"Dianna, I'm talking about Elias!"
"Not anyone else!"
As if she were afraid Dianna hadn't heard her clearly, Diancie deliberately raised her voice and repeated it several times.
But…
Dianna's face remained utterly calm, and she even seemed to grow a touch impatient.
"I know it's Elias."
"Relax. I'll send people to look later."
Even though she was saying yes, Diancie couldn't taste a shred of sincerity in it.
It was so perfunctory it was almost insulting…
In an instant, Diancie's watery eyes widened, her expression going blank.
Was this really the Dianna she knew?
Didn't Dianna like Elias too? Why… why had she suddenly turned into this?
Like she was dealing with some random human she didn't know.
"Di-an-na!"
"Why are you acting like this? Elias is clearly in serious danger right now!"
Anger surged up in Diancie's chest. She glared at Dianna and snapped fiercely.
"Doesn't Elias usually stay by your side?"
"And now that you've lost him, you come looking for me?"
Dianna shot back with a single sentence, stopping Diancie cold.
Diancie choked.
Her little mouth opened and closed like she wanted to say something, but even when her face flushed red, she couldn't force out a rebuttal.
She suddenly realized—was Dianna being so cold because she hadn't seen Elias enough?
After all, so much time had passed. With Dianna's personality… it wasn't impossible something like that could happen.
And even if they did find Elias now, Dianna wouldn't gain anything tangible from it.
But…
"Elias saved you before too, didn't he?"
Diancie puffed out her cheeks and muttered.
Yet when she saw Dianna still looking completely unmoved, a real edge of panic finally crept in.
Reality had already proven that the lion-headed uncle's Team Flare wasn't reliable.
If they wanted to find Elias, they could only rely on the Carbink.
But Dianna was the queen. Diancie was just a princess who spent most of her time aboveground.
If Dianna refused, the Carbink would never obey Diancie's orders.
Thinking that, Diancie clenched her little fists, knowing she had to offer something Dianna would actually want.
She tightened her grip and blurted out, "Your Highness—if you help this time, I'll train properly and listen to you from now on!"
She put her chips on the table.
But… Dianna didn't react at all.
As expected—Dianna wasn't that easy to fool.
Diancie's face fell.
"We'll live here for half a month—with Elias!" she added.
This time, Dianna flicked her a glance. It seemed to have some effect.
...
Behind them, watching Diancie argue back and forth with her queen, Cogita actually felt her own panic ebb away.
She hadn't spent long with Dianna, but she already had a basic read on the Carbink queen.
And she knew Dianna was just as worried about Elias.
If not for the restrictions of being queen, she'd probably be like Diancie—staying in the human world.
Yet right now, Dianna was acting listless, as if she couldn't care less about Elias at all—clearly different from her usual self.
Cogita wasn't as slow as Diancie. She quickly sensed something was off.
After a bit of thought, Cogita's red lips curled slightly.
So that was why she couldn't find Elias—he'd already been rescued.
Realizing that, she let out a slow breath.
On the other side, with Dianna still refusing to help, Diancie was frantic.
When the timing felt about right, Dianna thought for a moment, then finally spoke again.
"After this, you and Elias will live underground for now."
She stated her condition.
Diancie's expression froze hard.
Of course.
She knew it—Dianna was still after that.
Even these past few years, Dianna had kept trying to get them to move back.
Diancie had always fobbed her off.
But now…
"That depends on whether Elias is willing."
Diancie puffed out her cheeks and mumbled.
"I'll convince him."
Dianna replied confidently, looking completely assured.
Then she shifted her gaze to Cogita not far away.
"And you?"
"If you want to live in the Underground Kingdom, that's fine too."
Dianna asking her directly made Cogita pause, then she genuinely looked like she was thinking it over.
If it were before, she would've thought Dianna was dreaming.
Not only would she refuse to live underground—she'd drag Elias back up with her, too.
But now…
After what happened with Yveltal, she'd realized the surface wasn't as safe as it used to be.
With Enamorus's strength, handling ordinary Pokémon was fine.
But if something like Yveltal showed up again—a Legendary Pokémon—there was no way Enamorus could protect Elias.
Staying in the Underground Kingdom… really might prevent something like that from happening again.
"I need to talk it over with Elias."
After a moment, Cogita's face turned serious as she looked straight at Dianna.
She knew Dianna absolutely knew where Elias was.
Seeing that Cogita had already seen through her, Dianna pressed her lips together lightly.
If only everyone were as dumb as Diancie…
"Come with me."
With that thought, Dianna turned around and crooked a finger.
At the side, Diancie still hadn't quite processed what was happening.
She didn't know whether Dianna had agreed or not.
But seeing Cogita follow Dianna, she could only obediently trail after them.
"Stupid human—if Elias lives here, Her Highness will probably come over every single day."
As they walked, Diancie whispered to Cogita.
She hoped Cogita would refuse the condition.
Right now, with just Cogita and Delphox, Diancie already felt like she never had enough time with Elias to go around.
If they added one more domineering rival, Diancie felt that time would get squeezed even thinner.
Sadly, the power to decide was in Dianna's hands right now—Diancie couldn't refuse outright.
While she was thinking, Dianna had already led them to the door of her room.
"Your Highness, can you send Carbink to look for Elias first, please…"
Seeing Dianna moving at such a leisurely pace, Diancie tried to persuade her again.
But the moment the door opened, she felt like her brain instantly stopped working.
If she wasn't seeing things…
She thought she'd just seen Elias inside the room.
And that annoying fox she'd assumed had gone missing too was there as well—eyes half-lidded, curled up in his arms.
B-But this was Her Highness's room, wasn't it?
How could Elias be in a place like this?!
---
Diancie: After paying a whole series of prices and signing all kinds of unequal treaties, she discovered she'd been tricked by her beloved queen…