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[02]
REAPER TOOK CONTROL
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A hand touched her shoulder—

G6’s eyes snapped open.

Before the last fog of sleep had even cleared, her body moved. Her fingers closed around the nearest object within reach—a hair stick—and in one swift motion, its sharp end pressed against a soft throat.

Tina froze, her pulse fluttering beneath the metal.

For a second, neither of them moved.

G6 stared at her, then at the hair stick, and finally back at Tina.

Oh. Fuck.

“Still here, huh?” she muttered.

She lowered the improvised weapon and tossed it onto the bedside table before rubbing the stiffness from her neck.

“You are being strange again, my lady,” Tina said carefully, concern slipping into her voice.

“Bad dream.”

A bad dream where I almost stabbed you.

Tina cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses, apparently deciding that pretending nothing had happened was the safest course of action.

“It is nearly noon, my lady.”

G6 sat rigidly on the bed for another moment, replaying the last few seconds. Her gaze eventually drifted back toward the hair stick.

What a disgrace.

Tina sighed.

“I will fetch your tea.”

As the door closed behind her, G6 continued staring at the hair stick.

It seemed to be judging her.

❈.❈.❈

Tina returned a short while later and set the tea tray down with her usual silent precision.

Her eyes flicked toward G6—now Lady Reise Worthon—who sat slouched in her chair like a bored mercenary forced into a noblewoman’s body.

The old Reise would have complained about posture like that for an hour.

G6 peered suspiciously into the teacup.

“Why is it pink?”

“Rosehip, my lady. Your favorite,” Tina answered. “And the bath is ready.”

G6 took a sip.

Her face immediately flattened.

“Tastes like potpourri died in here.”

She downed the rest in one gulp as though it were a shot of cheap whiskey.

Tina’s eyelid twitched.

“I am going to take a bath now. Maybe if I drown myself to death, something will finally make sense.”

She said it in the same dry monotone she used for almost everything.

Tina stared after her.

When G6 flung open the bathroom door, however, she stopped at the threshold.

“What is with the floral crime scene in the tub?”

She jerked her thumb toward the bath, where crushed rose petals floated across the surface of the water.

Tina’s smile strained.

“Your rose-petal bath, my lady. For your… complexion.”

G6 stared at the petals, then looked down at her own soft hands.

“Right. Cancel that. From now on, no more flower funerals.”

“Pardon?”

“I am done with the petal shit. Next time, water is enough. A bucket works.”

Tina stared at her.

“A bucket?”

“Or a hose.”

For a moment, Tina’s expression went completely blank.

What in the holy skies had the Prince’s neglect broken? Tina thought.

“Now, my la—”

G6 pressed two fingers against Tina’s mouth.

“Stop. ‘My lady’ this, ‘my lady’ that. Call me Reise.”

Tina slowly peeled G6’s fingers away, her expression strained with patience.

“My lady,” she said, her voice dangerously calm, “that is not how this works. The palace has eyes. One whisper of such familiarity and they will say House Worthon has lost all dignity.”

She adjusted her glasses.

“They will say you have truly gone mad.”

G6 opened her mouth, but Tina was already moving.

“Now,” Tina declared as she marched toward the wardrobe, “we are behind. The gathering arranged by Her Majesty is in two hours. You are neither dressed nor properly bathed, and after your… seclusion, we must present grace.”

She flung open the wardrobe doors.

A pastel explosion of silk, ruffles, and lace greeted them. One dress looked as though an entire aviary had been stitched onto its sleeve.

G6 stared.

“You have got to be kidding me.”

❈.❈.❈

After her bath, G6 walked straight past the dress Tina had neatly laid across the bed.

She stopped before the wardrobe, crossed her arms, and pointed.

“That one.”

Tina ground her teeth.

“That is a nightgown, my lady.”

G6 looked at it again.

Huh? I sleep in this fancy fabric? You could wear this in a bad date.

“Forget it. You are hopeless.”

Tina seized a pink monstrosity from the wardrobe.

G6’s face twisted in disgust.

“I am not wearing a—”

Tina grabbed her and began undoing the ties of her nightgown.

G6’s hand shot out and clamped around Tina’s wrist before she could think.

Stop, or I break it.

Tina went still.

“Please… my lady.”

The tension in G6’s grip eased.

Tina was only doing her job.

“Fine. On one condition. Drop the possessive determiner.”

Tina blinked.

“Posse—what?”

G6 stared at her.

“Are you stupid? I said drop the ‘my.’”

Tina’s eye twitched.

She is being extra mean today, Tina thought. She is not even yelling, but that cold monotone and those stares are really unsettling.

“All right. Lady Reise.”

“Do what you want.”

G6 stood there, limp as a doll.

Or so she thought.

“Loosen it—I cannot breathe!” she gasped when Tina pulled the corset strings tight.

“Please stop moving. Then you can breathe.”

“That is not how physics works!”

“My point exactly.”

G6 glared straight ahead.

I swear, I will rip every single one of these dresses into pieces.

❈.❈.❈

“Now, look at—”

Tina stopped.

G6’s face was a mask of pure discomfort.

Tina sighed.

“Just bear with it for a while, Lady Reise. It will be worth it for His Highness’s presence.”

She offered what was clearly meant to be a hopeful smile.

G6’s expression only soured further.

Tina watched her for a moment, waiting for the blush, anticipation, or immediate reaction that used to accompany even the simplest mention of Prince Dio.

Nothing came.

“What the fuck is this tea party for, anyway?” G6 asked, her tone neutral despite the irritation behind it.

Tina stared a second too long.

“Is spacing out in the middle of conversation part of your training?” G6 asked, looking at her in open judgment.

Tina frowned.

“This will be a tea gathering for all residents of the West Villa, Lady Reise,” she explained as she guided G6 toward the vanity. “Her Majesty arranged it because everyone here is expected to maintain at least a civil relationship.”

G6 sat while Tina began brushing her hair.

“That sounds less like tea and more like supervised diplomacy.”

Tina paused for half a second.

“In your case, I would not phrase it quite so loudly.”

G6 looked at her through the mirror.

Tina sighed and continued brushing.

“You have remained secluded since Miss Eliza arrived, and people have already begun talking. Prince Dio is your fiancé. Lord Earl and Lord Keith are heirs of the Pillar houses. Miss Eliza now carries Benedictio. If you refuse to attend, they will say you are hiding because of her. If you attend and cause a scene, they will say House Worthon has lost control of you.”

“So either way, people gossip.”

“This is the palace, Lady Reise. People gossip when you breathe incorrectly.”

That, at least, G6 understood.

Tina gathered another section of rose-gold hair.

“Her Majesty does not need to sit at the table herself. By evening, half the palace will know what happened there. The servants will see. The attendants will talk. The nobles will draw their own conclusions.”

G6’s expression flattened.

“So this is an evaluation.”

“A social gathering.”

“Same thing with worse weapons.”

Tina chose not to answer.

G6 watched her reflection for a moment.

That changed the calculation.

She was not merely meeting characters from a book. This would be the first time Reise Worthon appeared before the people who already believed they knew exactly who she was.

Tina continued brushing her hair.

“As you already know, the West Villa is almost like a designated palace of its own. It is divided into three—the main building and two annexes.”

G6 listened carefully.

It was information.

“Annex-Uno is on your right, slightly smaller than the main building. It is where Prince Dio, Lord Earl, and Lord Keith reside. On your left is Annex-Duo, where Miss Eliza lives—the commoner who inherited the kingdom’s signature divine blessing, Benedictio. She arrived two nights ago.”

G6’s eyes narrowed slightly.

When Tina lifted her hair, G6 caught her wrist on reflex.

Tina looked at her through the mirror, startled.

“Leave it down. I feel chilly.”

G6 released her.

The tattoo. No one can see it.

Tina merely nodded and allowed the rose-gold strands to fall again before continuing to brush them.

G6 watched her reflection as her mind worked through everything she knew.

This is Chapter Two territory. Eliza. Earl and Keith. Prince Dio.

According to the book, the two nobles would be there to witness whatever drama unfolded between Reise and the commoner. Prince Dio would ignore Reise in favor of Miss Eliza, and Reise would react exactly as everyone expected her to.

Three high-ranked heirs lived here after graduation.

Reise’s two older brothers had apparently been somewhere within the palace for five years.

And Reise herself?

The so-called uncultured dog brought here for marriage.

“You are ready, Lady Reise.”

Tina had arranged her hair into a deceptively simple, elegant fall.

G6 sighed.

She was not nervous. Her body merely recognized uncertainty the same way it recognized an operation.

She had no memories of this place, only the book’s script.

Now she had to see how reliable that script really was.

She stepped out of her room for the first time.

A servant girl came barreling around the corner with her head lowered and slammed directly into her.

G6 did not stagger.

The girl bounced backward and hit the floor instead, sending a basket of fruit scattering across the corridor.

The surrounding servants froze, every eye turning toward G6 as they waited for the screaming, insult, or slap they clearly expected.

G6 looked down at the trembling girl.

“Are you hurt?”

Her voice was flat, nothing more than a simple damage assessment.

The girl stared up at her.

G6 extended a hand.

“Get up. The floor is dirty.”

Still trembling, the servant took it.

G6 pulled her to her feet, then glanced once at the fruit scattered across the corridor.

“I would help pick those up, but I really could not care less.”

Then she walked away.

The servant remained frozen.

The Wicked Rose had helped her and then immediately announced that she did not care enough to help any further.

Two scullery maids exchanged bewildered looks farther down the hall.

The rumor mill would be spinning by lunch.

Behind G6, Tina watched her leave. For a moment, a genuine smile touched her lips before she quickly hid it.

This change… perhaps it will not be a disaster, Tina thought.

Then another concern followed.

Except for her unusual foul mouth.