“A black suit with silver etchings? Wonder, are you sure?”

Wonder said, “Yeah, I remember thinking it was a pretty design, and would be a pain to draw. You know the dude?”

Kat nodded bitterly, petting the shapeshifter bird. “Yes. And you have actually already met him in a way. That’s Malchon.”

Wonder gagged on his water. “That’s Malchon?!?”

Kat nodded. “Yes. And his appearance here is very disturbing. As far as anyone knows, Malchon stays in his tower studying the multiverse. If he’s appearing here, something isn’t right.”

Wonder sipped his water to try and clear his throat. He said, “A lot isn’t right. Especially since he knows about Izuku yet keeps scouting me out! With a danger aura!”

Kat nodded. “Agreed. I can have a talk with him tonight. But since we don’t know his core plans, it probably won’t account to much.”

Wonder nodded. “…Kat. My gut tells me something bad’s going on. Malchon appearing in odd places isn’t helping that.”

Kat nodded, and they stopped at the checkpoint. Wonder looked up at the Castle, which looked like any fantasy amusement park Castle. Except a lot bigger.

Kat said, “Agreed. I will do what I can… this is as far as I can go, however.”

He whispered, “Mortally. I’ll slip into god form and try to catch up to you after confronting Malchon.”

Wonder nodded. “Deal. See you later, Kat.”

Wonder checked his kids, who were happily riding their wolf rides. Wonder approached the gate. The Guards smiled warmly at the kids, then stopped Wonder. One said, “What business do you have?”

Wonder said, “I am here with Mids. He said to meet him here at the Castle.”

The Guards checked each other. The other said, “He was right, Wonder is easy to spot.”

Wonder felt a bad pang in his heart, though he knew Mids didn’t mean anything bad by it. He instead twirled his hair, and joked, “It’s the purple hair.”

Both Guards rolled their eyes, and opened the gate.

Wonder walked into a garden. The kids followed, cooing over the plants. Wonder felt the dangerous aura again. He checked the corner of his vision, and sure enough, Malchon was stalking by the side of a tree.

Rosescent said, “He is being too obvious.”

Wonder said, “No joke. It’s definitely a warning of some sort. Too bad we got people to protect.”

They reached a gazebo soon. Mids was sitting in it, now decked in green and golds. He stood up, adjusting his dress and smiling softly. “Wonder. Kids. Annnnnnd who are you?”

Wonder smirked. “I got a Bard! Apparently Miss Rosescent has some very high rated reviews, so for our little… event… she’s agreed to play.”

Mids said, “Ah. Thank you kindly, Rosescent. And trust me, I will make sure you get paid well.”

Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.

Rosescent nodded. “The pleasure is all mine, your highness.”

Mids said, “You can call me Jaylin. None of the your highness stuff.”

Wonder said, “I am gonna get so, so confused with the names, aren’t I?”

Mids chuckled. “Sorry in advance. Follow me.”

After 20 minutes of walking through hallways that belonged in the Spiral and stairs that were more of an SCP, they reached a grand throne room. Thankfully Mids took them through a shortcut, so they appeared close to the thrones. Mids stopped Rosescent there. He said, “Sorry, only Wonder and family at this point.”

Rosescent nodded, and pulled out her lute. She leaned on a statue. Wonder said, “Actually, can you watch Izuku and Sakura for a few minutes?”

Rosescent relaxed visibly. “Of course.”

Both kids looked relieved. They probably sensed boring adult stuff. They happily started asking Rosescent for music, which she complied.

When Wonder and Mids approached the throne, Wonder saw with delight that both royal parents were watching the mini-show with amusement. But when the statue-like Queen noticed Wonder approaching, she was instantly Cold Monarch. Wonder did not like her instantly.

The Queen said, “I hear you are the one who saved my son. You have the thanks of all Hoseki.”

Wonder saluted, then smiled. “Just glad to help out, ma’am.”

The King, a blonde bearded man, perked. “He allows you to call you by his nickname?”

Mids said, “Yes, Father. Wonder is a dear friend. In fact, that is partly why we wish to speak to you.”

The Queen said, “Oh? Does he wish for a reward?”

Wonder said, “If that was the case, a roof for my kids would have sufficed. But we are talking about something a bit more… serious.”

He almost whooped as he watched the Queen connect the dots. Mids said, “Wonder is my fiance.”

To give the King points, he jumped up and applauded. “Seriously? My son…”

The Queen snapped, “NO!”

Silence reigned in the room.

Wonder dipped some mana into his voice, “Excuse me?”

The Queen quickly went back to ice. “Jaylin, you are reacting strongly because this man saved your life.”

Wonder decided to lace the emergency plan. He said, “Ma’am. We were engaged beforethe summoning.”

Silence re-reigned.

The King said, “Son, this is the man you loved before?”

Mids nodded. “Yes. He was summoned to Hoseki a month ago. When we met again in the woods, well…”

He smiled sheepishly. “It only made sense to decouple the bond.”

The Queen looked enraged, but also very trapped. This was probably the bad case scenario. You couldn’t fight old true love… which was why they had agreed to make thisbackup deception.

The Queen said, “It has been only a month. Maybe things will change.”

Mids said, “Maybe. But we need time to establish that.”

Wonder said, “Yeah, your highnesses. So we agreed that we’d just stay at the engagement level for a year. If things don’t work out… well, misery to think of, but we got time to be together after losing so much. If works out… let’s put it like this. Back in our homeland, one got lucky if they could plan a wedding in 6 months. A year is gonna be probably pushing the time limit on average.”

The Queen actually looked sympathetic and nodded, while the King looked ready to laugh. The Queen said, “Very well.”

She suddenly looked at Rosescent. “What about the Bard?”

Wonder said, “The only luck streak I’m probably gonna have. She comes highly recommended in the music field, so… we have wedding music!”

As if summoned, Rosescent went into the Wedding March. The one from Earth to boot! The King seemed ready to laugh again.

Wonder added, “And she’s great with the tykes, so bonus.”

The Queen opened her mouth, but suddenly Sakura was there. Both kids knew the plan. Wonder made sure of that, but had also told them they didn’t need to interfere. But Sakura’s intelligence showed, because she gave the Queen the most puppy-dog eyes ever, and said, “Can I have a pretty princess dress, Grandma?”

CRIT!!! GO BABY GIRL!

The Queen instantly softened, sighing. “Yes, dear. Come, let’s go see if the tailor is awake.”

Sakura clapped her hands. “Yay! Thank yew!”

The King smiled. He looked at the duo. “You may be dismissed. Mids can show you where you will be staying… and I’ll see if the royal nursery can be cleaned quickly for your toddlers.”

Wonder said, “Thanks, Dad-In-Law!”

The King blushed, but remained smiling. “Of course.”