(A/N):
Drop a meme here that you find funny. Or reflects your mood.
-------------------------------------------------
Royal Palace...
Ben's Chamber...
Meanwhile, inside the royal palace, Ben had finally managed to return to his chamber after the endless meetings, revelations, assassination attempts, ancient conspiracies, and negotiations with an extinct race.
At the moment, he was laying flat on his bed.
Arms spread.
Eyes staring at the ceiling.
Completely exhausted.
Nero sat proudly on his chest like a tiny black empress claiming her throne.
For several peaceful seconds—
Neither moved.
Then—Click.
The chamber door opened.
Both Ben and Nero immediately turned toward the entrance.
A familiar figure stepped inside. Long blonde hair.
Blue eyes. Elegant posture.
Captain of the Blue Rose Knights.
Charlotte Roselei.
The moment Nero saw who it was—Her eyes narrowed.
Dangerously.
PECK!
"Ouch!"
Charlotte immediately grabbed her forehead.
"Nero!"
The anti-bird chirped triumphantly.
Clearly having no regrets whatsoever.
Charlotte glared at the tiny menace.
"You little..."
She reached out.
Trying to grab her.
Nero immediately launched herself into the air.
Like a black arrow.
Charlotte's hand closed around empty space.
Missed.
The anti-bird performed an elegant aerial loop.
Spun. Dove.
PECK!
"Aah!"
Charlotte covered her forehead again.
A small red mark appearing.
Meanwhile Nero hovered in the air looking extremely pleased with herself.
Like a victorious knight who had just defeated a dragon.
Ben stared at the scene for several seconds.
Then completely lost it.
A laugh escaped him.
Then another.
Soon he was openly laughing.
"Hahaha!"
Charlotte immediately turned toward him.
Her face turning slightly red.
"Why are you laughing?!"
Ben pointed toward the flying Nero.
"She's declaring war."
Nero chirped proudly.
As if confirming the accusation.
"See?"
Ben laughed even louder now.
"She admitted it."
Charlotte looked at the bird.
The bird looked back.
The two stared at each other.
"...."
"...."
Neither willing to surrender.
The atmosphere felt strangely similar to the earlier meeting with the Eye of the Midnight Sun.
Just significantly smaller.
And considerably more ridiculous.
Finally Charlotte let out a sigh.
-Sigh!
"I'm starting to understand why I felt always annoyed whenever Nero was around."
Nero immediately landed on Ben's shoulder.
Then intentionally stuck her tongue out.
"..."
Charlotte blinked caught off guard.
Ben blinked caught off guard.
"Did your bird just mock me?"
Charlotte asked the question again with a twitching eye brow.
Nero chirped. Twice.
Clearly yes.
Ben immediately looked away.
Trying very hard not to laugh again.
And failing miserably.
"Hahaha!"
Charlotte's eye twitched.
For some reason, dealing with undead armies, terrorists, and ancient elves had been easier than dealing with one tiny black bird.
After a few moments, she finally walked toward the bed and sat on the chair beside it.
Nero remained perched on Ben's shoulder.
Watching her suspiciously.
Like a guard dog.
A very small.
Very judgmental. Very violent guard dog.
The room slowly became quiet again.
Moonlight filtered through the windows.
The distant sounds of the palace echoed softly outside.
For the first time since the attack—There was peace.
Or at least as much peace as possible while Charlotte and Nero continued their silent cold war across the room.
The room gradually grew quieter as the laughter faded.
Moonlight streamed through the large windows of the royal chamber, casting silver light across the floor and bed.
Charlotte finally decided she had endured enough of Nero's attacks.
Or at least pretended to.
With a small huff, she ignored the anti-bird completely and walked toward Ben's bed.
Ben raised an eyebrow.
"Charlotte?"
Without answering immediately, Charlotte removed her sword from her waist and carefully placed it against the nearby wall.
Then—To Ben's surprise—She climbed onto the bed.
The mattress shifted slightly beneath her weight.
And before Ben could ask what she was doing, Charlotte simply laid down beside him.
Comfortably.
Like it was the most natural thing in the world.
For several seconds—Silence.
"...."
"...."
"...."
Ben blinked. Then blinked again.
"..."
Charlotte stared at the ceiling.
Completely calm.
At least outwardly.
The slight redness on her ears suggested otherwise.
Meanwhile—Nero froze.
Completely. Absolutely. Utterly. Frozen.
The anti-bird slowly turned her head.
Then looked at Charlotte.
"...."
Then looked at Ben. Then back at Charlotte.
Her feathers puffed up. Dangerously.
A murderous chirp escaped her tiny beak.
"Chirp."
Ben immediately recognized that tone.
It was the same tone Nero used whenever she wanted to commit crimes.
And judging by the way she was staring at Charlotte—The crime in question involved pecking out someone's eyes.
Nero launched herself into the air.
Like a tiny black missile.
Directly toward Charlotte.
"Oi."
Ben immediately reached out.
Catching Nero before she could begin her campaign of terror.
The anti-bird flailed dramatically in his hands.
Clearly protesting this injustice.
"Chirp!"
"No."
"CHIRP!"
"No."
"CHIRP!!"
"Definitely no."
Charlotte watched the entire exchange from beside him.
A tiny smile threatening to appear.
Nero immediately noticed.
Which somehow made her even angrier.
Ben sighed.
Then gently scratched Nero beneath her feathers.
The tiny bird froze.
Her angry chirping immediately weakened.
"See?"
Ben said softly.
"No eye pecking."
Nero grumbled.
Or at least made the closest anti-bird equivalent possible.
After a few moments, Ben carefully placed her down on the bed beside him.
Between himself and the edge.
Creating a very deliberate anti-war buffer zone.
Nero immediately curled up against his side possessively.
Her tiny body pressed against his arm.
Keeping one suspicious eye fixed on Charlotte.
Charlotte looked at the bird.
The bird looked back.
A silent battle continued.
Eventually Charlotte shook her head.
"She's impossible."
Ben laughed quietly.
"She's been through a lot."
Nero immediately chirped proudly.
As if that completely justified her behavior.
The room slowly settled into a peaceful silence afterward.
Outside, the palace corridors had grown quiet.
The captains were resting in their guest rooms.
The guards continued their patrols.
And somewhere in another wing of the palace, Fana was likely still wrestling with the revelations of the night.
For now, however—
None of that mattered.
The kingdom had survived another crisis.
The assassination attempt had failed.
The Eye of the Midnight Sun had retreated.
And for the first time since the attack began—
Ben allowed himself to simply relax.
Even if he had to do it while acting as a referee between a jealous anti-bird and a stubborn Blue Rose captain.
The room had grown quiet.
The earlier battle between Charlotte and Nero had finally ended, though only because Ben was acting as the peace treaty between both sides.
Nero remained curled against Ben's arm, one eye half-open.
Watching.
Judging.
Planning future crimes.
Charlotte had long since ignored the tiny anti-bird and simply laid beside him while staring at the moonlit ceiling above.
For several minutes neither spoke.
The silence wasn't uncomfortable.
After everything that happened today, both of them seemed content simply enjoying the rare moment of peace.
Eventually Charlotte broke the silence.
"Ben."
"Hmm?"
Her voice was softer than usual.
Much softer.
Not the voice of a Magic Knight Captain.
Not the voice of a noblewoman.
Just Charlotte.
"Why?"
Ben turned his head slightly toward her.
Charlotte wasn't looking at him.
She was still staring at the ceiling.
But there was something different in her eyes.
Something vulnerable.
Something searching.
As if a part of her genuinely needed to know the answer.
Not as a captain.
Not as a subordinate.
As a person.
"Why did you risk it?"
Her voice was barely above a whisper.
"You could have imprisoned them."
"You could have executed them."
"You could have ended the threat permanently."
Her eyes finally moved toward him.
"But instead..."
"...you offered to help them."
The moonlight reflected within her blue eyes.
"Why?"
For a few moments Ben remained silent.
Then he chuckled softly.
Not because the question was funny.
But because the answer was surprisingly simple.
"If someone has the chance to correct a mistake..."
His gaze shifted toward the ceiling.
"...then trying isn't a bad idea."
Charlotte remained silent.
Listening.
"The elves were wrong."
Ben continued.
"They attacked innocent people."
"They planned war."
"They nearly destroyed the kingdom."
His expression became serious.
"But that isn't where their story started."
The moonlight illuminated part of his face.
Casting long shadows across the room.
"They were betrayed."
"They were manipulated."
"They lost everything."
"And for five hundred years..."
"...they never got the chance to move on."
Charlotte quietly listened.
"Most people only look at what happened at the end."
Ben continued.
"They see enemies."
"They see criminals."
"They see monsters."
His eyes shifted toward the window.
"I wanted to see how they became that way."
The room became silent again.
"If history was unfair to them..."
He shrugged lightly.
"...then someone should at least try to make it right."
Charlotte stared at him.
Longer than she intended.
Because those words sounded simple.
Too simple.
Yet somehow—
They carried a weight she couldn't ignore.
"You make it sound easy."
She finally said.
Ben laughed.
"It definitely isn't."
That earned the smallest smile from Charlotte.
Ben continued.
"Besides."
"If they choose peace, then everyone wins."
"If they choose war..."
His eyes sharpened slightly.
"...then I'll deal with it."
The confidence in his voice wasn't arrogance.
It was certainty.
The same certainty that had stood before undead armies.
The same certainty that had faced the Eye of the Midnight Sun.
The same certainty that had looked directly at centuries of hatred and offered a hand instead of a sword.
Charlotte looked at him quietly.
Then finally understood what had been bothering her.
It wasn't the plan.
It wasn't the risk.
It was the fact that Ben genuinely meant it.
Every word.
Most rulers thought about protecting what they had.
Ben was thinking about fixing what had been broken.
Even if the damage happened centuries before he was born.
The realization left Charlotte strangely quiet.
Beside them, Nero slowly opened one eye.
She looked at Charlotte.
Then at Ben.
Then at Charlotte again.
For once—
The anti-bird didn't peck her.
Instead Nero shuffled closer to Ben and settled comfortably against his shoulder.
As if silently accepting that Charlotte wasn't leaving anytime soon.
The room gradually fell silent again.
Outside, the moon hung high above the Clover Kingdom.
Inside, the king who had changed the course of history lay staring at the ceiling, unaware that Charlotte's gaze lingered on him far longer than she intended.
And for the first time that night—
Neither of them felt the need to say anything else.
**********************************************************************************************************************************************************
(Author's POV)
(A/N)Thanks for reading the chapter!
Please give a review on this Fanfic.
Guys My New Fic name is: Karuppan: King of Openings.
Check it out... I hope you will like it
Don't forget to send your power stones!!!