Morning light bled through the palace windows, but I had been awake long before it touched the floor. Not because of danger, not this time—because of the silence that followed Haruna's rescue.
A silence that tasted like waiting.
Lala stirred beside me, her breathing soft, unguarded. She blinked awake slowly, then reached out, fingertips brushing my chest where I had shaped myself into something she could hold.
"You didn't sleep," she whispered.
"I don't need to," I replied. My voice was steady, but inside, the system hummed with restless energy.
[Hidden Mission Completed – Choice of Self][Reward Unlocked – Secret Mission Available]
But it wasn't telling me what the mission was. Not yet.
Her hand lingered. "You're thinking too much again."
"I have to," I said. "Your father won't forgive yesterday's… correction."
She bit her lip. "He'll come again, I know. But Scourge… don't let them turn you into what they already fear."
Her words cut deeper than fire or blades. Because she was right. Part of me wanted to burn, consume, make the entire court understand that I was not prey. But another part—her part—wanted me to prove I was more than hunger.
Before I could answer, the throne hall echoed with voices. Sephie's calm tone, layered with authority. Gid's impatient roar. The guards shifting, armor clattering.
I extended my senses through the walls, through the stone. I felt them. The king pacing like a caged beast. Sephie holding him back with words sharp enough to cut steel.
But then another thread—two threads.
One was Aiko's voice, faint, whispering from deep inside the system. [Why do you hesitate?]
The other was the new voice—the male one—dark, urging. [They'll never accept you. Strike first. End this game.]
I pressed them both down. "No," I muttered under my breath.
Lala looked up. "No what?"
"No one decides for me."
Her eyes widened. She didn't understand, not fully, but she felt the weight in my tone. She placed her palm over mine, squeezing. "Then decide with me."
The doors slammed open. A soldier stumbled inside, half-broken, bowing low. "Your Majesty—he's—he's awake."
Gid's laughter shook the palace. "Good. Let him come. Let him face me in daylight!"
Sephie's voice snapped like lightning. "Enough! This is not a duel, Gid. This is our daughter's life. You should have told me everything the moment Peke warned you!"
For a moment, the entire hall froze. The king silenced. The queen furious.
And me?
I stood between them, Lala's warmth grounding me, the system pulsing inside me with promises of hidden missions and greater power.
I could destroy them. Or protect them. Or walk away.
But whatever came next—
It would be my choice.