Chapter 208

Slowly coming out of her post-orgasmic daze, Delta rubbed her forehead. Her thoughts clearing, she guiltily looked down at her naked lower half, her clone watching impassively from between her legs.

Delta blushed in embarrassment. It took a lot to make that happen.

She coughed.

Okay. Time to get serious.

She rolled off the bed and dispelled the shadow with a flick of her mind. It faded away into curling black wisps.

That had just been ... a brief mental reset before tackling the larger crisis.

She did feel more clear-headed.

So there. Just being a practical girl.

She scooped her discarded armor from the ground and re-equipped it. Soon enough, she was geared up and ready once again. Her flushed skin cooled, breathing settling into an even rhythm. Purple eyes flicked to the towering double doors leading out of the palatial bedroom.

Delta had been operating under the assumption that she was, to some extent, trapped inside this opulent bedroom. She supposed that might not be true. She hadn’t even tried to leave through the front door yet. Seeing how Lucinda had scooped them up in a magical artifact and dropped them into separate rooms, Delta didn’t think escape would be as easy as strolling out whenever she pleased—that instead, she’d been left here to be picked up later. A prisoner. But it was worth a shot. If nothing else but to see what security was like.

Approaching the giant, ornate double doors, Delta appraised the thick slabs of wood. Primarily because she was wondering how good they were at keeping out noise. Considering their heft, and the construction of the room in general, she assumed pretty good. Which was relevant because while Delta hadn’t made that much noise during her ... indiscreet activities ... she hadn’t been dead silent, either.

Gripping the handle, she tugged.

The door didn’t budge. She pulled a little harder to make sure. The door groaned under the force, and Delta was reminded that she had once again gone up a level in advancement. Though she was a dexterity-based class, she was still a physical fighter: each progression came with a decent boost in strength. She rattled the door, marveling at how it whined and creaked under the firm tugs she gave the handle.

Then, abruptly, some mechanism clicked, and the door unlocked—swinging open on Delta’s next pull. It was unexpected enough she nearly smacked herself in the face.

There, on the other side of the doorway, stood a guard.

It was a man in his early thirties with a serious, blunt face. He was dressed in full silver plate armor, lacking a helmet. A long halberd rested at his side, gripped in a gauntleted hand. His brown eyes met Delta’s, and Delta was briefly flustered, realizing there’d been someone standing outside her door while she’d been thoroughly tongue-fucking herself.

Except she didn’t catch any hint of embarrassment in his expression, so the doors had indeed been thick enough to hide her moans. She had gotten away with it. Probably.

Still, his presence confirmed that she was a prisoner—even if a temporary, unthreatened one placed into a gilded cell.

“Honored guest,” the guard said. “You’ll be sent for shortly, but until then, you must remain in your room.”

“Sent for?” Delta asked. “By who?”

The guard shifted uncomfortably. “I’ve been instructed not to engage with you. Please, return to your chambers.”

“What? You’re not allowed to talk to me? Why?” She peeked up and down the revealed hallway. “Where’s Rosalie and Zoey?”

“I’ve been instructed not to engage with you,” he repeated—so apparently he was taking that instruction seriously. “Your summons should be within the hour.”

“Summons? Nobody summons me,” Delta said, finding herself inordinately annoyed by that phrasing.

The guard stared blankly at her.

Delta made a plan.

Sure, scouring her bedroom and finding a way out from there—the windows being the obvious vector, though she assumed they were guarded in their own right—could yield fruit, but seeing how the door to her room was open and she had a clear path to make a break for it, why not utilize the easiest method?

Because she was fourth advancement now. It wasn’t like some guard could stop her from doing what she wanted. Not that she’d fight him—she wasn’t trying to create that much trouble with the master of the estate, by attacking someone. Especially seeing how this was the d’Celestin palace. But harmlessly giving him the slip? That was a level of disrespect she was willing to risk.