I stood on the roof of the Golden Griffin Inn, looking toward the Great Cathedral of Solis. The white marble spires were glowing with a divine, golden aura that signaled one thing: The Heroine had arrived.
In the original game, Saintess Aria was the "perfect" woman. She was kind, gentle, and the only one who could "melt the frozen heart" of the Prince.
I looked through my Developer's Magnifying Glass at the Cathedral.
[Location_ID: Holy_Cathedral | Event: 'The Prophecy of the Lost Seal' | Progress: 10%]
[Target_ID: Aria_the_Holy | Status: 'Scripted' | Warning: Entity is resisting the narrative.]
"Resisting?" I tilted my head. That wasn't in the game lore.
I jumped from the roof, using a [Shadow Step] to bridge the gap to the next building. My AGI 45 made me feel like a weightless ghost. I needed to see Aria. If the Heroine was "glitching" too, this world was more broken than I thought.
The Cathedral Gardens
I didn't enter through the front doors. I used my [Skeleton Key of the Damned] on a small service gate in the back.
Inside the private gardens, the air was thick with the scent of incense. I saw her—a girl with hair like spun silk and eyes the color of the dawn. She was sitting by a fountain, surrounded by nervous priests.
I activated [Veil of Obscurity] and crept closer, peering through the Magnifying Glass.
[Name: Aria]
[Level: 10 (Saintess)]
[Affection for Prince Alaric: -1,000 (Pure Hatred)]
[Status: 'Bored to Death', 'System Captive']
"Wait, what?" I nearly tripped over a rosebush.
Aria looked up, her eyes scanning the empty air where I was standing. "Who's there? If you're another priest coming to tell me about my 'destiny,' I'm going to scream."
I deactivated my veil. There was no point in hiding from someone who clearly didn't want to be there. "I'm not a priest. And I'm pretty sure I'm the 'Dangerous Criminal' the guards are looking for."
Aria's eyes widened. She didn't call for help. Instead, she leaned forward, her face lighting up with genuine interest. "You're Seraphina? The one who punched the Prince's soul and stole his ring?"
"It was more of a 'Force Trade,' but yes," I said, leaning against a stone pillar.
Aria let out a long, un-saintly groan. "Take me with you. Please. This 'Heroine System' is a nightmare. It forces me to say things like 'Oh, Prince Alaric, your heart is so misunderstood!' when I actually want to tell him his breath smells like old cheese."
I stared at her. "You have a System too?"
"A 'Classic Heroine System,'" she hissed, pointing to the air. "It forces me into 'Auto-Mode' whenever a Male Lead is nearby. I'm a passenger in my own body! But when you stole that ring, the script for 'The Engagement Party' crashed. You gave me five hours of free will for the first time in years."
> [System Message: New Ally Detected?]
> [Aria wants to join your 'Party'.]
> [Reward: Access to the Church's Vault of Infinite Mana.]
>
This was the ultimate speedrun tactic. If the Heroine and the Villainess teamed up, the game's plot wouldn't just break—it would explode.
"The script says you're supposed to 'find' the ring in ten minutes," I said, showing her the stolen item. "The Prince is coming here to meet you. If he finds us together, the 'Affection Meters' might actually overflow and catch fire."
Aria grinned. It was a sharp, dangerous look that the fans of Emerald Hearts would never have seen. "Then let's give him a show. Do you have any of those 'Glitches' left?"
"I have a [Lag-Switch Potion]," I said, pulling a vial of grey, swirling liquid from my inventory. "If we use it when he enters the Cathedral, we can loot the entire Holy Treasury while he's frozen in a walking animation."
"I like the way you think, Villainess," Aria said, standing up.
Suddenly, the grand bells of the Cathedral began to toll.
[WARNING: Male Lead 'Alaric' has entered the Map.]
[Script: 'The fated meeting of the Saint and the Prince' is starting!]
"Positions!" I whispered, vanishing back into the shadows. "When I throw the potion, you grab the staff, I grab the gold, and we clip through the floor."
"Deal," Aria whispered, her face suddenly shifting back into a "Gentle Saintess" mask as the doors began to creak open.