"There is something you have to do for me, Raze Kyler."
Raze didn't blink.
"Go on."
Arlia leaned slightly closer, moonlight tracing her silhouette, her eyes steady and frighteningly ambitious.
"You have to make me…"
She paused, letting the words gather weight in the air.
"…the next Queen of this kingdom."
The wind itself seemed to stop.
Raze watched her without emotion, but the corner of her lips curved—she enjoyed the shock she expected him to have.
"This kingdom will soon be unstable," she continued. "The king is weak.
Raze finally opened his mouth.
"But for that, you would have to—"
"Kill the king," she cut in smoothly.
"My father."
Raze fell silent.
Even the garden below seemed to still.
Arlia looked at him with cold clarity.
"If you're wondering why… why I didn't choose my father over the throne… then let me tell you."
She stepped forward, her voice lowering, almost whispering.
"My mother was the true ruler of this kingdom," she said. "Under her, we were the strongest nation in the West. Our economy, our military, our influence—everything was rising."
She clenched her jaw for a moment.
"But she died. Suddenly. 'A disease.' That's what they told the people."
She looked away, eyes shadowed.
"And when she was gone… my father took over."
Her expression hardened into disgust.
"He was never meant to rule. Under him, this kingdom became weak. Losing land, losing trade, losing power. The nobles fight, and demons sniff at our borders and that's why he is summoned heroes to increase the status of the our kingdom a little"
She turned back to Raze, eyes cold.
"I will not let my mother's dream die."
Her voice sharpened like a blade.
"I will rebuild this kingdom. I will make it stronger than ever. And if I must kill my father, nobles, or even the people who stand in my way—then so be it."
A gust of wind swept the balcony, cold as her words.
"Your job," she said, "is to assassinate him."
She stepped even closer.
"I know you're not capable of that right now. But once you become my knight, I will give you everything you need. Power. Training. Artifacts. Secrets. Whatever it takes."
Raze didn't reply.
He was thinking.
Arlia read that perfectly.
"If you're wondering what you gain…"
Her lips formed a sly, confident smile.
"…I will grant you a wish."
She turned away, walking slowly toward the balcony exit.
"Anything," she added softly. "As long as you make me the ruler of this kingdom."
She stopped at the doorway, glancing back with a wicked glimmer.
"Think carefully, Raze. But from the way I see it…"
Her smile widened.
"…you don't really have a choice."
She laughed — a soft, elegant, chilling sound — and disappeared into the corridor.
Princess Arlia stood frozen, staring at the corpse of her father—her lips trembling, her pupils trembling with shock and fear.
When Raze spoke again, his voice was terrifyingly calm.
"Enough acting, Princess. I've completed the job."
Arlia's fake tears instantly dried.
She looked at him with a mixture of dread and confusion.
"You… I didn't think you had this much power," she whispered. "You killed Kail just to get into the academy. You framed the demon. You planned everything."
Her voice cracked.
"You never wanted to be my knight. So why did you kill my father when you get nothing out of it now?"
Raze stepped closer, shadows following him like loyal dogs.
"Because I want the same thing you want."
Before she could respond, he turned his head slightly.
"You can come out now."
A soft shuffle echoed from behind the pillars.
Seris , The maid—Arlia's personal servant—stepped out. Her face had faint bruises, signs of silent suffering she never spoke of.
Arlia glared at her. "Why are you here? Are you with him? Do you want revenge on me? If you kill me, there will be no successor left—every noble will blame the summoned heroes. Even the Academy will reject—"
Raze cut her words in half with a whisper.
"Quiet."
Then he turned to the maid, his voice suddenly gentler.
"Don't you hate me? I killed your father… Archmage Eldrick."
The maid lowered her head—and then lifted it with eyes filled not with sorrow, but years of buried hatred.
"No," she said firmly. "He sold me to the King when I was a child. He claimed he did it so he could 'study dark magic' and 'save the kingdom'… but he just wanted more power. He wanted the throne. He never cared about anyone—not me, not the kingdom."
Her hands trembled, not in fear… but in release.
"For the first time, someone punished him. So no, Raze. I don't hate you."
Arlia stared, speechless.
Raze smiled faintly.
"Good. Then let's continue."
He stepped in front of Arlia. Her heart skipped a beat.
"I've completed the task you gave me, Arlia. So…" He touched her cheek gently, almost mocking.
"Where is my reward?"
Arlia flinched. "W-What are you talking about?"
"The wish you promised me."
"Oh… that." She swallowed hard. "Fine. Tell me your wish."
Raze leaned close, his breath brushing her ear.
"Say: 'I agree.'"
She blinked. "Huh? I don't get what you're trying to do. But I know… you won't kill me. So fine."
Her voice was shaky, but she still said it.
"…I agree."
The moment the words left her lips, a faint glow wrapped around her like liquid light.
Her body convulsed—her face, hair, height… all began to shift and twist.
Seconds later—
She wasn't Princess Arlia anymore.
She had transformed into the exact appearance of the maid standing across from her.
Arlia gasped in horror, touching her new face with shaking hands.
"What—WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?!"
Even the maid stepped back, stunned.
Raze didn't react. He simply turned to the maid next.
"Your turn."
The maid hesitated—then nodded.
"I… I agree."
Another glow burst from her body.
Her hair turned golden.
Her posture became regal.
Her features sharpened—
She became the perfect copy of Princess Arlia.
The real Princess—now in the maid's form—fell to her knees, trembling.
Raze's eyes gleamed.
"Now do you understand?"
Arlia stared at him, horrified.
"You… you can steal abilities. Kail's talent… Eldrick's magic… the demon's shapeshifting… You're a monster."
Raze crouched beside her, his eyes cold and sharp.
"I told you already. I want the same thing you wanted."
He tapped her chin upward.
"You wanted the kingdom to rise, no matter the blood price."
"And I want power—enough to control everything."
He stood and walked past her.
"From now on… you are the maid. And she"—he gestured to the transformed servant—"is the princess."
Arlia's voice cracked with disbelief.
"Why… why are you doing this?"
Raze turned, giving her a smile that held no warmth.
"For backup. For future use. For when I need the 'princess.'"
His eyes narrowed.
"And because it amuses me."
Arlia stared at him, trembling in the maid's weak body.
The maid—Seris—stood silently beside her, now holding the regal form of the princess.
Raze turned to both of them, his expression calm, almost bored.
"From now on," he said, "your roles stay swapped."
Seris blinked. Arlia's eyes widened.
Raze pointed at Arlia first.
"You will live as the maid. Seris's duties are now yours. You will attend to her, follow her, and protect her identity. If you behave…"
He tapped her forehead lightly.
"…I might undo the transformation someday."
Arlia swallowed hard, desperation slipping into her voice.
"W-Why do you even need me? I would've given you anything you wanted! I—I had no reason to oppose you…"
Raze slowly turned to her, his expression unreadable.
"No, Arlia. You're just like your father."
She flinched as if slapped.
"You talk about a powerful kingdom," Raze continued, stepping closer, "but you don't understand what power requires. You want to rule… yet you don't even know the people you claim you'll lead."
His eyes sharpened.
"You're not suited to become a ruler."
Arlia's breath hitched, anger and humiliation twisting inside her.
Raze turned away from her and faced Seris instead.
"But she is."
Seris's eyes widened. "M-Me…? A ruler? That's impossible—"
"You already know the truth," Raze said calmly.
" You have potential I can see it. But more importantly…"
He gestured at her new royal form.
"…you've lived as her shadow. You've watched her habits. Her speech. Her posture. You know her better than she knows herself."
Arlia's lips parted in disbelief.
"You think she'll make the kingdom stronger? She's just—"
"A maid," Raze corrected calmly.
"Which already puts her above you in one aspect."
Arlia blinked, thrown off.
Raze continued, tone flat, almost bored:
"She pays attention. You don't."
No insult. No emotion. Just plain, brutal truth.
"You've had power your whole life and still failed to understand your own kingdom. She lived at the bottom and understood it perfectly. That alone makes her a better candidate than you."
He didn't even look at Arlia when he finished:
"Competence has nothing to do with titles."
Arlia froze.
Raze stepped between them.
He looked at Seris again.
"You will act as Princess Arlia Now."
Seris clenched her fists, torn between fear and resolve.
"And you," Raze said to the real princess, "will help her succeed"
Arlia bit her lip hard, shaking with humiliation and helpless rage.
Raze inhaled calmly.
"This kingdom needs a better ruler. That was your dream."
He glanced at Seris.
"I'm simply choosing someone who can actually achieve it."
And with that, he turned and walked away, leaving both girls standing in the moonlit hall—
one broken,
one overwhelmed,
and both trapped in a future Raze had already decided for them.