The moment the engine roared to life, I heard a metallic crunch from behind me. My heart sank. Twisting around, I saw Lucien and Damiel standing outside the car, holding the detached passenger door like it was some kind of trophy.
"What did you do?!" I screeched, bolting out of the car.
Lucien looked at the door in his hand, his expression calm, though there was a faint crease in his brow. "The mechanism failed to respond. We assumed the enchantment was malfunctioning, so we removed it."
"Removed it?" My voice rose as I gestured wildly at the mangled door. "You ripped it off!"
Damiel, ever the unhelpful one, shrugged. "We used magic. It was faster."
"Faster? This is not some enchanted chariot!" I hissed. "It's a car! A normal, non-magical car! You're supposed to pull the handle to open the door!" I yanked open the driver's side door as a demonstration, shooting them an exasperated glare. "Like this! See?"
Lucien studied the intact door, then the ruined one in his hand, his frown deepening. "It wasn't intuitive."
"It's a handle! How much more intuitive does it need to be?!"
I-seo, watching the scene unfold from the passenger seat, was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes. "Sena, calm down! They didn't mean to—"
Lucien cut her off, holding the broken door upright. "We will repair this. Consider it a royal promise."
I crossed my arms, glaring at him. "A royal promise isn't going to fix my car door right now."
"We will summon the finest artisans in Valeraine," he replied solemnly, as though that was the solution to all my problems.
Ignoring me, Lucien carefully placed the broken door into the backseat, as if that somehow made things better. He and Damiel climbed into the car after it, their movements stiff and awkward in the cramped space.
The moment I started driving, the chaos only escalated.
"This contraption is unstable!" Lucien barked, gripping the back of the seat like his life depended on it.
"Hold on!" I said as I swerved around a cyclist.
Damiel, meanwhile, was fiddling with every button and knob he could reach. He pressed one on the door panel, and the windows rolled down. His eyes widened in alarm. "The glass is moving! Is this safe?"
"Yes, it's fine!" I said, glancing at him. "Just stop touching stuff!"
"This carriage is compact," Lucien muttered, shifting uncomfortably in the seat. "Far too compact for proper use."
"Oh, I'm sorry it's not a golden chariot drawn by ten horses," I snapped.
"In Valeraine, our carriages are spacious, built for comfort and grandeur," Damiel said, leaning back with an air of superiority. "This… vehicle feels like sitting inside a storage chest."
"Well, excuse me for not meeting your royal standards," I muttered under my breath, gripping the steering wheel tighter.
Finally, we reached my grandmother's house. As I pulled into the driveway, Lucien stepped out and murmured an incantation under his breath. A shimmering field of energy enveloped the house, making it appear blurry, as though it were blending into the surroundings.
"No one will see this home until we are ready," Lucien said with quiet authority.
I didn't even have the energy to snap at him. My mental and emotional reserves were completely drained, and all I wanted was to lie down in my room and forget the last few hours ever happened.
Dragging myself toward the house, I shot a glare at Lucien, who didn't seem fazed, and Damiel, who smirked as if he found the entire situation hilarious. Of course he did. Damiel probably thrived on chaos.
By the time I reached the porch, I was practically on my hands and knees. My grandmother, Grandma Hyejin, opened the door and looked at me with mild concern.
"Grandma," I whimpered, clinging to the edge of the doorway like a baby needing to be carried. "Please, just let me in and tell me everything will be okay."
She laughed softly, patting my head as though I were five years old again. But then her gaze shifted behind me, and her expression changed. A playful gleam sparkled in her eyes as she caught sight of Lucien and Damiel standing a few steps behind me.
"So the black-haired man is your husband?" she asked with a knowing grin. "Finally, after years of pushing you to get married!"
I froze, my brain short-circuiting. "What?! No! Grandma—what are you talking about?!"
I turned to look at Lucien, whose eyes widened as he shook his head so vigorously it was almost comical.
"Oh wow!" I said, feeling my cheeks heat up. "As if I'd take him as my husband. No can do! I'd rather be an old maiden, thank you very much."
Grandma chuckled, clearly unconvinced. "You always get flustered when I tease you about this. It's good to know some things never change."
"I'm not flustered!" I exclaimed, my cheeks burning even more.
Lucien cleared his throat, stepping forward to introduce himself properly. "Apologies, Madam. This is clearly a misunderstanding. I am Prince Lucien Valenhart, grandson of King Kael of Valeraine, and Master of the Tower of Magic."
The formality of his tone made Grandma's smile widen. "Ah, a prince, is it? Sena, you didn't mention you were bringing royalty home."
"It's not like I invited him!" I blurted out, throwing up my hands.
Before I could say more, Damiel stepped forward with a sly grin. "And I am Damiel Alaric, Prince Lucien's loyal right-hand man and distant cousin."
Grandma chuckled but was distracted as another figure entered the doorway. Standing beside her was a tall, regal man dressed in elegant medieval clothing, his commanding presence filling the space.
"Grandma?" I asked, sitting up. "Who is that?"
She turned to me with a soft smile, her eyes shimmering with a mix of fondness and sadness. "This is King Kael of Valeraine, my first love."
The room went silent.
"What?!" I exclaimed, looking between her and the king.
As we arrived and the absurdity of the situation began to unfold with my grandmother revealing her romantic past with King Kael, my facial muscles involuntarily pulled into a tableau of comical disbelief. With each of Grandma Hyejin's nostalgic revelations, my eyes grew wider, and my mouth twisted into a lopsided grimace that screamed, 'You have got to be kidding me!'
"Just like that? A King?" My voice squeaked more than I intended, my eyebrows knitting together in a portrait of frustration and incredulity, much like a cartoon character's when they're handed a live bomb instead of a birthday cake.
The smirk that had begun to creep onto Damiel's face now blossomed into full-blown amusement, as if he were watching a particularly entertaining play unfold. Meanwhile, my cheeks puffed out, mirroring the exasperated sighs that left my lips, making me look momentarily like a sulking child who had just been told bedtime was moved an hour earlier.
"And here I thought today couldn't get any more bizarre," I muttered under my breath, my voice thick with sarcasm and my stance slumping in defeat—a perfect picture of vexation as the layers of my grandmother's mysterious past were peeled back one by one, each layer more shocking than the last.
Lucien stiffened in his seat, his regal demeanor faltering as he stared at my grandmother and his grandfather. Damiel, of course, looked like he was about to burst into laughter.
"Your first love?" I repeated, my voice cracking.
"Yes," Grandma Hyejin said, her smile widening. "Oh, I have so many stories to share with you. But first, let's talk about why Valeraine's magic tower ended up in I-seo's backyard."
I leaned back, my brain officially broken. My grandma had dated a king. Of course, she had.