The Phantom Thief.
"...So that’s it."
Her purpose wasn’t Alice, nor the north, nor even the Faceless Imposter. Which was me.
She had come chasing the Phantom Thief—the one who had humiliated her family in the west.
But the cruel irony?
The man she sought so desperately was no longer here.
He was already in the east.
The receiver stone grew heavy in my palm, as if it knew the weight of what I’d just pieced together.
Emma Voss wasn’t here to celebrate Alice’s birthday. She wasn’t here to drink wine, flatter nobles, or exchange smiles over meaningless chatter. She was here for him. For the Phantom Thief.
And if she discovered the truth...
’She’ll come for me.’
The thought pressed against my chest like a vice.
I wasn’t afraid of Emma herself—no matter how sharp her tongue or how high her reputation soared in Solhaven’s western courts. What terrified me was her persistence.
Her creed.
A woman who believed every criminal deserved punishment wasn’t someone who would stop. Not after a warning, not after a bribe, not even after a defeat.
And Alice...
I closed my eyes, recalling her cold, cutting gaze when she stripped me of my servant’s rights. Had she already started connecting the dots? If so, then Emma was more than just a danger—she was fuel. Fuel for the fire Alice had already lit against the Faceless Imposter.
"...Damn it."
For a brief second, I considered smashing the receiver stone right there against the wall, grinding the fragments to dust beneath my heel. If Emma and Alice kept digging together, sooner or later, they would uncover too much.
But destroying the stone wouldn’t erase their suspicions.
It would only blind me.
And blindness was death.
I slipped the stone back into my pocket and forced my breathing to steady.
"Think. Think."
Alice was still uncertain, still piecing things together. Emma had her own vendetta. Amelia was watching everything with those bright, opportunistic eyes, eager to step closer to Alice’s side.
If I left them unchecked, the three of them together could tear me apart before I even realized the trap had closed.
No—I needed to stay ahead.
’Alice, Emma...’
I would have to turn them against each other. Distract their suspicions. Twist their ambitions so none of them had the time to look at me too closely.
But the cruelest irony of all?
The only person who could stop them was the one they were hunting.
The Faceless Imposter.
Me.
I let out a low, bitter laugh that echoed faintly in the empty corridor.
"...Looks like I’ll be working overtime for this birthday party."
For a moment, I straightened my back, pushing away the dread. In the reflection of the polished armor displayed along the wall, I caught my own face—steady, cold, and expressionless.
It was the face of survival.
I clenched my jaw. Emma...
Of all people, she was the one who’d tangled the threads and dragged me into this mess. If not for her constant scheming, maybe Alice wouldn’t have looked at me with suspicion in the first place.
And then, as if to punctuate that thought, glowing letters unfurled before my eyes like a cruel decree etched into the air.
[Main Quest: A Web of Intrigue Unraveled]
[Revealed: Emma Voss’s interference has deeply strained the bond of trust between you and Alice Draken.]
[Objective: Emma intends to break Faceless Imposter, wring secrets of the Phantom Thief from him, and ride the glory to restore her family’s name in the west. She cannot be allowed to succeed.]
[Directive: Remove Emma Voss before her schemes bear fruit. Only then can you turn the tide of this crisis.]
[Reward: Alice’s trust and favor will grow stronger.]
[Failure: Her suspicion will deepen, your corruption will swell, and your role as her servant will be stripped from you—permanently.]
The last lines bled across my vision in burning scarlet, every letter thrumming like a pulse. It wasn’t just a warning. It was a sentence.
It was all or nothing.
"Figures..." I muttered under my breath, closing my fist until my knuckles whitened.
One wrong move... and it was checkmate.
Emma Voss wasn’t just a nuisance anymore.
She was the obstacle.
The kind that had to be dealt with—permanently.
Even just thinking her name left a sour taste in my mouth.
’She’s type who would chase a shadow across continents just to strangle it.’
I hated people like that. Not because they were powerful—power I could avoid, counter, or even outsmart.
But persistence? That was poison.
A dogged hound that never let go once it bit down, even if you carved out its throat.
That’s what Emma was.
A hound in noble silk.
The more I thought about her sitting across from Alice, smiling politely with that damn fan of hers, the more my gut twisted. It wasn’t Alice’s sharp eyes or Amelia’s cunning whispers that worried me most anymore. It was Emma.
Because Emma wouldn’t stop.
If she suspected me—if she even brushed up against the truth—she would strip me bare piece by piece until there was nothing left.
’She’ll call it justice. Retribution. Punishment for the crimes of a thief.’
And Alice... Alice would listen.
That was the real danger. Alone, Emma might be manageable. But with Alice—already restless—Emma’s fire would only feed the blaze. Together, they’d forge a weapon pointed straight at me.
A weapon I couldn’t block.
I rubbed my temple with two fingers, letting out a low breath. "Tch... of all the damned people to show up at her birthday, it had to be you."
I could almost see her in my mind’s eye, snapping that fan shut, smiling that self-satisfied little smile while whispering poison into Alice’s ear.
The thought made my hands tighten into fists.
’No... I can’t let her. If Alice listens to Emma, if she decides to take her side... that’s the end. There won’t be a second chance.’
----
Author Note:
Thanks for the reading the Chapter! I hope you enjoyed it