The next morning arrived with a deceptive brightness. The sun bathed the Valerius estate in golden light, the birds singing cheerful melodies that grated on Kaelen's nerves.
He sat at the breakfast table, picking at a plate of eggs and smoked ham. He hadn't slept well. Every time he closed his eyes, he saw Seraphina's flushed face, heard the tremble in her voice, and felt the phantom warmth of her skin.
"Is everything to your liking, my Lord?" the maid asked, refilling his tea.
"It's fine," Kaelen muttered, waving her away. "Leave me."
He waited until the room was empty before he called up the System. He needed to know. He needed to see if his gamble had paid off, or if he had just signed his own death warrant.
The purple screen shimmered into existence.
[ TARGET PROFILE: PRINCESS SERAPHINA ]
[ STATUS: AGITATED / SLEEPLESS ]
[ CORRUPTION: 5% ]
[ PURITY: 95% ]
Kaelen let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. It had worked. She hadn't thrown the choker in the fire. She hadn't sent the guards to drag him to the executioner's block. Her corruption had risen.
Five percent, he thought, staring at the number. It was a small start, but it was movement.
He leaned back in his chair, swirling his tea. The moral weight of what he was doing sat heavy on his chest. Yesterday, he had been a normal guy. Sure, he'd played the game, fantasized about the characters, but that was different. That was pixels on a screen.
Now, Seraphina was a person with a heartbeat, with fears, with a soul he was actively trying to tarnish.
"What am I doing?" he whispered to the empty room.
He was a monster. The System was turning him into a villain. But then he remembered the pain—the blinding, skull-splitting agony of the penalty. He remembered the helplessness of being an NPC in a world designed to chew him up and spit him out.
The System offered him a way out. It offered him power.
"It's survival," he said, his voice gaining strength. "I'm just doing what I have to do to survive."
He stood up and walked to the window. The training grounds below were busy. He watched the guards sparring, their movements clumsy compared to the precision of the Royal Knights he'd seen yesterday.
"If I'm going to survive this," he muttered, "I need to be stronger than them. I need to be stronger than her."
He closed his eyes and focused on his status screen. He had five points in Strength and five in Charisma from the quest reward. They were sitting there, unused, waiting for him.
He thought about dumping them all into Strength. It made sense. He was a noble, a swordsman by class. But then he remembered the way Seraphina had hesitated when he spoke. The way the air had grown heavy when he looked at her.
Charisma was the weapon here.
'In this world, being scary is better than being strong,' he decided.
He mentally commanded the System to distribute the points.
[ STAT ALLOCATION CONFIRMED ]
[ STR: 5 -> 5 ]
[ CHA: 5 -> 10 ]
The change was subtle but immediate. Kaelen felt his posture straighten involuntarily. His skin felt healthier, his eyes sharper. When he caught his reflection in the glass of the window, he looked... vibrant. The sharp, angular features of his face seemed to possess a magnetic pull that hadn't been there before.
He smiled, and it was a cruel, confident smile.
"Thomas!" he called out.
Thomas appeared instantly. "My Lord?"
"Prepare my horse. And my armor."
Thomas blinked. "You are going out, my Lord? To the city?"
"Yes," Kaelen said, walking toward the door. "I have business at the Adventurer's Guild. And I want to see how the Kingdom is celebrating the arrival of the Princess."
He needed to see her. He needed to see if the choker was hidden beneath that high collar, or if she was foolish enough to wear it.
.....
The city of Oakhaven was bustling. It was the starter town for most players, a hub of low-level quests and cheap ale. But to Kaelen, walking through the cobblestone streets, it felt like walking through a memory.
People parted for him as he passed. It wasn't just because he was a noble; it was the Aura of Allure. He caught the eyes of a barmaid leaning out of a tavern window. She blushed and looked away, her heart rate spiking.
He felt it—a low hum in the back of his mind. The System was feeding him data. He could sense their emotions. It was faint, like hearing a conversation through a thick wall, but it was there.
Desire... Fear... Envy...
He ignored them and headed for the town square. A crowd had gathered near the fountain. Kaelen pushed his way to the front, his guards clearing a path for him.
She was there.
Princess Seraphina sat atop a white stallion, surrounded by her Silver Hand knights. She was wearing her full armor, the white plates gleaming in the sun, her blue cape billowing behind her.
Kaelen's eyes immediately went to her neck.
The high, stiff collar of her armor covered her throat completely. Disappointment flared in his chest, but then he looked closer.
She was fidgeting. Her hand kept going to her neck, adjusting the collar, but underneath the metal edge, he saw a flash of gold.
The choker. She was wearing it. She was wearing a slave collar given to her by a "villain," hiding it under her armor like a dirty secret.
The System chimed in his ear.
[ OBSERVATION COMPLETE ]
[ TARGET IS CONCEALING THE GIFT ]
[ PSYCHOLOGICAL STATE: CONFLICTED. SHE IS BOTH ASHAMED AND EXHILARATED BY THE SECRECY. ]
Kaelen felt a dark thrill run through him. She wasn't pure. She wasn't the untouchable statue from the game. She was a woman hiding a kink, enjoying the thrill of disobedience.
"The System is right," he whispered, a hunger stirring in his gut that had nothing to do with food. "Purity is just a chain. And I'm the one holding the scissors."
He stepped out from the crowd, right into her path.
Seraphina saw him. Her eyes widened, and her grip on the reins tightened. She stopped her horse, the knights bristling.
"Lord Valerius," she said, her voice tight. "You are far from your estate."
"I heard there was a celebration," Kaelen said, looking up at her. He let his Aura of Allure pulse, a wave of invisible pheromones washing over her. "I wouldn't miss it."
He saw her swallow hard. Her hand went to her throat again, brushing the gold hidden beneath the steel.
"You look well, Princess," he said, his eyes locking onto hers. "That color suits you."
He wasn't talking about her armor.
Seraphina's face turned a deep shade of crimson. She opened her mouth to retort, but no words came out. She just tugged on the reins, turning her horse sharply, and galloped away, her knights scrambling to follow.
Kaelen watched her go, the crowd whispering behind him.
"Did you see that?"
"The Princess... she looked flustered."
Kaelen smiled. The hesitation was gone. The fear was gone. There was only the game, and he was playing to win.
The System flashed purple.
[ CHAPTER 4 COMPLETE ]
[ CORRUPTION PROGRESSION: UNLOCKED ]
[ NEW QUEST AVAILABLE: THE NIGHT VISIT ]
Kaelen dismissed the screen. He knew what he had to do. He wasn't just going to wait for her to come to him. He was going to go to her.
Tonight.