Taking a split-second gamble, Rosearia deliberately softened her grip on the sword.
The assassin seized the opportunity. He drove a heavy boot straight into her abdomen.
BOOM!
The impact sent Rosearia flying backward. Her spine slammed hard against a stone column, knocking the air straight out of her lungs.
"Rose!" Adrian’s roar echoed across the room.
The assassin charged again, raising a hidden dagger. Rosearia pushed herself up, blocking the downward strike with her sword, but she allowed the force to drive her down to one knee.
She could kill this man in half a second. She knew exactly which artery to pierce. But if she did, her lay-low plan was over.
So she deliberately slowed her reflexes.
The assassin’s dagger grazed down her upper arm, tearing her sleeve and drawing a sharp line of blood.
"Ah!" Rosearia gasped, letting out a sharp, pathetic cry.
"Enough!"
Adrian arrived like a localized storm. His heavy broadsword crashed down onto the assassin’s weapon with a force that shattered the blade into splinters.
CLANG!
"You dare touch her?" Adrian spat, his aura flaring with suffocating pressure. He kicked the assassin squarely in the chest, launching him back toward the center of the room.
Aldric stepped out from the shadows right behind the flying assassin, a lazy smile on his face. "Attacking the Crown Prince was foolish, my friend. But attacking Rose? That’s just bad planning."
Before the assassin could recover, Aldric moved like a phantom.
BOOM!
A burst of raw, dense mana slammed the attacker into the wall, knocking him instantly unconscious.
Across the hall, the remaining two assassins were swarmed and pinned by dozens of Imperial Knights.
"SECURE THE PERIMETER!" the Emperor roared from his throne, his face twisted in fury. "BRING THE SURVIVOR HERE!"
Two knights dragged the bleeding, unconscious assassin to the foot of the imperial dais, while another forced the last conscious attacker to his knees.
Emperor Rhysand descended the steps, his eyes cold enough to freeze fire. "Who sent you?"
The assassin sneered beneath his mask, blood leaking from his mouth. "You think you can rule forever, old man?"
Adrian stepped up beside his father, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. "Speak. Who ordered this hit?"
"You’ll never know," the man gasped.
Rosearia’s eyes narrowed as she noticed a faint tremor in the assassin’s jaw.
Poison cap in his tooth.
"Wait! Stop him—"
The man bit down violently. Dark, corrupted veins exploded across his neck and face within seconds. He convulsed once, gagged, and went completely limp on the marble floor.
"Tsk. A dead martyr," Aldric muttered, stepping up to the corpse. He flipped the assassin’s collar with the tip of his boot, revealing a small, pitch-black crest burned into the leather underneath. "Well, isn’t this lovely?"
Adrian leaned down, examining the crest. "I’ve never seen this emblem before. Do you recognize it, Aldric?"
Aldric’s cheerful expression vanished for a fraction of a second, replaced by a dark, knowing glint. "Never seen it in my life, Your Highness."
"You’re lying," Adrian said immediately.
"I am a Duke of the Empire," Aldric said, offering a mocking bow. "I would never lie to my beloved Crown Prince. At least, not in front of an audience."
Emperor Rhysand cut through their banter with a voice like grinding stones. "Silence! Tonight, an act of high treason was committed within these walls." His gaze swept over the trembling nobility. "The palace is locked down. Every house present will be investigated. No one leaves the capital without my express seal."
As the guards began herding the terrified guests out, Adrian turned back to Rosearia. His eyes immediately locked onto the blood soaking through the sleeve of her dress. His jaw clenched tight.
"You’re bleeding again."
"It’s just a scratch," Rosearia murmured, trying to sound feeble.
"You caught an arrow, threw yourself in front of a blade for Hazel, fought an assassin, and got cut," Adrian listed off, his tone laced with absolute frustration. "In what realm is that ’just a scratch’?"
"I am still alive," she pointed out weakly. "That counts for something."
"That is a terrifyingly low bar, Rose!"
Adrian stepped closer, carefully reaching out to inspect her arm, but the moment his fingers touched her skin, she flinched away. He pulled his hand back instantly, a look of raw guilt flashing across his eyes.
"Does it hurt?"
Rosearia looked at him, seeing the genuine panic in his expression. "A little," she admitted softly.
"We are getting you to a healer right now," Adrian commanded, leaving no room for debate.
Aldric strolled past them, whistling softly. "Look at you two. Domestic bliss amidst the blood and corpses."
"Aldric, I will have you thrown in the dungeons," Adrian snapped without looking at him.
"You love me too much for that," Aldric chuckled, though his eyes lingered sharply on Rosearia for a second longer before he turned and melted into the crowd.
Rosearia felt the exhaustion catching up to her — not physical fatigue, but the sheer mental strain of keeping up her charade. She had shown too much skill today. She had moved too fast, reacted too precisely. If she stayed here under Adrian’s intense scrutiny — and with the Empress watching her every move — her cover would be torn apart by morning.
I need an exit strategy. Right now.
Rosearia swayed on her feet, letting her eyelids flutter softly.
Adrian caught her instantly, his arms wrapping tightly around her waist before she could hit the floor. "Rose?!"
"I..." She let her voice drop to a breathless whisper. "I feel... so dizzy..."
"I’ve got you. Don’t move."
"I think... I’m going to pass out..."
"You’re not walking another step," Adrian said firmly, scooping her up into his arms.
Rosearia let her head fall against his chest, closing her eyes completely.
Perfect. Now I just pretend to be unconscious, get carried to a private room, and slip away into the night—
"Yield her to me."
Rosearia’s heart skipped a beat behind her closed eyelids.
Asmodeus.
Adrian stopped dead in his tracks, his grip on Rosearia tightening defensively. "She was injured in my defense, Lord Asmodeus. The palace healers will attend to her."
"Your palace healers are currently tending to dying knights and panicked royals," Asmodeus replied smoothly, his footsteps echoing on the marble as he approached. "And when her seal flares again — and it will — which of them can contain demon magic? She is my ward. Hand her over, Crown Prince."
The tension between the two men crackled like static electricity.
Finally, Adrian let out a sharp, frustrated breath. A muscle ticked in his jaw. He hated that Asmodeus was right.
"Take her back to the fortress. If she worsens, I will deal with you brutally"
"How terrifying," Asmodeus drawled without a shred of fear.
Carefully, Adrian transferred Rosearia into Asmodeus’s arms.
Rosearia kept her body completely limp, maintaining her slow, shallow breathing.
"This is fine...I guess," she rationalized internally. Asmodeus will take me back to the fortress. I’ll "wake up" later, act confused, and figure out my next move.
Asmodeus turned and began walking away, carrying her effortlessly down the quiet, dimly lit corridors of the palace, away from the chaos.
One corridor. Two corridors. Three corridors.
The sound of screaming and panicked guards faded into the distance. Rosearia began to mentally relax.
"Your breathing is far too rhythmic for an unconscious person," Asmodeus’s voice suddenly rumbled right beside her ear.
Rosearia’s internal alarm bells went off, but she forced herself not to react.
He’s testing me. Stay still.
Asmodeus kept walking, his stride smooth and unbroken. "Your heart rate hasn’t spiked, either," he continued casually. "And interestingly enough, the bleeding on your arm stopped roughly three minutes ago."
"Bluff," she told herself. Hold the act, Rose.
"I watched you catch the arrow," Asmodeus murmured, his voice dipping into a dangerous tone. "I watched you throw the Suncrest Princess out of harm’s way. And I watched you wield a longsword."
He paused in the middle of a deserted courtyard, moonlight bathing them both in silver light.
Asmodeus smiled — she could feel the curve of his lips against her skin. "You can drop the pathetic act now, Rose. Unless... you intend to play sleepy all the way back to my chambers?"
Silence stretched across the moonlit courtyard.
Slowly, Rosearia opened her eyes.
She didn’t look scared. She didn’t look faint. The timid, trembling girl from the ballroom was completely gone, replaced by a cold, sharp predator.
She stared straight up into Asmodeus’s dark, fathomless eyes. "How long have you known?" she asked, her voice dropping low.
Asmodeus’s grin widened, sharp and intoxicatingly dangerous.
"That..." he murmured, adjusting his hold on her as he resumed walking, "...is a secret you’ll have to earn."