When Starling and the Knight of Glacend saved Niveus from dying of freezing, buried under the thick avalanche, he was in critical condition.
Anetta, or the Queen in disguise, was the one who treated him during that time.
Although it lasted only six months, the unforgettable memory Niveus made with Anetta was everlasting. She was like a mother figure to him.
However, discovering that motherly Anetta was the cunning Queen made Niveus baffled. He couldn't utter any word after shouting 'Anetta' at her.
"Oh my," the Queen unfolded her fan. "Am I unintentionally telling you about how I discovered your identity..."
She clasped the fan shut again. The expression on her face completely changed from sly and meticulous to a familiar kind and carefree-looking Anetta.
Niveus fell deep into his sea of thoughts: did Anetta, or the Queen know he was a Celestial from the beginning? Was it when she first treated me? Was it when she and Starling tried to pull my mask off? Other than those, what was the Queen doing in Glacend in the first place? Did she run away?
'But two things for sure, the Queen living in Glacend for a year was not part of the game. And I've misunderstood her relationship with Starling. They're not enemies but close friends, I think? Therefore, this is also not the case in the original game.'
"Well, whatever. Let's proceed to the agreed terms. So, what do you wish from the Star Fragment, Niveus?"
"No, wait! I want to ask you a question first!"
Niveus was curious about the Queen's reason for disguising as a practical medic in Glacend. Though he could always ask Nono about something trivial like this, he couldn't help but want to hear it directly from the person herself.
"If it's about how I know your true identity, you must have guessed it already—"
"It's not that," Niveus shook his head and stared at the Queen. "Why and what were you doing in Glacend?"
The Queen looked away, flustered. "That was... I guess I was in my rebellious phase... but then I remembered I had a son around your age I left in the castle..."
Niveus frowned. His eyes scrutinized the blond-haired woman in regal attire, doubting her dubious reasoning. He knew and had already confirmed that the Queen wasn't someone who moved without a goal, so if she said she was there because she ran away, that would be nonsense.
However, he couldn't figure out what her goal was in Glacend. There should be no noteworthy goals she could achieve during that time except for the slaughter of my race, Morpheal, the great avalanche, and Niveus's arrival in Glacend.
Pushing all the unquestioned mysteries aside, Niveus focused more on what he could apprehend.
"Is that perhaps the 4th Prince—! Wait! Then the little, three-year-old baby was..."
"Yep," the Queen smiled. "My second child, my lovely daughter, Aurum."
Speechless and dumbfounded, Niveus sat down instantly as though gravity was pulling him downward.
'So, all this time, the game's main character I met first was the secret character and not Alphonso?'
There was no actual problem with that, however, Niveus was just baffled he couldn't recognize the three-year-old baby he always teased back then. In his defense, though, it was not like Aurum was the only human kid with blonde hair and golden eyes in this world...
'Maybe, she's the only one...' Niveus muttered internally.
A second later, he recalled the incident earlier in the morning when he stumbled upon the Queen's daughter. At that time, Aurum seemed to want to step on him deliberately, which raised a question.
'Does she remember her time in Glacend when I always teased her? Is she holding a grudge against me?' Niveus chuckled internally, thinking it was a cute act of payback.
"My request to you. It's related to my daughter," said the Queen abruptly.
Niveus was pulled out of his thoughts after the Queen had spoken.
He raised an eyebrow as he looked into the Queen curiously, trying to read her changing expression.
The Queen's brows arched in reverse, her eyes drooped, almost half-closed, as she stared into the distance, and her lips curled in as if trying to hold back loneliness.
'...what happens to the secret character? Is she really in a critical condition at that time? But I didn't do anything, though? Does she want me to take responsibility through all this?'
Niveus shook his head.
'No. If that's the case, she would have shown sorrowful and furious and directed them at me,' said Niveus as he kept reading her expression. 'Instead, she looks melancholic.'
Like a delicate veil of blue draped over the fading day, an air of loneliness surrounded the Queen. The vibrant hues of the sunset contrasted sharply with the quiet melancholy in her eyes.
If he had a canvas, a brush, and paints in his hands, Niveus would have captured that imagery into a drawing, naming it melancholy or something, and displaying it in his room or even selling it for a huge sum.
"Umm, is there something wrong with the Princess? But I swear I didn't do anything to her, aun—Your Majesty."
"No," the Queen shook her head, turning and smiling, though Niveus still could catch her previous emotion faintly. "My daughter is completely fine and healthy. There is no problem with her body or anything."
"Then, what is it? What does y-Your Majesty mean by your request related to the Princess?"
After a long silence, the Queen simply said, "I want you to protect her."
...
In the grand dining room, the large dining table, set with gleaming silverware and pristine linens, dominated the room, its surfaces catching the soft glow of the chandelier overhead.
Servants moved skillfully without making much noise against the polished marble floor.
The clinking of fine china and the rustling of starched aprons filled the air as plates were arranged.
A gentle murmur of conversation stirred on the table as the aroma of roasted meats, freshly baked bread, and other suppers weaved through the room.
In such a place that exuded elegance and royalty, Niveus sat on one of the chairs, an oddity amongst four other people at the table.
He glanced to his left, spotting a young girl with blonde hair staring at her plate with sparkling eyes. Then, he stared at the plate in front of him, full of fish filets.
'Why am I here again?'