Selene nodded. "I want to do it."

The doctor startled, looking back at her. "I beg your pardon, Your Majesty?"

"Stars above. How dense can you Earthens get?! I said I. Want. To. Do it. I want to do it. Do you need me to spell it out for you?"

"N-no, ma'am. But I don't believe it's wise to rush into such an important decision-" 

 "Don't patronize me, moron. I know what I want, when I want. I'm wise enough. If this absolutely disrespectful behavior is because I'm young, spare me the doubt. I'm not an indecisive fool like so many Earthens are. I'll repeat it one more time. I want to get a cybernetic hand." Selene tapped her wrist. "As you can see, I'm currently without a hand. Just because I'm a queen, or Lunar, or young, doesn't mean I have any less of a capability to make decisions than  any of you Earthens, and it certainly doesn't mean I have any less use for a hand."

"Yes. Yes, of course, Your Majesty." The doctors face kept getting more and more flushed as Selene spoke, and he looked as though it were about to explode and spray beet juice all over the place. Selene sat back in her hospital bed and flicked her wrist toward the door. 

"You're excused. Go start preparing for the surgery to attach a new cybernetic hand."

"Y-yes, Your Majesty."

The doctor sent an anxious glance at the boy next to the door, who suddenly looked very, very timid. Selene watched from her seat as the doctor slipped out of the room, and then swiveled her gaze to the boy, inclining her head. 

"Your Highness."

The boy, Prince Kaito, opened his mouth, and then shut it again. He did this several times before a bright red blush spread across his face and he bowed so low he almost touched the floor. 

"Y-Your Majesty!" He blurted, not leaving his ever-low bow.

Selene smirked. "It's all right. You can call me Selene. Thank you for saving me and Winter. It's greatly appreciated."

"R-Right."

"Speaking of Winter, how's she doing?"

"The one in the white cloak? She had a mild concussion and several serious burns, along with that wound on her arm, but she's recovering quickly."

Selene quickly looked at him. "Burns?... She won't need..."

"Cybernetic implants? No."

Selene let out an audible sigh and wondered if she was letting her guard down too much. Selene knew she probably shouldn't reveal so much about herself and the people she cared about to him, but she didn't think this boy would pose much of a threat to her plan. Speaking of which:

"Did-did anyone else survive the crash?"

Prince Kaito hesitated, and then shook his head. Selene exhaled slowly, looking a large window on one wall. Her head whirled. Everyone was gone. Sybil Mira, Aimery Park, and everyone else. They'd been snuffed out just like that. Caught up in the collateral damage of one of Levana's idiotic assassination attempts. Although they all were strong, capable human beings, their lives were snapped in two like twigs. It revealed to Selene just how weak human beings really were, including her. Although she'd never tell anybody, it was part of the reason why Selene had chosen to get a cybernetic hand. So she could go back to Luna and show Levana, like "Look. After sixteen years of assassination attempts, the only thing I've suffered is the loss of one hand. You can't break me. Stop trying."

But.. It still pained Selene to think about the ship and everything in it. Just gone. Wiped off the face of the earth. No trace of the-

Selene gasped, grabbing at her sheets and spinning back to Kaito. He'd been staring at her, but Selene was too frantic to notice.

"The letumosis antidotes! There was a case of them in the podship! Are they gone too?!"

Prince Kaito looked confused. "Nothing could be salvaged from the wreck. They must be gone."

Selene gritted her teeth. She had a feeling everything would just go downhill for her plans from then on.

She was right, as usual.