The Extra's Rise

Chapter 260: Reika Solienne (3)

Chapter 260: Reika Solienne (3)

Arthur Nightingale.

Even with his near-total absence from social media, his name was practically legend—thanks, in no small part, to the three princesses and the noble girl who constantly surrounded him. He was a walking enigma, someone who thrived in the spaces between public spectacle and total obscurity. A shadow that occasionally stepped into the light, only to retreat again before anyone could truly make sense of what they'd seen.

Of course, I knew him.

More than that, I remembered him.

He had tried to recruit me into Ouroboros once, offering a deal that had been too good, something that had stuck in my mind long after I refused. His eyes that day—penetrating, calculating, as if dissecting my very essence—had haunted my dreams for weeks afterward.

At the time, I hadn't understood why he was interested in me.

But now…

Did he know?

The thought chilled me to my core, ice spreading through my veins. Had he known this would happen? Had he somehow seen what even I hadn't known about myself? Had he been planning this moment all along, like a chess master positioning pieces twenty moves ahead?

I pushed the thought away, my hands trembling slightly. That was impossible. No one could have predicted something like this.

Not even him.

Right?

"You know," Millia spoke, her voice even, controlled, but there was a tightness in her throat now, a barely perceptible quiver that betrayed her rising panic. "Her family will die."

The words hung in the air between us, heavy and poisonous.