Reincarnated as a Background Character — Boss Fell in Love With Me
Chapter 9: The Court of Masks and Murdered Smiles
They arrived at dusk.
The Ash Court was not a place — it was a performance.
A floating citadel of obsidian mirrors and spires that coiled around one another like serpents frozen in time, suspended over a lake of molten glass. The sky above was painted in bleeding reds and purples, a false twilight that never truly ended.
And at the center, the Throne Hall — where betrayal dressed itself in ceremony.
Raze stood just behind Velzeria as they passed the great onyx gates. Her cloak billowed like smoke, her shattered crown reforged with silver runes. If she was weak, she hid it beneath a queen's composure.
[Warning: You are entering a High Hostility Zone]
[Allies: 1]
[Enemies: 11 (and watching)]
"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Raze whispered.
"No," she said. "But it's the necessary one."
He adjusted the collar of the stiff noble outfit she'd forced him into. It itched. So did the attention — dozens of masked figures lined the walls, cloaked in shadows, whispering behind polished fans and veils.
Every one of them was dangerous.
And every one of them used to serve her.
They stopped at the center of the chamber.
Twelve thrones ringed the hall — only nine were occupied.
The Ash Court.
Each wore a mask. Ornate. Inhuman. Expressionless.
Only one spoke.
A tall figure rose from a throne adorned with screaming bone — the Gravedancer, Velzeria's former war strategist. His voice slithered through the hall.
"So the fallen Empress returns… with a pet."
Raze flinched.
Velzeria didn't.
"I return," she said, voice like velvet laced with knives. "And I find you sitting in my seat."
The Court murmured.
[Soul Sync Pulse: Velzeria – Calm surface, seething beneath.]
Raze didn't know if it was his soul tether or just experience, but he felt the tension radiating off her like a furnace sealed tight.
The Gravedancer tilted his head.
"Many believed you dead."
"Many hoped," she replied.
"Then why crawl back?"
Velzeria's gaze flicked toward Raze — just for a heartbeat.
"Because I've changed."
The room stilled.
"And that change terrifies you."
Raze barely noticed the shift.
A flick of magic. A twist in the air.
A knife made of bone and intent flew toward Velzeria from the shadows.
He moved before thinking.
[Soul Reaction Triggered — Tether Pulse Activated]
[Null Rewrite: Auto-Override Engaged]
One second he was behind her — the next, in front.
The dagger hit a translucent shield that burst from his palm mid-motion — glowing faintly with unfamiliar runes.
It shattered against the barrier. The Court gasped.
Raze blinked. His hand was smoking. He didn't know how he'd done that.
"…Huh."
Velzeria stepped beside him.
"This is Raze," she said to the stunned room. "My tether. My anomaly."
Her voice turned low.
"My witness."
The Court shifted uncomfortably. Even the Gravedancer paused.
"You bring a background soul into this sacred place—"
"I bring the future," she interrupted. "And it doesn't include your masks."
[Questline Unlocked: "Ash Reign Rewritten" – Part I]
Objective: Survive the Ash Court's Trials
Status: Ongoing
Reward: Unknown
Consequence: Political Annihilation (Possibly Literally)
Later, alone in their guest chamber, Raze finally collapsed into a velvet chair.
"I thought we were going to talk," he groaned. "Not start a magical civil war."
Velzeria stood at the window, staring at the citadel skyline. Her wings were partially unfurled, shadowed in firelight.
"I did talk," she said.
"You also baited nine demonic politicians, deflected an assassination attempt, and called me your 'anomaly' in front of the most dangerous people in this world."
She turned.
And for once, her voice was soft.
"Because you are. And they need to fear what they don't understand."
He opened his mouth to reply.
Then stopped.
Because for a moment, as the glow from the hearth caught her eyes, she looked not like the Empress of Ash…
…but like someone afraid to lose the one thing that hadn't betrayed her.
Him.
To be continued...