Chapter 26- Meeting with Lady Sophia

I walked out of the academic building with a bag of muffins. Everyone was already back at the dorms while I stayed behind to bake some treats for Lady Sophia and Alex. I hope they like bananas…

"Kyaa!"

I blinked. Kyaa? That sounds kind of familiar. Looking to the side of the building I see two familiar figures. One high up in the tree and another one right down below.

"What is Alex doing up in a tree?" I mumbled as I walked towards them.

As I got closer, I could hear Prince Leonhardt's words. "I'll catch you, just jump!"

"R-Really? You'll c-catch me?" Alex stuttered.

Prince Leonhardt smiled, "Yes, I'll catch you. I promise."

Ah, the classic heroine stuck in a tree. Let's see how this plays out.

Alex looked hesitant at first, but then She decided to trust the prince. She carefully positioned herself and jumped off the branch. Prince Leonhardt braced himself and caught the falling girl.

"See? Told you I'd catch you. I'd never let a pretty lady fall."

Alex's face turned bright red as she stared into Prince Leonhardt's dreamy eyes. "T-Thank you…"

I'd love to keep watching as this was a good development for the two, but we can't keep Lady Sophia waiting. Time to break this up. I clapped my hands as I voiced, "That was a nice catch, Prince Leonhardt. Expected of the chosen heir to the kingdom."

Alex panicked, "R-Reiré!?" She struggled in Prince Leonhardt's hold. "H-How long have you been standing there?"

I giggled at her embarrassed expression. "Just long enough for me to be entertained. So what were you two doing?"

Prince Leonhardt gently placed Alex down and blushed slightly. "There was a cat stuck in the tree and Lady Alexandra climbed up and tried to save it."

Ah, so Alex does act like Alexandra from time to time. What a dumb thing to do if you don't know how to climb back down. Even for a reincarnated. "So? Where's the cat?"

Alex sighed and grumbled angrily, "It jumped off on its own…"

"Pfft!" I quickly cleared my throat to hide my snicker. "Guess the cat was just taking a nap in the tree when you disturbed it."

"It was meowing, so I just assumed it was stuck. Thankfully, Prince Leo walked by or I would have been stuck up there for a while."

Prince Leonhardt smiled, "It was my first time seeing a girl stuck in a tree. It was quite amusing."

Wooo! Hello, development! Maybe I should just get Alex to act more like Alexandra? That could speed things up a bit.

"It was not amusing," Alex groaned. "I was so scared that I'd be stuck up there for the rest of the day."

"Well, at least you got down." I turned to the prince and bowed. "Thank you for helping Alex."

"It was a pleasure to help. I wasn't having a fun day as I had to entertain Lady Claudia, but seeing Lady Alexandra made me happy."

I felt a vein pop as a slight irritation entered my body. Didn't have fun because of Lady Claudia? I would kill just to have her obsess over me. You should be lucky I'm not a yandere or I would have slaughtered you by now, Prince Leonhardt. "Alex, we need to get going. Lady Sophia is waiting for us."

"Oh? Why is Lady Sophia looking for you?" asked the prince.

I gave him my fake smile. "She invited us for some tea." I held up the bag in my hands to prove my point. "I made muffins as thanks for inviting us."

"Eh? You should have told me!" Alex whined. "I would have helped make some."

I chuckled, "It's alright, Alex. If you had helped me, I wouldn't be able to see such a classic tree scene."

Prince Leonhardt gave me a puzzled look. "Tree scene?"

I ignored him and grabbed Alex, dragging her away. "It was good seeing you Prince Leonhardt, have a nice weekend!"

"Ah, wait!" Prince Leonhardt grabbed Alex's hand before I could take her far away.

"Prince Leo?"

Prince Leonhardt suddenly acted bashful as his cheeks turned to a brighter shade of red. Oh? What is this? Could it be?

"I was wondering if you're free this weekend, Lady Alexandra…"

Oh my Celestia, it is!

"I'm not sure…" Alex turned towards me as if I was gonna tell her she had plans. Hah! What plans? This was perfect!

"Alex is completely free this weekend," I answered.

Alex turned back to Prince Leonhardt. "So it seems…"

"Would you be willing to go have lunch tomorrow with me in the city?" he asked.

"..." Alex was silent for a full minute before her face turned red. "Eh? Lunch? Like… just the two of us?"

Prince Leonhardt turned slightly disappointed when he forced himself to say, "If it's uncomfortable for you, you can… bring a friend…"

They both glanced at me. Oh no. Nuh-uh. No way. No way am I becoming the third wheel. "Sorry, I have something else planned on the weekends. Alex, you should just accept his offer."

"Then… I-I guess it'll just be the two of us."

Prince Leonhardt's instantly brightened up. "Then I'll pick you up in front of the girl's dorm. Say… one o'clock?"

Alex smiled, "That sounds perfect."

"I'll see you then, my princess." Prince Leonhardt gently caressed a few strands of Alex's hair and kissed it.

Alex's face turned bright red as Prince Leonhardt walked away with a giant smile on his face. My goodness, where is my popcorn?! That was such a beautiful scene!

I didn't think their relationship would be progressing this fast all of a sudden. "Good job, Alex. With how fast things are going, Prince Leonhardt will be smitten by you in no time… Alex?"

I expected her to squeal or something, but Alex hadn't made a peep. I looked at her to see her pale complexion. Wasn't it red a moment ago? Why does she look like she just saw a ghost?

Following her line of sight, I caught Lady Claudia glaring at us from behind another tree further down. Ah, so that's why. She must have seen what happened. I smiled and waved my hand at her. Lady Claudia seemed to have realized that she had been found so she quickly walked away but still gave us the stink eye before completely leaving.

Hmm? What was that just now? I thought I saw some kind of dark shadow following behind Lady Claudia's feet. It was mist like… kind of reminded me of a ghost. I shivered in fright and decided that my eyes were just playing tricks on me.

Alex groaned and hung her head in her hands. "I forgot…"

"Forgot what?" I asked.

"I remembered hearing Lady Claudia gloating about going on a date with Prince Leonhardt this weekend."

"Ah… So in other words, Prince Leonhardt used you to get out of his date with Lady Claudia. I was wondering why your relationship with him was progressing so fast. I for sure thought it was because of plot reasons, but it was Prince Leonhardt's avoiding Lady Claudia reasons."

"Reiré?" Alex looked at me with her puppy dog eyes.

Oh no.

She tucked out her bottom lip and fluttered her eyelashes as her eyes pleaded out to me. I must stay strong and refuse! "No."

"Please, Reiré," Alex whimpered.

"I'm not becoming a third wheel."

"But Lady Claudia might show up. Don't you want to see her on the weekends?"

Ugh. She sure knows how to play her cards. But I do want to see Lady Claudia in her casual clothing rather than our school uniform. Oh, fudge. "Fine, but I'll come in secret instead."

"So like… you're gonna stalk us?"

"I prefer the phrase 'watching over you.' And it could be some good entertainment. This has been a stressful week."

Alex smiled, "Cool. I feel much better knowing you'll be somewhere nearby."

"Now, let's hurry and go meet Lady Sophia."

I guided Alex over to the girls' dorms for juniors, the building with the blue rose. We made our way up to the third floor where it was quieter. I stopped in front of a white door and gently knocked on the door.

I stepped back when I heard footsteps on the other side. Seconds later, the door opened to present a lovely lady with her light brown hair tied in a bun. It was Lady Sophia's maid. I met her last time I came here. "Greetings, Miss Bethany. I am here to see Lady Sophia."

"Yes, Lady Sophia has been expecting you. You may enter." Miss Bethany stepped aside and invited us inside the luxurious room.

Lady Sophia was sitting on the sofa with tea prepared already. I pushed Alex forward, indicating to her to sit down across from Lady Sophia. She was hesitant to sit down first without me but went anyway. I turned to Miss Bethany and handed her the bag of muffins in my hand.

"I made muffins to go with the tea. Could you prepare them for us?"

The maid bowed and took the bag from my hand. "Of course, Lady Reiré."

I smiled, "I also made enough for you too, so please try some and tell me what you think."

"You are too kind, Lady Reiré. Thank you. I'll make sure to give you my feedback once you are done with your business with Lady Sophia."

"It's my pleasure." I bowed and went to sit next to the nervous Alex across from Lady Sophia.

Once we settled ourselves, Miss Bethany set another cup of tea for Alex as I'm sure she wasn't expecting someone else. She then placed down three sets of fancy plates with my homemade banana muffins.

"Lady Sophia, Lady Reiré have made these muffins to go with the tea," informed Miss Bethany.

"My! How delightful they look."

I smiled. "I hope they are to your taste."

"I'm sure they are scrumptious, Reiré. So… Why is Alexandra here?" Lady Sophia asked as she picked up a muffin to examine.

"She'll also be a part of this conversation. She already knows about your stalker team, so it's not a secret for her," I answered and picked up the tea to take a sip.

"I'd appreciate it if you stop calling my investigators, stalkers, Reiré," she voiced. Lady Sophia then took a bite out of the treat and hummed, "Is this banana?"

"Yes," I replied. "Is it not to your liking?"

"No, this is delicious," she said. Then getting back on topic, Lady Sophia questioned, "And how will I know that Alexandra wouldn't go telling everyone about my secret?"

"I'll make sure to not say a word, Lady Sophia. I promise. I'll even pledge my name to Celestia," Alex said as she raised her hand, ready to pledge.

Pledging to the Goddess was almost like selling your soul to Pandora. It means your life will be in the Goddess's hands if you were to break your words. No one would be dumb enough to give their name away unless they were confident. This is why, during trials before the King, both parties must pledge their name to Celestia for telling only the truth. The citizens only pledge their names if it was a serious matter if it involved life or death. I don't know if anyone got punished if they broke their pledge, so it's currently just superstition. There have been records of how someone went missing after breaking their word to Celestia, but no one could confirm if that person got Celestia's wrath. Most people were just careful on what they should pledge for in case there was divine punishment by their Goddess.

Lady Sophia shook her head. "There is no need to pledge, Alexandra. If Reiré trusts you, then I shall trust you too."

Alex let out a breath of relief as she dropped her hand. "Thank goodness…"

I kind of want to see Alex pledge to Celestia and then have her break the pledge, so I can find out if the superstition was true or not. If it was true, I'm sorry I got your life in danger, Alex, but on the bright side, we know that Celestia was actually watching us so we can beg for her mercy. If it was not true, well then Celestia can't intervene with the living then.

"So back to the topic of Lady Alexis," Lady Sophia continued. "I've got some new information on her."

"What have you found?" I asked.

"She seems to be using some kind of witchcraft."

Both Alex and I froze.

"Witchcraft?" I repeated.

Lady Sophia nodded. "Sounds absurd, but that's what the report says. Apparently, she had been using some kind of hypnosis or mind control powers. Most of the male students are under her control. When I confronted some of her minions, they would act innocent or act as if they didn't know Lady Alexis."

Nothing new there, but most of the male students are in her hands. Guess her powers are less effective against females? Kinda reminds of the pocketmon Charm ability which only works on the opposite sex.

"Anything else?" Alex questioned.

"She has also been researching the academy and questioning the teachers about the history of it."

"The history of it? Of Roseward Academy?" I asked.

Lady Sophia nodded. "She seems to be looking for something."

Both Alex and I knew that. She was looking for the Eyes. But wasn't she trying to find out how to infiltrate the castle to steal the Eye of Pride? Why would she want to know more about Rosward Academy's past? It didn't make sense.

"So I decided to investigate our academy as well to see what she's trying to find out," announced Lady Sophia. "Before Roseward Academy, the Royal Castle used to be stationed here years ago."

Alex's eyes widened. "Really? As in, the King and Queen used to live here?!"

Lady Sophia nodded. "There was a terrible storm one day that destroyed the castle. Everyone had to evacuate. It was in terrible condition that they had to rebuild the castle in another area. Rumor has it that the castle's dungeon that housed the prisoners is still below this school, but the entrance was never found."

I shivered at the thought of how many people died in that dungeon if no one tried to save them during the storm. Oh my god, this place might as well be haunted. Why did they decide to build a school on top of the old castle's dungeon? I'm gonna have nightmares now.

"Reiré, you look a bit pale. Are you alright?" Lady Sophia asked me.

Alex chuckled, "Don't mind her. She's afraid of ghosts."

Lady Sophia smirked. "Oh? Afraid of ghosts? Never thought you'd be afraid of such things."

I glare at her. "Don't tease me. They are some scary things, okay? Even more so since I can't punch them to save my life."

Alex giggled, "Other than Reiré's fear of ghosts. Do you think Lady Alexis is trying to see if the castle's dungeon under the academy is true?"

Lady Sophia shrugged. "I'm not so sure. If that's her motive, why look into the dungeon under the academy. There's no abandoned treasure down there, not that I heard of. I can't think of a good enough reason as to why she would want to see if that rumor was true or not."

Alex and I glanced at each other with a stern gaze. We were both probably thinking the same thing. There's a chance that an Eye might be buried below this academy. I would assume it's the Eye of Envy, otherwise, how else did the Witch of Envy come in contact with Lady Claudia.

"One more thing," Lady Sophia continued. "One of my people also caught Lady Alexis leaving the academy grounds one night. They followed her and found that she was meeting up with someone in the town. Once Lady Alexis left, they tried to pursue the other party to see who it was, but lost sight of them."

"So Lady Alexis had a partner in crime," I muttered.

"When did this happen?" Alex asked.

"I believe it was last weekend on the sixth day," answered the older girl.

"Do you think she will meet with that person again?" I voiced.

"I'm not certain. We tried to see if she would meet up with this mysterious person again, but we kept losing sight of Lady Alexis after she left the main academic building. I believe she had realized that she had been followed. I'm not sure how long until Lady Alexis learns of my secret investigators."

The worst part would be if she caught one and made it into one of her minions. It would be bad to have a rat in Lady Sophia's team. "Can you describe what the other party looked like?"

Lady Sophia shook her head. "They said the other party was covered in a dark hooded cloak, so they couldn't see their face, what they wore, or their gender."

Alex sighed, "Then it could be anyone."

"This was a bigger problem than I first thought. I might have to pull my investigators off of her before she noticed that it was I who had been placing my nose in her business."

I smiled. "That's a smart thing to do. I don't want to put you or any of your people in harm's way. Thank you for your help."

"It was a pleasure doing business with you. I assume you knew what Lady Alexis was capable of before you came to me. You don't sound so shocked from the information I told you."

"I knew of her powers beforehand because of what happened with Lord Raphael. What I didn't know was that she was researching Roseward academy and had a partner."

"...So is Lady Alexis a witch? Someone who sold their soul to Pandora?"

"Not sure. Maybe," I replied.

"We do know that she can use powers like the Witch of Lust," Alex informed.

"Witch of Lust…" Lady Sophia nodded. "Her manipulative powers make sense then. Have you seen a goat familiar around her?"

Alex and I blink at her question. Then we both shook our heads. It certainly sounds very witch-like to have a familiar, but wouldn't a cat or a raven make more sense than a goat?

"I thought it might be similar to the seven sisters in the Witches of the Seven Deadly Sins lore. Each sister had a familiar that corresponds with the Deadly Sins," said Lady Sophia.

"Wait, I never heard of the sisters having familiars," Alex voiced.

"Really? The lore said when the seven sisters sold their souls to Pandora, they were given a pendant that contained a familiar. The familiars are what gives the sisters control over the Seven Deadly Sins' powers."

"That's a bit different from the lore that both Alex and I know of," I said.

"There are many versions to this lore, Reiré. But the one I know of had familiars in it. There was a lion, a snake, a bear, a goat, a pig, a fox, and a wolf."

Alex and I looked at each other, realizing that the familiars were actually the spirits we read about in the library. Then most likely the pendants were the Eyes. Man, this lore just keeps on going, doesn't it? I wonder what else we are missing?

"Thank you for everything, Lady Sophia," I said.

She smiled. "We had a deal, so of course I'd do my part."

"We will be leaving then." I drank the rest of the tea left in the cup and stood up. "Don't want to take up any more of your evening."

Alex quickly stuffed her face with the banana muffins and stood up, bowing.

"Please be careful going forward. I don't know what you two have gotten yourself into, but do call on me if you need any help," Lady Sophia offered. "You may be commoners and I may be a duke's daughter, but we are friends first."

I grinned and bowed. "I'll take you up on that offer."

Alex and I left Lady Sophia's room and made our way down the hallway.

"That was quite eventful," Alex voiced. "We learned some new stuff that is helpful."

I agreed, "Indeed. We need to figure out who Lady Alexis is meeting up with and we should also find a way down to the dungeon below Roseward Academy as well."

"You believe in that?"

I shivered at the thought. "I want to think it's just a rumor, but if this place was once a castle, there might be an Eye right below us. In the game, you mentioned that the Eye of Pride was said to be the Royal family's heirloom, passed down from generation to generation. It wouldn't be strange if they had more than one before ending up losing one to a collapsing building."

"I guess that's true, but the dungeon must be filled in with dirt or something to support the Academy that's built on top. I doubt there's actually a way down."

"We can't roll that possibility out though. It would be worse if Lady Alexis discovered another Eye."

Alex huffed in annoyance. "Why does she want the Eyes anyway? She can't actually want to summon Pandora, does she?"

I shrugged. "Maybe she's just one of those power-hungry types? Asking Pandora to give her the power to rule the world or something." Lady Alexis never stated her reason for wanting to find the Eyes. All I know is that she wants them and I doubt she's using them for something good.

"This is not the Fight for Love and Acceptance I signed up for," Alex frowned.

I nodded. "It's way too fantasy-based. It's as if the romance genre has taken a back seat and the supernatural took over."

"Actually, I think the original Fight for Love and Acceptance was a fantasy story," Alex mentioned.

"Eh? Excuse me, what?" Original? What, original?

"Yeah, I read somewhere online that the author planned for the story to be fantasy based with magic and such, but because the trend was romance at the time, the game developers wanted the story to be rewritten to what the audience would like. And that's how the otome game Fight for Love and Acceptance came to be," she explained. "It was a big hit."

"So the light novel version is closer to what the author had envisioned for the story and the otome game is like the rewritten version…"

Alex nodded. "I guess so. I'm not a big light novel reader, so it's reasonable that I never heard of it. Oh, but I do know about the manga."

"Oh, I also know about the manga, but wasn't it dropped? It only had like three chapters. Such a waste."

"I know, right? The art style was just like the game and I was enjoying it, too bad it didn't continue."

I sighed, "Well, in any case. From what we are experiencing, I guess we can also add that this world might be based more around the original context of Fight for Love and Acceptance." Maybe I was also part of the original Fight for Love and Acceptance, but was taken out during the revisions… It could explain my existence in Roseward Academy…"

"The story was rewritten, so our knowledge is limited to the original. I'm not sure how much has been changed," said Alex.

"All we can do now is interact and discover," I voiced. "For now, let's turn in for the evening. You have a big day tomorrow, after all."

Alex sighed, "Right, my so-called date with Prince Leonhardt. I wonder if this event will be the same as the date in the game, though it's happening a lot earlier than expected."

"Precisely, a month early to be exact, if going by the novel," I stated.

"Sounds about right for the game too."

I giggled. "Ah! I can't wait to see how it plays out. Maybe I should invent some popcorn for myself?"

Alex groaned. "You're using me as your entertainment?"

"Hey? What else am I supposed to do when following you around? Might as well enjoy this like a live movie, right? Besides, don't tell me you wouldn't do the same if our roles were reversed."

Alex grumbled, "Yeah, whatever…"

I only smiled. Tomorrow could also be a good stress reliever for me too. If Lady Claudia shows up as Alex predicted, it's a good chance to refuel my Claudium. Ah, I can't wait!