The West Villa's kitchen hummed with frantic energy. Servants moved like silent, solitary islands in a sea of steam and clattering pans.
Into this orchestrated chaos slipped Tina.
She found Head Chef Alistair, a man whose temper matched his furnace.
"Good morning, Alistair."
"What now? Another meal for your lady to ignore?" he snapped, not turning from his stove. "This kitchen is swamped. The Three Pillars' young lords are here. His Highness the Second Prince is here. And that finicky commoner. I do not have time for whims."
He does not understand, Tina thought.
"It has been two days since she has properly eaten anything," Tina said, a sliver of steel entering her voice. "The only thing she touched was food at the tea gathering yesterday. If the labor is too much, take it up with Butler Edmund."
Alistair finally turned, his face flushed.
"THAT IS THE PROBLEM! SINCE YOUR LADY LOCKED HERSELF AWAY, THAT DAMN EDMUND VANISHED! PROBABLY HIDING FROM THE IMPOSSIBILITY OF IT ALL!"
The outburst echoed through the kitchen.
Tina flinched but held her ground.
The week before Lady Reise's collapse had already been filled with angry outbursts and seclusion. Then yesterday came—strange behavior, shattered porcelain, another locked door, and silence.
"Please, Alistair," Tina said. "Just something simple. Broth. Something warm."
Her composure slipped slightly.
"And a dessert. Not too sweet. Something she might actually eat."
The fight drained from Alistair.
He looked at her—really looked—and noticed the dark circles beneath her eyes.
"Hey." His scowl softened. "What is really going on with that lady of yours?"
Tina looked away.
"I do not know."
Her fingers tightened around her apron.
"She is changing. And I cannot tell if that is something I should be relieved about or afraid of."
"The scone was perfect!"
A new voice cut through the steam.
Lilia hovered in the doorway, wringing her hands.
"I heard the maids talking. They said Lady Reise ate the scone at the tea gathering yesterday. Maybe… something like that would tempt her?"
Concern flickered across the young maid's face.
She had been there last night.
She had heard the unsettling sounds from behind the ornate door.
And she remembered the cold hand that had helped her from the floor.
"Are you not Lilia?" Tina asked, surprised. "Are you not meant to be with Miss Eliza in Annex-Duo?"
Alistair groaned.
"Do not tell me you are her messenger! If my menus are so offensive, let her use her own damn kitchen!"
Lilia shook her head.
"No, Tair. I was looking for Miss Tina."
She stepped closer.
"I want to help prepare My Lady's breakfast."
Her voice lowered.
"And… I was not needed there."
Alistair rubbed the back of his neck.
"Fine. If you two want something warm and sweet, lend a hand."
He pinched Lilia's cheek.
"And call me Alistair, you brat."
Lilia stuck her tongue out at him.
Then she and Tina got to work.
❈.❈.❈
The only sound in the opulent hallway was the rumble of the service cart's wheels.
Tina guided it, knuckles white.
Lilia walked beside her with her hands tucked into her apron.
They moved beneath the gaze of stern portraits.
With each step, the memory of last night's sounds returned.
The violent excavation.
The crashes.
The dragging furniture.
Finally—
the ornate door.
Three steps away.
The cart stopped.
Tina closed her eyes.
I would not even mind another hairpin at my throat, so long as she is there. Safe.
She knocked three times.
Silence.
Her heart dropped.
Tina turned the knob and pushed the door open.
She braced herself.
Nothing.
Morning sunlight streamed into an eerily orderly room.
Everything stood in its proper place.
The only evidence of the previous night's destruction was the suspicious absence of several figurines.
Tina's gaze flew toward the bed.
Her face drained of color.
The sheets were thrown back.
Empty.
A cold horror seized her.
Lilia darted toward the bathroom.
Seconds later, she rushed back, eyes wide.
Nothing.
"What are you doing standing there," a voice drawled from the balcony, laced with familiar sarcastic amusement, "like you have lost your own fortune?"
Their heads snapped toward the sound.
There she was.
G6 stood on the balcony beneath the morning light, white nightdress stirring around her ankles while the breeze played through her rose-gold hair.
Perfectly calm.
Tina nearly collapsed.
"My lady!"
Lilia's shoulders visibly sagged with relief.
"You… you did not run away," Tina breathed.
"Run away?"
G6 frowned.
Then—
"Ah."
She considered it.
"You are right. I do have that choice."
"My lady!"
G6's mouth twitched.
"I don't know what you were imagining, but I'm not running away."
A beat.
"Yet."
"It is not funny to say such things, My Lady!"
G6 stepped back into the room and sank into the chair at the tea table.
"Did I not tell you to stop calling me that?"
Her gaze shifted toward the cart.
"And aren't you forgetting something?"
Tina froze.
Something important?
G6 let her head fall backward.
"You haven't fed me a proper meal for two days. I'm starving. For real."
The complaint was so blunt that Tina simply stared.
Then joy washed over her face.
"Lilia," she said quickly, "bring the cart. Our Lady is hungry."
G6 watched the small girl maneuver the heavy cart.
She's barely taller than the damn thing.
A laugh threatened.
She disguised it as a cough.
Lilia positioned the cart with utmost care, then snapped upright.
"Hey, you."
Lilia startled.
"Lilia, was it?"
Her eyes widened.
The lady remembered her name.
"Ye… yes, m'lady."
"How old are you?"
G6 looked her over.
"Why are you so small?"
The question carried no malice.
Only blunt curiosity.
Tina stared.
The old Reise rarely asked servants anything that was not an order.
"Uhm… I am eight."
G6 raised her brows.
"When I was eight, I was tall."
Tina placed a bowl of fragrant broth in front of her.
"That is… not true."
G6 looked at her.
Tina set down a fresh scone.
"You were just as tall as her."
G6's mouth opened.
Then closed.
Right.
A tiny pause.
I'm Reise now.
"Tsk."
She grabbed the spoon and attacked the broth instead.
"Oh."
Another spoonful.
"This is good."
She nodded once.
"I want this whenever I have a hangover."
Tina and Lilia exchanged a look.
"With all due respect," Tina ventured, "I do not recall you being able to handle alcohol."
G6 looked up.
"Huh?"
Then her eyes narrowed.
"Watch me."
She picked up the scone and took a bite.
Her expression changed only slightly—the tension around her eyes easing for half a second.
Even better than yesterday's.
Then she noticed it.
A stare.
G6 glanced sideways.
Lilia was watching the scone with the unwavering concentration of a starving cat.
G6 stared at her.
Then at the scone.
Then back.
She placed it down.
"You."
Lilia straightened.
"Finish that."
Silence.
"Lady Reise," Tina objected, "that is highly improper."
"M-Miss Tina is right—"
G6's gaze flattened.
What's improper is the two of you watching me eat like I'm performing surgery.
"Consider it a command."
Her voice sharpened.
"I've decided I don't want it anymore. So, she eats it."
A pause.
"Unless you'd prefer I throw it out the window."
Tina's eye twitched.
There it was.
The negative attitude was familiar.
But unlike the old Reise's petulant anger, this sounded like an order issued on a battlefield.
"Hurry."
Lilia looked toward Tina.
Tina hesitated, then nodded.
The girl approached.
"Sit."
Lilia perched nervously on the vacant chair.
G6 slid the plate toward her.
"Taste it."
Lilia took a small bite.
Her entire face brightened.
"It is so good!"
G6 watched.
Something satisfied flickered across her expression.
Then vanished.
"Better than drooling from a distance."
She lifted her tea.
Her gaze shifted toward Tina.
"You too."
Tina blinked.
"Sit."
"No, my lady. Standing is—"
"It wasn't a request."
G6 rested her cheek against one hand.
"If you intend to keep serving me, sit."
Tina hesitated.
Then obeyed.
G6 took a clean cup, poured tea, and pushed it toward her.
Tina recoiled.
"My lady! What are you doing?"
"No tea for the child."
G6 glanced at Lilia.
"Water."
Then back to Tina.
"And you."
Her eyes sharpened.
"I want you to treat me like you used to."
Tina went still.
"Even if it's only within these four walls."
Neither maid answered.
G6 quietly watched them absorb the offer.
But do not mistake the gesture for innocence.
G6 understood people.
Their habits. Their fears.
The things they wanted badly enough to expose themselves reaching for.
Kindness could comfort.
It could also lower defenses.
And a lowered defense revealed far more than interrogation ever could.
「EARLIER」
G6 woke to sunlight streaming through the balcony doors.
She sat up.
The diary slid from her chest and landed beside her.
She stared at it for a moment.
Then stretched.
Neck. Shoulders. Wrists.
Her mind was clearer than it had been yesterday.
Not comfortable.
Clear.
There was a difference.
She placed the diary inside the bedside drawer.
No need to bury it again.
She already knew what it contained.
G6 walked onto the balcony.
Her gaze swept across the garden below.
Entrances. Paths. Blind corners.
Possible vantage points. Possible escape routes.
"I need more information."
She leaned against the railing.
"And people who know this place."
Her eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
People are weak. Emotionally vulnerable. A little kindness, strategically applied, is more lethal than poison.
It forges chains they willingly wear.
A faint smile touched her lips.
Pathetically easy.
Her gaze moved across the estate.
Servants hear things nobles don't bother hiding around them.
Staff move everywhere.
People who are ignored see the most.
Eyes. Ears. Information.
A network, eventually.
Useful.
And in return—protection.
A fair trade.
Movement below caught her attention.
Eliza stood near the entrance to Annex-Duo, flanked by two servants.
Even from a distance, there was something about her posture G6 disliked.
That woman looks arrogant.
Her eyes narrowed.
Wonder what use she could be.
A beat.
Or how irritating she'd look without that expression.
G6 blinked.
Oh.
Was that too mean?
Another pause.
No.
A knock sounded behind her.
The chamber door opened.
Footsteps.
Tina's familiar rhythm.
And another—lighter. Smaller.
G6 remained on the balcony.
Through the reflection in the glass doors, she watched Tina enter.
Saw her notice the empty bed.
Saw the color drain from her face.
Lilia hurried toward the bathroom.
G6's eyes sharpened.
Tina was genuinely frightened.
Not annoyed. Not merely dutiful.
Frightened.
G6 remained silent.
One second. Two…
She let the realization settle fully into Tina's face.
Let the panic expose itself without interference.
So that's how deep it goes.
A small, wicked smile touched her mouth.
Useful.
Only then did she turn.
"What are you doing standing there like you have lost your own fortune?"
「END」
Now, back in the sunlit room, G6 watched the two maids carefully.
"So."
Her gaze landed on Lilia.
"Why are you glued to Tina?"
Lilia jumped.
Am I really that frightening?
"She was not needed in Annex-Duo," Tina answered. "So, she helped prepare your breakfast."
G6's attention sharpened.
Annex-Duo.
Eliza.
"How kind of you."
She leaned forward slightly.
"But is that all?"
Lilia hesitated.
G6 waited.
Silence did most of the work.
"It was just…" Lilia swallowed. "Miss Eliza only entertains the two servants offered by His Highness the Second Prince. Annex-Duo only has five servants, and it isn't very large, so…"
Her fingers twisted together.
"The help of a kid was not really needed."
There it was.
G6 studied her.
So, that Eliza doesn't want her.
Lilia looked down.
Useful information.
And an opportunity sitting directly in front of her.
"If you're not comfortable there," G6 said, "stay here."
Lilia's head snapped up.
"Now that I have my energy back, Tina clearly needs assistance."
Tina looked offended.
G6 ignored her.
Her gaze returned to Lilia.
"And you're lucky I find you… adorable."
Lilia turned red.
A-adorable?
G6 glanced at Tina.
"Problem?"
Tina adjusted her glasses.
She understood enough.
She had heard whispers about the child's treatment in Annex-Duo.
"No, Lady Reise."
A pause.
"Another set of hands would be helpful."
"Then it's settled."
Lilia stared.
"I-it is a great honor. Thank you…"
G6 gave her a small, closed-lipped smile.
Another person inside the West Villa who could move where she could not.
Good.
"Come to think of it…"
G6 frowned.
"I've been surrounded by nothing but fleas."
Tina blinked.
G6's irritation surfaced.
"Why the fuck are they all here?"
Lilia's mouth formed a tiny o.
Tina's eye twitched.
Ah, Tina thought. There she is with that filthy mouth again.
"The barbarian returns."
G6 stared at her.
"What?"
"Nothing."
Tina adjusted her glasses.
"It was chosen by Her Majesty. And your language."
G6 rolled her eyes.
"Her Majesty is responsible for the well-being of the Three Pillars' young lords," Tina continued. "The West Villa is also the palace residence nearest to the Royal Collegium of Sorcery and Steel."
G6 stopped.
Her attention shifted instantly.
Royal Collegium of Sorcery and Steel.
She knew Reise's brothers worked within the palace.
The Three Pillars were deeply involved as well.
That much had appeared in the book.
But the institution itself?
Its structure? Its purpose?
Nothing. The book skipped it.
Not necessarily suspicious.
A romance novel had little reason to explain professional institutions unless they mattered to the romance.
Still—missing information was missing information.
G6 glanced toward Lilia.
"Go on."
Lilia blinked.
Then visibly brightened.
Tina glanced between them.
Is Lady Reise pretending not to know so the little one may explain it?
Considering her lady's recent behavior, Tina could no longer be certain.
"It is a compound of three Professional Departments!" Lilia said eagerly. "It is beautiful. The path is behind the Villa—a paved walkway leads directly to the ivy-covered walls."
"The residents of both annexes work there," Tina added. "They began three days ago."
G6 leaned back.
Interesting.
So that's where they're stationed.
More importantly—the book had never explained any of this.
"I want to see it."
Tina shook her head.
"You cannot, Lady Reise. Even as a Worthon, only those carrying Professional Cards may pass the ivy wall."
G6's gaze sharpened.
"How do I get one?"
"First, you must register with the Professional Guild, which is exclusive to the palace. Second, you need Her Majesty's explicit approval."
G6 paused.
"Guild?"
Something Pisces once babbled about surfaced from memory.
Her eyes narrowed with sudden interest.
"There's an Adventurers' Guild?"
Tina blinked at the abrupt turn.
"Yes. But it is in the capital town, not within the palace."
G6 sat straighter.
"And the difference?"
That was safer.
Specific.
Information without pretending she knew nothing.
Tina sighed and began playing along and explaining.
"There are three major guilds as you already know. The Merchant and Adventurers' Guilds operate in the Capital. The Professional Guild is for nobles and is housed here within the palace."
"So, if I register here, I can't register with the others?"
Tina sighed again, "Do we really have to do this, my lady?"
G6 just looked at her.
"It is a privilege card," Tina continued. "An all-access credential. It grants the rights of a merchant and the license of an adventurer while recording professional accomplishments under a single registry."
Silence.
G6 considered that.
A pass into all three systems.
Useful.
Very useful.
"How do I get the Queen's approval?"
Tina stared at her.
"You truly intend to do this?"
G6's expression answered before her mouth did.
"Tina."
She stood.
"Make me presentable."
A faintly cunning smile appeared.
"We're seeing my mother-in-law."
Tina sighed.
"Hmm… but Edmund is not here."
G6 stopped.
"Who the hell is that?"
"He is the butler of the West Villa, assigned by the Queen to oversee its residents—especially you."
Tina's mouth curved into a suspiciously smug smile.
"However, since you locked yourself away, Edmund appears to have become… discouraged."
G6 stared.
"He vanished."
Silence.
"And you cannot request an audience with Her Majesty without him," Tina finished. "Protocol."
G6's face remained perfectly neutral.
"So, this utterly useless butler whose job is to be here… isn't here."
Tina wisely said nothing.
"And that very person is now interfering with my plan?"
The room suddenly felt colder.
"Do not worry, Lady Reise!"
Lilia straightened.
"I will find Edmund!"
G6 looked at her.
"You'd do that?"
Lilia nodded fervently.
"Excuse me! I will find him now. Please begin your preparations!"
Then she hurried away on her first mission.
Silence descended after her departure.
G6 leaned back.
I was never a fan of fantasy.
That had always been Pisces's obsession.
A brief memory surfaced.
Pisces sprawled across the couch, babbling about some animated series while G6 attempted to ignore him.
She dismissed it.
The Adventurers' Guild was one of the few concepts that sounded remotely practical.
Get task.
Complete task.
Receive compensation.
Simple.
The target might be a monster.
A demon.
A person—
Anyway.
Her thoughts shifted.
Magic.
Right.
Apparently, she had that now.
Wind.
House Worthon's affinity.
That much the book had made perfectly clear.
Nocturne possessed Earth.
De Lune, Water.
The Royal Family, Fire.
Four major bloodlines.
That part matches.
But the book had focused on those families because they mattered to the plot.
It had never explained what everyone else did.
Or whether those four affinities represented magic itself—
or merely one part of it.
G6 looked at her hand.
Wind Slash.
A technique associated with Worthon's elemental affinity.
Her fingers moved beneath the table in a small experimental motion.
Nothing happened.
Naturally.
Knowing the name isn't the same as knowing how to use it.
Her pulse quickened.
Not wildly.
Just enough.
A new weapon.
That was worth investigating.
Tina watched her from across the room.
One moment, this new Reise looked bored enough to fall asleep.
The next, something unseen caught her attention and those grey eyes sharpened with frightening intensity.
Tina had stopped attempting to predict her.
With a resigned sigh, she approached the wardrobe.
She opened it.
Stopped.
A scene of inexplicable chaos greeted her.
This was not a wardrobe.
It was a crime scene.
Elegant gowns had been crushed into tight, wrinkled bundles as though physically wrestled into submission.
Shoes lay scattered like casualties.
A knotted bedsheet sat among them.
Something inside it clinked.
Tina slowly opened it.
Broken figurines.
She shut the wardrobe.
Very slowly.
Then turned.
G6 remained seated, absorbed in thoughts of magic.
Tina marched toward the vanity.
One drawer—
hairbrushes, jewelry, ink pots.
Another—
sheet music, ribbons, and an inkwell balanced precariously on top.
The bottom cabinet opened.
Everything spilled onto the floor.
Trinkets. Slippers.
A forgotten book.
The noise finally pulled G6 from her thoughts.
She looked over.
"Ah."
Recognition.
Tina stared at her. Of course the room looked clean.
Her disbelief grew. She didn't clean anything.She shoved it all away.
G6 scratched the side of her neck.
Then recovered.
"That's why I got you another pair of hands."
Tina's stare became murderous.
G6 smiled with enough arrogance to suggest the entire disaster had been intentional.
It had not.
Lilia was useful for entirely different reasons.
The destroyed room was simply a fortunate coincidence G6 had no intention of admitting.
"I do not think I can make you presentable," Tina said flatly. "All of your dresses have been… brutally abused."
"I'll wear this."
G6 gestured toward her nightdress.
"You think something as irrelevant as clothing can stop me?"
Tina stared at her.
Considered the last two days.
Panic appeared.
"You have an adjoining dressing room."
G6 paused.
"Most of your seasonal clothing is stored there," Tina added quickly.
G6 smirked.
"That's what I thought."
❈.❈.❈
G6 stood frozen in the center of the adjoining dressing room.
Pastels. Ruffles.
Silk. Satin.
Everywhere.
Her right hand twitched.
Fingers flexed unconsciously, searching for a trigger that did not exist.
Her eyes moved slowly across the endless racks.
One dress was worse than the next.
A low sound of genuine revulsion escaped her throat.
She turned toward Tina.
"Tina."
Something in her voice made Tina straighten.
"Bring me a match."
Tina stared.
G6 looked back at the dresses.
Deadly calm.
Absolute sincerity.
"I will burn all of this."
—To Be Continued…—