The morning sun in Chicago didn't feel warm; it felt like a spotlight.
I woke up in the center of the massive bed, the blue System screen still hovering at the edge of my vision like a persistent ghost.
[ DAILY MISSION: SURVIVE THE MORNING ]
[ OBJECTIVE: Maintain the Mystery persona during breakfast with Dante Moretti.
[ REWARD: +10 Charisma, 50 Experience Points. ]
I pushed myself up, my body aching in places I didn't want to think about.
The silk robe I had worn last night was rumpled, and my hair was a bird's nest of dark waves.
I looked like a woman who had been thoroughly "handled,"
which, considering the state of the bed, wasn't far from the image Dante wanted to project.
A soft chime sounded, and the door opened. Two maids entered, keeping their eyes strictly on the floor.
They carried a tray of black coffee, sliced fruit, and a garment bag that looked heavy enough to hold armor.
"The Boss is waiting for you in the conservatory, Miss Serena,"
one of them murmured.
"He expects you in ten minutes."
Ten minutes? I looked at the garment bag. Inside was a dress that cost more than my previous life's annual salary...a deep emerald green wrap dress in heavy silk.
It was sophisticated, modest enough to be classy but tight enough to remind everyone that I was a woman.
I moved with a frantic grace I didn't know I possessed.
As I dressed, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror.
The green made my eyes pop and my skin look like cream.
[ STATUS CHECK: ELEGANCE +5 (Temporary Outfit Bonus) ]
I headed downstairs, guided by the red and green markers the System had laid out on the floor like a GPS.
I found Dante sitting at a glass table, reading a physical newspaper...a classic power move.
He looked refreshed, wearing a charcoal suit that made him look like a lethal shadow.
"You're late," he said without looking up. "Three minutes."
"I was busy appreciating the gift," I replied, sliding into the chair opposite him.
I poured myself a coffee, my hand only trembling slightly. "Green is my color."
Dante looked up then.
His gaze was a slow, deliberate crawl from my toes to my eyes.
The Danger Level above his head flickered:
[ DANGER LEVEL: 92/100 ].
"Everything is your color when I'm the one paying for it," he said, setting the paper down.
"Today, we meet Gianluca.
He has been the tailor to the Moretti family for three generations.
He doesn't just make suits; he makes identities.
If he thinks you're a cheap distraction, the rest of the family will treat you like one."
[ QUEST UPDATED: THE TAILOR'S TEST ]
[ GOAL: Win Gianluca's approval without revealing your true origin. ]
The "Atelier" was located in a building that had no sign on the door.
Inside, it smelled of cedar, expensive wool, and steam.
Gianluca was a man who looked like a withered grape...small, wrinkled, but full of concentrated energy.
He didn't bow to Dante; he merely nodded. Then, he turned his sharp, vulture-like eyes on me.
"This is the one?" Gianluca asked, his voice a raspy whistle.
He walked around me, poking at the silk of my dress with a silver measuring tape.
"The Rossi girl.
I remember your mother.
She had no spine.
She wore clothes like a coat hanger."
I felt a flash of irritation.
In the book, Gianluca was a notorious snob who humiliated the heroine until she cried.
"My mother is not here," I said, my voice cold and clear.
"And I don't wear clothes, Gianluca.
I inhabit them.
There's a difference."
The old man paused.
Behind him, I saw Dante lean against a mahogany pillar, a ghost of a smirk on his face.
"Is that so?" Gianluca pulled a bolt of shimmering, midnight-blue fabric from a shelf.
It was heavy, embroidered with what looked like actual silver thread.
"This is 'The Widow's Weave.'
It is notoriously difficult to pull off.
It either makes a woman look like a queen or a corpse.
Put it on."
[ SYSTEM WARNING: HIGH DIFFICULTY TASK ]
[ CHANCE OF SUCCESS: 35% ]
I was ushered into a changing room.
The dress was a masterpiece of construction...it had a built-in corset that forced my posture into a regal line and a slit that went dangerously high up the thigh.
It was the kind of dress a woman wore when she was planning to start a war or end a marriage.
As I struggled with the hidden hooks, the System chirped.
[ WOULD YOU LIKE TO USE EYE OF THE AUTHOR TO FIND THE FABRIC'S FLAW? ]
[ COST: 10 MP ]
Yes, I thought.
A glowing red dot appeared on the left shoulder of the dress.
A tiny, nearly invisible misalignment in the silver embroidery.
If I wore it as it was, it would bunch slightly when I moved, ruining the silhouette.
I walked out of the changing room, holding the shoulder of the dress.
"The fabric is divine, Gianluca," I said, walking right up to him.
"But your apprentice was lazy.
The tension in the silver thread on the left shoulder is off by two millimeters.
If I walk into the Commission meeting like this, they won't see a Queen.
They'll see a flaw."
The room went silent.
The two apprentices in the back turned pale. Gianluca snatched a magnifying glass from his pocket and peered at the shoulder.
After a tense minute, he let out a loud, barking laugh.
"Dante! Where did you find this one?" Gianluca turned to Dante, his eyes twinkling.
"She has the eye of a hawk and the tongue of a viper.
I haven't seen a woman notice a tension flaw in twenty years."
[ QUEST COMPLETED: THE TAILOR'S TEST ]
[ REWARD: +20 ELEGANCE, +15 RELATIONSHIP WITH DANTE, SKILL UNLOCKED: SHARP EYE ]
Dante walked over, his presence suddenly overwhelming in the small shop.
He stood behind me, his hands resting on my shoulders.
I could feel the heat of his palms through the heavy fabric.
"She's full of surprises, Gianluca," Dante murmured.
He leaned down, his lips close to my ear. "You did well, Serena.
Perhaps I should let you pick out my suits from now on."
"I think you'd find my tastes... expensive," I whispered back.
"I can afford you," he rasped.
His hand slid down from my shoulder, his thumb grazing the side of my neck where my pulse was jumping.
"For now, let's see how the rest of the dress fits."
Gianluca cleared his throat.
"I shall fix the shoulder immediately.
And Dante? Make sure she has the diamonds to match.
A woman like this shouldn't just walk into a room; she should blind it."
As we left the shop, the sun was beginning to set, painting the Chicago skyline in shades of bruised purple and gold.
Dante led me to a black SUV where Marco was waiting.
"The Commission dinner is tonight," Dante said, his voice returning to its business-like chill.
"You've passed Gianluca's test, but the men tonight... they won't be looking at your embroidery.
They'll be looking for a crack in your armor. They want to see if I've gone soft because of a woman."
"Then we should give them a show," I said, looking at the System screen that had just popped up.
[ MAIN MISSION TRIGGERED: THE BLOOD GALA ]
[ OBJECTIVE: Identify the Secret Assassin at the Commission Dinner. ]
[ REWARD: ??? ]
[ FAILURE PENALTY: DEATH OF MALE LEAD / STORY END ]
My breath hitched. A secret assassin? This wasn't in the chapters I had read!
The plot was diverging.
My presence had already changed the timeline so much that the script was becoming unreliable.
"Are you alright?" Dante asked, noticing my sudden paleness.
"I'm fine," I lied, clutching my handbag.
"Just thinking about the dinner."
"Don't worry," Dante said.
He reached over, taking my hand in his.
His grip was firm, grounding.
"Stay close to me. No one touches what belongs to me and lives to tell the tale."
I looked at him....the man who was supposed to be the evil and disgusting in this story.
For a second, he didn't look like a tyrant. He looked like a shield.
But then I remembered the Danger Level above his head.
[ DANGER LEVEL: 92/100 ]
He wasn't my knight in shining armor.
He was the dragon.
And I was the one who had to make sure he didn't burn the whole kingdom down...starting with me.
"Marco," Dante said, not letting go of my hand.
"Drive. We have a throne to defend."
Author's Note:
Well that's it.
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