A heavy silence hung over the luxurious dining hall for a long moment. Not a single player dared to move. Eight pairs of eyes remained locked onto Liu Feiyang with sheer suspicion and confusion, particularly the girl with thick glasses, who had now collapsed onto the floor, weeping silently.
Feiyang ignored their stares. He reached up and gently touched the skin beneath his chin, feeling a small cut and a faint trace of blood on his fingertips.
*It's real. It hurts like hell too,* he cursed inwardly.
**[ System Status Recovery Completed: Personal Player Control Panel Unlocked ]**
The faded yellow screen popped up once more, this time displaying a bit more detail. It showed his name, his assigned role, and his remaining life gauge at 95 points. Next to it was an empty inventory slot and a map icon of the castle, which was currently obscured by a dark fog.
"Hey... you," a trembling voice called out from his left. Feiyang turned to see a studious-looking young man desperately trying to untie the remaining twine from his wrists. "What just happened? Why did that man vanish... and what exactly is this system?"
"If you want to find out, try screaming insults at the system," Feiyang replied flatly, reaching back to loosen the hooks of his stifling dress, which was making it difficult to breathe. "But brace yourself to turn into dust just like that big guy at the head of the table."
His blunt words made the young man's face drain of color, and he instantly shut his mouth.
Feiyang quickly scanned the remaining eight players. Everyone was in the same state—panicked, confused, and unable to accept reality. The only exception was a middle-aged man who remained quiet, carefully observing his own system interface.
"Since the ropes are off, let's scatter and look for information," the middle-aged man said, his voice entirely steady. "The system said we have until tomorrow before the prince returns. If we just sit here acting clueless, we'll all be beheaded by tomorrow."
"But where can we go? We don't even know if there are guards outside," a woman countered, her voice laced with sobs.
"It's still better than waiting around to die," Feiyang cut in. He had no intention of grouping up with these people anyway. The more people involved, the messier it got. In survival games like this, those who relied on others were always the first to die.
He adjusted the cumbersome, flowing dress with annoyance before taking long strides toward the double doors Prince Edward had just exited. Feiyang pushed the doors open quietly. Outside lay a long corridor lined with a dark carpet, where wall-mounted candlesticks cast a dim, flickering glow. The atmosphere was desolate and eerily quiet.
No guards. No signs of life.
Feiyang stepped into the corridor alone, the rhythmic click of the heeled boots that came with the dress echoing against the floor. His mind replayed the objective of his first mission.
*'Do whatever it takes to ensure he orders your execution as late as possible.'*
The directive felt incredibly contradictory. In standard villainess games, the goal was usually to act reformed to clear one's reputation, or to simply run away. But this system was explicitly telling him to 'buy time before dying.' That meant no matter what he did... the end point the system had designed for this character was death anyway.
Suddenly, the system screen flickered rapidly, accompanied by a warning chime inside his head.
**[ Warning: 'The Protagonist' has been detected walking back toward this route. ]**
**[ Distance: 50 meters ]**
Feiyang froze, his heart dropping. Ahead of him was a split path leading left and right. There were no rooms to hide in, and the heavy thud of knight-grade leather combat boots was already echoing from around the corner of the right intersection.
He was about to face that psychotic prince again, with absolutely no plan in mind.
The footsteps drew closer, the rhythmic thud of leather hitting the floor creating a tense, suffocating pressure. Feiyang looked down at his bright red hoop skirt in utter exasperation. Running normally in this stupid dress was difficult enough, let alone running to hide.
*Wait... running away?*
His brain instantly recalled the system's exact rules. The mission stated to do whatever it took to make the prince order his execution *as late as possible*. If he chose to run and got caught on the very first day, it would likely spike the Hatred Gauge straight to one hundred percent, resulting in instant death.
*If I can't run, I have to face him.*
Feiyang took a deep breath. Changing his mind about turning left, he stood completely still right in the middle of the intersection. He quickly adjusted his lace collar and forced his expression to be as unbothered as humanly possible.
Prince Edward's tall, slender figure turned the corner from the right intersection. He was no longer holding his sword; instead, he carried an old, rolled-up parchment. When his golden eyes locked onto Feiyang standing blatantly in the open, the prince halted.
"Not in your quarters yet?" Edward asked, his voice devoid of surprise, carrying only a piercing coldness.
"I was just on my way, Your Highness," Feiyang replied evenly. He didn't pitch his voice higher this time, using his natural tone laced with a subtle trace of sarcasm. "But I happened to get lost. Your Highness's castle is far too vast for... someone scheduled for execution tomorrow morning."
Prince Edward raised an eyebrow. His razor-sharp gaze swept over Feiyang from head to toe. Silence enveloped the corridor once more, so absolute that the sizzling of the melting candle wax was audible.
**[ Notice: Prince Edward's Hatred Gauge has decreased by 2% ]**
**[ Your Life Points remaining: 97 ]**
Feiyang silently let out a breath. *It dropped? Because I'm not acting like a hysterical brat like the original lady, huh.*
"You really have changed," Edward stepped closer, stopping a mere two paces away. A faint aura of pressure radiated from him. "In the past, you would have been screaming and begging for your life by now."
"Weeping doesn't make Your Highness's blade any duller," Feiyang looked directly into his eyes. "Since the outcome is exactly the same, I would rather stand and look at the face of the man ordering my death."
Prince Edward remained silent. A brief flicker of an unreadable emotion passed through his golden eyes before vanishing. He then extended the old parchment in his hand forward.
"Take it," Edward said flatly. "A map of the castle. Explore to your heart's content tonight... because tomorrow morning, I will be visiting your bedroom."
Feiyang took the scroll, thoroughly confused. The moment his fingers touched the paper, the system screen popped up.
**[ You have received a Quest Item: Map of the Ancient Castle (Low Grade) ]**
**[ Unlocked 30% of the fog on your personal map ]**
By the time Feiyang looked up again, Prince Edward had already walked past him, his footsteps fading back toward the dining hall.
Feiyang unrolled the parchment. The dim candlelight revealed the intricate, labyrinthine layouts of the castle, with a single blinking red dot not far from where he stood. It was labeled with a brief text: *'The Villainess's Quarters.'*
He immediately picked up his pace following the map's directions, entirely unaware of the terrified and suspicious stares the other players—who were peeking from the dining hall doors—were throwing at his back.
Pushing the bedroom door open, Feiyang stepped inside and securely bolted the lock. The room was furnished with plain, ordinary wooden furniture without any luxury. He slumped onto the wide bed, pulling up the system to review his status once more.
But before he could even catch his breath, the system screen suddenly flashed a violent blood-red, displaying a warning text that made his eyes widen.
**[ Emergency Quest: Player No. 4 has been detected attempting to assassinate you in the next 5 minutes. ]**
**[ If 'The Villainess' dies at the hands of another player, the system will immediately erase all players in this round. ]**
Faint, stealthy footsteps echoed from the wide-open balcony...