Chapter 52: Prelims Day 3 (Part 6)

[...] - Malaise

[...] - Rose

[So....?] - Karen

[Don't say it.] - Rose

[You have a voice in your head? Like a "Use the Schwart's Duke" kind of voice?] - Karen

[I told you not to say it, and it's not like anyone else here even gets that reference!] - Rose

[I'm more concerned about this Plan than "imagined" voices in her brain, this can easily go wrong.] - Malaise

[At the risk of sounding smart, and trust me I know my weakness there, I agree with Mal... I... I don't want you to do it.] - Veronica

It had been several hours since my impromptu family reunion and after struggling to free myself from my clingy and protesting mother I'd let my family know that I WAS going to let my friends in on the plan, especially when they'd be implicated by knowing me regardless. My Grandmother, whether recognizing my willpower or the merits of my suggestion, agreed to inform them. Realizing that she was putting a lot of trust in people she had never met before solely on my recommendation was a sobering thought considering the stakes but I had already lied to my friends previously and I didn't know whether our relationship could weather another screw up like that.

Sitting my friends down I had let them know that what we talked about couldn't leave our little circle no matter what and that it was a national level secret. At which point Shade had left for a moment only to return with some kind of medium-sized machinery that she called a Solitude Sphere. Malaise, barely holding herself back, had nearly jumped on the returning shapeshifter in her excitement over what was apparently an extremely complicated and rare item. Used for clandestine meeting among high-level government officials this wasn't an item that most people even had access to let alone the ability to use so nonchalantly. The look on my face however had sobered her and she had behaved herself. Filing away the appearance of a super-rare, crazy expensive item into the growing list of mysterious things about Shade we all collectively agreed silently to ask her about it later.

What followed was an in-depth explanation of the plan to take down the suspected coup of the Prince as well as subduing his built-up forces. Finally finished catching them up with the serious bit I was then reminded by Malaise about my promise to explain to them all what I had hidden before this entire thing had started, Logic. Explaining my inner world, Logic and the various individual entities all calling my their Goddess hadn't taken long. Or at least it shouldn't have, obviously concerned about my lack of evidence to prove Logic and his ilk were real I didn't have to wait long for the inevitable teasing that followed.

Luckily, despite the snarky comments and an initial disbelief, I'd managed to convince the group of the existence of my Mind Palace with little difficulty. Which led to the current conversation.

Obviously deciding that voices in my head, real or imagined, were of secondary importance I'd spent the better part of the last hour fielding questions about the details of the upcoming mission. Many of which I'd never even considered asking about during my talk with my Grandparents, showing that despite my previous life's experience being taken into account I was far behind Malaise in intelligence and thinking on my feet. Even Veronica, usually the voice of impulse and taking action without thinking, had a troubled expression as she asked me to rethink my involvement.

[Even you Veronica?] - Rose

[She's only speaking the truth, this... plan, if revealed or expected beforehand could be turned around easily to serve the Prince's purposes by claiming that your Queen's retinue are attacking forces. I refuse to believe that this wasn't brought up during the planning phase and I'm baffled why they went through with it anyway. Or maybe...?] - Malaise

[What?] - Rose

[It's just a guess and I might be wrong but... I think... They might expect the Prince to try to pull something like that and are letting him do it on purpose...] - Malaise

[Huh? Wouldn't that destroy the people's good will?!? That'd be like throwing away any chance that our countries can cooperate later for no reason whatsoever! I refuse to believe that Momma and Papa signed off on that!] - Rose

[...hmm...] - Shade

[Now calm down we don't know if they.... you had something to input Shade?] - Malaise

[...I believe, that the spies... already know, on both sides... Plan... Makes no sense, unless expected backlash.] - Shade

Still reeling from the unexpected actions of our resident pervert Malaise outlined exactly what the biggest flaws of said plan were, absolutely laying into the entire foundation of it as an idea. Her arguments, while upsetting, were very logical and well thought out. A fact that Logic, who had apparently been listening in on us the entire time, asserted to me mentally. Splitting my focus between the two of them speaking both of us stopped immediately upon seeing our brainy foxgirl seemingly come to a startling conclusion, they were letting the Prince get away with his plan.

Angry at the suggestion that not only were they expecting such a horrible result but were actively counting on it I refused to believe that my parents would be a party to such a plan. It was incomprehensible that they'd do something like that... They had to... right?

[I... They can't... I-I refuse to believe that Momma and Papa would hurt so many people like that for no reason! They're not like those fakes!!!] - Rose

[F-Fakes?] - Veronica

[Austin...] - Karen

[N-No... I-I mean... I'm sorry I... I shouldn't have yelled like that.] - Rose

[Rose what do you mean by that when you said they weren't like those "Fakes"?] - Malaise

[...] - Karen

[I-I...] - Rose

Growing more and more agitated by the minute a slip of the tongue let out something I had never talked about, not since Karen. Covering my mouth at my mistake I tried to cover up what had happened with an apology only to flinch when the expected question came.

[T-That's horrible.] - Malaise

[...!] - Shade

[Dammit! I'd tear them a new one if I could get ahold of them!] - Veronica

[A-Austin Sauce...] - Karen

After letting slip something I'd never expected to think about again in such an awkward situation I felt compelled to start talking. Dredging up the past from a long dead identity, something that out of the people here only Karen knew the whole story about.

My past life's parents were, without a doubt, successful. Running a multi-million dollar corporation they had sent my sister and I to the most expensive and high quality schools. Luckily, or unluckily depending on who you asked, I had never really performed up to their standards in my schooling years. I'd been mediocre at best at nearly all subjects and only really applied myself in the arts which was unacceptable in their eyes.

If I'd been an only child they may have taken this as a invitation to double down and force me into shaping up whether I liked it or not but by this time my sister had been starting off her schooling career with a bang by placing within an advance placement class for young prodigies. Deciding that my education was a lost cause I'd been written off in their mind as they focused their efforts on training up their "star" child to fulfill the role they felt she was meant to play.

Now this might sound like a normal everyday rich family, prioritizing their skilled children and just letting the other's mooch off the family success. And it'd be right to think that if it was at anywhere near a normal level. The me at the time, completely oblivious that anything was wrong, had gone through my schooling and graduated middle of the road, with no real accomplishment to my name. My sister, however, received accolade on top of accolade and more rewards than anyone could possibly need.

The normal response from most children, even teenager's, at seeing their sibling, especially their younger one, succeeding so much more than anything they could possibly match would have been jealousy. I, however, was actually proud of how skilled my sister was in everything she did in life. Cheering her on in everything that she did, she, for her part, kept a level head and never let her apparently godlike abilities give her an overinflated ego. And I was only happy to stand on the sidelines and cheer for her.

At least until I left.

I don't remember what exactly it was that caused me to want to set out on my own at first but whatever it was soon ate up my entire focus. Only a year after I had graduated high school I left the house, determined to succeed without any help from dear Mom and Dad. And like an idiot I hadn't noticed the increasingly hollow eye's of my younger sister, if I had, if she had reached out, If only I'd been more aware. But I didn't, she hadn't and I left. I left her alone in a house with no one to turn to.

The next few years passed quickly, I got brought onto a medium-sized conglomerate and found myself moving into the field I had always wanted to be in. My life was looking up, or so I thought before it all came crashing down. I had been living out my fantasy life, continuing my drive to corporate success when I got a call. My sister, the one I looked up to, the one that I still to that day kept every newspaper article about, had tried to kill herself.

Shocked at the suddenness of the situation I'd immediately packed my things and heading back home only to find a cold and unwelcoming household during a time when warmth would have been more needed than anything else. My sister, drained from the experience, had smiled weakly when I arrived but the atmosphere in the house couldn't be hidden by so feeble a gesture. It was then that the thing that had broken my heart had happened. My sister, the strong and independent girl that I'd known since her birth, the one that had always kept a smile even as our overbearing parents had continued squeezing her for everything that she was worth, had lied.

Telling me that what had happened was her fault she'd tried to reassure me that everything at home was okay, that I didn't need to be worried about her. She wanted me to go out and live the life I wanted without worrying about family expectations. And like a fool I believed her. I left, again. Only this time I couldn't hide from the undeniable truth that I was only running away, just like last time.

Heading back with the intention of returning to my cushy job I found myself going over all of the hints I'd heard over the years that not everything was as it seemed in my household, the ones I'd ignored in favor of a pretty lie that everything was okay. And I was doing it again, I was going to leave her in that house with those... things, once more.

It was Karen who had given me the slap to the face that I needed, I'd been given vacation time to deal with family issues by my fancy corporate job but the only thing I'd ended up doing was retreat into my apartment and hide from reality. It was after I hadn't left my house in almost 2 weeks that the fateful knock on my door that broke me out of my indecision would come. After beating some sense into me and pushing me out the door Karen had breathed into me a newfound determination to finally stand up to the parents I so hated, the ones that I'd run away from rather than confront. The ones that I'd left my beloved sister with by telling myself it was for her own good.

Barging into my family mansion, I'd apparently not been expected, I guess my... "parents" had just expected me to continue hiding my head in the sand. Whatever the case was I walked in on them, in the middle of "punishing" my sister for her daring to besmirch the family name. Instead of trying to understand why she had done what she tried to do they were more worried about how this would "look" to their peers.

It was at this point that I finally had enough. Taking my sister's hand I had pulled her away from those monsters and gone off on them about all of their built up indiscretions, I'd told them that I was taking my little sister away from them and if they tried to stop me I'd ruin their entire empire if it was the last thing I did. In response, instead of getting angry at me, my "mom" had smiled. A creepy, inhuman smile that had chilled my bones as she informed me that my cushy job that I had thought I got under the merits of my own work had been a result of their name being dropped to the owners of that business and unless I handed back their "asset" they'd destroy my life and take her back anyway.

I then did something I never thought I had the strength to pull and I doubt I would have been able to do it if my beloved little sister hadn't been counting on me at the time. I told them to bring it on.

The look of sheer shock on their faces had been priceless as I left them behind, quitting my job as soon as I left. My fancy apartment, courtesy of my high-paying job, was far outside my means now that I no longer had said job and after quickly consolidating my money I'd downsized to a smaller 2 bedroom just big enough for the two of us.

The next few years passed in relative normalcy, I'd somehow gotten custody over my sister and after finally bringing her out of her shell we'd spent the last few years before I died in relative happiness with only the occasional hiccup in the form of my "parents" calling my to talk. To this day I'm still not sure if it was some form of guilt over what they'd done or a misguided attempt to pull me back to their side but they'd periodically send money for my sister's schooling and expenses and I'd even tried getting my sister to talk with them in a controlled setting in an attempt to let her confront her past. This had been where it left off though as I had been reincarnated before anything could happen.

[I know Kare Kare, you don't have to worry about me suddenly breaking down or anything so don't look at me like that.] - Rose

[I'm sorry for before... I didn't realize that something like that had happened in your past, if I had I-I would have...] - Malaise

[<Knock Knock> Delivery for Lady Rose de la Amchier! I have a letter hear with the Royal seal!] - ???

Seeming like she was about to say more unfortunately she was interrupted by a knock on the door and a loud announcement of a letter. About to tell the man to leave it at the front desk we all froze when we heard who the sender was.

[Prince Julias de la Abelis is the sender! Can I get your seal?] - ???