[Lifespan Remaining: 2 days, 16 hours, 32 minutes.]
“Young Master, that was a disaster.”
Noelle said as they finally returned to the side palace.
She had witnessed it all.
And suffice it to say, she had been correct.
Noct simply shrugged.
“But I got what I wanted, didn’t I?”
“Yes, but—”
“You’re afraid of retaliation against me.”
The diagnosis was so spot on that all Noelle could do was stay silent.
Noct, compared to his other siblings, had the least amount of influence in the family—which once again, was another side effect of being bedridden his entire life.
There were plenty of people willing to obey him, but that was because of his last name, not his first.
Whether they would still do so if the First Lady gave them a different order was another matter entirely.
“Noelle,” he asked.
“What was the last thing she told me?”
The maid frowned, trying to remember the specifics.
“That you could enter the pool tomorrow morning.”
“After that?”
“That you had to be there at the allotted time.”
Noct nodded.
“She was quite particular about that, wasn’t she?”
“Well…” Noelle hesitated.
“The pool can only be used during a certain period. If you miss it, all the mana would thin out into the air and—”
“I lose my chance.”
After a moment of silence, Noelle gasped, the pieces clicking to place after Noct had jogged her memories.
“You think she’ll prevent you from going?”
“It probably won’t be her, specifically,” Noct said, looking out a side window.
“But I know she’d be very pleased if I couldn’t.”
His chest had begun hurting again.
The potion was pretty much completely spent, and he doubted he could make it down the corridor without Noelle’s help.
It wouldn’t take much to keep someone like him in bed.
“She warned me about the risks,” he continued.
“She gave me a time, and I agreed to be there. If I don’t show up, whose fault does that become?”
“Yours, Young Master…”
They finally arrived at his room once more, and the moment they entered, Noct was already looking for any signs of tampering.
“Has anyone been in my room while we were gone?”
“The servants would have changed your sheets and prepared a fireplace.”
“Anyone else?”
“I’ll check.”
Noct nodded.
He didn’t know exactly what Vivienne was trying to do.
The original Noct had never demanded access to the pool, so there was nothing in the game he could follow from here.
But she had been willing to give away his turn before he even lost his seat.
He doubted she would suddenly become generous because he had asked nicely.
After a moment, Noelle returned.
“Everything is clear, Young Master.”
“Mmm.”
The maid helped him out of his wheelchair.
His knees nearly folded before he reached the mattress, forcing him to lean more heavily against her than he intended.
By the time he sat down, he was breathing hard.
Instantly, Noelle was already holding another potion up to his lips, waiting for him to drink it.
“…You had another one?”
“I have a couple more.”
“Right…”
The same bitter taste spread across his tongue.
Noct swallowed slowly, waiting for the warmth to follow.
It did, but this time, the relief wasn’t nearly as complete.
The tightness in his chest eased, yet the ache in his limbs remained.
‘Already…?’
The second dose was definitely not as effective as the first, which proved Noct’s theory correct.
“Noelle.”
“Yes, Young Master?”
“Stay here tonight.”
The maid was already lowering herself on a nearby chair, pulling out a book.
“I was planning to even if you didn’t say anything, Young Master.”
‘It’s like she’s reading my mind…’
But a small smile spread through his face as he slowly got into his bed and pulled the sheets up.
Even if he had transmigrated into a cursed character, at least there was someone by his side.
***
By the time the last strip of light disappeared, Noct had learned something unpleasant about waiting for an attack.
It was incredibly boring.
The servants had already brought his evening medicine.
Noelle accepted the tray, dismissed them, and left the contents untouched on the table.
Obviously, the pills were laced, and Noelle had made a mental note of firing whoever brought them here.
All he could do really, was stare at Noelle who was calmly reading her book.
As far as he could tell, this character only showed up in the game sometimes as a background character.
But he couldn’t help but feel there was more to her.
Why would a character like Noct de Arcadia have someone like her around?
The only explanation would be that she was his bodyguard in disguise.
‘That has to be it.’
[Character recognition complete.]
[Displaying character data.]
〔BASIC INFORMATION〕
Name: Noelle
Gender: Female
Age: 20
Class: Assassin [★★★★]
Class Proficiency: 58%
〔TRAITS〕
Keen Senses [★★★]
Steady Hands [★★]
Poison Resistance [★★★]
???
[★★★★★★]
〔ATTRIBUTES〕
Strength: 28
Speed: 31
Stamina: 25
Spirituality: 8
Magic: 10
〔SKILLS KNOWN:〕
– Stealth [★★★]
– Shadow Magic [★★]
– Weakspot Strike [★★★★]
– [???]
‘An Assassin?
Damn, so I was right all along.
Hmm, but there seems to be a few things that I can’t see?
Is it because my level of understanding of her is too low?’
With her starting class as Rogue, a maid who was just three years older than him was able to reach her 4-Star Class.
‘Is she a monster…?
Definitely not normal.
Thank god she’s on my side.’
“Young Master…” Noelle said, already having stood up.
“Are you certain you want to do this?”
“Do what?”
“Let them come into your room.”
“Would you prefer that we wait outside?”
“I would prefer that you weren’t the bait.”
Noct glanced toward the door.
If someone intended to interfere with him, hiding elsewhere would only delay the attempt.
At least here, they knew where the intruders would have to come.
“I’ll be fine.”
“You don’t know that.”
“Then I’m trusting you to make sure.”
Eventually, she sighed and placed her book on the table.
“If anything happens, stay in bed. Don’t try to stand, and don’t get in my way.”
“Roger that.”
With the confirmation, the maid crouched down and grabbed onto seemingly nothing, only to emerge with a curtain of shadows a few seconds later.
〈Ars Shade: Velum〉 – [Curtain of Darkness.]
And just like that, her entire presence disappeared.
Noct knew in the back of his mind that she was still there, mostly because of the faint sensation of mana he could still feel.
Other than that, it was like she had simply…vanished.
‘So that’s shadow magic…’
Noct turned back toward the bed and pulled the same grimoire onto his lap.
Waiting in silence would only make him more restless, so he might as well put the time to use.
Just in case something happened, he needed a way to defend himself, and one that preferably would not set the whole place on fire.
Noct continued turning the pages until he reached the section on wind magic.
And with a just a single glance through the pages, he comprehended all there was to 1-Star Wind Magic, and consequently…
〔Skill Acquired: Wind Magic [★]〕
‘There we go.
Thank god for [Spell Memorization].’
But as soon as he was about to try out a few spells, a faint sound came from the nearby window, causing his hand to stop on a page.
‘Already?’
Noct let out an exaggerated breath, closed the grimoire, and placed it on the bedside table.
Then he extinguished the nearby lamp, and pretended to sleep.
For several seconds, nothing happened.
Noct kept his eyes shut, trying to breathe evenly.
And after a while…
CLICK—!
Then the window began to open, and he could feel three unannounced presences coming into his room…
Exactly as planned.