The Extra's Rise - Chapter 448

Chapter 448: Confounding Love (1)
There was something wrong with Arthur.

Rachel didn’t need evidence—she could read the signs like a weather map. She’d spent enough time watching nobles lie with practiced smiles and generals pretend they weren’t bluffing to recognize when someone was off. And Arthur Nightingale? He was absolutely, definitely, unmistakably off.

Not in the usual ways. His investigation team had produced far more results than all others combined, moving with surgical precision—almost too clean, too fast. As if he’d known exactly where to look.

But Rachel knew Arthur better than most. She’d seen him in more moods than the Southern Sea had waves. This wasn’t brilliance at work. This was brilliance hiding something. He was pulling away, subtly, like a planet shifting orbit. Still warm, still present—but distant in a way that made the back of her neck itch.

She was a princess. She knew how to read a room. More importantly, she knew how to read him. The little silences. The way he smiled without his eyes joining in. How his gaze lingered just a second too long before snapping away. There was a crack somewhere behind his azure eyes, and whatever was leaking through wasn’t healthy.

And all of it pointed back to one person.

Alyssara.

Rachel wasn’t the jealous type—or rather, she was, but in the sophisticated, politically trained way that didn’t involve throwing glasses or plotting assassinations. She could admit when someone was beautiful. And Alyssara wasn’t just beautiful; she was the kind of beautiful that rewrote standards. The kind of beautiful that made rooms quieter when she entered.

But Arthur didn’t chase after beauty. He wasn’t driven by it. Something else was happening. Something deeper. Something colder.

Rachel didn’t like it. At all.

“Welcome,” she said as the door to her suite slid open and the others arrived—Cecilia Slatemark, Seraphina Zenith, and Rose Springshaper. All three walked in like storms wearing noble shoes. Dangerous in their own ways. Unstoppable when aligned. And the only reason they were aligning was currently investigating the palace like a man with a death wish.

“There’s something wrong with Arthur,” Rachel said, skipping pleasantries entirely.

The others didn’t argue.

Cecilia nodded first, sharp and immediate. “I noticed it too. His whole aura’s changed.”

“He looks like he’s carrying something heavy,” Rose added, sitting down with a frown. “Like he’s halfway through drowning but still walking upright.”

“I saw it too,” Seraphina said, voice cool and flat. “He’s not acting like himself.”

“It’s that woman,” Cecilia muttered, her crimson eyes gleaming in a way that made furniture feel nervous. “It started after she danced at the banquet.”

“She’s more than just a distraction,” Rachel said. “I’m fairly certain she’s helping with his investigation somehow.”

That got the reaction she expected.

Cecilia’s eyes narrowed dangerously. Rose stiffened slightly. Seraphina, however, didn’t react—which, for her, was a reaction.

“How certain are you?” Seraphina asked.

“Half,” Rachel admitted. “Maybe more. I’ve seen movement near Arthur’s wing that doesn’t add up.”

“Then it’s true,” Seraphina said.

The other two turned to her.

“I checked after their team started making too much progress,” Seraphina explained. “There have been magical signatures in his quarters—faint, but distinct. Someone’s been visiting him.”

Rachel sat back, exhaling slowly.

Alyssara wasn’t just getting close to Arthur.

She was helping him. Working with him. Guiding him, maybe.

And that meant this wasn’t just about a pretty face or a suspicious dance.

This was strategy. This was infiltration.

And it was already working.

“But she’s the Advisor,” Rose said, frowning like the title itself offended her. “Why would she help an outsider? That’s like a head diplomat handing over classified files because someone smiled at them the right way.”

“It can’t be because she likes him,” Cecilia added, arms folded and voice sharp. “Come on. No one falls that hard for someone in two days—not unless they’ve been hit with a love curse or suffered a major concussion. You’re telling me she’d risk her position, maybe even her life, for a crush? Absolutely ridiculous.”

Rachel exhaled, rubbing her temples. “Cecilia’s right. It makes no sense. Arthur doesn’t flirt. Alyssara doesn’t act on whims. This isn’t some whirlwind romance playing out like a bad serialized drama. It’s something else.”

She looked around the room. Three girls. Three deadly talents. And every single one of them now very, very interested in protecting Arthur—even if they disagreed on how to do it.

“I need your help,” Rachel said finally. “We can’t wait around for him to talk to us. He won’t. So we’re going to pull him out of that damn head of his.”

“What do you mean?” Rose asked.

Rachel leaned forward, her voice low and conspiratorial as she laid out the plan.

By the end of it, Rose’s face had turned a deep shade of pink, somewhere between “bashful” and “caught reading something forbidden.” Cecilia was smiling the kind of smile that usually came before a coup. And Seraphina, ever the composed one, gave a single nod—even though the tips of her pointed ears were very slightly red.

It was time to act.

The next morning, Arthur had just finished reviewing the previous day’s findings and was clearly preparing to disappear into more work when the door to his temporary quarters slid open without so much as a knock.

All four of them walked in like a perfectly coordinated ambush.

“Arthur,” Rachel said sweetly.

He looked up, wary. It was the sort of look you give an oncoming magical anomaly—just enough curiosity to investigate, but plenty of healthy fear too.

“We’ve decided something,” Cecilia announced, her tone brooking no argument.

Arthur blinked. “What is it now?”

“You’re taking a break today,” Rose declared.

He stared. “What?”

“It’s an official off-day from investigations,” Seraphina added, her voice calm but definitive. “All teams are resting today before the final push tomorrow.”

“I was going to spend the day compiling—”

“No,” Rachel interrupted, placing a hand on her hip. “You’ve spent every free moment wrapped up in your thoughts or sneaking off to do who-knows-what. You need a break. So, we’re taking you out.”

Arthur stood, arms crossed, clearly preparing a tactical retreat. “Out where?”

“To explore the island,” Cecilia said brightly. “Enjoy the culture. Try the local cuisine. Look at the sights. You know, things normal people do when they visit other continents.”

“I don’t—” he started, but they were already closing in.

Four girls. Four corners. No exit.

Rachel had stepped closer, smiling like a fox with a signed confession. Cecilia linked her arm with his, her grip warm and unyielding. Rose appeared at his other side and took his hand. Seraphina simply stood behind him, radiating silent expectation.

Arthur looked between them, visibly calculating whether he could outmaneuver all four without using magic and deciding the odds weren’t good.

He sighed. “Fine. One hour.”

Rachel grinned. “We were thinking five.”

He looked like he was about to protest again, but then glanced at their faces—at the softness in Rose’s eyes, the quiet force in Seraphina’s, the mischievous glint in Cecilia’s, and the stubborn determination in Rachel’s—and he surrendered.

“Alright,” he said, the tension in his shoulders easing slightly. “Let’s go.”

As they led him from the room, Rachel caught Cecilia’s eye. Phase one complete. Now for the hard part: reminding Arthur there was more to life than mysterious pink-haired advisors and hidden chambers beneath the palace.