Riner arrived at the main gate of the palace, finding it eerily quiet. No other kings were present. He gestured to a warrior who had caught his eye. Rumors of the Fire King’s temper were well-known, and the warrior flinched in surprise before quickly bowing his head.
“Yes, Your Majesty,” the warrior stammered.
“Report the situation,” Riner commanded.
The warrior stood at attention, reciting his report with the stiffness of a novice. “Yes, Your Majesty. The Concord King led the Anikas to evacuate outside the palace. Upon receiving a report of unusual lark activity in the palace’s northern sector, he went to investigate. The Dark King was informed that some Anikas hadn’t yet evacuated, so he entered the palace to find them, but hasn’t returned…”
As the warrior droned on, Riner sensed another presence and turned his gaze. In the distance, a man with distinctive blue hair was approaching rapidly. Riner dismissed the warrior with a wave of his hand, and the knight, abruptly cut off mid-report, quickly closed his mouth and retreated.
Kasser, mirroring Riner’s earlier actions, glanced around the area. “Fire King. Are you alone?” he asked.
“I just got here too,” Riner replied. “Why is it so quiet here? Shouldn’t the monsters be wreaking havoc by now?”
Kasser, ensuring he was prepared, pulled out a notebook. Riner, following suit, retrieved his own.
Nicholas’s notes were extensive. In addition to Alber’s request to preserve the ritual site, there was a record of encountering Sang-je, who had wreaked havoc in the prison. Crucially, the notes detailed how Alber was currently holding back the monster with a spell, preventing its escape—vital information that needed to be shared among the kings.
“They’re leading the larks out of the Holy City? Then we should send soldiers to hunt them down,” Riner suggested.
Kasser fell into thought. Akil had noted that Anika Flora was destroying the palace. That was troubling. It was suspicious that Flora had led the larks outside the city. “Let’s think that over a bit more. The soldiers might be put in danger,” he cautioned.
“Danger? Do you think Anika Flora would use the larks to attack our soldiers?” Riner asked, perplexed.
“It’s possible,” Kasser replied, his tone serious.
Riner pondered the possibility. Would she really do something like that? But he remained silent, acknowledging that Kasser likely knew Flora’s character better than he did.
Both Riner and Kasser turned their heads simultaneously. Emerging from the remnants of a split iron door, cleaved in two by Akil’s sword, was Pered, carrying an Anika in his arms.
Cordelia clung tightly to a notebook filled with pressed flowers, her face buried against Pered’s chest. When he slowed his pace, she lifted her head.
Her slightly red, swollen eyes and nose bore the marks of recent tears; her face clearly showed the aftermath of a good cry.
Noticing the two kings, Cordelia gasped in surprise and quickly buried her face deeper into her husband’s chest.
“I’ll take this person to a safe place and return shortly,” Pered said, his figure disappearing into the distance.
Riner murmured to himself, “Is it Anika who knows the Dark King well…?”
“It’s Anika Cordelia,” Kasser replied.
“Who’s that?” Riner asked, his ignorance evident.
Kasser looked at him in mild disbelief. “The queen of the Dicus Kingdom.”
“Ah…” Riner muttered, feeling a pang of embarrassment. His primary focus had been on hunting larks, leaving little room for keeping track of the personal lives of other kings.
But wasn’t it unusual for her to be the queen of Dicus? Their closeness seemed atypical…
Suddenly, Riner questioned the validity of his own “typical” perspective. He had observed the diverse relationships between kings and their Anika queens. The royal couple in the Kingdom of Hashi, for instance, defied the stereotypical “king and Anika queen” dynamic.
Hmm.
Topics like marriage and heirs had always been distant thoughts for him. His teasing of Anika Jin had been more of a playful banter, and he found more amusement in provoking the Fourth King’s temper. But now, for the first time, he genuinely wondered, Should I start thinking about marriage, too?
Not long after, Akil returned, and Pered rejoined the group. Around that time, a new note appeared from Richard.
[A large number of soldiers have entered the Holy City, so someone must oversee and coordinate them. I will take on that role and manage the aftermath. – Richard]
Naturally, the task of confronting the monster fell to the four kings.
“You said that the monster is currently bound by a spell and cannot move. So if we send a signal that we are ready, will it break the spell?” Akil asked. Kasser nodded in confirmation.
“Yes. But first, we need to ensure a certain radius around the palace is clear of people,” Kasser explained.
Once the monster began to move, significant portions of the palace would collapse, and nearby areas might experience tremors or ground fissures. Anyone in close proximity would be at risk.
Pered spoke up, “Myung King requested that we preserve the place where the protective spell was cast… That’s the problem. To lure it to our desired location, we need to pinpoint its exact position beneath the palace.”
Akil acknowledged the challenge. “That’s true… The palace is vast. We’ll need to strike quickly, leaving no room for escape, but covering the entire area with just the four of us will be difficult.”
Riner suggested, “Why not grab a knight or priest and interrogate them? We’re bound to learn something.”
While a brute-force approach, it was the only method that came to mind. As the kings continued their discussion, a warrior approached cautiously.
“Reporting in,” the warrior announced.
All four kings, each with their distinctive eye color, turned their attention to him, causing the warrior to tense up.
“Anika insisted it was essential to deliver this information, so I’ve brought her here,” the warrior explained.
Kasser’s eyes flickered as he turned to see Anika Katie, his biological mother, standing some distance away.
