If Elias chose, everyone—human and Pokémon alike—could see him now.
He often traveled through the Underground Kingdom with Diancie, occasionally helping Carbinks who encountered trouble.
As a result, most Carbinks knew of the man who seemed human, and who had a close relationship with their queen and princess.
With Dianna's tacit approval, there had even been some… peculiar rumors circulating for a time.
So now, when Elias stepped forward to speak, his words naturally held unusual weight.
Amplified by Telekinesis, his voice echoed through the courtyard, abruptly silencing the noise.
Almost every Carbink instantly fell quiet, including Diancie, who stared at Elias blankly.
One second…
Two seconds…
After those few seconds of tense silence, an even greater uproar erupted in the courtyard.
If the Carbinks had previously only been agitated, Elias's words had pushed them fully into panic.
"Her Highness is still young—how could she possibly lose the ability to create diamonds?!"
"Even if you're close to Her Highness, you can't just spread false information like this!"
"As expected… humans are really cunning…"
Their earlier accusations aimed at Diancie swung sharply onto Elias instead.
They still held respect for Diancie, but toward Elias, every Carbink raised their voices in angry questioning, hoping to force him to retract his statement.
Unfortunately…
Facing their frantic anger, Elias's expression remained unchanged.
Not far away—
Seeing the Carbinks' attention shift away from her, Diancie felt the pressure ease slightly.
Yet she wasn't relieved—instead, her eyes filled with worry for Elias.
"Elias…"
She called his name unconsciously.
She was the princess; this pressure was hers to bear, yet he had stepped forward without hesitation.
In that moment, Diancie's nose tingled as guilt and emotion surged through her heart.
If she were strong enough—strong enough to take the throne and create a new diamond—then he wouldn't have needed to shoulder this burden, would he?
Meanwhile—
As the Carbinks angrily accused Elias of lying, a calm yet authoritative voice suddenly spoke up.
"He isn't lying."
"My body truly can't create a new diamond at the moment."
Dianna stepped out of the room, posture upright.
Even without doing anything special, the pink diamonds covering her body commanded every gaze.
Her voice, neither loud nor soft, clearly reached the ears of every Carbink present.
The previously furious Carbinks fell silent as if someone had gripped their throats.
As their noise died away, each stared in shock as Dianna emerged from the cottage.
The good news: their missing queen had finally appeared.
The bad news: her appearance had only made things worse.
Every Carbink doubted their ears.
Instead of scolding the human, their queen openly admitted his outrageous claim.
Glancing at each other, fear took hold in their eyes.
Seeing the courtyard quiet once more, Dianna drew a steadying breath before speaking again.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner."
"Due to certain circumstances, I suffered a serious injury."
"Although I've recovered, I can no longer create the giant diamond."
Dianna's voice wasn't loud, but it struck the Carbinks like a hammer to the heart.
This was the first time they'd ever heard their queen apologize—further proof that she spoke the truth.
The air froze again; every Carbink's head buzzed.
The giant diamond was the foundation of their existence.
In the kingdom, the queen's authority was absolute, able to command Carbinks at will—precisely because only she could create the giant diamond.
Without that ability, she was merely a slightly more beautiful, differently colored Carbink.
And now Dianna faced precisely this crisis.
Beside Elias, Dianna's small hand trembled slightly.
She appeared calm, but only because she was following Elias's plan.
If their strategy failed, the Carbinks' unrest would engulf the entire Underground Kingdom in disaster.
At that moment, Dianna suddenly felt a gentle hand take hold of hers.
It wasn't warm—in fact, it was somewhat cool—yet it effortlessly calmed her racing heart.
"Haa…"
Dianna exhaled softly, feeling her nerves finally relax.
Gradually, the Carbinks recovered enough to speak again.
"Y-Your Highness… surely you made preparations in advance for a situation like this?"
At the front, an older-looking Carbink spoke first.
Immediately, all eyes turned toward Dianna.
Standing beside Elias, Dianna sensed their restless emotions through his Aura.
If her answer didn't satisfy them, unrest would be inevitable.
Facing their question, Dianna glanced lightly at the speaker and—following Elias's instructions—said clearly,
"Diancie. I will have her inherit my position and create a new diamond."
Her voice carried softly outward.
Diancie, who'd been staring at Dianna and Elias's intertwined hands, jolted in shock.
Her small face drained of color.
W-what was Dianna saying?!
Since when could she create a giant diamond? How could she say something like that so casually?!
In that instant, Diancie felt half her heart freeze.
Even worse—following Dianna's declaration, every Carbink turned to stare at her again.
Their gazes were full of judgment.
"Your Highness, Princess Diancie can't create diamonds yet, can she?"
Diancie's reaction had already betrayed everything.
This time, the Carbinks' voices held an accusing edge, as if their queen was simply brushing them off.
"Not now doesn't mean never," Dianna answered calmly.
But clearly, this explanation wasn't enough.
"Your Highness, Diancie's performance so far has been clear to everyone."
"Gambling the survival of our entire clan on Diancie's uncertain future—someone like that doesn't deserve to lead us."
These firm words elicited nods from many Carbinks around them.
"Exactly. We can't let the clan's survival depend on Diancie's trial and error."
"Your Highness, isn't there any other plan? If not…"
The murmurs and challenges resumed, spreading swiftly throughout the courtyard.
Not far away, Diancie's face only grew paler.