I had taken barely three steps down the corridor when a voice cut through the silence.
"Well, well. The bastard child thinks he's a strategist now."
I turned.
Aldric leaned against the wall, arms crossed, a smile sharp as a blade. Silia stood beside him, her gaze colder than winter itself. They had been waiting.
Of course they had.
"You should be careful, little brother," she said softly, her voice silk wrapped around venom. "Father's favor is like a candle. It burns bright… but not for long."
I met their eyes, a faint, mocking smile forming on my lips.
In my previous life, I would have lowered my head. Apologized. Disappeared into the shadows they had prepared for me.
But that version of me no longer existed.
"The king asked for my strategy," I said calmly. "I gave it. If that troubles you, take it up with him."
Aldric's smile twitched.
Just for a moment.
Silia's eyes narrowed — the first crack in her perfect composure.
"You think one meeting makes you important?" Aldric stepped forward, trying to loom over me. "You're still nothing. A third prince with no allies, no army, no future. Father will forget you by morning."
I didn't move.
Didn't blink.
"Then why are you both here?" I asked quietly. "If I'm nothing… why do you care?"
Silence fell.
Silia's hand drifted toward the dagger at her waist. I noticed.
More importantly, I noticed she didn't draw it.
"Careful," I murmured. "The walls have ears… and Father is already watching."
My gaze shifted slightly, toward the shadowed alcove down the corridor.
A guard stood there.
Hidden well.
Not well enough.
Aldric followed my line of sight — and his face drained of color.
Silia's grip tightened around his arm.
"We're done here," she said sharply, pulling him back. "This isn't over, little prince."
I watched them leave, their footsteps echoing against the stone walls.
Only when they disappeared did I exhale.
My hands were steady.
My voice had not wavered.
But my heart pounded against my ribs.
One battle at a time.
I turned toward my chambers.
The war was coming.
And now… the enemies weren't only beyond the borders.
"A faint whisper echoed in my mind…
A system I thought I had forgotten… was waking up."
A bright red digital screen appeared in front of me.
For a moment, I stared at it.
[Enter your identity]
Soon, I realized it was asking for my game account.
"I am the admin…" a smile appeared on Samuel's face.
"It's not like I have access to everything, but I have information about everything—every map, every NPC, and a live map too. Oh God, it's really getting fun now. With this map, I can even win the king's selection," Samuel said to himself.
At the king's study, in the meeting, King Neft Rin Saint said, "We are going to take over the Stelina Kingdom and extend the borders of our Valdris Kingdom, and then we will be included in the Holy Continent."
But...
In reality, there is no "land of gods." To begin with, it was the land where the creator of everything started to create everything, and as byproducts, gods were created. But after exhausting its energy, it disappeared. But its presence still remains.
The gods it created were filled with power. They lost their sense of divinity and started to enjoy the world's suffering—the cries of people, the yells of swords clashing, and the blood pointing to war.
The existence of God lost itself, and there remained "pure evil." But there were some gods who opposed this thought, so the other gods formed them as devils and evil and named them as the demon lords.
Back at Samuel, he sees something in his system window and smiles.