Lights Out

Sora's mouth was agape as he tried to make sense of what Gwen just said, "World… domination?"

"That's right!" Gwen's smugness was plastered all over her face, making her look like a completely naïve child that didn't know about the world. Too bad that she had Aria blood flowing through her veins meaning that it was anything but a dream.

"Slaves… I'm sorry but we don't deal with slaves in this kingdom. As cruel as the world is, I'd rather keep people's right to freedom. I can't say anything about your desires, but I wish you could see it from the people's perspective." Sora clearly gave his stance, despite how lacking his family seemed, his conviction was steady. Both Nio and Sora wanted the best for humanity, while Sora was trying to slowly convert everyone, guiding them to a better future, Nio decided to take matters into his own hands and went for a more drastic approach.

"Oh…" Gwen went back to eating her meal as if nothing ever happened. "Then I don't want any of your gifts. But you should probably take that flower, you look old."

Felix joined in the fun and laughed at his own father. He understood what she did, Sora made the atmosphere a bit serious, so Gwen made a joke to lighten up the mood. Sora also understood this point and saw that Gwen was smarter than she looked, despite how naïve and straightforward she seemed, she still had an inkling of what she should say.

"Haha, I do look old, don't I? If I'm old, then how old do you think your father is? He's decades older than me."

"Then he should eat one too." Gwen unabashed, didn't fear her father at all since the cases of Nio actively acting out on one of his children was as rare as an eclipse happening.

The mood turned for the better as Felix made a few jokes about Gwen's stiff appearance. She exaggeratedly explained how stiff and tight her dress was, daring Felix to wear the same one to see just how well he would do. In fact, Gwen forced Felix's hand, with Sora's intentionally unintentional wording, to wear the same dress that Gwen wore. He was struggling for the rest of the night while Gwen wore something similarly luxurious but less tight. The night ended with the trio enjoying themselves and Sora understanding that Gwen didn't seem how she looked.

"Ugh, that was tiring." Gwen was currently laying on her back on this gigantic bed that was specifically set for her. No. 12 was trying to pull Gwen back up to properly dress her, but Gwen vehemently refused stating that she was too tired to do so.

Their common banter was suddenly interrupted by a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" No. 12 raised her voice as she used her magic to properly dress up Gwen and covered her up in a blanket immediately in order to prevent the coming visitor from seeing her in a terrible state. Gwen's protests fell on deaf ears as she was silenced by No. 12, curses of that magnitude weren't meant for human ears.

A light somber voice answered, "Lord Sora felt bad that he didn't manage to properly reward Lady Gwendolyn with a gift, so he came forward to give her a small gift as well as tell her that Lord Nio would be willing to do her a single favor that doesn't clash with his morals."

No. 12 looked at Gwen being severely restrained in bed, trying to get out using whatever methods she had at her disposal muttering, "If only I had my Death Artifact…" No. 12 nodded in self-confidence seeing that she chose the proper method.

"Lady Gwendolyn already fell asleep, but I would be willing to convey it to her the following morning." No. 12 opened up the door to receive the gift at the entrance. She happily received the small well-packaged cube from the servant who immediately left right after.

No. 12 waved her finger, letting Gwen out of her restraints. The first thing that Gwen did was immediately cast one of her offensive spells, "Mimic Orb!"

Using her Glimmering Dagger as her power source, she conjured a translucent orb in front of her palm. This orb didn't seem all too powerful, but No. 12 showed an extremely irritated look on her face, "Not this again. Lady Gwendolyn, this is just an annoying spell! It can't even attack so why do you keep using this!"

Gwen's mischievous grin showed just how much trouble she was planning, "You know why!"

"At least use something like Space Cutter or Flare Vortex! Those at least are actual offensive spells!"

"But you can just dispel them! You need to learn your lesson!" Gwen crushed the translucent orb in her hands, causing another 'Gwen' to show up in her place. Right after, Gwen didn't even need to speak as she naturally caused the darkness around her to impede No. 12's vision, causing her to lose track of which Gwen was the real Gwen.

No. 12 started cursing in her mind before she started shouting out, "You slimy little… Lady Gwendolyn, stop acting like a child! You're a noble lady of a distinguished family, what do you think will happen if they hear about this!"

One Gwen stayed behind and obediently went to bed while the other Gwen went outside to run away, using multiple spells to break the window and escape into the night.

The Gwen that was laying on the bed lazily said, "So which one is the real me? The one who escaped or the one who was left behind. You managed to get the real last time, so I like your chances this time."

"1 out of 27… hah… dammit! Fine, I'll leave! This body double better behave itself! Actually, now that I think about it..." No. 12's eyes seemed to have shown a dangerous glint as she looked at the Gwen who was happily lazing around. The Gwen laying down on the bed felt something dangerous. No. 12 immediately took this Gwen by the neck and jumped out the window, in quick pursuit of the Gwen who jumped out the window.

"Wait, wait, wait! You're not playing fair!" 'Gwen' screamed out her frustrations, yet No. 12 smugly ignored her, following right behind the other Gwen who was running away at breakneck speed. For once, No. 12 felt accomplished, finally getting one over Gwen.

After a while, a small shadow appeared from under the table, it was the real Gwen. She conjured another Mimic Orb while she impeded No. 12's vision letting No. 12 choose between two wrong options. This was Gwen's plan every time she wanted to escape No. 12's pursuit.

"It's surprising how she hasn't figured it out yet. Well anyways, it's time to have some fun. I think Felix's still awake right now practicing his swordsmanship. I'm definitely joining him. Let's see if I can catch him off-guard this time. Hehehe." Gwen's smile always spelled trouble for everyone around her.