CHAPTER 22: THE DAY HIS PAJAMAS SPARKLED

[Leif’s POV — Leif’s Chamber—Midnight]

"WHAT—WHY THE HELL?!"

The hearth exploded like someone shoved the sun itself into my fireplace. Shadows fled screaming, my pajamas sparkled as if I’d rolled in a glitter factory, and the crimson babies yelped in pure panic, tails puffed like little smoke bombs.

I squinted through the blinding glow, hand raised like a human shield. The "rock" wasn’t just melting—it was peeling, layers flaking off like some sad, magical eggshell.

And inside... something alive pulsed. Something practically screaming, "LEIF! PAY ATTENTION! PLOT TWIST INCOMING!"

"ALVAR!" I waved frantically. "COME. HERE. NOW!"

He turned, shielding his eyes from the dazzle, brow furrowed. "What’s going on?"

"I don’t know! The rock—no, the stone—is shining like a disco ball!"

Alvar stepped forward and his glacier-cold mask cracked. Just a little. Enough for me to see his eyes widen like saucers.

The rock melted fully, transforming before our eyes into a three-colored, blindingly shiny Stone, glittering so hard it could’ve replaced a lighthouse.

I squinted. "...Gosh... did we just invent a northern tube light?"

Alvar didn’t even twitch. His posture stiffened into perfect steel. Then his calm mask shattered completely.

"This is... Trivium Core Stone," he whispered, voice trembling like a monk witnessing divine revelation.

"Eh?"

. . .

. . .

"Are... are you sure about this?"

Alvar drew his sword, carefully lifting the glowing miracle from the hearth. "Yes... I’ve seen this stone when the Crown Princess proudly showed it off years ago. This... this is indeed the Trivium Core Stone."

I blinked. Blinked again. My brain short-circuited. Then he turned to me, glacier eyes boring into mine.

"Where... did you find this?"

"...Uh... it was here?" I mumbled. "I... uh... rocks? Crimson babies? Magic? I—"

Logic abandoned me. Rational thought fled. Chaos, as usual, took the wheel.

Before Alvar could finish his sentence, before anyone could protest, I DASHED. Pajamas flapping like wings, I dashed out of my Chamber like my butt was on fire.

I cannonballed into the hot spring with a SPLASH that probably shook the entire estate. Steam swirled around me like a foggy trumpet fanfare. Crimson babies squealed and dived, adding extra chaos points.

I grabbed every stone I could fit into my arms—like a hyperactive treasure-hunting squirrel on espresso—and bolted. Splashing, slipping, flailing, and drenched head to toe, I ran back to my chamber with zero regard for anything except glorious, glittering treasure.

"HUUUFFFF! HUUUFFFF!" I gasped like a marathoner who just discovered life itself.

I threw every single shining stone into the hearth and Waited.

Our eyes never left the hearth and then---

BOOM! SHINE! SPARKLE! FIRE! LIGHT!

The room looked like a northern aurora had exploded indoors. I froze. Stared. Heart pounding. Hands trembling. Breath ragged.

Then, instinctively, hands flung skyward. "YAAAYYYY... WE. HAVE. TREASURE! OH YES! GLORY! GOLD! CHAOS! ...Wait—no... stones... magical... YES... ALL THE WIN!!!"

I ballet danced for a while and then... reality hit me like a snowball to the face in the dead of winter.

We’ve found a Trivium Core Stone. It would solve the greenhouse project issue... perfectly. Smoothly. Without hassle.

...But.

It also meant the Eryndor Empire now had a new Trivium Core Stone, another resource. That meant the future of Frojnholm... well, it wasn’t just complicated—it was chaos wrapped in disaster, sprinkled with political intrigue, and topped with probably lethal paperwork.

My happiness shattered. My sparkling joy flickered and died like a candle in a hurricane. I trembled. Dripping wet. Slumped on the couch like a tragic heroine in an opera no one had asked to watch.

Alvar’s voice broke through, muttering as he watched me flop like a soggy rug: "One minute he’s soaring like a firework... next, he collapses like... like bad weather."

He grabbed a towel and began drying my hair, calm as a glacier, muttering, "What’s wrong now?"

I flailed one arm dramatically, water dripping everywhere. "After this... HUGE TREASURE

discovery... nobles will crawl and fly like roaches... and eagles... and probably dragons... all at the same time! And I... I will be busier than a cat in a yarn factory!!!"

Alvar’s fingers worked through my hair, surprisingly patient. "Is... that what you are worried about?"

I nodded. Droplets fell from my chin. "Yes! I just wanted... peace! A peaceful life! Maybe a nap! A beer! A slightly less insane empire!"

Alvar’s sigh was heavy enough to blow out candles. "But... you will also be earning... an enormous amount."

. . .

. . .

SELF-GOLD DIGGER MODE ACTIVATED!!!

I blinked. Slowly. Then—like a firework reigniting in my chest—I sparkled. Not metaphorically. Possibly literally.

"That’s right..." I whispered, voice trembling with newfound, chaotic ambition. "I... I... I WILL... I WILL... I WILL SWIM... IN... A... FREAKING... GOLD COIN... SWIMMING POOL!!!"

Alvar paused, towel mid-air, staring. "You... you do realize... that you’re insane, right?"

Of course I didn’t hear him because I was already giggling like a maniac. "Ohohoho~~ GOLD! MONEY! TREASURE! CHAOS! ALL THE WIN! Ohohoho~~!"

Alvar sighed, "I swear... if anyone else sees you like this, they will either worship you or call for the Imperial Guards. There is no in-between."

He just stood there, arms crossed, expression amused.

***

[The Next Day]

After that... huge discovery, we informed Baron Sigurd. Yes... he trembled. Shook like a leaf in a winter blizzard. And then... we discovered something even more mind-blowing.

Our territory didn’t just have one hot spring. Oh no. Many. Many, many hot springs. Baron Sigurd even rolled out a map, pointing to every steaming, bubbling, magical geyser. And what did we find?

The stones—the very same Trivium Core Stones—were the reason we had these hot springs! Every single one!

The Imperial siblings?

ohhhh, they trembled. Eyes wide, mouths hanging open, faces draining faster than ice in the summer sun. Why? Because this discovery—this chaotic, glorious, explosive discovery—meant they had just lost a massive deal. Massive. And we didn’t even need them to run the greenhouse project anymore.

Haha! Victory... sweet, sparkling victory.

Of course, the deal for the greenhouse project to be recognized by the imperial family still stood—because, you know, it needed to be recognized by them—but the stone project? HA! I said no. Absolutely not. Those stones were ours. ALL MINE. CHAOS AND TREASURE FOR LEIF!

Since this was such a huge, empire-shaking issue, I had to take the next logical step. Write a letter. To Count Viktor. My so-called father... new father... biological father... not-biological father... you know, the whole messy transmigrator life package.

Anyway. I scribbled the letter. Then I strapped it to my trembling owl, pointed to the cold, unforgiving sky, and shouted, "Do not lose your balls and make sure this reaches Father!"

The owl blinked at me, wings quivering, as if saying, Sir... seriously? And then, with a flap that looked like pure terror, it flew away.

I slumped into my chair, letting out a long sigh that could have powered a windmill.

Knock knock.

"C’mon in," I mumbled.

The door creaked. Sir Haldor peeked in and bowed.

"Oh! Sir Haldor, please, don’t just peek—come in!" I said dramatically, gesturing wildly.

He stepped inside, and I tilted my head, suspicious. "Did... did something happen, Sir Haldor? Have my crimson babies been... terrorizing you? Or worse... plotting world domination?"

He shook his head, hands clasped behind his back. "No, no, my lord... in fact, they are extremely obedient. Truly the best little army I have ever had the honor to lead."

I grinned, puffing out my chest a little. "Good to hear."

He smiled faintly, bowing slightly. Then his tone grew formal, almost conspiratorial. "I am here... to introduce you to your... Captain of Frojnholm."

I blinked. "Captain? Wait... officially? We have a captain now?" My crimson babies seemed to perk up, as if expecting a parade.

Sir Haldor nodded gravely, and then—like he was about to summon royalty himself—he turned back and said, "Sir... Roland, please... come in."

And then he did.

A man stepped through the doorway with a presence that could make mountains bow. Huge, husky personality radiating from every step. White hair that caught the candlelight, green eyes that seemed to see straight through your soul... and a jawline sharp enough to carve marble.

I blinked. Then blinked again.

"Wow..." I muttered under my breath, voice cracking like a nerdy teenager. "...he’s... damn... handsome."

Every fantasy, every idolized hero from my chaotic, transmigrator imagination... all rolled into one perfectly terrifying, impossibly handsome man standing right in front of me.

My crimson babies barked, confused and impressed, tails wagging like metronomes.

And me? I just slumped into my chair, muttering, "...I... I think I just found my new obsession."

And with that... the world tilted, my heartbeat did cartwheels, and chaos... delicious, sparkling, chaotic chaos... was officially invited to tea.