I glanced down, expecting schedules or damage reports. Instead, the header nearly knocked the air out of my lungs: Formal Resignation – Chief of Staff.

  “I’m not fit for duty,” Lola said simply. “The spreadsheet is attached to the document, my reasons, and where I failed.”

  …What?

  “Lola, that’s not—” I started, but she shook her head and… actually ran.

  “Wait! Sorry, Yuki.. urgent issue. Tell Dmitry I sent you, code ‘loli.’ He’ll know!” I called over my shoulder before sprinting after Lola.

  We wove through the crowd, dodging glittering gowns and half-drunk businessmen who clearly thought they were the main attraction. A waiter had to pivot on one foot to save his champagne tower from my shoulder. Lola cut sharp turns between clusters of people without looking back, her heels clicking like an urgent countdown.

  “Lola!”

  I finally caught up near the service elevator, where she stood with her hands clenched into fists, breathing hard. She looked up at me.. eyes red, tears just barely kept in check.“I knew I’d have to show you eventually,” she mumbled. “So I’ll show you.”

  The ride to the top floor was… awkward. I wanted to reach out, to just hug her until whatever this was stopped hurting, but she shook her head once, firmly, and stared at the wall as if I wasn’t even there.

  When the doors opened, she strode into the boardroom without hesitation. “Here,” she said, tapping the holo-projector. “I prepared a presentation for you.”

  The lights dimmed, and neat glowing letters floated on the wall.

  She faced me, her voice steady, but her eyes… they were a storm barely kept in the bottle. “Please let me present this. After I do… you can try to persuade me.”

  The first slide flared to life.

  Lola exhaled. “First failure… Seneschal has repeatedly failed to anticipate and mitigate direct physical threats to the Queen.”

  “Lola, this isn’t your faul—”

  “Lady, please. Let me finish.” Her tone wasn’t sharp, but it was firm enough to cut me in half. I sank into one of the boardroom chairs and just stared at that glowing wall, hating every damn word.

  Lola shook her head once, almost in disgust… at herself. “A critical strategic threat was missed entirely. The Kingdom’s primary territory is now at risk due to a lapse in Seneschal’s oversight.”

  “Again, Lola, you couldn’t—”

  She flipped to the next slide without looking at me.

  “Seneschal has become a reactive facilitator rather than a proactive commander. Field commanders are operating with a degree of autonomy that undermines a unified strategy.”

  Her expression didn’t waver; determination in every line of her face. “Failure of oversight within Rimebreak Productions. The chief of staff failed to act as a proper gatekeeper for the Queen’s brand, resulting in a public relations incident.”

  This was nonsense. Some of these points had truth, sure… but this? That was on me more than her. And the way it was prepared… she’d been thinking about this for a while. This wasn’t a bad-night crisis.

  This was a decision.

  She glanced at my wristwatch as if it were complicit in her argument. “The current human-led operational model is inefficient. My role is redundant. The AI is simply better. No, stop,” she said when I shifted forward to interrupt.

  Her voice faltered here, just once. “The most critical failure to date. During a direct, high-stakes confrontation on Earth, the Chief of staff demonstrated a total inability to function. The Queen was forced to manage both the external threat and the Chief’s emotional state, compounding her burden.”

  “Are you finished?” I whispered.

  She shook her head.

  Then she took a shaky breath, eyes darting anywhere but me. “I panicked. I froze. You had to lead while I was… a liability. A queenmaker who needs to be saved by her queen is no queenmaker at all. She is an obstacle.”

  “Based on quantifiable data across multiple key performance areas, my performance as Chief of Staff and Seneschal has consistently fallen below acceptable parameters. My presence represents a logistical and strategic liability to the Queen and the Kingdom of Rimebreak.”

  Her eyes flicked up to meet mine for just a heartbeat, and I saw it all, pain, shame, and a stubborn resolve that I hated instantly… before she dropped her gaze back to the cold, sterile light of the holo-tablet.

  “I tender my resignation, effective immediately. I propose a restructuring of command. AI Assistant Jerry should be elevated to Chief Logistical Officer. A new candidate with proven military-strategic experience—Lucy, or TechiLlama—should be considered for Seneschal. I will remain a loyal citizen of Rimebreak and am willing to be reassigned to a junior administrative role where my failures will have a less critical impact.”

  I glanced at her. She glanced back.

  “I was only joking,” Jerry’s voice came from the ceiling speaker, tinny but oddly hesitant. “I thought banter might humanize me. I dreamed… I… I apologize.”

  “Noted,” Lola said flatly. “You were right.”

  My eyes shifted to the screen, one last slide, all her supposed sins arranged in a neat, clinical spreadsheet. I let out a long sigh. “Lola… you expected every word I could say, didn’t you? You prepared for every counterargument, every outcome?”

  For the first time since UEE, her smile appeared… small, but real. “Yes, Lady. I anticipate what you say, and I am prepared to explain my decision.”

  …She actually believed she was right.

  Fine. I hadn’t expected to put my mother’s royal lectures into practice so soon, but here we were. You are the Queen; thus; you are only as good as those serving you. Be a beacon, Charlie.

  But… in my way. I found an exploit in Lola’s logic. I’m The Exploiter after all.

  “Okay,” I said, voice sharpening with confidence. “I’ve reviewed your report. And you’re right.” Lola flinched… just enough for me to see the last shred of hope crumble from her face.

  “You have failed,” I continued. “Because this—” I gestured at the glowing list of failures “—isn’t a comprehensive analysis. This is half of a SWOT report. Weaknesses and Threats only. My brilliant Chief of staff forgot Strengths and Opportunities.”

  She blinked. “But this—”

  I raised a finger. “Who had to shut up and be a good girl during the big bad presentation?”

  Lola bit her lip. “…Me.”

  “Good. Now listen, Chief of Staff.”

  I mirrored her earlier detached tone. “Strength: Loyalty. Result: Chief of Staff’s loyalty has never wavered. She has consistently prioritized the Queen’s safety and the Kingdom’s interests above her own.”

  “Strength: Successfully established two corporate entities, bought a headquarters, managed a multi-million-credit budget, organized a military fleet, and planned a large-scale VIP event… all at the same time. Chief of Staff is currently the only person capable of managing the kingdom’s full logistical scope. Without her, Rimebreak would grind to a halt.”

  Her voice cracked. “Lady, please… but my weakness—”

  I met her eyes, and finally saw it: the pressure, the exhaustion. All those hugs I thought were for me had really been for her… desperate little moments of validation. She didn’t need to resign. She needed… a boss who saw her.

  “Oh,” I murmured. “You don’t need me. You need the real me.”

  I stood. “Resignation denied. Let’s go.”

  She blinked. “Wh-what?!”

  “Jerry, delete that file. Now.”

  “Deleted,” Jerry said, efficient as ever as it vanished in the digital graveyard.

  I took her hand and steered her toward the elevator. She just stared, stunned… the same stunned she’d worn when the UEE marched in. “We’re going back.”

  “But! Lady! You can’t!”

  “Watch me,” I grinned. “So you can’t handle a crisis. Big deal.”

  “But my role is essential during a crisis!” she protested as the lift descended. “You can’t just ignore my flaws!”

  “Oh, I’m not ignoring them. You just can’t see what I see. I’ll show you.”

  I winked at her, even though keeping my own composure felt like tap-dancing on glass. When she’d handed me that resignation… something in me had shifted. And I wasn’t entirely sure it was just friendship.

  I glanced at her now… face pale, nerves frayed, body wound tight as a bowstring. The stress had been chewing on her for far too long, and I’d missed it. Not everyone bounces back like me. “Everyone has their strengths.”

  “And weaknesses,” she shot back instantly, as if she’d been waiting for the cue.

  “Well,” I said, tightening my grip on her hand, “time to do something you could never predict.” If anyone could predict me, it would be Cloudy… even he had given up.

  And he was a god.

  The elevator doors opened. I pulled her out into the crowd, walking with deliberate, unshakable confidence as heads turned and the sea of guests parted.

  Damn, always wanted to do cool things like this.

  “Lady! What are you—?” she asked, half-panicked, as I led her straight toward the throne.

  I took the mic, and the music bled away like someone turning down the pulse of the room. “Hello! Can I have a moment of your attention?”

  The crowd’s chatter stumbled, then shifted, eyes turning toward me in ripples. I still had Lola’s hand in mine, and she still had that if-you-let-go-I’m-running tension in her grip. Improvisation was my comfort zone; spreadsheets the size of two holos? Not so much.

  “Thanks for coming… seriously, I’m thrilled to have you all here. Hey, Lisa! Get over here!” I waved her forward before the poor girl could hide in the back. “And before the rumors start, let’s just confirm: yes, we were visited by the UEE today. On our first day in the building.”

  That got a murmur, and I gestured toward my ridiculous lobby poster. Then, because Jerry apparently wanted to help—or troll me—a holo image shimmered above us. Lobby feed, Damon and the Enforcers standing like they’d been printed out of a ‘Corporate Trouble’ brochure. No one was on their holo-phones yet, which made them twice as intimidating.

  “Think what you want,” I said, keeping my voice light, “but we had a civil discussion, and they’ve already left the building.”

  Riker started clapping like I’d just won an award for “Best Queen in a Crisis.” The crowd followed suit, swelling into a chant:

  “Glory to the Queen!”

  I stilled them with a raised hand. “But I’m not here alone.” I lifted our joined hands high. “This is Lola; our Chief of Staff! She’s the reason we’re even in this building. So… Glory to Lola!”

  “Glory to Lola!” the room echoed, voices bouncing off the high walls. It felt less like an opening ceremony and more like I’d accidentally started a concert or a cult.

  “When the UEE arrived, Lola thought she’d overlooked something…” I pulled a Riker and shook my head dramatically. “I want everyone here who’s ever talked to Lola to raise a hand. And keep it up if she, or her staff, has ever solved a problem for you.”

  Hands went up. Most of the room. Except Riker. I glared at him, and he joined the others with a laughing fit.

  “What about during the battle? Remember the goat?” I shot a grin toward the back. “Remember her orders? And Fuzuki?”

  “I’m here! Name drop!” Fuzuki yelled, predictably.

  I ignored that. “Raise your hand if you were on the wall, heard her orders, and know she’s invaluable.”

  Two-thirds of the room’s hands stayed up… players, guests, even a few opportunistic bandwagoners.

  Lisa finally reached me on the throne. I gestured to the horns. “For those wondering why the throne looks like this… credit goes to this young woman. Clap for Lisa, stage architect extraordinaire!”

  More applause.

  I handed Lisa the mic. “Tell everyone: who told you to come here and do all of this?”

  She blinked, then grinned. “Lola, of course! She gave me the plan and coordinated everything.”

  I raised Lola’s hand again, and the room erupted in another round of applause. “Glory to Lola!”

  “And that’s it! Oh, wait…” I spotted Dmitry in the crowd, and his complexion drained three shades when he caught my stare. “Today only… 25% off The Big Charlie: Sword-Queen Dominate Edition.” I winked. “You all know why.”

  Perfect drop-the-mic moment… but I resisted the urge to actually drop the mic and instead pulled Lola offstage with me, leaving laughter in our wake. I handed the mic to Lisa and finally stopped.

  “Lady… I…” she began, glancing down at our joined hands.

  “Want to know why I won’t accept your resignation?” I finally let her go. She didn’t bolt this time… just nodded.

  “I want you in that position. The moment I lose my queenmaker, I drop my crown, because without you…” I met her eyes. “…I’m useless.”

  Then I winked, even though my stomach was tying itself in dread-knots.

  “You are irreplaceable.”

  “Lady!” she jumped into my arms, burying her face against my shoulder. The hug was tight, relieved, and a little desperate. “We’ll make our kingdom strong. Together.”

  I grinned, the tension finally breaking as I hugged her back. “Of course we will,” I said, my voice warm. “But first… we need to get you a clipboard and holo. You look naked without one.”

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