The sun was setting, staining the sky in deep shades of orange as dusk slowly claimed the horizon.
Auron lay on his bed, his back propped against the headboard, eyes fixed on the translucent progression bar hovering before him. In this world, everyone possessed such a bar from the moment they were born, though it was anything but what its name implied.
There was no dramatic flourish to it, just a window, a tab labeled Progression. Click it, and that was it. Nothing more. Nothing less.
As Auron stared at his status, he couldn't help but feel that he was both cursed and blessed in equal measure. He had trained only until the age of nine, before he was cursed again and was dragged him into madness. It stripped away over a decade of his life.
And yet, despite that lost time, his stats surpassed those of most once-in-a-century geniuses. The thought made him scoff softly. Fate, it seemed, had a twisted sense of humor.
His gaze shifted to his traits, lingering on one in particular, his Imperial Trait. In the novel, there had never been any mention of such a thing.
"A unique trait huh? Not bad. Not bad at all."
Auron murmured to himself with a smug smile.
It was clear that this trait belonged solely to Auron. At first glance, it appeared underwhelming.
The description was simple, the more people who fell under his sovereignty, the more his will and spirit were strengthened.
Obedience translated into power. The logic was almost laughably straightforward, grounded in an old truth: a sovereign's will must be unshakable, and his spirit unbreakable. In essence, he had been born a ruler.
He remembered how scholars of the imperial castle had dismissed the trait as nearly useless. Authority without control, they said, was meaningless.
And for a long time, they were right. But after Auron fell into madness, after fear began to replace loyalty, his will and spirit climbed at an alarming pace. Even so, it had not been enough.
The Curse of Mental Distortion, a transcendent-rank curse, had still overshadowed everything. He could resist it, yes, but never overcome it.
Until yesterday.
When his past life's memories returned, his stats shattered their limits and stepped into the Transcendent rank. From that moment on, the curse might as well have been irrelevant.
Auron could feel it even now, pressing against his mind, trying to sink its claws into him, and failing. Utterly.
"Heh~ One by one... I will crush every single one of you who dared to harm my family."
Auron closed his progression bar and suddenly with nothing to do, his mind drifted towards his past life. Almost a full day has passed and it hadn't even bothered him.
"Haha~ I truly was a back ground character wasn't I? One people forget seconds later. Even I myself forgot I existed... heh~"
Auron couldn't help but shake his head in disbelief.
'But still, it's not like I had anyone to cry for me anyway. I just hope that my body was at least buried not sold...'
Auron silently laminated as he looked at the garden that seemed to have golden because of the sun light.
Auron of Earth wasn't actually alone. He had parents. But their relationship wasn't good. He grew up in poverty and still lived that way even when his parents finance got better.
They would barely get him anything new. He didn't understand why at the time but he once overheard his mother talking that he was an unwanted child. And that they didn't plan for him.
His mother was venting to his aunt and Auron just listened. He didn't cry. Instead he felt relieved. Relieved that he could leave without guilt which he was planning to do when he was eighteen.
Auron was eleven when he overheard his mother. Their treatment of his didn't improve. Instead it worsened after his sister was born. They treated her like their treasure.
Auron had no problem. As long as they treated her right. His mother seemed to be even aggressive, her face sometimes looked like smug like pointing at the difference and trying to taunt him.
At that time, he wasn't even angry. He would internally laugh. And when he turned eighteen, he ran away. He focused on his studies and landed a decent job until someone he knew from his home town that his parents were a mess and they were trying to find every where.
Auron had just shared it off and warned the person not to tell anyone his address, he wanted to meet no one from his family.
... he he got crushed by a piano the same day...
"Heh~ guess my wish was granted because meeting them is impossible now."
Auron scoffed as he recalled everything that had happened in his previous life. But his intention was now on somewhere else.
A smile curved his lips as he sensed a familiar presence approaching his room. He sat up just as a knock echoed against the door.
"Come in,"
He said.
Butler John entered and bowed deeply.
"Good evening, Your Highness."
"So, Grandfather approved?"
Auron said with a faint smile,
"Yes,"
John replied, stepping forward to hand him the imperial decree, along with the token of the Emperor.
An Emperor's decree was meant to be received while kneeling. Auron didn't bother. He had discarded such customs long ago, and by now, people had stopped trying to correct him.
The token felt heavy in his palm, not in weight but in meaning. Excitement stirred in his chest. With this, the first step of his plan was complete.
He lifted his gaze to Butler John.
"Summon all nobles of the royalist faction. I want them present in the audience hall tomorrow, by any means necessary."
John's eyes widened before discipline snapped them back into place. He bowed once more.
"As you wish, Your Highness. Is there anything else?"
Auron fell silent for a moment.
"Has this been announced to the world yet?"
"No, Your Highness."
"Good. Don't announce it."
Understanding flickered across John's face. Instead, Auron continued, his tone calm but unyielding.
"I want every piece of information on every noble, whether it is from Royalist faction, Nobelity faction or neutral faction, doesn't matter. Rumors everyone ignored. Whispers dismissed as nonsense to evidence, solid, undeniable proof of crimes. Compile all of it before the audience. Can I trust you with that?"
John hesitated, a troubled expression surfacing. Auron's eyes sharpened.
"Can you, or can you not?"
"...I ... can, your highness, Leave it to me. Though… may I be presumptuous enough to ask why you need such information?"
John said with a brief hesitation
Auron only smiled.
"You'll need time to gather it properly. Go. You're dismissed."
Auron lay back down and closed his eyes, the faint smile still etched on his face. Butler John stared at him for a long moment, stunned, before returning the smile and quietly leaving the room.
He could feel it, something had shifted. The prince the Empire had lost twelve years ago had returned, and this time, his eyes held clarity, intelligence, and purpose. A plan.
Yet beneath that certainty, unease gnawed at John's heart. This change could herald salvation… or ruin. He remembered the Emperor's smile, a smile of relief, of a man who had seen truths others could not.
Trusting that judgment, John steeled himself. He would gather the information, all of it, as quickly as possible. He would not disappoint Auron.
Stepping out of the cold estate, Butler John took a deep breath and placed a hand over his chest, feeling his heart pound with excitement and fragile hope. He looked up.
The night sky was clear, stars scattered like silver dust, a full moon casting its light across the land.
He could feel it.
Change was on the horizon.
Whether it would save the Empire or doom it, he didn't know. But this felt like the final chance and Butler John would give everything he had.