Date- 7 April 2321
Time- 05:06
Location- Southern Region, Southern Capital, Southern Royal Palace, Guest Palace
“Didn’t you hear what I said to the maids, I prefer to bathe privately,” I stated, glancing towards the corner where Aria was concealed.
As the boy spoke and cast his gaze in her direction, Aria pivoted to glance over her shoulder, wondering who the boy was talking to. Aria wasn’t playing the fool; rather, she possessed unwavering confidence in her stealth tactics. Its ability was not discernible by a mere card soldier.
Yet, upon discovering no one but the four walls of the room behind her, Aria came to the realization that the boy was, in fact, addressing her. Overcome with surprise, she cast a stunned gaze in his direction. Aria had employed her stealth card to outwit the senses of her enemies in the card king realm. Thus, she couldn’t help but ponder how the card soldier in front of her had managed to locate her.
Could he be bluffing? It wasn’t until she recalled reading about the boy’s Aura Sight, a vision-related origin card listed in his dossier, that the puzzle pieces fell into place. Despite the clear indication that she was underestimating the boy, Aria chose to turn a blind eye to the obvious warning.
“Make no mistake, I know you heard me. Now get the hell out!” I bellowed, frustrated by Aria’s lack of response, demanding that she vacate the premises immediately.
Despite my repeated entreaties, Aria persisted in concealing herself in the corner of the room. “I cannot comply with your request,” she explained. “As your bodyguard, it’s my duty to remain in close proximity to ensure your safety. Thus, I must remain in the same room as you.”
“Enough already! This is the royal guest palace, for heaven’s sake. Who in their right mind would dare plot an assassination of a royal guest on the royal palace grounds? If you’re so concerned about your duty as my bodyguard, go stand guard outside the door,” I said, managing to control my anger as I understood Aria was only doing her job and not going out of her way to make things difficult for me.
“Master Wyatt, I implore you to consider your safety by cooperating. Kindly disregard my presence,” Aria graciously declined my request once more.
“Aria, I understand that you are fulfilling what your duties require of you. However, my privacy is also important to me, and I hope you can respect that. Can we find a compromise that works for both of us?” I attempted to reason with Aria. Out of frustration, I hoped that Aria was deliberately trying to make things difficult for me so that I could resort to force to remove her from the room.
“Got it. I’ll face the wall. Don’t worry I will not peek,” Aria replied. While she seemed to understand my concerns, her proposed compromise fell short. With her presence in the room, I couldn’t fully relax or be alone with my thoughts. It wasn’t about my masculinity; it was simply a matter of personal space.
“Fine, have it your way,” Saying that I arrange a big enough Isolation array to separate me and the rest of the bathroom from the corner of the room where Aria stood guard.
pαndα`noνɐ1–сoМ
To my surprise, I discovered that the voyeur was none other than Aria herself. It appeared that her eyes possessed extraordinary power, as her gaze was able to penetrate the isolation array I had erected just with her naked eyes – no, upon closer inspection with my soul pupils, I realized that her bloodline was enhancing her visual abilities to see through my barriers,
The revelation that the Royal family’s unparalleled bloodline could bestow upon card apprentices the power to peer through an isolation array came as a complete surprise to me. In fact, my knowledge of the royal bloodline’s abilities was sorely lacking, limited to a scant few rumors and hearsay that I had gleaned from the memories of the clown mask.
Emerging from the isolation array, I turned to face Aria and inquired, “Why aren’t you following our agreement to face the wall?”
Aria’s response was immediate but disingenuous. “I thought it was unnecessary, given the isolation array you had erected,” she replied, feigning innocence.
I saw through her deception, however, and spoke sternly, “Aria, there’s no need to play games. Y know your unique bloodline grants you the power to enhance your vision and see through the isolation array formation I have established. Just face the wall as we agreed.” Given that I had arranged an isolation array, Aria could stay in the room without issue as long as she kept her promise to face the wall and not to peek.
“No, with the isolation array in place, I cannot use my mental strength to monitor you or your surroundings so I need my augmented vision to monitor you. If you remove the isolation array then I can consider facing the wall,” Aria answered. But her answer only managed to frustrate me even further as monitoring a person with mental strength was equivalent to seeing. hearing, and feeling the person at once. Just the thought that Aria planned to monitor me with her mental strength as I bathed made me sick to my stomach. I don’t understand why can’t the Aria not understand that my privacy was as important as my life.
“I’m afraid that won’t do, Aria,” I replied firmly. “The isolation array is necessary for my peace of mind and personal privacy. I cannot allow you to monitor me with your mental strength while I am bathing, it’s an invasion of my personal space.”
