CHAPTER 58: STAGE PRESENCE 8

[Cast as Princess Talia’s romantic lead]

SCANDAL POINTS EARNED: 20

Current Total: 20

Aegis stared at the notification floating above her bed. Twenty points just for existing. The scandal economy was treating her well.

"Hm..." Lune glances at Aegis from the other side of the room, briefly, and turns back to her painting. "Would it be safe to assume you’re plotting something?"

"Good morning to you too. And I don’t plot. I strategize." Aegis sat up, sheets pooling around her waist. "There’s a difference."

"Is there?"

"Plotting sounds villainous. I’m the protagonist here."

Lune dipped her brush in paint, working on another canvas. This one showed the theater from yesterday, with two figures on stage locked in an awkward embrace.

"Is that me and Talia?"

"... Maybe."

"We look constipated."

"That’s what you looked like."

Aegis stretched, thinking through her options.

If she wanted to nail this play and not embarrass herself in front of the entire academy, she needed to get better at... well, everything artistic. Dancing, voice projection, stage presence. All the things nobles learned from birth.

[Lucky for me, I know exactly where to find some help.]

"I’m going out," Aegis announced, pulling on her uniform.

"To avoid rehearsal?"

"To prepare for rehearsal. Big difference."

"Sure." Lune didn’t look up from her painting. "Try not to cause another scandal."

"No promises."

---

She went to the academy gardens, which were technically off-limits to students before noon. But Aegis knew the gardener took his tea break at exactly 9:15, leaving a fifteen-minute window.

She slipped through the iron gate, breathing in the scent of rare flowers.

In the game, there was a hidden cache here containing Dancer’s Bells, flowers that, when consumed, gave a buff to one’s Grace.

[Third fountain from the entrance, behind the white roses.]

She found the spot and started digging with her hands. The dirt was softer than expected, almost welcoming.

"What are you doing?"

Aegis spun around. Liora stood behind her, carrying a watering can.

"Liora! I was just... gardening?"

"You’re stealing something."

"That’s a harsh accusation."

"Your hands are covered in dirt." Liora’s eyes narrowed. "And you look guilty."

[Damn her!]

"Fine. I’m looking for Dancer’s Bells. They grow here naturally but nobody knows about them."

"Why would you need those?" Liora set down her watering can. "They’re incredibly rare."

"You know about them?"

"I studied herbology last semester. They help performers with coordination. Very expensive on the market." Her eyes widened. "You’re trying to improve for the play!" She accused.

Aegis squinted back.

"Perhaps."

"That’s..." Liora knelt beside her. "Actually pretty cool. Let me help."

"You want to help me steal?"

"It’s not stealing if they grow back. Besides..." She started digging. "I don’t want our scenes to be terrible either."

[Our scenes? But she barely has any—oh. She means watching me with Talia.]

"Yeah okay."

They dug together, shoulders brushing. Liora smelled like vanilla and fresh bread which made it just a bit harder to focus on plants.

"Found them!" Liora pulled out three silver flowers, their petals shimmering. "You eat them raw, but they taste awful."

"Everything that’s good for you tastes awful." Aegis took one and swallowed it whole.

The effect was immediate. Her body felt lighter, more coordinated. Like she suddenly understood how all her limbs were supposed to work together.

Grace: +5

Buff Duration: 1 hour

[That’s good enough, yeah.]

"That’s not true. Chocolate is delicious and makes people happy."

"Chocolate isn’t medicine."

"It should be." Liora pocketed some bells. "We should go. The gardener will be back soon."

They stood, brushing dirt off their uniforms. Liora had a smudge on her cheek that Aegis desperately wanted to wipe away.

"Thanks for helping."

"Don’t thank me. I have ulterior motives." Liora’s smile turned mischievous. "If you’re better at the romantic scenes, maybe Talia won’t look like she wants to murder you."

"She always looks at people like that."

"Not always." The words slipped out before Liora could stop them.

Aegis raised an eyebrow.

"I mean... she’s actually nice when she’s not being competitive."

[Nice. Right. That’s definitely the word for what I saw in that hallway.]

"Come on," Aegis said. "I know another spot. The old music room has special sheet music hidden in the piano bench."

"How could you possibly know that?"

"I read a lot."

[Not technically false.]

They made their way to the abandoned music wing. The halls here were dusty, forgotten. Perfect for hiding treasures.

The piano sat covered in a white sheet. Aegis lifted the bench and pulled out yellowed papers.

"Siren’s Symphony," she read. "Playing this supposedly helps with stage presence."

"You can’t play piano."

"This is supposed to help. Want to try it out?"

"... Sure."

Liora sat at the piano, fingers hovering over dusty keys. She took a breath and began.

The melody was haunting. Beautiful. Truly, played with the kind of skill one would expect from the queen of the arts herself.

But something else happened. Liora’s eyes fluttered closed, swaying with the music. Her fingers moved faster, more confidently. The melody shifted from haunting to sensual.

"Liora?"

She didn’t respond. Lost in the music. Her lips parted slightly, a soft sigh escaping.

[Oh. The side effect is that it makes you... affected.]

The song ended. Liora’s eyes snapped open, face flushed.

"That was..."

"Intense?"

"I was going to say inappropriate." She stood quickly, nearly knocking over the bench. "That song is basically musical arousal!"

"You played it beautifully though."

"Stop flirting!"

"I’m not! I’m complimenting your musical skills."

"While I’m all..." She gestured vaguely at herself. "Affected!"

"Want me to play something to calm you down?"

"You just said you can’t play!"

"I can’t. But it might be funny."

Despite herself, Liora laughed.

"Sure, go ahead."

Aegis did and quickly discovered that, like the plant, this too gave her a small buff.

They left the music room together, Liora still slightly flushed. Aegis guided them toward the final stop on her mental tour.

"Where now?" Liora asked.

"The old ballroom. There’s supposed to be enchanted dancing shoes hidden under the stage."

"And these shoes just happen to help with dancing?"

"Revolutionary concept, I know."

"This is insane." But Liora followed anyway. "How do you know all this?"

"Would you believe me if I said I had prophetic dreams?"

"No."

"Then I read it in a very detailed guidebook."

"To the academy?"

"Something like that."

The ballroom was massive, covered in dust and cobwebs. The stage at the far end looked ready to collapse.

"Under there?" Liora sounded skeptical.

"Allegedly."

They crawled under together, coughing at the dust. Aegis felt around in the dark until her hand hit something smooth.

"Got them!"

She pulled out silver shoes that sparkled even in the dim light.

"They’re beautiful," Liora breathed.

"Try them on."

"They’re yours!"

"They won’t fit me. Look at them." Aegis held them up. "These are clearly your size."

Liora took them carefully. She slipped off her regular shoes and put on the enchanted ones.

The effect was immediate. She stood straighter, moved smoother. Even in the dusty space, she looked like she was gliding.

"How do I look?"

"Perfect."

Liora blushed.

"We should go. We’ll be late for classes."

"Right. Classes."

They crawled back out, Liora still wearing the shoes. As they walked back, she kept testing little spins and steps.

"These are amazing! I feel like I could dance for hours!"

"You should keep them."

"What? No! You found them!"

"For you." Aegis stopped walking. "I wanted you to have them. For the play. So your death scene with Talia is perfect."

Liora stared at her.

"You spent all morning finding performance enhancers just to give them to me?"

"Not all of them. I ate that flower."

"Aegis..."

"It’s fine. Really. I want you to shine up there."

"Thank you." Liora hugged her suddenly, quick and warm. "You’re sweeter than you pretend to be."

"Don’t tell anyone. I have a reputation."

---

That evening, Varyn Duskbane sat across from his father in their manor’s study. Lord Duskbane looked exactly like an older, crueler version of his son.

"The commoner has been cast as Princess Talia’s romantic lead," Varyn said.

"I heard. The scandal is already spreading through noble circles."

"We can’t allow this." Varyn leaned forward. "A cursed woman, one of those... fertility-blessed abominations... pressing her lips to Princess Talia? It’s an insult to House Stone. To all noble houses."

Lord Duskbane stroked his beard.

"What do you propose?"

"We start a campaign. Rally the noble families. Point out how inappropriate it is for someone bearing the fertility goddess’s curse to kiss our future queen." Varyn’s eyes gleamed. "Make it a moral issue. A religious one. The church already disapproves of the fertility-blessed."

"And if the academy doesn’t listen?"

"Then we escalate. Boycotts. Protests. Whatever it takes." Varyn stood. "Starcaller needs to be removed from this play. Before she taints Princess Talia with her cursed lips."

Lord Duskbane smiled. A cold, calculating thing.

"Begin immediately. Contact Houses Blackwood and Silvermoon first. They’re always eager to defend traditional values."

Varyn bowed.

[You won’t get to touch her, Starcaller. Not if I have anything to say about it.]