When the plot-skips players into the game world

"...Hmm?"

Yulia, who was eavesdropping outside the door, suddenly paused.

The door to the princess's chamber was quite thick, which made it hard for her to hear clearly.

However, she thought she faintly heard...

"...shall I accompany you in killing someone?"

Huh?

What is Brother talking about?

Confused, Yulia lifted her head and exchanged a glance with Lily.

Their eyes quickly communicated.

——Did I hear wrong?

——No, but it doesn't matter.

Lily nodded slightly, then shook her head and gestured with her finger to her lips, signaling silence.

Yulia nodded and pressed her ear against the door once more.

"What, what's going on?"

David, standing upright with his arms folded at the side, noticed the sudden change in expression of the two girls and immediately became curious about the contents of the conversation inside the room.

But Father said, knights should not engage in acts of theft.

Whether stealing money, objects, eavesdropping, or kidnapping is not allowed...

...but I'm really curious!

What exactly are they talking about inside, and why did Yulia's expression become so complex?

David's heart itched with eagerness.

Although he couldn't listen in, asking someone who did shouldn't be a problem, right?

"What exactly is Mr. Aiwass saying?"

"Knight" whispered, lowering his voice.

However, Yulia paid no heed to him, as if she hadn't heard him speak at all.

Lily, on the other hand, noticed his expression and considerately took half a step back, nonchalantly offering him a spot.

But the knight hesitated for just a moment, then firmly shook his head, bravely and decisively resisting the temptation.

——Although he regretted it immediately after refusing, David was still proud of himself for daring to refuse in that instant.

...That being said, he became even more curious.

And while David was still struggling at the doorway, a cry of surprise came from inside the room.

For Isabel finally put down her paintbrush and turned around to see Aiwass.

She almost lost her footing and sat back down in shock—

Aiwass's wheelchair was positioned desolately far away.

And wrapped around Aiwass, who stood behind her, were strands of black smoke.

They were not the black smoke of something burning; rather, they looked like the negative color of the white frost emitted by ice blocks.

This smoke seemed to have its own consciousness, and it flaunted something—turning into energy-formed black serpents, coiling around Aiwass, emerging from his collar and winding up to the back of Aiwass's head, lifting his strands of hair.

Below Aiwass's figure, his shadow boiled like a pot of soup, bubbling and frothing as if something was about to form but then shattered again.

Seeing this sight, Isabel's first reaction was to startle in fright.

It wasn't out of concern that Aiwass might harm her... but rather, that he might be controlled by some demon, having his mind taken away.

But quickly, she realized. This was Aiwass showing her his secret.

"Since you, Isabel, are planning to reveal your secrets to me," Aiwass said softly, lips curling slightly, "allow me to show you one of my secrets. And with that, we are even."

His tone was completely the same as usual, and yet, for some reason... Isabel felt an eerie vibe in his words.

As if in sync with Aiwass's words, a shadow crept out from his sleeve like a black serpent, subtly coiling around Isabel's slender, fair neck, slightly lifting her head as if hooking her chin with a finger.

"Tch."

Aiwass appeared slightly discontent as he gently slapped his shadow, which then promptly retracted.

Isabel had her epiphany at that moment.

Could it be...

Aiwass was "Miss Aleister"?

——Her guess was indeed correct; Aiwass was Aleister!

In an instant, various pieces of information converged in her mind. All the strange things suddenly made sense.

No wonder, while she had been painting Aiwass's portrait earlier, she felt the evening glow suited him so well.

That intense red-purple hue, fiery like the sunset, was a true reflection of Aiwass's inner self. Discover exclusive content at empire

He was born with the dual paths of Dedication and Transcendence, and he was also a knight possessed by a Shadow Demon... and there was never a "Miss Aleister" in this world!

At this realization, Isabel was suddenly excited. Even the prior fear and depression were forgotten.

But she also worried for Aiwass.

——This is the Hall of Silver and Tin, won't he be discovered?

As for herself being targeted by Aiwass, Isabel never even considered it. The reason she couldn't make friends was due to her heightened sensitivity to malice from others.

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Even between very good friends, malicious thoughts sometimes arise. Although those thoughts are quickly dispelled by reason and never revealed... Isabel could vaguely sense their existence the moment they formed.

If she knew that the other person also disliked her, also used her, it would be difficult to ignore, to pretend she knew nothing about it.

It might have been better not to know anything from the beginning.

But she never felt this kind of emotion from Aiwass.

No malice, no jealousy, no greed... The only thing that made her slightly uncomfortable was the occasional paternal, somewhat condescending "pity" Aiwass showed.

Although Isabel was normally a bit meek, she didn't really like being looked at with pity. It made her aware that she indeed needed to rely on others. But she wanted to become stronger herself.

"Wait, Aiwass..."

Isabel suddenly spoke up, "Don't say anything yet..."

She was in her own bedroom, yet she peeked around like a thief.

When her eyes fell upon the "window" that Yanis had drawn for her, her gaze lingered slightly, and her expression became somewhat embarrassed and anxious.

—Is the teacher watching?

This thought crossed her mind.

But as soon as the thought appeared, Isabel immediately felt as if someone really was watching her, eavesdropping on their conversation. It was an uncomfortable sensation all over, like wearing a sweater without an undershirt.

So she made a serious gesture to Aiwass to be quiet, and then tiptoed to the door. First, she listened at the door and heard no sound from outside. Then, she opened the door a crack and quietly looked around the hallway.

Good, there was no one there.

Only then did she close the door and lean against it with a sigh of relief.

"...How many people know about this, Aiwass?"

Isabel ran back, asking in a curious and nervous whisper, "Could you get caught? Do you want me... to help you hide it?"

"It's okay, Her Majesty knows about this."

Aiwass said briefly, "But not many other people know... Sherlock and the others don't, for example.

"Remember to keep it hidden for me."

"I will!"

Isabel felt her heart pounding, a thrill of doing something naughty, and answered earnestly.

In fact, had the Queen not directly exposed Aiwass's disguise... he would never have revealed "Aleister's" identity at this time.

He still wanted to tease Sherlock, David, and Isabel whenever he could.

Yulia and Lily knew about it. Yanis had the ability and habit of peeping everywhere through her drawings, so she must know everything. The bishop was clever, and Aiwass never intended to hide from him and his wife, so he should know as well.

The rest probably didn't know about the relationship between Aiwass and Aleister.

Such as Edward, Sherlock, David, and Isabel.

Now that the Queen knew about this and didn't react much, there wasn't really any need to hide his identity anymore. After all, if he were to explain things clearly, they would certainly side with Aiwass—this was mainly due to Aiwass's mischievousness.

Aiwass was just of a more twisted nature, wanting to play tricks on his friends. But he didn't want to go too far and harm those friendships... So starting a new identity and saying ambiguous things to make them misunderstand was amusing.

—I'm not purposely deceiving you, am I? I'm telling the truth. It's just not the whole truth.

And now, since Isabel seemed to be in a bit of a bad mood, why not give her something to distract her attention?

So-called "trump cards" shouldn't be held onto for too long... Keeping them hidden for too long makes them less interesting. Especially since Isabel was quite clever, she might figure it out herself soon, and the Queen might mention it to her.

If she found out first, and then Aiwass showed her the truth, it would be somewhat embarrassing and unsightly. It was better to reveal the secret now, bringing a little surprise.

Magic should be performed when the other person doesn't understand the principles, or even know what's going to happen next, for the best results.

—And indeed, the effect was very noticeable.

Isabel was now completely distracted from fear, her mind full of Aiwass and Aleister's matter.

It was like going from a depressed mood to a gossipy one.

Now, probing into her past should no longer make her feel sadness and fear, right?

It might be a little disappointing, but curiosity and fear, excitement and sorrow just might balance each other out.

"In exchange," Aiwass said softly, "let me take a look at your secret now?"

"...Alright."

Isabel's expression tightened a little, and her eyes no longer sparkled like before, nor were they as dull and lifeless.

She returned to a more normal state, just as she would be at school.

Under Aiwass's gaze, she used a key to open her drawer and took out a thick notebook.

"This is the diary left by my family..."

She said in a low voice, "From eleven years ago, until now. There are diaries of eight people in here."

"All recorded in the same notebook?"

Aiwass asked curiously but didn't reach out to touch it.

He politely inquired, "May I see it?"

"It's for you to see."

Isabel said, hands resting on her knees, earnestly, "Because this is the version I transcribed... The writer was me."

She straightened up, trying to appear nonchalant, "Of course, there's also my diary at the end. You don't have to read that part."

If you say that, it doesn't work that way.

Aiwass thought.

—You didn't mention it, and I had no desire to read it, but now that you've mentioned it, I'm kind of curious.

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