“Now what?”

  We were gathered in an antechamber in the palace, the players who formed the prince’s guard, Han Sung-hyuk and his sister, and myself.

  “We’re still in the scenario,” Jesse said. “Which means that all the tasks haven’t been completed yet. What are yours, Maria?”

  “’Attend the feast’ and ‘Escape your family’s abuse’.”

  “Well you definitely went to the feast… From what I can tell, as soon as your tasks are done, you pass the scenario, right?” She looked to everyone else for confirmation and received a round of nods. “Has anyone ever been in a scenario where someone else passed their tasks before the other players?”

  “Um, I have,” Angry_Birb offered. Her voice was more child-like than I had expected. “My last scenario was Hansel and Gretel. The father was a player at first, but when I completed my task, as Gretel, and returned, the father had become an NPC. His tasks must have been to send us off and get rid of the stepmother.”

  “My tasks are to guard the royal prince and princess, and to protect the new bride. Do all the guards have the same tasks?”

  Again, a round of nods.

  “And the two of you?” She looked at the Han siblings. “What are your tasks?”

  Han Jihee frowned at her. The look very much suited a royal princess. “Why do you get to order us around?”

  “She’s not ordering, Jihee,” I said gently, “she’s organising. We need to consolidate our knowledge to pass this scenario.”

  The girl looked at me suspiciously, but she provided no more opposition.

  “‘Find your bride.’ ‘Become the king.’” Han Sung-hyuk provided succinctly. His voice was low and seemed to have a magnetic pull on several of the other players. Han Jihee cuddled into his side. Angry_Birb smiled at him.

  Jesse smirked and secretly rolled her eyes at me. I had to clench my teeth to avoid laughing.

  Her next words, however, stole the smile from my face immediately.

  “So the fact that you’re still here, Maria, suggests that you haven’t escaped your family yet. Not fully.”

  “What do I have to do then? Get married?” I tried to avoid looking directly at Han Sung-hyuk.

  “Maybe?” Jesse shrugged. “What about you, cutie? What are your tasks?”

  She was addressing Han Jihee. The girl frowned disagreeably, but her cheeks were a little pink.

  “I have to help Older Brother become king and find out who’s trying to get us.”

  “Bit rough to put that on a kid,” Jesse observed, frowning. “In summary, though, it makes sense that we’re all still here, but Maria should have finished up already.”

  “‘Escape your family’s abuse’… I guess it’s vague, really…” I pondered the phrase. “That would suggest Madam Jin is up to something. Does anyone know what happens in the story after this? I always thought the heroine and the prince just got married and that was it.”

  “Me too.” Jesse was fiddling with the pommel of her sword again. “All the versions of Cinderella I’ve seen and read kind of end there.”

  “I wish Poppy was here with us.” I tapped my lips pensively with a finger. “She loves fairytales. I should have asked her for more information about this one, but there was no time…”

  “I can just summon her,” Han Sung-hyuk pointed out, unexpectedly. In my surprise, I forgot I was avoiding looking at him. His electric blue eyes were guarded and unreadable. “As a member of your family, I can bring her into the palace as a companion for you.”

  I thought I heard Jesse mutter something under her breath, but when I looked over to her, she was talking with the other guards.

  “That would… Thanks. I’d like that.”

  The discussion turned to who might be trying to kill off the royal siblings. The list was endless; there were countless relatives and courtiers with vested interests, none seeming to have a greater or lesser motive than another. We had been talking for several hours, until our throats were sore, when Poppy was announced.

  Madam Jin had been working hard. Poppy was bedecked in the most exquisite robes that I, a fashion novice, had ever seen, and her silky black hair arranged in incredible knotwork. She lowered her eyelashes demurely as she bowed to Han Sung-hyuk. “Your Highness.”

  “No need for that, he’s a player like us,” Jesse said cheerfully. “Poppy, right? Maria tells us you’re amazing with fairytales.”

  She glanced at me and nodded to Jesse. “Well, I like fairytales, that’s true.”

  “Let’s work together then. There’s a few things we’re trying to work out. First off, why is Maria still here? As far as we can tell, she’s completed both of her tasks. Second, who is it that’s trying to kill the siblings?”

  “There’s many variations on this story,” Poppy said slowly, folding her hands. She was every inch a perfect noblewoman. “You probably know the very basic versions where the prince and heroine get married and live happily ever after, but that’s not the only storyline.”

  “What else could we be looking at?” Angry_Birb chirped, eyes round.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “There’s often some ambitious character in a position of power, seeking more,” Poppy suggested. “No-one specific, unfortunately. The best place to start would be to ask, who benefits if the princess dies?”

  “Why the princess, specifically?” I asked. “What about the prince?”

  “Oh, well…” Poppy’s expression clouded briefly. “It’s strange, isn’t it? That not only is the crown prince being targeted, but also one of his sisters. As I understand, she’s close to him personally, but she has not real power in court.”

  “I’m his real sister,” Han Jihee declared.

  “Well, someone’s noticed that you’re particularly close, it seems,” Jesse supplied. “And Maria?”

  “I guess Mik Tsaam’s… Sorry, Maria’s role hasn’t finished yet. For whatever reason. I couldn’t say why that is. I don’t fully understand this game.”

  Our discussions eventually ground to a halt. We disbanded – Jesse and the rest of the guards to continue investigations, Han Jihee and Poppy to the women’s quarters. Poppy seemed oddly fond of Jihee. I’d never seen her engage with anyone younger, but she linked her arm in the girl’s and chattered softly as they departed. I moved to follow them.

  “Maria.”

  “Han Sung-hyuk.” He was looming behind me, so tall, and close, that it hurt my neck a little to look up at him. Was he trying to start a fight?

  “Don’t get any ideas.”

  Oh, he sure was. “What kind of ideas?” I asked. I smiled in a way that I hoped showed how much I wanted to stab him in his handsome face.

  He glared at me, cold. “This is just for the storyline. I’ve no interest in you.”

  “Oh. Good. Neither do I.” I almost blurted out that maybe he would match better with Poppy, but I didn’t want to wish this jerk on her. “Glad we cleared that up. Goodbye.”

  I turned and followed Poppy and Jihee, trying to control my irritation. What did he think I was? Did he just have an over-inflated ego?

  When I finally caught up to the other two, I almost began ranting about Han Sung-hyuk before, remembering who Jihee was, I caught myself. Still, she gave me an odd look as I tried to compose my emotions.

  “Everything okay?” I asked Poppy.

  “Much better, now that I’m here.” She sighed, the way she did after a long day at worked when she had finally kicked off her work heels. “Away from that woman.”

  “Did she do anything to you?”

  “I’m used to it.”

  “Poppy.”

  “It’s fine, Mik Tsaam. Let’s just focus on our tasks, shall we?”

  But our investigations turned up nothing. Days turned to weeks as I was pulled back and forth for dress fittings and etiquette training, occasionally snatching time to meet with the others, mostly to provide them with healing.

  The attempts on Jihee’s life were increasing, it seemed. And strangely, nothing was directed towards her brother.

  And then, the king died.

  It wasn’t really a shock as he’d been ill for a long time, but it now meant that not only was a wedding being planned, but a succession ceremony too. On the same day that Han Sung-hyuk and I had to play at being married, he would also be rising to the throne.

  “So why Jihee?” I demanded to no-one, as I sat with Jesse in the empty antechamber. The rest had retired to sleep, but I was fizzing with frustration. Jesse was tapping her lips sombrely with a finger, and I felt it momentarily endearing that she made a similar gesture to me when thinking seriously.

  “Why Jihee…?” Jesse repeated. “It’s strange… And I can’t work it out. I’ve never been a detective.”

  “Oh, but you’ve been a guard?” I teased, and then immediately evaluated my tone of voice.

  “Sure.”

  “Wait, really?”

  “Oh yeah, I’ve been a security guard.”

  “Wow, what was that like?”

  “Kind of boring, honestly. You get to see some cool stuff though. Backstage passes to a lot of places, especially where the public doesn’t usually get to go. I think I had to do some real work twice, maybe.”

  “And by ‘real work’ you mean… fighting people?”

  “Yeah.”

  “That’s… impressive.”

  “Nah, they usually don’t now what they’re doing. And that doesn’t count the people who are drunk or high. They’re super easy to deal with.”

  I looked at Jesse with additional respect. No wonder she was so confident. She’d actually fought people in real life.

  “The wedding’s in two days, and we still haven’t worked anything out.” Jesse rubbed her eyes. “Well, hopefully you’ll be out of here once the wedding happens. Although…”

  “Although what?”

  “No, nothing. I’m tired and can’t think straight. We should go to bed. Good night, Mik Tsaam.”

  “Come on, tell me.”

  “Night, Maria.”

  The day of the wedding dawned cloudless. Winter was giving way to spring and the trees were heavy with blossoms. Green fingers fought their way from the cold ground where bulbs were waking.

  Seated in a swaying palanquin, the headdress I wore was heavy, hurting my skull and neck. I kept my back straight, my Endurance stat helping me to stay upright under the layers of red fabric and jewellery.

  Would I finally finish the scenario once I was married? A thought struck me. Did I have to consummate the marriage for it to be considered valid?

  I suddenly remembered the first question I had been asked when I entered the game.

  Was that… Was that to confirm whether the player could be involved in NSFW content?

  I suppressed the urge to scream and instead wriggled the rings on my fingers back and forth. Insane. Completely insane. This was a game, right?

  I wondered how Lee Wai Meng was getting on. Poppy said that he was no longer in the pond, so I assumed his role as the fish was done. But his role as an administrator?

  There were so many questions and just not enough time or energy to deal with them all. And now the palanquin was entering the main palace, where Han Sung-hyuk was waiting…

  Through the red silk that covered the sedan, a sudden roar slammed into my unsuspecting ears.

  I immediately fought my way out of my encumbering headdress and veils, pushing out through the door of the sedan, and looked –

  The palace was a seething mass of people. Noble guests were attempting to flee in all directions, but amongst them darted armed figures, swinging and swinging.

  A red wedding was meant to be auspicious. But not like this. Not when the dye used was blood.

  Guards were trying to push their way against the flood of terrified, unarmed people fleeing the carnage. I momentarily saw Han Sung-hyuk, his sister in his arms, on a raised dais at the far end of the room, his blue eyes flashing. The guard players frantically slashed at the attackers who approached and then I was tearing off my wedding attire to try and escape as the assailants, dressed in dark grey, faces covered, turned on me.

  I equipped Camael’s Cloak, drew my pathetic little dagger, and yelled, “Dear God, I pray you help us in this fight!”

  I saw the party members light up briefly – there was Jesse, efficiently cutting down anyone who came towards her, although her face was taut and increasingly splattered with other peoples’ blood. I craned to keep my eye on her, but she disappeared into the melee, and I had to focus; I cast Aura too, feeling the drain of bespelling several people twice in a row, but relying on my Endurance to continue standing.

  “Poppy!”

  She stood like a lost child in the sea of warring figures, completely untouched, other than the flecks of blood that were building on her robes. How she heard me, I wasn’t sure, but she turned to look as the attackers began to advance upon me.

  I wished I’d invested more into fighting skills, but it was too late now. How I dodged the first stab, I wasn’t sure, but with my low Dexterity, I was caught a glancing slice to my ribs. Partially protected by my heavy robes, the wound stung more than anything, but if anyone landed a proper blow, I’d be in trouble.

  Poppy was still standing and staring at me. How was she untouched, in all this chaos? Did she have a maxed-out Luck stat?

  Did she…

  Did…

  Poppy?

  What… did you do?