Chapter 26

Third Person’s POV

Before Miu could even touch the meal laid out before her, she stood and crossed the room with newfound resolve.

“Daliah,” she said, already moving, “gather as much palace staff as you can. And inform Father Gaston to call for any volunteers available.”

Daliah frowned, caught off guard. “My lady…?”

“We’ll prepare hot soup, hot drinks, warm blankets, and dry clothes—enough for as many people as we can manage.” Miu reached the wardrobe and began rifling through it. “We’ll need trucks for transport.”

She paused, then added almost as an afterthought, “Oh, and I can drive. Most of the guards are with the Queen anyway. Any car that’s free will do.”

Miu pulled out a simple, practical set of clothes—nothing noble about it—and started changing without hesitation.

“My lady…” Daliah’s voice lowered, cautious now. “You’re not planning to go out there yourself, are you?”

Miu turned to her then, a small smile forming—steady, unmistakable.

“Of course,” she said. “I’m going to do what I can.”

—

Back in Tungsten, the situation was unraveling fast.

“Damn it—it’s overflowing!” someone shouted as muddy water burst over the edge of the levee, spilling violently to the other side.

“No! Hold it—hold the line!” Captain Walter barked, throwing his weight forward. “If one side gives way, everything goes under!”

People rushed in, bodies pressing against the weakened barrier, boots sinking into soaked earth.

“Please—hold on!” one of the city folk cried out, his voice breaking—

Then another presence slammed in beside him.

“Q-Queen Lena…?” he whispered, stunned.

The Queen had planted her feet in the mud, shoulders braced, hands digging into the sacks as she pushed with everything she had.

“Sitting back…” Lena muttered through clenched teeth, rain streaking down her face, “and just watching—has never been my way.”

The sight of the Queen standing shoulder to shoulder with them lit something long buried within the people of Tungsten.

She was not watching from a distance. She was here—mud-soaked, straining, enduring the same danger as everyone else. And with that, something they had forgotten stirred again: trust.

With renewed resolve, they held the levees together, bodies locked in place, refusing to yield—until the sound of boots and shouted orders cut through the storm.

“Move! Stack them here!” someone shouted.

Reinforcements had arrived.

Captain Leon’s men surged forward, forming lines as sacks were passed hand to hand. One by one, the weakened banks were reinforced, the flood finally beginning to obey.

“Ollie!” Lena called over the roar of rain.

“Yes, Your Highness!” Ollie broke from the line and hurried to her side, blinking water from his eyes.

“What’s the current status?”

“Things are wrapping up downstream and we’re going steady with the reinforcements upstream!” he reported, breathless. “But the current’s still strong—we’ll need to keep working for a while longer.”

Lena exhaled slowly, rain dripping from her lashes. “Very well. Redirect some of the downstream crew to assist upstream. I’ll be heading there as well.”

“Yes, Your Highness!” Ollie replied at once before sprinting back into the storm.

Lena did not waste a second as she pushed her way upstream.

But the farther she went, the clearer it became—everyone was at their limit.

People stood with hunched shoulders and trembling legs, eyes dull from exhaustion. No one had eaten a proper meal.

The people of Tungsten had barely been surviving on scraps ever since the tsunami, and now they had been working nonstop through the storm.

It was a miracle they were still standing.

Lena clenched her fists, her mind racing for a solution—rotations, rest, anything—but she already knew.

It wouldn’t be enough.

This wasn’t something that could wait until tomorrow.

Then—“NO!!!”

The cry rang out from ahead.

Lena broke into a run.

The moment she reached the source of the scream, her blood ran cold.

The upstream levee buckled.

A violent rush of water tore through the weakened bank, exploding outward with terrifying force.

“AHHH!!!”

Several people were swept off their feet in an instant, their screams swallowed by the roar of the flood as the current dragged them away.

“Everyone, get back—!” Lena shouted, but her warning came too late.

The water slammed into her as well.

She stumbled, boots sliding through the mud, and barely managed to grab hold of a nearby tree trunk to keep herself from being pulled under.

Her arms burned as she fought the current.

Then she saw him.

One of the city’s people was being hurled straight toward her, his body twisting helplessly in the water.

Without hesitation, Lena reached out.

“I got you!” she yelled.

Her hand closed around his, desperately.

The force nearly tore them apart.

“T-thank you!” the man cried, clinging to her as the current tried to rip him free.

Lena dug her heels into the mud, tightening her grip on both the tree and the man as the river raged around them.

“Hold on,” she said through clenched teeth. “Don’t let go.”

The storm showed no mercy.

One by one, the people managed to grab onto whatever they could as the flood’s current finally began to slow. The roar of the water dulled, leaving behind cries of pain and ragged breaths. Some of those who had been swept away lay injured—bruised, bleeding, barely conscious.

Lena didn’t hesitate.

“Take the injured to higher ground,” she ordered sharply. “Anyone still able—move, now.”

The capable men obeyed at once, lifting the wounded and carrying them toward a safer area where treatment could begin.

Lena then turned toward the section of the levee that had given way.

Ollie stood there with several others from Tungsten, staring at the gaping breach as muddy water rushed endlessly through it. Their shoulders sagged. Their faces were hollow—empty of strength, empty of hope.

“Your Highness…” Ollie’s voice broke. “The levees… they collapsed.”

He clenched his fist as he watched the river pour through the gap.

“We’re so sorry,” he sobbed. “The support we built—it must have been too weak.” He bit down hard on his lip, tears spilling despite his effort to hold them back. “It’s over.”

Ollie grabbed at his head, fingers digging into his hair. “It’ll all collapse before we can repair it again… damn it. We worked so hard…”

Around him, the other men lowered their heads. The moment Ollie broke, it spread—shoulders slumping, hands falling limp at their sides. The fight drained out of them all at once.

Lena stood in silence, watching it happen.

“I can’t take this anymore…” one of the men murmured, his voice barely audible beneath the rain.

And for the first time since arriving in Tungsten, the storm outside was no longer the most dangerous thing threatening them.

Lena’s jaw tightened, her eyes narrowing at the sight before her. The men of Tungsten seemed ready to surrender to despair. A heat rose inside her chest, a simmering anger that refused to be ignored.

“Are you just going to give up?” A voice cut through the silence of the drenched, defeated crowd, sharp and steady against the roar of the storm.

Lena’s head snapped toward the source, scanning through the sheets of rain and chaos.

“This crack is only a small section along the entire bank. It’s too soon to give up.” The voice rang again, commanding, unwavering.

A figure emerged through the downpour—slender, small, draped in a raincoat far too large for her frame. Yet even in the rain and mud, the presence was impossible to miss.

“This is the city you all live in. You must protect it with all you can!” The figure spoke again, eyes fierce and unwavering as she planted herself squarely in front of the crowd.

Ollie’s voice broke the moment recognition hit.

“M-Miss Miu?”