Anna still trembled by the time she got back to her chambers. Her thoughts echoed in her skull like a broken mantra.
I almost died. I almost died. I almost died.
[But you didn't die. That was close, hostie~]
Anna ignored the System.
One minute, it was worried about her. The next, it was back o being sarcastic. Anna hated emotional whiplash more than she hated having to ask for a raise.
"Are you okay, your highness?" A voice asked.
Anna forgot she had a companion.
She turned to face him.
At first glance she recognized him from the book; Ray, Princess Orchids bat beast husband. He didn't make much of an appearance, just once to deliver a letter to the Princess from a mysterious figure.
Which meant Anna didn't know much about him either.
"Hi," she whispered, her voice shaky. "Thank you for back there. You saved my life."
Ray felt like he'd been thrown into bright daylight buck naked. Did she just thank him? This proud Princess?
Again, he listened for her heart. 146bmp.
Poor thing was scared. Anyone would be, after seeing Leon half mad with Corruption and drawing a sword on them. It was a miracle she hadn't fainted yet. Or worse, soiled herself.
Anna sat on her bed, staring into space, which was actually Ray' legs. She barely registered him, her eyes vacant.
"Why does he even hate her so much?" She mumbled out loud.
Ray raised a brow.
Did she hit her head or something? Was there anyone in the palace that didn't know what Princess Orchid did to Leon seven years ago? Or what she continued to do? Was it that easy to forget?
A beat of suspicion came into Ray' heart.
He listened again. Elevated heartbeats. Clear signs of stress and…fear. The flower is scared. Her hands are trembling. Her spore production, 9%, critically low by all previous records.
An anomaly. A deviation from the norm. Something was very wrong with this Flower.
"You should get ready for your meeting, your highness." Ray said, filing away the strange information for later diagnosis.
Anna looked up at him, her lashes fluttering. "What meeting?"
Another anomaly.
She forgot her Tuesday's meetings with her private council?
Ray favored her a small smile. One that didn't reach his starry eyes. "I accompany you to them, your highness. Every Tuesday."
"Why?"
Ray stilled. His list of anomalies are getting long.
"To listen for lies and deceptions, your highness."
Anna blinked, her fear momentarily forgotten. "What do you mean by that? How can one hear lies? It's impossible."
[Hostie, you really should have read the book.]
Ray's eyes narrowed, searching for a hint of anything. Feigned ignorance, a lie, anything at all.
He found none.
The Flower's big, pretty eyes stared back at him with curiosity and intrigue.
She genuinely didn't know.
Interesting.
Ray's smile widened. "In that case, it's better for me to demonstrate, your highness."
Anna had no idea what he was talking about. But she smiled. And Ray felt like he had been slapped in the face.
The Flower has such a beautiful smile, he thought. Such a shame she decided to hide it under scowls and petty hatred.
He bowed, then said; "I'll be outside, your highness."
"You can call me Anna."
"I'd rather not."
Anna's face flamed. Right! How did she forget. The real Anna was a monster to everyone, Ray included. Even though Anna didn't know the full details, it was obvious in the detached but polite way Ray addressed her.
No one would guess they were married.
Anna sighed. This woman's relationships need a lot of work. Good thing I'm not here to fix them.
***
Thirty minutes later, Anna sat in a conference room.
She had been in a lot of corporate situations before, forced to make a living for herself at a very young age could do that. Anna wasn't new to meetings like this.
But this was something else!
In addition to Anna and Ray, they were a total of five. There was a snake beastwoman, an ox beastman, and a slender mouse beastwoman.
Anna leaned closer to Ray. "Who are these people?"
Ray pulled out an ornate black and gold fan and flipped it open, hiding his mouth as he spoke. "The snake woman is Thalia, she is your best friend. The Ox is Mallen. The mouse is Bretiva. These are your closest friends, your highness. This is your private council."
Anna nodded, her mind racing as she absorbed the information.
No wonder the air in the room was tense!
If the Princess Orchid was a hellspawn, then her friends must be just as bad! If not worse. Sweat trickled down Anna's back and she felt like she was in a high stakes merger and not a tea meeting.
Thalia was the first to speak. She was slender, a pale beauty with pale green eyes and green scales on her arms and neck.
"Princess," Thalia said, her voice lilting and seductive.
"Thalia, be a dear and remind us of today's meeting agenda. I have quite the line up to attend to later."
Thalia's eyes narrowed. "Of course," she said, drawing out the 's' "You promised to send some miners to the southern ruins. A trace of modified stone crystals was found there."
"The southern ruins are crawling with Mirrors." Mallen said. "Your highness, I kindly ask that you reconsider. Countless lives could be lost."
Mirrors? What was that? How harmful could a mirror be?
"And he is lying. He doesn't care about the lives that will be lost. He's only trying to appear noble." Ray whispered.
"How can you tell he's lying?" Anna whispered back, watching Brenan and Thalia go back and forth about lives and what nots.
"I can hear it." Ray replied.
Anna grabbed her chest. Does this mean he can also hear that she's lying?
Well not like I lied or anything. It's not like anyone has asked if I'm the real Orchid and I said yes.
"Princess, your heartbeat is elevated. Please calm down."
"O-of course!" Anna yelled, drawing all eyes to her. "I mean, right. Thalia is right!"
"Exactly!" The snake woman said, beaming.
Anna realized what she had just agreed to and balked. "Hold on. What do we need this stone crystal for?"
Murmurs rose from the small party. Bretiva spoke, "Princess, is everything okay? You've been acting quite strange."
"I'm fine," Anna cleared her throat. "Answer the question, Thalia."
Thalia bristled, adjusting in her seat before she spoke. "We don't know, your highness. You were set to reveal the plans to us at our next meeting, which is happening right now."
Ah, fuck shit.
Anna didn't have Princess Orchid's original memories. She stared at the private council, noting the expectant looks on their faces. The stone crystal must be something important if they're all looking at her like dogs at the sight of a piece of meat.
Clearing her throat, anna rose to her feet. "I'm not feeling well. I fell and hit my head. This meeting will be held at a later time, one that will be communicated promptly. Good day and do not ask any questions."
[Dayum hostie~ you're killing the villainess aura~]
Anna smiled. I just spoke like how manager park would. He's a corporate demon!
She never thought a day would come when she'd be saved by Manager Park of all people!
Her words had a startling effect on the party. Everyone had looks of surprise on their faces, murmuring and whispering. Only Thalia remained quiet, her eyes narrowing on Anna.
"I'll be taking my leave now," Ray said.
Anna noticed he looked tired. "Are you okay?"
He looked around the conference room. "People are too noisy." Was all he said, then he left.
She chose not to worry about that and left too. Outside she looked calm, but inside she was panicking.
The knowledge gap was clear as day. And it wouldn't be long before everyone began to truly notice the difference.
Anna sensed that Thalia already got suspicious.