The confrontation with the shadow mage left Selena physically drained but mentally exhilarated. She had faced down death and won, turning a fatal trap into a major political success. She was still leaning heavily on the antique sword, the taste of survival metallic on her tongue, when the tension broke.
Another guard, this one a massive, grim-faced brute, rushed down the corridor. He ignored the neutralized assassin and Kaelus's furious presence entirely. His only mission was Selena.
"Cursed Princess!" he barked, his voice devoid of deference. "The King's orders are explicit. You are not to leave your assigned chambers without His Majesty's direct summons!"
He grabbed her arm—not violently, but with a crushing, impersonal strength that left no room for resistance—and forcibly marched her back down the long corridor. Kaelus watched, his expression unreadable, before turning to attend to the assassin. The cold, hard fact of her prison remained: she was a tool, a high-value prisoner whose movements were strictly controlled.
She was shoved back into her chamber, the heavy door slamming shut with a sound of finality. The sheer physical exhaustion hit her then. She collapsed onto the bed, the embroidered silks feeling like stone beneath her weary body. She didn't bother to undress, pulling the heavy velvet coverlet over herself. She had survived. She had defied a plot that should have killed her.
Her mind, usually a restless machine, finally began to drift toward the oblivion of sleep. The last conscious thought was a quiet sense of triumph—the System was silent. It was defeated.
Then, a flicker. Not a screen, but a tiny movement at the foot of her bed.
Selena's eyes snapped open. She was a master of self-preservation; even her unconscious mind was wired for danger. In the dim, magical twilight filtering through the window, she saw them.
Perched directly on the mahogany footboard were two creatures, both utterly incongruous with the gothic, terrifying atmosphere of the Sorcerer King's fortress.
The first was a plump, fluffy guinea pig. It was the color of cinnamon and sugar, with small, twitching whiskers and eyes like shiny black beads. It was wearing a tiny, silver crown that was slightly askew on its head. It was clutching a miniature, translucent blue remote control in its tiny paws.
The second was a fluffy white cat. It was pristine, with large, intelligent, mismatched eyes—one a vivid green, the other a striking gold. It wasn't wearing anything, but its tail, thick and luxurious, was lazily sweeping back and forth across the wood.
Selena stared. This was it. The true form of the System, the terrifying, all-powerful entity that had tormented her for a lifetime. And it was... adorable.
The guinea pig squeaked, a high-pitched, terrified sound, and dropped the remote. It scrambled backward on the footboard, its tiny crown falling off and rolling onto the sheets. It looked utterly frightened, its little paws flailing, as if she were the monster.
The cat, however, merely rolled its green-and-gold eyes with a clear, exasperated sigh. It then stretched, flexing its claws on the wood before settling down. Its magnificent tail gave a slow, deliberate wag back and forth, a gesture that somehow conveyed both boredom and supreme authority.
Selena felt a laugh bubble up in her chest, a silent, hysterical wave of relief and pure, unadulterated awe. They were cute. They were unbelievably, distractingly super adorable. The cosmic horror of her predicament was undercut by the sheer absurdity of her tormentors.
The guinea pig, seeing the cat's calm demeanor, peered out from behind the feline's flank. Its little nose twitched, sniffing the air. It still looked panicked, but now mixed with a greedy, curious desire to reclaim its tiny remote.
The cat finally spoke, though its mouth didn't move. The voice was synthesized, cold, and undeniably male, echoing the chilling commands of the old System.
"The plot demands... sustenance," the cat's voice hissed from the guinea pig's mouth, a horrifyingly cute distortion. The guinea pig then emitted a small, frantic squeak.
Selena pushed herself up onto her elbows. Her terror was gone, replaced by a thrilling, dangerous curiosity. She was no longer facing an incomprehensible force of fate, but two absurd, tiny creatures.
"Sustenance?" Selena whispered, a slow smile spreading across her face. "You mean I have to feed the System now?" She had beaten the plot, survived the assassin, and now she was looking at a guinea pig who thought it was a god.
A new game had just begun, one where the final boss was a magical, fluffy cat and his terrified, tiny accomplice. And Selena, the master manipulator, had just found their weakness: adorable helplessness. Her prison was now a playroom, and she intended to use her wits to make sure her new wardens were very, very comfortable.