The sun had not yet fully crested the horizon, leaving the sky painted in muted shades of grey and gold.
In the quiet of the West Villa, G6 sat at the tea table in her bedroom, sipping tea while the gardens beyond her balcony slowly emerged beneath the morning light.
Today marked the final day of preparing Tina to take over the initial review of her afternoon duties.
Queen Euphelia had given her three days to ensure Tina could handle the work before G6 began spending the latter half of her days at the Utility Magic Department.
Two had already passed, and by tomorrow afternoon, the new arrangement would begin.
The approaching change occupied her thoughts until a soft knock came at the door.
"Good morning, Lady Reise. It is Janin."
"Enter."
Janin opened the door and offered a curt bow. Behind her stood Lady Brenda, holding an ornate box and a paper bag, her expression bright with entirely too much energy for someone who had only spent her first night in the West Villa.
"Lady Brenda wishes to see you."
"Good morning, Lady Reise!" Lady Brenda greeted eagerly.
"Morning."
A small, measured smile appeared on G6's face as Janin glanced between them.
"Will you be taking breakfast together?"
"We are. It is her first morning here, after all."
Lady Brenda's face lit up.
"Then I shall prepare it," Janin said, withdrawing with another bow.
"Have a seat."
G6 gestured toward the empty chair beside the tea table. Lady Brenda sat and carefully arranged her offerings before sliding the paper bag forward.
"A gift for you. I already gave Her Majesty hers."
G6 opened the bag and withdrew an elegant black satin nightdress.
The fabric flowed smoothly through her fingers, simple compared with the mountains of frills noblewomen seemed determined to bury themselves beneath, but beautifully made.
"Beautiful."
The compliment was deliberate and smooth, though not entirely false.
"I noticed your fondness for black," Lady Brenda explained.
"Thank you."
G6 set the nightdress aside as Lady Brenda pushed the box toward her.
"And these are the items you asked for."
Inside, the requested materials had been neatly arranged around a pair of deeply tinted eyeglasses and a smaller jewelry case.
G6 reached for the glasses first, drawing Lady Brenda's attention.
"Those tinted eyeglasses are quite rare. Most find the tint disorienting."
"How did you acquire them?" G6 asked as she tried them on.
Hmm. Perfect. The tint is deep enough to conceal my eyes.
"Zen enjoys inventing. He gave them to me, but I never wore them. I thought you might appreciate them."
G6's attention shifted to the smaller case.
"The Dimensional Vault earrings," Lady Brenda explained.
G6 opened it and examined the contents.
"Only one pair?"
"Yes, Lady Reise."
Tsk. I thought I could pierce another hole. This will have to do.
"Thank you, Bre."
Her sweet, calculated smile brought an immediate flush to Lady Brenda's cheeks.
"It was nothing."
Another knock interrupted them. Tina and Lilia entered together, both pausing briefly at the sight of Lady Brenda already sitting comfortably with G6.
"Good morning, Lady Reise! Lady Brenda!" Lilia chirped.
"Good morning," Tina added with a bow.
"Likewise," G6 replied.
"Good morning!" Lady Brenda answered brightly.
Tina turned toward G6.
"Lady Reise, Janin said you will have breakfast in the dining hall."
"Yes. It would be discourteous to let our guest dine alone."
Relief softened Tina's expression, though Lilia seemed less reassured.
"Will you always eat there now?"
A hint of sadness entered the child's voice, as though she had already imagined their small, informal breakfasts upstairs disappearing.
"We will, and so will you."
Lilia brightened immediately. Tina, however, remained cautious.
"My lady, it may be considered inappropriate."
"The mistress of this villa is me. I govern as I see fit."
G6 delivered the statement so evenly that arguing felt pointless. She turned toward Lady Brenda before Tina could attempt it.
"You have no objection to their company, Bre?"
"None! I am more than delighted!"
"Then it is settled."
The door opened again, admitting Edmund before Tina could construct another argument.
"Good morning, Lady Reise, Lady Brenda."
He offered Lady Brenda a formal nod, which she returned with a smile.
His gaze then shifted briefly toward G6, carrying a silent request for privacy that she recognized immediately.
"Tina, Lilia, escort Lady Brenda to the dining hall. Edmund and I will follow."
"Understood," Tina said.
"We will see you there!" Lady Brenda added, rising to accompany the two maids.
Once the door clicked shut behind them, Edmund stepped closer.
"I have sent the advance specifications for the tailored garments."
"Completed by tomorrow morning?"
"By this evening. The Utility Magic Department prioritizes their mistress."
A faint note of satisfaction entered his voice. Apparently, he was rather pleased with how efficiently his arrangements were proceeding.
"Deliver these after breakfast."
G6 indicated the box, and Edmund inclined his head.
"Understood."
He hesitated, his attention dropping briefly toward the stabilizing ring on her hand.
"Can you manage without the mana restraint now?"
"I can. The ring handles the strain."
Edmund studied her for another second before deciding not to argue.
"Very well. Then shall we proceed to the dining hall?"
G6 answered with a curt nod.
The equipment Lady Brenda had acquired was finally in her possession, the garments would be completed before the day ended, and Tina's preparation would be finished by tonight.
Tomorrow morning, G6 could return to training. Tomorrow afternoon, everyone would believe she was attending lessons at the Utility Magic Department.
The excuse was ready, and the remaining tools were nearly so. Her gilded cage had finally developed an opening large enough for a Reaper to slip through.
「DINING HALL」
As G6 descended the staircase, the morning servants stopped their work and bowed deeply, their movements falling into near-perfect unison.
Those farther along the corridor followed as she approached, making her feel as though she were setting off some profoundly irritating chain reaction.
This is so annoying. This is why I prefer to be gone before they wake up.
"Good morning, Lady Reise," they greeted together.
She continued walking, only to encounter another bow and then another. Her eyes narrowed.
"What is wrong with their stiff posture?"
"They are likely on edge," Edmund murmured from a step behind. "It is the first time you have used the formal hall in three weeks."
The explanation did nothing to make the endless bowing less irritating. G6 stopped mid-stride and looked toward the waiting servants.
"I will take all meals here from now on. Cease bowing as if I am a deity. A single greeting will do."
Several looked up in surprise, but she had already resumed walking. A somewhat disorganized chorus followed her down the corridor.
"Understood, Lady Reise."
Better.
Edmund opened the ornate dining-room doors. Lady Brenda was seated beside the head chair, with Tina and Lilia waiting nearby. A wide smile spread across her face when G6 appeared.
G6 took the head seat without a word. Tina sat immediately to one side of her and Lady Brenda to the other, while Lilia settled beside Tina and Edmund took the chair beyond Lilia.
For several moments, Lady Brenda watched the ease with which they arranged themselves.
Tina adjusted G6's cup without asking, Lilia reached for fruit without waiting for permission, and Edmund sat at the same table instead of standing stiffly behind his mistress like a decorative statue.
Their familiarity was far greater than Lady Brenda had expected from the household of the infamous Wicked Rose.
"Lady Reise…"
The servants grew slightly still as G6 waited for her to continue.
"I did not expect you to be quite so… kind."
Tina's gaze moved immediately toward Lady Brenda, who caught the look and began fidgeting with the edge of her napkin.
"I did not mean that badly. I have always admired you from afar. At every ball, I looked forward to a glimpse." Her eyes returned to G6. "I never thought you were truly bad, but I did not exactly expect… this either."
G6 remained silent, allowing her to continue.
"The rumors were awful. Yelling at servants. Cruelty. Mocking noblewomen whenever they lingered near Prince Dio." Lady Brenda hesitated. "But it always felt… performative. Forced."
Forced?
G6's interest sharpened.
"You and Prince Dio were both trapped," Lady Brenda continued. "He resented having his future decided for him. Everyone knew that. But you tried."
Her expression softened as she looked at G6.
"You became everything people expected of his future spouse. Every lesson, every appearance, every rule…" She shook her head. "And His Highness seemed to notice only whatever you did wrong."
"You know a great deal about my past."
Lady Brenda gave a small, sheepish smile.
"Brother Earl always spoke of you."
"That explains quite a lot," Edmund remarked, quietly lifting his tea.
Lady Brenda laughed.
"He complained about Prince Dio more often than anything."
Her amusement faded as she returned to the subject.
"He said you were changing. Warping because of Prince Dio's arrogance. He blamed him for turning you into the 'Wicked Rose.'"
The book did call Reise a Wicked Rose.
G6 stored the detail alongside the others while Lady Brenda continued.
"When we were children, at a party, Prince Dio told you that you were like a rose… beautiful, but a predator. Anyone near you would get hurt."
G6's fingers slowed around her cup.
"He believed you pushed for the engagement," Lady Brenda added. "That you did not object because you wanted him."
"Hmm. Do I truly look as if I love him?"
G6 took a sip of water. Beside her, Tina nearly stopped in the middle of adjusting her plate.
"As far as I recall, you found His Highness… endearing," Tina answered carefully.
G6 turned toward her.
"But when you learned of the engagement, you cried about it for a long time." Tina's voice softened. "You wished to be like your brothers. To explore magic and be in the field. You wanted to become one of the Guardians of the Sky."
G6 became still as the information rearranged several assumptions in her mind.
So the original Reise did not want this either. Was her entire 'bitch' persona an act to push him away?
That explanation did not fit the diary. Reise's later emotions had been painfully genuine, and the book had insisted that she loved him.
Inconsistent data.
"But you were told it was for the kingdom and your family," Tina continued. "So you became the perfect spouse."
"And he never appreciated it, viewing it as an annoyance, which made me… spiteful?"
Tina fell silent, evidently deliberating whether she should answer.
"Perhaps…"
The word escaped before caution caught up with it. Lady Brenda, Edmund, and Lilia all turned toward her, while G6 simply stared. Tina slowly closed her eyes.
"So I became evil?"
"I did not say that."
Tina immediately began to rise.
"I will assist Janin with breakfast. It is taking rather long."
"But Lady Reise asked if you think she is evil," Lilia pointed out innocently.
Tina stopped and turned her head very slowly toward the child.
"Lilia."
"What?"
Lady Brenda hurried into the conversation before Tina could murder Lilia with a look.
"I do not believe Lady Reise is evil. Since my arrival, I have not heard a single person here speak ill of her."
G6 shifted her attention toward her as Lady Brenda leaned forward.
"They said that after your initial outburst three weeks ago, you stopped reprimanding everyone over every little thing. The villa has been peaceful." Her mouth curved. "They respect you for being a… 'chill' mistress."
"They 'like' me?" G6 asked. "You said I yelled for three days during those time."
"They concluded you were stressed from the journey," Edmund supplied smoothly.
"You even disappeared because you thought Lady Reise hated you," Lilia added.
Edmund's ears turned red.
"Silence, gossip!"
Lilia giggled while Tina sighed and reclaimed her seat.
"The consensus is that they find your presence… intimidating," Tina explained. "But that is the extent of it. No active fear or dislike."
"The Worthons have always been good to their people," Lady Brenda said proudly.
"Indeed, though the main branch may produce the occasional… prickly individual," Tina added.
G6's lips twitched.
"Say it plainly."
Tina lowered her gaze to the table.
"I value my employment."
Lady Brenda covered a laugh. Before G6 could respond, another voice drifted from the doorway.
"This room is cozier than I remembered."
Janin entered, followed by a large, imposing man carrying a breakfast tray. G6 looked up at him.
"Who is the big guy?"
The man stopped. Janin closed her eyes for half a second.
"This 'big guy' wakes at an ungodly hour to prepare your liquid vegetables and breakfast," he replied, his voice thick with sarcasm.
Alistair. Ah. The man who has been feeding me.
"If you hate your job, find a new profession."
Alistair stared at her before giving a short, disbelieving laugh.
"Just as Edmund said, your sharp tongue is as quick as your wit."
He stepped forward and placed a bowl of broth and fresh bread before her. G6 immediately looked toward Edmund, who had developed an absorbing interest in a wall sconce.
"Pastries today are lemon cake and strawberry," Alistair continued. "The favorites of the lady in black."
"Your manners evaporated from facing the furnace twenty-four hours a day," G6 told him.
"My manners are perfectly intact."
Janin looked at her husband. He hesitated.
"Mostly."
"Please forgive my husband," Janin said as she began serving Lady Brenda. "He acts arrogant, but he cares."
Tina moved to serve Edmund and Lilia while G6 regarded the chef.
"I feel the overwhelming sincerity."
"Perhaps this broth will thaw your frozen heart," Alistair grumbled.
His temper suited his profession almost absurdly well.
He carried himself with the offended dignity of a man who considered rejection of his cooking a personal attack, and his tongue seemed nearly as sharp as the knives he spent his life wielding.
Janin ignored his grumbling.
"When word reached the kitchen that you fainted, he was sick with worry. He blamed himself for not preparing something healthier sooner. That is why every dish he prepares for you now is packed with nutrients."
Alistair's head snapped toward his wife.
"Must you share that…" His voice dropped. "It is embarrassing."
Edmund laughed, and Lilia immediately joined him.
"Hot-headed Alistair is embarrassed!"
"Do not address me informally, you uncultured brat!"
Alistair reached toward her as though threatening to grab her ear. Lilia ducked behind Edmund, laughing.
"Leave the child alone," Janin scolded.
"I have not touched her!"
"You were about to."
"She started it."
"You are a grown man."
Lady Brenda covered her mouth, failing spectacularly to hide her amusement.
G6 continued eating without joining the laughter or offering much outward reaction, yet somewhere beneath the calculations constantly running through her mind, she found the noise strangely peaceful.
Meals in her old life had often been taken alone after training, food consumed because her body required fuel and little more.
Here, porcelain clinked against plates while Lilia annoyed Alistair, Janin reprimanded her husband, Lady Brenda laughed too loudly for noble etiquette, Edmund deliberately encouraged the chaos, and Tina tried very hard not to smile.
G6 lowered her gaze toward the broth as their conversation continued around her.
She was not alone, and though she would never have admitted it aloud, something buried beneath years of Reaper conditioning quietly appreciated that fact.
❈.❈.❈
After breakfast, the group followed the path toward the Royal Collegium. Lady Brenda and Lilia walked ahead, still discussing the meal.
"Chef Alistair is magnificent!" Lady Brenda declared.
"Yes! The very best!"
"Right, you little charmer?" Lady Brenda nudged her. "No wonder Lady Reise has a soft spot for you."
Lilia's eyes widened.
"You think so?"
"Of course! I noticed the first day!"
The child blushed brightly. Several paces behind them, G6 remained silent, with Tina and Edmund bringing up the rear.
As they approached the ivy-covered barrier along the Collegium path, three familiar figures came into view. G6's brows furrowed at the sight of Prince Dio, Lord Keith, and Lord Earl waiting ahead.
Lady Brenda and Lilia stopped first.
"Good morning, Your Highness! Lord Keith, Lord Earl," Lilia greeted.
Tina and Edmund offered respectful bows.
"Psh. Why are you here?" Lady Brenda asked.
The three men barely seemed to notice her. Their attention had settled on G6, though each was making an impressive effort not to look directly at her. Yesterday's changing-room disaster had apparently survived the night.
"Why are you three acting strange?" Lady Brenda demanded.
"Shut up," Lord Keith muttered, bereft of his usual energy.
G6 crossed her arms.
"Ah. Perhaps the memory of my bare back is still fresh."
All three looked elsewhere. Lord Earl became fascinated by the ivy, Lord Keith stared at the ground, and Prince Dio's jaw tightened as the reminder of yesterday's intrusion brought color to his ears.
Lady Brenda looked between them, her expression growing dangerous as she understood why they were behaving so awkwardly. Lord Earl cleared his throat before she could begin interrogating anyone.
"Janin said you had nearly finished breakfast. We decided to wait." His gaze remained firmly on the wall. "We thought you might head to the training grounds."
"Morning training resumes tomorrow. I have a final session with Tina today."
"I see. So you will be at the Main Palace tomorrow afternoon," Prince Dio said, finally looking at her.
What's with him? Didn't he used to hate "me"? Hmm. Is his thing like one of those back home? 'I hate you, but don't leave me.'
"None of your business."
Her flat dismissal was followed by a delicate voice from behind them.
"Oh… rare to see you all gathered."
Miss Eliza approached with her maid following several steps behind. She offered a deep curtsy toward Prince Dio.
"Good morning, Your Highness. And to the esteemed Pillars."
G6's eyes swept over her in a brief, cold assessment.
"I heard you have moved into the main building, Lady Brenda," Miss Eliza continued.
"Yes!"
"How do you find it? The quietest quarters, is it not? The servants retire early, as Lady Reise does not keep them beyond their routine."
Her voice remained sweet, but the description made the residence sound lonely and empty.
It was their choice to clock out early. Not that they have anything else to do.
"Far cozier than you imagine," Lady Brenda answered proudly. "Quiet at night, but not sad. Especially now that I share all meals with Lady Reise."
Lord Keith turned toward her immediately.
"What? You will always eat with Reise now?"
"Yes, so shut up."
Lady Brenda looked delighted by the speed of his reaction. Lord Keith opened his mouth, then closed it again. Lord Earl's expression twitched suspiciously, while Prince Dio said nothing and merely glanced toward Lady Brenda.
"I see. Glad you are settling in well," Miss Eliza said, her smile tightening.
G6 looked from her to the rest of the group.
What a crappy environment this is. Enough.
She brushed past them and continued walking without another word. Edmund and Tina exchanged a weary glance.
"It seems they disturbed Lady Reise's peaceful morning," Edmund sighed before bowing politely and hurrying after her.
Miss Eliza looked toward Prince Dio, but he was already following G6. Her expression faltered.
"This is all your fault!" Lady Brenda accused Lord Keith and Lord Earl.
"What did I do?" Lord Keith demanded.
She had already marched away. Lord Earl patted him once on the shoulder.
"Existing appears to have been enough."
Prince Dio caught up to G6 first.
"Walk slowly. You have just eaten."
The concern remained strange coming from him, and she had no intention of encouraging it.
"Stop pretending you care."
"It is too early to pick a fight."
"Can't you just stay away, as you used to? Or observe from a distance until you are satisfied."
G6 kept her eyes forward.
"What has gotten into you?" Prince Dio asked.
She stopped at the shimmering barrier and turned toward him.
"I should be asking you that, Mr. Prince." Her grey eyes met his directly. "What the fuck is it exactly you want now?"
He offered no immediate answer.
"You said I was like a rose," G6 continued. "That anyone close gets hurt."
Prince Dio's expression changed as the memory returned.
"It will happen if you keep coming near me."
The warning carried neither flirtation nor an invitation to challenge it. G6 tapped her Professional Card against the access point, and the barrier opened to admit her.
Prince Dio remained where she had left him.
She remembered, Prince Dio thought. She remembered what I said seven years ago.
His hand tightened slightly at his side.
Reise… you do not understand. I had my reasons.
The others caught up, and one look at his expression restored enough of Lord Keith's personality for him to grin.
"Ah, Reise beat you in a battle of words again."
He tapped his card.
"Serves you right," Lady Brenda added as she followed.
"You really should not provoke her," Lord Earl remarked with a smirk before passing through as well.
Tina and Edmund offered Prince Dio almost pitying bows before entering with Lilia. Miss Eliza's maid followed, leaving only her mistress and the Prince outside the barrier.
"Prince Dio, are you alright?"
Miss Eliza stepped closer and placed a hand against his arm. He withdrew immediately.
"Refrain from touching me."
She froze as his expression turned cold.
"Do not forget your place. And I am engaged."
He tapped his Professional Card and passed through the barrier without waiting for an answer. Miss Eliza remained behind, her practiced smile holding for several seconds before it finally cracked and humiliation hardened into fury.
❈.❈.❈
The rest of the day passed with considerably less drama. Lord Keith and Lord Earl were occupied preparing Miss Eliza, Lady Brenda, and Lord Zen for their respective responsibilities.
Knight recruitment was only three days away, leaving little time for either man to linger around G6.
Tina spent the remaining hours completing her preparation beneath G6's supervision.
By evening, the Queen's three-day allowance was effectively over, and G6 was expected at the Utility Magic Department the following afternoon. Nearly everything was ready.
Prince Dio had work of his own, but the documents scattered across his desk eventually stopped holding his attention. His thoughts kept returning to the same words Reise had spoken at the barrier.
You said I was like a rose.
That memory was seven years old. Beneath it lay another, older still: a girl crying behind a closed door.
For years, Prince Dio had convinced himself that his cold treatment of Reise had been justified, even merciful. Tonight, the memory no longer supported that conviction. It accused him.
「FLASHBACK — TEN YEARS AGO」
Reise Worthon was eight years old, and Prince Dio Einston was ten. Only hours had passed since the formal announcement of their engagement.
Inside a guest chamber, young Reise stood before her father with both hands clenched tightly into the fabric of her dress.
"Father, why?"
Duke Worthon looked down at her.
"What do you mean, sweetheart?"
"Why am I promised to the Prince when my brothers are not forced?"
Her grey eyes were already filling with tears. Duke Worthon's expression softened, and he knelt until they were level.
"Sweetheart… listen."
His tone remained gentle, though weariness touched it.
"Prince Dio is destined to become Grand Duke and oversee Internal Affairs. The responsibility concerns the stability of the kingdom itself."
He took his daughter's small hands.
"Our House carries obligations of its own through the office of Prime Minister of External Affairs. The Crown requires the support of a powerful House beside him, and it is our House that the Crown needs right now."
Reise shook her head.
Outside the chamber, Prince Dio approached to retrieve a book he had left behind earlier. His hand had nearly touched the handle when Reise's voice rose from within.
"I DO NOT WANT TO MARRY HIM! I WANT TO BE LIKE MY BIG BROTHERS! I WANT TO EXPLORE MAGIC, INVENT SPELLS! I WANT TO BE A GUARDIAN OF THE SKY TOO, NOT JUST A… A ROYAL WIFE!"
Her voice broke beneath the final words. Prince Dio froze, then slowly lowered his hand.
She is like me, Prince Dio thought. Trapped. A pawn.
He never retrieved the book. Turning quietly, he walked away while Reise's crying followed him down the corridor.
Inside the chamber, Duke Worthon pulled his daughter into his arms.
"Please, Reise…"
She buried her face against him.
"Being a Guardian is not only about battle," he told her softly. "It also means ensuring the kingdom remains strong in the ways others cannot see."
He stroked her hair.
"That is our responsibility as the First Pillar. We must fulfill our duty."
Reise believed him. She loved her family and had been raised to understand duty long before she was old enough to understand what fulfilling it might cost.
The girl who had cried because she wanted to explore magic made a decision. If this was the role expected of her, she would perform it perfectly. She would become everything the future wife of Prince Dio was supposed to be.
Prince Dio reached the opposite conclusion.
He had heard her reject the engagement with the same desperation he felt, and to a ten-year-old boy, the solution seemed obvious: if she hated the engagement, he would give her a reason to reject him.
As the years passed, he became colder. He ignored her efforts and dismissed her attempts to please him, mocking some and rejecting others. He believed each slight was another opening in the cage door. Surely, Reise would eventually grow tired of him and refuse.
Instead, the colder he became, the harder she tried. She treated every rejection as evidence of another flaw to correct, another expectation she had failed to meet.
Duty tangled itself around childish affection until neither could be separated cleanly from the other, and somewhere along the way, affection became genuine, desperate love.
Prince Dio watched her change without understanding the consequences of his own choices.
The girl who had once cried because she wanted freedom became sharper, jealous, and cruel when cornered, desperate to protect the future she had spent years convincing herself was her purpose.
The court called her the Wicked Rose.
For years, Prince Dio told himself that he had been trying to save her. Looking back now, he could no longer pretend his intentions erased the damage.
He had not created every burden Reise Worthon carried.
Her family's obligations, the engagement, the court, and the crushing expectations of becoming someone she had never chosen to be had existed long before his childish plan.
His cruelty, however, had become another weight. He had spent years tightening that chain while congratulating himself for trying to set her free.
「END OF FLASHBACK」
Night settled over the palace grounds while Prince Dio remained in his office, long after most of the Bastion had grown quiet. He stared at the paperwork before finally pushing it aside.
I thought I was being kind, Prince Dio thought. Giving her an escape route by becoming the villain she could despise and refuse.
His jaw tightened.
I never imagined her resolve would become so absolute. She interpreted every rejection as another flaw she had to correct.
The memory of Duke Worthon's words returned: purpose, duty, and the responsibility of the First Pillar.
Her father built the wall without meaning to, Prince Dio thought, closing his eyes. And I kept hammering nails into it.
A humorless laugh escaped him.
"And I believed my actions noble."
He opened his eyes again.
"What an arrogant fool."
He needed a drink, something strong enough to silence his thoughts for the remainder of the night.
❈.❈.❈
Prince Dio left the Bastion and eventually made his way to the liquor storage behind Annex-Uno.
The surrounding corridors were deserted, but when he reached the chamber, its door stood slightly ajar. A narrow strip of light spilled into the darkness.
"Who could that be? Do not tell me it is Keith…"
It would hardly have surprised him. Prince Dio pushed the door open and looked between tall rows of shelves lined with expensive liquors collected from across the kingdom and beyond.
At first, the chamber seemed empty. He passed one aisle and then another before rounding a corner and stopping.
A woman was slumped against a heavy oak table. Rose-gold hair covered one side of her face, and the black satin nightdress Lady Brenda had given her that morning fell loosely around her sleeping form. One arm served as a pillow beneath her head.
The other hung over the side, her fingers wrapped weakly around the neck of a whiskey bottle that looked moments away from slipping.
"Reise?"
His voice barely carried. The bottle shifted, and Prince Dio moved quickly enough to catch it before it fell.
He placed it safely on the table, only then noticing two empty bottles of the same brutal whiskey nearby. The one he had caught was already half gone.
"Did she drink all of this?"
He counted again, as though the answer might somehow change.
"Three glasses would render a novice unconscious. Two and a half bottles…" His gaze returned to her. "That is a monstrous amount."
Concern overtook his disbelief.
Why here? Prince Dio wondered.
Of all the places within the palace grounds, why had Reise chosen the shared liquor storage behind Annex-Uno to drink herself unconscious?
G6 offered no answer. Her hair had fallen over most of her face, and after a brief hesitation, Prince Dio carefully moved the strands aside.
Without her usual glare or smirk, her face looked strangely unguarded. There was no cutting remark waiting for him and no carefully composed noble expression to interpret. The unfamiliar quiet made him pause.
Reise had always been beautiful; that was practically the first thing anyone noticed about her.
He could not, however, remember the last time he had looked at her without first seeing the engagement, her obsession, his resentment, or the weight of the court's expectations.
For the moment, all the arguments were silent. In her sleeping face, he recognized the girl who had once cried because she wanted another life—the same girl who had warned him that morning to stay away.
His expression tightened.
"I am sorry," he said, barely audibly. "For all of it."
She remained unconscious.
His gaze lingered before dropping to her slightly parted lips. Regret, guilt, curiosity, and confusion tangled into an impulse he had not stopped to examine, and he leaned closer.
Then he hesitated. Reise was unconscious and severely intoxicated. He knew he should move away.
Instead, he disregarded that judgment and briefly pressed his lips to hers.
The contact lasted no more than three seconds before he recoiled, appalled by what he had done.
What have I done? Prince Dio thought.
At that moment, G6's eyes snapped open. She became abruptly alert, her breath catching as one hand flew toward the area behind her right ear.
"It's fucking burning."
Alcohol thickened the words into a low, gravelly slur.
Prince Dio froze.
"Ha?"
It was apparently the only response his mind could produce. His gaze flicked toward the bottles.
What is burning? Prince Dio thought. The whiskey?
G6 barely seemed aware of him. Pain tore through the skin behind her right ear, where the chained rose concealed beneath her loose hair burned with an intensity she had never felt before.
Its earlier pulses had been mild compared with this violent heat. Through the alcohol haze, she could almost imagine the mark being branded into her flesh all over again.
She pressed her fingers against it, and the pain sharpened immediately.
What the fuck?
Prince Dio stared at her in bewilderment. Her hand and hair concealed the mark, leaving him unable to see what had seized her attention.
He did not know the chained rose existed, and G6 herself had no explanation for its sudden reaction.
The liquor storage remained quiet around them. Prince Dio stood immobilized by the realization of what he had done, while G6 struggled with the pain that had dragged her out of unconsciousness.
Beneath her fingers, the hidden mark continued to burn for reasons neither of them understood.
Something had reacted; that was all G6 knew for now.
The first move had been made away from any battlefield, in the dark. Its consequences would be explosive.
—To Be Continued…—