The chamber beneath the Colosseum had grown uneasy.

  Keln of Resurgum was the one who finally spoke.

  “Where is Dante?”

  The question lingered.

  “It’s been fifteen days,” he continued. “No response from Zenithellion. No Astral Word. No transport records. Did anyone actually check?”

  Silence answered him.

  Jiyan frowned. “We tried. Nothing goes through. Not even echoes.”

  “Same here,” Sora added. “It’s like the Kingdom sealed itself.”

  Yun Shi folded his arms. “That’s not Zenithellion’s style.”

  Before anyone could speculate further—

  The doors opened.

  Footsteps echoed across the quartz floor.

  A woman entered.

  Tall. Nearly six feet.

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  Perfect posture. Calm, controlled presence.

  Her figure was sharp, refined—power wrapped in elegance. Long hair fell cleanly over her shoulders, eyes steady and unbothered by the stares she immediately received.

  The room froze.

  Jiyan blinked. Then squinted.

  “…Hey,” he said slowly, standing. “Uh. Are you Dante’s sister or something?”

  He tilted his head. “You’re tall as hell.”

  The woman stopped.

  Looked directly at him.

  “I am Dante.”

  The world stopped.

  Then—

  “…HAAAAA—?!”

  Every ruler froze in disbelief.

  Then laughter exploded.

  Some leaned back in their chairs. Others covered their mouths. Someone actually choked.

  Jiyan stared for three seconds—

  Then dropped to one knee, pulled a flower from somewhere no one wanted to question, and held it up dramatically.

  “Then please,” he declared, “let us get married.”

  BAM.

  Dante stared at the flower, unimpressed.

  “Where were you even keeping that?”

  Jiyan grinned. “Does it matter?”

  Dante’s eye twitched. “Don’t tell me you pulled it out of your ass.”

  Dante punched him so cleanly he slid across the quartz floor.

  “Shut up, idiot.”

  Yun Shi cleared his throat. Loudly.

  “That’s enough,” he said, suppressing a smile. “Before this meeting becomes a circus—Dante, explain.”

  Dante straightened, rolling her shoulder once.

  “A relic,” she said. “The Flute of Krishna.”

  The room quieted instantly.

  “It activated unexpectedly,” Dante continued. “Converted roughly fifty percent of Zenithellion’s population into female.”

  Dead silence.

  “…You’re joking,” Keln said weakly.

  “I am not.”

  Sora pinched the bridge of her nose. “A gender-conversion relic?”

  “I’m working on reversing it,” Dante said calmly. “But sealing the Kingdom was necessary to prevent panic.”

  Jiyan, still on the floor, raised a hand. “So you’re single now, right?”

  Dante smiled.

  A dangerous one.

  “I will kill all of you.”

  Yun Shi coughed. “Right. Yes. So—after two days, the festival begins. Until then, our focus stays on Aethelgard.”

  “We’ll help later,” Jiyan added cheerfully, standing back up. “But if you do wanna marry—”

  “End of discussion,” Yun Shi said immediately. “Everyone return to their rooms.”

  Chairs shifted. The meeting dissolved.

  As they walked out, Yun Shi passed Dante and leaned just slightly closer.

  “By the way,” he said casually, not slowing his steps.

  “Looking sexy.”

  Then he ran.

  Dante stood still.

  Her eye twitched.

  Far below the Colosseum, the world prepared for celebration—

  utterly unaware that even the crowns were barely holding reality together.