The morning after the library incident, Aki couldn't focus on anything. His hands still trembled when he thought about the ghost of Riel and the corrupted save file. He kept replaying the words in his head:
> The more you stray… the more it will erase.
Erase what? Him? The world? His sanity?
Whiskerdoom, curled lazily on his desk, yawned.
"You look like someone who just discovered the universe wants him dead."
"That's because I did," Aki muttered, running his fingers through his silver hair. "And honestly, it's getting old."
He shoved the diary open again. Nothing. Blank, blank, blank.
And then — the words flickered to life. Just one line, jagged, like a bad connection:
> Smile back at her. Even if it kills you.
Aki froze.
"…What?"
The doors to his dorm opened without warning. His butler — tall, pale, disturbingly polite as always — announced:
"Lady Celis requests your presence for tea."
Aki wanted to scream into his pillow.
"Of course she does," he muttered. "Because the world hasn't tried to kill me for at least twelve hours."
The royal gardens were too perfect. Rosebushes trimmed to symmetry, fountains glistening, butterflies placed like moving jewels. Aki sat at the edge of the table, trying not to look like a man about to be poisoned.
Across from him, Celis smiled. Not a normal smile. A princess smile. Sweet, soft, and very obviously fake.
"A pleasure to see you again, Lord Arkwood," she said, pouring tea. "You seem well."
Aki's mouth went dry. That line. He remembered it. It was exactly what she said in the game before Riel drank cursed tea and collapsed.
Whiskerdoom, hidden under the table, hissed quietly.
"Don't drink it."
Aki forced a laugh. "Yeah, uh, you too, Princess. Looking radiant. Did you… redecorate the whole world to trap me here, or is that just a hobby?"
Her smile didn't falter. "Always joking. How charming."
She pushed the cup toward him. The liquid inside shimmered a little too much to be normal.
He glanced down. The diary flickered again.
> Smile back. Don't drink.
Aki's jaw ached from forcing a grin. He lifted the cup, pretended to sip, then set it back down.
Celis tilted her head. "Strange. I thought you enjoyed this blend."
"Lost my taste for it," Aki said quickly. "You know how it is. Life changes. Palettes change. Assassination attempts change."
Her eyes narrowed for the briefest second before the smile returned. "What a curious thing to say."
The air grew heavy. Too heavy.
Aki shifted in his seat. He needed to redirect, to buy time. "So… how's your week been? Anyone tried to stab you, or is that just me?"
Celis laughed, melodic but hollow. "Oh, Lord Arkwood. You do love your dramatics."
She leaned closer. Too close. Her perfume was sweet, suffocating.
"Tell me," she whispered. "Do you ever wonder why you survived when you were supposed to die?"
Aki's blood ran cold.
Whiskerdoom growled beneath the table. His tail lashed against Aki's leg in warning.
"Because I'm stubborn," Aki said flatly. "And maybe I don't like being someone else's script."
For the first time, Celis's smile faltered. A crack. Small, but real.
Then she pulled back, sipping her tea delicately. "How curious. Perhaps you're more interesting than I thought."
The air lightened again. The tension eased — but only on the surface.
Aki leaned back, heart racing, palms sweating. He kept his grin plastered on because the diary demanded it.
But inside, his mind screamed.
Celis wasn't just playing politics anymore. She knew.
Back in his room, Aki collapsed on the bed.
"That was—" He groaned into a pillow. "—the single most stressful tea party in human history."
Whiskerdoom leapt up beside him. "She knows more than she lets on."
"Yeah," Aki said, flipping open the diary again. Blank. Totally empty. "And if this book doesn't start talking again, I'm screwed."
The cat's golden eyes narrowed. "You already are."
Aki stared at the ceiling. Riel's ghost. Celis's poison smile. A locked save file. A broken diary.
The world was stacking the pieces against him.
And the worst part?
For the first time, he was starting to wonder if he really was the villain after all.