Eventually, we arrive back at the palace. I head to my room.
After about twenty minutes, I hear a knock on my door.
Knock knock.
I open it. It’s the head assistant.
“The documents you requested.”
I look at him, then calmly open the folder.
…What the hell—
I can’t read this.
“Just feed the paper some of your magic. You already have access to read them.”
I do as he says. The symbols don’t change, yet somehow I can now understand them.
I sit at the desk and begin reading.
The gist of the document goes as follows:
The Absolute Loyalty Seal
The Absolute Loyalty Seal is a stamp given to King Harold II at his coronation ceremony. It is applied by placing the stamp at the base of the skull. Magic is then fed into it to activate. The mark is round and about 5 cm in diameter. See diagram.
The hair is removed using a compass with a blade attached. Permission from the target is required, since the seal is powered by the target’s magic. This activates the outer ring of the seal, which is painful, but it can be done slowly. Simply put: more magic equals more pain. This continues until the entire mark fills with light and the glow fades.
The target is then put to sleep so the owner can supply their own magic, activating the seal.
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If the owner never supplies magic, the seal remains inactive.
Active or not, the seal will never fade until the target dies.
The Loyalty Seal’s conditions state that the target can never betray the owner (consult staff for further details).
When triggered, the brainstem is severed, resulting in instant death of the target.
WHAT THE SHIT.
INSTANT DEATH.
WHAT!?
I slowly turn my head.
He’s still standing at the door like nothing is wrong.
“Uhm…?”
“If you are done with it, I’ll be taking the confidential documents back to the vault.”
I walk over in a daze and hand them back.
“Well then, I’ll be off. Ah yes—your wedding interview started about five minutes ago.”
WHAT—
Oh shit, WHAT!?
I bolt down the hallway.
The Wedding Interview
I come running through the courtyard hallway before the garden. Lucky for me I was already dressed.
I slam open the sliding door.
Thack.
I wheeze, catch my breath, then look up.
“I’m sorry I’m la— Huh?”
Some maids stare at me. They’re still setting up tables.
“Ah, Sir Kaijuu. You’re twenty minutes early.”
…Huh?
“Hahahahahaha!”
I hear laughing. I turn my head—Shannon is losing it.
She wipes a tear.
“Let me guess… the head assistant? Pffft—”
All the maids go “Ah!” and hurriedly return to work.
I see. It was a joke. He got me good.
“You’re twenty minutes early. Come sit.”
She pulls out a chair, pats the seat.
“Saa, you saved me a trip. Pffft!”
I give up and sit. She sits across from me.
“The interview already started, by the way. You did pretty well.”
I blink.
“What do you mean? Aren’t I early?”
That… came out wrong.
“I mean, you are. But tell me—are you angry?”
“Am I angry?”
I tap my chin.
“Just answer.”
“Well, no. It was just a joke.”
She holds up two fingers.
“Two things. One: you can take a joke. You’d be surprised how many people can’t. They turn out rotten later. So that’s a weight off my shoulders.”
She relaxes her posture.
“And the second?”
“Oh yeah. You value other people’s time more than your own.”
She gives me a thumbs-up.
“Nice.”
A soft smile follows.
The door opens. Shannon stands and bows.
“Princess Roka, you’re early. I’ll be leaving now.”
“Shanon, you’re not staying?”
“No need.”
She walks past Roka, raises a hand, then—
gotcha gotcha gotcha gotcha.
Roka blushes.
She’s wearing a dark-blue dress that falls to her feet, slit along the leg, a small train behind her. Her hair is down. She radiates elegance.
Is this even the same girl from earlier?
I can’t stop staring.
She looks… beautiful.
Charming.
Cute.
My face heats up. I cover it with my hand.
