The ballroom was alive with soft music and clinking glasses, but Serena stood apart, sipping tea on the far end of the balcony. Her eyes drifted across the gathering below — young nobles mingling in embroidered finery, their masks made of etiquette and ambition.
None of them noticed her.
And that was fine.
It was easier to observe in silence.
The etiquette classes had begun just days prior. Serena played her role well: quiet, obedient, demure — all the things her stepmother wanted from a "proper lady." She never raised her voice. She never argued.
She didn't have to anymore.
> System Status: Dormant.
Awaiting Trigger Event…
The silence between missions wasn't comforting. It was… sharp. Like the hush before a blade is drawn.
---
A gentle voice broke her thoughts.
"You always stand alone."
Serena turned. A young man stood beside her — tall, well-dressed, with a soft smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. His hair was black as ink, his gaze lazy but piercing.
"Pardon me?" she asked politely.
"I've noticed. You don't mingle much," he said, resting his hands on the railing beside hers. "But you're not shy. You're watching. Like a falcon among pigeons."
She narrowed her eyes slightly. "And what are you?"
He chuckled. "A curious soul. Nothing more."
> Ding.
System Alert: Caution. Unknown energy detected. Aura suppressed. Likelihood of another system user: 67%.
[Skill: Silent Core] is active. Your cultivation is hidden.
Serena's spine stiffened.
But she smiled instead. "Then perhaps you should be careful, curious souls often get eaten."
He laughed again, genuinely amused. "I like your wit, Lady Serena."
Her name sounded sharp on his tongue.
"I'm Cassian Ardent," he added, offering a shallow bow. "A visiting noble from the Southern Isles."
She returned the gesture with practiced grace. "A pleasure."
Inside, her thoughts churned.
Cassian.
That name wasn't on the guest list provided earlier. She remembered every detail of it. And yet here he was, as if he belonged.
---
Later that night, as Serena returned to her quarters, her system pulsed softly.
> Warning: Cassian Ardent is not recorded in regional nobility logs. Caution advised.
Host has been marked with Observation Thread.
Counteraction recommended. Shadow Step available for disengagement.
Her fingers curled into fists.
So, he was watching her.
Not as a noble.
Not as a man.
But as a predator.
---
She moved that night. Discreetly.
Through back corridors and silent stairwells, she slipped into the lower gardens — the same place where magic once bloomed in her childhood before her mother died and everything rotted.
> Activating: Shadow Step.
Presence concealed.
The air shifted. Her body blurred and reformed like a wisp of smoke.
She stood still for minutes… until she felt it.
A ripple in the air. Like something breathing behind her — but no one was there.
> Aura Clash Detected.
Threat Level: Moderate.
Fight Recommended: No. Opponent advantage 2:1. Suggest retreat.
So he was stronger.
But she had time.
She stepped back into the shadows, slipping behind a curtain of ivy, eyes narrowed.
This was only a warning.
And she heard it loud and clear.
Cassian Ardent wasn't just a noble.
He was a hunter.
And she… was his prey.
For now.
---