Mirina Luwens, fourth Princess of Lonid
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She knew Haru was a hot article when the other two showed interest in her, no, when she displayed a "flawless" Fifth-circle magic diagram, as one of the bodyguard mages said. She didn't even remember which one. Her interest only spiked up when the commoners appeared for the tea party better-dressed than some of the noble ladies. They lacked in jewelry but won twice as many points in style.
Questions abound in her head. Who sponsored them? Who trained them? It was obvious that the Marisol girl was measuring her steps, working from memory but Haru was a natural. She flowed over the tea party, dodged the thorns sent by the noble Ladies, and made her position non-threatening from the get-go. If she wasn't so focused on keeping control of her own tea party, she would've noticed several social Perks and Proficiencies at work.
By Galbarar's revealing light, the fact nobody in the Academy could get a decent read of her Status was already a red flag.
But it was so ridiculous that she failed to give it proper attention. If she had, the tea party would've ended differently. It was all so clear. But Mirina was drunk in the fawning and flattery of the Ladies. Oh, how she missed her home, where she had a piece of heaven carved for herself. No, she had to be the one to draw the short straw and get sent here to keep an eye on Windemere. To stop anyone else from claiming it before Lonid could at least retake the southern portion of their kingdom that Locksley stole. Forced Lonid to grant them in exchange for hosting and helping the refugees from the Dungeon outbreak. The same thing.
Lonid resented their position as Windemere's "little sister". All southern trade came through Windemere, already marked up and pillaged by the people that lived there. It hurt Lonid's economy as all of their goods due south had to go back through the same way. They wanted to trade freely without the tariffs Windemere charged at the gates.
And who walls an entire country? That's so stupid! And hard to invade!
Attention-starved, distracted, annoyed, and worried about keeping track of a dozen things, including her two classmates that were doing the same thing to her. That made Mirina careless and arrogant enough to push a {Royal Order} to recruit someone. It never ended well. The person eventually resented the push and slacked on the job at best or became treasonous at worst. But she couldn't let the diamond they'd found in the mud fall in the hands of the other two.
That's when the damning notification came.
> Royal Order doesn't work on Royalty.
The absurdity of the situation struck Mirina like the wrath of the legendary Thunder God Towers. ROYALTY? The fox-kin midget was actually ROYALTY? A thousand questions ran over Mriina's head. From where? Sadian? They wouldn't be so stupid as to send her without an army. Pruinvel to the north? They didn't have enough military strength to conquer both Lonid and Windemere. Rabet, nested behind Sadian? No, they were just a bandit-filled buffer state that kept Sadian from being raided by mountain monsters.
Therian. The werewolf country, a vassal of the Empire north of Pekothas. That's the only explanation of where a beast-kin [Princess] came from. Mirina had no idea if she was a [Princess] or not but it was the safest bet. Yes, she was from Theirian, Mirina decided. And high-level if she traveled half the world to come here. But the werewolves had a vested interest in Windemere. Some even called the two nations sister-states. Which made Lonid an adopted little sister in their eyes, to add insult to injury.
The time she spent thinking that was all she had before she heard Haru's voice in her head.
> You are shaken. You have a penalty on all future negotiations. You cannot use any rage-related powers and abilities. Duration: 1 hour.
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Mirina had to remember breathing after hearing it. Her {Diplomatic Recall} ability allowed her to remember perfectly every single interaction with her peers up to a limit of seventeen encounters at her current Proficiency level. The whole tea party now counted and she committed a slot to it, deleting a particularly boring trade negotiation with Leondirac's ambassador.
Everything was crystal clear now. She replayed all of Haru's moves and interactions. HOW DID SHE MISS THAT? It was as clear as Galbarar's blessed daylight that she was Royalty! Born, bred, and raised on the finest etiquette. The way she glanced at the speakers, the way she graciously sipped tea, the way she ate with the grace and precision of a hummingbird sipping nectar. Mirina watched and re-watched her eating several times. She didn't drop crumbs on the tablecloth, each bite perfect and gracious.
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It filled the [Princess] with envy. And shame. But she allowed her recorded memory to replay and reached the message spoken without words.
"You forced my hand and found me out", Mirina was guilty as charged. It confirmed her suspicion that Haru was working undercover for her nation.
"you fucking cunt of a [Princess]," Even when she was cussing she sounded classy and modulated, but that might be the mental magic that pierced her protection amulet like a hot knife through butter, without even triggering the enchanted item. She would have a talk with their mage if she survived this encounter.
"Here is what is going to happen. You are going to dismiss all these pampered-up bitches you gathered to strut and make you feel important, then you and I will stay behind alone and have a little conversation," Gave Mirina relief. Haru was willing to talk and negotiate. Maybe the situation was salvageable.
"If you give any signal everyone here is dead," proved that Haru was a powerhouse in disguise. Third or Fourth-Tier even wasn't impossible. Her {Status Forgery} or {Status Cloaking} was absurdly powerful. Nothing in her told anyone she was even awakened. Her body structure was still childish, with her too-smooth (more envy!) skin, fanciful makeup Perk!
Curses, how did she miss that! What commoner would waste a Perk pick on a cosmetic toy like that?
But as she replayed the last sentence slowly, Mirina knew she was doomed.
"If you reveal my secret, I will purge Lonid's Royal Family again and kill you last after you watched every single Royal and noble in your country lose their heads."
"Purge Lonid's Royal Family!"
"Purge Lonid's Royal Family!"
"Purge Lonid's Royal Family!"
She couldn't breathe. Anyone who knew their local history knew about Lonid's Royal Family Purge. Archmagister Baldric disappeared months before the Dungeon Outbreak. One day, the castle is attacked and King Bernard and his whole family disappeared. Blood was found along with two scared children in the secret passage, the youngest prince and princess that survived only because they hid from the [Assassin] that purged the Royal family while looters robbed the palace clean.
Then the Dungeon Outbreak and the Third Demon Lord appeared, and luck had it that a [Hero] was close by to kill the demon.
"I WILL Purge Lonid's Royal Family AGAIN!"
A couple tears escaped Mirina's eyes. She couldn't listen to the ladies talking to her. It was as if a wall of water drowned their words. Drowned her. She felt cold in her chest and her heart refused to beat. Her lungs failed in bringing air to her body.
What was Windemere famous for other than clothes, Lamia Knights, magical walls, the Academy, the Dragon Dungeon no Adventurer could visit, dwarven-forged weapons, and the smell of wet dog?
[Assassins]. Windemere had the strongest and best-trained [Assassin] organization in the world, second to probably none. Bandits avoided operating inside those walls like they were cursed, others trading in death refused to take contracts inside Windemere.
Haru was an [Assassin]. A skilled [Spellcaster]. Royalty. Beast-Kin. Windemere and Therian were sister-nations. A princess from there comes to Windemere, gets top-notch training here.
Why would she be in Light-1? To keep tabs on her, Isengar, and Euric, of course. To eliminate them if they proved too dangerous.
Mirina could even imagine Haru gloating.
"You just activated my Trap Scroll!"
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"Leave us!" Mirina said with the power of her {Royal Order} ability. "Guards and servants, you too. Go now and leave us alone. Do not come back here or let anyone access the roof until I come back downstairs."
> Royal Order doesn't work on Royalty.
>
> You cannot target this creature. Your ability has been automatically redirected.
>
> Royal Order doesn't work on Royalty.
Everyone started moving out, except for the two commoners. Mirina blinked. Were the two of them [Princesses]? No, it said her ability was redirected. Haru was shielding Marisol. Maybe she could use it as leverage… better not. Without an accurate threat assessment, that might be trying to poke the dragon with a butter knife.
The last of the guards walked out of the roof when Haru stood up and took Marisol by the hand. "Marisol, my dear. Would you kindly go to your room and wait for me there? I want to have a little chat with Her Highness Mirina, now that she graciously granted me an audience."
The audacity!
Marisol left. Mirina decided to try the upper hand by offering some information. "Forgive me for not recognizing you, Haru, [Princess] of Therian. You are quite far from home."
Haru snorted and laughed, covering her mouth. "Nice try. I give you extra points for linking Windemere and Therian due to my kitsune ancestry, but you're wrong. It's been a few decades since I last visited there but I've never been a [Princess] hailing from there."
"Forgive me for assuming it, then," curses! She lost more edge!
The sounds of the Academy and the city beyond vanished. A ward? So smoothly constructed she didn't feel the magic take place?
"Mirina, I'm going straight to the point. I want to know everything. Why you're here in Windemere, who sent you, what information you gathered, what faction you're supporting. Now that you know the truth about me…"
Everything on the tea table vanished. The porcelain, the food, drinks, handkerchiefs, even the tablecloth.
Haru placed a hand over the now bare wooden table and the hand shifted into an enormous reptilian paw. Then the arm, and the other arm too. They grew to a length of two meters. The table and all chairs except for hers vanished as well. Haru's neck elongated to about two meters and her head became reptilian, with three dangerous spiral horns jutting out of her forehead and temples. A toothy maw resembling a cross between a dog and an alligator. A serpentine neck covered in hard scales and with a ridge of spines along the back. Two leathery wings sprouted from her back. A long reptilian tail and finally the dress vanished as the rest of the dragon's body formed.
Mirina leaked some urine.
A dragon.
A Broodmother-spawned dragon. Panicking, she went about the only way she could think of to survive. Mirina fell on her knees and swore an oath.
"What do you wish, my lady? I'm yours if you only let me live. I hereby swear with Galbarar as my witness! My heart and soul are yours. I pledge my eternal loyalty to you and forsake my family and my birthright. Please, my lady, spare me and my family from your wrath!"
The dragon snarled. Maybe it was a dragon's smile. A shining white spear with the same horn as her head appeared in the dragon's hand. "Your body and soul are mine. I accept your vows in the same spirit they were given. You're mine now, Mirina. For now and ever. But I need to separate your body and soul for a while. I hope you don't mind."
The spear stabbed Mirina's heart. A notification was the last thing she saw.
> You Died.