Help! I'm just an extra yet the Heroines and Villainesses want me!-Chapter 80: Strange Invitation

Everyone sat in their designated places. William found himself positioned between Seraphine and his sister Eleanor, with his father at one end and his mother at the other.

Servants appeared immediately to serve the first course, it looked like some kind of soup that smelled expensive.

The duke ate in silence for several minutes, and everyone else followed his lead. The only sounds were silverware against fine china.

Then he spoke.

"I understand you made the academy’s Inter-Academy team," Duke Edward said without looking at William. "Fifth place out of ten positions. Barely adequate."

"The competition was strong," William replied neutrally.

"Strong competition that you barely met the minimum standard for." The duke’s tone was conversational but cutting. "Your mother seems to think this represents improvement. I think it represents you finally doing the bare minimum expected of someone with the Cross name."

"Edward," Duchess Arabella said quietly.

"No, let him respond." The duke finally looked at William directly. "Tell me, son. Do you actually believe you belong at that competition? Or are you simply there because your mother convinced me to let you embarrass the family publicly rather than quietly?"

William felt Seraphine tense beside him. His older brothers watched with barely concealed amusement. His sisters pretended to focus on their food.

This was the test. React like the old William — defensively, arrogantly, emotionally — and prove his father right. Or respond differently and maybe, just maybe, change the pattern.

"I believe I earned my position through performance in the Inter-House tournament," William said calmly. "Whether that’s adequate by your standards isn’t something I can control. I can only continue improving and see how I place in the actual competition."

The duke’s eyes narrowed slightly. That wasn’t the response he’d expected.

"Improvement," he repeated. "An interesting word from someone who spent seventeen years actively avoiding any effort whatsoever. What changed, William? What suddenly made you decide to pretend to care?"

"I stopped pretending I could succeed without trying," William said. "And started actually working to catch up to where I should have been years ago."

Silence fell across the table. Even his brothers looked surprised.

Duke Edward studied him for a long moment, and William couldn’t read his expression.

"We’ll see," the duke finally said. "Words are easy. The competition will show whether this supposed improvement is real or just another performance."

He returned to his meal, effectively ending the conversation.

The rest of dinner passed in relative quiet. Occasional small talk between siblings, his mother making polite conversation with his brothers about their military assignments, Seraphine quietly asking William about academy classes.

When the meal finally ended, the duke stood. 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

"William, join me in my study."

It wasn’t a request.

William followed his father through the manor to a wood-paneled study filled with military memorabilia and family documents. The duke closed the door behind them.

"Sit."

William sat in one of the chairs facing the large desk. His father remained standing, looking down at him.

"Your mother believes you’ve changed," Duke Edward said. "She’s convinced me to give you this opportunity at the competition despite my better judgment. But I want to be clear about something."

He leaned forward with his hands on the desk.

"If you fail — if you embarrass this family in front of the other houses — there will be consequences. No more academy funding. No more family support. You’ll be given a minor estate in the provinces and expected to manage it without assistance. Effectively exiled."

"I understand."

"Do you? Because this isn’t a threat, it’s a promise. I’ve tolerated your existence out of respect for your mother, but my patience has limits." The duke’s voice was cold. "Prove you’re worth the Cross name, or lose the right to use it."

William met his father’s eyes. "Then I’ll prove it."

The duke stared at him for another moment, then waved dismissively.

"Get out."

William left the study and made his way back to his room, his mind churning.

Three days here. Three days to train, to navigate family politics, to prepare for what was coming.

And somewhere in the background, a competition in three weeks where he’d died sixteen times across different loops.

He changed out of his formal clothes and lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling.

His mother’s conditional support. His father’s ultimatum. His sister’s genuine affection. His siblings’ indifference or contempt.

This was his family. This was what the original William Cross had grown up with.

No wonder he’d been such a disaster.

William closed his eyes and tried to sleep, knowing tomorrow would bring more training and more tests.

At least at the academy, the threats were straightforward, assassins and time loops were simple compared to family dynamics.

---

William woke before dawn to someone pounding on his door.

"Master William, Her Grace requests your presence in the east parlor for breakfast," a servant called through the wood.

He got up and dressed in formal day clothes — apparently casual training sessions weren’t on today’s agenda. When he made his way to the east parlor, he found his mother already there along with two people he didn’t recognize.

"William, good morning," Duchess Arabella said. "These are Lord and Lady Ashford. They’re visiting to discuss some business arrangements with your father, and I thought it would be beneficial for you to join us."

Lord Ashford was a heavyset man in his fifties with the kind of smile that never reached his eyes. Lady Ashford was younger, elegant, and currently studying William with obvious interest.

"The famous William Cross," Lord Ashford said. "We’ve heard quite a bit about your recent performance at the academy. Making the Inter-Academy team is no small achievement."

"Thank you," William said carefully, sitting where his mother indicated.

"Our daughter Mira is also on the team, I believe," Lady Ashford added. "She’s mentioned you in her letters home. Said you were quite talented despite the rumors about your... previous difficulties."

Ah. So this was Mira’s family, and they were clearly fishing for information about his relationship with their daughter.

"Mira is an excellent teammate," William said neutrally. "Her shadow manipulation techniques are impressive."

"She speaks highly of you as well," Lady Ashford continued. "In fact, she mentioned that you’ve been spending quite a bit of time together recently."

William caught his mother’s slight smile and realized this entire breakfast was a setup. The Ashfords were here to gauge whether their daughter had caught the attention of a Cross family member, and his mother was using it as an opportunity to demonstrate that William was now worth political consideration.

"The team trains together frequently," William said. "I’ve been fortunate to work with skilled partners."

"Indeed," Lord Ashford said. "Though I understand you’ve also been training privately with Seraphina Ashenheart? The Ashenheart family is quite influential in military circles."

"Lady Seraphina has been generous with her combat instruction."

The conversation continued like this for the next hour — carefully worded questions from the Ashfords probing his relationships and prospects, equally careful responses from William, and his mother occasionally steering the discussion in strategic directions.

It was exhausting in a completely different way than combat training. Every word had to be measured, every response calculated for political implications he barely understood.

When the Ashfords finally left, Duchess Arabella turned to William with approval.

"Well handled. You’ve learned discretion at the academy. The old William would have either bragged inappropriately or said something that could be used against the family."

"What was that really about?"

"The Ashfords testing whether a marriage alliance might be advantageous. Mira is their only daughter, and connecting to House Cross would elevate their political standing." His mother sipped her tea calmly. "They’re not the only ones who’ve made inquiries since word spread about your Inter-Academy placement."

"Marriage inquiries? I’m eighteen."

"You’re a noble’s son who’s finally showing promise. That makes you a commodity." She set down her cup. "House Stormweaver has also expressed interest, though more subtly. Lyanna’s mother sent a letter last week asking about your ’academic progress and social connections.’"

William felt a headache forming that had nothing to do with essence training.

"I’m not getting married to serve family politics."

"No one said you had to. But you need to understand these dynamics exist whether you acknowledge them or not." Duchess Arabella stood. "Every relationship you form at the academy has political implications. The Ashenheart family. The Stormweavers. Even House Hivolt, whose daughter Claire you’ve apparently befriended."

"How do you know about Claire?"

"I have excellent intelligence networks. Did you think I’d send my son to the kingdom’s most prestigious academy without keeping track of his associations?" She moved toward the door. "Your father has meetings all day, but he’s requested you join him for dinner tonight with several military officers. They want to assess whether you’re worth recruiting after graduation."

"I haven’t even survived the competition yet."

"Which is exactly why these meetings are happening now. If you perform well, multiple factions will try to secure commitments from you before you have leverage to negotiate. If you fail, they’ll distance themselves quickly." His mother paused at the door. "Welcome to noble family politics, William. Every action you take is being evaluated by people with agendas you don’t see."

She left, and William sat there processing everything she’d just dumped on him.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. A servant entered with a sealed letter.

"This arrived for you by private courier, Master William."

William took the letter and dismissed the servant. The seal was unfamiliar — not any of the major houses he recognized. He opened it carefully.

[William Cross,]

[We represent certain interested parties who’ve been following your recent development with great interest. Your performance at the upcoming Inter-Academy competition will determine whether we extend an offer of employment after your graduation.]

[Be aware that others are also watching. Your success would benefit many, but your failure would please even more.]

[We suggest you take appropriate precautions.]

[Respectfully,]

[A Friend]

William read the letter twice, then held it over a candle until it caught fire and burned completely. Anonymous letters from "interested parties" were never good news.

Was this related to the assassinations Kai had warned about? Or just normal noble house scheming?

He spent the rest of the morning in his room, ostensibly resting but actually reviewing everything he knew about the major noble houses and their current political positions. His mother had been right — he’d been ignoring the political dimensions of his academy relationships.

Seraphina appeared around midday, knocking energetically on his door.

"Mother says you have boring meetings all day, so I’m supposed to entertain myself," his sister announced when he let her in. "Want to tell me about the academy? The real stuff, not the boring parts you told the Ashfords."

William found himself genuinely smiling. "What do you want to know?"

"Everything! What are the other students really like? Is there drama? Romance? Rivalries?" Seraphina sat cross-legged on his bed with the unselfconscious ease of a thirteen-year-old. "Your letters were so boring. Just ’classes are fine’ and ’training continues.’ That tells me nothing!"

So William told her stories — carefully edited versions of academy life that were entertaining without being inappropriate. Seraphina listened with rapt attention, occasionally interrupting with questions or commentary.

"Wait, so Seraphina Ashenheart actually trains you personally? Like, one-on-one instruction?" His sister’s eyes were wide. "She’s famous! I’ve read about her family’s military campaigns in history books!"

"She’s intense but is a good teacher."

"And this Lyanna girl who asked you on a date — did you go? What happened?"

William found himself relaxing as he talked with his sister. Unlike every other conversation in this house, Seraphine genuinely just wanted to know about his life without hidden agendas.

A servant interrupted to summon him to lunch, where more "casual" conversations with visiting nobles awaited. Seraphine made a face.

"More boring politics?"

"Unfortunately."

"Well, tell me more stories tonight after your dinner with Father’s military friends. I want to hear about the dungeon run you mentioned." She hopped off the bed. "And William? I’m really glad you’re doing well at the academy. I always knew you could if you actually tried."

She left, and William prepared himself for another afternoon of political maneuvering disguised as social calls.

Lunch involved a merchant family who wanted to discuss potential business partnerships. Tea afterward with a minor noble house looking to curry favor with House Cross. Then a brief meeting with his older brother Marcus, who made it clear he considered William’s success an amusing anomaly rather than genuine achievement.

By the time evening arrived, William was exhausted from maintaining careful diplomatic responses for hours.

Dinner with his father and the military officers would be the final test of the day.

He changed into his most formal clothes, checked that the concealed knife was properly hidden, and prepared himself for whatever political games the evening would bring.

----

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