The walk was too quiet.
Not the awkward kind of quiet, no. That would've been easier to handle. Stammered words, stolen glances, perhaps a few threats thrown in for spice.
But this silence?
It was intentional.
Like every soldier and servant knew not to speak when the Commander walked.
Like every wall was listening.
Like every footstep echoed in a place that had already seen too many betrayals.
Kael walked beside me, not behind.
A subtle, deliberate choice.
Not holding my arm, not tugging me forward. Just… there. Close enough to breathe the same air.
I still felt the echo of his fingers brushing mine when he'd helped me down the stone steps earlier. It meant nothing. Probably. Maybe. I couldn't stop thinking about it.
[SYSTEM 707: Suppressing giddy noise… Suppressed.]
The hallway opened into a grand hall. More ceremonial than practical, with high-arched ceilings and banners fluttering in a stale breeze. Everything smelled like dust, rust, and power.
And at the end, seated on a raised platform flanked by armored guards…
Was the Queen.
She was young, unexpectedly so. With sharp eyes and a smile that didn't quite reach them. Her crown sat lopsided, tilted like a challenge.
"Commander Kael," she drawled, voice like honey cut with vinegar. "You've brought me a gift?"
Your fingers curled instinctively.
"Not a gift," Kael said coolly. "A survivor."
The Queen's eyes raked over me, slow and calculating. "Is that what we're calling the pretty ones these days?"
I didn't flinch. (Not on the outside.)
She laughed. "Feisty."
[SYSTEM 707: Host, I advise against kicking her in the teeth.]
"I didn't say anything."
[SYSTEM 707: I can feel you considering it.]
The Queen leaned forward. "What do you know about the rebels?"
I shrugged. "That they're dead."
Kael's eyes flicked to me. Warning or amusement? You couldn't tell.
"And what do you know about me?" she asked.
I gave her my best deadpan. "That you like dramatic entrances and weaker people to step on."
Her smile curled sharper.
Kael… didn't interrupt.
After that, it was politics.
Thinly veiled threats, vague accusations, dancing around words like "loyalty" and "value" and "you're expendable but mildly interesting." I said very little, and Kael said less.
Eventually, she dismissed us both, ordering a "room" to be prepared for me. One likely lined with hidden eyes.
As Kael turned to leave, the Queen added lazily:
"Careful, Commander. That one has teeth."
Kael's smirk was subtle.
"He's not the only one."
Mission Briefing: Chaos Included
The "room" was more like a glorified cell with curtains. But at least it had a window and a bed. And Kael hadn't ordered my wrists to be tied again, which was… unsettling. Or thoughtful. Or both.
I sat on the edge of the bed, rubbing my temple.
And then finally
[SYSTEM 707: INITIATING MISSION INTERFACE.]
A flicker of light pulsed at the edge of your vision. Blue, glitchy, and extra smug today.
Welcome, Host!
Congrats on not dying (again) in your first audience with royalty.
Now: It's time to do something USEFUL.
"Rude," you muttered.
Mission [W1-M1]: Thread of the Undercourt
Objective: Locate the rebel informant who survived the last purge.
Status: Unknown. Identity: Hidden. Location: Somewhere in the palace.
Time Limit: 4 days.
Penalty for Failure: Death. (Yours. And maybe Kael's, if he keeps looking at you like that.)
Reward (if successful):
– +1 Skill Retention Token (allows carryover)
– +1 Object Retention Ticket
– Updated Access to World Secrets
– A mysterious… bonus?
[SYSTEM 707: Also, if you flirt during this mission, I will judge you.]
"And if it helps the mission?"
[SYSTEM 707: ...Carry on, seductress.]
I leaned back, eyeing the glitchy mission screen as it flickered, then disappeared.
Four days to find someone who shouldn't exist.
Four days in a palace where the walls watch me sleep. Maybe.
And Kael… is somewhere in this palace too.
I don't know if he's my enemy. Or my executioner. Or something more complicated.
But I do know one thing.
I'm not going down without a fight.
Not in this life. Not again.
Interrogation, with a Side of Proximity
Yours truly, system 707 :)
I had just started mentally mapping the palace.
Corridors curved like snakes. Servants moved like whispers. And that guard who gave me the side-eye when I passed earlier? Definitely clocking me for something.
So I decided to explore. Innocently, of course. No mischief involved.
That's when Kael found me.
Or rather cornered me.
I had barely turned into one of the quieter passageways near the eastern wing when a strong hand snatched my wrist, pinned it to the wall and slammed my back gently but firmly against the cold stone.
I didn't even have time to yelp. Just a sharp inhale.
He was close.
Too close.
Our lips were an inch apart. His forearm pressed across your chest. Not quite restraining, not quite letting you go. And his eyes?
Dark. Unreadable. Hungry.
Wait, hungry?
"Planning something?" Kael asked, voice low.
"I was walking," I said coolly, my heart betraying my calm by hammering like a traitor in my chest.
His head tilted, gaze flicking to my mouth for just a second too long.
"Is that what you call it?"
"Do you always stalk your prisoners like this?"
Kael's smirk twitched. "Only the suspicious ones."
"Ah," you said. "So I make you suspicious."
He leaned in. "You make me... curious."
[SYSTEM 707: HOST, DO. NOT. FALL. FOR. THIS.]
[SYSTEM 707: …Actually, you know what, this might be relevant to the mission. Carry on.]
"That's cute," you whispered, voice dry. "But I don't kiss people who put chains on me."
His eyes narrowed. "Then what do you do to them?"
"…Depends on how fast they untie me after."
That did it.
Kael stepped even closer, until his breath touched my jaw. He wasn't smiling now. He looked… tense. Conflicted? Like something primal just beneath the surface wanted to break free and he was holding it back by a thread.
Then, his hand moved. Slowly. Deliberately.
Not to my throat. Not to my waist.
But to my chin, his fingers tilting my face upward. Forcing me to meet his gaze.
"You're not what you pretend to be," he said softly.
"And you're not just a Commander," I shot back.
His silence was its own answer.
He finally pulled back, releasing me like I'd burned him.
I didn't move. Couldn't. The imprint of his body is still ghosted over mine.
"Be careful, darling," Kael murmured, already turning. "This palace eats the clever ones first."
Then he was gone.
Leaving behind nothing but his scent and the weight of his stare.
[SYSTEM 707: WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!]
"Interrogation," I muttered, cheeks warm.
[SYSTEM 707: INTERROGATION MY MOTHERBOARD—]
*****
[ No one's POV ]
Somewhere, someone in the shadows was watching. Again.
A figure stepped back into the dark, unseen.
Their breath hitched.
Their fists clenched.
And a single thought bloomed like fire in their chest:
"You looked at him the way you should've looked at me."