As I stared at the glowing notification, my vision began to fracture. The sheer exhaustion of a 0-Strength body forced my eyelids down, but sleep offered no sanctuary.
"Mister... save th—"
A young voice echoed through the void of my mind. It was a voice I recognized—one that had haunted my first life. It sounded shredded, as if the speaker were screaming through a throat filled with glass and blood.
"What? Who? Who should I save?" I shouted into the darkness, my mental projection desperate.
"Mister... we will save—" Another voice joined, overlapping, a chorus of the damned.
[ALERT: SYSTEM INTERFERENCE]
[FAILED. FAILED. FAILED.]
The word "FAILED" didn't just appear; it shrieked. It was an eerie, physical force that slammed into my skull. My head throbbed with a rhythmic, agonizing pulse. I felt a warmth trickling down my neck—blood was leaking from my ears, staining my silk collar.
"WHO MUST I SAVE?!" I roared, bolting upright in bed.
The silence of the room rushed back in. I sat there, gasping for air, the metallic tang of blood sharp on my tongue. Another dream. No—not a dream. It was a warning, or was it from the past?
I glanced at the phone. The Underworld Auction. Liam Smith.
If the voice in my head was screaming "Failed," it meant that in the previous timeline, Liam's fate was the catalyst for something catastrophic. I couldn't wait for morning.
"Butler!" I shouted, slamming my hand onto the bedside bell.
The doors opened almost instantly. The butler's eyes widened slightly at the sight of the blood on my face, but he remained professional. "Master? What has happened?"
"No time. Get the assets. All of them. We're going to the Underworld Auction," I commanded, wiping the blood from my cheek with a sleeve. "We need to save someone before the gavel falls."
"Understood," he bowed, his shadow lengthening against the wall. "Shall I wake the children? Ezekiel's strength might be—"
"No," I snapped, my voice cold. "They stay here. That place is a sewer of human depravity. I won't have their spirits stained by what happens in the Underground."
I stood up, my legs trembling but my mind sharper than a razor. I didn't have the strength to swing a sword, but I had the Golden Stamp, a mountain of Aurelion gold, and a Luck stat of 120.
I put on a long, charcoal overcoat and a silk scarf to hide the bloodstains. As I walked toward the carriage, I looked at the 100 Talent Points in my status window.
[SYSTEM MESSAGE]
Current Objective: Rescue 'The Cursed Noble' Liam Smith.
Warning: The Auction House is protected by 'The Silence'—anti-magic and anti-mastermind field active.
"Let them try to silence me," I whispered, stepping into the night. "They have no idea who they're dealing with."
The carriage rattled into the dark underbelly of the city, the air turning thick with the smell of sweat, iron, and desperation. The Underground. A place that shouldn't exist, yet thrived because the elite fed its hunger.
"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"
The roar of the crowd was a physical blow to my already throbbing head. In the center of a mud-stained pit stood a small, shivering figure. Liam Smith. He didn't look like a noble anymore; he looked like a marionette with its strings cut, eyes hollowed out by a trauma that made death seem like a mercy.
"STOP!"
The word left my throat before my brain could filter it. It was a reckless move—my Mastermind abilities were muffled by the dampening field, and my head felt like it was being split by an invisible axe.
"Oh? And who do we have here?" A man emerged from the shadows. He looked like a corpse wrapped in expensive silk—skin stretched tight over bone, eyes darting with the frantic energy of an addict.
"You're the owner," I said, eyeing him with a disdain that only an Aurelion could muster.
"That handsome face of yours won't save you, boy," he wheezed, reaching a skeletal hand toward my cheek.
"Touch me," I whispered, my hunter eyes locking onto his, "and I promise the last thing you see will be the end of your lineage."
He paused, the malice in his eyes flickering into hesitation. "Fine. I've no desire to offend the House of Aurelion." He backed away, bowing with mock grandiosity.
"Smart. You still have a brain in that skull," I said, turning my gaze to Liam. "I'm buying that boy. Name the price."
"That one? He's special. Sold to me by the King himself to ensure he... suffers." The man chuckled, casually dropping a state secret. He waved a hand, and a shimmering barrier rippled around us. "Don't look so shocked. I've set a border. No one hears us. My gift isn't hindered by the 'Silence' field."
"Scared? You make me laugh," I countered, my voice flat. "Let's not drag this out. Hand him over."
"Since we have such a... close relationship," he grinned, revealing rotted teeth, "one thousand gold pieces. A King's ransom for a King's burden."
The price was highway robbery. The skinny skeleton was trying to bleed me dry. But Liam was the missing piece of my shield. Without a word, I signaled the butler, who threw a heavy, clinking pouch at the man's feet.
"Prepared. I like that," the owner hissed. "Take him. He's nothing to me now." He vanished into the gloom like a bad dream.
"Butler, get Liam," I managed to say, my legs feeling like water. "I'll wait in the carriage."
The moment I stepped inside the velvet interior, the dam broke.
"Blehhhh!"
Dark, metallic-smelling blood sprayed across the floorboards.
"Young Master!" The butler rushed in, horror etched on his face. Even Liam, who had been moving like a ghost, blinked, his dull eyes tracking the crimson mess. He looked at me not with pity, but with a cold, hollow curiosity—as if wondering why a dying man would bother saving him.
"I... am fine," I gasped, wiping my mouth with a silk handkerchief. "Just a bit of... overexertion. Get in. We're going to the candy store."
"But Master, your health—"
"The children need their treats, Butler. Olivia and Ezekiel are waiting. Do as I ordered."
"Yes, Young Master."
As the carriage pulled away from that hellhole, I leaned my head against the cool glass. I looked at Liam. Blonde hair, sharp features... the resemblance to the King was undeniable. A bastard child? A hidden heir? I shook the thoughts away. My head hurt too much to play detective.
"Young Master, I have the candies," the butler said, returning to the carriage after a brief stop.
"Good. Let's go home."
I had the Warrior, the Mage, and now the Cursed Noble. The board was set. Now, if only my body didn't give out before the first move.
"Young Master, we have arrived." The butler's voice was a gentle anchor pulling me back from the edge of a blackout.
I wiped the last trace of blood from my lip and turned to the blonde boy sitting like a statue in the corner of the carriage. "Liam, come. I'll introduce you to your new siblings."
He didn't answer, but he stepped out of the carriage behind me, moving with a silent, haunting grace. Despite the hollow look in his eyes, he followed exactly three paces behind me, never straying. Like a lost puppy, I thought, a small laugh escaping my tired lungs. A very dangerous, very expensive puppy.
We reached the lobby and I sank into a velvet armchair, the luxury of the estate a jarring contrast to the mud and screams of the Underground. "Butler, call the children."
"Mister!"
A shout echoed through the hall before the butler could even move. Ezekiel came sprinting toward us, waving his arms with a chaotic energy that made me massage my temples. Behind him, Olivia followed at a more dignified pace, though her eyes were fixed on my pockets, hunting for sweets.
"You two, introduce yourselves," I said, fishing the bags of candy out and handing them over. Olivia's face lit up as if I'd handed her a star.
"Hi! My name is Olivia. I'm twelve!" she chirped, already unwrapping a lemon drop.
"Hi, I'm Ezekiel Brown. I'm thirteen!"
I paused, a piece of candy halfway to my own mouth. Thirteen? I blinked. My Intelligence might be 100, but my memory of their childhood stats was clearly a bit fuzzy. No wonder he was acting like a hyperactive kid—he was one. In the future, he looked like a titan; here, he was just a boy with a heart of gold and a very hard head.
Liam looked at them, his face a mask of porcelain. "Liam," he said. Short. Cold. Final.
But as Olivia held out a piece of bright red taffy, his hand drifted upward. He took it, popped it into his mouth, and for a split second, the coldness in his eyes flickered. He couldn't hide the way his expression softened at the sugar.
I watched them, the three of them standing there—the Sword, the Staff, and the Shield. They were broken, young, and entirely unaware of the shadows chasing them.
"He's been through a lot," I said softly, my voice carrying a weight that made even Ezekiel go still. "Help him recover. Treat him like your own. Okay, kids?"
Ezekiel nodded fiercely, already slinging an arm over Liam's thin shoulders—a move that made the blonde boy flinch, then slowly, tentatively, lean into the warmth.
"We will, Mister!" Olivia promised, her mouth full of candy.
I leaned back, my eyes fluttering shut. The task was done. But as the kids led Liam toward the dining hall, my phone chimed one last time in my inventory.
[NEW QUEST: THE CROWN'S SHADOW]
Objective: Conceal Liam's identity from the King's Spies.Time Limit: Ongoing.
Note: Your Father has noticed the resemblance. Prepare for a conversation.
Great, I thought, a bitter smile on my face. Nothing is ever simple for a Mastermind.
Current Status:
Party: Ezekiel (13), Olivia (12), Liam (?).Resources: 100 Talent Points.Health: Critical (Internal Bleeding).