Inside an opulent hall with red carpets laid beneath, and antiques and paintings decorated around, a lady was taking long strides.
The palace servants parted instinctively as she passed.
They knew better than to offend this lady in any way.
Tall, well-built, with sharp facial features, she carried herself with an air of authority.
Her eyes were grey, unmistakably a Reese.
Her long black hair was tied in a braid and swung against the dark green fabric of her riding coat.
A few loose strands framed a face that was strikingly beautiful.
High cheekbones, pale skin, and piercing grey eyes that appeared full of anger and unrestrained fury.
Cynthia Reese.
Shaun's younger sister.
The guards outside a certain chamber went stiff as she approached.
"My lady," Both of them bowed to her, while simultaneously inching closer together.
It was a weak attempt to block the door.
But Cynthia was in no mood to stop.
"Move."
"B-But, my lady, Lord Shaun-"
"I said, move."
The guards hesitated for barely a second before they caved in.
It was better to deal with Lord Shaun than this lady.
She opened the door without any warning.
The smell hit her nostrils the first thing as she entered.
Alcohol, perfume, and something she would rather not identify.
The curtains were half-drawn, letting tiny streaks of sunlight into the room.
The floor was littered with empty bottles of alcohol, tables lay upturned, and flutes and harps, suggesting that someone had attempted to play music in here.
And on the massive bed at the center of the room lay the newly announced Lord of Crosshaven.
Shaun Reese.
Or at least someone who looked like him.
Because this was someone she could barely recognize.
He was buried inside a pile of blankets, bare shoulders and chest visible, with his dark hair messed up all over the pillow.
Three equally naked women lay scattered on him.
"Get up, you bastard."
Her voice cut through the suffocating silence of the room, waking up the three women first.
They blinked awake as they noticed the guest who had just screamed.
And the face of the new presence here immediately jolted them awake.
All this commotion disturbed Shaun's sleep, as he groaned.
"Urgh! Who dares…?"
"You three," She glared at the women surrounding him, "Out!"
Wrapping themselves in whatever piece of clothing they could find, they stumbled outside.
"Wake up, you useless piece of meat."
Waking up in an angry frenzy, he chucked the pillow at this intruder.
But all it took was 3 smooth strides towards the bed for Cynthia to dodge it and reach his bed.
Smack!
The slap echoed in the chamber.
Shaun's head snapped sideways.
And silence followed.
Then, very slowly, he turned his head towards the intruder.
There weren't many people who could just walk into his chamber and slap him like that.
The Lord of Crosshaven.
His eyes were unfocused at first, but they got clearer as they flickered constantly.
"Cynthia?"
His voice was groggy, low, and his appearance a mess.
"Yeah, your sister," She said coldly, "The sister that's wondering what the fuck is going on?"
"You have been like this for seven days already."
Shaun rubbed his temples, leaning back into his bed.
"I lost track around the third day."
He couldn't look into her eyes.
He knew what he did was wrong, but what else was he supposed to do?
It wasn't every day you found yourself in a novel world.
And into a new body with fragments of information about it.
That was all he had to fend for himself in this alien world.
Her eyelids tightened in disgust.
"Are you even embarrassed?"
Her voice was shrill and almost in disbelief.
"I am, alright?" He shot back ferociously.
"Do you think I am doing this for fun?"
Cynthia looked around the chambers with all sorts of signs indicating all sorts of 'fun' inside.
"You are not?"
"No."
Her eyebrows lifted.
"I-"
He inhaled a deep breath.
"I feel like if I think about this situation for more than five minutes, I would lose my fucking mind."
This was as close to the truth as he could get.
He couldn't exactly say, 'Hey Cynthia, I am not your brother anymore, I am not even Shaun anymore, and we all are going to die, and this world is not even real.'
The last few slivers of hope that this all could be fake slowly slipped away as he received those foreign memories belonging to the original Shaun.
"You know, you were a terrible and inconsiderate human being before, but at least you were confident, haughty, and competent."
She paused her words and bit her lips.
"If you get scared like this, what do you even have going on for you anymore?"
"..."
How was Shaun even supposed to reply to this?
He wasn't the same person anymore.
Maybe someone even more pathetic.
There was a reason why Shaun Reese was a late-stage antagonist.
And here he was.
Drowning in alcohol and lust just to avoid his reality.
Coping was the right word here.
Cynthia's voice dropped slightly.
"You know, father is dying."
'Yeah, how could I not?' Shaun scoffed internally, 'I was the one who suggested this plot.'
"You are now the Lord of this place, and if you keep acting like this,"
Her gaze sharpened.
"Someone will take it from you."
Shaun felt a pang in his chest.
She wasn't wrong.
This city was just that vulnerable.
The empires hovered over their heads like hawks.
Looking for any loopholes that can solidify their hold on this city.
In any way possible.
"You should take over-"
But he paused in his track instantly.
Noticing the shift in her gaze.
She was angry.
And rightfully so.
After all, even if she wanted to, she simply couldn't.
She was a woman.
And not even the oldest.
Being in a city that is massively influenced, both politically and culturally, by the four empires surrounding it, there were some unwritten rules to be followed.
This was one of them.
"..."
A long and awkward silence ensued.
And for the first time, Shaun appeared to be genuinely thinking about something.
Cynthia shook the previous sentence he uttered and awaited his words.
And he opened his mouth.
"I… am sorry!"
Cynthia's eyes widened.
An apology?
From Shaun?
"Just give me a day, please."
"I have to think… a lot."