G6 obeyed.

The orb responded immediately.

Soft white light formed deep inside the crystal. It remained entirely contained within the appraisal tool rather than spreading around G6 or beneath her skin, brightening only as the runes across its surface activated.

Then the radiance intensified.

Heat gathered beneath G6’s palms.

Her brows furrowed.

The temperature continued rising until pain shot through her hands.

“Shit! That is fucking hot!”

G6 yanked her hands away with a hiss.

Every shred of noble decorum disappeared.

Tina rushed forward and immediately began inspecting G6’s reddening palms while Edmund and Lilia hovered nearby, equally alarmed.

The Queen stood.

“Dear child, are you quite alright?”

G6 glared at her.

"Do I look alright to you?" G6 asked back, glaring at her as if the Queen had just asked the stupidest question.

The Queen blinked.

Then she reached for G6’s hands.

Her ring glowed again.

A cool sensation passed over the reddened skin, and the pain disappeared almost immediately.

“How strange,” The Queen murmured.

She looked toward the appraisal orb.

Its intense white radiance had already faded, leaving the crystal seemingly dormant once again.

“It has never reacted so violently.”

“Your Majesty…”

Leo’s voice came out barely above a whisper.

The Queen looked toward him.

Runes still remained suspended across the orb’s surface.

Leo stared at them.

Then leaned closer and read them again.

His face slowly lost color.

“The appraisal…”

Silence settled over the room.

Leo swallowed.

“It reads: ‘Mana Reserve: Immeasurable.’”

Nobody moved.

Tina looked toward the orb.

Edmund did the same.

Lilia simply stared at G6.

The Queen’s expression became unreadable.

At the center of it all sat G6 with her newly healed hands resting in her lap, surrounded by people who suddenly looked as though one of the basic laws of their world had stopped making sense.

—To Be Continued…—