Chapter 15- What I’m Here For

I sat in the gazebo by the tall bush acting as a wall, separating it from the other side of the rose garden. I enjoyed having some afternoon tea in the back garden of the right wing of the Academy near the boy’s dormitories. I let out a soft sigh, admiring the beautiful roses around me that are in full bloom. It was a perfect day to relax and enjoy the warm sun.

“Lady Alexis, you look quite lovely today.”

I giggled, “Thank you, Boy 1.”

“Let me refill your cup, my Lady.”

“How generous of you, Boy 3.” The blonde boy poured me a fresh cup of tea and happily drinked it. “Such a good tea on the sixth day of the week. I much enjoy it.”

“I’m almost done with your history assignment, Lady Alexis. Do I get praises?”

I reached across the table and touched his hand. “Of course, Boy 2. You are so smart and I’m so happy you are helping me.”

Boy 2 blushed. “Anything for you, my Lady!”

I snickered as five boys surrounded me. Boy 5 was giving me a massage while Boy 4 was fanning me. Men are so easy. I don’t really care about them, so there is no need for me to remember their names. I’m not here to make friends after all, I’m here on business.

I gently touched my necklace as I hummed. “More tea, Boy 3,” I ordered.

“Right away, Lady Alexis!” He gladly served me tea like a servant.

“How is my handy work, Lady Alexis?” asked Boy 5.

“Quite nice. I praise you for your technique. I can feel all the aches leaving my body.” I turned around and gave him a seductive gaze. “You have quite magical fingers, Boy 5.”

He instantly blushed and titled his head down, trying to hide his expression behind his brown bangs. “Lady Alexis, you are the light of my world. I’d do anything for you.”

I turned back to the table and drank my tea. “I’m so happy to hear that.” Too bad you won’t remember a thing once I’m done with you.

“Lady Alexis…”

I smirked and pretended I was still drinking tea. “Took you long enough.”

“Who may you be talking to, Lady Alexis?” questioned Boy 2.

“Quiet.” I activated the power of the Eye and commanded, “You five are to ignore my conversation and not interrupt.”

The boys around me stiffened as their eyes glowed pink for a second. “Yes, Lady Alexis.”

I smiled, “Good.”

The familiar voice spoke again. “My apologies for being late. I had to find an excuse to leave my Lady’s side.”

I couldn’t see my partner because they were hiding on the other side of the wall of greenery. It’s best to act like we don’t know each other so we don’t raise any suspicion. “So? Have you made contact with Alexandra?”

“I have seen her many times when walking by my Lady, but every time I signal to her, she doesn’t seem to notice. I don’t think she understands my hand gestures. She also seems to be preoccupied with my Lady’s bullying to notice me as well.”

I roughly placed my cup down and clicked my tongue. “Tch! She has the balls to run away from me and now she’s not meeting up with you? Guess I have to take it into my own hands after all.”

“What shall you do?”

I smirked, “What do you think I’m gonna do?”

“Please don’t ruin our efforts.”

“No worries. All I’m doing is getting rid of the trash,” I stated.

“Won’t that Reiré Norman girl notice what you’re after?”

“She already knows I’m gonna be looking for Alexandra. I was hoping you could get an explanation from her, but if she still refuses to see us, then I’ll have no choice but to get rid of her.”

“Then I’ll leave you to it.”

I grinned. “Let’s see how long they can hide. I’ll give Alexandra a week until I make my move. Until then, have you contacted her mother?”

“Unfortunately, she went into hiding. I figured this would happen, so I went to dispose of her, but she’s long gone.”

I frowned. “She must have known so she abandoned her daughter to go into hiding.”

“Not necessarily. Alexandra seemed to have gotten a letter from her mother about moving to a new residence.”

“Did you find out where that is?”

“I found the letter, but it said nothing about the location of her new home.”

I gritted my teeth as I began to feel frustrated. “This is why I hate commoners. They are so easy to escape, like a bunch of mice.”

“Shall we give up on her mother?”

I huffed, “No use going after her now. What about my uncle?”

“Lord Straut sincerely apologizes for his daughter’s behavior.”

“Apologies won’t get our mission accomplished.” I glared at my own reflection in the tea. “I am disgusted to call him and Alexandra family.”

“Please don’t speak ill about your mother’s family.”

I scoffed as I felt bitter in my heart. “Who cares about the dead. I will speak about her family however I want.”

I heard a rough sigh from the other side of the bush. “Whatever you say, Lady Alexis.”

I decided to change the topic away from my family. “So how’s your process of getting the Eyes?”

“The Eye of Pride is a bit hard to acquire. The castle is very guarded and I can’t get it without being caught. If I also stay out too long, my Lady will get suspicious.”

“Clovis only has his head stuck on candy and stuffed animals. Leonhardt’s will is too strong for me to control. The commoners seem to have an idea which part of the castle the Eye is located. I believe it’s in the heart of the castle right behind the throne room. I saw a dark room and in the center was a podium where the Eye of Pride was encased.”

“That’s quite a lot of information.”

I smirked. “Alexandra’s memories have been quite helpful. I do wonder how she was able to see it, though. A commoner like her can’t have visited the castle. Reiré also had some questionable memories.”

“Should they be of concern?”

I hummed in thought. “I don’t think so. Though I do find it funny how she thinks that avoiding my eyes would stop me from reading her mind. She’s quite the interesting girl.”

“She seems to be quite fond of my Lady. We can use that against her.”

“Ah yes.” I giggled. “I do remember that. How's the investigation going on the Eye of Envy?”

“No information as of now. There doesn’t seem to be any signs of it near my Lady.”

“Hmm… Maybe Reiré’s memories were wrong…”

“I’ll try to see what else I can find about the Eye of Envy around my Lady. I do have some news on the Eye of Wrath though.”

“Truly?”

“Yes. Apparently the Royal family used to have two sacred relics, but one was lost during the reconstruction of the Royal castle.”

“Sacred relics? So the Eyes…” I concluded.

“I believe so. I heard from the Church that the two Eyes were in fact used as a way to gain trust from the Royal Family. The Church believes that the Royal family still has both Eyes when in actuality they lost one of them.”

“So the Eye of Wrath was lost.”

“Yes.”

“When was the reconstruction of the castle?”

“It was many years ago. But rumor has it that the old Royal Castle used to stand in this very spot.”

I grinned. “Oh? Now that’s interesting…”

“Indeed it is.”

“I shall look into it, you just keep your act as a maid.”

“Understood.”

“Then the meeting ends here, return to your master before she gets suspicious of you.”

“Then I’ll be taking my leave. You have a wonderful day, Lady Alexis.”

When I heard the sound of crunching leaves slowly fading off into the distance, I stood up, ready to leave as well. But before that. “Boy’s line up.”

The five boys quickly lined up outside the gazebo, waiting for my commands. I couldn’t help but giggle at how obedient and simple these noble boys were.

“When I snap my fingers and leave your sight, you will have no recollection of being with me. If anyone asks about me, say that we are only acquaintances because we are fellow students attending Roseward Academy. Understand.”

Their eyes glowed and they nodded. “Yes, Lady Alexis.”

I grinned, “Good. I’ll see you boys around.” I snapped my fingers and walked away. I glanced back to see the five boys snapping out of their daze. They looked around in confusion like lost puppies. How adorable. I turned my attention back ahead of me to make sure I know where I’m stepping. I looked up at the blue sky and sighed, “It’s certainly a beautiful day. Let’s have some fun tomorrow.”

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I glanced at Reiré when I saw her walking by. She didn't seem to notice me as she entered her class with Rium following next to her. I smirked when Rium glanced at me with cold eyes that could make anyone quiver. I had a fun time breaking the dark beauty after stealing her man. I had quite liked the betrayed and heartbroken expression she had on her face. Ah, just remembering it makes me feel so good. I just love seeing stuck up girls break down before me like a crumbling tower. That’s the most fun when taking men away from noble girls.

Walking down the hallway, I caught sight of Alexandra who seemed to be having trouble with another student. I stood a little away, so they didn't notice me, but close enough that I could hear their conversation. And it wasn’t hard to listen when one of them spoke so loudly.

“Just how can you be so blind?!”

“I’m sorry, L-Lady Claudia. I’m so so sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin your uniform. It was an accident!”

“Your dumb apology isn’t going fix this, you rat!”

Alexandra hesitantly voiced, “I-It’s just a loose button…”

“Just a loose button?! I’ll show you loose!”

I watched in amusement as Claudia roughly pulled on Alexandra’s blazer, popping the buttons off her uniform. Alexandra yelped as her blazer was ruined, no longer being able to button up. Claudia then pushed Alexandra down onto the ground and laughed in triumph.

Alexandra whimpered as she tried to close her blazer, but it was no use as it flapped open, showing her white blouse beneath. She only sighed and picked up the fallen buttons and stuffed them into her pocket. She then stood up and dusted her black skirt. “Are you happy now?”

Quite the sharp tongue Alexandra has. I thought she would stay quiet in this situation. Usually talking back to the bully would get you more harsh treatment. I wonder what she’s thinking? I activated my Eye and listened in.

‘Good thing I know how to sow. Embroidery class sure comes in handy for these kinds of situations.’

She’s thinking quite positively. I’d assume she'd be angry with Claudia. She must be an easy going girl. Girl’s like her should be easy to control. Maybe I should try it? It would be fun to use Alexandra against Reiré. That commoner is more troublesome than Alexandra. For now she doesn’t seem to know about us. Alexandra must have not said a thing to her yet, or Alexandra just truly forgot about us.

“How come you aren’t groveling yet?! You should be begging me!” Claudia sternly voiced.

“I mean…” Alexandra shrugged as she voiced, “You already ruined my blazer. So wouldn’t that mean we’re even now? What’s the need to apologize when we’re already even?”

Claudia growled, “Don’t get smart with me, you filthy commoner! You don’t even deserve to wear that uniform! Being in the same uniform as you makes me want to puke!”

Alexandra only sighed. ‘Where is Reiré? At least she can handle Claudia. There’s no way I can tease my way out of this one. Claudia doesn’t have a soft spot for me like she does with Reiré.’

Oh? I just heard something amusing. So Claudia is also fond of Reiré… Quite the development. I never thought that a noble like Claudia who hates commoners could even like a commoner. If Reiré could change the views of someone like Claudia, then I should probably look into her more…

“We’re gonna be late for the first period if we don’t hurry, Cl- I mean Lady Claudia,” Alexandra said.

Claudia huffed as she crossed her arms. “I’ll let you off this time, but don’t think I will forgive you. I’ll make sure you are having a miserable time so you will drop out of this Academy!”

Alexandra forced out a smile. ‘I’m not a big fan of Claudia, but at least she’s cute when she’s angry. Maybe that’s why she still has a fanbase in the franchise? People like Reiré sure have weird tastes.’

I raised an eyebrow at Alexandra's thought process. That was not what you would think when getting threatened. Alexandra was just as mysterious as Reiré. Both their ways of thinking are different from those of others. They think as if they know everyone. Like they know what to expect.

I watched patiently as Claudia walked. This was a perfect time for me to question Alexandra now. I would love an explanation from that blonde-hair idiot as to what she’s doing, but I must remain calm.

That’s when Alexandra glanced my way and we made eye contact. Her annoyed expression quickly turned to a scared and worried look as she saw me. As I took a step towards her, Alexandra quickly scurried after Claudia. I didn’t give chase as I did decide to give her a week to come to us on her own.

The halls were pretty much empty as the first period classes were beginning. I won’t need to worry as I could just manipulate everyone’s memories. I can skip class as many times as I like. It’s not like I don’t know anything. I am a prodigy, a witch, a strong follower of our goddess. I can just listen to people’s thoughts for answers. No need to attend the Academy like a real student. Let's go to the library and do some research on the castle. Maybe I can formulate a plan to infiltrate the castle. It should be easy with my powers as long as everyone there was like Clovis and not Leonhardt.

Walking out of the main building, a security guard caught me skipping. I easily used my powers to erase myself from their memory and walked right past them. I chuckled as the guard acted confused as to who they were just speaking to. I just love messing with people. It would be easy if I just took over the entire Academy, but then my identity might get exposed. Using too much of my power at once will also give a leeway for the demon in the Eye. I don’t need myself getting controlled over. That would be a thorn in our plans, so I will be patient. If those commoners end up being too much to deal with, I’ll kill them. Easy as that. I just want to quickly finish what I came here for and return to the Empire.

Speaking of the Empire, I wonder when they will be coming. It should be soon, right? The secret guards… I smirked as I saw fire and blood in my eyes. A feeling of excitement bubbled in my chest as my body burned with anticipation. It will be near. I can already see it. The day where our goddess will be revived and grant our wish… It will be near.