Chapter 13: Knowledge Is Key
The next day dawned with the same urgency that had plagued her through the night. Chloe couldnât rest. She had to understand why Ms. Nightfall had acted the way she did, why King Aldric had been in danger simply because of Chloeâs presence. She couldnât just ask outrightâno, she had to discover the truth herself.
The pieces of the puzzle scattered across her mind, but she was determined to assemble them. Dressed once again in her butlerâs uniformâa visual anchor to her double lifeâshe made her way toward the RSU, her thoughts racing. How could she face the king or the others knowing she might have endangered them? She vowed to tread carefully from now on, to stay vigilant, and to report any suspicion immediately.
As she passed through the grand halls of the university, she scanned her surroundings. Her thoughts were a storm of guilt, confusion, and resolve. She couldnât let her emotions cloud her judgment again.
As Chloe moved down the corridor, lost in thought, a familiar voice called out.
âAh, Lady Chay,â said Youssef Trabelsi with a courteous nod, his eyes gleaming with amusement as though nothing tense had transpired the night before. âHow was the masquerade? Everything you expected and more, I hope?â
She managed a polite smile, her heartbeat quickening. âIt was... illuminating. I returned to my apartment afterward to rest,â she replied evenly, though her voice carried the faintest tremor. âToday, I seek a little peace. The library calls.â
âA wise choice,â he said, smirking slightly. âBut be carefulâshadows often hide more than just books.â He tipped his hat and disappeared down the corridor, his words hanging in the air like a riddle.
The RSU library was silent, almost too silent after the chaos of the masquerade. The lack of any messages from the Seacret Agency brought both comfort and unease. Chloe made her way to her favorite spot , bathed in colored sunlight pouring through stained glass.
For a fleeting moment, No secret messages. No urgent whispers. Just books. Still, the question lingered: Had she really been called away because she was a threat, or was there something deeper at play?
She pulled out her comms device and dialed.
âMaâam,â she said. âIâm back at the library as Lady Chay, per your orders. But I canât shake the feeling that I should be doing more.â
There was a pause. Then Ms. Nightfallâs voice rang through, clear and commanding.
âYour mission has changed, Chloe. You are no longer to engage in direct espionage. You are now Lady Chay, a butlet student . Observe. Learn. Blend in. Do not interfere. These books around youâthey are the key. This is your mission now.â
âButââ
âThis is not a demotion. Itâs survival. The kingâs trust in you is fragile and precious. Study these books like your life depends on itâbecause it does.â
Chloe exhaled slowly, Once, she was the bridge between the Seacret Agency, the Seacret Police, and the king. Now, she was something even more complicated: a symbol of fragile trust. A test case. A crucial piece on a board where one wrong move meant checkmate.
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Everyone around her had been protecting her, guiding her through royal politics like a maze of shadows. Youssefâs sly remarks werenât just gamesâthey were careful nudges, reminders to never let her guard down. His teasing was a warning wrapped in charm.
She had adopted the identity of Chloe to get close to the king. But now, she realized her cover was more than a mask. Lady Chay was becoming real. She would embrace this identity, use it as her weapon, and protect the kingdomâeven if it meant sacrificing her own desires.
With a steady breath, she reached for the first book: âThe History of the Castellanos Dynasty.â The pages opened a door into a world of kings, revolutions, betrayals, and traditions. She began to see patterns. Relationships. Codes of conduct rooted in generations of strategy and sacrifice.
Her role was no longer to stab in the darkâbut to illuminate it. Knowledge was her blade now.
As she turned another page, Youssef entered the library again.
âAh, Lady Chay,â he said warmly. âYouâve chosen the path of wisdom today. To ask âwhyâ is to seek the answer. And the answer to all tasks... is order.â He paused. âIn this game of shadows and whispers, understanding is your sharpest weapon. Use it well.â
With a wink, he left her to her studies. His words echoed louder than any battle cry.
She opened another book: âThe Culinary Art of the Castellanos Court.â At first, she chuckled. Cooking? But as she read, she realized each dish was a coded messageâa reflection of politics and alliances. Ingredients were chosen for symbolism. Flavors revealed loyalty. Even meals were a power play.
Another book followed: a collection of art and sculpture. These were silent stories, immortalized in brush strokes and marble. She saw herself in those artistsâin their quiet rebellion, in the truths they hid in plain sight.
She grabbed the next book: rocket engineering. A startling shift. Numbers, equations, propulsion systems... all felt alien to her. Yet fascinating. She saw ambition in these designs. A yearning to reach beyond.
But the last book struck her heart like a thunderclap: a tome on geography.
It wasnât about another planet, as she first thought. It was this world.
It spoke of deserts wider than kingdoms, glaciers taller than castles, oceans so vast the six kingdoms were mere dust upon them.
Then she reached the final page.
A red-stained map.
Most of the world was labeled: Uninhabitable â Contaminated by the Great Illness.
Only a single patch remained untouched.
An island. Surrounded by sea. Hidden from history.
Beneath it, a handwritten note:
âThe safe island is called Madagascar.â
Her breath caught.
So it was true. The world beyond had perished, and the six kingdoms were the last survivors. A fragile ember of civilization in a sea of silence.
She felt the full weight of her mission now.
The stakes werenât just royal secrets anymore.
They were everything.
As Lady Chay moved through the quiet room, her gaze caught on a crumpled scrap of paper wedged beneath an old book. Curious, she unfolded it and skimmed the faded ink: a cryptic note about a force that balanced soul, body, and mind. Animencor, it read. The word stirred something faint within her, but its meaning slipped through her thoughts like mist. With a puzzled frown, she folded it back without much concern.
Brushing a strand of hair behind her ear, her fingers grazed something she hadnât realized was thereâa nearly invisible earpiece. The moment she touched it, a subtle wave passed through her, like the echo of someone else's thoughts brushing against her own. For a heartbeat, a voice flickered faintly in her mind, too distant to understand, and then it was gone.
"I must've been so distant from the Seacret Agency, I forgot I even had the earpiece," Chloe murmured to herself, blinking. Then, like a gust of wind stirring a still pond, a memory returnedâlast night, she'd felt the same strange sensation. A flicker of a headache, the brief confusion. She had dismissed it then. But now, it lingered.
Chay brushed off the strange sensation and turned back to the book.
"If I want to be close to the King," she murmured to herself, "then knowledge is the key." with that she got back into the mysterious world of ancient history and the geography of the world outside the castle .