The Extra's Rise - Chapter 449

Chapter 449: Confounding Love (2)
I wasn’t sure what I’d done to deserve this ambush, but as we stepped into the bright sunlight outside the palace, I found myself, for the first time in days, taking a full breath.

My captors—guides?—had clearly planned this operation with military precision. Rose had somehow acquired a detailed map of the cultural district surrounding the palace, complete with annotations about the best local attractions. Seraphina, ever practical, had arranged for transportation. Rachel had secured permission for us to leave the palace grounds, which was no small feat given the current tensions. And Cecilia had—well, Cecilia had that dangerous gleam in her eye that suggested she’d happily incinerate anyone who tried to interrupt our outing.

“You need to relax,” Rachel said, linking her arm through mine as we boarded the sleek hover-tram that would take us to the island’s main marketplace. “You’ve been wound so tight I’m surprised you haven’t snapped.”

“I’ve been busy,” I protested weakly.

“Busy being obsessed,” Cecilia corrected, settling into the seat across from me. “There’s investigating, and then there’s whatever you’ve been doing. You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

She wasn’t wrong. Between the investigation and everything else weighing on my mind, sleep had become something of a luxury.

“It’s just the pressure,” I said.

Seraphina’s cool gaze pinned me like a butterfly to a board. “And you think working yourself to exhaustion will help you find the answers faster?”

“Today,” Rose interjected before I could respond, “is about forgetting all of that. Just for a few hours.”

The hover-tram glided smoothly through the lush landscape that surrounded the palace. Unlike the heavily restricted areas we’d been investigating, this part of the island was alive with activity. Local residents moved about their daily business, their crimson-accented clothing marking them as palace citizens.

Despite my initial reluctance, I found my attention drawn to the scenery. The Southern Sea Sun Palace Island was beautiful—verdant forests interrupted by cascading waterfalls, all under the watchful glow of the Red Sun artifact that hovered perpetually in the sky.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Rose said, noticing my gaze. “Despite everything, I can see why they’re so protective of this place.”

“It’s their sanctuary,” I agreed, thinking of the historical documents we’d found. “They’ve been isolated for so long, they see outside influence as a threat.”

“Today is not about investigation,” Rachel reminded me firmly, giving my arm a gentle squeeze. “No analysis, no theories, no mysterious chambers beneath courtyards.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Been eavesdropping on our reports, have you?”

“I have my sources,” she replied with a confident smile that made her sapphire eyes sparkle.

The marketplace was unlike anything I’d seen before—a vibrant explosion of colors, sounds, and scents that assaulted the senses. Vendors called out their wares in the local dialect, a singing cadence that made even mundane transactions sound like poetry. Strips of crimson silk fluttered overhead, strung between buildings to provide shade from the intense sun.

“Where do we start?” I asked, momentarily overwhelmed by the options.

“Food,” Cecilia declared, already steering me toward a row of stalls emitting particularly enticing aromas. “You can’t think properly on an empty stomach.”

We sampled our way through local delicacies—spiced meat skewers, sweet pastries filled with a fruit I’d never encountered before, and a particularly potent tea that left my tongue tingling pleasantly. For the first time in days, I wasn’t thinking about vampires or anything related to our investigation. I was simply… present.

“You’re smiling,” Seraphina observed quietly as we moved through the crowded marketplace. “It suits you better than the frown you’ve been wearing lately.”

I hadn’t realized I was smiling. Hadn’t realized how much I’d needed this—this simple moment of normality amid the gathering storm.

“Thank you,” I said, meeting her eyes genuinely. “All of you. I didn’t know I needed this.”

“That’s what we’re here for,” Rose said brightly, her warm hand finding mine. “To remind you when you’re being too stubborn for your own good.”

“I’m not stubborn,” I protested.

All four of them laughed simultaneously, the sound so synchronized it was almost musical.

“You’re the definition of stubborn,” Cecilia said, poking me playfully in the ribs. “Remember when you refused to admit you were injured after the duel with Ren? You were literally bleeding on the floor and still insisted you were ‘perfectly fine.'”

“Or when you spent three days straight practicing that 6-circle spell because Jin said it couldn’t be mastered in a week?” Rachel added, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “You nearly collapsed from mana exhaustion.”

“I did master it, though,” I pointed out with a grin.

“That’s not the point!” Rose exclaimed, but she was smiling too.

Cecilia slipped her arm through mine on the opposite side from Rachel. “The point is that you push yourself too hard. Always have.”

I glanced between them, suddenly very aware of how close they were standing. “I’m fine, really.”

“Sure you are,” Rachel said, not believing me for a second. “That’s why you’ve been wandering around like a ghost for the past few days.”

“Quiet and distracted,” Seraphina added, her normally stoic expression softening slightly.

“With that faraway look in your eyes,” Rose finished.

I felt a warmth spreading through me that had nothing to do with the island’s tropical climate. They’d noticed. All of them. And they cared enough to stage this intervention.

As the day progressed, I found myself relaxing more and more. We visited a local artisan’s workshop where Seraphina purchased an elegant silver hairpin. We watched street performers execute impossible feats of magic and acrobatics. We wandered through a garden of flowers that changed color depending on who was viewing them—to me, they appeared in every shade of blue imaginable.

“They reflect your soul’s resonance,” a local guide explained when I asked about the phenomenon. “Each person sees something different.”

“What do you see?” I asked Rachel, who stood beside me.

“Gold,” she said softly. “Every possible shade, from pale yellow to deep amber.”

“I see crimson,” Cecilia added, her eyes reflecting the same hue as she leaned against my shoulder.

“Silver and blue,” was Seraphina’s quiet response.

“Pink and white,” Rose said with a gentle smile.

I looked back at the flowers, wondering what it meant that they appeared blue to me. Whatever the case, it was a welcome distraction from the darkness that had consumed my thoughts these past days.

As afternoon turned to evening, we found ourselves in a quieter section of the cultural district, where lanterns were being lit along the streets in preparation for nightfall.

“One last stop before we head back,” Rachel announced, guiding us toward a small, unassuming building nestled between two larger shops.

“What’s this?” I asked, noting the strange symbols painted around the doorway.

“A fortune teller,” Cecilia said with a mischievous grin. “Apparently quite famous on the island. Locals say she can see through time itself.”

I raised an eyebrow skeptically. “You don’t really believe that, do you?”

“Of course not,” Cecilia scoffed. “But it’ll be fun. Unless you’re scared?”

The challenge in her eyes was impossible to resist. “Lead the way, then.”