The room fell into a suffocating silence.
The maid's hands trembled so violently that the small porcelain tray she carried began to rattle. The bowl of dark medicine rippled, nearly spilling over.
"Y-Your Highness… I… I don't understand…" she stammered.
Arian didn't move.
His eyes remained fixed on her—sharp, cold, and terrifyingly calm.
In his previous life, he would have believed her.
He would have trusted that trembling voice, that frightened expression.
But not anymore.
This time… he saw everything.
The subtle shift in her breathing.
The flicker of fear—not of being accused—but of being exposed.
"You don't understand?" Arian repeated softly.
He stepped forward.
The maid instinctively stepped back.
One step.
Then another.
Until her back hit the wall.
"No… no, Your Highness, I would never—"
"Then drink it."
Arian's voice cut through her words like a blade.
The maid froze.
Her pupils shrank.
"W-What…?"
"The medicine," Arian said, pointing at the bowl. "Drink it."
Silence.
A deadly, crushing silence.
The maid's lips trembled.
"I… I can't… That's prepared specifically for Your Highness—"
"Drink it."
This time, his voice was colder.
Final.
The temperature in the room seemed to drop.
The maid's legs gave out.
She collapsed to her knees.
"P-Please… spare me…!" she cried, tears streaming down her face.
Arian's expression didn't change.
"Who sent you?"
"I… I…" she choked.
Arian's gaze hardened.
"You have three seconds."
He raised a finger.
"One."
The maid's breathing became frantic.
"Two."
"I'll talk! I'll talk!" she screamed.
Arian lowered his hand slightly.
"Speak."
"It… it was Steward Halric!" she blurted out.
Arian's eyes narrowed.
Halric.
The head steward of the palace.
A man who had served the royal family for over twenty years.
In his previous life, Arian had trusted him completely.
"…Of course," Arian muttered.
The pieces clicked into place.
Lucien's betrayal hadn't started suddenly.
It had been planted.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Like a disease.
"And why?" Arian asked.
"I don't know!" the maid cried. "I was just told to add a small dose every day! He said… he said it would only make you weaker… not kill you…"
Arian fell silent.
Weaker.
So that when the time came…
He wouldn't be able to resist.
A slow, dangerous smile appeared on his face.
"Very clever…"
The maid crawled forward, clutching his robe.
"Please, Your Highness! I was forced! If I didn't do it, they would kill my family!"
Arian looked down at her.
In his past life… this would have moved him.
He would have spared her.
Protected her.
But that kindness…
Had killed him.
"Everyone has a reason," he said calmly.
The maid's eyes filled with hope.
"Y-Yes! Yes! So please—"
"But reasons don't erase consequences."
Her expression froze.
Before she could react—
Arian grabbed the bowl from the tray.
And forced it into her hands.
"Drink."
She shook her head desperately.
"No… no, please—"
Arian's eyes turned icy.
"Drink."
The pressure in his voice was overwhelming.
Like a mountain pressing down on her.
With trembling hands…
She lifted the bowl.
And drank.
Tears streamed down her face as she swallowed the dark liquid.
The room fell silent again.
Arian watched her closely.
Seconds passed.
Then—
Her body began to shake.
Her breathing became erratic.
"Y-Your Highness…" she whispered weakly.
Then she collapsed.
Unconscious.
Arian crouched beside her.
Still breathing.
Good.
He wasn't interested in killing small pawns.
Not yet.
But fear…
Fear was useful.
[Mission Progress Updated]
[You have avoided immediate death]
Arian's eyes flickered.
The system.
"So this counts as survival…" he murmured.
[Warning: Greater Threat Detected]
His expression sharpened.
"What?"
Before the system could respond—
Footsteps echoed outside the room.
Heavy.
Armored.
Arian's gaze snapped to the door.
"…Already?"
The door burst open.
Five guards stormed in.
Unlike the usual palace guards, these men wore black armor.
Their expressions were cold.
Emotionless.
"Arian Valemont," one of them said. "You are ordered to come with us."
Arian slowly stood.
His heart pounded—but his face remained calm.
Black-armored guards.
Lucien's personal unit.
So soon…
"So it begins," Arian thought.
In his previous life, he had been too weak to notice these early moves.
But now…
Everything was clear.
"On whose authority?" Arian asked.
The lead guard smirked.
"You don't need to know."
Arian tilted his head slightly.
"And if I refuse?"
The guards drew their swords.
"You won't."
Silence filled the room.
Arian exhaled slowly.
His body was still weak.
Fragile.
He couldn't fight them.
Not like this.
But—
He wasn't alone.
Not anymore.
"System," he whispered.
[Yes, Host]
"Do I have any starting abilities?"
A pause.
Then—
[New Host Bonus Available]
[Beginner Summon Ticket x1]
Arian's eyes gleamed.
"Summon…"
This was it.
His first step toward power.
"Use it."
The guards frowned.
"What are you mumbling—"
Before they could finish—
A dark energy exploded in the room.
The air twisted.
Shadows stretched unnaturally across the walls.
The temperature dropped sharply.
The guards froze.
"What… what is this…?" one of them whispered.
Arian stood still, his eyes glowing faintly.
"Come," he said.
"Answer my call."
The shadows gathered.
Condensed.
Formed a shape.
Tall.
Terrifying.
And then—
It stepped forward.
A figure cloaked in darkness.
Crimson eyes glowing like burning embers.
A chilling aura spread across the room.
The guards staggered back.
"A… a demon…?" one of them gasped.
Arian stared at the being before him.
His first summon.
His first weapon.
"What are you?" Arian asked.
The figure knelt.
Its voice was deep.
Echoing.
"I am Kael, a Demon of the Abyss."
Arian's lips curled into a faint smile.
"Good."
He turned his gaze toward the guards.
Their confidence was gone.
Replaced by fear.
Pure fear.
"Kill them," Arian said calmly.
The guards panicked.
"Attack! Kill him now!"
They charged.
Too late.
Kael moved.
Faster than the eye could see.
A blur of darkness.
Slash—
One guard's head fell.
Before the others could react—
Another slash.
Blood sprayed across the walls.
Screams filled the room.
Arian didn't flinch.
Didn't look away.
This was necessary.
This was power.
Within seconds—
It was over.
Five bodies lay motionless on the floor.
The room reeked of blood.
Kael stood silently.
Not a single drop of blood on him.
Arian exhaled slowly.
His heart raced.
But his mind was calm.
"This…"
"…is only the beginning."
[Mission Completed: Survive 7 Days (Early Completion Bonus)]
[Reward: +1 Summon Ticket, Basic Strength Enhancement]
Arian's eyes widened slightly.
"Early completion?"
A faint grin appeared.
"Looks like the system favors results."
He looked at the corpses.
Then at Kael.
Then at his own trembling hands.
Weak.
Still weak.
But not for long.
Footsteps echoed again in the distance.
More guards.
More enemies.
Arian's eyes darkened.
"Let them come," he whispered.
He stepped forward, his presence completely different from the frail prince he once was.
Behind him—
A demon from the abyss stood like a shadow of death.
"This palace…"
"…will learn to fear me."