Charisma 100: My Academy Life As A Heartbreaking Commoner-Chapter 165: Opposition

As usual, the night air at the top of the Sky Piercer was cold enough to make Aegis’s nipples hard. But unusually, the ambient aether up here was potent enough to make her skin tingle. Aegis felt like she’d chugged down three energy drinks.

She sat beside Rosanna, legs dangling over the edge, a bottle of spectral wine between them. Naturally, as soon as they both realized how strong the aether was tonight, Rosanna sent Aegis back down and had her go grab some wine. Now, they drank together as Rosevale sprawled below, a mess of flickering lights.

"And then," Rosanna said, swirling her glass, "the Duchess of Bleakmoore tried to poison me at my own coronation feast."

"No."

"Oh, yes. Right in front of everyone. She thought she was being subtle about it, the absolute bitch."

"What did you do?"

Rosanna smiled. All teeth.

"I made her drink it first. Told her I wanted to toast to her health before mine. The look on her face when she realized..." She laughed. "She spent the next three days shitting her guts out. I had healers tend to her, of course. Her dying wouldn’t do anything for me. But she never tried anything again."

Aegis snorted into her wine.

"You’re terrifying."

"I was practical. There’s a difference."

They drank in comfortable silence for a while. The moon hung fat and silver overhead.

"So," Rosanna said eventually. "The Summer Auction approaches. Four days, yes?"

"Yeah. Four days until I either make a name for myself or get publicly humiliated by some crusty old duke."

"Speaking of which." Rosanna set her glass down and stood. "Dance for me."

"What?"

"You heard me. Show me what you’ve got."

Aegis scrambled to her feet.

"I mean, I’m not bad. Duchess Valemont’s class covered the basics, and you taught me that Seductive Swing thing—"

"Less talking. More dancing."

Aegis sighed and started moving.

She tried to recall the formal steps she’d learned, the measured movements of noble dances. Her feet traced the patterns, her arms lifted in what she hoped were elegant arcs.

Rosanna watched for approximately ten seconds before holding up a hand.

"Stop. Stop. I must correct this offense to my eyeballs."

"It wasn’t that bad!"

"Darling, I’ve seen corpses with more grace. And I would know—I raised a few."

Aegis’s jaw dropped.

"Was that a necromancy joke?"

"Perhaps." Rosanna glided forward. "Watch."

She began to dance.

There was no music, but Aegis swore she could almost hear it anyway. Rosanna moved like she’d invented the concept of movement, each step precise yet flowing, her loose robes trailing behind her. She turned, dipped, rose—all without a single wasted motion.

[Okay, that’s just unfair. She’s been dead for centuries and she still moves better than anyone I’ve ever seen.]

"Holy shit," she breathed.

Rosanna stopped, not even slightly winded. Which made sense, given the whole "ghost" thing.

"Now. Let me show you how it’s actually done."

What followed was two hours of the most intense dance instruction Aegis had ever experienced.

Rosanna was, as always, a demanding teacher. She corrected Aegis’s posture a dozen times, adjusted her footwork constantly, and made her repeat the same three-step sequence until Aegis’s legs burned.

"No, no. You’re thinking too hard. Feel the rhythm in your bones."

"I don’t have rhythm in my bones. I have exhaustion in my bones."

"Again."

Aegis groaned but complied.

Slowly, painfully, she improved. Her movements became smoother. Her transitions less jerky. By the end, she could execute a full formal waltz sequence without tripping over her own feet.

Grace +5 (40 → 45)

"Acceptable," Rosanna declared. "You won’t win any competitions, but you also won’t humiliate yourself."

"High praise."

"You should know by now, I don’t give false compliments, darling. You’ve earned that much."

They took a break, passing the wine bottle back and forth. Aegis’s legs felt like overcooked noodles.

"Before we finish," Rosanna said, "there’s something else I want to teach you. A new spell."

Aegis perked up immediately.

"Yeah?"

"You’re building a house, Aegis. Retainers, allies, connections. But you’re still thinking like a solo fighter. You need to learn to empower those around you, not just yourself."

Rosanna raised her hand, and the air shimmered. A soft golden light pulsed outward from her palm, washing over Aegis.

Aegis felt her senses sharpen. Her fatigue lifted slightly. Her mana flow smoothed.

"What is that?"

"Aether Resonance. It creates a harmonic feedback that amplifies the abilities of allies within range. Their spells hit harder. Their reflexes sharpen. Their stamina improves."

"A support spell."

"Exactly. You can’t be everywhere at once. But you can make everyone around you more effective."

Rosanna walked her through the technique. The hand motions, the mental focus, the way you had to sync your aether output with the ambient flow rather than fighting against it.

It took Aegis nearly an hour to get it right. The spell kept fizzling, the resonance collapsing before it could stabilize.

Finally, on her twentieth attempt, she felt it click.

Golden light pulsed from her palm, spreading outward. It was weaker than Rosanna’s version—much weaker—but it held.

New Spell Learned: Aether Resonance (Novice)

"Excellent." Rosanna actually smiled. "With practice, you’ll be able to maintain that for several minutes. In a proper fight, that could be the difference between victory and defeat."

"Thank you."

"Thank me by not dying before you reach your potential. That would be terribly disappointing."

They sparred after that.

"Sparred" was a generous term. What actually happened was Rosanna dancing around Aegis’s attacks like Aegis was moving through molasses, landing gentle taps with her spectral fingers every time Aegis left an opening.

Which was constantly.

"Too slow."

Tap.

"Overextended."

Tap.

"You’re telegraphing."

Tap tap tap.

Aegis growled in frustration, throwing an Aether Whip that Rosanna simply leaned away from.

"That was downright cute," the ghost queen remarked. Her robes had slipped during the exchange, exposing one shoulder and a generous amount of cleavage. She didn’t care.

[Stop staring at the ghost tits. Focus.]

She launched another combination—Aether Step behind Rosanna, daggers sweeping low, then high—and Rosanna blocked both strikes with her bare hands before flicking Aegis on the forehead.

"Better. But you’re still too predictable."

"You’re just too good."

"Obviously." Rosanna straightened her robes, though that somehow made them slip further. "But improvement is not measured against perfection. It’s measured against yesterday."

They continued for another hour. By the end, Aegis was drenched in sweat, her mana pool nearly empty, her arms shaking.

Rosanna looked exactly the same as when they’d started. Ghost perks.

"Enough for tonight," Rosanna declared. "You’ve done well."

They sat back down, watching the eastern horizon. The first hints of pink were creeping into the sky.

Rosanna was quiet for a while. Then she patted the space beside her.

Aegis scooted closer and, after a moment’s hesitation, rested her head on Rosanna’s shoulder. The ghost’s form was cool but solid—like touching mist that had decided it wanted to be real.

"How are things going with the Frost girl?"

Aegis groaned.

"Serilla? She’s... complicated."

"Oh?"

"I was looking for that singing crystal I told you about. It turned out, so was she, cause we ran into each other. She gave me an offer, though, saying that if I agreed to be her date for the auction, she’d let me have it."

"Did you agree?" Rosanna looked curious.

"Of course."

"Oh my." She now looked amused.

"And she keeps looking at me with this... I don’t even know. It’s like she can’t decide if she wants to fuck me or fight me."

"Often the same thing, with certain women."

"I dunno. I guess I’m just a little confused cause I thought she’d still be going after Liora! That was her whole deal! Steal Liora back, be possessive and awful, all that. But lately she’s been..." Aegis trailed off.

"Focused on you instead?"

"Yeah."

Rosanna hummed.

"But the sex was good, yes?"

Aegis choked on her wine.

"Rosanna."

"What? It’s a very relevant question."

"I—" Aegis wiped her chin, face burning. "Yeah. Yeah, it was. It was really good, actually."

"Then what’s the problem?"

"The problem is she’s manipulative and possessive and tried to break up my friends! I mean, don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed fucking her, but I didn’t think it would be... like... a long-term thing!"

Rosanna’s tone was patient... but still amused.

"It seems to me that she’s moved on to different targets. Namely, you. You should bed that Frost girl properly. She’s clearly obsessed."

Aegis sputtered.

"She’s not—I mean—she’s trying to—"

"Aegis." Rosanna turned to look at her, ghostly eyes glinting. "I have been watching mortals fumble through romance for longer than your family line has existed. Trust me when I say: that girl is not thinking about Liora anymore. She’s thinking about you."

Aegis opened her mouth to argue. Closed it. Opened it again.

"...Fuck."

"Probably should, yes."

"She did basically ignore Liora the entire time after we hooked up. And she’s been weird ever since. More... focused on me. Less antagonistic toward Talia and Liora."

"There you go."

Aegis crossed her arms, pouting.

"Well... if she apologizes for messing with my friends, maybe I’ll dick her down again. Maybe."

Rosanna threw her head back and cackled.

"Oh, darling. Be careful with that approach. Some girls go absolutely mad when they aren’t properly attended to. If you’re going to claim her, claim her. If not, release her. But this middle ground?" She shook her head. "Recipe for chaos."

"Chaos is my default setting at this point."

"Then at least make it entertaining chaos."

The sun broke over the horizon. Aegis watched it rise, head still on Rosanna’s shoulder, mind churning.

Four days until the auction.

Four days until she either cemented her place among the nobility or got dragged through the mud.

She took a deep breath and stood.

"I should get back. Lots to prepare."

"Indeed." Rosanna rose as well, her robes resettling into something approaching modest. "Four days, Aegis. Use them wisely."

"I will."

Aegis made her way down from the Sky Piercer, slipping past the sleeping guards.

[Good thing I’ve done this climb enough times to know which ones actually wake up.]

The walk back to the academy was quiet, the campus still asleep. Her mind was full—dancing steps, new spells, Rosanna’s advice about Serilla.

[Obsessed, huh? That’s... a lot to process.]

She reached her dorm room and slipped inside. Lune was already awake, painting by the window.

"You were out all night," Lune observed without looking up.

"Training."

"Mm."

Aegis flopped onto her bed, staring at the ceiling.

Four days.

Rosalie was handling the potions. Lady Cassandra had warned her about Malcolm. She knew the Midnight Waltz was coming and now she could actually dance without looking like a drunk giraffe.

[What else can I do?]