"Elias… that day, was it you…"
In her own room, Diancie lay sprawled on the table, staring at the diamond set before her, whispering the question softly.
Many days had passed. She had tried again and again, but as expected, she had failed to mend the diamond.
Worse still—she discovered in horror that the faint breath of life inside the stone had disappeared.
It was just like an ordinary, lifeless gem now, utterly silent.
That truth shattered her last sliver of hope.
Because of her own mistake, she had lost the only friend she had.
"Elias… I'm sorry."
Hearing no answer to her question, Diancie pressed her lips together, and silently put the diamond away.
Then, after wiping at the corner of her eyes, she whispered an apology.
She felt that her Highness had been right all along—she really was useless.
Tomorrow was the kingdom's festival.
As princess, she ought to stand before the whole clan and create a grand diamond, one filled with blessing.
This had been the custom among Carbink since ancient times.
But inevitably, it would be like every year before—she would step down amidst disappointment.
Thinking this, Diancie buried her little face deeper.
"Mm…"
---
[Today seemed to be the festival of the kingdom. From the moment dawn broke, Diancie had been busy.]
[Because of this, you never found a chance to meet her.]
[Yes—after a period of recovery, you had already erased the lingering effects of that last attack.]
Inside her room.
Diancie was carefully polishing the diamonds on her body, making sure they gleamed.
No matter the outcome, as a princess, she had to at least keep her bearing.
What she could not see was a half-transparent figure, sitting quietly behind her, reading a book.
Sususu—
Elias turned another page.
It was a human book Diancie had placed by her bedside, seemingly for studying human writing.
It was easy to see her determination to learn—she had placed it in the most prominent spot.
There was even a pen set beside it, perhaps meant for taking notes.
But when Elias had lifted the book with telekinesis, he found a thick layer of dust upon it.
Clearly, its owner hadn't opened it for a long time.
Elias flipped through a few pages, but being by Diancie's side so constantly, he couldn't understand it either.
And yet—whether illusion or not—he felt a strange familiarity with the words.
It seemed like it wouldn't take long for him to learn them.
By then, Diancie had finished her preparations.
And in the instant she turned back—
Thud—
The book that had been floating in midair dropped sharply to the ground with a crisp sound.
Diancie jumped, shrinking instinctively to the side.
Only after realizing it was just a book falling did she exhale slowly.
"How did it fall all the way over here…"
She went to pick it up, frowning slightly.
She was sure she had placed it neatly before…
After returning the book to its spot, her cheeks flushed for no reason.
That book on human writing had been something she'd asked the clan to bring back for her.
At first she had intended to study hard, and once she mastered it, to read the documents her Highness had given her.
But she hadn't expected human writing to be so difficult.
After only a few pages, she had lost interest—and forgotten it altogether.
"Those books… better to let Her Highness read them to me."
Diancie muttered softly to herself.
Her Highness didn't know many human words either, but still more than she did.
With some guessing, she could at least piece together the general meaning.
Before long, a Carbink arrived to summon Diancie.
Just before leaving, she hesitated—but in the end, chose to carry her "Elias" along.
Though the crack on its surface still hurt to look at…
She had grown used to keeping the diamond close.
If she left it behind, she would feel far less safe.
They arrived at the very heart of the clan's settlement, and Diancie finally stopped.
Elias followed quietly, taking in the sight of the Carbink kingdom.
Though called a kingdom, it was after all a home of Pokémon—the structures were simple.
Every building was built of stone, adorned with diamonds as decoration.
And at the very center of it all, suspended in midair, floated a massive pink diamond.
Its glow lit half the underground, dazzling and bright.
Elias remembered Diancie telling him about it before.
It was said to have been created by the current queen.
Not only a symbol, but the energy core of the entire kingdom—feeding life into every ore vein.
If anything happened to it, the Carbink kingdom would face disaster.
And this too was the duty of every queen.
Which meant—one day, Diancie would have to create one as well.
Thinking of her current abilities, Elias suddenly understood her impatience.
"Your Highness."
At that moment, Diancie called out timidly.
From not far away—
Another Pokémon approached, looking seventy percent like Diancie, but with more elegance, her diamonds shining brighter.
When she saw the cracked gem in Diancie's arms, her brows furrowed, barely noticeable but real.
"Why are you still clutching that stone?"
Ever since she had picked it up, Diancie had hardly let it leave her side.
The queen had told her many times—it was nothing but a common diamond.
No spirit lived in it, no life energy pulsed within.
Everything was nothing more than Diancie's own fantasy.
And now, the gem was cracked, on the verge of shattering—and still, she clung to it.
It made the queen feel an anger like iron refusing to be forged.
After all, who could trust a princess who still carried around a childhood toy to inherit the throne?
"Elias is my friend."
Diancie tightened her arms around the gem, protesting softly.
Hearing this, the queen sighed.
She thought to herself that perhaps, when she had chosen the stone to bring Diancie into being, she had picked the wrong one.
How else could such a future queen have been born…
"I don't care what you do in private."
"But when you step onstage to create a diamond, you are not allowed to bring that stone with you. Do you understand?"
Failing to create a diamond was already enough to disappoint the clan. If, on top of that, she went up holding a toy—
Even as queen, her face would burn.