Chapter 17: Alone

Selina feels weirdly exhausted while in the carriage and closes her eyes…only to be blacked out.

Memories Unlocked: 30%/100%

Two breathtaking ladies standing in a fancy, but empty room, tensions high. Amelia stands on the balcony, her back turned.

"Why him and not me?!" The black-haired lady exclaims.

"..."

"Amy, talk to me please. I would've given you the world if you had asked me to. Did all those years mean nothing?!" The black-haired individual continues on, tears forming in her blue eyes.

Still, she was met with silence.

"I-Is it because I'm a woman? Amy, you said that it didn't matter."

"..Evie, no, Lady Evelyn, gender wouldn't have mattered if you had the status to disregard." Amelia stares coldly down out her balcony, two guys sitting in a table in a beautiful garden. The brown-haired handsome, but sweet looking guy yammers on excitedly, the other, silver-haired is quiet, but the look in his usually cold eyes were warm and full of attentiveness. 

"I'm only an Amister in name, but I don't have any status. Any semblance of power I have is from his grace. It's pathetic." Amelia sneers, mocking herself.

"To my brother, I'm only a pawn in his sick game, but so was everyone else. Why was it that this random MAN was able to melt him? I've suffered so, so much, with my end result being married off."

Amelia finally turns to face Evelyn, her eyes emotionless and her mouth wrapped into a deprecating smile.

"Evie, I'm tired." 

…

Selina wakes up from a sudden stop, oh, she's back. Selina gets out of the carriage and makes her way to Troye's office to report.

"You may enter."

"Amelia, you're back. How was the outing?"

"It went pleasantly well, Evie was a great host. I didn't gain much information about her family nor did I see her dad, but Lady Evelyn herself is…no threat. She's a simple noble lady, easy to manipulate." Selina lies through her teeth.

"Easy to manipulate, is that so? Well, use that to your advantage, I want to make a few trades with her father and a discount certainly wouldn't hurt. You're dismissed."

Selina bows and exits the room. Why did she lie? It was instinctual, did she not want to implicate Evelyn with Troye? Whatever the case may be, Selina is utterly exhausted.

She heads to her room, changed into more comfortable clothes, and lays down in bed. She still has to go over the memories. Evelyn and Amelia had a thing going on and Troye was already with the main character. The more memories she gained, the more Selina felt her head hurt, is this world really a game? The memories were also very clearly not in chronological order. They were triggered during certain events. 

Train, train, train, and then socialize with random strangers who may or may not want her dead and then reporting back to Troye, who very much so wants her dead. Selina felt alone, she felt sad, she wanted to go home–*Clink* *Clink*.

There was a tight feeling in her heart like it was being choked by chains (refer allll the way back to chapter 3). Then, nothing, she felt normal. 

Suddenly, her character screen flashed again and Selina noticed something.

Awakening of the Dragon: 7%/100%

Feeling are useless, only power matters.

As soon as Selina finished reading, the sentence disappeared. That was…really weird. Regardless, instead of wallowing in her own self-pity, was mattered most was being able to protect herself. Selina changes into her tunic and heads to the courtyard. 

One thing Selina realized is that her technique is sloppy which made sense considering she've only been training for a few weeks. That was still a weak point so she decided to work on her swordsmanship.

However, the remnants of her memory lingered in her mind like smoke that refused to dissipate.

"Focus," Selina muttered under her breath. She gripped the hilt of the wooden training sword and swung it experimentally, trying to ground herself in the present.

Evelyn, Evelyn, Evelyn, why does she keep thinking about her? Her tears, her sorrowful face, and how her eyes looked at her with complete abandonment. This was unlike Selina, sure she was a sucker for pretty faces, but she wasn't the type to immediately fall head over heels for someone just because they were attractive. 

Selina swung harder, her strikes growing more forceful with each thought. The sound of wood hitting the training dummy echoed in the empty courtyard. Her muscles burned, but she welcomed the pain. No pain no gain, am I right?

"You're being sloppy."

Selina's head shot up to see Reinhart standing nearby, arms crossed and an unimpressed look on her face.

"Then show me the right way." A hand wraps itself around Selina's waist. Reinhart's breath grazed Selina's ear as she adjusted her stance, her hands firm but deliberate.

"You're holding it too tight," Reinhart murmured. "The sword isn't a club. Control it."

Selina's pulse quickened at the proximity but she masked it with a smirk. "Are you always this hands-on?"

"Only with hopeless cases," Reinhart quipped, stepping back.

Selina rolled her eyes but followed Reinhart's precise demonstration. Each swing Reinhart executed was fluid and controlled. Selina tried to replicate the movements, but she obviously couldn't exactly, she wasn't a swordmaster unlike a certain someone.

"Better," Reinhart said after watching her. "But you're still hesitating. Trust yourself, or you'll hesitate in a fight and die."

After giving Selina a few more pointers, Reinhart leaves her to her own devices. Eventually, night falls and Selina puts her sword away.

"Reinhart… thank you, I didn't expect you to be a good teacher."

"It's my duty to serve you, Lady Amelia. Head back and rest."

"Don't have to tell me twice~"

Selina heads back to her room and closes her eyes, tomorrow will be another day.