A heavy silence followed the King's sigh.
He leaned back slightly in his throne, fingers still pressed against his temple as though her existence had given him a sudden migraine.
Yao Yao straightened her spine and tried her best to look presentable. Which… wasn't easy, considering her hair was still slightly messy and her sleeves were bunched unevenly at the wrists—and one apple was still awkwardly bulging from her sleeve.
Until now, the King had simply been the distant sovereign of this land, a figure so far removed from her reality that he may as well have lived on the moon. But now, for the first time, she was seeing the King up close.
Yao Yao had imagined some ancient, white-haired, long-bearded elder who looked like he was one step away from coughing out his last breath.
Instead, the man seated before her looked to be in his mid-forties. His features were striking, his posture commanding. Even though age showed in subtle lines across his face, it only added to his presence rather than diminishing it.
There was a refined handsomeness to him, the kind that made it very clear why the royal bloodline was considered superior.
And most notably—his golden eyes.
Exactly like Rong Xi's.
And just like the prince, his presence was heavy.
It had the same calculating depth.
And Yao Yao decided, quite immediately, that she did not like this.
"State your name," the King said suddenly, his tone flat.
Yao Yao blinked.
"…Huh?"
"State. Your. Name," he repeated, slowly.
"…Yao Yao," she answered after a beat, unsure if this was a trick question.
"Full name."
She hesitated. "…Shang Yao Yao," she replied, cautiously.
There was a soft rustle of parchment.
From the side of the throne, where a thin, severe-looking man had been quietly recording notes since the start, the royal advisor spoke for the first time. "Subject: Shang Yao Yao. Age… five."
Yao Yao raised one hand. "Five and a half," she corrected politely.
A short silence followed.
"Very well," the advisor amended dryly. "Five and a half. "
Somewhere to her right, a cough, suspiciously like a smothered laugh, came from Rong Xi's direction.
The King ignored it.
"You acknowledge yourself as a member of the Shang family?"
Yao Yao tilted her head, confused. "Well, yeah. My name's right there. That's how names work."
This time, a sound, suspiciously like a stifled cough came from the advisor's side.
Still, the King showed no reaction.
"And did you—or did you not—enter the colosseum today without permission?"
"I did not enter without a reason," she said quickly, lifting her chin. "I entered with purpose."
"Did anyone give you permission?"
"…No."
"Then you entered without permission."
Yao Yao frowned, unimpressed by his logic.
The advisor continued scribbling briskly, speaking aloud as he did. "Child in question entered and caused the total magical collapse of the Aria Kingdom's ancient summoning portal. "
Yao Yao gasped loudly. "As if I have that much power!" she cried. "I'm five!"
Behind her, Shang Jun cleared his throat lightly. "Your Majesty…perhaps we could… reframe this less as a trial and more of a formal inquiry?"
"No," the King replied without pause. "This is, undeniably, a trial."
Yao Yao stared at him, aghast.
The King's gaze remained unyielding. Sharp like a blade, pinning her to the spot like a butterfly on cork.
"You," he said, "were attempting a spirit contract. Among the commoners."
Yao Yao's fingers twitched.
Okay. He was getting straight to the point.
Fine. So would she.
She clasped her hands together, letting her lip tremble just enough to wobble.
"Your Majesty…" she sniffed dramatically. "Is it a crime for a poor, motherless child to dream of having a spirit companion?"
Shang Jun's brows twitched.
Shang Zhao, off to the side, exhaled in a slow breath, looking both pained and exhausted by the sheer absurdity of her performance.
The King, however, corrected flatly. "You are not motherless."
Yao Yao paused.
Oh. Right.
Shang Qing Ye was still, unfortunately, very much alive.
"Ah…" she coughed into her fist. "Slip of the tongue."
Rong Xi let out a short, unrestrained laugh.
The King, however, was done with the nonsense.
He leaned forward, voice cold and sharp. "You disrupted the grand ceremony," the King said, "and damaged the summoning portal, an important artifact that has stood for centuries without fail. What do you have to say for yourself?"
Yao Yao froze.
This is bad.
Very, very bad.
She still had no idea how her tiny energy ball managed to nuke the entire portal, but she was not going down without a fight.
Yao Yao straightened her back, forcing tears to well up in her big, round pink eyes as she stared at the King with as much innocence as possible. "I…" she whispered, her voice small, trembling, "…I only wanted to try."
The throne room fell quiet.
Yao Yao opened her mouth, wanting to deliver a follow-up line about ambition—
But Shang Jun stepped forward first.
"Your Majesty," he said respectfully, "she is only a child."
Yao Yao blinked.
"I was there," Shang Jun continued. "I saw the magic she gathered. It was strong...unnaturally so for someone her age. But damaging a summoning portal? That requires more than just raw power. Something else must have happened."
His words struck a chord. Even Shang Zhao's expression shifted slightly, his narrowed eyes flickering with consideration.
Yao Yao, meanwhile, was staring at Shang Jun like he had just handed her a lifetime supply of free desserts.
This man…
Best. Brother. Ever.
"Are you saying this was not of her doing?" the King asked.
"I am saying," Shang Jun said carefully, "that it may not have been her doing alone."
Yao Yao nodded furiously.
Yes! Yes, exactly! Very true. Very wise.
She opened her mouth to stack on more excuses—
But Rong Xi beat her to it.
"Well," he said casually, his smirk sharpening, "that was a pretty strong magic ball the girl tossed into the portal."
Her fake tears dried up instantly. Her head whipped towards him, mentally cursing.
Rong Xi's golden eyes sparkled with mischief. "That kind of magic isn't exactly subtle," he turned to the King, "Are we sure she was just… trying?"
Yao Yao wanted to throw the apple at his head.
Before she could argue, the throne room doors opened. The High Court Mage entered, bowing deeply before the King.
"Your Majesty," the mage spoke solemnly. "We have thoroughly examined the summoning portal."
The King nodded. "And?"
The mage hesitated.
"We… still cannot determine the cause of its failure. There are no traces of external damage. It is as if…" He trailed off.
"As if what?" the King pressed.
The mage lowered his head.
"As if the portal itself rejected the connection to the spirit realm," he admitted. "We are still attempting to re-establish the link, but something… is preventing it."
The tension in the room deepened.
Yao Yao gulped.
Oh no.