Oracle Kass is the next to approach, alongside Saint Angelus. They’d all bet that these two would appear together, but only Lexi and Eric had wagered they’d be second and third to arrive.
It’s neck and neck now, Eric.
“Good evening, your highness.” Oracle Kass is as pretty as everyone says he is, could even be mistaken for Jordan’s sibling given his brilliant golden eyes.
What was it Mia said? ‘Hair of moonlight, eyes of sunlight, face like heaven’s light’? Yeah that fits this guy perfectly.
White hair, the same shade as Lexi’s, and golden eyes the same hue as Jordan’s; a face that’s youthful, sweet, and innocent, and a slender yet toned body dressed in a suit that hugs him in all the right places. As the oracle stands next to Saint Angelus, the combined level of perfection is almost overwhelming, but Lexi has plenty of experience dealing with the likes of Jordan, Elise, and Eric by now so she’s unfazed.
“Oracle Kass, Saint Angelus, thank you for coming.” Jordan’s genial tone and expression give no indication that he suspects the oracle of foul play in the late Sage Icarian’s death. “It’s good to see you both again.”
The last time Jordan had met the two had been at Sage Icarian’s funeral months ago.
Members of the imperial family and nobility are each close to different players, though Eric had mentioned that until Lexi came along, Elise had always kept a distance from others.
A part of her suspects she knows why. It can’t be easy living for so long and burying loved ones over and over.
These two know how to play the game.
After greeting the crown prince, the couple greet Eric, followed by Elise and Ray. Since Lexi is hiding her class and is the newest to the world, they can’t be penalized for choosing to proceed in this order, and she’s both impressed and more wary of these savvy individuals.
Though I get the feeling the oracle is the brains between them.
“Good evening, Lady Hargreaves. Angel’s told me all about you, and I’m so glad I finally have the chance to meet you in person.”
Something’s fishy here.
Oracle Kass is smiling happily, looking for all the world like it’s a dream come true to speak to her, and Lexi has a bad feeling about it.
I've been set up just like this so many times before.
“Good evening, Oracle Kass and Saint Angelus.” Her tone is polite, and she smiles at the pair, so they can’t fault her for being rude since it’s customary for players not to bow or curtsy to each other.
Saint Angelus just gives her a half-hearted greeting, no doubt recalling the incident at the Guild when they’d met, and Lexi wonders if that’d been his baby-faced boyfriend’s intention.
Let’s not jump to conclusions, just wait and see what he does next. Don't take others' personal opinions as facts, even if they seem to have your best interests at heart.
“I must say, Lady Hargreaves, I agree with Summoner Selena. That dress must have cost the duchy a small fortune.”
110% SNAKE.
The summoner hadn’t commented on the cost of the dress at all, saying only that it’s “very well made”. However, Lexi can’t correct him without seeming petty - or even like she’s picking on him, since he’s so slender and looks much younger - so her response can’t be about those words unless she wants to fall into an obvious trap.
There’s also another layer to the oracle’s apparent compliment: he’s highlighting the duchy to make her seem like someone who relies on others, maybe even a gold digger when taken in combination with the “small fortune” part of the sentence. If Lexi reads more into it, the statement could also be a dig at the fact that despite him being taller (if she takes her stilettos out of the equation) she needs more fabric than he ever would since he’s so slim.
“Summoner Selena has a discerning eye.”
Lexi is neither agreeing nor disagreeing with him, neither praising nor shading the golden-haired player, therefore leaving no opening since the oracle himself had verbalized his apparent support for Summoner Selena’s opinion.
“Indeed.” Those large yellow crystals are beginning to bother her. “I’m truly glad you’re doing so well. It can be hard for some people to adapt to new environments.”
> Translation 1: You wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for the crown prince, Dawn Duchy, Hawk Legion, and (possibly) Elise.
>
> Translation 2: As far as I’m concerned, you’re a pathetic, incompetent loser.
>
> Translation 3: You’re like a cockroach - resilient and everywhere.
Screw being on defense, let’s front foot this.
“I’d appreciate some advice, if you have any to spare.”
> Translation 1: Let’s hear how you made it all the way to the top from the very bottom, and see if you didn’t have to rely on people like your late lover.
>
> Translation 2: You’re famous for not taking on any quests or raids since you got together with Sage Icarian more than a decade ago, just spending your time at home, at parties, or shopping. Are you even capable of advising me on anything that isn't frivolous?
>
> Translation 3: As someone who’s survived in Terra for 101 years, are you the kind of person who’d help a newbie out, or would you rather sit back and continue living the high life while they flounder? Which face are you planning on showing everyone tonight, pretender?
Something in that friendly expression shifts slightly - like the currents changing under her surfboard, but not enough for her to notice until she’s drifted too far out and has to paddle back in.
“Perhaps we could have tea together soon, if it’s alright with His Grace.”
> Translation 1: You have no authority in that house, freeloader.
>
> Translation 2: I’m not willing to have a proper meal with you because that would take up too much time, and you’re not worth clearing my schedule for.
>
> Translation 3: You’re just a puppet who needs the permission of others to act.
>
> Translation 4: You’re my ticket into the home of Duke Tridentia.
>
> Translation 5: Your attempts to trip me up are useless.
Lexi sighs. “And here I’d been hoping to enjoy a conversation in the famed hanging gardens.”
> Translation 1: If you want to act like a nice guy, how could you not invite me - someone so new to Terra - to at least have a look at what the people of this world call 'one of the great wonders'?
>
> Translation 2: Sage Icarian is the one who’d created and tended to that world famous garden. I guess you’ve let it rot already, which is why you daren’t show it to anyone.
>
> Translation 3: The house you’re living in with your darling ‘Angel’ belonged to Sage Icarian, your ex, who passed less than six months ago. Is there a reason you can’t or won’t invite me over, despite bringing in a replacement lover so quickly?
>
> Translation 4: I can’t be bothered troubling the duke’s people to host you.
>
> Translation 5: Stay the hell away from where I’m living.
“What gives you the right to demand to come to our home?”
Ten points to me. You’re definitely not the brains.
“Saint Angelus.”
It’s uttered in unison by Eric, the crown prince, and Elise.
The blond player blinks, before realization dawns in navy blue eyes.
Just not the realization Lexi had been expecting.
“I see.” He chuckles, tone so blatantly mocking Lexi wants to roll her eyes. “You truly are precious, Hargreaves.”
> Translation: Look at you hiding behind all these other people, too pathetic to own up to your mistakes. All you have is a name the system gave you, and nothing more.
I'll use small words so that you'll be sure to understand, you warthog faced buffoon.
She beams up at him brightly when she responds. “I am, aren’t I?”
> Translation 1: I’m the only Hargreaves in the world, so I don’t share a surname with anyone else - unlike you.
>
> Translation 2: I'm acting almost like a 'precious' kid to remind everyone watching: you came to Terra at 30 years old and you've been here 28 years. Surely you're not picking on someone half your age, who's also one of the newest initiated players alive?
>
> Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.
>
> Translation 3: I really don’t give a damn what you think about me.
>
> Translation 4: Mess with me, and you mess with a level 80 crown prince, the level 90 sword of the empire who’s a duke’s son, and a level 100 QUEEN, you level 34 numbskull.
The way his face twitches as he tries to comprehend her meaning and the way his eyes narrow as he tries to see through her cheery smile just make Lexi want to laugh at this tall, muscular man who’d clearly traded his brains for promotion to legendary rank.
You’re no challenge at all, ‘Angel’.
“Baby, we’ve taken up too much of their time.” Aww, is your master coming to save you now, widdle sainty-poo? “I’m sure they must have more important people to meet.”
Who wants to bet that ‘Angel-baby’ was just repeating Oracle Kass’ words back then in the Guild?
“Of course, my love.” Lexi wants to gag. “Excuse us, your highness, Commander, Sage Elise, Vice-commander.”
Petty bitch. Two can play this game.
She makes it a point to smile brightly, saying good bye loudly as they head towards a nearby group of players.
Run while you can.
When Lexi finally has time to take another sip of her drink, she notices that the faces of those closest to her are a little weird.
Huh?
“Lexi.” Elise moves forward until her face is next to Lexi’s ear, voice trembling. “That. Was. Amazing.” The raven-haired sage giggles quietly, and Lexi understands.
No matter how nice she is, Elise wouldn't be happy with her good friend's ex moving on so quickly, especially under the circumstances.
As for the three Terran males who've made it abundantly clear in private that they dislike Oracle Kass and Saint Angelus: Eric is biting his lip to stifle his laughter, Ray is clenching his fists and looking up at the glittering fresco, and the crown prince is pretending to cough into a handkerchief.
You’re welcome. Now on to contestant number four.
There’s a brief lull in people daring to approach the group, so Lexi takes the opportunity to drink as quickly as she can, knowing she can’t just down the contents of her glass without Jordan, Eric, Elise, and Ray being blamed for her lack of manners.
When Ray hands her a fresh glass, the air suddenly seems to buzz, excitement and tension electrifying the ballroom.
Who...
It’s someone none of them had expected, which means no one wins the bet.
God.
That’s the only word that comes to Lexi’s mind as she stares at the devilishly handsome man before her - tall and powerfully built without being too bulky, with jet black hair she’d love to run her fingers through, eyes like rubies she could gaze into forever, and a face she could spend eternity looking at.
God.
Elise has to pinch her, hard, for Lexi to greet Shade Raphael properly.
She has no idea what she says, because the entire world has condensed to the overwhelming presence of this incredibly perfect, tantalizingly dangerous man before her.
When she comes to her senses, Eric is practically dragging her to a terrace, Ray following several steps behind, and Elise a few feet away as Jordan holds down the fort.
Why are we in this formation?
It’s a three layer circle of protection for when Eric has something extremely urgent to tell her. If anyone gets past Jordan - and that’s highly likely given the size of the crowd swarming the heir to the throne - Elise is next in line to distract or delay them. And if anyone manages to get past the oldest person in the world, the shield of the empire won’t let them reach Eric and Lexi unless his heart stops beating.
As soon as the doors are closed behind him, the redhead pulls out a sound barrier and activates it.
“Alexandra Hargreaves.” I think I’m in trouble. But what did I do? “Your type is Shade Raphael, isn’t it?’
...yeah.
She’s only ever liked them bad - bad for her, and bad for everyone else - which is why she hadn’t said much about it to Eric previously. She’s tired of being judged, lectured, and mocked for always choosing someone absolutely wrong in all the ways that matter.
It’s not like I can help it.
Lexi’s been to therapy to try to get over this inclination of hers, has even tried meditation, taking up new hobbies, and throwing herself (sometimes literally) far out of her comfort zone in a bid to change.
Nothing had ever worked. As soon as she saw bad news she’d be all over it.
Guess I was just born under a bad sign and left out in the cold.
Her father had joked once that her desire to be the one to ‘fix’ her partners was due to her being so good at her job that she lived and breathed it.
The real joke is that in the end, I couldn’t fix anything.
Not her failed romantic relationships, not her lack of friendships, not her relationship with her mother and younger brother, not even...
“Lexi.” Those brown eyes are furious and sad. “That man is trying to turn the throne into his footstool, do you understand? Shade Raphael wants only puppet emperors who obey his every word, wants the empire under his thumb while he rules from the shadows forever. Do you UNDERSTAND?”
I’m sorry, Eric.
She hadn’t known that Shade Raphael would be like this, not even when Deidre had given her his portrait and the stack of notes the duchy had on him.
Lexi knows - and she really knows - that this man isn’t just bad news for her, but for the people she cares about here, the only people who’ve been on her side from the moment she’d met them, whatever their motivations.
“I understand.” This feels like all those times she’d been hauled up to the principal’s office and reprimanded for being too wild, too dependent on her father to protect her, too different.
“Lexi.” When Eric sighs like that, she feels worse. “Whatever it is you feel for him, destroy it.”
Easier said than done. I’ve always wanted poetry, danger, freedom, goodness, and sin.
“I mean it, Lexi. He’ll use you to get to us, to get to everyone in the empire since Jord’s biggest weakness is you.” Jordan... “You have to get rid of these feelings, promise me.”
“I can’t.”
Before he can launch into a tirade, she holds up her hands and rushes to explain. “I don’t make promises I can’t keep. So I can’t say that I’ll never be swayed by him, but I can promise you something else.”
Reluctance and reluctant respect color his voice - usually toneless, mocking, scolding, or teasing with her - as he asks her to promise never to speak to Shade Raphael again.
Lexi huffs. “You’re being ridiculous. I already told you: I don’t make promises I can’t keep.”
When Eric opens his mouth to retort, she glares at him. “What if I meet him at an event like this again? Do I ignore him and get labeled a rude, crazy bitch?”
It seems he finally begins to understand just how seriously she takes her promises. “I can’t promise never to speak to him or look at him, because the fact,” her emphasis is intentional, a reference to that conversation in the training grounds, “is that as fellow players I’m going to keep running into him, especially since he’s so powerful that the emperor personally wrote his invitation.”
Lexi knows this from the duchy’s files, refuses to wonder about how the servants got their hands on such privileged information and just thanks her luck stat for getting her into the care of such a powerful House.
A long sigh as Eric’s broad shoulders sag, and then it’s quiet on the balcony for awhile.
“What can you promise?”
She’s thought about it during that brief interval of silence, and after running several stress tests she replies.
“I can promise you that whatever it is he says to me and I say to him, I will tell you about in full even if you don’t ask. I can promise that if he ever gives me anything - even a pebble from the side of the road - I’ll hand it over to you immediately for inspection. Those are the things I can promise you.”
His handsome face is pensive, but at length Eric nods, mind made up.
“Swear it.”
While I’m insulted you don’t trust my word alone, I’d think you’re an idiot if you didn’t take such a measure.
In this world, oaths are made by swearing on one’s full name, because apparently that’s when the gods pay attention and take note.
“I, Alexandra Hargreaves, do hereby solemnly swear,” she can’t resist having a bit of fun, and Eric rolls his eyes, having learned of that phrase from other players, “that whatever Raphael Shahrivar says to me will be reported in full to Eric Tridentia at the earliest possible convenience, whatever I say to Raphael Shahrivar will be reported in full to Eric Tridentia at the earliest possible convenience, and whatever it is Raphael Shahrivar were to ever give me will be handed over to Eric Tridentia for inspection at the earliest possible convenience. This oath I make under the heavens and above the hells, as Alexandra Hargreaves to Eric Tridentia.”
Multicolored wisps appear from her heart, swirling and dancing in the air as they stretch and reach Eric’s chest before vanishing.
Oh. Shit’s legit. Was it really the gods though? Or the system?
“The gods have accepted your oath.” It’s the standard response after receiving such a promise, upon ‘proof’ that the heavens have recorded the pledge in some glittering annal or other.
“Now do you mind? It’s FREEZING out here.” They both hate awkward situations like this, so Eric pretends to be put out as he extends a hand, opening the door and leading her back inside.
As expected.
Plenty of people had gotten past Jordan, but only a handful had managed to evade Elise to reach the guardian mountain.
When Eric grumbles under his breath about having to teach “that pampered little prat” a thing or two, Lexi laughs.
----------------------------------------
Dhampir Lily Ichtaca is probably what early religious scholars had in mind when they wrote about Lilith in Lexi’s world, or what lexicographers have in mind when preparing the entry for ‘erotic’. Sensual and seductive, her every breath enthrals men and women in the twinkling ballroom as she bends a little - Lexi thinks she hears gasps and swoons - to bring her face an inch from the youngest sage’s.
“Lady Lexi.” It’s purred by a husky voice, and despite herself Lexi is tempted. “What a pleasure.”
There are definitely people swooning now.
“Good evening, Dhampir Lily.” Lexi’s proud of the fact that her voice doesn’t waver, proud that she holds fast in the face of such temptation.
Bright rubies widen in surprise, before a throaty chuckle fills an enraptured hall. “My, Eric must have told you about me.”
No wonder she’s Eric’s favorite bed partner.
The more Lexi looks at the beautiful woman with almost fictional proportions though, the more unnerved she becomes.
Because Dhampir Lily’s eyes resemble Shade Raphael’s, while her hair is the same shade as Lexi’s.
Stop it. Don’t go there.
“Lily.” God bless you, Elise. HELP. “How long has it been?”
The dhampir doesn’t bother pulling back, simply tilting her head slightly to let long white hair brush against Lexi as brilliant red eyes lock onto amethyst.
“About three years, Elise.”
They haven’t met in three years?
Another chuckle, and Lexi has to force her eyes to stay on the rubies before her.
“My, little Hargreaves, when you’ve lived as long as we have, years pass like seconds.”
Ouch. Sorry, Eric.
Chancing a glance, it doesn’t look like he minds, sipping a glass of whisky and chatting with Jordan as though the greatest temptress in the world isn’t in front of him wearing a low cut gown that clings to her taut, shapely body.
I suppose he’s used to her manner of speaking by now. As well as many other things about her.
A finger under her chin startles Lexi slightly, and when her sight is filled with red she realizes that the second oldest player has drawn even closer, eyes sparkling with promise.
“There’s no need to concern yourself, Lady Lexi.” Forget feeling puffs of breath with every exhale, this close their lips are almost touching. “I enjoy every moment.” Lexi hears more proof of people collapsing, sees the twinkle in those rubies, and realizes the woman before her is having fun playing games with everyone in the hall.
I’m not your toy.
She’s not sure what kind of face she’s making, but something seems to spark in blood red eyes, and then the dhampir is pulling back while slowly trailing a painted fingernail away from under Lexi’s chin.
“How thrilling.” The emphasis on that last word, coupled with the slightest smirk on a heart-shaped face, probably put a lot of attendees into a stupor.
“Good evening, my lady.” With one last, sultry purr, the seductress gives her greetings to Jordan, Eric, and Ray, before she turns and sashays off, all eyes following the enticing sway of hips, each rise and fall of large breasts.
What was that?
“That’s Lily for you.” Elise shakes her head slightly, eyes exasperated but smile fond. “She can be a bit playful at times, but she’s not a bad person.”
You’re always so kind, Elise.
It makes sense that the two most senior players would get along, after sharing the same space for more than two centuries. Even if Dhampir Lily had spawned as a normal rank, Elise would have spent 171 years in Terra by that time. Without a single arrogant bone in her body, it’s likely that the dark haired sage would’ve made conversation with the light haired future dhampir whenever their paths crossed back then.
So that’s Shade Raphael’s lover.
Everyone knows those two have been in an open relationship for two and a half decades, even when the shade had been lower ranked. No matter how many other players and Terrans the duo had fooled around with, they’d always gone back to each other in the end.
They’re in a league of their own.
The pain is familiar, and grounding.
Let’s get this show on the road.
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CHAPTER 20 END