The Silent Return
Hayate and Neshuda slipped back into the Aurekawa Citadel as silently as they had left. It was dangerous and exhausting, especially since Hayate was still recovering from the reflected injury Neshuda had sustained in VELDISWALL.
The first thing they did was rush to their private chambers. Hayate, leaning heavily on Neshuda, pulled out the stolen ledgers and documents.
"We did it," Hayate murmured, dropping onto his bed. His arm was throbbing fiercely, a phantom reflection of Neshuda's torn muscle. "This is enough to shatter Henudra's influence."
Neshuda, ignoring the persistent, dull ache in his own arm, started packing away their travel gear. His face was grim.
"You are still in pain, Hayate," Neshuda stated, his voice flat with worry.
"I'm fine," Hayate lied, trying to smile. "It's just… it's hard to ignore. It's hard to know that you are in pain, Neshuda."
Neshuda stopped his work and walked over to Hayate. He knelt by the bed, his dark eyes filled with pure-hearted anguish.
"I am your Life Anchor. My pain is now your weakness," Neshuda said, his voice raw. "I hate that. I hate that I am the danger."
Hayate reached out, grabbing Neshuda's hand, the familiar touch easing some of the reflected agony.
"No, you are the strength," Hayate insisted. "You risked everything for this. You took the blow. Now, let's go finish this. Let's make that pain worth the kingdom's stability."
Neshuda nodded, the fear in his eyes replaced by cold, fierce determination. He was ready to face the entire council, with the King standing as his only ally.
The Council of Accusation
Lord Henudra wasted no time. As soon as he learned the King had returned, he called an emergency meeting of the Royal Council. He planned to use the King's unauthorized absence to accuse him of being irresponsible, reckless, and unfit to rule.
The throne room was packed. The air was thick with tension and the smell of expensive perfumes. Hayate sat on the throne, looking outwardly calm and regal, but inwardly, he was a coiled spring of nerves. Neshuda stood a few paces behind him, a statue of dark, watchful loyalty.
Henudra began his attack immediately, his voice smooth and persuasive.
"Your Majesty," Henudra said, bowing with false sincerity. "We have been gravely concerned by your unannounced departure. You were absent for nearly a week. This behavior is irresponsible. It suggests a lack of commitment to the crown."
Henudra then turned to the council, his eyes sweeping over the room. "We fear the young King is easily manipulated. He keeps criminals, strangers, and those with dark origins close to him." Henudra pointed a sharp finger directly at Neshuda. "I demand the King explain why he keeps this Guardian—this stray—whose past is entirely unknown, especially after the latest rumors linking him to crime in Barrackwall Town!"
The nobles erupted in murmurs of agreement. Hayate felt a wave of intense humiliation and suppressed rage from Neshuda—a reflected emotional storm that made Hayate's hands clench beneath his robe.
Hold it, Neshuda. Not yet, Hayate commanded silently.
The Evidence Revealed
Hayate stood up slowly, his Angelic charisma instantly silencing the room. He didn't shout; he spoke with calm authority.
"Lord Henudra speaks of rumors and speculation," Hayate said, his voice carrying clearly through the massive room. "I, however, speak of facts."
He pulled the satchel off the floor and walked down the steps of the throne, the stolen documents clutched tightly in his hands. Neshuda moved instantly, following him like a shadow, standing beside Hayate as his solid, silent anchor.
"We did not leave for a holiday, Lord Henudra. We left to find the real corruption tearing this kingdom apart," Hayate announced.
He slammed the ledgers onto the main table.
"This is proof. Proof that you, Lord Henudra, have been systematically draining the resources of the southern territories, forging royal tax decrees, and hoarding grain that should have gone to villages like Hoshimura!"
The council exploded in chaos. Nobles gasped, others shouted denials.
Henudra's face finally cracked. His usual smooth mask shattered, replaced by raw shock and venomous rage.
"Lies! Forged documents!" Henudra roared, forgetting his courtly manners. "This is the work of that vagrant! He sneaked into VELDISWALL and fabricated this treason!"
The Final Blow
Hayate stood firm, letting Neshuda's cold, absolute loyalty fuel his resolve.
"This vagrant, as you call him, proved his loyalty by risking his life to expose your treason," Hayate stated. "And the merchants of Barrackwall Town—the ones you claimed he robbed—swear they were pressured by your own staff to file false reports!"
Henudra took a step toward Hayate, his eyes wild. He was about to physically confront the King.
Neshuda moved.
It wasn't a visible fight. It was a terrifying, absolute act of protection. Neshuda simply stepped forward, positioning his body perfectly between the furious advisor and the King. His eyes—dark, cold, and utterly deadly—locked onto Henudra.
Henudra, a political genius but not a warrior, suddenly froze. He felt the terrifying, palpable threat emanating from the Guardian. He saw the cold, ruthless efficiency in Neshuda's posture. He realized that if he moved another inch toward Hayate, Neshuda would kill him without a moment's hesitation, and no one in the room could stop him.
The silent confrontation lasted only a second, but it confirmed Neshuda's absolute power and Hayate's absolute trust.
Henudra backed down, his rage turning to cold, poisonous cunning.
"Very well, Your Majesty," Henudra said, regaining his composure. "If you choose to believe the words of a nameless assassin over your most loyal advisor, so be it."
Henudra then turned to the shocked council members and delivered his final, subtle blow.
"But ask yourselves this, my Lords. Where did your King get the skill to break into a noble's house and open a safe? Was it the stray who taught him to steal? Are we ruling over a King of Angels, or a King of Thieves?"
The doubt, subtle and venomous, was planted.
Victory and Isolation
Hayate ignored the final insult. He ordered the Royal Guard Captain to immediately arrest Lord Henudra for treason, citing the overwhelming evidence of corruption and sabotage.
The victory was massive. Henudra was led away, protesting furiously, his political reign shattered.
But the triumph felt cold. Henudra's last words had successfully introduced a terrible thought into the nobles' minds: The King and his Guardian are two of a kind. They are both dangerous outsiders.
Later that day, back in the quiet sanctuary of their chambers, Hayate was sitting with Neshuda, exhausted but victorious.
"We won, Neshuda," Hayate said, a weak smile on his face. "You saved the kingdom."
"We survived Henudra's first attack," Neshuda corrected, his voice flat. He was already thinking ahead. "But he hurt you, Hayate. He made the nobles suspicious of you, and he broke your bond with your court."
Neshuda looked at the King, his intense gaze filled with worry. "We are isolated now, Hayate. We only have each other. And the curse."
Hayate stood up and walked over to Neshuda. He gently took Neshuda's injured arm and used his healing aura, pushing the golden light into the torn muscle. The sharp pain in his own arm immediately subsided.
"That's why this curse is a necessary power, Neshuda," Hayate said, holding Neshuda's hand tightly. "It forces us to rely only on each other. It forces us to build our own home within this Citadel of lies."
Hayate had faced the first major crisis of his reign and survived, not through royal decree, but through his pure-hearted loyalty to his Life Anchor.
But as the day ended, and the sun set over the massive walls of the Citadel, Hayate felt a creeping fear. Lord Henudra was gone, but the seeds of doubt, and the true, final villain, were already growing in the shadows. The price of their victory was total isolation, and the next challenge would test their unbreakable bond like never before.