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Over the next few days, Vespa got to work and like a magical girl transforming into her disguise, she shed her outer self. Her hair turned white to match her tattoos, and her horns shrank until they were invisible beneath her hairline, making her appear perfectly human.
The transformation was utterly seamless; even when she concentrated on hiding the demonic weight beneath her glamour, only a faint ripple crossed her skin.
Under this guise, she moved through the academy as if she had always belonged there, navigating social circles with unnatural ease.
People spoke freely around her, giving away information without ever realizing it. Nobody questioned her presence and there was no reason to. Who would make an enemy of a beautiful, dark-skinned woman whose very existence seemed to thrill both boys and girls?
Vespa sent off to complete every task had Arthur set for her she spent weeks that dissolved in a blur completing her tasks.
Especially with a tight schedule as the tournament is around the corner Vespa had to move fast.
She began with Garrett, considering him the easiest target. Arthur's goal was straightforward: get him into a relationship with Mira. To achieve this, Vespa studied his routines, mapping everything with effortless precision. Garrett followed a predictable pattern: gym early, classes, dinner promptly at five, and then back to his room for homework or rest.
However, some nights he would change his patterns. Sometimes, he would walk past Mira's room, stopping right in front of her door as if about to knock... only to pull back last minute and retreat into his own room instead.
Vespa observed it all and came up with a plan. A plan that required subtlety as the key.
One morning, while Garrett was training in the yard, Vespa slipped away. She found herself in the servant's laundry rotation where she found Garrett's clothes. There, she opened a small sachet containing oils and scents. Carefully, she applied the liquid directly to his uniform and what scent did she apply?
One that smelled distinctly of Mira from her sweet skin to her signature aroma Vespa had design to make anyone who caught a whiff think only of Mira.
When Garrett returned to his dorm and placed his uniform on, he immediately noticed something different. But he couldn't really put his finger on it, so he went about his day as normal.
Vespa watched from across the dining hall as he sat alone with his meal. His fork moved on autopilot, stabbing at his plate without any real appetite. Every few minutes, his eyes would drift toward the corridor where Mira room halted.
He seemed genuinely unable to tear his attention away. And so that evening, when heading back to his room, he didn't just settle in for the night. Instead, he went straight towards Mira's door and knocked.
"Coming," Mira's voice echoed as she opened the door and looked at him. "Oh, I wasn't expecting you. What can I help you with Garrett?"
"Umm... I, umm, well, I was wondering if you would eat dinner with me..." Stuttering out his words, Garrett flushed a brilliant pink, his embarrassment creating a visible shield around him.
"Of course! How about I clean up real quick and head down with you?"
"Oh, really? You'd do that!?"
"Yes, of course. Just give me a minute."
Mira closed the door. Through it, Vespa watched Garrett standing in the hall, wearing a wide, almost painful grin. He looked genuinely happy.
Satisfied, Vespa walked away.
One down.
Target number two however was proving to be much tougher; Damien couldn't be rushed like Garrett. Instead, she first had to learn everything about him.
Having been placed in the same year as him meant their classes overlapped providing her plenty of chances. And so, for an entire week, she simply observed. She memorized his rotations, his meals, and his training times, even tracking when he sent out letters back to his family. All of it was mapped and timed.
Then day the perfect opportunity presented itself right before her.
One day after class, Damien had called Helena to meet him giving her a golden chance to deal with targets at once.
Vespa watching them talk waited for the perfect opptuinty to unleash her plan.
Vespa sauntered over, placing a hand on her chest as she smiled playfully while looking between them. "Oh my gosh! So sorry to interrupt!" She let her eyes linger on Damien just a moment too long.
"I didn't realize you had a girlfriend, Damien. I was going to introduce myself, but I see you're already taken."
Damien's eyes flickered toward her, sizing her up instantly before he offered a smooth smile. "No, you're not interrupting us," he said easily. "We were just chatting about a project my fiancée has been working on." He gestured toward Helena.
"And I'm flattered by your beauty, but as you said, already taken."
"Fiancée?" Vespa's eyes widened, and she covered her mouth with a hand.
"Well, that's a shame. All the good ones are taken." She tilted her head, letting her silver hair spill over one shoulder as she gave him a playful pout.
"Congratulations to you both. Really. You make a lovely couple." Her gaze drifted to Helena; it was a look of curiosity rather than competition. "You're lucky."
Helena remained silent. Her expression didn't change, but Vespa noticed the tension in her shoulders and the way her fingers pressed white against her books a telltale sign of distress.
Vespa leaned closer to Helena. Her next words were whispered, yet loud enough for Damien to catch every syllable. "Between us girls," she murmured, "if you ever want me to teach you a few skills to keep a man like that satisfied, just say the word." She pulled back with an innocent smile.
"Or if you'd rather watch and learn first-hand... that works too. I've picked up a trick or two in my time."
Helena's eye twitched. Was this woman truly shameless? Or was there something deeper at play? Damien laughed, but it wasn't dismissive; it was him laughing like a predator that found something interesting.
Which was exactly what Vespa wanted
"Bold," Damien chuckled, his gaze drifting over Vespa's figure giving her a look that held an obvious sort of proprietary pleasure. He let his appraisal settle just long enough to make it clear how much he enjoyed the view.
"I would love to have company with a person of your looks; it would do wonders having such high-class company around. You should come by more often." His eyes flicked toward Helena, acknowledging her presence but dismissing her importance. "And don't care for my fiancé glare," he added smoothly, "Helena wouldn't mind having a friend like you around. In fact, it might be good for her... routine."
Vespa responded with a laugh that seemed genuine and natural sounding that was warm. She met Damien's gaze with an unbothered smile, accepting his sight on her body with a warm welcome.
Helena however remained rigid, but even through her silence, Arthur saw the subtle tension in her shoulders, the visible cost of maintaining perfect composure under Damien's scrutiny.
"Well then I'll be on my way I don't want too how you too up for longer." Vespa singles her goodbye and starts to walk off leaving the two alone.
"Please come again." Damien says with a wave smiling as Vespa walks off her ass rocking back and forth making Damien with great intent.
Two days later, Vespa found Helena alone in the library. It was deep within a private study alcove, shielded by towering shelves of forgotten lore. Helena sat before her notes, but she wasn't reading; she was staring at the page with an unfocused look, as if her mind were miles away from glyphs and runes.
Vespa slipped into the seat opposite her. Helena looked up. The guarded expression snapped back immediately, harder than before.
"If you're here to offer lessons," Helena stated flatly, "I'm not interested."
"I'm not," Vespa held up both hands, palms open. "Here to apologize for that day, and to explain why I did it."
Helena studied her, searching every line of Vespa's body for the angle. Why play with Damien?
"Explain then."
Vespa leaned forward, dropping her voice low enough to keep the secret locked in place. "I acted that way because I'm fishing for information on Damien how he operates, who he talks to, what he plans." She held Helena's gaze without flinching. "Every word in that hallway was an act designed to make him think he found a useful idiot when, in reality, the useful idiot was playing him."
Helena's expression hardened instantly. "And why tell me this?" Her voice was sharp and measured. "What stops me from going straight to Damien and telling him exactly what you're scheming?"
Vespa smiled softly. "That would only be true if you truly loved the man." She let the words hang there, watching them land. "But everyone on campus knows you don't. You're stuck in an arranged marriage with someone you despise, and the only reason you haven't walked away is because you can't."
Helena's jaw tightened, but she didn't deny it.
"And besides," Vespa continued, leaning back in her chair with practiced ease, "Damien is too full of his own ego to believe you even if you told him. In his mind, there isn't a woman alive who wouldn't throw herself at him. Me flirting? That's just Tuesday for a man like that. He'd laugh it off and tell you were being paranoid."
Helena was silent; her silence confirmed everything.
"But that's not why I'm telling you this," Vespa shifted her tone. The confidence remained, but something softer crept underneath it something genuinely empathetic.
"I'm here because we share something in common."
"What could we possibly have in common?" Helena challenged.
Vespa rolled up her sleeve dramatically. The white serpent coiled up her left arm from wrist to shoulder. Its scales were vivid against her dark skin, catching the dim library light. It looked striking on her skin making Helena look at it closely.
"We're both marked," Vespa stated simply.
Helena gasped, her gaze flicking from the serpent on Vespa's arm to her own forearm, then back up to Vespa's face. "Wait. You're saying you work for Arthur?"
"Yup." Vespa rolled her sleeve down, casually. "He marked me and tasked me with getting as close as possible to Damien to learn everything about him: his habits, his plans, his weaknesses. All of it." She locked eyes with Helena. "And the best way I could see myself doing that was with your help."
Helena stared at her, piecing everything together the hallway flirting, the whispered offer about lessons, Damien's laugh. It all clicked into place.
"My help?" Helena repeated slowly. "What exactly do you need from me?"
"Nothing dangerous," Vespa assured her. "Nothing that puts you in a worse situation." She leaned forward again, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper. "I just need you to not shut me out when I'm around him. Let me be the annoying new friend who tags along sometimes; sit with you in class, chat with you in the halls where he can see."
"The more natural my presence feels around you," Vespa continued, "the more natural it will feel around him, allowing me to get closer without a single suspicion."
Helena was quiet for a long time. Her fingers traced the edge of the thorned rose beneath her sleeve a nervous habit.
"Arthur really sent you to do all this?" Helena finally whispered.
"Arthur doesn't do anything without a plan," Vespa confirmed softly. "And you are not the only piece on his board, Helena. But you are the one he talks about most when it comes to getting you free of that man."
A slow understanding bloomed in Helena's eyes, making her look at Vespa differently than before. It was the sudden, unexpected weight of shared burden lifting from her shoulders. She looked at that mark on Vespa, and suddenly, the desperate loneliness she had lived with for so long seemed to lose its edge.
"And the offer you made in front of Damien?" Helena finally asked, her voice careful. "The lessons?" Vespa smiled and this time, it was genuine.
"That part was actually real," she admitted. "If you ever want to learn a thing or two, my door is always open. No judgment." She tilted her head, her expression playful yet kind.
"And I meant what I said about girl talk. I love it. You should introduce me to your friends, Helena. I have a feeling we're going to get along really well."
"I don't have many friends," Helena admitted quietly.
"Then it's a good thing you've got me now." Vespa stood up, pushing her chair back with a warm smile. "See you in class, Helena."
Vespa left without looking back. Helena remained alone in the alcove. Her notes were untouched. The thorned rose on her forearm pulsed faintly beneath her sleeve a gentle warmth against her skin, like a reminder: She isn't as alone as she thought.