Charisma 100: My Academy Life As A Heartbreaking Commoner-Chapter 166: Details

Twelve bottles of shimmering blue liquid sat on Aegis’s desk, arranged in neat rows.

Each one glowed softly, the kind of sugary glow that made you want to drink it even if you weren’t a mage. The mana potions were perfect—full restoration in under two minutes, stable enough to transport, pretty enough to display.

Twelve thousand gold, literally sitting right in front of her.

Aegis picked one up, turning it in the morning light. The liquid swirled lazily inside.

"Rosalie outdid herself," she murmured.

Her manor’s study had come a long way in the past weeks. The holes in the walls were patched, the windows replaced, the furniture actually functional. It still wasn’t impressive by noble standards, but it was hers.

The door opened and Evelyn walked in, ledger tucked under one arm, expression tight.

That expression made Aegis set the potion down.

"What’s wrong?"

"I’ve been making inquiries about the Summer Auction." Evelyn closed the door behind her, then crossed to the desk. "Specifically, about Duke Cindergrave’s activities leading up to it."

"And?"

"He’s been busy." Evelyn opened her ledger, flipping to a marked page. "In the past two weeks, he’s purchased voting invitations from six minor houses. House Dralwick, House Greymoor, House Pallantine, House Bellamy, House Whitmore, and House Carrington."

Aegis frowned.

"Voting invitations?"

"The Summer Auction has a ’judgment phase’ at the end. Every attending noble with voting rights rates each offering. The ratings affect not just the prestige of the presenter, but also determine who receives the Auction’s formal endorsement for the coming season."

"And Cindergrave is stacking the deck."

"Precisely. With six additional votes under his control, plus his own faction’s natural allegiances, he’ll have roughly forty percent of the voting bloc. Enough to sink any newcomer’s rating into the mud."

Aegis leaned back in her chair, drumming her fingers on the desk.

[So it’s not just about impressing people. It’s about surviving a rigged game.]

"What about our allies? Lady Roseheart, House Vermillion?"

"They’ll support you, certainly. But... You don’t have that many connections, my lady. You might reach 15% of the vote."

"Against Cindergrave’s forty."

"Yes."

Aegis stared at the potions. Twelve bottles of liquid gold. The best offering she could possibly make.

And it might not matter at all.

"The potions alone won’t save me," she said.

"No, my lady. They won’t."

Evelyn stood silently while Aegis thought. Outside the window, birds chirped in the newly restored garden.

[There has to be something else. Some angle I’m missing.]

She ran through everything she knew about the Summer Auction. The offerings, the voting, the networking, the—

[Wait.]

The Midnight Waltz.

She’d been so focused on the potions and Cindergrave that she’d almost forgotten the Auction’s other major component. At midnight, unmarried nobles would pair off for a formal dance. It was supposed to be about grace and tradition, but she remembered now from the game what it really meant.

The Midnight Waltz was where nobles formally declared courtship intentions.

Your dance partner wasn’t just someone you danced with. It was a public statement. A claim.

[Wait, wait, wait, wait.]

Serilla had asked Aegis to be her date to the Auction. Aegis had agreed in exchange for the singing crystal. She’d assumed Serilla just wanted arm candy. Someone entertaining to show off.

But if the Midnight Waltz was about declaring courtship...

[Is that why Serilla asked me? Is she planning to—]

"My lady?"

Aegis blinked. Evelyn was watching her with a concerned expression.

"Sorry. Just... processing something."

She stood abruptly, pacing to the window.

[Serilla is going to use the Midnight Waltz to formally claim me as hers. In front of everyone. That’s her play. Holy shit!]

It was audacious. Shameless. Exactly the kind of thing Serilla would do.

And it was also...

[Actually kind of useful.]

Aegis turned back to Evelyn.

"I need to send a letter."

"To whom, my lady?"

"Serilla Frost." Aegis dipped her quill, thinking carefully about her words. "If she’s going to claim me at the Auction, she should know about Cindergrave’s schemes. Her plans might sour a little if I get politically destroyed before the Waltz even happens."

She wrote quickly, laying out what Evelyn had told her. Cindergrave’s vote-buying. The rigged judgment phase. The threat to both their reputations if this went poorly.

She ended with a simple question:

Can you do anything about this? For your date’s sake?

Aegis smirked, sealed the letter and handed it to Evelyn.

"Have this delivered to the Frost estate. Immediately."

"At once, my lady."

Evelyn left.

Aegis sat back down, staring at her potions.

Three days until the Summer Auction. She’d done everything she could to prepare her offering. Now she had to hope Serilla’s possessiveness extended to protecting her investment.

[Never thought I’d be relying on Serilla Frost to save my ass. Life is strange.]

---

{Serilla}

Serilla lounged on her favorite chaise, one leg draped over the armrest, robe hanging open.

A pretty commoner girl knelt between her legs, head bobbing rhythmically on her cock.

"Mmm. Slower."

The girl obeyed, tongue working with renewed attention.

Serilla sighed, running her fingers through the girl’s hair. She’d picked this one up at a tavern last week—bright eyes, eager to please, absolutely no political value whatsoever. But, sometimes Serilla just wanted to feel something, and she kept a small collection of cute little buttons like her for just those occasions.

A knock at her door.

"Enter," Serilla called without adjusting her position.

Her butler stepped in, carefully averting his eyes.

"A letter for you, my lady. From Lady Starcaller."

"Aegis?" That got Serilla’s attention. "Bring it here."

The butler crossed the room and placed the sealed envelope in her outstretched hand, then retreated quickly.

Serilla broke the seal one-handed, unfolding the letter while the commoner girl continued her work below.

She read.

Her expression shifted from curiosity to annoyance to cold fury, all while the sounds of slurping and gagging ensued.

"Those bastards."

The girl paused, looking up with worried eyes.

"Did I do something wrong, my lady?"

"Not you, dear. You can keep going."

Serilla pressed the girl’s head back down and returned to the letter, reading it again more carefully.

Duke Cindergrave. Buying votes. Stacking the judgment phase against newcomers. Against Aegis.

Against her date.

The Midnight Waltz was supposed to be Serilla’s triumph. The moment she formally claimed Aegis Starcaller, the woman whose face just wouldn’t get out of her fucking head, in front of everyone who mattered. She’d been planning it since the Crystal Masquerade, since she’d felt Aegis’s hands on her hips and realized she wanted more than just a night.

Aegis was hers. Or would be, once Serilla made it official.

And some wrinkled old fart thought he could ruin that?

"Absolutely fucking not," Serilla murmured.

She reached over to her nightstand, pulling open the drawer. Inside sat a leather-bound book—black cover, no title, locked with a silver clasp.

Her private collection.

Every noble house had skeletons. Serilla made it her business to know where they were buried. She’d been collecting secrets since she was fourteen, trading favors and whispers, building a web of leverage that most people didn’t know existed.

She flipped through the pages, scanning names and notes.

Cindergrave’s faction. Six minor houses.

Dralwick—no, nothing useful there. 𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

Greymoor—boring tax evasion, not enough.

Pallantine—oh, there it was.

Serilla smiled.

Lord Pallantine’s eldest son had a particular fondness for underground fighting rings. The illegal kind, where participants sometimes didn’t survive. He’d killed two men in the past year. Accidents, officially. But Serilla had witness statements.

She kept flipping.

Bellamy—even better.

Lady Bellamy had been embezzling from the charitable foundation she publicly championed. Thousands of gold meant for orphanages, quietly redirected to her personal accounts. Serilla had the ledgers.

Two houses. That was enough to start.

She snapped the book shut and reached for the bell on her nightstand, ringing it twice.

A maid appeared at the door moments later.

"You summoned, my lady?"

"Yes." Serilla’s voice was pleasant, almost sweet. "Please go inform the city guard about Lord Pallantine’s son’s... extracurricular activities. The fighting ring on Copper Street. And while you’re out, drop by the Temple of Commerce with this." She scribbled a quick note, folding it around a key. "It opens a lockbox in the public vault. Inside they’ll find some interesting documents about Lady Bellamy’s charitable work."

The maid took the note, expression carefully neutral.

"Should I wait for responses, my lady?"

"No need. The results will speak for themselves. Don’t mention my name at all, either."

"Very good, my lady."

The maid left.

Serilla set the book aside and returned her attention to the girl between her legs, pressing her head down more firmly.

"Deeper."

The girl complied with an eager moan, taking Serilla’s cock to the back of her throat.

Serilla leaned back, watching the ceiling, mind already racing ahead.

Two houses removed from Cindergrave’s coalition. That wouldn’t eliminate the threat entirely, but it would weaken his voting bloc. Combined with whatever Aegis brought to the table, it might be enough.

And if it wasn’t?

Well. Serilla had more pages in that book.