Chapter 77: ... And Another Hidden Pain
The Rose Garden was too... perfect.
Every flower bloomed at exactly the right angle. The hedges had been trimmed into geometric patterns that probably cost more to maintain than Aegis’s entire village made in a year. Even the butterflies felt like they were moving on cue, in choreographed moves.
Talia sat on a marble bench, spine rigid, hands folded in her lap. She’d changed into formal wear, a black dress with silver embroidery that made her look older, colder.
"Stop staring," she said without looking at Aegis.
"I’m not staring."
"You’ve been staring at me for five minutes. It’s embarrassing."
"I’m observing. There’s a difference."
"Why are you observing, then?"
"Because..." Aegis’s eyes narrowed. "I feel like some fuckery is going to happen today."
"Commoners and your crass language..." Talia’s jaw tightened. "My mother will be here soon."
"Oh. Well, that’s great. Love a good ambush."
Before Talia could respond, footsteps echoed from the garden entrance. Duchess Evangeline Stone swept in, her hair pinned into a crown of braids. Behind her walked a servant carrying a tea set.
"Talia. Miss Starcaller." The Duchess’s smile was icy, as usual. And downright creepy. "How wonderful that you could join us."
[I wasn’t exactly invited, but okay.]
"Mother." Talia stood, smoothing her dress. "Where is—"
"Lord Goldspire will arrive shortly. He had business at the administrative office." Evangeline sat gracefully, arranging her skirts. "In the meantime, we should discuss the arrangement."
"What arrangement?" Aegis asked.
Evangeline’s gaze slid to her, cold and dismissive.
"The betrothal, naturally."
Talia’s knuckles went white.
"Mother, we haven’t—"
"The contracts are being drawn up as we speak." Evangeline poured tea with mechanical precision. "The wedding will be next summer, after you graduate. The Goldspire estate in the capital is being prepared for your arrival."
"You’re deciding this now?" Aegis couldn’t help herself. "Without even meeting him?"
"Lord Goldspire comes highly recommended. His family’s wealth rivals our own, his magical aptitude is exceptional, and he’s quite handsome." Evangeline sipped her tea. "What more could one want?"
[That’s a great question. Maybe you should ask Talia that.]
"Mother—"
"Ah, here he comes now."
Darius Goldspire entered the garden like he owned it.
He was tall, annoyingly tall, with golden hair that fell perfectly across his forehead. His uniform had been tailored to show off broad shoulders and a narrow waist. When he smiled, his teeth were so white they hurt to look at.
"Duchess Stone." He bowed low, hand over his heart. "An honor."
"Lord Goldspire." Evangeline actually smiled. A real smile. "Please, join us."
He straightened and his eyes found Talia. His smile shifted, becoming something hungrier.
"Princess Talia. Even more beautiful than the rumors suggested."
Talia stood because etiquette demanded it. Darius took her hand and kissed it, lips lingering too long against her skin.
"Charmed," Talia said flatly.
"The feeling is mutual, I assure you." He didn’t let go of her hand. "I’ve been looking forward to this meeting for weeks."
"How nice."
His grip visibly tightened slightly. Not enough to hurt, but enough to show he wasn’t letting go until he decided to.
"And you must be the famous Aegis Starcaller." His eyes flicked to her, dismissive. "The scholarship student."
"That’s me."
"How... quaint that you’re here." He finally released Talia’s hand. "Though I’m not sure why a family meeting requires outside presence."
"I invited her," Talia said quickly.
"Did you?" His eyebrow arched. "How modern of you."
He sat beside Talia, too close. His thigh pressed against hers. She shifted away. He shifted with her.
"So, Lord Goldspire," Aegis said, drawing his attention. "What brings you to Rosevale?"
"Please, call me Darius." His smile was all teeth. "And isn’t it obvious? I’m here for my future wife."
Talia’s teacup rattled against its saucer.
"We’ve only just met."
"Sometimes you just know." He placed his hand over Talia’s on the bench. "Don’t you feel it? The connection between us?"
"Oh I certainly feel something."
[Yeah, probably nausea.]
Evangeline cleared her throat.
"The political advantages of this union are numerous. The Stone and Goldspire families united would control sixty percent of the kingdom’s magical crystal production."
"Seventy, actually," Darius corrected. "My family recently acquired the Moonvale mines."
"Even better." Evangeline’s eyes gleamed. "Talia, you understand the importance of this?"
"Of course, Mother."
"Good. Then it’s settled."
"What’s settled?" Talia pulled her hand away from Darius. "We haven’t discussed terms, or timelines, or—"
"Details can be worked out later." Darius stood, offering his hand to Talia. "For now, why don’t I give you a tour of the gifts I’ve brought? Three carriages full. Silks from the eastern provinces, jewels from the mountain clans, and a particularly rare set of enchanted weapons I thought you might enjoy."
"Weapons?"
"A woman should be able to defend herself." His eyes glinted. "Though naturally, as your husband, that would be my responsibility."
Talia stood without taking his hand.
"I need to attend my afternoon class."
"Surely you can miss one—"
"No." She turned to her mother. "We’ll continue this discussion later."
Evangeline’s lips thinned, but she nodded.
Talia left quickly, Aegis scrambling to follow. Darius called after them.
"I look forward to getting to know you better, Princess!"
They walked in silence until they were three hallways away. Then Talia punched the wall hard enough to crack.
Not her hand, but the stone, rather.
"Fuck!"
"Feel better?"
"No." She cradled her bleeding knuckles. "He’s exactly what Mother wants. Rich, powerful, connected."
"And a complete asshole."
"That too." Talia laughed bitterly. "Did you see how he looked at me? Like I was a trophy he’d already won."
"We could poison him."
"Don’t tempt me." Talia sighed. "I’m not sure what I can do about this."
"You’ll think of something. You’re smart like that."
"I appreciate the vote of confidence, I guess. Come. I need to get all of that out of my mind."
They resumed their walk then, for about two seconds.
Because soon, they turned another corner and stopped dead.
Liora was with someone.
The stranger had pink hair, breasts as big as Aegis’s, and she was wearing a sleek skirt/thigh-high boots combo.
Oh, and she had her tongue deep in Liora’s throat, and Liora’s legs wrapped around her waist.
Together, their tongues were making sounds that belonged in Aegis’s dorm room at 2 AM, not a public hallway.
[... What?] Aegis thought. [Who in the world-]
"Serilla?" Talia’s voice cracked.
The pink-haired woman pulled back slowly, deliberately. She turned her head toward them without releasing Liora, who looked dazed and kiss-drunk.
"Talia! What perfect timing." Her voice was charismatic as hell. Well, Aegis supposed you had to have a nice voice at least to have a girl like Liora making out with you. "Just catching up with my girlfriend. You understand, don’t you?"
She set Liora down gently. Liora’s legs shook.
"No need for an explanation, right?" The woman straightened her uniform, the same as theirs. The bulge in her skirt said she was fertility-blessed, too. "Talia knows all about our history."
[Wait, they know each other?]
Talia’s hands clenched into fists.
"I thought you were in the Northern Territories."
"Plans change." Serilla shrugged, the motion making her chest bounce. "When I heard Liora was here, well... how could I stay away?"
She turned to Aegis, and her smile shifted into something predatory.
"And you must be the infamous Aegis Starcaller. The commoner who’s been keeping my girlfriend warm for me."
"Ex-girlfriend," Liora said quickly.
"Details." Serilla waved a hand dismissively. "We both know it never stays that way for long~"
Talia stepped forward, putting herself partially between Serilla and Liora.
"What are you really doing here?"
"Attending the academy, obviously. Father thought it would be good for me to get a proper education." Serilla’s eyes gleamed. "Plus, I heard the most interesting rumors. Liora finally moving on, finding someone new. Two someones, actually."
Her gaze flicked between Talia and Aegis.
"Imagine my surprise when I learned one of them was you, Talia. After all those years of you hovering around her like a lost puppy."
"Serilla—" Liora started.
"And then this one." She nodded at Aegis. "A commoner with perfect test scores, causing scandals left and right. I had to see for myself what all the fuss was about."
She took a step closer to Aegis. She was the exact same height as Aegis, with flirtatious eyes just like hers as well. She looked Aegis up and down and shrugged.
"Not bad, I guess."
Aegis’s mind was spinning.
[She knows Talia. She dated Liora. This isn’t game content, this is... real. Part of Liora and Talia’s real-life history I don’t know about.]
"Well, you’ve seen," Talia said coldly. "Now leave."
"Leave? But I just got here." Serilla stepped closer, close enough that Aegis could smell her perfume. "Besides, Liora and I have so much catching up to do."
Talia grabbed Serilla’s wrist.
"Your relationship was years ago. Drop it."
"Protective, aren’t we?" Serilla didn’t pull away. "You always were when it came to her. Even back at school. Always watching from afar, never brave enough to actually do anything about it."
"Things are different now."
"Are they?" Serilla’s free hand traced along Talia’s jaw. "You’re still engaged to someone else, I’m guessing. Still letting Mommy make all your decisions. Still playing the perfect princess."
Talia slapped her hand away.
"We should go."
Talia took Liora’s wrist and pulled her down the hall.
"Conversation over, I guess," Serilla said. "See you around, Starcaller. I am, after all, quite curious about you as well."
Just like that, the absolute force of nature of a woman walked the other way.
Aegis went to go check on Talia and Liora. She didn’t have to look far.
"She kissed me, Talia. You understand that, right?" Liora asked.
"Of course. I know how she is."
Aegis looked away with a raised brow.
[I mean... Sure, but that doesn’t explain your legs being wrapped around her.]
Liora breathed a sigh of relief, though.
"I... need to go wash up."
"Go ahead."
With that, Liora shuffled down the hall. Talia took the opportunity and walked over to Aegis, planting her forehead on Aegis’s shoulder.
Finally, she gave a better explanation of what was happening, though Aegis felt she’d already gotten the gist of it.
"Serilla Frost," Talia mumbled into Aegis’s shoulder. "She’s been Liora’s weakness since we were twelve. Always showing up at the worst possible moments. Always knowing exactly what to say to get under her skin."
"She seems... intense."
"She’s a manipulative bitch." Talia pulled back. "I wouldn’t really mind Liora kissing or even fucking other people. Gods know she does all sorts of disgusting things with you."
[Okay but so do you, though.]
"The problem," Talia continued, "is that Serilla is also genuinely in love with Liora. Has been for years."
"And Liora?"
"Liora loves her back."
"What?"
"Oh, come on, Aegis. You saw their position. Liora was one more lip bite away from bending over right then and there."
"But, she loves you too?"
"She does."
"This is... complicated."
"I don’t mind complicated. The problem is that Serilla isn’t your kind of complicated. She’s not the sharing type, that is. Whatever is hers is hers and only hers. That’s how she’s always been."
Immediately, Aegis saw the problem.
"Ahhh... So-"
"So she wants me out of the equation," Talia sighed into Aegis’s shoulder. "And Liora doesn’t seem to understand that. Or, she thinks Serilla will change her mind on it. I don’t know."
Aegis thought about the game, about how none of this had been there.
No Serilla, no messy love triangle going back years.
[I’m a bit out of my depth with this one.]
"What are you going to do?"
"... When I have a good answer, one that doesn’t involve murder, I’ll let you know."
Talia sighed.
"I need to go."
Before Aegis could even say anything, Talia disappeared around a corner. Aegis stood alone in the hallway, trying to process everything that had just happened.
At the same time, her cock was still half-hard from seeing this new girl. Wildly inappropriate given everything else? Sure, but so what? The bitch was hot. Sue her.
Still, Aegis sighed deeply.
[First, my sister I came up with during my "incest is hot" phase. Then, the twins. Then Darius. And now there’s another player in the game. One I know nothing about.]
She needed to come up with a plan.
But first...
A cold shower.
[... That was one steamy make-out session.]