It was completely understandable that Seulgi felt nothing but intimidated as she looked at the special audience who had demanded to meet her. She hadn’t expected her performance to be quite a hit. She had needed to get some air, away from all the bustle and hustle, and somehow managed to escape the backstage to the small balcony that the coliseum had. She hadn’t expected to see a total ghost town, except for the weird boy she had met who quickly ran off after she helped him. Although she was surprised by the public reaction, she wasn’t as surprised when she saw Yerim rushing out into the balcony and scolding her for disappearing because she was supposed to meet the Council and Guardians. She hadn’t thought of it much then during the days leading up to her performance, but as she looked up at everyone, she couldn’t help but feel so small.

They sat down comfortably on chairs that were like thrones. She bowed shyly to the Council and they bowed back. Although she was acquainted with them, she still didn’t feel fully comfortable around them. She was much more intimidated, however, by the presence of the four women at the left side of the room. They all watched her with great intensity, their faces cold and void of any thought or emotion. She supposed that the Council must’ve picked up on the weird atmosphere because Seokjin flashed a glare at one of the servants.

Startled, the servant quickly cleared his throat before speaking. “May I present to you, the songbird herself, Kang Seulgi.”

At the sound of her introduction, Seulgi quickly bowed before them before glancing at their faces. She felt a little less panicked as she saw two of the four women give her bright, reassuring smiles. It almost seemed to make her forget about the dubious, critical looks that the other two gave her.

“Seulgi,” Seokjin greeted as he got up from his seat and brought her hands to his lips. He smiled at her with his infamous smile. Strangely enough, she found it comforting in the tense situation. “You were absolutely wonderful out there! I expected you to be good, but not that good!” He then turned to the others who were nodding in agreement. “Even they agree!”

“I suppose that introductions are due,” Taehyung interrupted before Seokjin could continue blabbering on. He shot a sharp glare to the same previous servant who then realized that he hadn’t introduced the Guardians yet to the mortal.

“May I present to you Lady Jisoo, Lady Sooyoung, Lady Jennie, and Lady Joohyun,” he said in a clear voice. It seemed like the ladies were only waiting for their introduction before they started talking. One of the goddesses who had smiled at her, the one with bright red hair, was almost going to burst from not speaking.

“You were fabulous tonight,” she said suddenly that Seulgi couldn’t help but forget she was feeling nervous. “I haven’t heard a songbird that made me feel the same way you made me feel tonight. I can’t wait for your visit to my realm. My people would be delighted to hear you sing.”

“I have the same thoughts,” a bright voice said and Seulgi turned to see the other one who smiled at her. Her gaze was warm and proud, and Seulgi couldn’t help but be reminded a little of Seungwan. “The Water Realm would be ecstatic to finally meet you.”

The two goddesses continued to shower her with praises and Seulgi couldn’t help but feel a little shy. In all honesty, she didn’t really deserve any of the compliments. She knew deep down that it was mostly the gifts they had given her that did the work. She wouldn’t have been able to perform like that without it. Despite that, she felt grateful for their words and she let a genuine smile creep on her face.

“You are aware of the tour, right?” a voice interrupted suddenly.

Everyone turned to look at the origin of the voice. As she laid her eyes on the goddess, Seulgi felt a little gasp escape . She didn’t know if it was because of the nervousness or because there were many too good-looking people in the room but she hadn’t noticed the woman when she had entered the room. But as she looked at her properly, Seulgi couldn’t help but think that she was the prettiest person she had ever seen. Her beauty was so ethereal that she almost looked like she was glowing. However, Seulgi felt the feeling of ease disappear and the nervousness return once more at the sight of the cold look in the goddess’s eyes.

“Yes,” Seulgi replied with the loudest voice she could muster. “I haven’t been told about in detail but I have heard about it from my servants as well as the Council.”

The goddess nodded in approval before narrowing her eyes at Seulgi. There was a moment of silence that passed before she sighed and sat back in her seat. Well, the whole idea is simple enough. You’ll be going to our realms and performing for us. I suppose now would be a good time to talk about the order of the realms that you will be visiting.”

“Indeed,” Taehyung quickly spoke. “For ease in traveling, we will begin in the realm farthest from the Citadel and tour our way back. The Air Realm is the farthest so we will begin there. One of the Council members will be going along with you for your security. After all, you’re under the care of the Royal Palace now.”

Seulgi simply nodded her head as she listened to him. Upon hearing about the royal palace, she couldn’t help but remember something that they had told her when she first met them. Her eyes looked around the room until it settled on the empty throne in the middle of the group. She let out a soft sigh before she turned to look at the Council.

“Speaking of which, did the prince not attend the performance tonight?” she asked, although she already knew in her heart what their answer would be.

The Council and Guardians simply looked at each other, as if conversing secretly about the answer they would give her. Seulgi assumed that they were probably discussing what excuse to tell her. It was quite obvious anyway that the prince was nowhere to be seen.

“His Highness sends his sincerest apologies,” Jungkook finally spoke and confirmed Seulgi’s assumption. “There were pressing issues he needed to attend to. He said it was a shame that it had to be dealt with immediately. If it had not, he would’ve been here with us today.”

“Oh,” she said in a quiet voice as she looked down at her feet. She tried her best not to sound or look disappointed.