"Your Majesty, I'm truly sorry to welcome you into such a humble place," Enna said softly as she stepped just outside the doorway of the guest room she had so carefully prepared.
Queen Genie glanced past her, taking in the room beyond. As expected from the matriarch of the largest household in the village, everything was in perfect order. The room was spacious, tastefully arranged, and exuded quiet warmth. It lacked the opulence of the royal palace, but its sincerity and comfort were unmistakable.
"Not at all," the Queen replied with a gentle smile. "Thank you for preparing such a restful space. It's more than enough."
Enna gave a graceful bow.
"Then I shall leave you to rest, Your Majesty. I'll assist in guiding the others to their rooms."
With that, she turned and stepped into the courtyard, where lanterns were being lit one by one, casting a golden glow over the stone path. Attendants bustled about, assigning rooms to the royal guards, the Deputy Commander, and Jade.
Back inside, Queen Genie let out a quiet breath and moved to the center of the room. The neatly laid bedding, the warm scent of pinewood, and the soft rustle of the wind outside made the space feel unusually peaceful.
She lowered herself onto the blankets, the day's fatigue finally catching up to her in full. Her limbs ached with the dull heaviness of long travel, and her eyes, despite her best efforts to stay alert, began to flutter closed.
Since the night before, she had ridden tirelessly across the kingdom's far reaches to reach the troubled borderlands. Her duty had pushed her forward. But now, with the day complete, even a queen was still human—exhausted, weary, and longing for rest.
She curled beneath the covers and allowed herself to breathe deeply. Yet, just as she began to slip into sleep, an unbidden image rose in her mind.
Jade—his shoulder freshly bandaged, sitting in silence on the blanket. And Enna, seated beside him, her expression soft and attentive.
Genie's brows drew slightly together.
She turned over in the bedding and gave her head a small shake, as if to cast away the thought.
"It doesn't mean anything," she murmured to herself.
Drawing the blanket up to her chin, she let the warmth of it envelop her. The night air outside had grown cool, and the chirping of crickets provided a steady rhythm, lulling her toward rest.
The weight of duty, the silence of the room, and the emotional turbulence of the day all settled gently upon her.
Within moments, Queen Genie drifted off—into dreams, into silence, into sleep.
"Once you return to the palace... Will you come back to our village again...?" A soft, clear voice—high and tentative—floated through the darkness.
Queen Genie stirred slightly in her sleep at the sound.
"I don't know," came the calm, low reply of a man.
'Jade?'
Even in the haze of dreams, Genie recognized his voice immediately. Slowly, she opened her eyes.
Earlier, her maid had taken the lamp away to let her rest peacefully. Now, the room lay wrapped in shadows and silence.
"Then... are you saying I may never see you again...?"
Enna's sorrowful voice followed, fragile and aching.
Wrapped beneath the blankets, Genie found herself listening more intently than she realized, her gaze fixed on the dark ceiling above.
Only the soft chirping of crickets filled the stillness—Jade's response did not come right away.
After a moment's hesitation, torn between curiosity and caution, Genie finally pushed off the blanket.
'I'll just peek out through the door... just a little,' she told herself.
She rose quietly and slid the door open with gentle care.
A cold winter breeze slipped in through the narrow gap, brushing against her skin.
Outside, a few guards stood watch, their shadows long and still.
Peering through the crack, Genie's eyes swept across Elder Park's wide courtyard.
At the far end, she spotted two figures—Jade and Enna—standing side by side, their silhouettes outlined by moonlight.
'Why are they out there at this hour...?' she wondered, heart tightening unexpectedly.
Then, Enna's voice rang out clearly, a blend of hope and vulnerability. "I want to see you again, Minister."
Startled, Genie gripped the doorframe tightly, the unexpected tenderness of the moment catching her off guard.
A moment later, Jade's calm voice answered softly, "Then please visit the palace often and cook restorative meals for our soldiers."
'Who gave you the right to invite her into the palace?' Genie thought, a bitter smile tugging at her lips.
She turned her head away, a knot of complicated emotions stirring within her.
She didn't want to watch them any longer.
Quietly, she closed the door, slipped back into bed, and pulled the blanket up to her chin once more.
Closing her eyes tightly, she buried herself in the warmth of the bedding.
Thus, the night deepened—carrying with it a weight of quiet longing and tangled feelings.
Later that night, Jade stepped quietly out of the annex to inspect the grounds surrounding the Queen's chambers. The cold night air brushed against his skin as he moved with practiced ease under the moonlight. Unexpectedly, he encountered Enna lingering nearby, her silhouette delicate in the shadows. They exchanged a few words—soft, careful—before he continued back toward the annex.
Passing the rows of guards' rooms, his eyes fell on two peaceful figures resting soundly—Wanan and Mobo, the former soldiers of the Ash Kingdom now under Hana's protection.
Their youthful faces, relaxed in sleep, struck a chord deep within him.
'They must have endured so much,' he thought, a flicker of something like sorrow and understanding stirring inside.
A vivid memory surfaced unbidden, transporting him back years to his own beginnings as a young trainee in Ash Kingdom.
"From today on, you will devote your lives to the Ash Kingdom," his own voice echoed in his mind, firm and commanding, resonating across the royal training grounds beneath the merciless sun.
"Become warriors who will protect our nation with your lives!"
"We promise!!!"
Five hundred recruits had answered with sharp precision, their voices rising as one.
Among that sea of determined faces, a tall, solemn boy had stood at the center—fifteen years old, proud yet weighed by the gravity of the moment.
That boy was Jade, top graduate of Ash Kingdom's military academy, standing at the very beginning of a long, difficult journey.
The crisp morning air still clung to the courtyard when the military commander, clad in ceremonial armor adorned with the crest of Ash Kingdom, stepped onto the stone podium overlooking the vast assembly. His gaze, stern yet proud, swept across the sea of young warriors before settling on a lone figure standing at attention nearby.
He raised his voice, solemn and commanding. "The palace warrior's oath of Ash Kingdom will be read by Jade, the top graduate of this year's military academy."
A hushed stir passed through the crowd as a boy stepped forward.
Jade.
With clear, deep-set eyes that seemed to hold the weight of battles yet to be fought, a sharp jawline that spoke of quiet determination, and a height that towered over most of his peers, Jade moved with unshakable resolve. Though only fifteen, his presence was that of someone who had lived far more than his years. As he climbed the steps to the podium, the silver trim of his ceremonial uniform glinted in the morning sun.
Reaching the top, Jade bowed deeply to the commander. With reverence, he accepted the parchment containing the oath — its edges worn with tradition, its words heavy with centuries of honor and sacrifice.
He turned to face the crowd.
Below him, five hundred new palace warriors stood shoulder to shoulder, their uniforms pristine, their backs straight, their expressions caught somewhere between awe and determination. All of them were looking up — not just at Jade, but at what he represented. The best among them. A symbol of what they, too, could become.
Jade's eyes scanned the faces below, then drifted for a moment beyond the assembly — to the grand palace of Ash Kingdom behind them, its towers rising proudly against the morning sky.
He took a breath.
Then, with a voice newly deepened by the trials of youth, he began to speak — each word ringing clear across the stone courtyard. "I, Jade, appointed today as a palace warrior of Ash Kingdom, solemnly swear to give my life to protect Ash Kingdom and to be loyal to His Majesty the King!"
A single heartbeat passed.
Then —
"We swear!!!"
The ground seemed to shake with the resounding chorus. Five hundred voices, filled with conviction and raw energy, echoed off the walls, rising like a wave into the heavens.
For a moment, time slowed.
Standing there, oath still in hand, Jade's mind drifted—not to the cheering, not to the glory of the moment, but to a memory.
To a different time.
To darker streets.
To the shadows of Hana Kingdom, where he had once wandered, barefoot and half-starved, a nameless orphan. The cold of those nights still lingered in his bones, a quiet echo in his soul.