IT REALLY IS HER!!!

OH MY GODS, WHY IS SHE HERE!?

MS. BLACKWELL, WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!

Pandemonium. Instant pandemonium.

That’s the only way to describe what erupted the minute the strange girl was identified. It was like those soap operas where the man sits up in his casket during his own funeral wearing a wry smirk. All hell broke loose, and the beginning of a stampede was brewing. One reporter after another pushed and shoved each other to get closer to the girl, and the royal guards sprang into action, trying to get a hold of the chaos.

“Enough. Calm yourselves!” the king shouted, but there was so much noise in the room that even his booming voice vibrating through a speaker seemed inaudible by comparison.

The girl seemed both overwhelmed and infuriated as the media swarmed her like a hoard of locusts.

Helena came darting up to me and the king and said, “Your Majesty, Mr. Watanabe, please come this way. This chaos is a risk to both of your safety.”

The king and I allowed Helena to escort us back into the private room. The sound of mayhem unfolding was still emanating from the ballroom as we retreated.

What the hell was that whole situation about? Why did that girl seem so familiar?

My parents, Mizuki, and Eva rushed up to me, their faces a mirror to my own with their shock.

“Honey, did you see that? How do our lives keep getting more exciting?!” dad bubbled.

“I don’t know but it’s so much fun!” mom cheered.

I shook my head and vehemently disagreed. “Not for me! I have no idea what just happened!”

“Something that she wouldn’t have gotten away with if I were out there,” Mizuki grumbled.

“Shinsuke, do you realize who that was?” Eva asked, her eyes so wide and her body so bouncy that I thought she would burst at any moment.

“No. She looked familiar, though.”

“Are you kidding me, Shinsuke? That was Raven Blackwell!”

People kept saying the name over and over again, but it took hearing it come out of Eva’s mouth for it to finally jog my memory.

“Wait, you mean that actress you’re obsessed with?”

“Me and everyone else on the planet!” Eva corrected me. “She’s literally the most popular actress in the world!”

The king stroked his beard and laughed heartily. “What a scene that was out there! I must say, whenever you speak, something interesting happens, Shinsuke!”

Helena, who had peeked outside the door again after retrieving me and the king, ran back up to us, her face a mask of stress. “Your Majesty, it’s still chaos in the ballroom. The guards have taken Ms. Blackwell into one of the security rooms to keep her safe until her own security detail can regroup with her.”

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Excellent work, Helena.”

Just then, one of the other doors to the room we were in was thrown open so hard I was shocked the hinges didn’t go flying off. Standing in the bright light that poured inside from the hall was none other than the princess herself, my “fiancé”, Cynthia Rose von Eisenhardt.

“Father, what is the meaning of this?” she fumed, storming up to the king. “How did that actress get in here?”

“Relax, my daughter,” he soothed. “She was on the guest list. In fact, she attended the fight last week as well. There’s always VIPs at our prestigious events. I can’t say I expected her to have an outburst, however.”

“Wait, I was in the same audience as Raven Blackwell last week and I didn’t even know it?!” Eva gasped.

Cynthia ignored her and turned to me. “Did you have something to do with this?”

Her tone was accusatory.

“Obviously not. Do you think I regularly hang out with movie stars?”

She groaned. “Then why did she say that to you?”

“Hell if I know. Where were you, anyway? You’ve been a ghost since I got to the castle.”

Her posture stiffened and she seemed caught off guard. “I was taking an important phone call. But enough about that. Why did that actress mouth off like that? I was hoping the stupidity would stop for a while after the first round of the gauntlet. Now the media is all wound up again.”

“I think it was a publicity stunt,” Eva interjected. “Rumor has it her next film is a comedy called Paparazzi Princess. I wonder if she’s a method actress…”

“Ugh, that sounds likely,” Cynthia agreed. “But still, celebrity or not, what kind of nutjob just causes a scene during a press conference held by the royal family?”

“No point in speculating tonight,” the king said. “With the lack of control in the ballroom right now, it would seem the press conference has come to an unintended conclusion. You all should head home for the night and get some sleep.”

“I agree, father. It’s been a long night.”

Music to my ears.

“Helena, have a driver take Mr. Watanabe and his guests back to Valport.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. Follow me, everyone.”

The king bid us a good night and Helena guided us through the halls and to the parking garage beneath the castle. The commotion was still within the ballroom, so we were able to get to the garage without being mobbed by the media, thankfully. Cynthia had joined us in the garage and pulled me and Eva aside.

“Shinsuke, how are you feeling?” Cynthia asked. She looked me up and down, inspecting my body.

“Fine?”

“Good. It seems that the week you spent at home has helped your body finish fully healing up. But now that you’re feeling better, tomorrow would be a good time for things to get back to normal.”

“Normal?”

“Yes,” she confirmed. “Since the next round of the gauntlet is held up in negotiations, you need to use this time to train as much as you can. Not only that, but it’s also time you resumed attending school.”

Eva nodded. “I agree with her, Shinsuke. You were finally able to cast a spell during the fight with Emil, but you still have a long way to go. It would be best to capitalize on your momentum and refine your skills.”

“Okay, I get that,” I said. “But why school? Wouldn’t it be better to just focus on training?”

“I told you that I had Eva request your absences be forgiven until the month was over. Did you think that you’d get out of school forever? You need to head back before you fall behind. Besides, weren’t you mad that I asked Eva to arrange that without your permission? Now you want to keep lazing around?” Cynthia grilled me.

“All right, all right. I get it.”

“So, back to the grind tomorrow, Shinsuke!” Eva declared.

“Fine.” I sighed.

Cynthia smirked with satisfaction. “Excellent. I’ll be in touch. Have a good night’s rest tonight. All of you.”

My parents, Mizuki, Eva, and I boarded the vehicle and were on our way back to Valport. I tried my best not to stew in dread at my impending return to school, but that was a tall ask. Dad chatted up the driver while mom found herself on the receiving end of an unhinged Eva diatribe. She was going off about how she was so close to Raven Blackwell and didn’t know it. I tried to tune it all out as Mizuki allowed me to use her lap as a pillow.

She stroked my hair as I drifted off, pondering the name Raven Blackwell.

“I want you for myself,” huh. What a weird publicity stunt.