I was absolutely brimming with glee. I had done it. The glowing orbs around me were stable, the light bending around my body successfully. Not only that, but shortly after I fell asleep last night a terrifying storm swept through. That wasn't the good thing, in fact it was absolutely terrifying. The thunder and lightning brought back memories, making me crawl under the bed trying to hide. I screamed, cried, and almost vomited. I was sweating uncontrollably, and I actually had to force out man mana until I was so overheated and exhausted I passed out. When I awoke this morning, all of the fear was worth it. The storm had forced a large portion of a tree on the outside of the garden fence that it caused the fence to split. I could barely see it as my window was covered by some tree brush and hedges were around it, but I could see the split at the top of the fence. My biggest dilemma was how I was going to get out after my sneaking invisibility. It would be close but I had a plan. I timed how much long I can run my mana for before tiring to the second, being two minutes and fifty seconds. On the night of the ball next week, I knew that I would be rushed down the stairs. Mercy-- the meticulous saint that she was-- made her own schedule when it came to events like this. She had one book she wrote details in-- including how to express her body language, her timing, and what go wear and how to wear it. If she lived in my world, she probably could have been a doctor with her meticulous notes or an actor with the job she must have out on. She studied everything, but she didn't write in the book how long it took her to get through the front door. She wouldn't have had a reason too, in fact the only thing she wrote about time was that she would be rushed out of the room after family left, so that they wouldn't have to see her face. Well in particular, the Countess wouldn't see her. I had yet to meet the Countess, but with only my knowledge that Mercy was the daughter of a prostitute it would make sense she would think I'm an eyesore. She wasn't mentioned very much in the novel, and I had yet to have an interaction with her so it was difficult to gauge what her emotions to me were. I could guarantee that they were the same as the others I've come into contact with. Now that my escape plan was mostly solidified, I wanted to iron out the details of the ball. My current plan was so 'seduce" Ophelia and get her alone to tell her the scheme so she could remove the posion from her room. Then I would tell her to make sure that the servants would start to be searched, and all drinks be removed from the ball before she had the poison or pretended to. That was probably too much of a stretch, but if I had to reveal my healing magic in front of an audience, I would. I would rather expose myself than Ophelia being hung. The twelve heros abilites were rare, but multiple people could have the same power. Many people actually have two, maybe even three of them while some people have none. However, they usually should be reported to the Ministry of Magic, since they were usually recruited into the army or other Imperial positions to help. The Count never reported my healing ability, since it meant that it would give me a political edge and also a way out of the manor he kept it hidden. Couldn't let his golden goose to the throne escape his clutches. If I convinced people that she was never poisoned after revealing my ability, I could cast enough doubt amongst the nobles to cause eyes and anger towards the Roswell's. I would say that she fainted from exhaustion, but use the rest of my remaining mana to press suspicion amongst as may nobles as I could. With enough suspicion, I hoped an investigation would happen and possible imprisonment charges for Agatha. I intended on pressing more rumors while around various villages for cleric working, making the house crumbled from the inside out. I couldn't reveal the fact that there was posion in Ophelia's room, in fear that they would turn it on her again. My Empath ability was useful, but it was immune on Emma so it was limited. I didn't want to risk a hung girl over trying to frame Agatha for her own poisoning. As much as I wanted her to suffer and dig her own grave, Agatha is not an idiot. If I go against her rouse, she'll try to look as innocent as possible. It's best to play the game safe, then aim for a slow and painful end by political suicide. I hoped that it was enough of a revenge that would leave Mercy satisfied. I would follow a path I wanted in my previous life-- be a healer, and a support system for those less fortunate. I would heal the injuries of the wounded and mend the hearts of the hurt-- including preventing the war with Theosia on my own power. It was ambitious, but as I looked at the blue orbs swirling around me I felt calm and reassured. I felt like I would be able to do it.
"Mercy," I found myself speaking out loud, reaching my hands out to the twinkling light. I couldn't grasp it, it just swirled around my hands like a wasp.
"I hope what I'm going to do would make you proud."
I was looking out the midnight sky, a little overexhausted and overworked for prepping my magic for the ball. I needed it to be perfect, but for some reason I was drained looking out the window moreso for emotional reasons than mana depletion. The storm the night prior dug up memories I would rather have kept buried, and when I closed my eyes I started to see Quinn and Riley's bodies tied together. It made sleep elude me and a heavy heart sink to my stomach. In her own life, Mercy never got to experience love. I suppose we shared that in common. Even though I felt that the gods were spitting in my face with the circumstances of my reincarnation, but I still wanted to try to find some sort of love in this life. I was wondering if it was a hopeless endeavor. From everything I knew about this story, even though the power of women was equal to men, their beauty standards were still pretty high. Busty hourglass shapes like Agatha with perfect skin and silky hair were the standard of beauty. Mercy's small frame and scar riddled body were not appealing to men here. It reminded me of the shallowness of my own modern world, if not even worse. There were no body positivity movements, everyone had the same consensus. Beauty trumps all. It was an aspect of the story I didn't like, and is not haunting me deeply. It made me reach up and clutch my chest and my heart thumped in pain. I never thought that asking for scraps of happiness would make me feel guilty for testing fate, but the hand I was dealt was unfair. In my old life I never could achieve meaningful relationship, nor felt genuine love and happiness. It was all I craved for, but I was scared that I wouldn't be able to achieve it in this chance either. As the moon twinkled in the sky, I was hoping that what I thought only a few days prior. I hoped that the person that would love me was looking at the moon at the same time I was.