That night I stopped transmitting my Stats when I staggered through the door of the Clock Tower Room. The first thing I did was to check on Carnelian who was still sleeping but unmistakably breathing.
After that I put on a coat that covered my whole dress to hide the blood stains. The system also helped me to clean up my face and then I waited.
I was really surprised. Not only did that assassin listen to me and not kill me but he was also ready to negotiate with me or at least verify his orders. Wasn’t it normally kill then investigate? Just why did he listen to me when in the last run he killed me without hesitation?
I waited and pondered but I still did not get my notification.
It took the whole night.
It was a long, long night. I wasn’t able to sleep at all. Sometimes it felt like someone was observing me, at other times I wasn’t able to sense anything. My nerves were tightened to the fullest. I swear if the system wasn’t by my side to talk some sense into me, I would have gone crazy.
Finally, the moment the first rays of light entered the room, a notification popped up.
Congratulations for avoiding the Death Flag: Assassin.
In accordance with your progress, two rewards have been allocated. Please choose from the following:
-
-
- Set a new Save Point
- Restoring 10 Points of every Stat
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‘Finally’, I exclaimed and chose the second reward without hesitation. I was supposed to start my knight training today and as of now, I wasn’t even able to run without coughing up blood. ‘Status Window’, I thought.
Status Window:
Name: Sophien Alma Rubien
Age: 17
Race: Human
Level: 21
Health: 3/8 → 13/18
Mana: 4/5 → 14/15
Stamina 5/5 → 15/15
Attack: 1/2 → 6/12
Defense: 2/4 → 7/14
Speed: 3/3 → 13/13
Mental Health: 3/7 → 13/17
Mental Fortitude: 4/7 → 14/17
Aptitude: Fire, Light, Darkness
Skills: Fire Ball Lvl. 3, Fire Wall Lvl. 2, Barrier Lvl. 1, Mana Breath Lvl. 3, Calmness Lvl. 6, Poison Resistance Lvl. 5, Body Enhancement Lvl. 5 (affected↓), Sense Enhancement Lvl. 4 (affected↓), Awareness Lvl. 5 (affected↓), Enemy Detection Lvl. 2, Evasion Lvl. 1 (affected↓)
Special Ability: Save Point System
The load which was lifted from my shoulders at that moment was incredible. It felt like I was finally able to breath again though other than my low Attack Stat there was still a deficit.
Some of my Skills unlocked or rose up to their original level but there were still some skills affected by my Stats.
No wonder, such an impromptu improvement was stressful to the body. However nothing of that mattered.
Delighted, I stretched and jumped a little bit. ‘I feel like running or swimming or bungee jumping!’
That last one is a little bit out of line, don’t you think?
Ignoring the system, I woke up Carnelian. We had to leave and sneak back into our rooms or at least I had to.
“Mmh?” He woke up rather quickly. “Ah! Did I fall asleep? Is everything okay? What happened?”
“Easy, easy. Nothing happened. As I thought it was just the whims of a noble” I ascertained him while smiling brightly. Even if my Stats haven’t fully recovered yet, I felt like a newborn. So I enthusiastically stood back up. “Let’s go?”
“Eh? Noway. What’s wrong with you? Why are you smiling like that? Something happened, right? Tell me!” He rubbed his eyes in an attempt to fully wake up and I felt a little jittery after all these nights of angst. “Let’s gooo” I stretched the word playfully and tapped on the ground still smiling. Somehow, I felt a little high.
“Seriously, what’s up with you? You were so pale yesterday almost like a walking ghost and now you’re this… restless.” He looked seriously puzzled but I couldn’t spill the beans about what happened yesterday in case cat-eyes would hold me accountable.
“It’s really nothing. I am just happy to have been mistaken. Nobody would disdain to be alive and prove his fiance’s innocence.” A sarcastic smile found its way on my face before I controlled my facial expression. “Anyway, I have to get back before Ines notices my absence. She would seriously freak out, you know.” Since she was a witness the day before.
Again a silly smile found its way on my face. Yesterday, it had indeed been yesterday.
Carnelian watched me silently before he too began to laugh causing me to pout. Seeing this he tried to reign in his laughter. “You- just.” This time it felt like he gave me a real, heartfelt smile. “I never met a noble as weird as you.”
“Hah! What do you mean by weird!” I nudged his shoulder with my feet and arrogantly turned my head. “Ask anyone on this campus and they will declare me a crazy bitch, you hear me! Ah! Pardon me, I meant they will tell you about my noble conduct. A perfect noble so to say.”
Just when I cursed myself for my slip-up I still had to retain my image for future missions, I saw a sight to behold. Carnelian was curling up against the wall, his shoulders flinching.
After a moment of silence I sighed. “I’ll kill you if you laugh, you know.”
It took him a few minutes to calm down. “Cane” He said. “Just call me Cane, that’s how my friends call me.”
I smiled: “Understood.”
The biggest problem I had to face after sneaking into my room was the disposing of my bloodied dress. Seeing it in daylight made me wonder how ghastly I looked when facing the Prince last night…
‘Better not meet him today’, I thought to myself.
For now I hid the dress as well as my coat which also sustained some blood stains on the inside, under my king sized bed, I also covered it all up with a blanket so hopefully I could find a way to dispose of it quickly.
Not even a minute after I finished covering up my tracks, I heard a knock on my door.
“My Lady? Are you awake?”
It was my maid Ines just like I expected she was right on time.
I let out a relieved breath before I turned to the door and beckoned her to come in. I was dressed only in white undergarments which would be a white nightgown in modern terms.
Ines entered, surprised to already see me standing.
“I am itching to do something”, I told her honestly. “Will you help me dress?”
It still felt a little weird to ask other people to help me dress. It got better after experiencing Sophien’s memories however it still felt somewhat strange. To me, it was proof to have retained myself and not succumbed to this game.
There of course existed clothes which you could put on by yourself but these were mostly indoor dresses to wear on private occasions or travel clothes. For events involving multiple nobles there was nearly no hope to be able to dress that comfortably.
The academy’s uniform for female magic majors was rather comfortable, it just had to be tied at the back so you still needed assistance.
“By the way, has my knight’s major uniform arrived? I heard that I will have to wear that instead of my former uniform because of my mixed schedule.”
That reminded me. Me attending the classes for knights was a variable as well, same as my increased aptitude for magic. Sophien never experienced any of this.
“They arrived, of course. I just feel they might be uncomfortable to my Lady.” Ines answered faithfully.
How did I feel like every progress I made with Ines just reset the next day? She spoke stiffly again. Was I imagining things or getting confused by the timelines?
“What do you mean? As a knight major they can’t make me wear anything uncomfortable, right? I will have to move a lot. And I am itching to do so. Quickly bring the uniform in and be more at ease. We can’t change the outcome anyway.”
Ines then brought me a white box with a ribbon tied around it. Just when I raised an eyebrow and wanted to inquire, Ines began explaining the exquisite package.
“Your Father the Duke personally chose the ribbon. I think he wants to show his support for your decision, my Lady.”
“I see.”
I stretched out a hand to untie the ribbon. It was indeed beautiful. Interesting was how the Duke didn’t use a lavish golden embroidery but chose an elegant dark blue coloring with silver threads. Sophien and I myself preferred simple coloring over glamorous gold.
“Tell him, I received it well. Today, when I go to my knight classes, let’s tie my hair up with it.”
Ines’ eyes sparkled as she bowed her head in obedience. “Now let’s see these uncomfortable clothes.”
After giving Ines the ribbon, I opened the box and was astonished. No wonder Ines was this hesitant. Every other noble girl would have been devastated.
In the box lay a pitch black uniform consisting of a skintight trousers as well as a long sleeved top part and also one without sleeves. One for summer and one for winter I presumed. Momentarily dazed, I took out both pairs and found a few parts of leather armor, belts and a white shirt like a boy’s uniform beneath.
Ines immediately began to explain how this was the standard for both men and women in the knight major and how they were designed to protect the skin under the armor.
“So, I have to wear this from now on?”
Ines awkwardly shrunk a little then straightened and visibly resolved herself before answering.
“I am terribly sorry, my Lady, but yes. It is an impudence for a Duke’s daughter to wear this however the academy won’t make an exception for my Lady since it is also considered part of the punishment.”
“That’s great” I cheered and startled little lamb Ines. “I really like it. I think I won’t need your help in dressing while I am in school Ines.”
Everything seemed to go perfect now that I finally got rid of that assassin.
Let’s face the day with a smile, I thought to myself.
