Chosen By The Lover's Constellation-Chapter 30: The Highest Bidder, Part Five

{Lianna}

{September 10, 239 2E}

Lianna and Enverna had been sleeping in the same bed for a while now, but something that hadn’t happened much yet was that Enverna was the first one to get out of bed.

"Ah..." Lianna yawned, rubbing her eyes as she quickly noticed the lack of her (future) wife’s presence on the bed.

Somewhat groggy, she dragged her heavy legs to the living room where she found that the TV had been left on, although Enverna wasn’t there to watch it.

Absentmindedly, Lianna went to sit on the couch and quickly noticed that something had been crushed under her weight. Standing back up, she saw that Enverna left her a written note.

With a smirk, Lianna lifted it up.

[Enverna, you really should get used to texting me, hehe. Though, I did do this first so yeah.]

Opening the note, Lianna read "I went on a run. Please, leave me a cup of coffee in the microwave. I tried to make some myself, but yours is better."

Lianna’s heart warmed so much that the girl felt worried. How had Enverna managed to achieve this effect on her in so little time? 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

"What do you mean mine is better? It’s an automatic coffee maker... Come on."

As endearing as it was to read that, a seed of worry did sprout in Lianna’s chest.

[... I hope she keeps her guard up, though. Some asshole might try something.]

On that note, feeling for the first time since they’d gotten engaged like an actual housewife, Lianna went to make that coffee. She turned the TV up so that she could listen to the morning news.

Just as she turned on the automatic coffee machine, there was a knock on the door.

Lianna grinned, walking over to it.

"Don’t worry, I’m not naked or..."

She’d been fully expecting to see Enverna on the other side. Instead, there was someone here Lianna didn’t know.

A woman stood before her with bright, short, green hair and deep, yellow eyes. She wore a dark, green suit and white gloves, smiling politely as she said:

"Good morning, Lianna."

"Um... Do I know you?" Lianna asked, reaching slowly for Enverna’s spear, which the woman had left next to the door, just in case this visit wasn’t friendly.

"Nope. Not at all," the woman replied, holding a card up with the word "Admin" on it. "I am the Watchful’s administrator. I wanted to speak with you. May I come in? Without having my head chopped off by whatever weapon you’re reaching for, preferably."

"Y-YEAH!" Lianna instantly let go of the spear and walked back, giving her some space. "Come in! Come in."

[Shit, shit, shit! I just threatened the administrator!]

"Don’t mind if I do."

All of a sudden, the morning had grown somewhat tense.

[Why did she come here? Is she gonna fire us?]

In all honesty, Lianna had been expecting that. It was a miracle that they hadn’t been fired yet, given how much negative press the Watchful guild was getting as a direct result of that alleged murder.

But, perhaps now the administrator had come to personally deliver the bad news.

"Recent news aside, how has your time with our guild been, Lianna?" The administrator asked.

Her tone felt so casual that many likely wouldn’t guess the "recent news" she just mentioned was a murder. Much less that the murdered party was one of her employees.

[... She’s probably super angry at us about that, even if she doesn’t entirely believe the allegations. Hm. That’s probably why she’s here then, right? To confirm or debunk them for herself.]

"Um... It’s been fine," Lianna replied. She acknowledged how the woman easily swept away the elephant in the room, but she wasn’t about to bring it up herself. "I, uh... Haven’t gone on too many missions yet, but hopefully that’ll change."

"Maybe. There certainly is quite a lot of work to go around. And, what about your fiance? How is she doing? I can’t imagine that leaving her home and coming here has been easy."

[Okay, so she’s heard *all* of the rumors... Great.]

"She’s... adjusting. I’m doing my best to help with that."

"Then, already, you’re likely the kind of spouse many would kill to have," the administrator laughed. Lianna could only force a tiny smile to maintain the friendly air. "I’m sure the murder allegations aren’t making that any easier, huh?"

There it was. Lianna’s smile fell like a glass vase breaking into a million tiny pieces after being thrown to the floor.

"I-"

"If that boy had managed to plant some form of evidence on you before he absorbed Vara, then I truly would have had to fire you. Thankfully, he hadn’t thought that far ahead."

Suddenly, Lianna froze.

The only sounds in that room, for almost half a minute, were Lianna’s heart beating quickly in her ears and the TV still playing in the background.

The administrator didn’t say anything. Keeping that same polite smile on her face, she allowed her words to fully sink in, in silence. Eventually, Lianna spoke with trembling lips:

"How do you know what happened?"

"That test mission you and Enverna went on was an evaluation. However, it was not Vara who was evaluating you. It was me. And, to that end, I wanted to see you two at work myself," the administrator explained. "So, I had Vara bring a bodycamera. One that was very small and, thankfully, active when everything involving that boy happened. I saw him stand over his dead teammates, I heard an ethereal, older woman’s voice speaking through his mouth, and then I watched as Vara was forcibly dragged toward him... Until her camera cut out."

The administrator’s smile did not fade, but her volume did go down, lower, and lower, with every word.

"Forgive me if I’m being too casual about the death of a good friend, but in our business... This is, unfortunately, rather common. The point is," she said, "I know quite well that you and Enverna are innocent. It is for that reason that I did not fire you after the allegations spread. And, it is for that reason that I plan to do everything in my power to help you and Enverna repair your reputation... On one condition, of course."

Of course. Lianna likely should have anticipated there being some sort of a catch, but she’d been too shocked throughout all of this conversation to think properly. Now that the administrator said that, however, Lianna’s relief was restrained a little and she was brought back down to the ground.

"What do you want?"

"For you to try you hardest." The administrator responded so quickly that Lianna wondered if she heard her right. "Tell me, Lianna. Why do you want to be a Player?" She asked with great curiosity. "Is it glory you’re after? Money? A combination of both? What do you want?"

Lianna finally had an answer to offer. This was a question she’d asked herself, after all.

"... I just want my life to mean something," Lianna replied. "Um, I don’t know if you’re aware, ma’am, but I’m-"

"A child of mana? I am very much aware of that, yes."

"Right..." Lianna nodded. "All my life, all I’ve been is just a product of chance. A random event walking on two legs, you know? Cynthia Taylor, the lady who saved me, lost a few friends to make sure I could live. Growing up, I figured that if I didn’t do anything with my life, if I didn’t become someone people could look up to, like the woman who found me, then... She may as well not have saved me."

Lianna looked away.

"So, yeah... If I make some money, that would be nice. If I climb the ranks, that would be cool. But, above all else... I just want to be someone who makes others go ’wow, I’m glad we have her around’. If I can make that happen, that’s good enough for me."

The administrator seemed satisfied with that answer.

"I’ve heard everything I need to hear."

The lady got up, walking over to the door.

"Soon, I will release the body camera footage."

"W-What? You mean, you have it on video?" Lianna was shocked. "W-Why don’t you release it now!?"

"Because it is in your best interest for rumors to continue to spread about you, for now," the lady replied.

"What? How...?"

"Rumors mean publicity, and publicity means demand. Once everyone finds out you’re innocent, the ’damage’ the rumors have done will be solidified and you and Enverna will be household names in this city. That means opportunities will be coming to you in the future, rather than you having to find them yourself. People will want to hear from you, speak with you, learn about you, and work with you. Trust me, kid. I’ve been down this road myself. I know what I’m talking about."

It was hard for Lianna to just accept that, but she couldn’t do anything about it. The administrator was the only person with this footage, so what she did with the video was entirely up to her.

"After that, I will do what I can to help you fix your image among the more... skeptical folk out there," she added. "Additionally, since things may be... rough at this time, I will try to make some arrangements so that you and Enverna can get some decent training done in private. For now, though, please, maintain that attitude. It will-"

Another person knocked on the door.

Almost like she was offended at being cut off, the administrator opened the door.

A somewhat sweaty Enverna, in a tank top and sweatpants, was standing there.

"Lianna, I- oh."

The administrator smiled.

"Good morning, recruit. I was just asking your fiance a few questions. Don’t worry, I didn’t take any of your coffee."

"Uh... Good morning, miss..."

"Miss, ma’am, admin... Call me what you wish, but I’d rather we stick to titles than names. At least, in my case." She turned toward Lianna. "Goodbye, Lianna. Enverna. Have a wonderful day."

She left them there, gently closing the door behind her.

"... What did I miss?" Enverna asked.

"A lot," Lianna replied, smiling.

"Nothing bad, I hope."

"Not... necessarily, no," Lianna responded, eager to tell her all about this.