The Extra's Rise - Chapter 435

Chapter 435: Southern Sea Sun Palace (5)
Objectively, Alyssara Velcroix was very beautiful. Her cotton candy pink hair cascaded in perfect waves, framing a face that seemed crafted by an artist with an impossible ideal in mind. Her eyes shimmered between cyan and green like the waters of a tropical lagoon shifting under different lights. And her delicate features gave her the appearance of a teenager, though something in her bearing suggested an age far greater.

But I wasn’t worried about that.

I was more concerned about determining whether she was Emma or not.

That mattered much more to me.

Emma—the girl who had once been my everything in another life, another world. The girl whose death had broken me in ways I couldn’t articulate. The girl whose memory haunted me still, even in this world of mana and monsters.

If Alyssara was somehow Emma reborn, everything would change. The message from her Cardinal over a year ago had contained details only Emma could have known. Details from my previous life, from a world where novels were just stories and magic existed only in imagination.

How could she know these things unless…?

“I see you’ve noticed my advisor’s beauty,” Daedric said, his voice cutting through my thoughts like a knife. I hadn’t realized he was looking at me, his fiery eyes narrowing with something between amusement and contempt. “Alyssara is quite beautiful indeed,” he continued, a faint smirk playing on his lips. “But she is also an exceptional advisor. Her counsel has proven invaluable to the Southern Sea Sun Palace.”

Alyssara smiled demurely at his words, though the effect was somewhat undermined by the mischievous gleam in her eyes as they flicked back to me.

“Beauty and wisdom often go hand in hand,” she said, her voice musical and light, carrying just the faintest hint of an accent I couldn’t place. “Though some appreciate the former more readily than the latter.”

I felt a sudden chill that had nothing to do with the sea breeze. From the corner of my eye, I caught Cassius glaring at me, his crimson eyes burning with an intensity that went beyond mere irritation. There was something possessive in his gaze, something dangerous and barely contained.

The Vampire Prince was jealous.

If the situation hadn’t been so dire, I might have laughed at the absurdity of it. Instead, I forced myself to look away from both of them, only to meet the combined disapproval of four distinctly unhappy princesses.

“Well,” Daedric continued, either oblivious to or amused by the tension, “you have had a long journey. Allow us to escort you to the Palace. We’ve prepared accommodations for your stay during this… investigation.”

The way he said the word made it clear exactly what he thought of our presence here. This wasn’t hospitality; it was a challenge. A dare.

“Our transportation awaits,” he added, gesturing toward a sleek track that I hadn’t noticed before, partially hidden by the lush vegetation that bordered the beach.

A train stood waiting, its silver surface gleaming in the sunlight. It wasn’t the hyperloop technology that had become standard across the Eastern continent, but it was impressive nonetheless—a maglev system that, while perhaps two decades behind current technology, was still a marvel of engineering.

“Your isolation hasn’t stunted your technological advancement,” Nero observed, his tone neutral but his eyes sharp with assessment.

“We may be isolated, but we are not ignorant,” Daedric replied stiffly. “The Southern Sea Sun Palace has always valued progress, even if we chart our own course.”

As we approached the train, I felt a hand slip into mine—Seraphina’s cool fingers intertwining with my own. Her face remained impassive, but her grip conveyed what her expression did not: concern, warning, a silent communication that she sensed something was wrong.

“You’re tense,” she whispered, her voice barely audible over the soft hum of the maglev system.

“Just cautious,” I replied, equally quiet. “This place… isn’t what it seems.”

She nodded once, a slight motion that anyone not watching closely would have missed. Seraphina had always been perceptive, even if she didn’t yet understand the full scope of what we were facing.

The students were directed to board the rear cars of the train, while the professors and Ascendant-rankers were escorted to the forward compartments. As we filed in, I noticed that the interior was lavishly appointed, with plush seating and ornate decorations that spoke of a culture that valued beauty and comfort in equal measure.

Rachel slid into the seat beside me, her golden hair catching the light filtering through the windows. Her sapphire eyes were troubled, though she attempted a smile.

“What’s wrong?” she asked, her voice low. “And don’t say ‘nothing.’ I know that look.”

Before I could answer, Cecilia claimed the seat on my other side, her crimson eyes narrowed with lingering irritation. “Yes, do tell us what’s bothering you. Other than being captivated by our host’s ‘beautiful’ advisor.”

Rose, sitting across from us, rolled her eyes at Cecilia’s tone but leaned forward slightly, her auburn gaze fixed on me with analytical precision. “You recognized something—or someone—back there,” she said, not a question but a statement of observed fact.

I hesitated. How could I explain that we were in the presence of the two most dangerous beings in the world without sounding paranoid? How could I tell them that the Vampire Prince and the Pope of the Red Chalice Cult were within arm’s reach, and not a single person—not even Magnus Draykar—had noticed?

“It’s complicated,” I said finally. “I need more information before I can be sure.”

“Information about what?” Cecilia pressed, her voice sharpening. “About her?”

I sighed, knowing I was navigating dangerous waters. “Not about her beauty, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Then what—”

Cecilia’s question was cut short as the compartment door slid open with a soft hiss. The conversation around us died instantly as a figure stepped into the car, her pink hair swaying slightly with the motion of the train.

Alyssara Velcroix stood in the doorway, her presence causing a ripple of whispers among the students. Her gaze swept across the compartment, lingering here and there as if assessing each of us in turn.

Then her eyes met mine.

Time seemed to slow, stretching like taffy between us as our gazes locked. There was recognition there—I was certain of it. Not the polite acknowledgment of a stranger, but something deeper, more visceral. A knowing that transcended our brief encounter on the beach.

In that moment, I saw past the beauty, past the mask of the advisor. I saw something ancient and terrible and hungry, something that had set its sights on me for reasons I couldn’t yet fathom.

And beneath it all, buried so deep it was almost imperceptible, I glimpsed a flicker of something else. Something familiar. Something that made my heart stutter and my breath catch.

Emma?

The question hung unspoken between us, a bridge across an impossible chasm of worlds and lives.

Alyssara’s lips curved into a smile that was both invitation and warning, promise and threat. Without breaking eye contact, she stepped fully into the compartment, the door sliding closed behind her with the finality of a tomb sealing shut.

“I thought I’d personally welcome our young guests,” she said, her voice carrying easily through the suddenly silent car. “After all, it isn’t every day the Southern Sea Sun Palace hosts such… distinguished visitors.”

But her eyes never left mine, and in their depths, I saw the unspoken truth: this wasn’t a welcome.

It was a claim.