CHAPTER 39: THE ANNUAL AUTUMN GALA 7

Aegis hauled herself up from the sewer floor. Her legs screamed in protest. Every muscle felt like jelly after burning through her entire mana pool.

[The Shadow Empress’s cultists. Three years early. What the actual fuck?]

"We need to move." She reached down to help Talia. "Those slimes won’t stay put forever."

Talia stared at the dissolved assassin’s floating armor. Her yellow eyes reflected the sickly green glow.

"What just happened?"

"I saved your life." Aegis pulled harder. "You’re welcome, by the way."

"That’s not—" Talia jerked her hand away and stood on her own. "Those markings. I’ve seen them before."

[She has?]

"In my mother’s restricted archives." Talia’s voice dropped. "The Umbral Blade. They’re supposed to be a myth."

"Well, they’re a pretty corporeal myth." Aegis gestured at the bubbling remains. "One that just tried to turn you into princess kebab."

"This doesn’t make sense." Talia pressed a hand to her bleeding cheek. "Why would shadow cultists target me? Why now?"

[Good questions. Wish I had answers.]

"We can play detective later." Aegis started toward the tunnel entrance. "Right now, let’s focus on not smelling like a latrine."

She took three steps before her legs gave out. Stone rushed up to meet her face.

Strong arms caught her. Talia’s grip was surprisingly steady for someone who’d nearly died five minutes ago.

"You’re exhausted."

"Nah, just testing the structural integrity of the floor." Aegis tried to stand and failed. "Very solid. Ten out of ten."

"Stop talking."

Talia shifted Aegis’s weight against her shoulder. The height difference made it awkward. Aegis’s breasts pressed against Talia’s arm.

"Your Highness, if you wanted to cop a feel, you could’ve just asked."

"I will drop you back in the sewer water."

"Kinky."

They stumbled through the tunnels together. Talia supported most of Aegis’s weight despite her own injuries. Pride and stubbornness were powerful motivators.

The iron door creaked as they emerged into the service corridor. Fresh air hit like a blessing. Aegis gulped it down.

"We need to report this." Talia adjusted her grip. "The guards, my mother, the headmistress—"

"No."

Talia stopped walking.

"Excuse me?"

"Think about it." Aegis forced her brain to work through the exhaustion. "An assassin infiltrated the academy during its biggest social event. Bypassed all security. Targeted you specifically."

"All the more reason to—"

"Someone let him in."

Silence stretched between them. Talia’s fingers dug into Aegis’s waist.

"You’re suggesting someone at the academy wants me dead."

"Yeah, I am."

Talia’s jaw clenched. The princess mask cracked, showing real fear underneath.

"Then... who can I trust?"

Aegis almost laughed. Here stood Princess Talia Stone, heir to one of Valdria’s most powerful houses, asking a half-naked commoner for advice.

[DIALOGUE OPTIONS]

1. "Trust me. I just saved your life." [FLIRT]

2. "Trust no one. Not even me." [MYSTERIOUS]

3. "Trust yourself. You survived, didn’t you?" [SUPPORTIVE]

"You can trust me." Aegis grinned despite everything. "I just saved your life. That’s gotta count for something."

"You also stumbled around the gala with your breasts out."

"Hey, that was Varyn’s fault. Though I notice you’ve been looking all this time."

Pink dusted Talia’s cheeks.

Talia dropped her. Aegis hit the floor with a graceless thud.

"Ow."

"You deserved that."

"Fair."

Aegis pushed herself to sitting. The world spun pleasantly. Mana exhaustion felt like being drunk but worse.

"Look." She attempted seriousness. "We both know something bigger is happening here. Those weren’t common thugs. The Umbral Blade doesn’t do simple assassinations."

"How do you know about the Umbral Blade?"

[Shit. Can’t exactly say ’I played a game where they’re the main antagonists.’]

"I read." Aegis deflected. "Extensively. Your mother’s not the only one with access to restricted texts."

Talia’s eyes narrowed. She didn’t buy it. But she also didn’t push.

"Fine. What do you suggest?"

[DIALOGUE OPTIONS]

1. "We keep this between us for now." [PARTNERSHIP]

2. "We pretend nothing happened." [CAUTIOUS]

3. "We tell everyone we know." [GROUP]

[Option 1. Keep it close to our chests.]

"We keep this between us for now." Aegis struggled back to her feet. "No guards. No reports. No one else can know what happened tonight."

"That’s—"

"The smart play." Aegis stepped closer. "Think about it. If someone inside the academy orchestrated this, announcing to the whole world that the Umbral Blade are your enemy now would put them on edge. Better to let them keep their guard down."

Talia considered this. Her tactical mind worked through the angles.

"And what do I tell my mother about my injuries?"

"What injuries?" Aegis smirked. "Go to a healer in the city right now. Tell them you got into a fight. The gala will still be going by the time you come back."

Talia sighed.

"This is insane."

"Welcome to my life."

They stood there, princess and commoner, covered in sewer grime and blood. The palace-trained part of Talia clearly wanted to run to authority. But the survivor part, the part that just fought an assassin, recognized the truth in Aegis’s words.

"I hate that you’re making sense."

"I have my moments."

"If we do this." Talia straightened, falling back on royal bearing. "If we’re going to investigate this together, we do it my way."

"Sure."

"I mean it."

"So do I." Aegis held out her hand. "Partners?"

Talia stared at the offered hand like it might bite. Princesses didn’t shake hands with commoners. They definitely didn’t make under-the-table deals in service corridors.

But tonight had already broken a dozen protocols.

She took Aegis’s hand. Her grip was firm, callused from weapon training.

"Partners." The word tasted strange on royal lips. "For now."

"I’ll take it."

They released hands. Aegis immediately missed the warmth.

"We should clean up." Talia gestured vaguely at their everything. "Separately. Before someone sees us."

"Good idea. I know where the servant baths are."

"Of course you do."

"Hey, I’m resourceful."

"You’re something."

They parted ways at the next corridor. Talia headed toward the noble quarters, walking like every step hurt. Aegis watched her go.

[Holy shit. I just made a secret pact with Princess Talia.]

"..."

[Also she definitely checked out my tits earlier.]

---

The servant baths were empty this late. Steam rose from heated pools that academy staff used after long shifts. Aegis peeled off what remained of Lady Roseheart’s shawl and sank into the water.

"Fuuuuuck."

Every muscle in Aegis’s body sang with relief. The water turned murky as sewer grime washed away. She dunked her head, scrubbing until her scalp tingled.

[The Umbral Blade. Here. Now.]

She surfaced, pushing wet hair from her face.

[In the game, they don’t appear until year three. The Shadow Empress uses them to destabilize the academy during the tournament arc. But if they’re already making moves...]

The timeline wasn’t just changed. It was accelerated.

[Did I cause this? Some butterfly effect from being here?]

No way to know. Not without more information.

Which meant she needed to cash in those Scandal Points soon.

Aegis floated on her back, breasts breaking the surface like pale islands. The bathhouse ceiling had constellation patterns worked into the stone. Pretty.

[At least I got Talia to touch me. That’s progress.]

She grinned at the ceiling. Sure, shadow cultists were apparently gunning for her classmates. Sure, the careful timeline she’d memorized was shot to hell. Sure, she had no idea what came next.

But she’d saved a princess. Made a secret pact. Gotten through her first real combat without dying.

[All in all? I’d call tonight a win.]

The water lapped at her skin as she stretched. Tomorrow would bring new problems. Political fallout from the gala. Classes with professors that absolutely broke multiple rules. Training sessions where she’d have to pretend everything was normal.

But tonight?

Tonight she’d dissolved an assassin with sewer slimes and made Princess Talia Stone blush.

That was decent enough.