I Was Not Meant To Exist-Chapter 56: the glass queen

A cold gust of wind carried falling snowflakes, now decorating the human capital. In the center of the capital, a palace stood firmly, unfazed by the cold wind and falling snow.

On one side of the palace, a balcony could be seen, its glass door closed to block the cold wind from entering. From the reflection on the glass, a faint orange glow could be seen, dimmed by clouds.

The glass door that held back the cold wind was now opened by a woman with short black hair, her black robe moving as the cold wind entered.

The short-haired woman turned toward the inside of the room, which had a classic style.

"It’s very cold, Your Majesty... is it alright?"

Inside the room, a wooden table and wooden chairs could be seen, with the queen sitting on one of the chairs. Her blonde hair was tied in a ponytail, and her blue eyes were hidden behind glass spectacles.

She rubbed her forehead, her brows furrowed, while her other hand held a sheet of paper among the scattered documents on the table.

"It’s fine, Maya... my head is too hot."

Maya walked closer and stood straight to the left side of the queen’s table.

Meanwhile, on her right, an elderly man in servant attire stood beside the queen.

A tired and frustrated sigh escaped the queen’s lips.

"There’s so much work..."

The queen slowly leaned her tense back against the chair, her blue eyes behind her glasses gazing at the ceiling.

She slightly turned toward the head butler standing on her right.

"Ben... has Rina finished meeting that Alex? She’s taking so long..."

Ben smiled kindly, his voice calm.

"Unfortunately, the young lady suddenly left in a hurry with that boy."

One of the queen’s eyebrows raised as she shifted her gaze to Maya.

"Why don’t I know about this?"

Maya swallowed and scratched her cheek.

"You were busy, Your Majesty..."

Maya tried to check her smart bracelet, seeing several messages.

"But... Senior White followed the young lady. So you don’t need to worry."

The queen chuckled, tapping the wooden table in front of her with her fingers.

"Poor White... his hand was almost severed, yet he’s already back to work."

Maya nodded in agreement and was about to explain further when the sound of knocking echoed from the door, filling the classic-styled room.

Ben, the head butler, approached the door and opened it. Katarina and Alex stood there.

Katarina entered immediately, followed by Alex. They both looked at the queen.

A faint smile formed on the queen’s face as they arrived together.

"What is this? You left suddenly and returned just as suddenly..."

Katarina fell silent for a moment, her gaze fixed only on her mother.

"We want to talk to you for a moment..."

The queen gestured toward the scattered papers on her desk.

"Unfortunately, I’m busy... your father’s workload is quite heavy..."

Katarina remained silent, and a brief silence filled the room.

A sigh escaped the queen’s lips as she sensed the situation, then she smiled widely.

"Alright! That’s a good enough reason to stop working for a while!"

Ben and Maya, already understanding her intention, began leaving the room.

Meanwhile, Katarina slowly sat on the long sofa, Alex following and sitting beside her.

The queen also sat across from them.

The queen examined Alex from head to toe, meeting him personally for the first time.

"Alex, right? The boy who returned from death?..."

One of Alex’s eyebrows lifted as he whispered to Katarina for an explanation.

"How does your mother know?"

Katarina clicked her tongue and gestured toward the queen.

"She’s the queen. Of course she knows everything."

Alex nodded in understanding and looked at the queen, who smiled at them.

He pointed at himself with his thumb and spoke confidently.

"That’s right, Your Majesty... that’s me. Ken and I are the only ones who returned safely without any casualties among us..."

The queen leaned forward, pointing at Alex.

"That’s interesting, you know? But how did you do it?..."

Katarina also glanced at Alex, curious about how he returned to life after knowing his true identity.

Alex simply shrugged and smiled.

He pointed upward toward the ceiling.

"Who knows? Maybe a god or goddess still wants me to be here..."

The queen chuckled, covering her mouth.

"Wow, so you’re quite faithful, aren’t you..."

Seeing their conversation potentially going on for too long, Katarina tried to interrupt.

"Mother..."

The queen turned toward her upon hearing Katarina’s voice.

"What is it, dear?"

Katarina swallowed, pausing briefly, her hands unconsciously gripping her knees.

"We just came from Mira’s mansion..."

The queen tilted her head, recalling what Maya had told her about Katarina leaving in a hurry.

"And?..."

The queen stroked her chin.

"...why did you rush there? Thomas hasn’t returned here yet."

Katarina took a deep breath, her heart beating rapidly.

"They’re gone. They’ve all disappeared."

The queen froze upon hearing that, clearly hearing it but still not understanding.

Katarina continued.

"Not just them... but all the furniture in the room disappeared too."

The queen’s brow twitched as a cold wind swept through the room. The faint orange light vanished, replaced by a dark sky.

Katarina continued speaking, her tongue feeling bitter.

"...a burnt and rotten smell filled the room."

The queen leaned back into the soft sofa, her gaze still fixed on Katarina, but she called another name, her voice now serious.

"White..."

Alex was slightly confused as the queen mentioned someone he didn’t know.

But that confusion was answered when another cold gust of wind swept through, followed by the presence of a masked man in a white robe kneeling before the queen.

White faced away from the balcony.

The queen spoke without turning to him.

"What exactly happened?"

White remained silent for a moment, then began explaining everything he saw and smelled at Thomas’s mansion, telling everything except the conversation between Alex and Katarina that he didn’t hear.

After listening, the queen slowly bent forward, covering her face with both hands.

A faint whisper escaped her.

"Damn... Thomas. What have you done?"

White slowly stood and spoke.

"I believe that’s enough to prove his involvement with the dark side and demons, Your Majesty..."

Alex and Katarina looked at White.

Katarina sighed and shifted her gaze to her mother, who still covered her face.

"Mira and her mother were taken, Mom."

The queen slowly removed her hands from her face, her expression tightening.

"The reason must be related to his wife, right?"

She stroked her chin, thinking briefly.

"Was the Overmas attack also him? Damn... he did all that while wearing such a thick mask."

She glanced at White.

"Do you know which demon?"

White paused, recalling his battle against the komodo at the Overmas mansion.

"I believe he made a contract with—"

Before he could finish, Katarina cut him off.

"Envy. That’s the one Thomas made a contract with..."

Everyone looked at Katarina, including Alex, whose hairs stood on end just hearing it.

The queen looked at Katarina, adjusting her glasses.

"How do you know?"

Katarina paused, then looked at White.

"From White’s report when he fought the komodo..."

The queen and White nodded, trying to understand.

White elaborated further.

"At that time, the komodo did mention a traitor, but I didn’t expect it to be Thomas... and the manifestation of its dark side was a shadow, which matches Envy."

Alex scratched his head, looking clueless, feeling like he was in a completely different world.

Krystal clicked her tongue in his mind.

’I told you to study, damn it!’

Alex laughed awkwardly in defense.

’How could I study? I’m getting attacked every day!’

The room fell silent for a moment. The queen held a necklace with a small glass cube as its ornament, and inside that cube, a small purple dot could be seen.

Katarina watched her mother, who was lost in thought while playing with the necklace.

"I think he’ll come for that, Mom."

The queen nodded slightly. Katarina wanted to continue, but stopped.

A stronger gust of cold wind blew through—not accompanied by snow this time, but by a pressure that made the queen realize someone’s presence.

Alex and Katarina looked at each other.

Meanwhile, White turned toward the balcony.

The queen chuckled upon feeling the pressure, removing her glasses and making them vanish into nothingness.

She looked at Katarina and Alex, a faint smile forming.

"The one we were just talking about seems to have arrived..."

A heavy breath escaped the queen’s lips. She removed the glass necklace with the small cube and handed it to Katarina.

"Take this... go through the secret passage. The Dragon Queen’s magic will take you to the city where Tony Adams is."

Katarina’s blue eyes trembled upon hearing her mother’s request, her head lowering slightly.

The queen slowly stood, glancing toward the balcony—White was no longer there.

She shifted her gaze to Katarina, who was still looking down, and Alex, who stared at her with his black eyes.

"Take the other children and the servants if possible..."

Katarina looked at her mother, who began stretching her body.

She just stared without saying a word.

Her silent gaze made the queen approach and hug her, her voice heard by Katarina and faintly by Alex.

"What’s wrong with you? You were praising my defenses just this morning. But now you’re like this."

Katarina hugged her back, her hands trembling slightly.

After a moment, the queen released her embrace, her blue eyes now looking at Alex.

"You’ve already returned from death once. Protecting my daughter shouldn’t be that difficult, right?"

Alex nodded slowly in agreement, then stood up.

The queen looked at Katarina, who was still seated, and held her cheeks.

"Your father isn’t here, so I’ll take over. I’ll deal with Thomas and Envy..."

She paused briefly, her breath heavy.

"...and I’ll also save Mira and her mother."

Katarina’s blue eyes trembled, filled with tears.

The queen released her hands and slowly walked toward the balcony. Her glass heels echoed through the room, and her white dress fluttered as the night wind brushed against her.

She said nothing more and stepped onto the balcony.

Meanwhile, White, now in the garden, watched Thomas walking through it, stepping on frozen flowers.

There, Thomas, in his white robe, walked without a care, his golden eyes slowly turning toward White—but his pupils were now black.

A wide smile formed on his face, a smile Thomas had never shown before.

"Hello, White. We meet again..."

White’s bones trembled upon hearing a voice that wasn’t Thomas’s—it was the same voice he heard while fighting the komodo.

White clenched his teeth, trying to fight his fear.

Fortunately, a sound eased his unease.

The sound of glass forming echoed as a staircase of glass appeared from the balcony.

From there, the queen descended, each step producing the sound of glass touching, her glass heels carrying her down as she looked at Thomas, now under control.

"I can’t believe you let your dark side take over, Thomas..."

Thomas chuckled, his gaze fixed on the queen descending the glass stairs. He licked his lips, his eyes focused on the glass necklace with the small cube containing the purple dot.

"Ahhh, Cathryn... it’s been a while..."

The queen spat onto the ground after hearing Thomas’s disgusting words.

"Don’t act familiar, damn it..."

Thomas chuckled and pointed at her necklace.

"I don’t have such a beautiful necklace... may I have it?"

The queen stood in front of White, her blue eyes as cold as the night wind.

Silence fell between them until Thomas raised his right hand toward the night sky.

The queen’s blue eyes widened, her body twitching slightly.

Seeing that, she immediately charged at Thomas, forming a glass sword attached to her hand.

White followed from behind.

But Thomas was faster. In the sky where his hand pointed, a writhing black sphere began to form.

The black sphere slowly expanded, covering the night sky, transforming into a black dome that enclosed the entire palace.

In the city, everyone looking toward the palace suddenly froze expressionless.

They saw the black dome covering the entire palace.

Some people ran or flew toward it, but they failed—the dome had completely sealed the palace.

Inside the dome, the brightly lit palace could no longer see the night sky.

Meanwhile, Alex and Katarina ran through the corridor, trying to find the others, but their steps halted when a burnt smell reached their noses.

Katarina clicked her tongue, now wearing the glass necklace with the small cube containing the purple dot.

Alex and Katarina looked toward a writhing shadow emerging from a vase as large as them.

Slowly, from that shadow, a gorilla-like hand emerged and touched the ground, pulling its body out. Its head became visible—a pig’s head, drool dripping from it.

Katarina whispered to Alex, who stood frozen at the disgusting sight.

"If you’ve never seen it before, that’s a chimera."

Alex shivered, never having seen something so grotesque.

As they faced it, the sound of explosions echoed throughout the now-sealed palace.