Ancient Imperial Calendar Year 1796
Kislavein Palace
Within the dark walls of the Kislavein Dynasty, time passed swiftly.
When Ricardo opened his eyes to his new life, his mother Seliarnevre stood watch day and night for his safety.
He had begun walking at just six months old, and by the age of one, he was running through the palace's wide stone corridors with childlike joy.
Those around him spoke of his extraordinary intelligence, marveling at how he used far more words than his peers.
But intelligence and talent did not guarantee a child's survival in Kislavein Palace.
On the contrary, it made him the most dangerous prey.
In this palace, children lived only thanks to their mothers' intelligence and cunning.
Depending on their mothers' genius, the males of the Dynasty were either killed or continued their existence in the struggle for Lordship.
Because in the Kislavein Dynasty, wives and concubines were locked in a relentless struggle to eliminate each other's children.
This tradition had endured for centuries; only the strongest and cleverest survived, while the weak vanished into bloody intrigues.
Ricardo's birth had shifted the balance in the palace.
Born as the son of IV. Orsman, Ricardo had managed to escape death's claws as an infant, thanks to his mother Seliarnevre's sharp intellect.
But this would never mean a peaceful childhood for him.
Deadly Rival: Zelfhaya
Zelfhaya was the third wife of IV. Orsman, known throughout the Kislavein Dynasty for her devilish intelligence.
She had killed seven of IV. Orsman's sons, yet her assassinations were flawless—no one could ever discover who killed the children.
She was a master of poison.
When she decided to kill someone, instead of using an assassin, she wove intricate, spider-web-like plans, building her assassinations layer by layer.
To kill Ricardo, the poisoner would first give the poison to a servant.
After the servant took the poison, they would give it to the steward.
The steward would give it to the foreman.
The foreman would give it to a maid.
The maid would give it to another servant.
No one would see anyone's face, no one would know who was who—they would simply take the poison from the designated place.
Zelfhaya had established this system after a long struggle.
She would kidnap the servants who served the wives in the lord's harem.
She would subject them to a long, agonizing process of torture and brainwashing.
To prevent the other wives from noticing their servants missing, she used apprentices she had bribed.
The apprentices were responsible for the servants, and if you controlled them, you could easily cover up situations like disappearing servants—because why would a noble family care about a worthless, insignificant, low-class person?
Servants who endured Zelfhaya's long, painful brainwashing process would follow her every command without question.
Since the day she first entered the Harem, Zelfhaya had turned many servants into her own servants and slaves, thus covering up all the murders she committed.
Meanwhile, the mothers seeking revenge could never find the real killer and became paranoid, desperately trying to protect their surviving sons.
But this time, Zelfhaya did not face an ordinary woman.
Seliarnevre had learned the game of life and death from the day she first entered the palace.
She did not want her son to become a lord one day, but she needed to ensure he survived at least until the age of 14.
Because according to Kislavein rules, when a male child turned 14, he could choose one of three options:
1. Remain in the house and enter the struggle for Lordship.
2. Leave the house and carve out his own destiny.
3. Remain in the house, renounce the inheritance, and serve in a position.
Seliarnevre wanted to keep her son away from this bloody dynastic war.
That's why she planned to send him away from the palace when he turned 14.
But Ricardo was still an infant, and Zelfhaya was determined to kill him.
Poison and Revenge
Seliarnevre was not surprised when she discovered poison in Ricardo's milk.
But determining who had done this was no ordinary task.
The poison had passed through Zelfhaya's complex network, and its traces had been erased.
Yet Seliarnevre, with the sharp intellect and patience that had kept her alive for years, would find a solution.
Seliarnevre decided to pursue the matter together with her guard, Richard Kislavein.
After a long and patient process, they interrogated a servant they suspected, but during the interrogation, the servant showed neither pain nor fear.
Suspicious of the situation, Seliarnevre shared her doubts with Richard.
"Richard, I think this servant has been brainwashed."
Richard also suspected this, and when he learned Seliarnevre thought the same, he nodded in agreement.
"I think so too, my lady. So what do we do? Only a High-Level wizard can resolve such a situation, but all the high-level wizards in the palace—even if we request one directly from the lord's personal guard Legion—won't help us."
When Richard finished speaking, Seliarnevre began to smile.
Richard couldn't make sense of it, but his curiosity wouldn't last long.
"Richard, believe it or not, right now—officially or not—you are looking at a high-level wizard."
Richard's mouth hung open; he didn't know what to say. "Lady Seliarnevre is a high-level wizard," he thought.
Seliarnevre used a High-Grade spell, one that could cause permanent brain damage if used for too long, but the target had already turned into a mindless zombie. So Seliarnevre used the spell until she had all the information she needed and saw everything.
She saw the tortures Zelfhaya and her subordinates inflicted on the kidnapped servants, the brainwashing methods—everything.
Then Seliarnevre returned to Richard to end the servant's suffering.
"Kill him, but painlessly—so he feels nothing."
Richard carried out the order and killed the servant in one move, then turned to his master.
"My lady, what should we do with this body?"
Seliarnevre thought for a moment, then looked at Richard.
"Take the body to his family if he has one. If there is no family, pay compensation, arrange a funeral for him, and then bury him in the cemetery."
Richard was astonished—he had expected his master to order the body destroyed. At that moment, Richard realized Seliarnevre was not like the others and began to respect her deeply.
Seliarnevre shared the information she had extracted from the servant's memories with Richard.
Richard went to the place where the servant had taken the poison and concealed himself with his aura.
After a long wait, late at night, just as a servant was about to place the poison in a hidden compartment, Richard moved and captured him.
"So my master was telling the truth. A little longer and I wouldn't have been able to maintain my aura. Well then, young lady, you're coming with me."
This went on for a long time.
Seliarnevre cast mind spells on the servants and shared the information she obtained with Richard.
Richard, using that information, captured other servants.
This continued until they finally found the real culprit: Zelfhaya.
Judgment Day
That night, as usual, Zelfhaya was savoring the feeling of victory as she drank her wine.
She was certain Ricardo would not live long.
But what she didn't know was that Seliarnevre had turned her own poison game against her.
The man who appeared to be Zelfhaya's steward was actually Seliarnevre's most loyal agent.
Seliarnevre had kidnapped the steward, removed the skin from his face, grafted it onto her own steward, and filled the gaps with magic.
When the steward offered Zelfhaya her wine, it was already filled with deadly poison.
When Zelfhaya took her first sip, she first felt a slight dizziness.
Then a sharp pain stabbed through her chest.
She dug her nails into the table; her breath began to falter.
A low, hoarse scream rose from her throat.
Panicked, she tried to call for help, but her vocal cords no longer obeyed her.
As her eyes stared blankly at the palace walls lit by candlelight, she saw Seliarnevre before her.
Seliarnevre leaned forward slightly, looked into her eyes, and whispered:
"You killed seven children, Zelfhaya. Now it's your turn."
Zelfhaya's lifeless body fell beside the large fireplace.
With her death, her three sons became targets of vengeful mothers.
All were killed in horrifying ways.
The Road to the Future
Zelfhaya's death had removed the greatest danger in Ricardo's life.
Now Seliarnevre could raise her son in peace for at least a few more years.
But danger would never truly end in this palace.
Because in the Kislavein Dynasty, there was only one truth:
The strong live, the weak die.