When I woke up again, I was lying on silk sheets in a gilded room that smelled of roses and power.
I knew this place. The East Wing, where the "unwanted" children of House Velerion were tucked away—far from the eyes of the nobility, far from the glory of the main mansion. But the warmth of the blankets couldn't hide the chill in my blood.
This was the day I had first been summoned into this world.
Before the curse awakened.
Before the bullying began.
Before the betrayal.
Now, I had a second chance.
---
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
You have entered the Villain Path.
All rewards are locked until First Kill is achieved.
Warning: System progression tied to heroic bloodshed.
---
My fingers curled into fists under the covers.
Villain Path.
Kill heroes.
Gain rewards.
It was twisted. It was wrong.
And it was perfect.
I sat up, staring at the reflection in the polished silver mirror across the room. A pale, small boy with dark hair and tired eyes stared back. My new body. My old weakness.
But I wasn't the same soul anymore.
This time, I would not crawl.
I would climb.
---
Footsteps approached my door. Light, quick, and practiced. The maids.
A second later, the door creaked open and two servants walked in. I remembered them—Ela and Meren. They had always been kind to me… until they learned being kind to the bastard son earned you beatings from the main branch.
They bowed without meeting my gaze.
"Your breakfast, Young Master Arjen."
I smiled softly.
"Thank you," I said.
They looked up in surprise. I was always too afraid to speak before. But now? That fear was dead in the forest where I died.
"I'll wash up and come down later," I added.
They exchanged a glance and nodded before backing out.
The moment they left, I moved. I went to the small drawer behind the wardrobe—the one that was enchanted to hide from detection spells. I had found it by accident during my first life, too late to matter.
Inside was a tiny, chipped mirror with strange red runes along its edge. My real face.
I held it up to my chest.
"Show me the curse."
The mirror glowed faintly, and then—
There it was.
A black mark buried beneath my skin, just above my heart. Twisting. Corrupting. Suppressing my mana, redirecting my talent to a dead-end path.
And at the center of the mark: the insignia of the High Lady Velerion.
My stepmother.
So she feared me from the very beginning, huh?
Good.
Let her fear me again.
---
[SYSTEM ALERT]
Side Quest: Break the Curse of Silence (Progress: 1%)
Reward: Partial Unlock – Demon Heart Fragment (Level 1)
---
I laughed—quiet, dark, cold.
They made me a villain.
Now I'll show them what villains do.
---