“Our family is actually supposed to be in King Saz’s place,” Jade said quietly, watching their faces for any reaction.
Selina blinked, bewildered. “You mean... like the royal family?”
“Dad!!” Racle suddenly shouted, his outburst startling even Jade. “Are you just going to keep beating around the bush, or will you actually tell us?”
Rhen nodded with quiet affirmation. “Racle, it’s the truth.”
Selina’s eyes widened as disbelief crept in. “Mom, are you serious? How is that even possible?”
Jade sighed deeply, the weight of the secret evident in his voice. “It’s a painfully long story, Selina. A painful one.” He paused, then began to unravel everything—every detail he'd kept locked away—telling Racle and Selina what had truly happened.
---
**Visgard**
“This is our best chance to come up with a plan,” Avon said to the vice president in the privacy of his office.
The VP frowned. “Yes, but what plan could we possibly devise when our threat is coming from space?”
Avon’s eyes narrowed in thought. “True, but objectively speaking—a typical spaceship can only carry one to seven people. Do you really think that maniac out there managed to get his hands on the runes from the starship Visgard built all those centuries ago?”
The vice president scoffed softly. “I doubt it. That was hundreds of years ago. The runes would most likely have been destroyed by now.”
“What if it isn’t?” Avon countered. “Once things don’t make sense anymore, anything’s possible. That ship—if it’s still intact—could carry hundreds of humans. And if it’s occupied by Skimals, the number would be twenty or less. If this maniac continues attacking, he’s bound to reach for planets closer to Earth.”
“So, what’s your point?” the VP asked, leaning back in his chair.
“My point is there’s probably a way to reach that ship from those planets,” Avon said boldly.
The vice president sighed. “Stop overthinking, President Avon. There are about eight planets—and several dwarf planets—orbiting the sun. Jade would have to explore each one to find an uncertain path to an uncertain ship.”
Avon leaned forward, persistent. “Come on, Mr. Joe. At least let’s try.”
The VP rose, smirking. “You have the craziest ideas. I’ll inform Mr. Billy to pass your message to Jade.”
“Yes!” Avon smiled.
“It’ll be up to him to decide,” Joe said firmly, then left the room.
---
Tears streamed down Selina’s cheeks. “Please tell me it’s a lie, Dad. All of this is just made-up stories, right?”
Rhen tried to steady her. “Selina, calm down. There’s no reason to cry.”
“How can I calm down when someone else sits in our place? Enjoying my privileges and powers?” Selina’s voice trembled.
“Dad, you’re saying Guriel and Yeln are our cousins,” Racle cut in, running a hand through his hair. “But no one knows except us—Mr. Mark, Dr. Bryan, Mrs. Lillian, and Vice President Joe. You’re telling us the royal family and we are one, yet we’ve been replaced.” He clenched his fists. “If I can’t use my abilities as I wish, then what’s the point of having them?”
“We could think of somethi—”
“Dad!” Selina interrupted sharply. “We won’t have you deciding our lives for us anymore. Please stop.”
Racle’s eyes burned with anger. “I promised not to be rash, but I’m not going to sit here forever watching someone else take what’s mine and bark orders at me.”
Jade’s voice turned grave. “I’m sorry, but I can’t find a solution without risking trouble. Whatever you plan, just promise me you won’t cause an internal crisis.” He looked directly at Selina. “Especially you. You could lose your powers if you’re not careful.”
Rhen’s tone softened. “Selina, Racle, we have a major problem to solve. Let’s tackle that first, okay? If you want, you can visit Mr. Mark—he might give you something new for training. I can’t have you draining your life force.”
Racle huffed. “Tsk! What am I supposed to tell people if they ask?”
Jade rested her hand on Racle’s shoulder. “You’re a prince, Racle. You don’t actually need training to improve your skills. Haven’t you noticed? You’ve never trained seriously but you’ve defeated your sister, who trains all the time. Your powers are meant to save people in the worst of situations.”
“Are you saying I should stop training?”
“If it helps you live longer,” Jade replied quietly.
Racle hesitated, then nodded. “I’ll stop. But I’m definitely going to reclaim my destiny. I’m sorry, Dad, but I won’t follow in your footsteps.” With that, he stormed out of the house.
Selina’s voice trembled as she turned to Rhen. “Mom, how am I supposed to act around them now? Nothing’s going to be the same.”
Rhen pulled her in for a comforting embrace. “Just try to act as you usually do. With time, you’ll get over it.” Once Selina was calm, Rhen left the room and went to her own.
She exhaled heavily. “I wish Racle were as special as you are,” Rhen murmured sadly.
Jade smirked. “Maybe I should’ve married into the Razeki clan, huh?”
“You’re kidding, right?” Rhen replied, eyes narrowing.
“Or maybe... a second wife.”
“Jade! That’s not funny.”
“Come on, I’m joking. The mood has been too tense, you know.”
---
The next day, Jade met with the students on the open field. He told them that Racle wouldn’t be training due to health reasons. Selina took over, leading the training to avoid raising suspicion.
A week later, Mark and Dr. Bryan finished producing the ammunition, ready for deployment.
With the MK-19 in army hands, some Skimals became alarmingly easy to kill—one shot was enough.
As agreed, twenty-five percent of the ammunition was sold to Maneki and Razeki villages, where they’d manufacture the rest themselves.
At the king’s palace, Jade was summoned.
“Thanks for coming,” Billy began. “President Avon asked me to pass on a message. He believes there’s a starship in space containing about twenty or fewer Skimals, controlled by a maniac. If that assumption is right, then there must be a way connecting other planets to the ship.”
“So everything’s just an assumption?” Jade raised an eyebrow. “If I understand correctly, you mean that first and only starship made hundreds of years ago?”
“Yup, that’s right,” Billy replied.
“Was it impenetrable by the sun? Why would such a ship still exist?”
Billy shrugged. “Who knows? I’m just passing a message.”
Jade’s frustration showed. “You want me to teleport from one planet to another, searching for an assumed route to an assumed ship that was probably destroyed years ago? Seriously? Do you even think? You know traveling to other planets drains my life force.” He turned to King Saz. “Please, don’t summon me here again about such nonsense.”
“Jade,” Saz said, pounding a fist on his chair, “we’re all trying to save the world here. None of this makes sense anymore. We have to stop expecting every plan to be reasonable.” He fixed Jade with a cold glare. “It’s your job to protect the world from threats. Stop acting like it’s none of your concern.”
“Who said it’s my job to protect the world?” Jade snapped. “I’ll do what I want. So you do what you can, and stop ordering me around.”
“Jade!” Billy warned. “You do remember you’re speaking to the king, right?”
“Leave me to protect my family, and I’ll leave you to protect yours. Whatever’s happening up there will come down eventually.” Jade spun on his heel and walked out.
Saz glared after him. “Billy, call a meeting with the rest of the pillars. I won’t let him get away with this. I’m going to punish him.”
“Punish him? How?” 
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