Two days had passed since the emotional tempest of the dinner. For two straight days, G6 had been conspicuously absent from the Training Arena.
In her office, G6 sat idly behind her desk, her chair turned to face the full-wall window that offered a commanding view of the capital below. Tina was situated at a smaller table in the corner, diligently applying herself to learning the paperwork she was meant to take over. The air was heavy with a silence that was more than mere quiet; it was a barrier.
Lilia sat quietly beside Tina. Since that night and her brave, comforting hug, she had become withdrawn, speaking only when spoken to about their duties. She moved through the room as if afraid to disrupt the fragile equilibrium, treating her mistress with a new, cautious reverence.
Only Edmund seemed able to approach without reservation, their secret plan forging a unique bond. He entered the quiet office and walked directly to G6's desk.
"Lady Reise, the Queen's response to our inquiry regarding Lady Brenda's residency," he announced, offering the sealed letter.
"Open it. Read it to me," G6 commanded, not turning her gaze from the cityscape.
Edmund broke the seal and scanned the elegant script. "Her Majesty has no objections. She states she is 'pleased to learn a noblewoman of suitable standing will be in residence to provide companionship.'"
A faint, almost imperceptible sound of amusement escaped G6. "Inform Brenda. No. Tell her to come here."
"Understood." Edmund offered a curt bow and left.
Nobody has bothered me since that night. They must despise what I said. Not that I care.
A proud, cold smirk touched her lips. She was satisfied, in a twisted way, with how thoroughly she had shattered their comfortable illusions.
I don't care. Truth hurts like a blade. Not that I am capable of 'hurt' though.
Her gaze intensified, shifting from the sprawling capital to the distant, formidable mountains beyond. It was a silent challenge, a declaration to the entire kingdom.
_____
Edmund descended the grand staircase, his eyes scanning the hall below until they landed on the woman he sought. Brenda stood at the foot of the stairs, engaged in conversation with another noble who worked at the Bastion, a book tucked under her arm.
Edmund approached and offered a precise, formal bow. "Good morning, Lady Brenda."
Brenda's attention shifted to him immediately, a bright smile gracing her features. "Good morning, Edmund! How is Lady Reise faring?"
"Lady Reise is… as she ever is," Edmund replied diplomatically. "In fact, I was seeking you on her behalf. She wishes to speak with you."
"Truly?" Brenda's entire demeanor brightened, her eyes alight with anticipation. "Please excuse me," she said to her companion, before hurrying up the stairs with an eagerness Edmund found both amusing and concerning.
What is Lady Reise's true objective? Edmund mused as he followed her. It is entirely unlike her to grant such access to her territory without demanding something significant in return. What does she see in Brenda that I do not?
Brenda waited politely at the office door for Edmund to open it. He knocked twice before entering. "Lady Reise… Lady Brenda is here."
"Enter," G6's voice came from within. She finally turned her chair away from the panoramic window to face them.
"How are you, Lady Reise?" Brenda asked, her smile warm and genuine.
"Unchanged," G6 said, returning a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes—a practiced expression reserved for this specific audience. "Sit."
Brenda gladly took a seat on the couch. "You called for me regarding the Queen's response to my residency in the West Villa…" she began, her posture tense with hopeful anticipation.
"She has no objections," G6 stated smoothly. "You may move in at your earliest convenience."
Brenda's smile widened into a beam of pure delight. "Truly? Thank you ever so much, Lady Reise! I shall prepare a proper gift for you and Her Majesty at once!"
"That is unnecessary," G6 said, her tone dismissive yet calm.
"No, I insist! It would be terribly rude of me not to express my gratitude properly. Please, allow me this," Brenda pressed.
"Do as you see fit, then," G6 conceded with a slight wave of her hand. "However, I do have a favor to ask of you."
Edmund's gaze sharpened, focusing intently on his mistress. Ah. Here it comes.
"Of course, Lady Reise! I am happy to be of service!" Brenda replied without hesitation.
"Your generosity is noted. I require these items from the storage facilities in the Library." G6 handed a neatly folded piece of paper to Edmund, who delivered it to Brenda with another small bow.
Brenda unfolded it, her eyes scanning the list. "I see… training attire and a set of Dimensional Vault earrings? Consider it done. I shall retrieve them and deliver them to you personally," she said cheerfully.
"Please bring them to the villa once you are settled. Tomorrow would suffice," G6 instructed.
"I am ready now!" Brenda declared, her enthusiasm causing both Tina and Lilia to glance up from their work in surprise. "My belongings have been waiting at the Library. I shall collect everything after my duties today!"
She is playing directly into Lady Reise's hands without even realizing it, Edmund observed silently.
"Very well. If we have not yet returned, seek out Janin. I have assigned her to oversee the preparation of your quarters," G6 said, maintaining her pleasant facade.
"Understood, Lady Reise! Thank you again!" Brenda said, rising and offering a deep, grateful bow before practically floating out of the office, her mission clear.
The moment the door clicked shut, G6's smile vanished, replaced by her customary neutral mask. Her focus shifted to Edmund. "The matter I tasked you with yesterday. Status?"
"I was about to go for it, after you called for Lady Brenda, my lady. I shall see to it immediately," he replied.
"You are dismissed," G6 stated.
With a final bow, Edmund took his leave.
G6's attention then turned to Tina and Lilia, who had returned to their work with renewed, if wary, focus. "You two."
They looked up immediately. "Yes, Lady Reise?" Tina asked.
"Did you bring my training gear? This gown is restrictive," G6 said, plucking at the fabric with distaste.
"Yes, it is in the adjoining room. Shall I fetch it?" Tina asked, already standing.
"Bring it here. I will change here, outside—in the office. Edmund is absent," G6 decided.
Tina nodded and slipped into the other room.
"Lilia," G6 called.
"Yes, Lady Reise?" Lilia responded, her voice still carrying a hint of the caution that had defined the last two days.
"Go to the cafeteria and see what is being served for the midday meal. We will take lunch here," G6 instructed.
The simple, normal command worked like a charm. Lilia's apprehensive expression melted away, replaced by her familiar cheerful demeanor. Their lady was speaking to them again, beyond just issuing orders. "Okay, Lady Reise!" she chirped, hurrying out the door.
Alone in her office, the last vestiges of G6's performance fell away. Her expression settled into one of cold satisfaction.
Good. I reestablished the desired distance after my… outburst. And now I've mended it by giving them exactly what they wanted: a purpose, a way to be helpful. How predictable. Humans and their fragile, easily manipulated emotions.
And so, with the deft precision of a master puppeteer, G6 pulled the strings of those around her, mending the fractures she herself had created. In the quiet of her office, the game continued, each person a piece on her board, moving exactly as she predicted, unaware they were playing at all.
_____
[Dio's Office]
Dio sat behind his imposing desk, a stack of recruitment paperwork sitting untouched before him. His mind, however, was elsewhere.
I wonder if she's calmer now.
Would my presence only provoke another… episode?
His eyes were fixed not on his own door, but on the one directly across the hall. The door to G6's office.
"I'm kinda sad. Reise has been absent from the arena for two days now," Keith's voice cracked through Dio's brooding thoughts.
Dio's head snapped up. "How long have you been there?"
"You are too comfortable in your own office. We've been here for a while," Keith said, annoyed. Earl was also present, seated on a plush couch, a book open in his hands though his attention seemed equally divided.
"Reise is…" Earl began, his eyes still on his page. "She does not present as broken. And yet, one gets the distinct impression that her very soul is… fractured." He finally closed the book, giving the matter his full attention.
"What do you mean?" Dio asked, his brows furrowing deeply.
"I don't know either, I can't name it." He answered, his scholar side is getting frustrated. "The Reise right now, is like a complex artifact. You can't tell where all this strange change came from." he continued.
"I'll be honest, her perspective about love is kind of… disturbing, yet it's all a fact." Keith added, his playful demeanor is not present.
"I always observed her before, she talks mean to the servants and other noblewomen at the ball. But she's mindful around us." Dio said, staring at the paperworks.
"Especially around you." Earl added. "But her speech after Keith's claimed she still has feelings for you is beyond of it." He added
"The worst she can say is 'no'." Keith said, with a tease. That made Dio throw him a sharp glance.
In the midst of the silence, the door to Dio's office was thrown open with a force that made the frame shudder. Brenda stood in the doorway, her expression one of triumphant energy, with a deeply uncomfortable Zen hovering behind her.
"What a rude woman," Dio mused, irritation flashing across his features at the abrupt entrance.
"Tch. She's the only scholar I know with the manners of a barnyard animal," Keith added.
"Shut up, you two!" Brenda retorted, stepping fully into the room with Zen following reluctantly, closing the door behind them.
"You seem oddly cheerful, considering you were just lamenting Reise's absence," Earl observed, noting her bright demeanor.
"Well, listen to this, losers," Brenda announced, her voice buzzing with excitement. "I'VE BEEN SUMMONED BY LADY REISE!"
Her words acted like a spark. The three men immediately straightened, their lethargy vanishing.
"Why only you?" Keith whined, his envy plain.
"It's about me staying at the Main Villa! The Queen has already given her permission, so I'm moving in today! My things have been ready since yesterday at the Collegium," Brenda declared proudly.
"Tch. Who told you that?"
"I just came from her office. I ran into Zen on my way out," Brenda explained, flopping into an empty chair. "She seemed… fine. She offered me her usual smirk and even asked me a favor!" she added happily.
"I see," Keith said. Then, in a flash of impulsive energy, he bolted from the room, leaving the door wide open. He skidded to a halt at the threshold of G6's office across the hall, everyone in Dio's office now staring directly into the room.
Their eyes widened in collective shock.
G6 was in a state of changing. Her customary black dress had slipped down, pooling at her waist. The line of her back was elegantly curved, a delicate and alluring silhouette against the soft light. Her skin, a luminous blend of alabaster and rose, seemed to glow with an otherworldly perfection.
She froze mid-motion, her head turning slowly toward the doorway where Keith stood, paralyzed.
Everyone in Dio's office stared, utterly stunned.
"I'LL KILL YOU." G6's voice was a low, deadly promise. She wasn't flustered—her tone was cold and lethal. An assassin's composure held, even in a breach of privacy. Modesty was a trivial concept, but the violation of her space was not.
"MASTER KEITH!!!" Tina cried out, lunging forward to slam the door shut and bodily shove a dazed Keith back into the hallway.
For a moment, no one in Dio's office could speak, the image seared into their minds.
"KEITH, YOU IDIOT!!" Dio finally found his voice, surging to his feet, a strange, possessive anger roaring to life in his chest.
"YOU AND YOUR WATERLOGGED BRAIN!" Brenda shrieked, equally furious.
"SERIOUSLY, KEITH, YOU UTTER FOOL!" Earl snapped, his own composure shattered.
"SHUT UP, EARL! FIRST SHE SAT ON YOU, NOW YOU SEE HER ALMOST—" Dio's shout choked off, his jealousy raw and exposed.
"DON'T YOU DARE TAKE THIS OUT ON ME!"
"Please, everyone, calm down!" Zen pleaded, though he himself was bright red and flustered.
"SHUT UP!" the three yelled in unison, their focus entirely on Keith.
Then, G6's door opened again. She stood in the doorway, already changed, her top hastily tucked, her expression one of pure, unamused annoyance. "What is all the fuss about? Close your door; I can hear you," she said casually, leaning against the frame.
They all stared, shocked by her utter nonchalance after what had just happened. Keith, still leaning against the wall opposite her door, looked like he might spontaneously combust.
She glanced at his scarlet face. "What's wrong with you?" G6 asked, her head tilting.
Has he… has he never seen a woman in a state of undress? What kind of sheltered virgins are they? She scanned Keith's mortified expression and the flustered faces in Dio's office, and then she did the most surprising thing of all: she laughed. It was a short, sharp, mocking sound.
"What the heck, was that your first time seeing a woman's back? Tch. What a bunch of prudes," she said, shaking her head in disbelief before stepping back into her office and shutting the door firmly.
The sound of the latch clicking seemed to break the spell on Keith. He exhaled violently, stumbling back into Dio's office and slamming the door shut. "Hey…" he gasped, leaning against it. "Reise is crazy!"
"I am going to kill you," Dio stated, his voice low and shaking with a rage he couldn't fully name.
That imbecile. That utter, irredeemable fool. He laid eyes on what was not his to see. The line of her back, the shift of muscle… it was not for him. It was… it should be… Dio's thoughts snarled, a possessive, unfamiliar heat flaring in his veins. And she… she laughed. She was not ashamed. She was amused by his idiocy, by our shock. Does nothing pierce that armor? Does she feel nothing at all? Or does she simply not care whose eyes are upon her? The thought is… unacceptable.
"STUPID! STUPID KEITH!" Brenda yelled.
"LEARN HOW TO KNOCK, YOU FOOL!" Earl barked.
Dio's hand flickered with mana. A small, searing fireball shot toward Keith. Brenda, not to be outdone, summoned a pebble and launched it with lethal accuracy. Keith yelped and dove behind a couch, the two spells scorching the wall where he'd been standing.
"ENOUGH!" Zen's voice boomed through the room, uncharacteristically loud and firm. He stepped between them, his hands raised. "YOU ARE GOING TO TEAR THE PLACE DOWN!"
Everyone froze. Keith peeked out from behind the couch. "Oh…" he whispered. "Zen is mad…"
"You made kind Zen mad!" Brenda accused, pointing at Keith as if he were solely responsible for the entire debacle.
And so, the simmering tensions of the last two days finally boiled over, not in a clash of ideologies, but in a burst of chaotic, juvenile fury. The profound philosophical shockwaves from G6's dinner speech were momentarily forgotten, replaced by the far more immediate and volatile drama of scandalized propriety, unchecked jealousy, and one knight's unparalleled talent for being in the wrong place at the exact wrong time. In the span of a few minutes, the scene had devolved from a somber analysis of a broken soul to a downright farcical brawl, proving that even the most powerful nobles in the kingdom could be reduced to squabbling children by the infuriating, enigmatic woman across the hall.
_____
[WEST VILLA]
Time Check: 9:00 P.M
G6 entered the silent, sleeping villa. All the servants had long since retired to their quarters. She looked ragged, covered in a fine layer of sweat and dirt. While she had been absent from the Training Arena for two days, her training had not ceased—it had merely shifted to the cover of night, where her true capabilities could be tested without prying, analytical eyes.
"Lilia, Tina. You may retire. I will manage my own bath," G6 told her two waiting attendants, her tone leaving no room for argument.
"Are you certain, Lady Reise?" Tina asked, her concern evident despite the command.
"Yes," G6 answered, her voice a flat, cold finality.
"Then, please rest well," Tina relented.
"Good night, Lady Reise!" Lilia chirped, though her usual brightness was tempered with worry.
"To you both as well," G6 said, and they parted ways.
As she ascended the grand staircase, she found Janin waiting patiently outside her chamber door, a lone figure in the dimly lit hallway.
"Lady Reise," the woman called, offering a respectful bow. "Good evening."
"Good evening. Why are you still awake?" G6 asked.
"I wished to inform you that Lady Brenda has moved in with… notable efficiency," Janin reported. "And as you instructed, I assigned her a room down in the other hallway, well away from your own chambers."
"Thank you, Janin," G6 said, her hand reaching for the door handle. "Please continue to look after her."
Before she could turn the knob, Janin spoke again. "It seems she finds the main floor… rather lonely, my lady."
G6 paused. "Explain."
"It might be beneficial if you were to take your evening meals with her in the dining hall," Janin suggested carefully, her words laced with a subtle understanding of G6's unspoken motives. "It would… foster a closer connection."
G6 studied the woman for a long moment. "Very well. We will do that tomorrow. This will be my final late-night training session for a while."
"I shall make a note of it," Janin said with another bow. "Please, have a good rest." She turned and disappeared down the shadowed corridor.
G6 opened her door and stepped into the darkness. The room was illuminated only by the pale moonlight streaming through the balcony doors. There, silhouetted against the glass, stood a man.
"Edmund," she called, unsurprised.
"Lady Reise," he answered. "It is ready." He gestured to the low tea table.
Edmund moved to the mantelpiece and lit a single candle, its flame casting long, dancing shadows. G6 unbuckled her harness belt and tossed it onto the bed with a soft thud before walking to the table.
"They are black, as you specified," Edmund stated.
Upon the polished glass lay not ceremonial blades, but twin daggers forged for a singular, lethal purpose. They were the color of a starless night, their matte finish absorbing the faint light, ensuring they would never betray their wielder with a glint. The blades tapered to a vicious, needle-sharp point designed to pierce armor and flesh with equal ease. Etched into the dark steel were intricate, glowing crimson patterns that pulsed with a faint, rhythmic light, like veins of dormant fire. The hilts were wrapped in tough black leather, promising a firm and unforgiving grip, and set into each cross-guard was a single, blood-red gem that gleamed with a malevolent, watchful intensity. These were not weapons of war; they were instruments of assassination.
"What beautiful pieces," G6 murmured, her fingers slowly tracing the ornate, blood-red patterns as if reading a story in the metal.
"They are enchanted, my lady. Unbreakable, especially in the hands of a seasoned wielder," Edmund said, a note of pride in his voice at having perfectly executed her request.
G6 picked up one of the daggers. Without hesitation, she drew its razor edge across her palm in a swift, shallow cut.
Edmund did not flinch, but his mind raced. She didn't even react. I just told her the blade is magically sharpened, and she tests it on her own skin without a second thought. What manner of person are you, exactly, Lady Reise?
A slow, predatory smile spread across G6's lips as she watched a thin line of blood well up. It was the smile of a hunter finally reunited with a favored weapon.
I wonder… are you an ally, or the most dangerous foe I could ever imagine? Edmund's thoughts were a whirlwind of analysis. But for now, I will trust in the strange, unconscious kindness you show me, Tina, and Lilia. You may be unaware of it, but we are not.
"Edmund…" she called, "We're set to go." she added and looked at him with a pleasing smile.
A smile of a wild animal, that is finally ready to break free from her gilded cage.
In the quiet darkness of her chamber, lit only by a single candle and the glow of enchanted steel, the final piece of her arsenal was secured. The playful chaos of the day had given way to the deadly serious calm of the night. The mistress of the villa stood not as a noble lady, but as a Reaper admiring her newest scythes, while her steward watched, his loyalty secured by a bond she herself did not even know she had forged. The stage was now set, and the tools for whatever game she intended to play were finally in her hands.
— To be continued… —