After Flamel left, Angie looked at Princess Kimia and asked, "Could you tell me what happened to the royal family after I fell into a deep sleep and how the Azoth royal family is doing now?"
"Of course, Your Highness," Kimia nodded.
Angie soon learned from Kimia that shortly after his "death," his father and mother fell into deep sorrow, their health deteriorating over time, until they eventually ceded the throne to Princess Anna.
Queen Anna was a wise monarch; she worked diligently, was good at recognizing talents, and especially relied on the great inventor Nikola, which led to the rapid rise of Azoth's national strength.
However, it was already the end of the feudal Kingdom around the world, particularly in the Kalos region, where revolutions were breaking out everywhere, and the Azoth Kingdom was equally precarious.
Queen Anna couldn't save the crumbling edifice on her own.
Not long after, influenced by spies from neighboring countries, Azoth Kingdom experienced internal strife, with the root cause being the queen's Pokémon—Magearna.
At that time, it was rumored that Nikola had established a super weapon hidden within the Azoth City, and the key to controlling this super weapon lay with Magearna. (Of course, this was indeed the case.) Consequently, some unscrupulous individuals began competing for Magearna.
In order to prevent Magearna from falling into the hands of others and to stop the situation from worsening, Queen Anna instructed Nikola to take Magearna away from Azoth Kingdom.
As for where they went, no one knew.
Since then, Nikola and Magearna had vanished without a trace.
After sending Magearna away, the queen proactively contacted the Pokémon League to quell the internal strife and reached a cooperation agreement with them.
From then on, Azoth Kingdom became part of the Pokémon League, which also helped to quell the internal unrest and preserved the privileges of the Azoth royal family within the kingdom.
It can be said that Azoth Kingdom's sudden tilt toward the League became the last straw that overwhelmed all feudal forces in Kalos, paving the way for the official establishment of the Pokémon League in the region.
Queen Anna could be considered the longest-living member of the Azoth royal family, living to the age of 108 before passing away, witnessing the transition of the Azoth kingdom from one era to another.
After listening to Kimia's account, Angie sighed deeply, not expecting so many events to occur in the kingdom after his "death." (Note: Angie is a Transmigrator and Pokémon enthusiast, but he is not familiar with the plot of the Pokémon anime.)
"To carry all of them alone, she must have had a hard time," Angie said, feeling very upset at this point.
He had always had a close relationship with his sister. His father and mother were busy with state affairs, so his sister spent the most time with him. She would come bouncing to his bedside like a joyful little bird, sharing interesting stories about the royal city.
Who would have known she would later have to endure so many hardships and challenges?
"Are the current members of the royal family descendants of my sister?" Angie asked again.
Kimia nodded, "During the internal strife back then, all the side branches of the royal family perished, leaving only Queen Anna's line. Now, the royal family consists of just me, my father, and my younger brother Raleigh."
At this point, Princess Kimia appeared somewhat downcast.
"I see…" Angie sighed as well.
"Your Highness, why don't you come back to the palace with me now?" Kimia suggested after a long pause.
"But I have this… business…" Angie hesitated.
Kimia interrupted him, saying, "You are a member of the Azoth royal family; how can you be doing such things outside?"
Angie immediately felt displeased, perceiving it as an insult to his profession.
"What's wrong with what I do? Is it illegal? Am I committing a crime? I'm just doing what every citizen of Azoth does daily—earning money to support my family. There's nothing shameful about it."
Angie's tone was somewhat angry.
"I… I didn't mean it that way," Kimia stammered, startled by Angie's sudden anger.
"Or do you think my steamed buns and dumplings taste bad?" Angie added.
"No, no, no~" Kimia quickly waved her hands, "The food you make is very delicious, better than anything I've ever eaten."
That seemed a bit like flattery; although Angie's steamed buns and dumplings were tasty, they weren't exaggeratedly the best in the world.
Nevertheless, Angie did feel pleased by the compliment.
He suddenly stood up and said, "Going to the palace is fine, but let's talk after I finish today's business in the morning."
As he spoke, he opened the window of his food cart.
The crowd outside, who had been watching, immediately stretched their necks to take a look once the cart opened.
Gossip time! Gossip time!
When the onlookers saw that Angie had the same hair color as Princess Kimia, they couldn't help but exclaim in their hearts, "No way!"
Could the little boss actually be a member of the royal family?
For a moment, the crowd's curiosity flared.
Soon, a rich aroma wafted from the cart, stirring up the appetite of the people.
Damn, that smells too good!
Angie turned to Kimia and said, "Princess, could you have your guards step back? Otherwise, how can I do business?"
"Huh? Oh, oh, oh~" Kimia quickly commanded the guards to disperse and then said to Angie, "Your Highness, you can just call me Kimia. If your identity is correct, you're actually my elder."
Once the guards withdrew, the crowd surged forward.
Seeing this, Angie shouted, "Those who want to buy buns and dumplings, please line up! If you're not buying, please move along!"
With that, even the people who had only come to gossip decided to buy something, and soon a long line formed in front of the stall.
The young man at the front of the line quietly asked Angie, "Little boss, tell me the truth—are you a member of the royal family?"
The people in line behind him stretched their necks like giraffes, afraid to miss a single word.
"Sort of," Angie replied casually.
They've got the scoop! They've got the scoop!
Hearing Angie's response, the crowd's faces turned red with excitement.
But the little boss's answer was a bit ambiguous.
"Sort of… how are we supposed to interpret that?"
Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in the minds of a few gossipers. Could the little boss be the king's illegitimate child?
They stared intently at Angie's face, trying to gauge if his age matched up.
With this thought in mind, the young man at the front decided to voice the question on everyone's mind.
"Little boss, could it be that you're… the king's…"
Although everyone was curious, when they saw the young man actually ask the question, they all sucked in a cold breath.
"Dude, you're bold! The princess is still right there!"
Before Angie could answer, Princess Kimia stuck her head out of the cart's window and said, "What nonsense are you spouting? His Highness Angie is a senior member of the royal family, with a higher status than even my father!"
A senior to… the king?
Oh, wow! The little boss had such a big background? Everyone was utterly stunned.
The Azoth royal family had always been close to the people; otherwise, the young man wouldn't have dared to gossip so boldly. Even though the princess scolded them, the crowd wasn't really scared. Instead, their curiosity only intensified.
"Princess, Princess! Tell us who the little boss really is!" the onlookers asked eagerly, their voices overlapping.
"Alright! Alright!" Angie picked up a kitchen knife and chopped it twice on the cutting board. "Are you here to eat or to gossip? If you're just here for gossip, then leave. I'm not running a gossip service here."
Hearing this, everyone had no choice but to line up obediently.
Soon, the first batch of buns and dumplings was ready. Everyone momentarily forgot about the gossip, as they had been waiting for a long time and were quite hungry. They quickly took out their money.
Seeing this, Diancie rushed forward to help.
There were just too many people, and the line kept growing as more people came to join after hearing the gossip. Even with Diancie helping, Angie was overwhelmed, fumbling around and drenched in sweat.
Seeing this, Kimia hurriedly told the guards, "What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and help His Highness!"
"Y-Yes!" The guards responded quickly.
A group of guards began assisting—some collecting money, others handing out buns and dumplings to customers, and others maintaining order. Angie was relieved; with their help, all he had to do was focus on making buns.
The morning flew by.
Thanks to the guards' help, Angie could just keep making buns. In less than half the morning, he used up all the ingredients he and his Munchlax had prepared in advance.
On a normal day, he'd have packed up and gone home by now.
But today was special—the crowd was large, and he had help, so he decided to knead more dough and only make dumplings.
By noon, Angie had completely run out of flour to make dumplings; he had used everything up.
He couldn't even tell how many dumplings he'd sold.
The combination of royal family gossip and the fact that the dumplings were delicious made Angie's business explode with popularity.
"Alright, alright! That's it for today, everyone head home!" Angie shouted when the last dumplings was sold.
"What? That's it? I wanted to try them to see how good they really were!"
The people at the back of the line were disappointed—many were first-timers, just coming for the fun of it.
"Come early tomorrow!" Angie said, shutting the cart window with a snap.
"Your Highness Angie, now will you come back to the palace with me? I'm sure my father is very eager to see you," Kimia said, stepping forward.
"Alright." Angie nodded.
Since he planned to stay in Azoth long-term, it was necessary to meet the current king.
With that, Angie drove his cart toward the palace, escorted by a group of guards.
Before setting off, he sent the still-sleeping Komala back home, bringing only Diancie and Swablu's Dad with him. Swablu's Dad continued to perch on top of the cart.
On the way, Angie asked Kimia, "By the way, I don't have a business license. You're not going to arrest me, are you?"
Kimia couldn't help but laugh. "Of course not! I'll sort that out for you later."
"I'm also not registered," Angie added.
"I'll fix that too," Kimia said.
"That's a relief," Angie said, feeling satisfied.
It really worth it to have connections.
Soon, they arrived at the palace. Angie drove the cart through the palace grounds, looking at the plants and trees—it all felt both familiar and strange.
Following the guards' directions, Angie parked the cart in a designated area, then got off along with Princess Kimia.
Just as they stepped off the cart, Flamel hurried over. She whispered a few words into the princess's ear and handed her a document.
"Princess."
Kimia took the document and read it carefully. After finishing, she finally relaxed, smiling at Angie.
"Your Highness Angie, welcome home."
Flamel then turned around to Diancie, "And welcome to you as well, Lady Diancie."
"Thank you," Diancie replied.
After that, Angie, led by Kimia, went to meet the king.
Before Flamel delivered the documents, she had already met with the king and reported all the information about Angie to His Majesty.
As they walked into a grand hall, Angie and Diancie saw the king sitting on his throne from afar.
The current king was named Edward Azoth. He had just turned forty, with brilliant golden hair and a matching golden beard. He was tall, though slightly overweight.
Next to Edward sat Prince Raleigh, who was watching Angie with a curious expression.
Upon seeing Angie, Edward couldn't wait any longer. He hurried down the steps and rushed to Angie, immediately grasping both of his hands.
"You... You're really His Highness Angie?"
"Indeed, the one and only," Angie replied, feeling awkward being held by someone who looked older than him but was, in fact, his junior.
Tears welled up in Edward's eyes. "It's incredible, truly incredible. If Queen Anna knew you were still alive and well, she would be so relieved."
Edward then turned his gaze to Diancie.
"And this must be Lady Diancie? It's such an honor to meet you."
Diancie gracefully curtsied. "I'm also pleased to meet you, Your Majesty."
If Munchlax were here, seeing Diancie in such a manner, he would no longer doubt her royal, refined nature.
"She spoke!"
"Diancie spoke!"
"Idiot, that's telepathy."
…
Apart from the King and Prince Raleigh, there were also several ministers in the hall, and as soon as Diancie spoke, they began whispering amongst themselves.
The King was full of admiration. "It's very incredible! Only Sir Nikola that could have brought such a beautiful Pokémon into being."
Hearing Edward's words, Diancie glanced at Angie but didn't respond, silently acknowledging the truth that she had indeed come into existence because of Nikola.
Though they hadn't discussed this beforehand, Diancie and Angie had grown up together, and they understood each other deeply. Diancie immediately grasped Angie's intentions.
"Your Highness Angie, where have you been all this time? Since you've awoken, why didn't you return to the royal family?" Edward asked.
Angie thought: Who knows what the royal family is like now? What if you don't recognize me when I return?
But despite these thoughts, Angie couldn't say them out loud.
"When I first woke up, my mind was still foggy, and I wasn't sure if the royal family even existed anymore. After all, five hundred years have passed."
"Yes, yes, that makes sense," Edward nodded repeatedly. "Where have you been staying all this time? It must have been difficult."
He had heard from Flamel that His Highness had been reduced to setting up a street stall.
Oh, my poor prince! A noble member of the royal family, once a prince of the kingdom!
Thinking of this, Edward was on the verge of tears again.
The royal family was so precious now Including His Highness, who had just returned, there were only four of them. They were too precious.
Kimia thought: Father, isn't this a bit much?
From her father's expression, Princess Kimia could easily guess what he was thinking.
Edward wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. "Your Highness, now that you've returned, why don't you move back to the palace and live with us?"
However, Angie shook his head. "I'm sorry, but I don't wish to live in the palace at the moment."