The echoes of Ayra's cosmic display hadn't yet faded before the palace walls were drowned in silence.
But silence never meant peace.
The King—her grandfather—stood at the edge of the grand balcony, overlooking his empire. His fists clenched behind his back, shoulders trembling not with age… but with rage.
---
Truth in the Dark
Late into the night, the Royal Investigator arrived. She bowed deeply, then placed a sealed black scroll on the King's war table.
> "This… is the truth of her life, Your Majesty."
He read it silently.
> Multiple assassination attempts.
Mocked by her kingdom.
Starved, exiled, humiliated by nobles, abandoned by her own blood.
His hand quivered.
> "They called her illegitimate…" the investigator added, "...used her as a political scapegoat."
> "Who?" he whispered.
> "The royal court of the 90th Kingdom. And… her father."
The sound of the King's breath darkening filled the chamber.
Then he said just one thing—
> "Prepare the fleet."
---
The Blood of a Queen
In the meantime, Ayra sat quietly in the royal library. Dozens of ancient books floated around her as she scanned them all with one glance, her fingers weaving star-map diagrams from memory.
> "They're still watching me," she said softly.
Lira looked up. "The nobles?"
> "No. Something deeper. The shadows beneath this world."
Ayra touched her pendant, which had dulled again. But her body was no longer hiding the storm inside—it was compressing it.
> "They still can't see it," she said.
> "Because of your mother's bloodline?" Lira asked.
Ayra nodded.
> "Her lineage shields my existence like a veil… even the gods of this world can't measure me. Not yet."
---
The King's Judgment
Three days later, news spread like wildfire:
The 1st Kingdom had declared full-scale wrath upon the royal family of the 90th Kingdom.
No trial.
No political negotiation.
Just one thunderous decree:
> "For every wound on my granddaughter, I shall deliver tenfold back."
The sky burned red over the 90th Kingdom's capital as ships blazed down like divine judgment.
The nobles who once sneered at Ayra now fell to their knees.
But the King himself did not lead the charge.
He sat beside Ayra, who stared at the stars.
> "Why?" she asked.
> "Why what?"
> "Why didn't you abandon me like the rest?"
The King looked down at her, voice low.
> "Because you're the daughter of my daughter."
> "And now… the world will learn what it means to hurt the blood of a Phoenix."
---