Imperial Palace, Inner Courtyard
Lucas Orlenhart moved like a blade through the air.
Sweat glistened on his skin as he repeated his stances—strike, shift, feint, pivot, thrust. Again. Again. He wasn't allowed to use his training blade inside the palace proper, but here in the private courtyard, no one stopped him.
The sun dipped over the platinum roofs of the Imperial Palace, casting long golden shadows across the obsidian tiles. His suspension from the Academy didn't bother him—not really. The palace had everything. Training halls, magic tutors, sparring golems, a private library… and the Emperor's favor.
He stopped, breathing heavy, muscles coiled like drawn wire.
A farm boy, once. Just another barefoot body tilling soil for a village that forgot his name. That was before the Holy Knights came. Their armor shone like stars, and when they rode into his field and said he was to meet the Emperor, Lucas had thought it was a dream.
He still remembered the words. The Chosen One.
The myths spoke of a hero blessed by fate, who would rise from nothing to defeat the Demon God, whose shadow would one day consume the earth. And when Lucas was brought before the Emperor Kael IX, the monarch had looked into his eyes and said:
"The stars have spoken your name."
Lucas had believed.
And so, he trained. And studied. And killed the part of himself that still missed the dirt under his nails. The Empire kept his origin secret—he was officially a "minor baron's son," enrolled at the Academy by special decree. Only a few knew the truth.
He could never fail.
He would not.
"Sir Lucas?"
A voice—light, uncertain. He turned, catching the girl in his peripheral vision. Brown hair, plain robes, soft commoner features. At least, that's what she wanted to look like.
But Lucas knew better.
"You… from earlier," he said, lowering his training blade.
She bowed slightly, eyes downcast. "I wanted to thank you. For what you did. That boy… he frightened me."
Lucas wiped his brow. "Kain Norigusho," he muttered with distaste. "Spoiled noble brat. Thinks a name means power. Typical."
Her expression tightened—not with fear, but with poise. She lifted her gaze, and the brown faded to imperial gold. A shimmer of mana peeled away the illusion like a mist, revealing her true form.
Pale gold hair. Eyes like polished sunstone.
Princess Rhiannon Kaelis, third daughter of Emperor Kael IX.
Disguised as a commoner. Hidden within the Academy.
"I had to be there," she said simply. "Father insisted I understand the empire from below, not just above. I didn't expect…" Her voice trailed off.
Lucas bowed, not deeply, but with familiarity. "I understand, Your Highness."
She smiled faintly, but there was venom under her breath. "Bastards like Kain make the rest of the nobility look even worse than they already are. I wouldn't shed a tear if he got expelled. Or vanished."
Lucas chuckled. "He's not worth the ink in the school's registry."
They shared a quiet moment.
And then the wind shifted—
Norigusho Estate, West Annex
Kain sat at his desk, scribbling furiously into a worn leather notebook.
[Chapter 17: Black Serpent Assassins make their move on noble side characters… take Kain as warning.]
[Chapter 21: Archduke Revion's betrayal revealed—DO NOT TRUST HIM.]
[Chapter 28: Lucas gains the Flamebrand Sword—possible chance to intercept?]
[Chapter 42: Kain dies.]
"Damn it," he muttered. His hand cramped, but he kept going.
He had no memory of how he got here—only that he'd died. Stabbed, hit by a truck, and thrown into a world he built line by line. And now that world was closing around him like a noose.
He couldn't let himself forget anything. Even the smallest detail could be the key to survival.
A sharp knock.
"Enter," Kain called, his voice dull.
The door opened, revealing a stooped figure in a black coat—sharp-eyed, with a long silver beard and gloves that barely hid his calloused hands.
Sir Aldane, Kain's personal knight. And the only man in this entire place who treated him like he existed.
"Master Kain," the old man said with a soft bow.
"The Lord of the House… has summoned you."
Kain's stomach sank. "Now?"
Aldane nodded gravely. "Immediately. He's… displeased."
"Wonderful," Kain muttered, tucking the notebook under a loose floorboard.
He followed the old knight into the main hall.
Norigusho Estate, Grand Hall
The main wing of the Norigusho estate was a cathedral of status. Murals of war, mounted trophies of magical beasts, banners from campaigns spanning two centuries. The family moved through it like royalty—because that's what they believed they were.
And Kain was not one of them.
As he approached, three of his siblings stood in the hall. Their gazes pierced him.
Valen, the second son—tall, perfect posture, and a smile that never reached his eyes.
Elinor, fourth child, a cold strategist with a glint of sadism.
Cyrus, sixth son, whose hobby was inventing new ways to mock people beneath him.
All bore the same expression: contempt dressed in civility.
"Look who crawled out of the gutter," Valen said smoothly.
"Kain the Curse," Elinor added. "Brought shame to the family again, didn't you?"
Cyrus chuckled. "Maybe he'll get kicked out and go back to the slums where he belongs."
Kain said nothing. He didn't have the strength to fight their barbs today.
But one voice broke through the venom.
"Kain!"
Isha, his younger cousin, darted down the hall—barefoot, holding a half-eaten apple, smiling. A rare light in this house of shadows.
She hugged him tightly.
"Are you okay?" she whispered.
He managed a faint smile. "I'll survive."
She nodded. "Good. Because if you don't, there won't be anyone left worth talking to."
Then she scampered off, as if her warmth didn't belong in the cold marble halls.
Kain turned to Aldane. "Let's get this over with."
Lord Albrecht's Study
The door shut behind him with a weight that felt like finality.
Behind a desk of dragonbone and crystal inkpots, Lord Albrecht Norigusho sat like a throne of flesh—broad, armored even in his leisure robes, his gray hair tied back like a warrior ready for war.
He didn't look up.
"Kain."
"Father."
"Do not call me that."
Kain stiffened.
Albrecht finally raised his head, his eyes twin razors.
"You humiliated our name. Again."
"It was a misunderstanding—"
"You raised your hand against the Emperor's favored boy," Albrecht cut him off. "Do you think that's something I can protect you from? Do you think my patience is infinite because I allowed your stain into this house?"
Kain's fists clenched.
"You are not my son. You are a tolerated mistake. And every day you continue to breathe inside my walls, you gamble with the future of this clan."
He rose slowly.
"Your blood is a disgrace. But your actions… they will determine whether I allow that blood to remain within these halls."
Kain said nothing.
Albrecht leaned forward.
"Prove your worth. Or I will expel you myself. From the Academy. From this home. From the family."
He gestured to the door.
"Get out of my sight."