Reborn as a Succubus: Time To Live My Best Life!

Melisa walked through the streets.

All around her, she could hear the city buzzing.

"... did you hear...?"

"... the queen, right in her chambers?"

"... probably a traitor or something..."

Countless conversations popped off around her as she made her way down the street, almost like those lights in front of people's homes that turn on when someone outside gets close. Melisa had, naturally, been expecting it. But, it was still kind of annoying.

[Come on... Can't you give me some room to think!?!? I can barely hear myself!]

That said, she wasn't exactly sure the silence would make much of a practical difference. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn't think much beyond two-word sentences. Sentences that usually started in some variation of "holy" and ended in some form of "shit".

[Holy fuck...] Like that. [I mean... How did they even manage it? How did the king not get caught up in this plot if it happened while the queen slept?]

It seemed like lots of people around Melisa were thinking the same thing.

Everywhere she went, she heard theories and speculations. Some people guessed it was a knight. Others thought it was the king himself. Even the guards patrolling the streets got into it with some thinking it was suicide. Melisa wasn't too sure which theory she agreed with.

[Obviously, last night's attack was an attempt to keep things from getting out,] she reasoned. [But, did she seriously lack that much trust in her assassins? Or, did she hear that they failed and killed herself immediately or something?]

The idea that the queen was actually murdered made no sense to Melisa. She had to have killed herself. But, why?

Regardless, Melisa was now heading to the palace to investigate.

What she'd see upon reaching the palace, however, she did not see coming.

Melisa's heart pounded as she approached the palace gates. The buzz of the city had faded into a dull roar behind her, replaced by the clinking of armor and the hushed whispers of palace guards.

[Alright, girl. Time to put on your big girl panties and figure out what the fuck is going on,] she thought, squaring her shoulders.

As she rounded the corner into the main courtyard, Melisa's eyes widened. The scene before her was like something out of a fever dream – or a particularly dramatic Greek opera.

"What in the actual fuck?" she muttered.

Zephyra, the court sorceress, was on her knees in the center of the courtyard. A circle of knights surrounded her, their spears pointed directly at her throat. The tips glinted in the morning sun, like a deadly halo around the sorceress.

Zephyra herself didn't look scared. She mainly just looked offended and confused.

There, looming over it all like some pissed-off, kingly thundercloud, was King Aldric himself.

[Oh,] Melisa thought. [This is not good. Not good at all.]

She inched closer, straining to hear what was being said. The king's voice carried across the courtyard, thick with rage and grief.

"... and you expect me to believe you had nothing to do with this? That my wife just happened to die in her sleep?"

Zephyra's reply was too low for Melisa to catch, but whatever she said only seemed to infuriate the king further.

"Enough! I've heard enough of your lies!"

[Shit, shit, shit,] Melisa's mind raced. [They think Zephyra killed the queen? But that's insane!]

Without giving herself time to second-guess, Melisa marched forward, pushing her way through the crowd of onlookers.

"Your Majesty!" she called out, her voice ringing across the courtyard. "I must speak with you!"

All eyes turned to her. The king's face scrunched up.

"Miss Blackflame?" He growled. "What are you doing here?"

Melisa swallowed hard, fighting the urge to turn tail and run. Instead, she stood her ground, meeting the king's gaze.

"Your Majesty, I believe there's been a terrible misunderstanding. Lady Zephyra couldn't possibly have killed the queen."

A murmur ran through the crowd. The king's eyes narrowed.

"She couldn't?" He asked. "Of course she could."

[... Poor choice of words. My bad.]

"She wouldn't," Melisa corrected. "I-I mean, what reason does she have to do that?"

The king opened his mouth. Melisa blinked. She was baffled. Indeed, it looked like all these people had thought about was who *could* have killed the queen. Not who had any real reason to.

"Didn't Zephyra just come back to the city? At YOUR request? What, you think killing the queen was how she planned to spend her time here? Why!?"

The king paused.

He looked... nervous.

"And why, pray tell, should I believe you?"

Melisa took a deep breath.

"Because, Your Majesty, I saved your life. Remember? When you were poisoned at the gala? You trusted me then. I'm asking you to trust me now. Again, what possible reason could Lady Zephyra have for wanting the queen dead?

She's one of your most trusted advisors, the court sorceress. Killing the queen would only put her in danger – exactly the position she's in now!"

The king frowned, considering her words. Melisa pressed on.

"And let's be real, Your Majesty. If Lady Zephyra wanted to kill someone, do you really think she'd do it in a way that would immediately implicate her? She's smarter than that."

A long moment passed. The tension in the air was so thick you could cut it with a knife – or a particularly sharp piece of cheese. Finally, King Aldric sighed.

"Perhaps... perhaps you have a point," he conceded. He turned to the knights. "Stand down. For now."

The knights lowered their spears, though they didn't look happy about it. Zephyra slowly got to her feet, brushing dirt from her robes.

"But make no mistake," the king continued, his voice hard. "Lady Zephyra is not fully cleared. This matter will be investigated thoroughly."

With that, he turned and strode back into the palace, his cape billowing behind him like an angry cloud.

As the crowd began to disperse, Melisa made her way over to Zephyra.

"That was... unexpected," Zephyra said. "Thank you."

Melisa shrugged.

"Don't mention it. But we need to talk. Now."

Zephyra nodded, and the two of them set off, walking the perimeter of the palace grounds. For a while, neither spoke, both lost in their own thoughts.

Finally, Zephyra broke the silence.

"The queen died in her bedchambers last night," she said softly. "Right next to the king."

Melisa's eyes widened.

[Holy shit. That's... fuck.]

"How?" she asked.

Zephyra shook her head.

"No one knows. I assume it was either due to poison or magic, but..." She waved a hand, frustrated. "Even I couldn't tell."

"And because you're the court sorceress..."

"They assume I must have done it," Zephyra finished. "Yes. The theory is that I somehow appeared inside the chambers, killed her, and left without a trace."

Melisa snorted.

"Because that makes total sense. Why use your immense magical powers to, I don't know, take over the kingdom or something, when you could just off the queen for shits and giggles?"

A small smile played on Zephyra's lips.

"Indeed. The logic is... lacking. Though, there is one reason they're clinging to this notion."

Melisa tilted her head.

"Why?"

Zephyra, arms crossed, tapped her index finger against her bicep.

"Well, think about it, Melisa." She sighed. "If it wasn't me, and the queen died in the comfort of her own bed... What's the other option?"

"Well..." Melisa paused. "Oh."

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"'Oh' indeed," Zephyra smirked. "People want to think I did it. The court and the knights, I mean. Because, if I didn't, it means the king probably murdered the queen in her sleep."

It was... not that surprising. After all, the queen herself had tried to do that to him not too long ago, just as a means of messing with Melisa no less, but still. Melisa understood why people didn't want to consider that as an option.

"So, now, with me being momentarily cleared... you can imagine what's going through people's minds."

They walked in silence for a moment, the gravity of the situation settling over them like a heavy blanket.

"It has to be the Shadow Mages, I think," Melisa said finally. "This has their stink all over it."

Zephyra nodded.

"But why? What could they possibly gain from the queen's death?"

"I... I don't know," she replied. "But, clearly, the queen said a little too much yesterday. They probably just wanted to tie loose ends. Kill both me and the queen, just to keep this info down. I mean," Melisa sighed.

"When I break out the info, that nim used to be the ones on top and that humanity basically gaslit our whole species into thinking we couldn't use magic, what do you think the reaction from the city will be? Chaos."@@novelbin@@

"... You're more aware of these potential ramifications than I thought you'd be."

"I'm painfully aware of them," Melisa sighed.

[But, at some point, I will definitely be letting that cat out of that bag. I have to. I just... I just hope I can keep the damage to a minimum.]

Zephyra studied her face, her piercing gaze making Melisa squirm.

They had completed a full circuit of the palace grounds, ending up back where they started. The courtyard was empty now, with everyone having gone back to their own business.

Zephyra turned to Melisa, a mischievous glint in her eye.

"Well, regardless, there's not much we can do at the moment. So," Zephyra clapped her hands, "since we're here... how about a lesson?"

Melisa blinked, caught off guard by the sudden change in topic.

"A lesson? Now? Seriously?"

Zephyra shrugged.

"Why not? Life goes on, even in the midst of chaos. And you, my dear, still have much to learn."

A grin spread across Melisa's face.

[Well, when in Rome... or Syux, I guess.]

"Alright, teach," she said. "Hit me with your best shot."

As they made their way to Zephyra's study, Melisa couldn't shake the feeling that this was just the calm before the storm.

The queen was dead.

The Shadow Mages were plotting.

And she was caught in the middle of it all.

[But hey,] she thought, [at least I'm getting some kickass magic lessons out of it. Silver linings and all that.]