As he looked at the lady before him, he immediately recognized her.
She was the top-five female genius of the Aegis Academy, Liora Purpleweave, the one who had taken an interest in the body he had reincarnated into.
But even though she had taken an interest in him, according to the memories, they were not close enough for her to enter his house, let alone do so without his permission.
"I didn't expect you here," Cad said, trying to sound as natural as the true Cad.
Quietly, she stirred from reclining on the sofa, staring squarely at him.
Her eyebrows furrowed deeply for a while as she stared intently at his navel.
The unnerving gaze made him unconsciously raise his hands to cover it.
"You've been crippled."
She said it matter-of-factly, and Cad's brows narrowed.
For one who was a "friend," she didn't sound particularly sad for him.
"Well, you don't have to hide your weakness. Not like you've been anything but weak anyway."
She said with a shrug, a grin of mockery on her face, and that gave Cad everything he needed.
Just like the webnovels, the so-called 'lover' the old body had died for was, of course, an enemy.
Still, he played with the script.
"I've been crippled and my life ruined, yet your face does not hold the slightest empathy, only mockery."
Scoff!
"You sound like you need a pat on the back."
"Did you know why I fought Arthur and got crippled? I did it for you!"
Cad said, voice rising in feigned anger.
In reply, she raised her hand, and purple light flared.
BAAAANG!
BAAAANG!
The sound of knees thudding against the ground echoed as Cad was instantly reduced to his knees.
His eyes widened in shock, red veins snaking across his eyes and face.
Heavy!
It was as if gravity itself had suddenly been increased by a factor of three, crushing him beneath its terrifying pull.
Liora rose from the sofa to crouch before him.
Her hand lifted his face as his blue eyes met her purple ones.
"I knew why you stupidly accepted Arthur's challenge, even though it was so clear it was dubiously unfair."
"It wasn't just because you were stupidly naïve and in love. It was because of your greed!"
She said, and her purple eyes flared, blinding Cad.
The pressure monumentally increased as he was smashed into the ground, and blood quietly oozed from his forehead from how hard it had slammed down.
Liora returned to the sofa and, looking down at the pathetic creature at her feet, began.
"Cadwaladr Aegis. One of the countless trashy E-grade talents in Aegis Academy."
"You have no value at all, save for the last name you bear, and that is the only reason why you're here at all."
"Yet you think you're worthy of me?"
"I, Liora Purpleweave, heir of the Purpleweave Throne and top-five female geniuses in the entire Aegis Academy."
She called out grandly, her hair suddenly shining an intense purple light, but it quelled soon after, and she continued:
"Arthur told you that if you could defeat him, he would never interfere in whatever you thought we had together."
"You must have thought that if you could defeat him, you would be able to get rid of the one I am bound to from birth and claim me as yours."
"Maybe then I would see you as a hero, and when you told me of what went down, perhaps I would have jumped into your arms and called you my king. Hahahaha!"
She laughed amusingly, looking at Cad, who slowly raised his head and asked:
"How did… You know?"
"Oh, about you and Arthur's challenge?"
She asked rhetorically.
"It's simple, really. After all, I was the one who orchestrated it."
Upon hearing that, she observed his eyes widen in disbelief, and it filled her with joy as she revealed everything.
"You know, useless as you are, you have quite the background."
"Truth is, the mighty Aegis Family King doesn't really have a male heir."
"Even though he is a man with seven wives, all of his children are daughters."
"The only male was born from an affair with a maid. She birthed a son, and can you guess who that is?"
She slowly pressed a finger to his head.
"Your father."
"It should have been a source of pride that the King finally had an heir, except the maid he slept with was an ordinary human with not even the slightest talent."
"Your father, of course, didn't fall far from the tree, awakening a D-grade talent."
"At least, he was good enough to be a guard." She shrugged,
"But his existence meant the throne could be inherited by him, so naturally…"
"He… was… killed off."
Cad completed, and she smirked.
"Seems like even an idiot like you can pick that up."
"You're...a liar. My father...died...in...Undead Invasion."
Cad shot back.
"Your father did die in an Undead Invasion, but the Undead Invasion was, of course, staged to kill him off."
"To get rid of any heir to the throne."
"But his death wasn't the end of it, as he had a boy and two daughters."
"Females are not allowed to inherit the Aegis throne by the laws of the Aegis Domain, so your sisters were useless."
"But you, just like your father, were a problem. Maybe not so much, as you awakened an even trashier talent, a paltry E-grade."
"But the world knows that if things ever came down to it, so long as there is a human being with talent as the heir, he would still be chosen for the throne, no matter the talent."
"There was a chance you could get the votes, so you had to be crippled."
"Once you're crippled, the laws of the Aegis Domain no longer recognize you as a human but a half-human."
"Besides, no one would want a cripple king, so naturally and by law, the throne goes to the one closest in blood to the true Aegis Family,"
"The Nodragon Family."
"Can you guess who's next in line to that throne?"
She asked with an amused smirk, and Cad's head buzzed before the realization dawned on him.
"Arthur Nodragon!?"