Ch 84 - The Worst Disguise Ever

The Authority Bound option appeared all at once for every servant standing before him, each of them now eligible to form the bond. But before Jester did anything, there was one thing he wanted to check first.

How much Chaos did he actually have right now?

[Chaos: 3,750]

Jester blinked at the number for a moment before shaking his head. He didn't have time to figure out exactly which kills, desperate gambles, or system rewards had given him that much. All that mattered right now was that he had it.

[Authority Bound permanently binds a willing subordinate to your authority, granting passive benefits to both the Contractor and Contractee based on the subordinate's rank, strength, and role.]

He tapped the notification, causing another window to unfold beneath it.

[Calculating binding cost for each willing individual...]

[Igrio: 220 Chaos]

[Sliora: 195 Chaos]

[Remaining Subordinates: 155–200 Chaos each]

[Total Estimated Cost: 2,180 Chaos]

[Proceed with Authority Bound?]

He let out a low whistle. Igrio alone cost more than any of the others, which honestly didn't surprise him in the slightest. That man had never once seemed like an ordinary attendant, and apparently the System agreed.

Still, well over two thousand Chaos in one go was a brutal price. He couldn't help wondering what else he could have done with that much.

But what would he even be saving it for? A rainy day? He'd rather have twelve capable people who would follow him without hesitation than a number sitting untouched in the corner of his status screen.

Chaos could always be earned again. Trust like this, the kind that had just spent the last hour proving itself in front of a Level 215 Raid Boss, was not something he could simply farm back later.

"Do it," he said.

[2,180 Chaos consumed.]

[Authority Bound established with twelve individuals.]

[Bound individuals gain greater benefits when fighting together, and compatible skills may strengthen each other.]

[Greater trust between Bound individuals increases synchronization, further strengthening these benefits.]

[Stronger bonds may unlock additional Authority Bound effects.]

A soft golden light swept through the chamber, brushing over every servant standing at attention before fading as quickly as it had come. Nobody flinched. If anything, several of them straightened their shoulders, as though something had quietly settled into place, a weight they hadn't realized they'd been missing.

Jester rose from the cushioned chair and looked out over all of them.

"Thank you," he said. "For trusting me. All of you. I know I've kept a lot of things from you, especially about who I really am."

He hesitated for a moment, an awkward smile crossing his face.

"But... Did I really do such a terrible job hiding it? Was it that obvious that I wasn't actually Caelan?"

Igrio was the first to answer, still kneeling with his head bowed.

"There was never any doubt in my mind, Your Highness. I knew from our very first conversation."

Jester frowned. "Our first conversation? That was practically the moment I walked through the door."

"Precisely, Your Highness."

A laughter passed through the rest of the room.

"He means he figured it out almost immediately," Sliora said, not even bothering to hide her amusement as she pressed a hand to her chest. "The rest of us took a little longer. A whole day, at least."

"I noticed within the first week," Chika added with a shrug. "You were far too polite to actually be him. The real Caelan once threw a wine goblet at a servant for standing too close to his chair."

"Same," Mira chirped, her ears bouncing with every word. "Also you never once yelled at anyone for bringing you the wrong dessert. That was the biggest clue. His Highness Caelan yelled about desserts constantly. It was practically his hobby."

Even Donna nodded eagerly. "Donna knew too! Donna knew right away! But Donna liked you better this way, so Donna didn't say anything!" She beamed up at him. "Was that wrong of Donna?"

"No," Jester said, a little dazed. "That was... surprisingly considerate of you."

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Jester stood there for a second, absorbing all of it.

"So basically," he said slowly, dragging a hand down his face, "my acting was terrible, every single one of you saw through it almost immediately, and none of you thought to mention it."

"We preferred this version of you," Igrio said simply. "That seemed reason enough to remain silent."

"That's not really an answer, Igrio."

There wasn't much he could say to that. He let out a short breath that was half a laugh and rubbed the back of his neck. All that careful effort, all those nights lying awake wondering if he'd overplayed the arrogance or underplayed the cruelty, and apparently none of it had ever fooled the people who mattered most anyway.

Somehow that stung a little less than he expected. Mostly it just felt like being caught wearing a costume everyone had already seen through, only to find out nobody minded.

"Alright. Noted," he said, straightening. "Give me a status report on the city."

Igrio rose to his feet instantly.

"Repairs to the eastern wall are already underway, Your Highness. Sir Naldrom has organized the knights into rotating shifts to clear the wreckage and secure the breach until proper reconstruction materials can be brought in. Casualties are still being tallied, though the number of knights lost appears to be lower than initially feared. The wounded are being tended to as we speak, and several volunteer players have offered their healing skills to assist."

"Good. Make sure they're compensated for it. Whatever they need."

"It will be done, Your Highness."

One by one, the maids filed out of the chamber, several of them still trading quiet remarks about the battle as they went. Donna skipped out humming something under her breath. Igrio was the last to leave, pausing at the door only long enough to offer a final bow before pulling it shut behind him.

That left only Lucia and Elora standing near him in the now quiet chamber.

"We really did it," Lucia said, a small, disbelieving smile spreading across her face. "Everyone stayed. After everything, after seeing exactly who you are, they still chose to stay."

"I was so nervous," Elora admitted, wringing her hands together. "I kept imagining someone would refuse, or panic, or run straight to the Crown to report everything they'd seen. I couldn't stop worrying about what would happen once you woke up, Your Highness."

"Instead they all lined up to confess their loyalty," Jester finished dryly. "Yeah. I noticed."

"Sliora told me she was going to say something scandalous if you didn't wake up in time," Elora added. "I made her promise not to."

"I appreciate that," Jester said. "Genuinely."

Lucia laughed softly at that, and even Elora managed a small smile, some of the tension finally easing out of her shoulders.

For a moment, Jester allowed himself to simply stand there and feel the weight of it settle. They had survived. Necroton had survived. And somehow, impossibly, he now had more people bound to him not through fear or deception, but because they had chosen him with their eyes wide open, knowing exactly what he was.

It wouldn't last. Not the peace, anyway. He knew that much already.

Rania wasn't going to let this go. Whatever connection Igrio had uncovered between her and the attack on the city, she would come looking for answers eventually, and when she found them, she wouldn't come quietly. She had never needed much of a reason to hate Caelan before. Now she had an actual one, and Jester doubted she would care that the person wearing her half-brother's face wasn't even the same person underneath.

And then there was the Vesperion Guild.

Six of their members had bled for this city today, throwing themselves into a fight that should have been suicide for anyone without a small army behind them. Guilds like that didn't burn resources on kindness alone. If they had spent that much strength defending Necroton, whatever they hoped to gain afterward had to be worth far more than the price they'd just paid.

And Jester had a sinking feeling he already knew what it was connected to.

The coming struggle among the candidates for the next Saintess.

A war that hadn't even truly begun had already cost this city half its wall and dozens of lives. If Lucia really was the strongest candidate to become the next Saintess, then sooner or later, the woman currently holding that title, along with everyone standing behind her, wouldn't simply step aside and let Lucia take her place.

One battle down. Several much bigger ones still waiting in line.

He let out a slow breath.

"I need to log out for a while," he said finally. "Get some rest, both of you. We'll figure out the rest tomorrow."

Elora and Lucia both bowed before excusing themselves, and Jester closed his eyes.

The chamber dissolved around him.

Toma opened his eyes to the familiar ceiling of his room, the capsule lid sliding open with a quiet hydraulic hiss. He pushed himself upright, still catching his breath from everything that had just happened.

Zetia was sitting on the sofa, chatting animatedly with Lina. And she looked completely fine.

The moment she noticed him, Zetia rose from her seat and walked over, stopping directly in front of Toma.

"Toma."

For a moment, he simply stood there, taking in the sight of her awake and seemingly fine. Then, before he'd even fully decided to move, he stepped forward and pulled her into a tight hug.

"You're okay," he said quietly. "I was worried."

Zetia went still in his arms, clearly caught off guard by the sudden embrace. For a few seconds, she said nothing. Then her expression softened, and her arms slowly curled around him in return.

"I'm fine," she said quietly. "Apparently, I woke up not long after you logged back in."

"Did it hurt? Do you remember anything?"

"Just a strange pulling sensation. Then nothing. Then Lina's face far too close to mine, asking if I was dying."

"I was being thorough," Lina called from the sofa.

Toma pulled back just enough to look at her properly, checking her face as if he might find some lingering sign of whatever had happened.

From the sofa, Lina let out an exaggerated groan. "Oh, come on. You two are going to give me a cavity. Some of us haven't eaten lunch yet, you know, and I've been staring at nothing but this reunion for the last two minutes."

Toma cleared his throat, as though that would somehow undo the last thirty seconds, and the three of them settled onto the sofa together, Zetia tucking herself neatly against his side.

Lina reached for the remote and unmuted the television, which had been playing quietly in the background the entire time.

"By the way," she said, glancing at him. "There was a huge news segment earlier. Something about a massive attack in Necroton. I'm pretty sure I've heard you mention that name before."

She raised an eyebrow. "Were you involved in that?"

Toma opened his mouth, then closed it again.

"They kept showing this ridiculously handsome prince leading the whole defense," Lina continued, completely unbothered by his silence. "Real charismatic type. Fights with an axe instead of a sword, apparently, which everyone online seems to think is very hot for some reason. The whole internet's losing their minds over him."

She tilted her head, glancing between the frozen video and Toma's face, as if trying and failing to draw some kind of connection.

"But I didn't see a single clown anywhere in the footage." She sighed dramatically. "Kind of a shame, honestly. I was hoping to catch a glimpse of that stupid nose of yours on the news. Would've made a great screenshot."

Zetia let out a soft laugh beside him, saying nothing at all, though the faintly amused look she sent Toma's way lingered for just a second too long.

- Book 1 Complete -