CHAPTER 271: I WANT TO SEE YOU SMILE (02)

--This Chapter is written in Licia’s POV--

Morning.

Barely two hours had passed since our meeting with the others when the sunlight began to creep into the room and warm the air.

The walls, previously painted black by the night, gradually brightened, revealing more of their true color with each passing second.

All the while, covered by the sheets we’d sneaked under, Claire and I rested.

Or, pretended to.

We didn’t have the time, nor the peace of mind, to actually sleep.

The best we could do was enjoy the feeling of our heads resting against Miwen’s arms as much as possible before he woke up.

And that didn’t take long.

The light bothered his eyes, making them twitch and, eventually, open.

His gaze searched for us almost immediately.

Once he saw we were still beside him, he raised his hands to stroke our hair and pat our heads.

Then, slowly, he brought us a little closer to him.

Gently. Carefully.

For a few seconds, it looked like there was nothing on his mind other than the feeling of the three of us together, as though that moment alone was enough to make him happy.

Even as the morning warmth began to bother me, somehow, being this close to him was still pleasant.

A shame it didn’t last long.

After kissing us on the forehead, he left to brush his teeth.

It lingered a little, but I couldn’t allow myself to be distracted by it.

This was a golden opportunity.

There was a certain path I wanted to lead him down today, and pretending to have just woken up was way easier than pretending to be asleep.

So, I followed right after him.

Miwen: "So? Where did you disappear to tonight?"

Licia: "Ah, we were-"

His sudden question caught me completely off guard.

The tone was the same casual one he always uses with me, and that familiarity almost made me forget I wasn’t supposed to tell him the truth.

The lack of sleep didn’t help either.

It made my brain lag a fraction longer than usual.

Thankfully, while my mouth had a head start over my brain, I managed to make it stop before it was too late.

Still, it was a good reminder of who we were dealing with.

He was sharp and knew us too well.

It was impossible to hide anything from him without a good distraction.

Licia: "I was feeling a little thirsty."

I took a mouthful of mouthwash to hide my nerves.

Miwen: "Whoa... So you spent more than an hour just drinking water?"

I spat it all out.

Seeing my own reflection in the mirror, even I had to admit I looked suspicious.

My hands wouldn’t stop trembling while I held the toothbrush.

But I couldn’t help it.

The maids said Miwen hadn’t left his room during the night, which made me think he hadn’t noticed we’d been gone for hours.

After all, he’s a worrywart.

I imagined that if he noticed we were gone, even for an hour, he’d go out searching for us.

That he’d simply go back to sleep was quite unexpected.

Maybe we missed something...

I wouldn’t put it past him to realize we were up to something with this alone.

However, I could still salvage the situation.

All I needed was a good excuse.

Licia: "Ah, well-"

Miwen: "Claire was gone, too. Maybe it was a hot night for you guys? Might explain all the footsteps I heard. Unless, of course... you’re hiding something from me?"

...Seriously?

After we checked if he was asleep?

After we were so careful to sneak out without making a sound?

I should’ve expected it, but... If only I were a better liar.

Miwen: "Not that you’d hide anything from me, right?"

He approached me, his eyes locked onto mine.

It felt like I was standing against an immeasurable tide.

It was scary, but also strangely calming.

After all, it was just hopeless.

Someone like me, getting anything past him...

As his eyes reflected mine, all I could think about was giving up.

That there was nothing I could have done.

Licia: "I-"

Claire: "We ran into Ellie and Anna in the hallway outside your room and went to the kitchen together. We got caught up talking and lost track of time. Now cut her some slack, alright? We’re exhausted..."

I might’ve never been so relieved to have Claire by my side.

And that includes our battle against the black knight.

She always covers me when I need her, and this time wasn’t different.

I knew I could count on her.

It’s just...

Even though she did her best, it still wasn’t enough.

Miwen looked at her, then back at me, and the smile he had when interrogating me grew wider.

He hadn’t bought it.

Even more frightening, he’d become amused.

Still, anything was better than being found out.

Even if he was suspicious, he had no way of telling what we were up to.

So, with the time Claire bought me, I cooled my head and tried again to take control.

Licia: "I was thinking we could take a bath together? You know, to relax..."

I was a terrible liar.

And yet, I wasn’t the worst one in the Kingdom.

That title belonged to Lily.

If she were to meet Miwen before the time, with him already suspicious of us...

It would be all over.

However, we had known since yesterday that we had to keep those two apart.

The only problem was that he always met her in the morning. It’s one of the first things he does, actually.

So, we had to find a way to disrupt his routine.

Make him late, so that he’d believe he missed her.

We also had to act natural while the others prepared for the next phase.

Haha...

I think I underestimated him a lot?

We had willingly decided to walk through a field filled with traps, and the best we could do was avoid them until we reached our goal.

Still, this was too important for me to give up.

Miwen: "That sounds great, but... Maybe next time. I’m worried about Cass."

...When I heard that, I figured out what our mistake was.

Miwen knew it wasn’t just Claire and me who were doing something behind his back.

Cassandra had to be involved, too.

After all, no matter how many times he’s told her not to sneak under his sheets, she never listened.

From his perspective, waking up in the middle of the night and not finding her there, not even when morning came, was too suspicious.

Shit...

I had to find a way to keep him-

Cassandra: "Oh, boy... Feeling lonely without little old me?~"

The door to the shower opened from inside.

Cassandra: "And after you told me not to do it so many times, too~ I can’t say I’m fond of desperate men, but luckily for you, I’m also pretty eager~"

Just like that, the towel covering her body conveniently fell to the floor, merely a second after Miwen’s head turned in her direction.

Even though I wasn’t her target, I couldn’t hide my embarrassment after such a provocative scene.

Still, I was utterly impressed.

Instead of trying to act normally, she did something unusual, only to deceive him into believing this was the reason she was acting strangely.

It was different from the usual, but still very much like her.

Miwen: "...I think-"

Thanks to her, he couldn’t connect the dots.

Things just didn’t click, and it didn’t help that he was so distracted by her body and invitation.

As someone who had just been frozen in place due to shock myself, I perfectly understood what he was going through.

Cassandra: "Don’t~? Just come. I already warmed the bathtub for you~"

Claire: "Oh, just how I like it! C’mon. I’ll let you wash my back this time."

Without wasting a second, Claire undressed and jumped into the water, making him a proposal he couldn’t refuse.

Miwen: "That’s unfair..."

Absolutely.

And that’s what made it brilliant.

Although I was a little concerned about how cunning Cass was.

She enjoyed our bath time together more than anyone else.

It felt like she had played the three of us at the same time.

And the worst part was that I couldn’t even complain.

She had managed to make Miwen forget all about his suspicions.

Things proceeded smoothly from there, and once we received a message from the other girls, all the tension I felt before disappeared.

All we had to do was finish our bath and head to the cafeteria, where the next phase of our plan began.

We didn’t waste much time, trying not to raise suspicion, and with just a few words, we successfully led Miwen to the dining hall.

Miwen: "...Oh. Didn’t expect to see you so soon."

First Daughter: "Well, you said I should come more often. And I felt like playing a game, so... How about it?"

While it wasn’t common for the First Daughter to show up, it also wasn’t that strange.

She’s an Endless, so it’s expected that she’d act on a whim like this.

Of course, this was all part of our plan.

More specifically, she was responsible for distracting Miwen while the girls and I worked on the rest of the plan.

With her powers, she would know exactly what he was thinking and whether or not he was suspicious.

She was perfect to keep him under watch.

Even better, she could perfectly cover Lily, who would also be joining their game with Agatha, Olivia, Reina, Pamela, and Mei.

As for why we chose these girls...

First, with Miwen distracted, he probably wouldn’t be able to question them as much.

Second, all of them were either low-level or didn’t have combat-oriented Gifts.

First Daughter: "You wanted some answers about Apollo, right? How about that? If you win, I’ll answer one question related to him."

Miwen: "...Why Twister, though?"

First Daughter: "Don’t worry about that! I brought a bunch of different games! And you don’t need to worry, I’m not gonna cheat!"

Given Miwen’s personality, we all agreed they had to start with this one.

Cassandra wasn’t the only one who knew how to exploit that side of him, after all.

Aside from the two other reasons, Miwen had never been with any of these girls, so the distraction was bound to be even more effective, given the nature of the game.

Or at least that was the Third Daughter’s reasoning when she explained it to us, but pretty much everyone agreed.

As for the rest of us...

Licia: "I just remembered Ellie asked me for help with something yesterday, so I’ll be excusing myself. Have fun!"

Claire: "I’ll... Pick a fight with Mia. She’s feeling too high and mighty since our last training session."

Cass had already said she would go to sleep after the bath, so it was just Claire and me left.

And I must say, all things considered, we were pretty smooth.

With Miwen and the others busy discussing the rules and preparing their game, the rest of us, Claire and I, as well as every other person who wasn’t playing the game, left the Kingdom and entered his world.

Claire: "Raiding a Dungeon... You sure you’re not too tired?"

Licia: "Are you kidding me? After all this, I can’t relax without killing some monsters."

Claire: "Pfft! If you say so."

For the next part, we needed money.

A lot of it.

And when it came to us, there was only one way we knew how to get some.