Chapter 4
Ethan waited until the last bell of the night tolled before slipping from the bed. Every muscle ached from the earlier surge of pain, but the fire inside him burned stronger. He had seven days to live. Seven days before an empire's executioner severed his head.
"Not happening," he whispered to the reflection in the window. The woman staring back at him… pale hair, violet eyes, regal posture… looked nothing like him. But that was the point. If he was going to survive, he would have to use her face as armor.
He wrapped himself in a dark cloak from the wardrobe and sneaked into the hall… He moved with the caution of a thief in the night, slipping between columns and shadows until he reached the outer courtyard. His Liora memories serving him well.
Two guards stood by the gate, chatting softly. Their armor gleamed in the lamplight, silver-plated with the crest of Velora… a serpent encircling a crown.
Ethan ducked behind a pillar, scanning the yard. No horses in sight. The stables that should have been filled with noble mares stood empty, doors barred.
"Of course," he muttered. "Lock down the estate. Keep the traitor penned in her cage."
He looked toward the high walls. The gates were reinforced with glowing sigils, faintly pulsing like veins of light. The System's voice stirred faintly in his mind.
["Observation: Palace decree prohibits the movement of condemned nobles. Magical lockdown active."]
"Tell me something I don't know," he murmured, adjusting his hood.
The voice fell silent, uninterested in his sarcasm.
He needed information. Escape routes, allies, something. Maybe a servant loyal to Liora could be bribed. But as he crept toward the stables, a soft voice broke through the dark.
"You move like a ghost, my lady."
Ethan froze.
A figure stepped out from the shadows of the stable archway. Black cloaks, face half-hidden beneath the hood, the stranger carried the poise of someone used to danger.
"Who are you?" he asked cautiously.
The figure gave a small bow. "A friend. Or at least, one who does not wish to see you die like a criminal."
His pulse spiked. "That's not an answer."
A quiet laugh slipped from her lips. "You have become as cautious as they say. Good. Caution keeps you alive."
"Then start talking," Ethan said, keeping his tone level. "You said you don't want to see me die. Why?"
"Because I prefer my debts unpaid," the stranger replied. "Your family once fed my village after a drought. That is not something one forgets."
Ethan hesitated. That wasn't his memory, but it could have been Liora's. "So you're here to repay a favor."
"If you wish to call it that," she said. "But you have little time. The Empress's decree spreads at dawn. Every city gate will carry your name. Every hunter will carry your price."
"Then I leave before dawn," Ethan said.
She smiled faintly. "Bravery or desperation?"
"Does it matter?"
"Not to me. But you should know what you're running from."
Her voice lowered as she stepped closer. The torch she carried flickered, catching her profile, a sharp jaw, eyes like frost, the confidence of someone who had seen too much. Maybe she was once a noble too?
"Velora was not always this way," she said. "Once, men and women ruled together. Until the Reformation War. The Empress's bloodline rose from the betrayal, swearing to never let a man hold power again. Now, men are soldiers or property. And women who defy the crown…"
"End up like Liora Valen," Ethan finished quietly. "I mean me." He cleared his throat. "End up like me."
The stranger's smile vanished. "Exactly."
He folded his arms. "And yet, you're helping me escape."
"I said I dislike debts, not the law," she said. "But I also know mercy when I see it. Come. The palace gates are sealed, but there are tunnels beneath the old armory. They lead into the merchant district. If you can reach that far, you might live to see the next sunrise."
Ethan studied her for a moment. She sounded sincere, her words sharp with knowledge only an insider would know. But something about her felt too prepared, too measured.
Still, he had no choice. "Lead the way."
The stranger nodded and turned toward the shadows between the stables. They moved in silence, until they reached a half-buried hatch covered in vines. She knelt and pressed her palm against the wood. Faint runes glowed, and the lock gave a quiet click.
Ethan's brows rose. "You have palace clearance runes?"
"I have friends," she said simply.
They slipped into darkness. The tunnel smelled of damp earth and old air. Water dripped somewhere far off, echoing through the narrow passage. Ethan's hand held unto the wall for balance, every of his cunning sense at alert.
"So," the stranger said after a long silence, "is it true?"
Ethan glanced at her. "Is what true?"
"That you leaked the empire's battle maps to the border kingdom."
He stiffened. "Would it matter if I said no?"
"Not really," she said. "But I like to know who I'm risking my neck for."
He gave her a faint smile. "Let's just say I've been accused of worse."
The stranger's eyes glimmered. "Careful with your tone, my lady. Pride sounds a lot like guilt in Velora."
They walked for a while longer. The tunnel widened into an old storage chamber. Broken barrels and rusted weapons lay scattered around.
Ethan paused, taking a breath. "How far to the merchant district?"
"Another quarter hour," she said, inspecting a torch on the wall. "We will surface behind the old market. There's a caravan leaving at dawn. If we move fast, you can ride with them under disguise."
It almost sounded possible. For the first time since waking in this cursed body, Ethan felt a flicker of hope.
He leaned against the wall. "You seem to know a lot about running away."
Her lips curved. "You could say I have experience."
He caught something in her tone, something too calm, too practiced. "Experience helping fugitives?"
"Experience catching them."
Ethan's head snapped up, but she was already moving. In one smooth motion, she drew a blade, the sound of steel whispering in the dark.
"You…"
She cut him off with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Forgive me, Lady Valen. I truly did like the idea of you escaping. But the Empress pays far too well to let fantasy win."
Realization hit like ice water down his spine. The kindness, the knowledge, the help… it was all a bait.
Ethan took a step back, his… her… heart hammering in his chest, but she advanced slowly, her blade glinting like liquid silver.
"Run if you wish," she said softly. "It only makes the hunt more exciting for me."
His breath caught in his throat.
So this was Velora. A world of power wrapped in deceit, mercy hiding knives beneath its smile.
And he had walked straight into its trap.
Ethan's pulse thundered in his ears. He didn't know this body's strength, didn't know its limits, but instinct took over before thought could. The moment she lunged, he moved.
Her steel sliced through the air where his neck had been. Close one.
He twisted aside, caught her wrist, and drove his knee into her stomach. The impact sent her staggering back, her cloak flaring. The blade clattered against the wall, spinning to the floor.
"Not bad," she hissed, clutching her side. "For a condemned noble."
He didn't answer. His old reflexes were waking… training that wasn't from this world. He ducked as she drew another dagger, sweeping her legs out from under her. She hit the ground hard, gasping as he pinned her wrist.
"Who sent you?" he demanded.
"You already know."
"The Empress?"
Her silence was answer enough.
He pressed harder, fury igniting in his chest. "Tell me why she wants me dead. Tell me what Liora… what I did."
The bounty hunter smirked through the pain. "You think you can intimidate me? You barely know how to breathe in that corset."
Ethan's eyes flashed. "You would be surprised at what I can do."
He grabbed her collar and slammed her against the cold wall. The motion was too strong, his balance wavered, his muscles trembled, but adrenaline drowned the weakness.
Her dagger arm slipped free. She slashed upward, grazing his cheek. Warm blood slid down his face.
"You'll regret that," he growled.
[Warning: Host's physical output exceeding female vessel threshold.]
[Alert: Excessive aggression detected. Behavioral imbalance at 87%.]
The System's voice sliced into his skull, cold and unfeeling.
"Not now," Ethan gritted out.
[Correction protocol initiating.]
"What?"
Pain detonated in his chest. His limbs stiffened, muscles seizing as if electricity tore through his veins. The world slowly turned into white light and static. He staggered back, gasping, fingers clawing at the air.
The bounty hunter rose, confusion flashing in her eyes. "What in the goddess's name…"
Ethan fell to one knee, choking on his breath. His heart felt like it was being crushed from the inside.
[Excessive male hostility detected. System enforcing emotional balance.]
He screamed. The sound echoed through the tunnel. Every nerve burned. His vision blurred into streaks of blue light. The floor trembled beneath him as if the System itself was dragging him down.
The bounty hunter backed away, fear flickering in her orbs where arrogance had been. "What are you?"
He wanted to answer, to snarl something clever, but his body wouldn't obey. The voice in his mind grew louder, more merciless.
[Recalibration sequence active. Subduing host.]
He collapsed completely, body jerking uncontrollably. The taste of blood filled his mouth.
The bounty hunter hesitated, blade raised but no longer confident. "This… this isn't possible. You were supposed to be..."
Through the haze of pain, Ethan managed a smile. "Guess I'm full of surprises."
Another surge hit him. His back arched violently as the System flared within, blue circuits glowing faintly beneath his skin like veins of light.
[Warning. Emotional dissonance unresolved. Physical stabilization failing.]
The bounty hunter cursed, stepping back. "Whatever magic this is, I want no part of it."
She turned to run, but a distant sound stopped her, shouts, boots.
Guards were near them.
Ethan barely heard them over the ringing in his ears. The last thing he saw before darkness swam over him was the bounty hunter disappearing into a side tunnel, her cloak swaying behind her.
Then the world exploded in light.
"Here! The traitor is here!" a soldier barked.
Rough hands grabbed his arms, hauling him upright. His body hung limp, every muscle trembling. Armor clinked, chains rattled, torches hissed in the air.
"Careful," one woman said, voice tight with disgust. "The Empress wants her alive."
"She looks half-dead already," another muttered.
Ethan blinked weakly, trying to focus. The soldiers' faces swam before him, sharp eyes, high collars, the serpent-and-crown crest etched on their breastplates.
"By order of the Empress of Velora," the captain declared, "Liora Valen is hereby bound for treason and attempted escape."
He tried to speak, but his throat wouldn't form words. The pain from the System still throbbed in his veins.
"Chain her," the captain ordered.
Cold iron closed around his wrists. He flinched as the cuffs tightened, runes glowing faintly on contact. They pulsed with heat, sealing his strength away.
One of the guards leaned close, sneering. "Seven days left, traitor. You should have begged for mercy instead of running."
Ethan's head hung low, breath shallow, blood streaking his cheek.
Mercy. The word made him want to laugh.
The captain stepped forward. "By sunrise, the Empress will know you were found crawling through her tunnels. You'll be grateful she lets you live that long."
He forced his eyes open, meeting the captain's gaze. "Tell her," he rasped, "I don't die that easily."
The woman's lips curled. "We'll see."
As they marched him toward the palace gates, the System whispered faintly again, almost pitying.
[Mission timer resumed. Six days, seventeen hours remaining.]
He clenched his fists in the chains, fury replacing fear.
The crowd at the courtyard stirred as the soldiers emerged, gasping at the sight of the fallen noblewoman, wrists bound in glowing shackles.
"Lady Liora Valen," the captain announced, voice echoing across the courtyard. "By order of Her Imperial Majesty, you are remanded to the Tower of Silence until the day of your execution."
Ethan lifted his head, jaw tightening.
[Warning: Host consciousness unstable.]
The world tilted again. The last thing he saw was the sunrise happening. Then darkness claimed him completely.