“No, it’s really me,” he said, drawing all eyes to the white furry canine. The crowd could hardly believe their ears. “Sorry for the commotion, everyone. It seems like I’m stuck in this form for now...unless one of you can return me to human form,” Egbert entreated with an adorable tilt of his head.
The crowd simply stared for a moment, and then...
“Whaaaaat?!”
“You’re kidding!”
“Your Majesty?!”
Emperor Egbert had become a dog—and word spread through the palace grounds like a wildfire. Such news would be kept top secret under ordinary circumstances, but it was necessary for everyone to be informed of the situation lest anyone mistakenly try to throw His Majesty in a kennel.
“What’s wrong with throwing him in a kennel?” Alcede quipped, unimpressed. “We could make a slightly bigger one and then slap on a sign that says ‘Emperor.’”
Lyse made the mistake of imagining it in her head. She wasn’t sure what to say.
“Hey, now there’s an idea,” Egbert—still in canine form—said with a snort. “We agreed that no one would be able to argue with my stepping down if I’m stuck as a dog, but honestly, this is going better than I expected.”
“You were perfect, Your Majesty.”
“I think it’s because I got everyone to try to break the spell. That made it all the more convincing. Not bad, huh?”
“I suppose a skeptic who couldn’t dispel the magic themselves would have no choice but to believe...” said Alcede. He then heaved a sigh that reverberated through the nearly empty council chamber.
Members of the imperial family and a select few nobles were soon to gather for an emergency meeting. Because of His Majesty’s seemingly unbreakable transformation, many an urgent task now needed to be reassigned, hence the call for an assembly first thing in the morning. As Alcede was decidedly not a morning person, everything had already been set in motion by the time he was fully up and awake. Sidis and Lyse had likewise been invited to attend, of course, and the four of them were now waiting in the council room.
“How did you come up with an unbreakable spell anyway?” Alcede asked Egbert, presuming it was something new he’d discovered.
“I had Karl’s help.”
“Eugh...” Alcede reacted in true disgust. “That’s why no one can undo it?”
“That’s correct. This unique combination of transformation magic and anti-dispel magic means that no one can break this unless their mana was stronger than mine,” he explained with a smug grin.
“That’s how badly you wish to abdicate, I see...” groaned a troubled Alcede.
As Lyse nodded sympathetically along, someone knocked at the door and promptly entered the room. It was the raven-haired Duke Lasuarl with a grim look on his face. He marched directly to Egbert and kneeled before him. “Forgive me for casting magic upon you, Your Majesty,” he said, bowing his head low.
Before the emperor could even finish nodding in assent, Lasuarl cloaked him in a bluish-white flame. Lyse wasn’t expecting it and it gave her quite the start, but she was assured when she saw the emperor unharmed and still transformed the very next moment.
“You truly are stuck in this form...” Lasuarl gasped.
Does that mean even the duke also had his suspicions? Either way, this little experiment seemed to convince him. Egbert took it rather graciously.
“Indeed, Duke Lasuarl. My apologies for summoning you to this meeting on such short notice. The others have yet to arrive, so please take a seat,” Egbert directed. Lasuarl accordingly pulled up to the table, still visibly distressed.
“Your Majesty! What tragedy!” exclaimed Kirstin—Egbert’s older sister and Lasuarl’s wife. She came running in and squeezed her brother in a tight hug.
“Dear Sister, please do not fret. Though I may be in a dog’s body, I’m rather comfortable like this. Better yet, I can even speak normally.”
“Why is it that you can speak in human tongue?” Kirstin questioned as she stared at his little snout. “Or rather, why are you like this at all? Do you have any ideas, Your Majesty?”
“I’m not terribly certain,” Egbert began, “but I presume that it’s related to the aberrations. You’ve seen my clones, right? It might be something similar, except now it’s affecting me physically.”
“Oh, my poor brother...” Tears welled in Kirstin’s eyes.
Even Egbert felt bad to make his sister cry. “A-Anyway,” he stammered, “I’ll save the details for when everybody arrives. Please, take a seat by Duke Lasuarl.”
“All right...” she said as she dabbed the corners of her eyes.
Lyse and the others felt extremely awkward. Sensing this, the emperor said to them, “Don’t think I’m taking back what I said though.”
“Of course, of course. I know you’re not one to go back on your word, Your Majesty, given how obstinate you are...” After muttering that, Alcede shot a curious look at Sidis, who’d been quiet all this time. He then turned to Lyse and broke out into a grin. This made Lyse flinch.
Did he notice something? This was Alcede, after all. Lyse wouldn’t be surprised if he’d caught on to anything Sidis and Lyse had planned. This wasn’t the time or place to ask, however, and he would much rather catch Egbert off guard with whatever he’d sussed out. Lyse was just happy the sly duke was willing to keep feigning ignorance for the time being.
Eventually, the council assembled. All of the imperial family was accounted for, but a few nobles were absent due to business abroad—keeping Razanate’s diplomatic lines open was especially critical at the moment given the situation at hand. Everyone in the room sat staring at the white dog at one end of the long conference table.
Egbert stood in his seat and put his front paws on the table, which was covered by a yellow cloth stitched with an intricate rose pattern. Why he chose to stand was a matter of practicality, for if he’d sat normally with his chin table-height, His Majesty would lose the little majesty he had left and be reduced to naught but a precious, heart-melting puppy. Still, even as Egbert tried to maintain his dignity, some of his council members seemed to be given to warm and fuzzy feelings. At any rate, they’d all already been informed of Egbert’s condition. They knew this doggy was His Majesty the Emperor.
“It is obvious why I called you all to convene today,” Egbert finally said, breaking the silence. “Ever since the Light of Origin began behaving strangely, monsters have come attacking in droves, among other oddities and issues. I had thought that it might be some kind of blessing, as it was also producing clones of me. But, oh, how wrong I was.”
His downturned face was enough to bring pangs to everyone’s chests. Lyse steeled her nerves and heart, doing her best to imagine Egbert’s real face. Others, however, were not so sharp. They were putty before his canine charm.