The silence in the conservatory was so thick you could hear a lotus petal drop. The
four sisters—Mina, Liana, Yuna, and Jasmine—stood frozen like beautiful, pale
statues, their faces varying shades of ghost-white as they stared at the fainted boy
and his equally unconscious lizard. The comedy of the "kidnapping" had evaporated,
replaced by the crushing weight of the lizard's revelations.
Mina was the first to move, her hands trembling as she adjusted her floral crown. "Six
wives?" she whispered, her voice cracking. "Seven children? Two empires?
Jasmine... you didn't marry a boy; you married a walking geopolitical catastrophe!"
Liana, who had been bold enough to kiss him moments ago, was now clutching her
lute like a shield. "And our brother... our eldest brother his student? The one who left
with a 100,000-soldier army? He's just one of his students in Virella now?" The sisters
fell silent, staring at Jee-shahn's peaceful, sleeping face. The "Monster" looked so
innocent in his shell-patterned socks, a stark contrast to the chaos he represented.
Hours bled into each other. The moon set, the sun rose, and the afternoon light
eventually began to pour through the glass. Finally, Jee-shahn and the Azure Lizard
stirred. They sat up with dark, sunken eyes, looking like beings who hadn't seen a
proper bed in a millennium. Jee-shahn's sleepy gaze landed on the four sisters, who
were still standing there, their eyes dark and cruel as they loomed over the bed.
"Lizard," Jee-shahn croaked, glancing at his head. "Did something happen? Are
they... are they dead? Why are they staring?"
Before the lizard could answer, the "statues" came to life. All four sisters, including
Jasmine, let out a synchronized wail and lunged at the bed. They threw their arms
around Jee-shahn's neck, squeezing so hard he could barely breathe, while a flood of
tears and—less elegantly—snot poured from their eyes and noses.
"That lizard told us everything!" they screamed in a chaotic union. "Six wives! Seven
children! Seven students! Ruler of two empires! You're frustrated and taking a
vacation in our Aurex empire, and now you want to leave because of us?!"
Jee-shahn managed a small, weary smile. "The lizard said it wrong," he rasped.
The sisters instantly loosened their death-grip. Hopeful smiles broke through their
messy, tear-stained faces. "He was wrong?" they asked in unison.
Jee-shahn nodded solemnly, then began counting on his fingers. "I have four wives,
two sons, and four students—including your elder brother, Sparta. And yes, I have
two empires to rule. All of that was torturing me before I got to your Suiseiryu
empire".
The sisters froze, their smiles twitching as the math didn't actually make the situation
much better. Jee-shahn's expression suddenly turned cold as he looked at the lizard,
which had been knocked to the floor during the sister-stampede. "Lizard, tell me.
Where is the best place to restart my vacation?"The tiny blue lizard scrambled up, shaking itself of. "Master, we've already explored
the North and the South. Let's go West. I hear the Cold Mountain of Myth is a place of
absolute silence".
Jee-shahn stood from the bed, his eyes fixed on the horizon. "Then let's see how
beautiful the peace of the West is".
But as he tried to take a single step, the four sisters—Jasmine included—let out a
fresh howl of despair. They lunged again, grabbing onto his robes, their faces once
again a mess of tears and snot as they refused to let their "Monster" walk away into
the sunset.