One week.
That was the time Liam—formerly Sato Kenji—had before the carriage would arrive to whisk him back to the Royal Academy. One week to shed the skin of a broken, suicidal boy and inhabit the role of the heir to the Astrid Dukedom.
The morning after his awakening, the lethargy that had plagued his "new" body began to lift. He spent the first few hours testing his physical limits. His strength and agility were no longer in the negatives; they were solid, reliable. But power without knowledge was a death sentence.
"Suzune," he had said that morning as she brought him a breakfast of soft bread and honeyed ham. "I'll be in the library. Do not let anyone disturb me."
The maid had paused, her dark eyes scanning his face. She saw the cold, sharp focus there—the look of a man who was no longer drowning. She bowed low, her generous curves shifting beneath the black fabric of her uniform. "As you wish, Lord Liam."
The Astrid library was a testament to the family's specialty: construction. The Astrid Dukedom governed the Eastern Territories, and they were the architects of the kingdom. The library wasn't just a room; it was a feat of engineering. The shelves were carved from reinforced ironwood, and the ceiling was a vaulted dome of glass that tracked the sun.
Liam spent the first three days immersed in the hierarchy of this world. He learned that the Kingdom was divided among four Great Houses under the Crown. His own house, Astrid, specialized in the very infrastructure of the world.
But on the fourth day, the "Luck" began to stir.
Liam was browsing the Restricted Section. He pulled out a book with a void-black cover and no title. The moment his fingers touched the binding, the "Goddess's Smile" title in his status window pulsed.
A cloud of purple-black smoke erupted from the pages. From the darkness emerged a figure that made Liam's breath hitch. It was a woman with long, pale hair and eyes the color of bruised violets. Two curved horns, as black as obsidian, swept back from her forehead.
She stretched her translucent arms and let out a laugh. "Free! Finally! Five hundred years in that dusty prison!" She looked down at Liam with predatory arrogance. "Thank you for the snack, boy. I think I'll take your body as payment."
Before he could move, the entity—Mika—turned into a streak of violet light and slammed into Liam's chest.
[WARNING: UNAUTHORIZED SOUL INTERFERENCE DETECTED]
[TITLE: 'THE ONE WHO HAD THE GODDESS'S SMILE' ACTIVATED]
[RESULT: SOUL EJECTION]
A burst of golden energy exploded from Liam's skin. Mika was hurled backward, her spirit body flickering.
"Ow... what the hell was that?" she hissed. She looked at Liam, her eyes wide with genuine panic. "Why can't I get in? Your soul... it's locked! It's anchored by something... divine?"
Liam, who had braced for impact, let out a shaky laugh. He thought of the Angel he had met in the white void—the towering woman with her six wings and theatrical, golden silhouette. "I don't know," Liam said. "Maybe you should find a six-winged Lady Angel and ask her. She seemed to have a weird sense of humor."
Mika stood up, her panic turning into curiosity. She drifted around Liam, sniffing his aura. "You're not the boy who was here before. You're from 'over there,' aren't you? Across the Great Veil?"
Liam hesitated. "Yes. I am."
Mika smudged a devilish grin. "A traveler. How entertaining. Listen, little traveler, I've lived for a long time. I don't know the girl you're crying about—I've been in a book, after all—but I can smell her on you. Your soul is stained with a grief that isn't yours. It's like a bad perfume."
She leaned in, her translucent face inches from his. "You want to know who killed her? You want to know how to navigate this den of vipers? I can't see the present, but I know the bloodlines. I know the weaknesses of the families that run that Academy. I know the magic they've forgotten."
Liam weighed the risks. "I want a contract. No possession. You follow my lead."
Mika laughed. "Deal, Little Duke."
[CONTRACT ESTABLISHED: THE ARCH-DEMON MIKA]
[NEW SKILLS UNLOCKED: MIND MANIPULATION, LUST MANIPULATION]
The Final Night
The week passed. Under Mika's guidance, Liam practiced his internal flow. Because his soul and body "clashed," he couldn't use normal magic. Instead, he used the "Raw Mana" of a soul in flux.
On the final night, Suzune entered his room. She looked at him—really looked at him—and saw the change. He wasn't the boy who had tried to die. He was someone... new.
"Everything is ready, Lord Liam," she said softly.
Liam walked toward her. He felt his new "Lust Manipulation" skill pulse—a passive urge. But he suppressed it. He wanted this to be real. He stepped into her personal space, the scent of her vanilla and spice filling his senses.
"Suzune," he said. "I'm going back to a place where people want me dead. I want you to come with me. Not just as a maid. As my eyes and ears. I only trust you."
Suzune's eyes shimmered. She leaned into his touch as he cupped her cheek. "I will follow you to the gates of hell, my Lord."
Liam looked at the status window one last time.
[LUCK: 100]
[OBJECTIVE: RETURN TO THE ROYAL ACADEMY]
"Let's go see what the nobility is made of," Liam said.