The private chamber was a different beast entirely.
Smaller. Warmer. Quiet enough that the silence felt like a physical weight pressing against the ribs. There were no guards to hide behind, no ministers to fill the air with useless chatter. Just two people and a history so heavy it was a wonder the floor didn't cave in.
King Joseph Straus didn't call for a servant. He poured the tea himself, his movements deliberate and practiced. It wasn't about the tea, of course—it was about the woman sitting by the window.
Da-li stared at the sky, her gaze drifting far beyond the palace gardens. She looked at the kingdom as if it were a minor curiosity, a tiny ant farm she had once watched and then forgotten. Joseph placed the cup before her. He sat down, trying to look like a King, but failing.
No matter how many years passed, sitting across from her made him feel like that bruised, desperate prince again.
Da-li took a small, elegant sip. She didn't look at him.
"You've been doing good, I see," she said. Her voice was like silk, but it cut through the silence like a blade.
Joseph exhaled, a sound that was half-laugh, half-sob of relief. "I've been trying to do my best… Empress."
The air in the room suddenly turned into lead. Da-li's eyes shifted. They weren't cold—cold would have been easier to handle. They were firm.
"Don't call me that," she said. A pause. "I am Empress no longer."
Joseph lowered his head, but his voice didn't waver. "Pardon me, but this is something you cannot deny with words. You are the Draco Empress."
Silence followed. It wasn't an argument; it was just two truths colliding in the dark. Da-li knew it. Titles like hers didn't just wash off because you decided to live in the mountains.
"The kingdom is thriving after my departure," she noted, turning back to the window. "Under Raizen's reign… it is in its golden age."
At the mention of *that* name, Joseph's face tightened. "He may be leading exceptionally in your absence… but he still searches for you."
Da-li finally looked at him. Truly looked at him.
"Seekers. Messengers. Knights," Joseph continued, his voice low. "They visit kingdoms constantly. Including mine. The other rulers do not know you are here. I made sure of that."
A faint breeze stirred the curtains. Da-li's expression softened, just for a heartbeat. "And for keeping my whereabouts a secret… I'm grateful to you, Joseph."
Joseph shook his head. "No. It is I who should be grateful to you. Because if it wasn't for you… I would have been executed that day."
Da-li's fingers froze against the porcelain.
*That day.*
Her hand rose, touching her temple as if a phantom pain had suddenly flared up. And just like that, the walls of the palace dissolved into a memory of ice and iron.
Flashback: The Battlefield of Snow and Blood
The world was dead.
There was no other way to describe it. The snow was no longer white; it was a disgusting slurry of slush and blood. Shattered banners lay like discarded rags over the corpses of thousands. The Straus Kingdom had been broken.
At the center of the slaughter, a young Prince Joseph was dragged through the mud. He was forced onto his knees, his face a mask of bruises and despair.
Raizen stood before him. He was younger then, his armor caked in a fresh layer of crimson, his golden eyes burning with a fury that felt like it could melt the snow.
"Look around, Prince," Raizen spat, gesturing to the graveyard of men. "THIS… is what happens to traitors."
Joseph clenched his fists, saying nothing.
"Your father betrayed us," Raizen growled, the pressure coming off him making the air hum. "We lost our King because of him. And now he has lost his kingdom… his life… and now his son dies too."
The surrounding Draconian knights roared. "Kill him!" "Traitor blood!"
Raizen swung his sword. A killing blow.
CLANG.
The sound was sharp, absolute. The blade had stopped mid-air.
Da-li stood there, her bare hand gripping the steel edge. Blood began to drip from her palm, bright red against the dark metal. Her eyes were calm. Terrifyingly calm.
"That's enough, General."
Raizen's eyes widened. He lowered his head, though the anger still vibrated in his voice. "Forgive my rudeness, Empress—but your father died because of his father."
"Yes," Da-li replied quietly. "I lost my father because their king betrayed us." She looked at the field of corpses. "But Raizen… look around you. What have you done?"
"I took revenge," Raizen said, his jaw locking. "A life for a life."
Da-li looked at him, and for the first time, Joseph saw disappointment in her eyes. "A life…? Look around you. How many fathers… sons… brothers… husbands… lost their lives here today?"
The knights hesitated, the weight of her words sinking in. But Raizen didn't.
"Don't get carried away, Your Highness," he hissed, his aura exploding outward. "THIS IS WAR. Return to the palace. I'll handle the rest."
Da-li didn't move. She stepped directly between the blade and the Prince. "You will not lay a finger on the Prince. Or the men protecting what remains of his kingdom."
The battlefield erupted. Raizen's face went dark. "I'm sorry… but neither I nor the knights agree." He turned to the army. "WILL YOU LET THE TRAITOR'S SON WALK FREE!?"
"NO!" the knights thundered. "WE WANT HIS HEAD!"
It wasn't a battle anymore. It was mutiny. Raizen looked at Da-li one last time. "The decision has already been made."
He swung.
SLAP.
The sound was like a thunderclap.
Raizen's head snapped sideways. The wind died. The knights went mute. Da-li had struck him—not as a royal, but as a force of nature.
Then, her eyes changed. They weren't human anymore. They burned with an emerald green light that seemed to pierce the soul. A tail emerged, moving slowly through the snow. An ancient, divine pressure descended, so heavy that men fell to their knees just to breathe.
Da-li grabbed Raizen by the collar, hauling the massive man up to face her.
"I… SAID…!"
The ground beneath her feet shattered.
"YOU WILL NOT LAY—A FINGER—ON THE PRINCE!"
Silence. Complete and absolute.
Raizen stared at her for a long time. Finally, he sheathed his sword with a sharp *tch*. He turned away, but his voice was full of a bitter, prophetic pain.
"This is your problem, Darla. Your kindness… will one day cost this entire kingdom."
The memory sank like a stone in water.
Da-li lowered her hand from her forehead. "I'm fine, Joseph. I would rather not think about the past."
Joseph studied her, then nodded. "As you wish. But what about the future? About both princesses." He leaned forward. "You cannot hide the truth from them forever. When they become adults… they will find out."
Da-li looked down at her tea, her expression tired. "I don't know what will happen. But right now… I cannot tell them. They are children. They are curious. Maybe one day they will be mature enough to understand." Her voice hardened. "But right now—I cannot gamble with my children."
"Yuna… might understand," Joseph admitted. "But your Eunha?"
Da-li's eyes lowered. For the first time, something like real, bone-deep caution crossed her face. "It is… complicated with her."
Joseph frowned. "What do you mean? The little princess appears to be one of the sweetest children I've ever seen."
Da-li smiled, but it was a sad, haunting thing. "It's a lot more complicated than that, Joseph. I cannot take risks with my Eunha."
Scene Shift: The Palace Corridors
The sun was bright, blissfully ignorant of the heavy secrets being traded in the private chamber.
Eunha walked ahead, her hands behind her back, humming a cheerful little tune. Behind her, Andrew and his party followed like nervous bodyguards.
"Why do I feel like that sweet kid is scarier than Madam Da-li?" the Mage girl whispered to Andrew.
Andrew sighed, a weary, veteran sound. "Because your instincts are working."
Eunha spun around, a blindingly bright smile on her face. "I heard that~"
The party stiffened as if they'd been caught by a high-ranking monster. Eunha just giggled and kept walking.
Inside Yuna's room, things were much more peaceful. Princess Iyo sat by the bed, enjoying the rare, quiet conversation.
"Wasn't it lonely in the mountains?" Iyo asked.
"No," Yuna replied. "Mother and Eunha are there."
BANG.
The door didn't just open; it was assaulted.
"ANEKIIIIIIII—!!"
A tiny blur of chaos launched itself through the air. Yuna's eyes widened, then turned impossibly soft. "Eunha?"
THUD.
The little girl hit her like a cannonball. Yuna didn't even flinch. She just smiled—a real, warm smile that made Iyo's heart skip a beat. Yuna melted, hugging Eunha close, rubbing their cheeks together with a series of tiny kisses and "huggies."
Iyo stared, her jaw practically on the floor. This was the same girl who had butchered an Executioner demon? "That's your sister…? She's so cute!"
Eunha stopped. She slowly turned her head toward Iyo. There was a long, dangerous, child-sized silence.
"Who are you?" Eunha asked.
"I'm Iyo—"
Eunha's eyes widened. A mischievous grin spread across her face. "Ohhh yeah. You're my sister's girlfriend."
Princess Iyo.exe stopped functioning.
Her face turned a shade of red that shouldn't be biologically possible. "G-G-GIRLFRIEND—!?"
Yuna sighed. "Eunha… please don't mind her. She's a naughty one."
"SO YOU WANT TO BE!?" Eunha gasped dramatically.
Iyo malfunctioned further. Outside the door, Andrew quietly closed it. He wasn't going in there. That was a S-rank social disaster.
"What are you doing here?" Yuna asked, adjusting Eunha in her arms.
"You've been gone for over a week," Eunha pouted. "Mama got worried. So we came looking for you."
Yuna's posture shifted. "Mother came too?"
"Mhm. She's here. Talking with the king. She told me to bring you to her."
Yuna didn't hesitate. She stood up, ignoring her injuries. "Let's go."
"Wait—you should be careful—" Iyo started.
Yuna looked at her, and the softness in her eyes was undeniable. "I'm okay. I want to see her."
Iyo's hand fell. She realized then that for all her power, Yuna was just a daughter who missed her mother.
Eunha hopped down and grabbed Yuna's hand. "Come on come on~!" She looked back at Iyo and winked. "You can come too, girlfriend."
"I-I AM NOT—!!"
It was too late. The sisters were already out the door. Yuna glanced back one last time, a faint smile on her lips, leaving Iyo's heart in absolute shambles.
Closing: The Departure
The royal hall was quiet when they entered. Yuna saw her mother and stopped.
"Mother… I missed you."
The embrace was tight, free of any royal formality. Then Eunha squeezed her way into the middle. "A warming reunion indeed!"
Yuna picked her up. "You talk too much for your age."
The warmth was beautiful, but it was fleeting. "We should be going now," Da-li said.
Iyo stiffened. She didn't want this to end. Da-li noticed. She pulled the King aside for a moment, then walked over to Iyo. She leaned in and whispered something that made the Princess's heart stop.
"Don't be sad, Princess. Keep growing. Keep learning. When the time is right… we will be taking you home."
Iyo's eyes sparkled. The pink in her cheeks was no longer from embarrassment; it was pure, unadulterated happiness.
At the palace gates, the morning sun was high. Guards and citizens had gathered to watch the "heroes" leave.
Yuna stood before Iyo. The silence was difficult.
"You're really leaving," Iyo said.
"Mother came all the way here for me," Yuna replied. "I can't stay."
Iyo stepped forward and grabbed both of Yuna's hands. The crowd went silent. Andrew looked at the sky.
"Will… will I see you again?" Iyo asked.
Yuna smiled. "You will. Mother already decided it."
Iyo's grip tightened. "Then… I'll become someone worthy of visiting."
"You already are," Yuna said, squeezing back.
Critical Damage Iyo's soul briefly left her body.
"They're definitely getting married someday," Eunha whispered loudly to Andrew.
"M-MISS EUNHA—!?"
The carriage began to move. Yuna gave one final nod. "Take care, Princess."
"Safe travels… Yuna."
The gates opened wide, and the family disappeared into the summer roads. Princess Iyo remained standing there long after the dust settled, her hand on her chest, knowing this was only the beginning of a much longer story.