When night falls, I am guided by Rossette to a somewhat remote place. Upon arriving in front of a door, I notice the body of a guard lying on the floor.
"Take him behind that tapestry."
The cold of the marble seeped into my knees as I hid the guard's unconscious body behind a tapestry. Rossette, crouched beside me, still held the pommel of her fan, now stained red.
"Don't tell me you killed them."
"By the gods, no. He'll just sleep for a few hours. Now be quiet."
"Alright, but where are we?"
"This used to be a secret passage so people could get to their rooms faster. Guess which room we're going to."
"To Elizabeth's room?"
"Not unless you want to be a pervert. This isn't connected to the students' rooms, only to important places in the academy. And one of those important places was what is now our prince's room."
"So we're going to spy on him."
"His plans went wrong today, so he'll try to create countermeasures for tomorrow night."
"That makes sense."
The shadows of the secret passage enveloped us as we advanced towards the prince's private quarters. Every step echoed like thunder in the silence.
[Stealth Skill: 2 → 3
You can make your presence diminish in dark places for 25 seconds and cannot be seen]
A system window blinked in front of me. It seems my stealth skill has risen to level 3, and now I can remain in the darkness longer. There's no time to celebrate right now.
"There."
Rossette pointed towards a crack where a sliver of light escaped. Angry voices came from within.
"…You can't keep protecting her, Alexander! That witch is stealing the council's support from us!"
I pressed against the wall, holding my breath. Through the crack, I saw the prince standing before a table covered in maps, his sharp profile illuminated by trembling candles.
"You have the subtlety of a battering ram, Elizabeth. Rossette Moriarte is no ordinary rival. If we act without thinking…"
A dry thud cut his sentence short. Elizabeth had thrown something against the wall.
"We already tried your way! The poison failed! We need something she can't ignore!"
The prince turned sharply, and for the first time, I saw the beast beneath his mask of courtesy.
"Tomorrow, at the ball. When they toast to their engagement… that's when House Crimson will fall."
Rossette grabbed my arm, her nails digging into my skin. Her eyes, lit by that fierce determination I was beginning to know, ordered me to retreat.
But then…
A detail on the prince's table caught my attention: a broken wax seal with the Moriarte House emblem. Letters scattered. And among them…
A portrait of Rossette, pierced by a dagger.
[Perception increased: 8 → 9]
This isn't even revenge; this is an elaborate plan just to end Rossette, and thanks to me, I've stopped it, but it's not over yet.
I signal to Rossette to get out of this place quickly. Rossette nods, and we turn back the way we came, but as we walked through the dark corridors, we began to hear voices approaching.
"Stay hidden."
I whisper to Rossette to stay hidden, and although she seems reluctant to leave me completely alone, I push her, and when I see the light of a torch approaching, I cover myself behind a wall.
"What do you think happened to that idiot guarding the door?"
"He probably left. I sometimes do that when it's my turn to guard it. Standing for so many hours is tiresome."
It's good they haven't found the body, but when I see that light approaching, I activate my stealth skill. At that moment, I see two men pass by, but being hidden in a patch of darkness, I manage to conceal myself without being seen, despite them scanning the area.
When the two guards continue on their way, I deactivate my stealth skill and quickly walk to where Rossette is hidden. When I see her come out, I notice from her expression that she wants to ask something, but I make a sign for silence, and we continue running quickly from the place until we are safe.
∆∆∆
We managed to reach Rossette's room without being discovered by anyone. Honestly, they should appreciate how we ran all the way to Rossette's dormitory so quickly without being caught.
[Agility: 6 → 7]
…
They should also appreciate all my effort so far and give me an extremely powerful ability.
…
I waited for something to happen, but the universe isn't that good about giving me what I ask for so easily, although that extra point in agility is appreciated. These 7 points plus the 3 offered by the Fencing skill already put my agility in the double digits.
I look at Rossette, who seems to be thinking about something, and I sit in a chair in the room to get comfortable.
"Since we will have some problems tomorrow, the thing is that they want to humiliate us, they want to make a spectacle of us right at the party."
"At least we were able to find out what we're up against and can make countermeasures. But right now, something else intrigues me."
Rossette looks directly at me.
"How did you manage to hide from those two guards? The place where I hid was unlikely to be found, but you got close and weren't discovered. I want to know how."
"It's no secret, it's just not something I talk about casually. So I'll show you."
I stand up and move away from the lit light and activate my skill. Rossette stands up when she sees me disappear, and as she approaches the darkness, I move closer to the lamp.
"No need to look, I'm right here."
Rossette turns quickly.
"How?"
"I have the power to hide in the shadows, although with my current strength I can only stay like this for 25 seconds."
"Ohhh my, what a perverted power."
Hearing that, I just stare at her. What is this woman thinking?
"Tell me, how many times have you seen me naked doing that trick?"
"Do you really want to know?"
I approach her and look her straight in the eyes, but she avoids my gaze, showing her obvious nervousness.
"I have seen you the astonishing amount of zero times naked, unless you think I can open your bedroom door and to strangle the cyclops in 25 seconds."
"To strangle the cyclops?"
Seeing her confused expression makes me wonder, don't they have that expression here? Well, that helps avoid an awkward conversation, and for next time, it would be best not to attempt jokes of that nature.
"It doesn't matter, let's stop joking. We need to talk about a serious topic: what will we do tomorrow? We don't know what they will use against us."
"It's complicated for them to attempt a direct assassination; there will still be many people. So they will likely keep trying to use underhanded methods like trying to poison us. Just try not to drink anything they give you, and if for some reason you drink something and start to feel strange, find me."
"Find you? Are you going to carry the antidote to a party? I don't think you know which poison they will use on us."
"No, I don't know, but that's why I prepared a strong antidote that can at least suppress most poisons and help you resist the strongest poisons longer."
I honestly hadn't thought of that. Although I don't consider myself a genius, I'm going to graduate as one of the best in my class. Well, it's not like I've been in the situation of avoiding poisoning before.
"You're impressive. How will you bring in a vial of antidote? I don't think you can go around carrying a strange vial."
"They won't search us, and even if they do, I had a maid place certain flowers on our table. The antidote will be in that vase adorning the table."
"When did you do that?"
"I did it when I told you I was going to check the Queen's white roses."
Ohhhh, so that was the special fertilizer.
"You've thought of everything, haven't you?"
"Everything possible. You must be impressed."
"Yes, I can't understand why the prince doesn't feel something for you."
"He said I was a very superficial and strict person. He preferred a woman who could follow him and love every one of his decisions without making him feel like everything he does is wrong."
Basically, a narcissistic man who doesn't want to feel lesser than his wife, which is why he went for the first submissive woman who appeared and told him some sweet words.
"He missed out on a very good woman. You are intelligent, strong, funny, and patient. You have great qualities not only as a partner but also as a person worth spending the rest of your life with. To put it simply, you are very competent."
"…."
I look at her, hearing nothing. Looking at her, I notice she has a cold expression.
"I appreciate your compliments, although I must burst your bubble and tell you that it is getting very late, so it's best you return to your room. We don't want you to be discovered being in your fiancée's room so late."
She's right, it's far too late, and I shouldn't be in the women's dormitories. So I stand up and head for the door.
"Rest well. A long day awaits us."
"Rest well, William."
I go out the door and quickly walk away to avoid being discovered.
(POV Rossette)
I watch William leave through the door. I approach, lock the door, and sit in front of the mirror, looking at my face.
[He missed out on a very good woman. You are intelligent, strong, funny, and patient.]
That damn guy, how dare he say something like that to a lady without changing his expression. Although seeing the tone in which he said it, and especially when he says it with seriousness as if it were normal, makes me feel a little happy.
"No, Rossette, no."
How can I fall for his compliments? They might not be empty flattery and were said from a place of sincere admiration. Maybe where he comes from, it's not strange to say such things.
I would love to ignore the blush on my cheeks, but I can't deny that it's been a long time since someone told me those things so sincerely.
"Let's forget it for now."
I lie down on my bed to rest. Many things will happen tomorrow, and from the looks of it, the prince is not only planning something against William but against me too, so I must rest very well today. Although there is still one thing on my mind.
"What did William mean by 'strangle the cyclops'? Is it a special term they have where he's from to refer to a fight?"
I'll ask him when all this is over.