Smile Bomb

Queen Jenya, the ruler of Regret, hated everything in the world.

She hated those who had more than her.

She hated those who had less.

She hated those who were just like her.

She hated herself—most of all.

The end result of an Eternal Slave who never attained a master, Regret was filled with regret and discontent, but Jenya stood out among them, a cut above the rest.

Where she ruled, the smiles of most of Regret vanished.

☆

"Heya, Jenya-nyan, how’re you doing~?"

Rigret Holkina stepped into the room.

On the queen’s bed, Jenya lazily shifted her head.

Her face twisted instantly, clearly displeased at the sight of Holkina.

"What…?"

"Got some food from Akito-chan."

"Uh-huh…"

“Three months’ worth of food for every person in the kingdom. That’ll keep everyone fed. Yay!”

Holkina gives a thumbs-up and winks.

Her casualness is about as light as if she’d brought back a bag of sweets.

Which only makes Jenya even more irritated.

“Sounds fun. So jealous.”

“Yeah, it’s fun. Akito-chan’s totally amazing. Even Svechi’s head over heels. Can you imagine? That Svechi? You can’t even picture it, right?”

Jenya throws a jab—sarcasm, utterly ignored.

She goes on, as if boasting about herself.

Jenya’s brow lifts, ever so slightly. Still on the bed, half-lidded.

Face-down, the twitch of her brow.

Does she notice? Doesn’t seem to. Holkina keeps right on bragging.

“Anyway, there was an important report.”

“What? Important report?”

“Akito-chan’s coming.”

“…What?”

“Akito-chan’s coming.”

“Didn’t hear that.”

“Just heard it now, though.”

Jeanya sat up straight, glaring at Holkina.

A look of pure hatred—thick, coiled, sharp as a blade.

Normal people would’ve felt their hair stand on end. But Holkina just tilted her head, all innocence. “Huh?”

“Right, and—oh, by the way—Svetta’s supposed to come all the way to the border.”

“Svetlana?”

“Y-y-y-yeah! Svetta’s back to being an Eternal Slave, right? And this country’s got a no Eternal Slave entry rule, right? So she’s only bringing Akito-chan up to the border. No big deal, right? That’s totally fine?”

“……”

Jeanya didn’t answer.

Whatever she’d say wouldn’t change a thing. Holkina had already decided.

"Just about to reach the border, so I’ll say this for now. Ah, don’t worry, don’t worry—I’ll stop it properly outside, no problem. Well then, that’s that~"

Holkina stepped out of the room. Same light-footed gait as when she’d entered. Bright smile on her face.

Jeanya stared at the space where Holkina had vanished for a while, then slowly extended her hand sideways, dragging her fingers through the air in a slow circle.

The space where her fingers passed split open like wallpaper, revealing the other side (……).

A familiar, wild expanse. A man stood there. And beside him, a single Eternal Slave.

She knew that face. The skin and hair had changed, but the expression was the same.

It was Regret—the Sveta, the one Akito had sent as messenger so many times before.

Which meant the man had to be Akito, Jeanya thought.

Around her, a crowd of Regrets stood, all glaring at Sveta with nothing but hatred in their eyes.

Not as consumed by it as Jeanya, but still, the others were nearly drowned in it.

Before them, Akito spoke something to Sveta.

In an instant, Sveta’s face broke into a smile.

A full, radiant grin—the kind that makes you think the whole world’s a paradise.

Jeanya hated everything.

She hated those who were just like her.

Hated those who had less.

Hated those who had more.

So she hated Sveta—someone who’d found a master, and could smile like that.

But even though she hated everything—

there was something deep inside her, stirred by that smile.

Something the other Regrets felt too—the ones who’d seen Akito and Sveta smile.

Envy.

She was just… jealous.

She was envious—she and the others couldn’t help it. The sight of Sveta­rana’s life, so calm, so free… it gnawed at them.

And so, the former Regret, the Eternal Slave, turned around and left.

But the mark she left behind—her smile—became the spark that changed the Regret Kingdom forever.