Charisma 100: My Academy Life As A Heartbreaking Commoner-Chapter 182: Investment Returns

The bell above Rosalie’s shop door chimed as Aegis pushed inside.

Black Remedies had come a long way from the dusty, half-empty storefront Aegis remembered from her first visit. New shelves lined the walls, stocked with neatly labeled bottles and jars. The air smelled of herbs and something vaguely sulfuric, the scent of alchemy in progress.

Rosalie was bent over a cauldron at the back, her messy green hair tied up in a loose knot, muttering to herself.

"No, no, that’s too much ashwort. The ratio should be three-to-one, not four-to-one, you absolute—"

Aegis leaned against the doorframe, watching.

Rosalie’s workshop apron was tied tight around her waist, and the position she was in gave Aegis a spectacular view of her ass.

[Whoa.]

Figuring she could waste a few seconds, Aegis let herself appreciate it for a moment before clearing her throat.

"Working hard?"

"EEK!"

Rosalie yelped and spun around, nearly knocking over her cauldron. Her crooked glasses sat askew on her nose, and there was a smudge of something purple on her cheek.

"Lady Aegis! I didn’t hear you come in!"

"Clearly." Aegis smirked as she pushed off the doorframe and walked over, pulling the wrapped bundle from her coat. "Brought you something."

She set it on the counter and unwrapped the cloth.

The Cinderwolf Heart sat there, still faintly warm. Its surface was dark red, almost black, with veins of orange running through it like cooling lava.

Rosalie’s eyes went wide. 𝘧𝓇ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝘣𝓃ℴ𝓋𝑒𝑙.𝑐𝘰𝑚

"Is that—" She stepped closer, hands hovering over it like she was afraid to touch. "How did you—these are nearly impossible to find!"

"Had a feeling you’d want it."

"Want it?" Rosalie’s voice cracked. "Lady Aegis, do you have any idea what this means? Fire Resistance potions! Real ones, not the watered-down garbage the guild sells. I can finally make them! The margins alone would be—"

She cut herself off, actually bouncing on her heels.

"This is incredible. This is... I don’t even know what to say."

"Say you’ll put it to good use."

"I will. I absolutely will."

Aegis reached into her coat again and pulled out a folded stack of papers.

"While I’m here."

She handed them over. Rosalie took them, still riding the high of the heart, and started reading.

Her excitement slowly shifted to confusion.

"These formulas... I don’t recognize half these reagents. And this distillation process—it shouldn’t work. The temperatures are all wrong."

"Trust me. They’ll work."

[They’re endgame recipes. Stuff that won’t be discovered for years in this timeline. But Rosalie doesn’t need to know that.]

Rosalie looked up at her, yellow eyes searching.

"Where do you keep getting these?"

"Family secrets." Aegis winked. "Just trust the process."

Rosalie clutched the papers to her chest, still looking bewildered but nodding.

"I... yes. Of course. I’ll start testing immediately."

"Good girl."

The words slipped out before Aegis could stop them. Rosalie’s cheeks flushed pink.

Affection Gained!

Rosalie Black: +15 Affection

Rosalie Black: (❤️❤️🤍🤍🤍)

Aegis gave her a lazy salute and headed for the door.

"Let me know when you’ve got results."

---

The manor was quiet when Aegis returned.

Nazraya had left a note on the study desk:

"Morning errands. Back by evening. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. —N"

[That leaves a lot of room for interpretation.]

Aegis found Evelyn in the main hall, reviewing a stack of documents. The woman never seemed to rest.

"Lady Aegis." Evelyn looked up. "How was the alchemist?"

"Thrilled. We’ll have Fire Resistance potions on the market within the month." Aegis dropped into a chair across from her. "But I want to talk about something else."

Evelyn set down her papers, giving Aegis her full attention.

"I need an intelligence network."

A pause.

"That’s... ambitious."

"Every noble house has one. Varyn’s family built theirs over generations. Lady Cassandra has eyes everywhere. Gods know how many random people on the streets are on Goldspire’s payroll." Aegis leaned forward. "If I’m going to play this game, I need information."

"You’re not wrong." Evelyn folded her hands. "The question is personnel. Building a network from scratch takes time and trusted agents. I suppose I could reach out to some professionals... retired spymasters, former military intelligence—"

"I have a couple of people in mind."

Evelyn raised an eyebrow.

"Who?"

"The Summerfang twins."

The eyebrow climbed higher.

"The mercenary catgirls?"

[Vera must have talked about them.]

"The very same." Aegis grinned. "They know how the underworld works. They’ve got contacts in places we’d never reach. And they’re already friendly."

"’Friendly’ is one word for it."

"They’re also broke, bored, and stuck at the academy with nothing to do until fall semester." Aegis stood. "I’m going to make them an offer."

Evelyn nodded slowly. Very slowly.

"I... guess I’ll go prepare contracts."

---

The Brass Tankard was exactly the kind of dive Aegis expected to find the twins in.

Low ceilings, sticky floors, and a clientele that looked like they’d stab you for a copper piece. The smell of cheap ale and cheaper tobacco hung thick in the air.

Aegis spotted them immediately.

Kai’Lin and Mei’Lin had commandeered a table near the back, and a crowd had gathered around them. Kai’Lin had her arm locked with a burly dockworker twice her size. Her face was scrunched in concentration, ears flat against her head.

"Come on, come on, come ON—"

She slammed his arm down. The table shook. The crowd roared.

"Pay up, nya!"

The dockworker grumbled and slid coins across the table. Mei’Lin collected them without bothering to hide her satisfaction.

"Who’s next? Any takers? My sister’s got plenty of fight left in her~"

Aegis pushed through the crowd.

"How about me?"

The twins’ ears perked up simultaneously. Kai’Lin’s competitive scowl melted into surprised recognition. Mei’Lin’s smile turned knowing.

"Well, well." Mei’Lin’s tail curled behind her. "Look who it is, nya."

"Lady Starcaller." Kai’Lin flexed her hand, working out the strain. "Here to lose some money?"

"Here to make you some, actually."

That got their attention.

Aegis jerked her head toward an empty corner booth. The twins exchanged glances, then followed. Mei’Lin scooped up their winnings on the way.

They slid into the booth, Aegis on one side, the twins pressed together on the other. Kai’Lin’s ears kept twitching, all alert and suspicious. Mei’Lin just looked amused.

"So." Mei’Lin leaned forward, her chest pressing against the table. "What kind of offer are we talking about, nya?"

"I need intelligence operatives. People who can gather information, track movements, cultivate contacts in places I can’t reach." Aegis met their eyes. "You two fit the bill."

Kai’Lin snorted.

The twins exchanged another glance.

"What’s the pay?" Mei’Lin asked.

Aegis named a... certain figure. Kai’Lin’s ears shot straight up.

"Per month?"

"Per month. Plus housing at Starcaller Manor, meals provided, and..." Aegis let her gaze drift over both of them, slow and deliberate. "Other benefits."

Mei’Lin’s tail swished against the booth seat. Kai’Lin’s cheeks darkened.

"What kind of benefits, nya?" Mei’Lin’s voice dropped lower.

"The kind you enjoyed at the Summer Auction."

They blushed simultaneously.

Silence.

Then Kai’Lin muttered something in their native tongue. Mei’Lin responded. A rapid exchange followed, too fast for Aegis to catch, punctuated by ear flicks and tail movements.

Finally, they turned back to her.

"We want a signing bonus," Kai’Lin said.

"How much?"

Another figure. Reasonable, actually.

"Done."

Kai’Lin blinked.

"Just like that?"

"Just like that." Aegis extended her hand. "Do we have a deal?"

The twins looked at each other one more time. Then they grinned—identical, predatory grins.

Mei’Lin took her hand first, grip warm and firm.

"You’ve got yourself some spies, Lady Starcaller."

Kai’Lin grabbed on right after, layering her smaller hand over her sister’s.

"Don’t make us regret this, nya."

"Wouldn’t dream of it... Nya~" Aegis winked.

---

That night, Aegis celebrated.

She sat propped against the headboard in her bedroom, intelligence reports spread across the mattress around her. Evelyn had prepared preliminary dossiers on potential allies, rival houses, and trade opportunities. Dry reading, but necessary.

What made it bearable was Mei’Lin’s mouth wrapped around her cock.

"Fuck," Aegis breathed, eyes scanning a report on House Cindergrave’s shipping routes while Mei’Lin’s tongue did something devastating. "Right there."

Kai’Lin was behind her, face buried between Aegis’s cheeks, eating her ass with an enthusiasm that made focusing difficult. Her rough tongue dragged across sensitive flesh, and Aegis’s hips jerked involuntarily.

"You two are—ah—very good at this."

Mei’Lin took her deep again, and Kai’Lin chose that exact moment to push her tongue inside.

The report on grain tariffs fluttered to the floor.

[Okay. Maybe the paperwork can wait.]

Aegis tangled her fingers in Mei’Lin’s white hair and let herself enjoy the moment. She had new operatives, new income streams, and a plan taking shape.

Five weeks until Talia’s betrothal ceremony.

She was going to make every single day count.