The Kingdom's Opportunity
A vibration rippled through the marble pillars of the royal palace. Fine cracks spiderwebbed across the ramparts, and the ornate windows trembled in time with her voice. It was as if the palace itself was reacting to the girl's presence.
Sweat slicked my palms. My mouth went dry. For the first time since ascending the throne, I felt utterly powerless. My heart pounded fiercely. Time dragged on, yet no one dared move. The only sound echoing through the palace was the faint rattle of the knights' spear tips.
"Revenge?" I strained to maintain my dignity. "Didn't you slaughter my entire knightly order? What greater vengeance do you seek while laying waste to my palace like this?"
The girl fixed her gaze on me and curled her lips in contemptuous amusement.
"What drivel, utterly devoid of reason. If a rebellion had erupted, would you execute only the ringleaders you captured and call it a day, smug in your triumph? No—I would judge every soul touched by the taint of insurrection. Those who sought to slay my bugs, and their entire ilk, must become blood sacrifices. It is only right."
A chill raced down my spine at her words. Her tone pierced my thoughts like a blade. And what stunned me most was how utterly correct she was. If a true rebellion had risen, purging every last conspirator would indeed be the natural course. But this was different. It wasn't rebellion—it was the kingdom's legitimate expedition.
"Spell out exactly what revenge you demand. Our kingdom explored the Sia Kalt Labyrinth to study the anomalies in that isolated realm. We had no intent to harm you."
"Cloaking truth in lies is a needless luxury." The girl's voice sharpened like a whip. "The fact that she who was called Seraphina Bloom came to capture me is no secret—it's known across the heavens."
Her words struck me speechless for a moment. She knew. The secret directive I'd given the Second Knightly Order—to "capture the flower"—was indeed true. I'd issued the command to the knight captain myself. How had it reached this girl's ears? I'd assumed a mere flower couldn't grasp human gossip...
Village tales, soldiers' drunken chatter, nobles' whispers—all of it had reached her. What a grave miscalculation. No more lies would work now.
"You... there seems to have been a misunderstanding. But more importantly than that now..." I couldn't hide the tremor in my voice. Excuses felt pointless.
"Tell me what you truly seek by coming here. For the kingdom's safety, what must I do?" I mustered my last shreds of dignity to ask. Yet my heart still raced.
"You ask what I desire?" Her eyes gleamed an even deeper crimson. "Punishing those who sought my capture is as inevitable as divine retribution. Shall I claim your heirs? Or reduce the entire kingdom to ashes?"
Gooseflesh prickled my skin. The bugs around her shifted into more menacing postures, as if echoing her threat. A blue butterfly suddenly fluttered up and perched on my head, its tiny legs tousling my hair. I couldn't move, couldn't swat it away. Her power terrified me.
Flames flickered from the red butterfly's wings, and the massive hornet lounged against the wall, baring its venomous stinger. Valerius stepped forward, as if to shield me.
"You insolent wretch! How dare you threaten His Majesty! Your Highness, we cannot tolerate such outrage!"
"Silence, old man. Your reckless intrusion into matters beyond your station disappoints me." The girl scowled irritably and flicked her hand upward. In an instant, sharp black roots erupted from the floor at the prime minister's feet, halting inches from his throat.
"Gasp!"
"Enough, Lady Ricoris!" Count Haind interjected hastily. "Prime Minister Valerius is His Majesty's longest-serving advisor!"
Ricoris glanced at the count, then—as if changing her mind—lowered her hand. The roots slowly released Valerius. He collapsed to the floor, gasping for breath.
"For the count's sake, I spare you this once. But show such rudeness again, and pay the price."
She turned her gaze back to me. This entire mess was my fault. In trying to capture one flower, I'd endangered the whole kingdom. How could I have known it wasn't some simple plant, but a being beyond imagination? No time for regrets now. As king, I had to fulfill my duty.
I feigned composure and spoke. "Don't do that! Guarantee the kingdom's safety, and I'll grant whatever you wish!"
The words shattered like brittle shards, against my will. I'd never known such fear in my life. My kingly pride meant nothing before this girl.
"What do you want? Gold? Treasures? We can negotiate anything!" At this point, I was ready to yield it all. The kingdom's survival hung by a thread.
"Do you think I crave gold and jewels? I dwell in abundance beyond such trifles. What I seek holds far greater value." Ricoris spoke leisurely, like one who already possessed everything.
"I command you to build a lair for my master."
I drew a sharp breath at "master" and "lair." The "master" from the Sia Kalt Labyrinth. The dragons' den.
"Surely... your master isn't..." I trailed off, and everyone tensed.
"No... the Frostia who unleashed the Black Winter?" one guard knight muttered, voice quaking.
"Who else? Naturally, my master is the absolute ruler of the Sia Kalt Labyrinth: Lady Frostia."
Her declaration hit like a brutal frost. The hall froze in absolute silence, as if a savage blizzard had swept through.
My mind raced with calculations. Childhood tales, historians' whispers—if they were true, Frostia wasn't legend but reality. A being who could entomb an entire kingdom in ice. If this girl truly served her, and that legendary entity backed her... this wasn't mere threat. It was an existential crisis for the nation.
I nodded. "State your demands clearly. I'll do everything in my power."
My voice emerged surprisingly steady. Inside, though, I was ice-cold.
"The lair for my master must be twice the size of this palace, forged from the finest crystals and silver." Ricoris began listing demands. "Encircle it with a hundred ice pillars studded with gems. The ceiling must shimmer like a starry sky. The floor, transparent like thin ice yet not slippery. Walls clad in the purest ice crystals, enchanted never to melt."
She rattled off impossibly elaborate specifications. I nodded silently. Bankrupting the kingdom was preferable to incurring Frostia's wrath.
"Servants must stand ever-ready. When my master descends, all shall prostrate themselves, foreheads to the floor, chanting: 'Great and radiant Lady Frostia, we welcome your descent.' Twice daily, offer pure crystal water in the ice garden and cultivate pristine white flowers, scattering petals to pave her path. Understood?"
Ricoris added, her eyes sparkling with joy. For the first time, her face matched her childlike appearance—like a girl preparing a gift for her parents.
"Draft the document now and affix the royal seal. You humans break promises lightly; best to commit it to writing."
I summoned the scribe to record every demand, then signed and sealed without hesitation. Humiliating, yes—but for the kingdom's survival, I'd endure any shame.
"Complete it in one month. Fail, and..." Ricoris eyed the garden. She pointed a finger; roots speared the palace fountain, shattering it to rubble. "Your palace will end like that—reduced to dust."
Despair drained my strength, but I nodded faintly. The chill creeping down my spine sank into my bones. Ricoris's power defied imagination. And a mightier being stood behind her.
"Y-yes! It'll be done in a month! I'll muster every artisan and mage in the kingdom!" I blurted desperately. Pride lay in tatters long ago.
Thus ended our tense negotiation. Building Frostia's lair was our sole path to survival. As everyone caught their breath—
Pounding footsteps echoed. A young herald burst in alone, gasping.
"Your Majesty! Urgent news!"
"What now?" Not another catastrophe amid this?
"At the border parley between the Heshet Empire and the Dians Empire... the lords of legendary labyrinths have appeared!" The herald's voice shook. His face was ashen, brow slick with cold sweat.
"Nis emerged and laid waste to the southern parley grounds. Everything it touched rots away... and worse, the dead rise and shamble! Undead overrun the area; survivors flee in terror."
Ricoris's expression brightened. The blue butterfly abandoned my head, darting to orbit her.
"And..." The herald cleared his throat. "Frostia appeared too. She froze the northern grounds solid! The empires' armies are ice sculptures—no living thing remains..."
"Such joy! At last, my master awakens and descends upon the world!" Ricoris beamed in satisfaction, her face alight with ecstasy. Her crimson eyes shone with unwavering beauty.
My body stiffened. My mind whirled to counter this crisis. Terror surged, yet opportunity gleamed amid the dread.
We must carve our path from this disaster. Building the lair would keep Frostia and Ricoris here—perhaps even Nis. The world now witnessed their terror firsthand: one army flash-frozen, another zone a teeming necropolis. Their mere presence sowed continental fear.
Having them dwell here was terrifying. One whim, and our kingdom could become an icy tomb or undead wasteland. But that fear could be our shield. With these legends on our soil, no nation would dare assail us. Apron Kingdom coveting our lands, the Heshet Empire—none would risk war. They'd curry our favor instead. From weakling state, we'd rise to continental pivot.
The closest to these horrors, yet under their aegis—the sole such kingdom.
"Valerius," I murmured to the prime minister. "Opportunity knocks. The world beholds Frostia and Nis's dread might. If they stay, no one touches us. Safety from terror itself—a supreme strategic edge."
Valerius nodded subtly. He saw it too.
But Ricoris seemed lost in her own world, face radiant with glee. "My master... surely calling for me..." Butterflies swirled around her in joyful dance. Even the giant hornet roused from laziness, spinning in circles.
"Liandel, Levy! We head to the continent's heart at once! Time to return to my master's gracious embrace!" she cried to the two behind her. Fear and confusion warred on their faces.
"Count, Edgar—my thanks for your hospitality. Now I depart. The hour comes to pledge eternal loyalty at my master's side."
They bowed deeply. "Lady Ricoris, safe travels," the count said earnestly.
Watching it all, I realized: this wasn't invasion, but the dawn of something vast. My kingdom was ensnared in a colossal maelstrom. Survival first. And to survive, adapt. Building Frostia's lair—our best shot now.
"O king, heed this. Fail the lair in one month, and your kingdom becomes a new sea—of blood."
With that final warning, Ricoris departed with her bugs. In their wake, the palace lay silent and ravaged like a storm-tossed sea. Ceiling crumbs still fell; floors bore pollen traces and root remnants. Knights stirred from paralysis, eyes haunted by fear.
"Your Majesty... if they return..." The knight captain rose creakily, face pallid.
"Compose yourself, Captain. We'll meet their demands. Even steel melts before a mighty volcano."
I surveyed the damage. Two centuries of architecture crumbled by one girl's hand.
"Valerius."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
"Summon every architect, mage, and mason in the kingdom. Form a special committee of the finest. Frostia's lair will be history's grandest edifice."
"At once, Your Majesty."
"And dispatch envoys to Apron and Heshet at once. Announce Frostia and Nis stir—and our kingdom builds their lair."
Gathered ministers exchanged stunned glances.
"Reveal this to enemy states?"
"They'll learn soon enough once we begin. Better we tell them first." I paused, then smiled. "And convey this: Fail the lairs in one month, and their wrath engulfs the continent. Ice and death could spread further. Neighboring realms must aid with resources and experts—for their own safety."
Valerius's eyes widened, then he nodded. "Brilliant, Your Majesty. They'll have no choice but to support us."
"Precisely. We become the continent's shield—guarding them from Frostia and Nis's fury. For a price, of course."
Ministers bustled about, but my thoughts soared to the future. Hours ago, my throne teetered on ruin. Death's shadow loomed; kingly pride shattered. Yet true rulers find light in darkness.
Now, the scattered debris and leaning pillars looked different—not ruin, but harbingers of a new era. Through wall cracks, I glimpsed broader horizons.
Frostia and Nis: calamity and blessing entwined. Their power terrifies, but harnessed for us? Risky—they could turn anytime. Yet that very volatility becomes our strongest weapon.
Kingdoms will yield tribute in terror; empires beg alliance. Some may wish our doom, but none dare act.
Greatest crisis since coronation—greatest opportunity too. No longer mere king. King who bargains with monsters. And through them, this kingdom enters its mightiest age.
Finding chance in crisis. Power in fear. That is a king's duty. Paradoxically, this disaster heralds our golden era.