If there was one thing that Regina Sheridan could claim as her special talent, it was not her ability to see horrifying visions of her future murders.

In fact, Regina’s special talent was much more mundane.

When faced with a world that seemed determined to confuse, devastate, and horrify her…

Regina was able to focus on what was actually important.

“Why,” said Regina, the only sign of her breakdown being the slight hoarseness in her voice, “does the… the body contain no sign of a struggle… or even of experiencing violence?”

If there was one benefit to having had to closely observe her dead bodies to determine their cause of murder, it was that Regina had become very good at determining the causes of death.

This made the strangely unmarked state of Artem’s corpse all the more puzzling, even as Regina pushed down the grief and horror the sight caused her.

Firstly, as far as she could see, Artem had not died by drowning. None of the telltale signs of drowning were visible on his corpse.

Artem must have died before his body had been placed in the water… which meant that this particular scene was staged for others to stumble on for some terrible, unknown purpose.

Secondly, there were no obvious signs of violence. This was unsettling, since Regina knew that Artem would not allow someone to kill him without a struggle, however sweet and kind he might otherwise be.

What’s more, even if Artem had chosen to accept death, there should have been some wound or sign of how he was killed.

Yet Artem’s corpse was in remarkable shape, as if he was a floating statue that had just been frozen into place.

In fact, the only oddness was that…

Regina let out a sharp breath.

Artem was holding his engagement ring firmly in his hand, the chain that had been around his neck snapped.

Regina found herself sinking down to her knees, her body too leaden to stay on its feet.

“Who did this to you, Artem?” she asked, even as she watched his corpse gently bob in the water. “Who would dare do this to – to your body?”

Somewhere in the distance, Regina heard a mournful cry, like a swan that realized its mate had gone missing.

“Who would dare do this unless… unless they wanted to send a signal to me?”

The ring in Artem’s hand glistened in the light, both as a message… and a warning.

~♦♥♦~

Artem’s ring was the last image Regina saw in her vision before she jolted back to reality, the rattle of the carriage all she heard before Artem’s voice called for her.

“ – Darling!” he cried, in a voice loud enough to finally penetrate Regina’s daze. “You started to moan and shake in your sleep out of nowhere! Are you feeling ill?”

Still lost in her vision, Regina could only shake her head, even as Artem urgently pulled her closer.

“My love,” Artem murmured, looking increasingly worried, “what happened to you? One moment, you were sleeping soundly and the next you sounded as if you were in pain.”

He paused, his eyes widening. “Did I serve you too many little cakes at breakfast?”

Regina shook her head, unable to speak and ashamed of the prickling she could feel at the corner of her eyes.

What could she say when she was obviously so unworthy of Artem’s gentle love? His affection was already a source of guilt when she knew she did not honestly return it…

But it almost felt oppressive now that she knew he would soon be caught in the web of destruction that meant to destroy her.

Still, Regina realized, that was the part that puzzled her more than any other. After all, it was one thing to kill a relatively unknown and politically powerless child of the Sheridan family. She could always be replaced by any of her numerous female cousins as a pawn of her family.

Artem on the other hand…

For all his dear eccentricities, Artem was still an Alpin prince and she could not imagine anyone willingly killing him.

Such an act would be a declaration of war on the royal family, who would stop at no one and nothing to avenge one of their fallen kin… at least if said kin fell to an outsider.

“Nobody would dare hurt you,” Regina whispered. “Unless…”

Unless Artem had sacrificed himself in some way to save her.

The thought sent Regina into a choking fit of guilt and panic, which only paused when Artem pulled her onto his lap with surprising strength, and said, “Shall we stop the carriage and turn back home?”

It was all Regina could do to weakly shake her head no, though Artem still ended up stopping the carriage to give her time to recover.

“We do not need to attend the ball if you are feeling ill,” Artem gently told her, taking her hand in his own. “Do not worry about what the Poissons or others will say if we turn back. Your health matters more than what any of the nobles think.”

That was when Regina took one more look at Artem – at the tender concern on his face, at the loving look in his eyes, and at his willingness to do anything for her –

And with a shock that reached her bones, Regina realized that she could not let this man die.

In fact, she might even be willing to save him at the risk of her own life.

After all, though Regina desperately wanted to cling to life, at least her own death would end all the pains and burdens she endured.

Yet if Artem died… especially if he died for her…

The thought was unbearable, especially since she knew Artem did not deserve to experience such a sorry ending.

By now, she had spent dozens of hours watching Artem read romance novels and create his jewelry and happily frolic through events without a care in the world. For no matter how life seemed to treat him, Artem never lost his sunny smile even in the face of disinterest, contempt, or even outright humiliation.

Even when his own family sneered or rolled their eyes at his endearing antics, Artem simply smiled and carried on being his delightful, if eccentric, self.

As someone who cared too much about the opinion of others, Regina both envied and admired Artem in turn. No matter how much death she faced, she seemed doomed to worry about the opinions of those who cared nothing for her.

Regina wanted to be like Artem, who seemed to only care about the thoughts of those he valued… and who valued him in return.

More than anything, she wanted Artem to live and be happy. He, of all people, did not deserve to drown in a fountain after he had tried to save her from an assassination attempt.

Therefore, if Artem was fated to die simply due to his love for her, then Regina would do whatever she needed to in order to save her prince…

Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

“My heart?” Artem asked, still looking deeply worried. “Are you sure you do not wish to return home?”

…Even if it meant finding her would-be assassin and destroying them first.

“No,” Regina said for the first time since her vision had arrived. “No, my dear heart, I have a… different plan for tonight.”

Then, with a smile that showed all too many teeth, she said, “We have spent so much time entertaining our fellow nobles. Tonight, I think we should arrange it so that someone else will return that favor and entertain us.”

When Artem responded with enthusiastic agreement, Regina’s odd smile broadened.

After all, why would she just prevent murder when she could also use her murderer as an advertisement for why nobody should underestimate Regina Sheridan?

Thus, when Regina and Artem finally arrived at the back of the Poisson estate, Regina felt as though she were lit by an inner fire.

She was still burning with determination when the carriage driver let her and Artem off the carriage at a considerable distance from the main manor, in order to disguise the family identification on the carriage.

The rule of the masquerade, after all, was that no one should be identifiable. What use would a magical disguise be if the carriage that carried them would immediately give away the game?

Regina had initially thought all these precautions were foolish and a sign of the ridiculousness of the nobles of Carcosa.

She still thought the nobles were foolish and ridiculous… yet now their foolishness and ridiculousness was something she would use.

‘No matter what it takes,’ she vowed as she and Artem entered the grand Poisson estate for the masquerade ball, ‘I will not allow anyone to harm Artem or myself! My assassins were able to find me in the past because I was forced to be the center of attention. However, at this ball and with this mask, I can be what I was always meant to be. Finally, I can truly be the human wallpaper that nobody notices until it strangles them!’

Regina had to fight to suppress her dark laughter as she entered into the light of the manor, her body resting against Artem’s arm.

Finally, she could be the human equivalent of beige for the first time since she had come to Carcosa’s Capital! Now that Regina could be as unnoticeable as she could make herself when she was trying, she could detect her enemies without enduring any of the disturbing attention she had been receiving.

Regina’s barely suppressed laughter caught in her throat when her eyes finally adjusted to the light that was blinding her.

There, in front of her, was the fountain where she had found Artem’s dead body.

She knew it was just a vision, that this was the real Poisson estate and not a dream, and that Artem was still alive beside her…

But she could not help staggering as her mind placed her dream atop of the reality in front of her.

“Are you all right, my honeybee?” Artem asked with clear concern when Regina stopped in her tracks, staring at the fountain that was now swimming with fish and surrounded by servants handing out fish-based products to guests. “Is there anything you need?”

‘How’, Regina wondered, not quite able to figure out how Artem could have fit in this overloaded fountain, ‘did the assassins manage to remove all the fish in the fountain before placing Artem in it?’

She had not seen dead fish surrounding the fountain and the lighting had been much worse-

Solving this puzzle, Regina realized, was not worth having to continue to stare at Artem’s dead body in her mind. Forcing herself away from the vision of Artem’s corpse and back to the present, Regina murmured, “I am all right, my love. I was just… thinking of other things. Although…”

Regina’s eyes strayed toward the fountain as she realized she had two very challenging tasks to accomplish.

Firstly, she needed to keep Artem away from the fountain by any means necessary. While he had not died by drowning, the assassin had obviously not had to move his body very far. Otherwise, his dead body would have been noticed by the servants or party-goers. Therefore, the farther Artem was from the fountain, the harder it would be to get him in the fountain.

Secondly, Regina needed to be able to keep track of Artem at all times while still being able to act as a spy herself.

One would think that it would be easy to keep track of a man as covered in jewels and prone to frolicking as Artem. Unfortunately, Artem had a very bad habit of mysteriously disappearing, no matter how impossible that seemed to Regina. Not to mention that convincing him to separate from her would be… difficult.

I need Artem visible… close but not too close… but I must be able to track his movements…

Regina closed his eyes against her mountainous headache and the impossibly bright light glinting off what little jewelry Artem had brought with him. She berated herself for thinking that anyone would mistake him for a lower noble, even with a reduced layer of jewelry –

Regina’s eyes opened in dawning realization and excitement.

“I could use your help, darling,” said Regina, her voice more delighted than she intended. “Would you be willing to do one simple thing for me?”

“Of course I would, my beloved and murderous falcon!” said Artem, the joy on his face visible through the dove mask covering most of his features. “Nothing excites me more than when you lie about the difficulty of a task you are about to ask me to perform!”

Regina was not entirely sure that was a compliment and she was a bit concerned about Artem’s taste in excitement… but she was too delighted by the perfection of her solution to care.

“I love your compliance,” she said sincerely, wondering why Artem’s smile became so much wider in response.

Shaking off her uneasiness, she continued.

“I have a very very important task for the ball. Something that only you, my er… sweet dove can perform. I need you to go into the ballroom and-”

Regina took a deep breath. What she was about to ask of Artem would negate the entire purpose of a masquerade ball… at least for Artem.

However, much as it would expose him to every noble at the ball, it would also keep him visible to her and, more importantly, make it impossible for any assassin to spirit him away.

“I want you,” she said, with renewed determination, “to investigate every piece of jewelry in the ballroom.”

As Artem stared at her, Regina added hastily, “Also, stay away from this fountain.”

Artem cocked his head in a way that reminded Regina remarkably of a very confused dog.

“Do you,” he said, “want me to investigate the terrible existing jewelry of the nobles and then make them a better set of jewelry that matches our jewelry?”

“Um,” Regina said, dumbstruck by his leap in logic.

Undaunted, Artem excitedly went on. “Are you hoping to make all the nobles at the masquerade our friends by exchanging matching jewelry with them?”

“Friends,” Regina responded flatly, the idea almost as horrifying as the idea of covering every noble at the masquerade with an assortment of increasingly ugly baubles that would make them look like bejeweled pincushions.

On second thought…

Regina knew that her slowly blooming smile probably made her look as evil as her assassin.

Fortunately, she could not bring herself to care.

“Oh yes,” she said with great cheer. “Please provide all the nobles with a lot of matching jewelry. Preferably with very sharp pins.”

After all, it was not as though the nobles of Carcosa were poor. They were just terrifying monsters who would not be won over by pretty baubles and would thus be deeply insulted by the tacky jewelry.

Yet since they could not vent their displeasure to the prince, they would spread rumors about the foolishness of the prince and his bride-to-be everywhere. With that many scurrilous rumors and noble rage, Crown Prince Aaron would be forced to let her and Artem live somewhere remote and safe rather than keeping them in the Capital.

“You are the best partner I could imagine,” she sincerely said as she gently squeezed Artem’s arm in appreciation.

“Then perhaps,” said Artem, even as a strangely dark tone colored his voice, “you could tell me why I must stay away from this fountain?”

Regina took a dark look at her watery nemesis and muttered, “This is an evil fountain that should be torn apart and used for ballast.”

There was something unusually still about how Artem was holding himself in response that made Regina realize the truth.

Poor Artem must be horrified that she was telling him to stay away from such a seemingly pleasant place to frolic in public!

“Do not worry,” she instantly added, sad she had to disappoint his hopes in any way. “I am sure the Poissons have an even better fountain somewhere else on the grounds.”

After all, Regina was sure that their love of fish would not be satisfied by one water structure.

“Then let us go and find it later,” Artem cheerfully replied, the odd silence passing as if it had never been. “Which jewelry of ours do you wish me to match for our new friends?”

Regina looked at the few pieces on hers and Artem’s body and picked out the largest and ugliest of the lot.

“Your taste is as unique as you are,” said Artem in what sounded like genuine admiration. “Shall we go, my love and life?”

As Regina took a breath and stepped forward into the ball, she hoped that she could ensure that both of them would be one another’s life for a long time to come.

Then she narrowed her eyes and spared one last thought for the assassin that was stalking her.

I will, she vowed, find you and have you be the one who is sleeping with the fishes.