Lucas's Perspective:
Sylaphine tilted her head ever so slightly, her expression serene yet sharp.
"Well… you have certainly taken your time," she said, her voice smooth.
Kaiser stepped forward with a faint smile, unbothered by the watchful gazes of the fairies surrounding them.
"Well, I was in deep thought, Queen Sylaphine."
Her emerald eyes lingered on him, curious.
"About?"
"You," he answered without hesitation.
A quiet ripple ran through the hall.
Sylaphine descended from her dais with a slow, deliberate grace, each step as if the air itself moved aside for her. "Oh? And what of me?"
Kaiser met her approach head-on, taking his own steps forward until the space between them narrowed. His smile didn't falter.
"I'd like to marry you."
What.
For a heartbeat, no one breathed. Then the air bristled—every fairy warrior trained to guard the labyrinth snapped into stance, their weapons raised and pointed at Kaiser. Anger and disbelief shimmered across their faces, turning the banquet's calm into an armed storm.
Yet Kaiser stood as if none of it existed.
And Sylaphine, instead of lashing out, lifted her hand.
"Stop." Her voice alone disarmed them. "Let him speak."
Kaiser chuckled softly, his smirk playful. "Well, I appreciate you saving my life, Lady Sylaphine. Those angry fairies of yours would've surely struck me down without mercy."
Her lips curved—just slightly—as she studied him. "Why do you love me?"
Kaiser's eyes softened, though his smile remained. "I have no reason. To be with you… is all I want."
A hush deeper than silence filled the banquet.
Sylaphine's gaze did not waver. "I am sorry to say this, Sir Kaiser, but I must refuse—"
"Eyes talk," Kaiser interrupted.
Her brows drew together. "Excuse me?"
"Your eyes are telling me you want to be loved."
"That is nonsense," she replied, though her voice wavered just faintly—like the ripple of a harp string brushed too lightly.
Kaiser tilted his head, as though he'd stumbled upon a revelation he hadn't known he was searching for.
Sylaphine's smile faded, her expression sharpening again.
"You are not the first to confess to me. Thousands have spoken words of love across the centuries I have lived. Do not think yourself unique in this."
And yet, even as she said it, I could see it—the way she lingered on him, the way her curiosity betrayed her restraint. She, a queen who had lived through countless lifetimes, was watching Kaiser as though he were something new.
"I'm sorry, Sir Kaiser, but I must refuse. You are reckless," Sylaphine said, her voice calm, though the hall trembled under it.
"You mistake me," Kaiser replied. "It isn't recklessness. It's clarity. I saw you once, and that was enough."
"Enough?"
"Enough to know that a thousand lifetimes without you would feel worse than death."
…Bro. Did he just—did he just drop a line that smooth in front of everyone?
「 Man's a player. He's playing full-on Shakespeare. 」
Sylaphine's emerald eyes flickered, the smallest ripple of surprise before she regained herself.
"You do not know me. You know nothing of what I carry, or what it means to lead my people. Do you think such words can sway me?"
"They're not meant to sway you," Kaiser said. "They're simply the truth. I don't love you because of duty, or power, or legend. I love you because when I saw you, I finally understood what my heart was built for."
Dead silence. Even the air particles were holding their breath.
She let out a soft breath. "Love at first sight… Do you know how many men have sung that same tune to me? You are not the first, and you will not be the last."
"And yet," Kaiser said, his tone unshaken, "none of them were me."
「 …Bro thinks he's the main character. 」
She shook her head, faintly smiling though her words were firm. "This is madness. You are young, human, short-lived. I have lived seven millennia without faltering. What could you possibly give me?"
"My forever," Kaiser answered. "Even if it's shorter than yours."
…Okay, I'll admit. That one hit.
Sylaphine's gaze softened for a fraction before sharpening again. "You are insane."
"Then let me be insane," Kaiser said. "Because sanity without you would be unbearable."
Sylaphine's expression darkened, her wings trembling with sharp irritation as she stepped back.
"Enough," she snapped, her voice trembling not with fear but with fury.
"Do you think you're special? Do you think you're different from the rest of them?" Her glare was like steel.
"No man has ever made me feel love. Not a single one has ever made me shy, or blush, or… or feel anything like that."
She raised her chin higher, defiant.
"It is impossible. Do you hear me? Impossible."
"I was not born for love, nor for your childish affections. My path is mine alone."
"You will not change me. Not you. Not anyone."
"And if you try… you will be punished for your arrogance."
Her words were like blades, each one cutting deeper, leaving the air frozen.
But Kaiser only took a few steps forward, calm, deliberate, his eyes never leaving hers.
He glanced at the tiny fairy she held protectively in her hand, then looked back at her with a softened gaze.
"Adorable. Can I pet, please?" he asked, almost too casually.
Sylaphine let out an exasperated sigh, irritation melting just a little, her lips tightening.
"…Fine. Just a little. If it means you'll stop pestering me with this nonsense about love."
Everyone thought he would reach for the fairy. Instead, his hand rose slowly—too slowly—and settled gently on Sylaphine's head.
Her eyes widened.
"You're really cute, Sylaphine," Kaiser said softly, brushing her silken hair, stroking her head as if she were no different than the small girl she tried so hard not to be.
The world froze.
Every fairy gasped, wings fluttering in disbelief.
And Sylaphine—Sylaphine stood frozen, unable to react, her face caught between shock and something she couldn't name.
"I love you," Kaiser whispered, his voice trembling yet unwavering.
"And I am so, so, so sorry for making your life harder because of that."
His hand slid gently down, fingers brushing against her cheek before lifting her chin, tilting her face until her emerald eyes were locked with his.
"You don't have to be so strong all the time."
"I love you the way you are."
"I want the best for you."
He paused, his thumb brushing ever so lightly against her chin."I wish to make everything okay for you."
And then, with a daring softness that left the entire court breathless, he whispered—"Because you can be a good girl."
He let his hand go.
The silence shattered.
In the next heartbeat, Kaiser was swarmed—furious fairies rushing him all at once, tugging, biting, grabbing onto his arms and cloak.
"Confiscate him!" one shrieked."Seize the insolent human!" cried another.
Kaiser was dragged back, pulled in every direction, yet his gaze lingered on Sylaphine—who still hadn't moved.Who still hadn't spoken.Her face, for the first time, unreadable.
"I'll be down by wherever they're taking me," Kaiser said, hands still loose despite the mob of fairies dragging him away.
He turned back at Sylaphine, grin wide."Think of me, okay?"
Bro. Did this guy just drop a please-don't-forget-me-when-I'm-in-prison line like it was smooth?
「 Probability he's a rizzlord: 50%. Probability he's a autistic: also 50%. 」
Yeah, thanks for the coin toss, system.
Kaiser laughed as he was shoved closer to the doors.
"If you ever come down to where these guys are throwing me—don't worry. I'll leave a spot in my heart for you while I wait!"
And with that, the fairies hurled him out. Door slammed shut. Done.
I dragged a hand down my face, half-hiding from the embarrassment radiating off him like nuclear fallout.
"My god, that guy is surely insane…"
「 Love can surely change people. Trust. 」
"Yes bro, trust."
「 Kaiser in love. Trust. 」
"Yes man, trust…"
I sighed, ready to mentally bury, when my eyes landed on Celia.
She was standing rigid, shoulders trembling just slightly. Her expression was carved from ice, but her eyes… yeah, no mistaking that kind of heartbreak.
"Celia—" I called out, but she didn't even pause.
She turned on her heel and left the banquet, steps sharp, controlled, like someone barely keeping herself from breaking in front of everyone.
I leaned back in my chair, staring at her retreating figure. "I hope she'll be okay…"
And then—I caught it.
Sylaphine's face.
Her cheeks had the faintest tint of red. Just barely, but it was there.
Wait. Wait-wait-wait—did she just blush?!
「 According to my arbitrary bias analysis, Kaiser managed to make an impact. By treating her not as a queen, but as a girl. For once, someone saw her not as a symbol, not as a leader, but… special. 」
I blinked."…Cold, bro."
「 Player. 」
I let out a breath, leaning against the back of my chair, staring at the queen still holding that newborn fairy as if nothing happened. But I knew.
I knew.
He actually left a mark.
I could only sit there, waiting, wondering what the hell this mess was going to turn into next.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The banquet had passed without further incident, save for Kaiser's bold confession of love. Laughter, music, and fairy lights had carried the night, yet for Sylaphine the revelry was little more than a veil. She smiled, she nodded, she spoke when spoken to, but something inside her had shifted—small, imperceptible, but enough to leave her mind unsettled long after the festivities waned.
By the time the halls emptied and most fairies retreated into sleep, the palace felt quieter, the lanterns dimmed to their pale glows. Sylaphine returned to her chambers, heavy thoughts trailing her steps.
Lucas, elsewhere in his assigned room, leaned against the desk with his system whispering strategies in his mind. They dissected the problem of the Frost Crawler—weak points, contingencies, resource costs. In between, he found room to curse Kaiser for his theatrics, shaking his head at the man's reckless nerve. But when his gaze flicked to the clock—past one in the morning—something else crept into his mind.
Celia.
On impulse, he made his way through the dim corridors of the palace, boots soft against stone, until he stood before her door. He knocked lightly once, then again. No answer.
"System. Presence inside?"
No human signatures detected within the perimeter, came the calm reply.
A frown cut across his face. He checked again, as if doubting even the system, but the result was the same. Celia wasn't there. She wasn't anywhere inside the palace.
Lucas's jaw tightened. The urge to search outside tugged hard, but so would suspicion. After Kaiser's stunt, guards were watchful, and the royal fairies less than trusting of their human guests. He couldn't risk drawing unwanted attention. Not yet.
Instead, he prowled the palace once more, slipping through familiar corners, confirming for himself what the system had already told him: Celia was gone.
With no answers and no trail, he returned to his room and buried himself again in plans. At some point, exhaustion claimed him, head resting against folded arms on the desk.
It was only at dawn's edge, the faintest light cresting the horizon, when Celia finally returned. The door to her chambers creaked open, shut with a firm click, and she pressed her back against it as though to hold the world out.
Her legs gave way. She slid down to the floor, knees drawn up, shoulders trembling, her body crumbling behind the locked door.
Whatever had taken her from the palace that night had left her too broken to stand.
Celia's Perspective:
I just… wanted him to love me.
The thought tore itself out before I could stop it. My lips trembled as I pressed my sleeve to my face, wiping the tears that wouldn't stop dripping down. I hated this—crying and crying like I was nothing more than a pathetic child.
But my chest hurt so much. It felt like something had shattered inside, a wound that refused to close.
Why her… not me…?
I curled tighter, tucking my knees to my chest as if it could hold me together. My nails dug into my arms through the fabric, scratching faint lines I barely felt. If I let go, I thought I'd just spill everywhere. My body trembled, small hiccups escaping, and every breath made my throat sting.
Then the darkness shifted in front of me, rippling until Crownless ascended out of my shadow, kneeling low like the servant he was. His form loomed there, head bowed, voice soft but heavy with command.
"My queen. It is soon turning morning. You should try to get some sleep."
I shook my head, words catching as they tumbled out. "G-Go away…"
Crownless didn't move. His voice carried a kind of patience that only irritated me more. "Please, my queen. Tell me… why won't you rest? Sleep?"
I pressed my hand against my chest, clawing the fabric as tears blurred my vision again.
"H-He… he didn't say goodnight to me…" The sob ripped out of me before I could stop it.
My lips quivered so hard I had to bite down to speak. "I c-can't… I c-can't sleep… without him telling me goodnight…"
A pause, then his voice, calm and unyielding. "Do you mean Kaiser?"
I nodded weakly, biting my lip so hard I tasted iron. "…Yes…"
The word came out small, broken. My hands trembled as I pressed my forehead against my knees.
"I… I miss him saying goodnight to me… I can't sleep… I can't…" My voice cracked to a whisper, barely audible, like a child clutching at a dream that slipped away.
"My queen," Crownless said, steady and unchanging. "What we've set up will take a few days. How do you plan to sleep until then?"
My throat burned as I forced the words out. "…I'll ask Lucas… f-for sleeping pills…"
It was a lie. I didn't want pills. I wanted his voice. Only his voice.
My arms shook as I waved Crownless away, face buried against my knees. "Now… go away…"
He bowed wordlessly, melting back into my shadow, leaving me alone in the silence again. Alone with the weight in my chest.
Alone without him.
She was prettier than me.That's it, right? That's the reason. That's all it takes for him to look at her like that.
Because she was born with that perfect face, that cursed beauty.
My hands clenched so tightly my nails cut into my palms, but it still didn't hurt as much as the thought of him smiling at her.
I hate him…I hate him so much for making me feel this way…
But more than him… I hate her.
That bitch. That flawless little fairy princess. She should just drop dead. Slit her own throat, choke on her beauty, vanish from this world.
Go kill yourself.
I want to tear her apart until nothing remains but pieces of what she thinks makes her so special.
I fucking hate her. I hate her. I hate her. I hate her!
My head buzzed with images — her face crushed beneath my hands, her blood dripping down like paint, her voice begging, crying, shattering, until finally silent. My lips trembled, curling into something between a smile and a snarl.
She was just born beautiful. That's her only crime. That's all. That's the only reason he looks her way.
And if she accepts him… if she dares to take that step toward him, if she even whispers yes to him—
I'll kill her.No hesitation. No mercy. No forgiveness.
I can already imagine it: her gasps for air, her tears, her voice breaking while I whisper to her, reminding her who really deserves him, who really loves him.
Me. Not her. Never her.
But… I tried to breathe, tried to steady myself.
Sylaphine won't accept him. She's too proud, too perfect. She'll reject him, I know she will. So I don't have to take it that far… not yet.
Still… if she does—then she's already dead.
Even if he doesn't choose me, even if I'm not the prettiest, I still love him. I love him more than myself, more than my own life, more than the air in my lungs.
Giving him up would hurt more than death itself.
So I'll keep holding on. No matter the cost.
I rose to my feet, my legs unsteady but burning with something sharper than grief. I wiped the tears away with the back of my hand, only for another sob to claw its way out of me. I crushed it down, smearing the wetness across my cheeks, refusing to let it win.
"...Kai…" I whispered into the silence, my voice breaking."I hope my absence gives you the peace my love couldn't…"
But peace wasn't something I would ever give the rest of the world.
I smiled through the last of my tears, a jagged smile that felt too wide for my face.
"I won't just sit back and cry like before."
Anyone who tried to take him from me—anyone who thought they could stand in my way—would be destroyed.
"They'll learn soon enough not to mess with me."
She'll soon die.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sylaphine's Perspective:
It was a dream.
The world around me was painted in soft greens and silver light, a forest cradling me in its embrace. There I stood—my younger self—delicate and unburdened, standing beside a human boy.
He was taller than me, yet his face blurred like fog, as though time itself refused to let me remember him clearly.
He placed his hand upon my head, ruffling my hair as he laughed."Ha, you lose again, Sylaphine."
I puffed my cheeks, pouting like the child I was then. "Stop treating me like a child! Soon, I'll become queen."
He only chuckled, his voice warm, careless in the way only mortals could be."Until then, you're just my friend. So stop being so bratty—and catch me!"
With that, he darted off between the trees, his laughter trailing behind him.
And I—forgetting the dignity of royalty, forgetting duty and burden—ran after him. I chased him as though nothing else in the world mattered. For in those fleeting moments, I wasn't the heir to the throne.
I wasn't the future queen. I was simply a girl, playing in the forest with the one person who dared to treat me as if I were ordinary.
He was human. Fragile, fleeting, destined to wither before me… yet I trusted him. More than I should have.
My heart would trip whenever he looked at me with that straightforward honesty. When he teased me, called me cute—even though I was meant to be regal, untouchable—I couldn't help but feel shy. He was so disarmingly real.
The memory began to dissolve as all dreams do. Still, his voice echoed in me.We pretended to be friends, but both of us knew it was never only that.
How I wished I could return. To the moment he first spoke my name. To the first time our hands met as he pulled me to run, to play, to forget the crown upon my head.
If only…
My eyes opened slowly. Morning light spilled through the curtains of my chamber, golden and cold. A tear had slipped from the corner of my eye, and I brushed it away with my fingertip, startled that it had fallen at all.
For seven thousand years, I had taught myself not to cry.
And yet, in the quiet of my own dreams, the child in me still wept.
I rose from my silken bed, the weight of the crown invisible yet ever-present on my shoulders, and sat upright. Another day awaited me—another day where I would be queen.
But in the fragile silence between dawn and duty, I allowed myself to remember what it felt like to be loved.
I sometimes want to remember the past… but I can't.
My hand slides around my other arm, and a chill runs through me.
When I was sad, I used to climb over the verge of the mountain to watch the stars—to see the lights of the skies that guided us fairies.
To the fourteen-year-old me, it was truly magic. Especially when my tears blurred the night, and the fragments of comets glittered like a thousand promises.
But now… even if I try, I can't remember that past.
As I traveled home, everything changed shape each time I blinked. Thousands of years slipped by like a dream, and I was left standing alone in the twilight.
I kept standing there, until someone finally reproached me—reminded me of my duties.
But why… why do these memories come back now?
I wrap my arms around myself, feeling the weight of the centuries I've lived only to guide my people… to keep the fairy race alive.
But still—why?
A glimpse of him comes to me, a flashback of gentle laughter, his hand patting my head.
Why did I have to become an adult?Why did I have to grow up?Why did I have to forget my childhood?
I turn toward the window at my right. The sunset bleeds across the horizon.
It feels unbearably lonely. I rub my eyes, asking myself if I'm truly beneath the rays of the sun.
No… we're still hiding in our labyrinth.
It's the same light outside as before.
And yet, I don't want to step down from this place. Not yet.
I just want to see the blue sky... the same way I used to.
I pressed my hand against my cheek.
It's impossible, Sylaphine. Stop thinking about it.
My fingers trembled as I tried to recall that boy from seven thousand years ago. But I couldn't. Not his face. Not even his name.
And yet…
A sudden heat spread across my cheeks.
He had been the boy version of me—someone who understood me, who treated me as if I were normal, not a queen or someone special.
To be honest… I miss that version of myself. The happy me. The bright me. The me that laughed without restraint. The me that's gone.
But she can't return. It's far too late. He's long gone.
So why…?
I covered both cheeks now, startled by the warmth burning under my skin.
Last night's memory surfaced without permission—Kaiser's hand gently patting my head, his voice soft, calling me not a queen, not "Your Majesty," but— cute.
Cute. As if I were nothing more than a girl desperate for comfort.
It can't be… why?
The blurred face of that ancient boy overlapped with Kaiser's for the briefest of moments, a cruel trick of memory, and I shook it away, clinging to composure.
The clock reminded me of my duties. It was time to rise, to dress, to be responsible.
But his words…
"I love you," Kaiser had whispered, his voice trembling yet unyielding."And I'm so, so, so sorry for making your life harder because of it."
"Because you can be a good girl."
I pressed my hand to my forehead and exhaled sharply. Why was it so hard now? Why did everything unravel when I thought of him?
Forcing myself up, I stretched and readied myself for another day of duty, another day of wearing the crown I could never cast off.
And yet, beneath it all, I longed for something else. Something simple.
To be treated right.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kaiser's Perspective:
Hmm... That should do it...
I smirked at the rough sketches scattered across the sheet before me—half-drawn diagrams, scribbled equations, notes that looked like a lunatic's rambling but made perfect sense in my head. The weapon I had in mind wasn't pretty, but then again… neither is survival.
It was built for one purpose: to deal with the trickery I knew was coming.
Deception. The true art of life. It always waits for you in the corner of trust.
And me? I don't just play games.
I leaned back against the damp wall of my so-called "room." More like a dungeon cell dressed up with pity. The place stank of moss and wet stone, one candle barely keeping the shadows at bay. Around me were the scraps the fairies had coughed up after I demanded them: broken gears, twisted metal plates, a bent toolbox missing half its tools, a scale, a roller, and a big sheet of paper I'd claimed as my canvas. Equations and chemistry notes littered it, the kind of mess that would give anyone else a headache but gave me clarity.
Tools of creation… in the middle of a jail. Poetic, isn't it?
I exhaled, setting down the hammer for a moment. The frost crawler—or whatever that oversized popsicle monster was—loomed over every calculation.
Will it be easy? Nope.Worth it? Definitely.
Three birds with one stone. I grinned at the thought.
The sound of hammer against metal echoed through the stone chamber, sharp and final, like I was chiseling fate itself.
Fear is "What if."Faith is "Even if."
That's the difference.
I become whatever I need to be in the moment. A craftsman. A fighter. A lover. Or just a man with too much sarcasm and not enough patience. Doesn't matter—whatever it takes, I fit myself into the plan.
I slammed the hammer again, sparks dancing, the rhythm of war taking shape in my hands. Even if I'm playing with fire, winning is all that matters.
Destroying those primordial beasts… is all that matters.
Because if I succeed—if I carve my way through this chaos—then maybe, just maybe…
Elfie comes back to me.
My hand faltered for the first time, the hammer resting against the metal instead of crushing it. Something heavy pressed down inside me, a weight no math formula could solve. I tried to shake it off, but it lingered.
Was it her absence?
No... not Elfie's absence.
Who's was it?
That soft, unspoken presence I'd grown used to… suddenly gone.
I forced a smirk, though no one was around to see it.
"Mhm. She'll be giving me a soft visit soon. Waiting on you Sylaphine."
The words echoed hollow, even to me.
Still, I raised the hammer again. Whatever this ache was—loneliness, regret, or something worse—I buried it beneath the sound of metal striking metal.
Winning was all that mattered.