"I miss my phone," Alex placed his head on the table, pushing aside the opened journal as he placed the quill in the inkpot.
The mixed scent of fresh ink and old books filled his nose, his eyes on the textbooks beside him.
"I miss my phone as well, there's still so many dramas that I haven't finished watching yet. But you need to be serious, Alex. You've only written two paragraphs," Eleanor sat on the desk on his left in Cain's study, her icy blue eyes focused on the novel in her hand.
"It has a hundred words."
"A lazy excuse to get out of doing your job."
"It's not my job, auntie Un-ji."
"You're the one in control of Cain's body, Alex."
He sighed and sat up, pulling the Agriculture textbook closer, slowly removed the pen from the pot and began writing in Cain's journal.
"I truly wonder with divine entity would choose you of all people."
"Maybe they found me charming."
"Charming?"
"Yes, auntie."
("You truly enjoying lying to yourself a lot, child.")
'You also enjoy lying to yourself, but at least I acknowledge my self-deception..... sometimes.'
"Anyway," she closed her book, placing it on the table, "Countess Alaina came to visit me yesterday."
"Oh.... What did she say?"
"Well, apparently my father, along with Baron Miller and Viscount Blackwood, had a discussion with my grandfather concerning their exported goods being stolen. She also said that Maquis Ashford has been paying the knights to tighten security of the imports and exports."
("It seems Abel has kept his end of the deal.")
'Yeah. At least we know that your half-brother is trustworthy.'
("Consider yourself lucky that I'm not in control at the moment.")
'I'm trembling in fear of your wrath..... uncle Cain~'
(".....")
"Did she say anything else? Did they know who's responsible?"
"No, they don't know who did it nor did it seem like they'll bring up the issue to you."
"I see."
Suddenly, there was a distant rumble, followed by a small flash from the sky.
They looked out the opened window and saw the sky darken, sunlight completely hidden behind the dark grey clouds.
A strong gust of wind entered the room, goosebumps erupting on their arms from the cold breeze.
Eleanor stood up, wrapping her arms around herself, "I'm heading to my room. If you need anything, let me know."
After she walked out of the room, Alex stood up and went to close the window.
"It looks like it's going to rain."
("Didn't that thing say that it's going to rain in three to four months from now?")
"That's right. The System said that but I don't understand why it's happening now. Hmmm... Maybe it means that something will happen soon."
("Explain.")
"Well, from the movies I've watched back home."
("You mean the moving picture shows you used to talk about?")
"Yeah, those. And in them, rain usually happens when something good is about to happen.... or something bad."
("Interesting. Just in case, keep your gun with you at all times.")
Alex's hand drifted to his pocket, the revolver carefully hidden as he returned to the desk.
In the eastern side of Gnobilis, a gated estate resided. A black fence surrounded the large acres of land.
The grass was short and green and the bushes and shrubs were trimmed into various shapes along the paved road.
In the center stood a luxurious grey manor with an orchid and garden filled with various fruits and vegetables growing behind the mansion.
A silver carriage with a red and black crest of a lion was being polished on the right side of the manor.
In a room facing the vast garden, Duke Adomis sat on his desk, his back to the door as he stared out the window.
He held a goblet filled with deep red wine similar to his neatly tied red hair, while his other hand stroked his beard.
A soft thud echoed in the dark room, a book shelf on his right shook and opened, revealing a dark tunnel where three cloaked figures stood, their posture respectful towards him.
"Is everything prepared?"
"Yes, Your Grace."
"Good. Make sure everything goes according to plan."
"We'll execute the plan as instructed."
He gestured for them to leave, the book shelf closing with a click.
He took a piece of parchment on his desk, filled with information about Eleanor dating from her drowning weeks ago.
His icy blue eyes drifted to the other document with records of her recent interactions with Cain, but no records of them being intimate.
"That foolish girl can't do anything right. First she failed to please a man and refused let her sister take her place. And she survived all attempts to get rid of her, yet she couldn't even seduce that brat of a king into giving her a child," he sighed, jaw clenched as he massaged his temple, downing the wine in one gulp, "This time, I won't fail and I'll get rid of both of them at once."
"It was a mistake making that fool king. I wasted time and resources on a puppet who forgot his place," he stared at the sky, watching lightning tear through the sky without flinching.
In the western side of the kingdom, outside the wall of Gnobilis, stood two cloaked women with the taller woman's face completely covered by the a hood, her scarred hand pressed against the solid wall.
The other woman held a large covered basin, her short silver hair flowing the breeze, her violet eyes on the woman in front of her. A faint metallic scent mixed with decay emitted from the basin.
"High sister, everything is ready. Let's do the ritual now, for our sisters and children are in urgent need of water."
The hooded woman traced her finger along the crack with a cold smile, "Patience, dear sister. Our Mother will tell us what to do."
The shorter woman's grip on the basin tightened, then relaxed upon feeling the older woman's hand on hers.
"I understand, sister."
That night, Alex sat on Cain's bed, the revolver next to him, while Max looked at the closed window, watching trees sway in the strong wind current.
"What happened with Ruth?"
"I told her the truth. Lying to her for too long would've made things worse."
"Do you think that she'll be okay?"
"I'm not sure. I told grandpa George about it and he told me not to worry. Though I think he was trying to comfort me. What about you with Lady Eleanor?"
"Fine, I guess. The agreement was allowing her to participate in the court as the future queen without being overly intimate and once my one year limit in Cain's body is over, they'll get married."
"They'll get married?"
"It was part of the agreement, plus I had that deal with Sir Abel, remember?"
"Right," Max approached the bed and flopped on the mattress, "I miss being a dog."
"You can't turn back?"
"No. I asked the System and it just gave me crackers and disappeared. And I ate those crackers because they were delicious."
"Max...."
"What? They were amazing!"
("It bribed him with snacks just to avoid a question? How did you get involved with that thing in the first place?")
'It was because a small crystal, but the System always deflected the question, doesn't give a proper answer or says that I'm unworthy of its attention. I don't even know where the crystal is, but I'll use my question coupon the next time I see it.'
"Anyway," Max stood up, glanced at the window for the last time before heading to the door, "I'm going to check on Lady Eleanor then head to the kitchen."
After the door closed, Alex held the gun, rubbing his thumb on the smooth surface on the barrel, careful not to touch the trigger.
Suddenly, he felt his heart racing, leaving him breathless. He pressed his hand on his chest to calm his erratic heartbeat.
The lightning pierced through the darken sky with a frightening crack, striking the western side on Austinia.
He stood up, and walked towards the window, watching people run in the distance, his fingers trembling slightly.
Rapid heavy footsteps echoed across the corridor outside the door, followed by loud desperate knocks and a nervous voice reaching his ear.
"Your Majesty! The wall on the west of Gnobilis has fallen! And the Blood Witches are entering the city!"
[Holder Candidate Quest One: Change the plot
•Duration: 308 days
•Reward: 10,000 points
•Failure: Bad luck at love]