A hand touched her shoulder—
G6's eyes snapped open.
Before the last fog of sleep had even cleared, her body moved. Her fingers closed around the nearest object within reach—a hair stick—and in one swift motion, its sharp end pressed against a soft throat.
Tina froze, her pulse fluttering beneath the metal.
For a second, neither of them moved.
G6 stared at her, then at the hair stick, and finally back at Tina.
Oh. Fuck.
"Still here, huh?" she muttered.
She lowered the improvised weapon and tossed it onto the bedside table before rubbing the stiffness from her neck.
"You are being strange again, my lady," Tina said carefully, concern slipping into her voice.
"Bad dream."
A bad dream where I almost stabbed you.
Tina cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses, apparently deciding that pretending nothing had happened was the safest course of action.
"It is nearly noon, my lady."
G6 sat rigidly on the bed for another moment, replaying the last few seconds. Her gaze eventually drifted back toward the hair stick.
What a disgrace.
Tina sighed.
"I will fetch your tea."
As the door closed behind her, G6 continued staring at the hair stick.
It seemed to be judging her.
❈.❈.❈
Tina returned a short while later and set the tea tray down with her usual silent precision.
Her eyes flicked toward G6—now Lady Reise Worthon—who sat slouched in her chair like a bored mercenary forced into a noblewoman's body.
The old Reise would have complained about posture like that for an hour.
G6 peered suspiciously into the teacup.
"Why is it pink?"
"Rosehip, my lady. Your favorite," Tina answered. "And the bath is ready."
G6 took a sip.
Her face immediately flattened.
"Tastes like potpourri died in here."
She downed the rest in one gulp as though it were a shot of cheap whiskey.
Tina's eyelid twitched.
"I am going to take a bath now. Maybe if I drown myself to death, something will finally make sense."
She said it in the same dry monotone she used for almost everything.
Tina stared after her.
When G6 flung open the bathroom door, however, she stopped at the threshold.
"What is with the floral crime scene in the tub?"
She jerked her thumb toward the bath, where crushed rose petals floated across the surface of the water.
Tina's smile strained.
"Your rose-petal bath, my lady. For your… complexion."
G6 stared at the petals, then looked down at her own soft hands.
"Right. Cancel that. From now on, no more flower funerals."
"Pardon?"
"I am done with the petal shit. Next time, water is enough. A bucket works."
Tina stared at her.
"A bucket?"
"Or a hose."
For a moment, Tina's expression went completely blank.
What in the holy skies had the Prince's neglect broken? Tina thought.
"Now, my la—"
G6 pressed two fingers against Tina's mouth.
"Stop. 'My lady' this, 'my lady' that. Call me Reise."
Tina slowly peeled G6's fingers away, her expression strained with patience.
"My lady," she said, her voice dangerously calm, "that is not how this works. The palace has eyes. One whisper of such familiarity and they will say House Worthon has lost all dignity."
She adjusted her glasses.
"They will say you have truly gone mad."
G6 opened her mouth, but Tina was already moving.
"Now," Tina declared as she marched toward the wardrobe, "we are behind. The gathering arranged by Her Majesty is in two hours. You are neither dressed nor properly bathed, and after your… seclusion, we must present grace."
She flung open the wardrobe doors.
A pastel explosion of silk, ruffles, and lace greeted them. One dress looked as though an entire aviary had been stitched onto its sleeve.
G6 stared.
"You have got to be kidding me."
❈.❈.❈
After her bath, G6 walked straight past the dress Tina had neatly laid across the bed.
She stopped before the wardrobe, crossed her arms, and pointed.
"That one."
Tina ground her teeth.
"That is a nightgown, my lady."
G6 looked at it again.
Huh? I sleep in this fancy fabric? You could wear this in a bad date.
"Forget it. You are hopeless."
Tina seized a pink monstrosity from the wardrobe.
G6's face twisted in disgust.
"I am not wearing a—"
Tina grabbed her and began undoing the ties of her nightgown.
G6's hand shot out and clamped around Tina's wrist before she could think.
Stop, or I break it.
Tina went still.
"Please… my lady."
The tension in G6's grip eased.
Tina was only doing her job.
"Fine. On one condition. Drop the possessive determiner."
Tina blinked.
"Posse—what?"
G6 stared at her.
"Are you stupid? I said drop the 'my.'"
Tina's eye twitched.
She is being extra mean today, Tina thought. She is not even yelling, but that cold monotone and those stares are really unsettling.
"All right. Lady Reise."
"Do what you want."
G6 stood there, limp as a doll.
Or so she thought.
"Loosen it—I cannot breathe!" she gasped when Tina pulled the corset strings tight.
"Please stop moving. Then you can breathe."
"That is not how physics works!"
"My point exactly."
G6 glared straight ahead.
I swear, I will rip every single one of these dresses into pieces.
❈.❈.❈
"Now, look at—"
Tina stopped.
G6's face was a mask of pure discomfort.
Tina sighed.
"Just bear with it for a while, Lady Reise. It will be worth it for His Highness's presence."
She offered what was clearly meant to be a hopeful smile.
G6's expression only soured further.
Tina watched her for a moment, waiting for the blush, anticipation, or immediate reaction that used to accompany even the simplest mention of Prince Dio.
Nothing came.
"What the fuck is this tea party for, anyway?" G6 asked, her tone neutral despite the irritation behind it.
Tina stared a second too long.
"Is spacing out in the middle of conversation part of your training?" G6 asked, looking at her in open judgment.
Tina frowned.
"This will be a tea gathering for all residents of the West Villa, Lady Reise," she explained as she guided G6 toward the vanity. "Her Majesty arranged it because everyone here is expected to maintain at least a civil relationship."
G6 sat while Tina began brushing her hair.
"That sounds less like tea and more like supervised diplomacy."
Tina paused for half a second.
"In your case, I would not phrase it quite so loudly."
G6 looked at her through the mirror.
Tina sighed and continued brushing.
"You have remained secluded since Miss Eliza arrived, and people have already begun talking. Prince Dio is your fiancé. Lord Earl and Lord Keith are heirs of the Pillar houses. Miss Eliza now carries Benedictio. If you refuse to attend, they will say you are hiding because of her. If you attend and cause a scene, they will say House Worthon has lost control of you."
"So either way, people gossip."
"This is the palace, Lady Reise. People gossip when you breathe incorrectly."
That, at least, G6 understood.
Tina gathered another section of rose-gold hair.
"Her Majesty does not need to sit at the table herself. By evening, half the palace will know what happened there. The servants will see. The attendants will talk. The nobles will draw their own conclusions."
G6's expression flattened.
"So this is an evaluation."
"A social gathering."
"Same thing with worse weapons."
Tina chose not to answer.
G6 watched her reflection for a moment.
That changed the calculation.
She was not merely meeting characters from a book. This would be the first time Reise Worthon appeared before the people who already believed they knew exactly who she was.
Tina continued brushing her hair.
"As you already know, the West Villa is almost like a designated palace of its own. It is divided into three—the main building and two annexes."
G6 listened carefully.
It was information.
"Annex-Uno is on your right, slightly smaller than the main building. It is where Prince Dio, Lord Earl, and Lord Keith reside. On your left is Annex-Duo, where Miss Eliza lives—the commoner who inherited the kingdom's signature divine blessing, Benedictio. She arrived two nights ago."
G6's eyes narrowed slightly.
When Tina lifted her hair, G6 caught her wrist on reflex.
Tina looked at her through the mirror, startled.
"Leave it down. I feel chilly."
G6 released her.
The tattoo. No one can see it.
Tina merely nodded and allowed the rose-gold strands to fall again before continuing to brush them.
G6 watched her reflection as her mind worked through everything she knew.
This is Chapter Two territory. Eliza. Earl and Keith. Prince Dio.
According to the book, the two nobles would be there to witness whatever drama unfolded between Reise and the commoner. Prince Dio would ignore Reise in favor of Miss Eliza, and Reise would react exactly as everyone expected her to.
Three high-ranked heirs lived here after graduation.
Reise's two older brothers had apparently been somewhere within the palace for five years.
And Reise herself?
The so-called uncultured dog brought here for marriage.
"You are ready, Lady Reise."
Tina had arranged her hair into a deceptively simple, elegant fall.
G6 sighed.
She was not nervous. Her body merely recognized uncertainty the same way it recognized an operation.
She had no memories of this place, only the book's script.
Now she had to see how reliable that script really was.
She stepped out of her room for the first time.
A servant girl came barreling around the corner with her head lowered and slammed directly into her.
G6 did not stagger.
The girl bounced backward and hit the floor instead, sending a basket of fruit scattering across the corridor.
The surrounding servants froze, every eye turning toward G6 as they waited for the screaming, insult, or slap they clearly expected.
G6 looked down at the trembling girl.
"Are you hurt?"
Her voice was flat, nothing more than a simple damage assessment.
The girl stared up at her.
G6 extended a hand.
"Get up. The floor is dirty."
Still trembling, the servant took it.
G6 pulled her to her feet, then glanced once at the fruit scattered across the corridor.
"I would help pick those up, but I really could not care less."
Then she walked away.
The servant remained frozen.
The Wicked Rose had helped her and then immediately announced that she did not care enough to help any further.
Two scullery maids exchanged bewildered looks farther down the hall.
The rumor mill would be spinning by lunch.
Behind G6, Tina watched her leave. For a moment, a genuine smile touched her lips before she quickly hid it.
This change… perhaps it will not be a disaster, Tina thought.
Then another concern followed.
Except for her unusual foul mouth.
❈.❈.❈
This place is huge.
Of course it was.
G6 followed Tina through seemingly endless corridors toward the garden, the stone beneath her thin soles making every step feel increasingly irritating.
"How much longer? These heels are a tactical liability."
She lifted her skirts slightly.
"Lady Reise, a lady does not hike her gown."
If this exhausting woman saw my old wardrobe, she would probably die of a heart attack.
"We are here."
Tina nodded toward a distant gazebo.
G6's stomach tightened, not with fear or excitement, but with the familiar surge of adrenaline that came with uncertainty.
She drew in a slow breath and let the tension drain from her shoulders.
Four people waited beneath the gazebo.
She knew the names, roles, and magic associated with them.
The problem was that the book had not provided useful portraits.
Somewhere among the three noblemen in black sat Lord Earl of House Nocturne, associated with Earth Magic; Lord Keith of House De Lune, associated with Water Magic; and Prince Dio himself, the royal heir with Fire.
Miss Eliza was easier. The commoner carrying Benedictio sat among them.
That left the men.
G6 approached.
The gazebo grew quiet.
Pink silk gleamed beneath the afternoon light as she walked, her steps measured and controlled. Her grey eyes swept across the gathering in assessment rather than awe.
Prince Dio's polite smile stiffened.
Since when did Reise walk like that? Prince Dio thought.
G6 stopped at the bottom step.
Miss Eliza looked down at her with polite curiosity.
G6 examined the three men.
All of them were dressed in black.
Which one is the Prince?
Her fingers twitched faintly for a gun that was not there.
The book had described Prince Dio as stunning in black, with fire in his eyes.
That description had been considerably less useful than expected.
They are all in black. Is this a funeral or a fashion statement?
Her gaze dropped to their clothing.
Crest pins.
Tina had said they always wore them.
G6 squinted.
How the hell am I supposed to know each family crest?
She looked over the three men again.
Fine. The most arrogant-looking one is usually the one in charge.
A gamble.
Her gaze settled on the man beside Miss Eliza.
That has to be him.
Silence stretched long enough to become awkward.
Then G6 lifted her chin and ascended the steps as though nothing had happened.
"Pardon me. I was prioritizing."
Her tone was arrogantly flat.
Lord Earl and Lord Keith both snickered.
Prince Dio remained outwardly unmoved, though his eyes followed her.
G6 scanned the available seats.
There was an empty chair beside Prince Dio.
She passed it without hesitation and sat opposite him instead, beside Lord Earl.
Prince Dio's teacup stopped halfway to his lips.
A small droplet of water Lord Keith had already been idly maintaining above one finger slipped from his control and fell straight into his lap.
Miss Eliza blinked.
G6 looked at all of them.
What are they staring at? Don't drag me into your soap opera.
Her attention shifted toward the table.
Desserts.
Tina did not feed me breakfast. Is this a starvation tactic?
She pointed toward the cupcake in front of Lord Keith.
"You. Hand that over."
Lord Keith blinked.
He looked at the cupcake, then at G6, and finally at Prince Dio.
A familiar smirk slowly spread across his face.
"Reise, darling. Is that how you greet someone after three years? Forget your place? Or are you saving your energy for your real purpose here?"
He glanced toward Lord Earl.
"Swooning? Fainting? The vital work of the strongest Pillar."
He is starting. My hand wants a trigger.
G6's eyes locked onto his.
"My purpose is that cupcake," she said, completely devoid of heat. "The magic word is 'now.'"
The taunt died where it stood.
Lord Earl snorted and disguised it as a cough.
Lord Keith's grin widened.
Apparently, he had found a new game.
He placed the cupcake in front of her.
"By all means. Would not want to interfere."
G6 took it and bit into it, taking such an ungracefully large bite that pink frosting smudged against her cheek.
Lord Earl reached toward her with a napkin.
G6 slapped his hand away without looking.
"Keep your hands to yourself. Not everything pretty is meant to be touched."
Her tone made the warning clear.
Lord Earl withdrew his hand.
Lord Keith, ever the instigator, leaned forward.
"By the way, Reise… notice the lady sitting beside your fiancé?"
He gestured toward Miss Eliza like a ringmaster.
"Miss Eliza. The one with the lost magic."
G6 finally looked at her.
Prince Dio watched in silence.
Miss Eliza offered a strained smile.
"Yo. I am Reise."
G6 wiped the frosting from her cheek.
Miss Eliza blinked.
"Y-yo…?"
Prince Dio slowly lowered his cup, his previously bored gaze sharpening.
Lord Keith immediately continued.
"Are you not going to ask what a commoner is doing here? Or why she is so close to your beloved?"
His smirk widened.
"I would have thought you would be… jealous."
Near the stairs, Tina stiffened.
He said the J-word. Brace yourself, Tina thought.
Everyone looked toward G6.
This was the moment they had apparently been waiting for.
The old Reise would have shattered.
G6 finished chewing.
She wiped her fingers in clean, efficient strokes before looking first at Lord Keith, then Miss Eliza, and finally Prince Dio.
"Jealous?" she repeated. "Of what, exactly?"
Lord Keith blinked.
"Her… proximity to your fiancé?"
G6's gaze moved briefly over Prince Dio before returning to Lord Keith as though the question itself were stupid.
"If a title and a pretty face were enough to steal him, he would have been stolen a hundred times."
She lifted her tea.
"He is a prince. It is his job to have options."
G6 took a slow sip, the unconscious grace of the gesture clashing sharply with the bluntness of her words.
"Policing his seat is a waste of energy."
She gave a small shrug.
"If he wants to be stolen, let him. It only proves his poor taste and saves me future annoyance."
The gazebo went silent.
Lord Earl's biscuit slipped from his fingers and broke against his plate, while Lord Keith's mouth fell open and Miss Eliza simply stared.
Prince Dio watched her without speaking.
The sheer pragmatism of the statement left him momentarily without a response. There was no affection in it, but no hatred either. She had called him a future annoyance and somehow made the conclusion sound completely reasonable.
Nailed it.
G6 took another sip.
Also, this tea tastes like lawn clippings.
Tina remained near the stairs, staring.
…She has a point, Tina thought.
Lord Keith leaned toward Lord Earl.
"Earl. My entire purse. She just called the King's son a future annoyance to his face."
Lord Earl did not answer.
He was still studying Reise.
G6 ignored them both.
Her attention had fallen on the teapot.
It was delicate, expensive-looking, and badly designed.
She picked it up, not by the handle but by the body, testing its balance in her hand.
Tina's eyes widened.
No. What is she doing now?
"This is a terrible design."
Everyone looked at her.
"The center of gravity is wrong."
G6 turned the teapot slightly.
"One clumsy servant and it tips. Probably on me."
She looked toward Tina.
"Tell them to replace it. Lower. Wider base. Function over form."
After a brief pause, she added,
"Save the servant their head."
She set it back down with a soft clink.
Prince Dio finally spoke.
"Reise… what has gotten into you?"
G6 met his eyes, her expression calm.
"Fuck of—"
"Ahem!"
Tina cleared her throat loudly.
G6 paused.
"I mean… clarity?"
The gazebo fell silent again.
Prince Dio could not look away.
The woman before him looked exactly like Reise Worthon, yet nothing about the way she carried herself felt familiar.
The old Reise had worn every emotion openly. Anger, jealousy, adoration, humiliation—everything had always been visible.
This Reise seemed almost unnervingly contained.
G6, meanwhile, had already returned her attention to the food.
She finished her scone, wiped her fingers, and stood.
"The tea was subpar. And this is boring."
It sounded less like an insult and more like a verdict.
"Tina. We are leaving."
"Leaving?" Lord Earl asked. "You have barely been here ten minutes."
"This gathering was arranged by Her Majesty so the residents of the West Villa could get along," Lord Keith added.
G6 shot them a cold look.
"Then tell Her Majesty I have no time to waste on pleasantries. I would rather count every green thing in this garden than waste another minute with all of you."
Then she walked away.
Without a backward glance, the Wicked Rose turned her back on Prince Dio.
For several seconds, no one spoke as the meaning of what she had said settled over the gazebo.
She had just declared the plants and trees in the garden more valuable than spending time with them.
A stunned servant, distracted by G6's departure, moved too close to the table.
Her sleeve caught the teapot.
The supposedly terrible design tipped.
—CRASH!
Porcelain shattered across the gazebo floor.
The sound broke the silence.
G6 paused and looked over her shoulder at the mess before turning her gaze toward Prince Dio.
There was no blame in her expression and no pity.
Only quiet validation.
I told you so.
Then she continued walking.
Prince Dio remained seated, staring toward the empty chair she had left behind.
For the first time in years, Reise had barely looked at him.
Yet he had spent most of the gathering watching her.
Somewhere near the garden hedge, a scullery maid hurried away.
The news would spread faster than the broken porcelain could be swept aside.
The Wicked Rose had attended the Queen's tea gathering without screaming, crying, or causing the jealous scene everyone had expected. She had barely acknowledged Prince Dio.
And somehow, before leaving, she had predicted the destruction of a teapot.
—To Be Continued…—