As the Royal Gala ended, the Emperor and his family departed the hall, prompting the guests to leave one by one.
Royal maids guided all the contestants back to their quarters for a mandatory overnight quarantine, set before they could freely wander the castle the next day.
At first, as the contestants moved together through the ornate hallways, Leo purposefully trailed Lin Mu from a few meters away, as he observed her body language and demeanor.
Her gait was unusually sluggish, her feet scraping against the marble floor in sharp contrast to her typically silent and graceful walk.
She was an Assassin, one that was trained since childhood to walk without making a sound, and hence when she walked while dragging her feet, Leo knew that something was seriously messed up.
As Leo observed her more carefully, he noticed that her hands were tightly balled into fists with her long, sharp nails painfully pressing into her skin.
Every few moments, she shivered violently, her face pale and drawn in the dim light of the hallway, leading Leo to believe that something was seriously amiss.
When they reached the grand junction which was the central hall of the palace, the group divided. Lin Mu turned left toward the south wing, while Leo's assigned room lay to the right, in the north wing.
The contestants had been clearly instructed by the Royal Butler that the night's curfew was non-negotiable. A maid would remain stationed outside each room to cater to any needs they might have, yet roaming the castle grounds was strictly forbidden during these hours.
The stakes were high: any breach of the curfew could result in disqualification from the Grand Tournament and no contestant in their right mind would risk their spot in the quarterfinals, yet, driven by concern for Lin Mu and a sense of foreboding, Leo decided to break the rules anyways.
Stepping into a shadow that was cast by the huge marble statue at the center of the grand junction, without making a sound. Leo blended into the darkness and used the skill-
[ Mirror World ]
Using the mirror world skill, Leo ensured that a fake doppelganger figure of him followed the Royal Maid responsible for guiding him to his room into his quarters, while he himself followed Lin Mu in silence.
Almost immediately as he started to break the rules, Leo could feel his heartbeat racing as he knew that the consequences of him being caught would be grave.
Breaking off the golden buttons in his outfit that could potentially reflect light and give off his location, Leo stored it inside his outfit's pocket, as he carefully trailed Lin Mu from a distance.
The royal palace was designed in such a way that most passageways were well lit, with such a design that there were no major shadows to hide in at all.
This made following Lin Mu through them a very dangerous mission as he had to rely on his body's flexibility and instincts to evade the gazes of the royal guards on duty, as he tried to move in a way that he did not enter their line of sight.
It was an extremely dangerous mission, one that Leo had no real need to undertake, however, something within him would not let him overlook this matter.
Although Lin Mu was only a digital character, someone that wasn't even Leo's real sister. Leo somehow did care for her, like he did for Ben.
Although their whole relationship was based on a lie that he was Jin Mu, when he wasn't. Leo still felt like the time they spent undertaking the Assassin Alliance entrance exams was genuine and that the bond that the two shared was real.
Somehow for him, watching Lin Mu in distress. Felt like watching his mother in distress, as he could see the same signs in Lin Mu as he did in his mother a day before she sold her kidney.
Trembling randomly, digging her nails into her flesh, spacing out while having conversation….. These were all signs of her being psychologically depressed and hence Leo decided to help her no matter the cost.
Till this day, he felt guilty about how because of him and his greed to escape Earth, his mother had to sell her kidney, as Leo swore to himself that while he could not prevent that from happening, he would never let something similar happen again in his life.
"Please enjoy your night, miss Lin" the Royal Maid said with an evil smile on her face as she opened the door to Lin Mu's quarters.
This particular royal maid had already been instructed that an 'important' guest would be visiting Lin Mu tonight and that she was to ignore whatever happened within Lin Mu's room tonight.
*Clink*
A noise of a light metal object dropping distracted the royal maid for a second as she looked down the hall, trying to figure out the source of the noise, however, despite looking long and hard, could not see anything out of the ordinary.
Since Lin Mu had already entered the room, she closed the door and locked it from the outside as she had been instructed and took her seat outside the door entrance with an oil lamp placed beside her.
"Another day…. Another hoe for the counselor.
*Sigh*
I still remember my own first week within the palace, he even took me behind the laundry room for a quickie-
But while I don't feel bad for any of the other girls he's done it too, I feel bad for this one.
She's a genuine fighter. Someone who is in the quarter finals of the Grand Tournament!
I wonder how that fat bastard compelled her to be prepared for him.... *Sigh* she's quite pretty too-" The Royal Maid said to herself as she felt genuinely bad for a talent like Lin Mu who had succumbed to the desires of the pervy old man.
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/// A/N - Bonus chapter for hitting the PS target, good job everyone! ///