The streets of Velmor stretched before them, bathed in the warm hues of the setting sun. Raezel walked at a steady pace, his expression calm, his presence still commanding an unspoken reverence from the people around him.
Beside him, Nihaga was still struggling to contain his laughter.
Every few steps, a quiet chuckle would escape him, his shoulders shaking slightly as he tried to keep his composure. The image of his prince—the feared Son of Medusa—being mistaken for a giant snake monster was something he simply could not erase from his mind.
Raezel sighed. "Are you done?"
Nihaga exhaled sharply, rubbing his temple. "Not even close."
Nyra, completely unbothered by the tension she had unknowingly caused the entire city, walked beside them with no hesitation whatsoever.
The people of Velmor, however, were still recovering from their near-death experience of witnessing her casually converse with Raezel.
The collective thought that ran through their minds was simple:
"We will never question Nyra's luck or existence ever again."
She was either the luckiest girl alive... or completely doomed.
"Hey, Raezel!" Nyra suddenly piped up.
Raezel glanced at her, arching an eyebrow. "Yes?"
"Can I ask you something?"
He nodded. "Go ahead."
Nyra tilted her head slightly, amber eyes glimmering with curiosity.
"Why do people fear you and your mother?"
The question should have been expected.
And yet, the sheer innocence in her tone made Raezel pause for a moment.
Before he could respond, she continued.
"You look so pretty."
Raezel blinked.
"Not like other monsters," Nyra added thoughtfully. "And you're also really sweet and nice."
Now, that made Raezel pause.
It wasn't the first time someone had given him compliments. But the way Nyra said it—so bluntly, with absolute sincerity and zero hesitation—was… different.
Something warm crept up his neck.
His ears tinged pink.
Nihaga, immediately noticing this, stared at his prince in silent disbelief.
Raezel—the same Raezel who had stared down gods without flinching—was blushing.
Nyra, of course, was completely unaware of this reaction.
"So, if you're this nice, your mother must be too!" she continued. "Then why do people fear her?"
That's when Nihaga lost it.
He tried—truly tried—to keep a straight face.
But his mind had already betrayed him.
He involuntarily imagined his queen, Medusa, standing atop her throne with a sweet, motherly voice and a gentle smile.
"Oh, dearest ones," the fake Medusa in his head cooed, "please reduce that kingdom to ashes. And be quick about it, my loves! Dinner is in an hour!"
The image was so violently wrong that Nihaga immediately choked.
His entire body shuddered as he held back laughter, his lips pressed into a thin line.
Raezel side-eyed him. "Don't."
"I'm not," Nihaga said, voice strained.
"You are."
"I—" Nihaga wheezed. "Just—give me a moment."
Raezel exhaled sharply before finally lifting his gaze to the sky.
He was silent for a long moment, as if carefully choosing his words.
Then, at last—
"Fear is not always about monsters, Nyra."
His voice was calm, yet there was weight to it—like an ancient truth woven into his words.
Nyra blinked, momentarily caught off guard by the sudden shift in tone.
Raezel glanced at her, his expression unreadable.
"People do not fear my mother because she is cruel," he continued. "They fear her because she is powerful. Because she is unknown."
He exhaled softly, his golden eyes glimmering in the dimming light.
"People do not fear the dark because it harms them. They fear it because they do not know what lies within it.
They do not fear the ocean because it wants to drown them.
They fear it because they do not understand its depths."
Nyra's lips parted slightly, processing his words.
Raezel continued.
"People fear the unknown, the uncontrollable—the things that do not bend to their will."
His gaze drifted slightly, distant.
"And my mother? She is all those things combined."
A heavy silence settled between them.
Nyra furrowed her brows, deep in thought.
"So... people are scared of her just because they don't understand her?"
Raezel nodded. "Because they cannot control her. Because she does not fit into their idea of what should exist."
Nyra huffed, crossing her arms.
"That's stupid."
Raezel blinked.
Nihaga choked again.
Nyra tilted her head, her expression serious.
"If they're scared of something just because they don't understand it, then wouldn't the answer be to... I don't know, try to understand it?"
Raezel stared at her.
Then—
A slow chuckle escaped his lips.
"That would be the wise thing to do, yes."
Nyra grinned. "See? I knew she wasn't a bad person!"
Nihaga, still recovering from his mental image of a 'sweet and nice' Medusa, muttered under his breath,
"I would love to see someone call Queen Medusa 'not scary' to her face."
Nyra, completely missing the sarcasm, nodded confidently.
"I'll tell her that when I meet her!"
Raezel sighed.
This girl was either fearless or incredibly foolish.
Maybe both.