The heavy doors of the king's private council chamber shut with a sound like the closing of a tomb.
I stood in the center of the carpet, aware of every gilded detail in the room: the dark wood panels, the shelves of war trophies, the way the air smelled faintly of parchment and steel. My wrists itched, not from chains—there were none—but from the knowledge that I might as well be shackled.
The king's gaze was cold, the same cutting blue as Caelan's.
"You," he said, voice like a blade sliding from its sheath, "are going to explain exactly what just happened."
"Which part?" I asked before my survival instincts could kick in. "The exploding cursed mirror, the smoke monster, or the part where I apparently became its favorite chew toy?"
Caelan coughed into his hand—whether to hide a laugh or a warning, I couldn't tell. Lysander, standing to my right, looked like he wanted to strangle me and lecture me at the same time.
The king's expression didn't change. "All of it."
I opened my mouth, but Lysander spoke first. "She acted on impulse, yes, but the shard was the only way to contain the breach. Without it, the entity would have escaped into the city."
Caelan folded his arms, the faintest smirk on his lips. "In other words, she saved everyone. Again."
The king's gaze slid to his son. "Do not mistake recklessness for heroism, Caelan."
"Sometimes they're the same thing," Caelan said evenly.
Oh no. They were going to start sniping at each other. I could practically feel the testosterone thickening the air.
"Gentlemen," I said quickly, "before we turn this into a contest of who's the bigger knight in shining armor—can we focus on the fact that the System threw me into a timed survival event with no warning? I didn't choose this."
The king's brows furrowed. "System?"
Right. That was… not common knowledge.
I glanced at Lysander. His eyes flicked toward the king, then back to me—just a fraction of a second, but enough to convey: Don't.
"I mean," I said smoothly, "my instincts. You know. Gut feeling."
Caelan's smirk deepened, but he didn't call me out.
The king studied me a long moment, then turned to Lysander. "This… fragment. Is it secure?"
"It's in the enchanter's custody," Lysander said. "But until we know who smuggled it into the trial, nowhere in this palace is truly secure."
That hit like a cold splash of water. Because he was right—someone wanted that chaos unleashed. And if they had aimed it at me, that meant I wasn't just an accidental target.
The king finally dismissed us with a wave. "You three—stay within the palace grounds until my investigators finish questioning the witnesses."
Caelan stepped forward immediately. "Father—"
"That is not a request," the king said, his voice carrying the kind of finality that crushed any hope of debate.
---
The moment the door shut behind us, I exhaled. "Well, that could have gone worse. He could've ordered my execution again."
Lysander gave me a side glance. "Don't celebrate yet."
Caelan, walking on my other side, grinned. "I don't know. I think she impressed him."
"I wasn't trying to impress anyone," I said. "I was trying not to die."
We reached the branching corridor where our paths usually split—Lysander to the west wing, Caelan toward the royal apartments, me toward the guest wing. But neither of them moved.
"Uh. Are you two… following me?"
"Yes," they said in perfect unison.
Caelan leaned against the wall, arms folded. "If someone's willing to drop a cursed relic in the middle of a trial, they're not going to wait until the next official event to try again."
"And you need supervision," Lysander added flatly.
"I don't need supervision," I protested. "I need—"
[SYSTEM PROMPT]:
New Side Quest: "Bodyguard Double Bind"
Objective: Endure 3 days under the watch of both Prince Caelan and Duke Lysander without dying, committing murder, or committing… alternative activities.
Reward: ???
My brain screeched to a halt at the phrasing. "…Alternative activities?!"
Caelan's smirk was pure trouble. "Looks like we're roommates, Lady Noir."
Lysander's glare could have frozen boiling water. "Over my dead body."
"Tempting offer," I muttered.
The System timer in the corner of my vision ticked down from 72:00:00.
Three days.
Three. Days.
---
END OF CHAPTER