Chapter 65 – Loyalty

Noxx was doing push-ups on the bedroom floor, palms flat against the marble, back straight, going up and down at a steady pace.

The body was still weak, but less so than before. And although the queen was still watching her from the bed, lying on her side with that same focused attention as always, this time she did it in silence. Not counting out loud.

It was a small relief, but Noxx was grateful for it.

And then someone knocked on the door.

Noxx stopped mid-push-up.

The queen's reaction was immediate. For just a second — barely a second — her face twisted into an expression of pure annoyance, the face of someone who had just been interrupted from something they were enjoying.

But the look vanished as fast as it appeared, and by the time the queen got up from the bed and smoothed her dress, her expression had already returned to that usual, untroubled calm.

The queen walked to the door and opened it, and on the other side was Iris.

"What happened?" the queen asked, in a soft voice.

Iris opened her mouth to answer. And then, over the queen's shoulder, she saw the inside of the room. She saw Noxx on the floor in a push-up position, black tank top, short white hair, looking up toward the door.

Matt was alive.

Iris's eyes opened just barely. Something shifted on her face — a flash of surprise, something close to relief, a reaction she hadn't expected to have, one that caught her with her guard down.

So you actually made it, Iris thought, glancing at him from the corner of her eye.

But she recovered herself quickly in front of the queen.

"I came about a matter of the kingdom," she said, in an even tone. "I need your authorization for something. Or at least your opinion."

"On what?"

"On the attack from a few hours ago." Iris crossed her arms. "The ones who caused the explosion. We have a rough idea of where they came from. The question is whether we authorize a counterattack or not."

The queen tilted her head.

"That decision is yours now."

"I know. But…" Iris hesitated for a moment. "I have a suspicion. I think part of that group are the traitors — the ones I couldn't exterminate last time. I think they mixed in with the attackers…"

Iris lowered her voice slightly.

"And also…"

Iris tightened her arms.

"These past few days, handling all the kingdom's affairs on my own… I think I made some mistakes. I rushed decisions. I signed things without thinking them through properly. I don't know if everything I did was right. And I don't want to make a bigger mess of something as serious as a counterattack. If I get this wrong, we could lose a lot of people."

The queen looked at her for a moment. Then she raised a hand and stroked her head, slowly, running her fingers through the white hair.

"Easy," she said, with a softness she almost never directed at anyone. "All of that is part of the process. No one learns to govern without making mistakes. You're doing well."

The queen tucked a strand behind Iris's ear.

"And don't worry about the traitors or the ones who tried to deceive you. When I return to the throne, I'll personally deal with everyone who thought they could get clever while I was away. All of them. One by one. I'll execute them myself. You just hold on a little longer."

Iris let out a breath, and something in her shoulders relaxed.

"…Alright," she murmured. "Thank you."

And then, without meaning to, her gaze crossed Noxx's again. For an instant, both of them held each other's eyes.

And something in Iris shifted.

A feeling. Vague. Barely a prickling at the back of her neck. An idea that she herself hadn't quite finished forming — but it was there, floating.

That… isn't that Matt?

She didn't know where it came from. She didn't know why she'd thought it.

It was Matt.

It had Matt's feminine face, Matt's body. But there was something — something in the look, or the presence — that for a fraction of a second didn't quite add up.

Noxx felt Iris's stare and panicked on the inside, so she did the only thing she could think of.

She pulled her gaze away from Iris with a sharp movement, put on that bored, contemptuous expression that had worked so well with the queen, and went back down into another push-up, as though Iris didn't interest her in the slightest.

And it worked.

Iris blinked, and the feeling left just as fast as it had come.

Bah. I imagined it. Same bitter idiot as always, looking at me like that. Definitely him.

The queen, who hadn't missed a single detail of the exchange, smiled inwardly.

"Well," she said, beginning to close the door. "If that's all, get back to your duties. Keep up the effort."

But Iris stuck her foot in the gap before the door could shut.

"Wait."

The queen stopped.

"Can Eleonora and I talk with Matt for a bit?" Iris asked. "It's been a while since—"

The queen opened the door fully and stepped out into the hallway in one smooth motion, placing herself between Iris and the inside of the room. She leaned toward her, and before Iris could finish her sentence, spoke in her ear in a low, calm tone — with an edge beneath it that left no room for interpretation.

"Don't you dare mention how long it took him to get out of the cave."

Iris went cold.

"It is strictly forbidden," the queen continued, in that soft, icy whisper. "No one is allowed to tell him how much time passed. No one. And that includes you."

The queen pulled back just far enough to look her in the eyes.

"Even as my daughter, the punishment for breaking that rule will be severe. Do you understand me?"

Iris swallowed. She felt the fear climb up her spine. She knew her mother. She knew that tone. And she knew that when the queen spoke like that, it was not an empty warning.

"…I understand," she murmured, barely above a whisper. "Never. I'll never mention it. I promise."

The queen smiled again — as though she hadn't just threatened her own daughter — and opened the door once more.

Inside, Noxx had caught almost none of that.

Murmurs had reached her, whispers, but nothing clear. She was too focused on her own business: at that moment she was managing to do push-ups with one hand, the other arm behind her back, struggling to hold her balance without slamming face-first into the marble.

"Matt," said the queen, stepping back in, with a sweet voice that didn't bode well for anything. "I have a surprise for you."

Noxx didn't look up, but Iris came in behind the queen.

And the contrast couldn't have been sharper.

Iris was wearing a purple dress — beautiful, elegant, with fine embroidery and a perfect drape, a dress worthy of a princess.

Noxx, on the other hand, was on the floor in a sweaty black tank top and black joggers — the most comfortable things she'd found in the wardrobe to move around in.

Iris looked her up and down and let out a sigh.

"I see you still haven't grown up."

Noxx finished the push-up, sat back on the floor, and looked at her with irritation.

"And I see you're still just as unbearable as ever."

Iris was quiet for a moment.

Not because of the insult. Something else.

Because while Noxx was talking, she had started moving in a strange way. She had gotten to her feet, taken half a step to one side, looked at the floor, then the wall — as though she didn't know what to do with herself.

And that was exactly it.

Noxx didn't know what exercise to do next.

She was nervous, improvising, and the nerves were making her move awkwardly — indecisive, nothing like the dry confidence that was typical of Matt.

Iris narrowed her eyes slightly, but said nothing about it.

"Don't you have anything to say to someone?" she asked instead.

Noxx went still.

Matt, she called out inwardly, desperate. What does she mean? What am I supposed to say?

But Matt didn't answer.

Iris let out another sigh, longer.

"Seriously? You're still going to act like a thoughtless idiot?"

And there, Noxx answered, trying to imitate Matt.

"My only priority right now is recovering so I can get on with my life," she said, in a flat, dry voice. "I have nothing to discuss with anyone. Not with you, not with anyone else."

Iris stared at her.

That answer had surprised her a little. Not the coldness — that was normal for Matt — but something underneath the words, something that sounded different. She just couldn't say what.

And then, from somewhere, another voice spoke.

"Have you made the soul contract with those weapons yet?"

It was Eleonora's voice. Coming from the black sword at Iris's hip.

Noxx frowned.

"That's none of your business."

Iris rolled her eyes.

"Right," she said. "You're definitely still the same brainless idiot when it comes to dealing with other people."

Iris crossed her arms.

"I'm warning you, Matt. If you go out into the world with that attitude, you're going to make enemies everywhere. And at this rate…"

Iris glanced toward the nightstand, toward the two pistols resting side by side.

"I wouldn't be surprised if those ego-weapons of yours end up holding a grudge against you someday. Like a certain weapon I know."

And then something happened that no one expected.

"Don't talk about our master like that!"

The voice shot out from the nightstand — sharp, loud, indignant.

It was the voice of one of the pistols.

Iris startled. Noxx snapped her head around. Even the queen raised an eyebrow, surprised.

"That's right! Don't speak badly of him!" The second pistol joined in, with a different voice but just as firm. "Our master is the most important thing we have! He didn't abandon us in the cave! He chose us! He got us out of there! And that's why we're going to give everything for him, no matter what happens!"

"Yes! Everything for master! We were in there with him, fighting through everything, room after room, with—!"

Noxx felt her soul drop out through her feet.

NO! Don't talk about the bow-lance! Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!

Noxx jumped to her feet and nearly tripped, but she crossed to the nightstand, set a hand down near the two pistols, and lowered her voice.

"Calm down," she said, in a tone that was trying to sound steady but was pure panic underneath. "Both of you. Now. Everything's fine. You don't need to say anything else."

Both pistols went quiet immediately.

"…Yes, master," one said, softly.

Iris and Eleonora had been left speechless. Even the queen said nothing. She only raised a hand to her mouth, hiding the smile that was forming there, and watched the whole scene with a gleam of interest in her red eyes.

Noxx, still with her hand near the pistols, turned back toward Iris.

"If you have nothing more interesting to say," she said, recovering the dry tone, "leave."

Iris looked at her for a moment. Then she let out a sigh and uncrossed her arms.

"I hope you recover quickly," she said, in a tired voice.

Iris walked toward the door, and before leaving, she stopped and looked back over her shoulder.

"And seriously, Matt. Do it. Make the soul contract with those weapons."

Iris nodded toward the nightstand.

"It's obvious they care about you more than you deserve. Don't waste that."

"Would you just go already," Noxx said.

Iris raised both hands — alright, alright — and turned around. Before crossing through the door, she looked at the queen and gave a small nod.

"Thank you for letting me speak with him."

And she left.

◇◆◇

The hallway was quiet.

Iris walked at an unhurried pace, moving away from the queen's room, the purple dress swaying faintly behind her.

"Why did you do that?"

Eleonora's voice broke the silence. She sounded annoyed.

"Do what?" Iris asked.

"Say that. About the contract." Eleonora let out a scoff. "Why in the world did you tell Matt to make a soul contract with those pistols? Why are you pushing him toward them?"

Iris kept walking, unbothered.

"Give it up, Eleonora."

"What?"

"Matt." Iris sighed. "Let him go. He has his own weapons now — weapons that adore him. Let them make their contract and stay with him. What does it matter to us."

Iris shrugged.

"The sooner you accept that, the better."

"Shut up."

Iris raised an eyebrow.

"I'm not giving up," Eleonora continued. "Those pistols are nothing. They're just new toys he pulled out of a cave. I was his first weapon. I was with him from the beginning, before anyone else. Before those two, before anyone."

Eleonora paused, and for an instant the edge of her voice cracked into something closer to pain.

"When he gets out of that room, when he's recovered, I'm going to convince him. I'm going to challenge him to a duel. And I'm going to show him, blow by blow, that the only ego-weapon he needs in this world is me."

Iris listened to all of it. And let out a long, tired sigh — the sigh of someone who had had this conversation too many times and knew it was going nowhere.

"Whatever you say," she murmured.

THE 4-CHAPTER PATREON MARATHON STARTS TODAY!

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Yesss! Starting today, I’ll be posting a 4-chapter marathon on Patreon, and I’ll be doing it for 4 days straight~!

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As for here, I’ll also be posting 1 to 2 chapters a day to make up for my absence.

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Seriously, thank you so much for your patience and for continuing to support me despite everything~~

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I hope you all really enjoy the upcoming chapters!

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