The Prey (6)

All the guests turned to our direction, finding it strange Ethan wasn't at his own event. Was I supposed to be thankful that I was used to the attention? I pretended I couldn't hear the gossip filling my ears as I accepted Alex's hand. Accidentally tripping in between, landing in his chest from the lack of sleep. My body had never stayed up for the entire night before, forced to sleep at a certain time by Luke.

"I need a spare room for thirty minutes," I whispered into Alex's ear.

"We can use the spare room after we greet everyone," he noticed my drowsy eyes.

I nodded my head, trying to maintain my elegant posture, walking towards the mansion. It was harder than I thought it would be, almost tripping over an uneven cobbled pathway. Halfway on the path to greet Haruka, my heel snapped from being dragged on the floor rather than properly lifting my foot. I began to wobble from the balance being off, falling towards the ground. Thankfully, Alex caught my fall, instantly noticing my broken shoes.

He sighed as pulled out a new pair of beautiful shoes, the second backup. Like before, I waited for him to place my new shoes on me, watching him dispose of the broken shoes into his inventory. Unfortunately, the more beautiful the clothes and shoes appeared, the harder they were to wear. I gave up changing on my own years ago, struggling to tie the complex ribbons, always messing up in creating the perfect bows.

This was why I loved the simple clothes and shoes from the third district. Most of the decorations were painted onto the clothes, ribbons already tied in advance if they existed. If there were buttons, most of them weren't hidden, making it easier to find. It didn't make sense how the designs made everything more inconvenient when this was supposed to be the futuristic district. I suspected that everyone else also used servants to help them change.

"After we greet Haruka, we can request to use the spare room immediately," Alex changed his plans.

Alex offered me his arm, supporting me in walking. I was struggling to hold back my yawns, finding my vision getting blurrier with every passing second. My head started to throb as I desperately wished for more sleep. Maybe I should have sneaked some blankets and pillows into my inventory. It was a pity this body was super weak, being affected by the tiniest changes. My legs became weak as my hopes increased from almost touching the other end of the light.

"I tried my best," I felt my legs collapsing.

"I'll take care of everything, catch up on your sleep," Alex watched me struggle to stay awake.

Before I could respond, my world turned into black, quickly becoming unconscious. I desperately needed to restore my health, forgetting I was pushing myself by running away from the hunter. If this happened during the hunt, I would have died from my carelessness. I was thankful it happened now rather than later, making me more careful in managing my condition. Manipulating my mana, placing them towards the areas my body needed more support.

When I opened my eyes again, I was surprised to find myself inside the ballroom. Didn't Alex say I would be able to rest inside one of the spare rooms? Instead, I found my head resting on his shoulder, being held in one of his arms. Although I was impressed by his strength, my focus leaned towards how I landed here, whispering into his ear, "what happened?"

"I couldn't contact Haruka. He seems to be busy," Alex was equally frustrated.

"You can let me down. How much time passed?" I wondered.

"Around three hours," he placed me down.

"Haruka was busy for three whole hours? He couldn't send a single message when all he had to do was to greet guests?" I was in disbelief.

"He didn't check his marble even once. His focus was entirely on the guests. Charles gave up on him a long time ago," Ethan angrily joined us.

I was stunned, knowing some aspects of being the main host was considered to be easier than being a sub-host. This was how Haruka was increasing our hatred for him. Sneaking a peek at Alex, he seemed to be an excellent candidate in joining our group chat. Most of the content in the chat didn't mention Luke or the documents we managed to destroy. Instead, it revolved around getting our revenge.

"What is Charles doing right now?" I opened my screen.

"Charles is swarmed with the guests Haruka sent towards him. He's fuming inside the group chat," Ethan showed me the history of messages.

"Excuse me, are you one of the sub-hosts? Haruka said I could talk to you instead," a guest interrupted us.

"Of course, I am one of the sub-hosts, what do you need from us?" Ethan brightly smiled.

"A few members of my fraction wanted to ask you some questions. Can you come this way?" The guest took Ethan away from us.

"Is this what a major fraction leader is usually like?" I was disappointed.

"All of the major fraction leaders this year are particular," Alex insulted them.

"Rika, you have to hear about this," Miliana ran to join us.

"What happened?" I lowered my voice.

"The ballroom is filled with rumors about you and Alex, in a romantic sense," she whispered into my ear.