Transmigrated Into A Women Dominated World

The hour before

Zaeryn remained beneath the covers for another minute before forcing himself out of bed. He had spent most of the night wishing morning would arrive. Now that it had, the hour separating him from the Imperial Council felt uncomfortably short.

The hot shower cleared some of the exhaustion from his thoughts, but it did nothing about the hunger that had followed him from the previous night. By the time he finished washing, the emptiness in his stomach had sharpened into a steady ache.

Zaeryn dressed in fitted black trousers, a dark blue shirt and the lightweight black coat he had brought for the evaluation. The result was formal without resembling ceremonial dress.

He studied himself in the mirror after fastening the coat.

The lack of sleep was visible around his eyes, although not enough to make him look unwell. If the Council intended to examine every detail about him, at least his appearance would give them nothing unnecessary to discuss.

Thirty-two minutes remained when he left the bedroom.

Zaeryn checked the refrigerator again. Several bottles of water still occupied the upper shelf, but no food had appeared overnight. He opened the meal directory on the communication panel and discovered that no breakfast had been scheduled for the suite. The earliest delivery available required more time than he had before his escort arrived.

Most high-tier Vitae users could go several days without needing to eat. The women normally housed in a secured Crown residence probably treated meals as an optional comfort rather than part of a daily routine.

Zaeryn could not.

Apparently, that detail had survived every report written about his unusual biology and still escaped whoever had prepared the room.

He considered placing the order anyway, but he did not feel comfortable requesting food that would arrive after his escort.

More than that, he wanted the evaluation finished as quickly as possible, and beginning anything else while he waited made it feel as though he were delaying the morning himself.

Zaeryn took another bottle of water from the refrigerator and returned to the sitting area. He sat on the sofa with the bottle between his hands and watched the minutes disappear from the illuminated clock.

Ten minutes before his escort was due, the entrance panel chimed.

"Princess Viora Lumina has requested access," the residence system announced.

Zaeryn straightened immediately.

"Let her in," Zaeryn said.

The door opened almost at once.

Viora entered alone. She wore the dark fitted uniform of the Royal Guard, with her silver hair drawn back and her duty gloves held beneath one arm. The three guards stationed outside remained in the corridor as the door closed behind her.

A faint smile appeared when Viora saw him. It was small enough that anyone who knew her only from military broadcasts might have missed it, but Zaeryn recognized the quieter expression she allowed around him.

"Little Brother," Viora said.

"I wasn’t expecting visitors," Zaeryn replied, smiling back.

"I wanted to visit you yesterday," Viora said. "To everyone outside our family, I have no reason to know you. Coming here immediately after your arrival would have attracted attention."

"I understand," Zaeryn replied.

Viora walked farther into the sitting area.

"And what about now?" Zaeryn asked. "Won’t coming here this morning still raise suspicion?"

"It may," Viora replied. "I came to wish you luck."

Zaeryn felt some of the tension leave his shoulders.

"I’m glad you came," Zaeryn said. "Will you be at the evaluation?"

"No," Viora replied. "The chamber will be closed to everyone except the Imperial Council and those specifically summoned as part of your evaluation."

"So you won’t be there," Zaeryn said, unable to keep the disappointment entirely from his voice.

"I won’t," Viora confirmed.

Zaeryn rose from the sofa.

Viora stepped closer and rested one hand against his upper arm. The gesture was restrained, but there was nothing formal about it.

"You can face them without me, Little Brother," Viora said. "You are capable of handling this."

The communication panel illuminated again.

"Mr. Noctis’s escort will arrive in five minutes," the residence system announced.

Viora gave his arm a faint squeeze before releasing it.

"I wish you luck, Little Brother," Viora said.

"Thank you," Zaeryn replied.

Viora smiled faintly before turning towards the entrance.

"Can I have a hug before you go?" Zaeryn asked.

Viora stopped and looked back at him. The request appeared to surprise her, but the reaction lasted only a moment before her smile became noticeably warmer.

Viora was not naturally affectionate, and she rarely allowed her emotions to show. Even so, Zaeryn saw a quiet pride in her expression when he asked for the hug, as though the fact that he had turned to her for comfort meant more than she intended to reveal.

She transferred her duty gloves into one hand and opened her arms.

"Bring it in, Little Brother," Viora said.

Zaeryn stepped forward and embraced her. Viora wrapped both arms around him and held him firmly, abandoning the careful physical restraint she usually maintained around everyone else.

Zaeryn returned the embrace and allowed himself to remain there for several seconds. He had not realised how badly he needed that simple reassurance until he felt some of the pressure inside his chest begin to loosen.

Viora released him first. Her usual composure returned almost immediately, although some of the warmth remained in her expression.

She turned towards the entrance.

The door opened to reveal the three Royal Guards stationed along the corridor. All three straightened and acknowledged Viora immediately as she stepped outside.

The guard nearest the door allowed her gaze to move from Viora towards Zaeryn, who remained visible inside the suite. Her curiosity lasted for only a moment, but Viora noticed it.

Viora met the woman’s eyes with enough calm authority to make it clear that no explanation would be offered. The guard lowered her gaze and returned to attention without asking the question that had almost reached her face.

Viora continued down the corridor as the suite door closed behind her.

After she entered the private lift and its doors closed, two of the guards exchanged a brief look. Neither woman spoke, although both glanced towards Zaeryn’s suite before resuming their positions.

Zaeryn remained standing beside the sofa.

He was still tired, still hungry and still uncertain about what the Council intended to do with him. Viora’s visit had removed none of those things. It had, however, reminded him that several people inside the chamber would see more than an anomaly when they looked at him.

Five minutes later, the entrance opened again.

The same Royal Guard officer who had escorted him from the landing platform stood outside with four Warladies positioned behind her.

"Mr. Noctis, it is time," the officer said.

Zaeryn stepped into the corridor.

"Lead the way," Zaeryn replied.

The Warladies formed around him without leaving an open direction, although this time he made no comment upon it. They guided him through the secured level and into a private lift that descended beneath the residence.

A transit pod waited at the lower platform.

Its dark oval cabin held the entire escort. The doors sealed after they boarded, and the pod accelerated along a magnetic route leading away from the Crown Guest Residence with barely any sensation of movement.

Gardens, covered walkways and separate administrative buildings passed outside. The route remained below ground level in some sections before rising across open stretches where Zaeryn could see the central towers of the palace drawing closer.

None of the Royal Guards spoke during the journey.

Zaeryn stood between them and watched the palace approach. Hunger had settled into a hollow pressure beneath his ribs, but the tension gathering throughout his body had begun to overpower it.

The evaluation was no longer something waiting at the end of the morning. Every second carried him directly towards it.

The pod entered the base of the central palace, and its transparent walls darkened. It changed direction twice before slowing beside another secured platform.

The doors opened.

The Royal Guards escorted Zaeryn through a wide corridor of black stone and silver metal. Security fields passed over him at two separate checkpoints. At the final one, an officer confirmed his identity before opening the reinforced doors beyond it.

The Imperial Council chamber waited on the other side.

Zaeryn entered between the Royal Guards.

His attention first settled upon Valerie, who sat with the other members of the Imperial Council behind the raised council bench. To one side of the open floor, Sage and Kayla sat together in the seats provided for witnesses.

Then Zaeryn saw the woman seated at the head of the Council table.

For eighteen years, Athea had existed as a name, an image and an absence. He had seen her through projections and heard her voice across secure transmissions, but there had always been a screen, a distance or another excuse separating them.

Now his mother sat less than twenty paces away, with nothing between them but the open floor of the Imperial Council chamber.

Athea looked directly at him.

"Zaeryn Noctis," Athea said. "Come forward."

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