The palace ballroom had never felt more like a battlefield.
Gilded columns. Suspended chandeliers. Nobles spinning in gowns like enchanted peacocks. Everyone smiled too widely. Everyone whispered too softly. Secrets bled from the walls like perfume.
And Ethan?
Ethan was pretending he knew how to waltz.
"Keep your back straight," Ayla hissed in his ear. "And stop stepping on my foot."
"I'm improvising," he muttered.
"You're murdering my toes."
They spun through the crowd, his hand on her waist, her glare sharper than a dagger. The music was fast and elegant — not unlike the growing list of Ethan's problems.
[QUEST ACTIVE: "Truth.exe"]
Seduce a system suspect. Gain access to classified memory threads.
Bonus Objective: Survive the evening. Preferably without ruining the carpet.
The Queen's decree had been clear: Attend the diplomatic ball. Charm the foreign nobles. Gather information on any strange behavior — especially from the Guirean Delegation, rumored to be linked to rogue system tech.
What the Queen didn't say, of course, was that he'd be dancing with her sister under constant surveillance while trying not to collapse from stress.
"I feel like bait," Ethan muttered.
"You are bait," Ayla replied. "Very well-dressed bait. And if you keep sweating this much, you'll drown in your own suit."
"Does everyone in this palace flirt by insulting me?"
"Some of us don't flirt at all."
[SYSTEM REPLY:]
Lie detected. Ayla has a +14 secret affection score. User has achieved 'barely tolerable' status.
Ethan snorted, then stiffened as the music ended.
A new song began — slower, silkier — and a new partner stepped forward from the Guirean line.
She moved like liquid seduction wrapped in crimson silk.
Tall. Silver-blonde. Eyes like molten gold. Her smile was perfect. Too perfect.
"May I steal you for a dance?" she purred, extending a gloved hand.
Ayla tensed.
Ethan smiled. "Only if you promise not to stab me halfway through."
"No promises," the woman replied sweetly.
As she led him to the floor, Ethan's system pinged like mad.
[ALERT: SYSTEM USER DETECTED]
Subject: ??? // Alias: Lady Elvira Nox
Threat Level: Unknown. Body Heat Level: Unethically High.
Warning: User is exhibiting active interference aura. Likely system-enhanced charm protocol in effect.
"So," Elvira murmured as they danced, "you're the palace's rising star. Quite the buzz."
"Mostly rumors," Ethan replied smoothly. "I'm very boring."
"Oh, I doubt that."
She leaned in — close enough that her perfume made him dizzy.
[PASSIVE DEFENSE: Resist Charm Lv.1 Activated]
Status: Semi-Aroused but Holding the Line
"You seem different," she whispered. "Not like the others."
"Others?"
"The nobles. The fools. The liars."
"And what do you think I am?"
She tilted her head. "A weapon. One that doesn't know what it's pointed at."
That made him stiffen. She smiled.
"I've heard things," she continued, voice soft as silk. "Whispers about forgotten labs. About people waking up with voices in their heads."
His throat went dry.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he said.
"Mm. Shame. I was hoping we could compare firmware."
[SYSTEM REPLY:]
This woman is either a dangerous spy, your future girlfriend, or both. Prepare accordingly.
The dance ended.
Elvira curtsied, lips brushing his knuckles. "Until we meet again… Subject E26."
Ethan's heart nearly stopped.
She turned and vanished into the crowd.
He staggered backward — only for Ayla to grab his arm and yank him behind a column.
"Who the hell was that?" she snapped.
"Someone who knows too much."
"And touched you too much."
He blinked.
She flushed. "I mean—suspiciously! Suspicious touching! That's protocol-violating touching!"
"I'm pretty sure that was an international incident."
She muttered a curse, then her eyes narrowed. "Your system. What did it say?"
Ethan hesitated. "It flagged her. Said she's a user."
Ayla's lips pressed thin. "We need to follow her."
"No. Too obvious." He glanced around. "If she's what I think she is, she wants us chasing."
A soft gong echoed through the hall.
Attention shifted as Queen Lira rose from her throne-chair at the edge of the ballroom.
"Beloved guests," she declared, "tonight, we celebrate diplomacy, trust, and the forging of new futures. But we also celebrate courage. The courage to serve, to defend, and to seduce—"
She blinked.
"I mean," she corrected, "to speak truth to power."
Ayla groaned into her sleeve. Ethan barely held in a laugh.
[SYSTEM REPLY:]
New Trait Unlocked: "Ballroom Charisma – Lv.1"
You may now survive formal events without openly vomiting or panicking. Progress!
As applause broke out, Ethan felt a brush of cold air across the back of his neck.
Someone had just opened a hidden door.
He turned.
A servant was vanishing behind a curtained hallway — the same hallway Elvira had disappeared toward.
"Ayla," he said. "Cover for me."
She blinked. "What are you—"
"I have to follow her."
"But you just said—"
"I lied."
And with that, Ethan slipped into the dark.
The hallway was narrow and cold, lined with forgotten paintings and silence. At the end was a chamber bathed in moonlight — a conservatory of glass and shadow.
Elvira stood in the center, waiting.
"I was hoping you'd come."
"Why?" Ethan asked, fingers twitching toward his dagger.
"Because you're not ready."
She stepped forward.
And her eyes — golden, glowing — began to change.
[SYSTEM ALERT: TRUE FORM DETECTED]
Lady Elvira Nox = Subject LUX-A17
Classification: Prototype Assassin-Class System Host
Status: Highly Unstable
Intent: Memory Extraction
"What the hell are you?" Ethan growled.
Elvira smiled.
"I'm the reminder that you're not the first. And you won't be the last."
Her aura exploded outward — red threads of data and fire — and the world shattered into symbols.
Ethan screamed as his system roared to life.
[EMERGENCY DEFENSE PROTOCOLS ENGAGED]
Countermeasure Activated: "Sarcasm Shield Lv.3"
Auto-quip Deployed: "Your AI's got a virus, sweetheart."
She blinked.
He threw a vase at her head.
The fight exploded — psychic waves lashing against psychic fire. Ethan dodged a mind-lance, tackled her through a glass pane, and they both tumbled into a fountain.
Elvira pinned him beneath the spray, eyes wild.
"I was made to destroy you," she hissed.
"Then you need better coding."
He twisted, kicked, and flipped her off — then promptly slipped and smashed his head on a marble dolphin.
[HP -12]
Dignity: Shattered
Wetness Level: Absurd
She stood, shaking.
He stood, staggering.
And then — from above — a bolt of lightning blasted down.
A third figure dropped between them.
Cloak. Mask. Long silver hair.
"Enough," the newcomer said. "You'll break him."
Elvira hissed. "You—"
"He's not ready," the masked one said. "But he will be."
And then — a flash of light. Ethan's vision went black.
He woke up in Ayla's lap, surrounded by royal guards and scandalized maids.
"Oh," he mumbled. "Did we win?"
"Define win," Ayla muttered.
Queen Lira loomed above him, arms crossed. "You collapsed into the Queen Mother's punch bowl."
"Did I… seduce anyone?"
"Not unless you count the dolphin statue."
He groaned.
[SYSTEM NOTICE:]
Quest Progress: 45% Complete
Suspect: Elvira – Confirmed Host
Memory Fragment: Locked
Warning: Third system presence detected. Unknown alignment.
As the Queen ordered the crowd dismissed, Ethan blinked blearily up at the stars above.
"Next time," he muttered, "I'm faking a stomach ache."