After a month,
Morning light spilled through the palace windows, gold against the cold marble floors.
Banners of Bolt Kingdom hung high… still stitched with black ribbons.
Cid stood behind Yuri's right shoulder in his new uniform, dark steel plates trimmed with silver, boots polished, dagger, and his gun at his hip.
Elias was on the left, smirking faintly, still adjusting to the weight of his own role.
It was Cid's first day as a sworn Royal Bodyguard. He stood motionless. But inside? His mind was roaring.
The Table of Senates gathered.
Hana leaned against a column, arms folded, rifle slung across her back.
Vara sat with his glaive propped beside her.
Loki Falk, the King's elder brother, didn't speak. Didn't move. He just watched. And that alone was enough to make half the room tremble.
Something woke up inside Cid.
He blinked once. Memories flared.
His past life. Pages of books, systems, maps, and governments.
"I know how to fix this," he realized, pulse hammering.
