Morning in the Seawave Guild felt different.
Not quieter.
Not calmer.
Just… waiting.
People moved like birds sensing a storm that hadn't arrived yet.
Whispers flitted through corridors.
Doors lingered half-open, as if expecting someone to barge in.
They were waiting for the new ruler.
They didn't know his name yet.
But they feared him already.
And feared the woman walking beside him even more.
Risenne Was Not the Same Woman
Risenne walked at my shoulder—
not behind,
not ahead,
exactly beside me.
Her steps were slower, more deliberate.
Her eyes were steady but softened, like she had accepted a weight she'd been resisting for weeks.
Last night's confession still lived on her lips.
The tremor in her voice.
The relief in her breath.
The way her fingers shook when she said I love you.
She wasn't running anymore.
She wasn't hiding anymore.
But she also wasn't relaxed.
No—
Risenne looked like a soldier bracing for impact after finally choosing the battlefield she truly wanted.
Her voice broke the silence.
"…Montig."
"Yes."
"Don't… don't forget what I said."
I stopped walking.
Risenne stopped too, almost bumping into me—
a rare crack in her perfect discipline.
I turned toward her.
"I don't forget things," I said.
Her eyes softened.
Barely.
But enough.
"Good," she whispered.
The Guild Looks at Me Differently
When we entered the main hall, clerks froze.
Officers straightened.
A few of the remaining senior staff bowed.
Bow.
To me.
Risenne stiffened beside me, watching their reactions.
"They're already treating you like the new guildmaster," she murmured.
"And you?"
She hesitated.
"…I treat you like Montig."
That answer pleased me more than any title.
The Crest on the Table
We entered the council chamber.
The guildmaster was gone.
Only the crest remained on the center table—
the badge of rule,
the symbol of authority,
the weight of an entire city's economic machine.
Risenne's fingers brushed the crest gently.
I watched her hand.
She noticed.
"…Don't."
"Don't what?" I asked.
"Don't look at me like that."
"Like what?"
She swallowed.
"…Like I'm important."
"You are important."
Her breath caught.
She looked away immediately.
"Montig… don't say things you don't mean."
"I meant every word."
Her heart stuttered again.
She hated how easily I got to her.
She also loved it.
A Test of Loyalty
A knock on the door.
A vice-captain stepped in nervously.
"Sir— Montig— many of the officers want to know your… plans."
He said your with caution.
In this room, the old rules were dead.
The new ones hadn't been written yet.
Montig was the only one standing in the transfer of power.
Risenne looked at me.
No fear.
Just readiness.
"What will you tell them?" she asked.
I stepped forward, picking up the crest.
But I didn't put it on.
Not yet.
Instead, I placed it in Risenne's hands again.
Her eyes widened.
"Montig… no—"
"You guard this," I said.
"Until the guild deserves a master."
Her breath trembled.
"You… trust me with this?"
"Yes."
Her lips parted.
Shock mixed with something deeper.
"Montig… you shouldn't give something this important to someone who loves you."
"I should," I said, "if I feel the same."
Her pupils widened.
She froze.
For the first time since I'd met her—
the unstoppable, steel-spined warrior
looked helpless.
"…Montig…" she whispered.
But I turned away.
A king doesn't need to repeat himself.
The Address to the Guild
I stepped onto the balcony overlooking the guild floor.
Every worker.
Every guard.
Every merchant's representative.
All eyes focused on me.
I spoke quietly, but the room fell silent anyway.
"The Seawave Guild," I said, "has rotted."
Whispers erupted—
shock, shame, denial—
then died instantly as I raised a hand.
"Not because of the people," I continued,
"but because of the leaders."
Six faces flashed through their minds.
Fear tightened their throats.
"But the rot is gone," I said.
"And what remains… will rise."
Risenne stepped beside me, the crest held to her chest.
The room inhaled collectively.
Not because she held the crest.
But because she stood beside me, not behind.
This wasn't a guildmaster's guard.
This was a partner.
A second authority.
I continued:
"I am not taking this seat yet. Not until this guild earns a leader worth following."
Gasps.
Shock.
Confusion.
I smiled faintly.
"But I will rebuild it. Every system. Every rule. Every trade."
"And those who stand in the way…"
I let the silence speak.
It spoke loudly.
The New Order
After the address, when the room emptied, Risenne approached me.
"You didn't claim the throne," she said quietly.
"No."
"Because it's not ready?"
"No."
"Then why?"
I looked at her.
"You can't build an empire from a broken chair."
She grinned softly—
a real smile,
rare and bright.
Emotion flickered in her eyes again.
She exhaled.
"…Montig."
"Yes?"
"Thank you."
"For what?"
"For not rejecting my heart."
She stepped closer.
Close enough that her breath touched my neck.
"And for letting me stay beside you."
I touched her cheek with my thumb.
She leaned into it without thinking.
Just a second.
Then pulled back, embarrassed.
But not denying it this time.
The Day Ends with a Beginning
As we left the chamber, Risenne walked beside me again.
She didn't hide her eyes.
She didn't hide her steps.
She didn't hide her heart.
She had accepted it.
And I had accepted her.
The quiet tyrant had taken his first throne.
And the woman who loved him now walked openly at his side.
Not in shame.
Not in fear.
But in choice.
In alliance.
In something deeper than either of us fully understood yet.
The guild had its new dawn.
And so did we.