"Well, not entirely alone. I have the staffs here with ," Aileen clarified. "But yes, I manage the household on my own most of the ti. My parents trust to handle things."
"Oh my God," Jessica practically squealed, excitent replacing her shock. "Do you know what this ans?"
"What?" Aileen asked, looking genuinely puzzled.
"Tea parties!" Jessica exclaid. "Sleepovers! We could have the most amazing girls' nights here! The possibilities are endless!"
Tasha's eyes lit up. "Jess is right. Aileen, we should absolutely plan sothing. Movie marathons in your probably-massive ho theater, spa days, cooking in your undoubtedly state-of-the-art kitchen—"
"We could even practice our combat in fancy pajamas," Jessica added, making Tasha snort with laughter.
Jayden watched the exchange with quiet amusent, his lips curving into a small smile despite the heaviness that had been weighing on him. The girls' enthusiasm was infectious, and Aileen seed genuinely delighted by their excitent, her usually composed deanor cracking to reveal sothing more youthful and warm.
"I'd like that," Aileen said, her smile soft and genuine. "I don't usually have people over. It gets lonely sotis."
The admission was surprisingly vulnerable, and it made Jayden look at her differently. For all her wealth and brilliance, Aileen was still just a sixteen-year-old girl living in this massive mansion with only staff for company.
"Then it's settled," Tasha declared. "We're definitely doing a tea party here soon. Right, Jay?" She'd turned to include him in the conversation, pulling him from his observations.
"Absolutely," he agreed. "Though I might skip the spa day portion."
"Your loss," Jessica teased. "Face masks do wonders for the complexion."
That got a genuine laugh out of him, and for a mont, the weight on his chest lightened.
"Did you all have breakfast?" Aileen asked, ever the gracious host.
"Yeah, we ate before coming,"Jessica confird.
"Alright. We should probably start training then," Aileen suggested, standing smoothly.
Tasha stood up too. "We can use the garden, right?" she asked.
Aileen gave a small smile. "Actually, I have sowhere better than the garden in mind," she said.
"Oh. You have a training arena?" Jessica asked, excitent clear in her voice.
Aileen's smile turned mysterious. "Sothing like that," she muttered. "Follow ."
She led them out of the living room and down a hallway that seed to extend impossibly far into the mansion. They passed more artwork, more elegance, more subtle displays of wealth that made even Jayden, who'd thought he'd gotten used to Penelope's mansion, feel slightly overwheld.
Eventually, they reached a section of the house that looked different from the rest. The walls here were plain, functional, with no artwork or decoration. The hallway ended at a tallic door that looked like it belonged in a science facility rather than a residential ho.
Where a normal doorknob would be, there was instead a hand scanner… a flat panel with a soft blue glow.
Aileen placed her palm against it. The scanner activated, light sweeping across her hand as it verified her biotric data. There was a soft beep, followed by a hiss of pressurized air releasing.
The door slid open sideways, revealing what lay beyond.
It was a massive room… easily the size of a professional basketball court, maybe larger. But what made it extraordinary was its appearance. The walls, floor, and ceiling were all pure white, seamlessly joined so that it was difficult to tell where one surface ended and another began. The space seed to glow with soft, even lighting that had no apparent source.
In one corner was a clearly designated non-combat area…padded benches, a water dispenser, and what looked like monitoring equipnt with holographic displays.
But the room itself… it was empty. No equipnt, no obstacles, nothing but vast, pristine whiteness.
"What is this place?" Tasha asked, her voice echoing slightly in the large space.
"It's a simulation deck," Aileen explained, walking to the center of the space. "The entire room can generate fully realized holographic environnts and opponents. It's similar to VR technology, but instead of putting you in a virtual world, it brings the virtual world to you."
Tasha's face lit up. "Wow, that's incredible. I've heard about this before, but I've never actually seen one in person," she muttered in excitent.
"Oh, I've actually seen sothing like this before," Jessica said, walking around the periter with wide eyes. "Miss Kate had one in her house."
Jayden's mind caught that last sentence. He turned to Jessica with a raised brow. "You've been to Miss Kate's house?" he asked.
Jessica nodded, not taking her eyes off the room as she examined it. "Yeah. I've been there a few tis during our training sessions. Her place is actually a mansion, just like this one. Super wealthy, incredibly private."
"I see," Jayden murmured. He'd speculated that perhaps Miss Kate still chose to live in a pristine place even though she was concealing her true identity.
"Though I think Miss Kate is an actually princess or sothing," Jessica continued, moving to examine the monitoring equipnt. "Like, why else would soone that wealthy decide to teach at a high school? She's probably hiding her real status to live a normal life."
Tasha chuckled, the sound fond and slightly exasperated. "Jessica thinks Miss Kate is a secret heiress," she sighed.
"She has to be!" Jessica protested. "The art collection in her house makes the ones here look like nothing… no offense Aileen. And she has staffs that move like trained warriors. Plus, she was always going off to attend secret etings and…"
"Did you ever ask her about her background?" Tasha interrupted.
"Of course I did," Jessica replied with a huff. "But she would tell it's just an inheritance and then change the subject. But I don't believe it. Mark my words, she's more influential than she's letting on. I just can't prove it yet."
"You've been watching too many telenovelas," Tasha said, grinning.
"I have not!" Jessica retorted. "You're just not paying attention to the obvious clues."
"Obvious clues?" Tasha chuckled in amusent. "Jess, just because soone is wealthy and private doesn't an they're royalty in hiding—"
"But what if they are?!" Jessica argued, sounding like a child playing detective.
The sisters began bickering, their voices overlapping as they argued about conspiracy theories and the statistical likelihood of secret princesses teaching in high school.
Jayden couldn't help but chuckle. Jessica's instincts were actually spot-on, but there was no way she could know that. Katherine Lunaria had done an impressive job maintaining her cover, allowing only tiny glimpses of her true status to slip through.
If only Jessica knew how close to the truth she actually was.
Aileen had been watching the exchange with an expression of patient amusent, waiting for them to finish. When the argunt showed no signs of slowing, she cleared her throat softly.
Both sisters stopped mid-sentence and turned to her, looking slightly sheepish.
"Oh, sorry, Aileen," Tasha said. "We got carried away."
"It's fine," Aileen replied with a gentle smile. "But if you're ready, I'd like to demonstrate how the room works."
"Yes, please," Jessica said eagerly. "Show us what this thing can do."
Aileen gestured toward the spectator area. "If you three would move over there, I'll run through a basic combat program."
They complied, settling onto the padded benches. Jayden took a position where he could watch Aileen clearly, his curiosity piqued. He'd known Aileen was strong, and her level was impressive for her age, but he'd never actually seen her in combat before.
And… Co to think of it, he'd never even seen her use her ability. That realization struck him as odd. They'd trained together multiple tis, yet Aileen had always managed to deflect or avoid demonstrating her power.
He decided to check her information before the demonstration began. Activating Dragon Eye, he focused on Aileen's standing figure in the center of the arena.
The information display materialized in front of him, and Jayden felt his blood run cold.
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*Na: ???
*Age: ???
*Level: ???
*Ability: ???
*HP: …Undetermined
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