Why is Cassandra here?
I asked myself after taking a seat in my bed.
Did she figure out that I was alive somehow?
It’s possible since she had a system. And from my experience, systems were always unpredictable, including my own.
There is also a chance she might be visiting the family to offer her condolences or something. But... To come all the way from the Empire to these backwater places... What exactly was her intention?
Or am I really overthinking it again?
Maybe she really came to pay her respects. She’s a human after all. She has emotions just like anyone else. Perhaps she felt a genuine need to confirm what happened to me, or check if my family was doing all right.
Whatever the case, my identity is under serious risk right now.
What if she sees through me?
Although I’m confident that she can’t recognize me through conventional means, what about her system? What if she has some primordial relic or technique capable of seeing through my disguise?
What if I were really discovered? What would happen then?
Would I need to abandon everything and start all over again? All my planning, new identity, my perfectly staged death - would it all turn into dust in an instant?
The weight of that possibility pressed down on me like a mountain.
...No. I have to think rationally.
Cassandra’s not an idiot. She’s intelligent, sharp, and pragmatic above all else. If she saw me as someone else, truly someone else, she would probably understand the situation without me having to explain it.
Yeah, I was overthinking just now.
But the risk still remains. No one can tell when or where she will recognize or discover me, and if it happens at the keep, around my family...
There is a big chance my worst fears could become reality.
If so, I needed to stop it from happening. My choices were limited.
First, I could avoid her entirely, vanish from Derier or even the kingdom, maybe stay inside Virion’s domain for a while.
That way, she would likely leave empty-handed, believing I was indeed dead. It was the safest option for my immediate well-being, but... it felt like running away, abandoning my plans and family.
And, like I told someone a long time ago, running away didn’t solve problems, only delayed them.
Then, the alternative choice was to manage the encounter. To control the narrative before it controlled me.
If she were seeking answers, perhaps I could provide them in a way that satisfied her curiosity without compromising my identity. It would mean taking a calculated risk, but it also provided an opportunity. The opportunity to gauge her intentions, or even steer her focus away from me entirely.
... The main characters are really troublesome to deal with.
I stared at the ceiling, already thinking of potential scenarios.
Cassandra wasn’t an ordinary protagonist - she was the Merchant Queen, who would who would eventually control vast networks of information and resources across multiple kingdoms. Even now, in what should be her earlier stages, she possessed an uncanny ability to see through facades and uncover hidden truths.
And with my measly intelligence and limited resources compared to hers, a direct confrontation of wits would be suicide. She had years of experience reading people, detecting lies, and uncovering profitable secrets. I was just someone trying to maintain a desperate charade.
But I did have one advantage. I know who she was, what she was capable of, and what she wanted.
I just needed to use it wisely.
I only hope I won’t screw up when the time comes...
"Sir, the auction will start soon."
I nodded at the attendant while settling into the plush chair of my private booth.
The auction house wasn’t particularly grand - certainly nothing compared to the ones I knew - but it served its purpose well enough for a border town .
I could easily see the main floor being filled with various bidders. Merchants, nobles, resonators, and even the common folk. Most of them were probably for the show or to try their luck.
What surprised me was their numbers.
I thought there wouldn’t be many people since the guild announced the auction just a few hours ago. Guess I underestimated the capabilities of the guild and the townsfolk - word must have spread faster than I expected. Or the items up for sale were more valuable than I thought.
Where might you be...
I leaned forward slightly, my gaze scanning the crowd - most of them were unfamiliar faces, which was reassuring in a sense.
But in an auction , it wasn’t the familiar faces you had to worry about - it was the ones hidden behind masks and hoods, the ones sitting in private booths like myself.
Heck, there might be a chance those cliches happen. Like the auction house being attacked, one or many of the items being stolen, two parties bidding over the same item until they’re practically throwing their entire fortunes at each other...
Actually, that last one might not be so bad if it drives up the price of everything except what I need.
I shook my head, dismissing the idle thoughts. This wasn’t some dramatic story where convenient chaos would solve my problems. This was real life, and I needed to focus on the task at hand.
But then again, with the appearance of a main character, like Cassandra, things might really turn chaotic.
I could already imagine it - some unremarkable trinket that everyone else dismissed, only for Cassandra to casually outbid a few half-hearted competitors and walk away with what would later be revealed as a legendary artifact worth a kingdom’s treasury.
Damn, I wish I had that kind of luck.
But, for background characters like me, we had to work with what we had - careful planning, extensive research, and the occasional stroke of fortune that we’d earned through preparation.
My eyes narrowed, catching a flash of crimson and familiar maids ascending the stairs that led to the private booths area.
Of course, just when I thought I had dismissed all unnecessary distractions, the petty noble girl decided to grace the auction with her presence.
Now I can be sure another drama is about to unfold...