Charisma 100: My Academy Life As A Heartbreaking Commoner-Chapter 244: Multitasking*

"So, she just pulls a knife on me. Out of nowhere. I didn’t even see where it came from."

"Mhm."

"And then she starts talking about how I ruined their plans at the wedding, like I’m supposed to feel bad about stopping an assassination at my own ceremony."

"Mhm."

Aegis pulled her mouth off Nazraya’s cock with a wet pop, licked the underside from base to tip, and then kept talking.

"And the best part? She tells me I need to ’pick a side.’ Like it’s that simple. Like I can just walk up to a bunch of cultists and go ’hey, sign me up.’"

Nazraya was leaning back in her office chair, her red eyes half-lidded, her fingers tangled loosely in Aegis’s hair. Her office door was locked, the blinds were drawn, and to her credit, she was doing an admirable job of pretending to listen while Aegis’s tongue circled the head of her dick.

"Darling," Nazraya said, her voice a little thicker than usual, "are you going to keep complaining, or are you going to finish what you started?"

"I can do both. I’m gifted like that."

Aegis wrapped her lips around the tip again, sucked hard enough to make Nazraya’s thigh twitch, then pulled off and kissed down the shaft to her balls. She took one into her mouth, rolled her tongue over it, and Nazraya let out a slow breath through her nose.

"As I was saying," Aegis continued, giving the other ball the same treatment before licking her way back up, "now there’s shadow mages at the academy, the church sent some woman to monitor things, and I’m stuck in the middle of it with a giant target on my back."

"You always have a target on your back." Nazraya’s fingers tightened in her hair as Aegis took her cock back into her mouth, deeper this time. "That’s... mm... that’s hardly new."

Aegis hummed around her, which made Nazraya’s hips shift, and then pulled back and thought about it.

"... Fair point, actually."

She stood up, hiked her skirt, and climbed onto Nazraya’s lap, straddling her in the chair. Nazraya’s hands went to her hips immediately, her red eyes sharpening as Aegis reached down, lined herself up, and sank down onto her cock.

"Fuck," Aegis breathed, her head tilting back as she took all of it. Nazraya’s grip tightened on her hips, pulling her down the last inch, and for a second neither of them said anything.

Then Aegis started moving, rocking her hips forward and back, slow at first, and picked the conversation right back up.

"So, what do we do about the training?"

Nazraya’s jaw flexed. Her eyes were locked on where Aegis’s body met hers, watching her cock disappear into her with each roll of Aegis’s hips.

"We’ll have to pause," Nazraya said, her voice controlled but tight. "With the church here, practicing shadow magic on academy grounds is suicide. Even at the manor, we’ll need to be more careful."

Aegis frowned, grinding down harder. "For how long?"

"As long as it takes for them to get bored or find someone else to harass." Nazraya’s hands slid from Aegis’s hips to her ass, squeezing hard and pulling her into a deeper rhythm. "But it’s not all bad, my pet."

"How so?"

"Think about it." Nazraya thrust up into her and Aegis bit her lip, her fingers gripping Nazraya’s shoulders. "The church’s presence will keep the shadow mages from acting openly. They can’t make moves with a church inquisitor watching every hallway. That buys you time."

[... She’s right. The church being here is a pain in my ass, but it also puts the Umbral Blade on a leash. If Selene is out there hunting for shadow mages, they can’t exactly go around recruiting or planning attacks. Which means I have time to figure out what to do about all of this.]

Aegis picked up the pace, bouncing on Nazraya’s cock hard enough to make the chair creak underneath them. Her tits pressed against Nazraya’s face and Nazraya took the invitation, her mouth closing around a nipple while her hips snapped up to meet each of Aegis’s movements. Every thrust pushed deeper, and Aegis’s thighs squeezed around Nazraya’s waist as she rode her faster.

"You’re, ah, you’re annoyingly smart, you know that?" Aegis managed between breaths.

Nazraya pulled off her breast long enough to smirk.

"I know, darling." Then she grabbed Aegis’s hips with both hands and slammed her down, burying herself to the hilt, and Aegis had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from making a sound loud enough to reach the hallway.

[Right. Office. Walls are thin. Keep it together.]

She did not, in fact, keep it together.

---

Twenty minutes and one very thorough "meeting" later, Aegis was walking through the academy halls with her uniform straightened and her hair mostly fixed. Mostly.

She was halfway to the east corridor when a voice called out behind her.

"Mrs. Starcaller?"

Aegis stopped and turned. Selene was walking toward her, that same pleasant smile on her face, her white armor and black cape drawing glances from every student she passed.

Up close, she was pretty. High cheekbones, sharp blue eyes, a face that looked like it belonged on a church recruitment poster. Which, honestly, it probably had been at some point.

"Or, would you rather I call you Mrs. Stone?"

"Starcaller is fine. Selene, right?" Aegis said, putting on a smile of her own.

"That’s me." Selene stopped a comfortable distance away. Close enough to talk, far enough to be polite. "I wanted to introduce myself properly. I didn’t get the chance earlier, with so many students around."

"Well, here I am. Properly introduced."

"Indeed." Selene’s blue eyes studied her for a moment. Not hostile. Not suspicious. Just... attentive. "I must say, I’ve heard quite a lot about you, Mrs. Starcaller. The commoner who married a princess. It’s quite the story."

"Oh, you know how it is. Girl meets princess, girl fights off assassins at her own wedding, girl gets put under formal observation. Classic love story."

Selene laughed. A short, polite laugh. Controlled.

[... She’s measuring me. Every word, every expression. It’s honestly kind of impressive.]

"You’re funny," Selene said. "That’s refreshing. Most nobles I speak with are so... guarded."

"Well, as you know, I only barely a noble."

"And yet here you are. Married to royalty, running your own house, training under some of the best professors in the kingdom." Selene tilted her head. "Quite impressive for someone who’s ’barely a noble.’"

Aegis leaned against the wall and crossed her arms, keeping her posture loose. Approachable.

"Flattery? From a church inquisitor? Now I’m worried."

"I’m not here as an inquisitor," Selene said, still smiling. "Just an observer."

"Right."

They looked at each other for a moment. Two people who both knew the other was full of shit, smiling politely about it. Aegis had to respect the craft, honestly. This woman was good.

"Do keep your head low, Mrs. Starcaller," Selene said, taking a step back. "I fear chaotic times may be upon us."

"I’ll do my best."

"I’m sure you will."

With that, Selene turned and walked away, her cape trailing behind her. Aegis watched her go and didn’t drop the smile until she was completely out of sight.

[Okay. So she’s smart, she’s polite, and she’s absolutely going to be a problem.]

Aegis pushed off the wall and headed toward the library, where her study group usually met after afternoon classes.

---

She heard them before she saw them.

Miheyra’s voice, then Ellis’s, the usual back-and-forth about whatever theory assignment Nazraya had dropped on them this week. Aegis rounded the corner toward their usual spot near the study alcoves and—

She stopped.

Sylceris was there. Leaning against the wall next to the alcove, talking to Tam. Tam, who was quiet, and shy, and about as threatening as a damp napkin, was nodding along to whatever Sylceris was saying with wide eyes.

Aegis pulled back behind the corner before either of them noticed her.

[What the hell?]

She pressed her back against the wall and listened. She couldn’t make out the words from here, just the low murmur of conversation, Sylceris’s flat voice and Tam’s quiet replies. It could be nothing. It could be completely innocent, two students having a chat.

But Sylceris wasn’t just a student. And she’d told Aegis this morning that there were more of them here than she’d think.

Aegis stayed behind the wall, her mind already running through the possibilities, and none of them were good.