On a clear night with stars shimmering in the sky, the once lively banquet in the grand courtyard of a four-story mansion had turned into a sea of panic. The soft music had ceased, replaced by hushed whispers and hurried footsteps.
Amid the chaos, a middle-aged man in an expensive suit strode forward alongside an elderly gentleman of equal stature. His face was dark, his expression filled with rage.
"What do you mean my daughter was kidnapped?! How could this happen?!" His voice rang sharp through the crowd.
Gustav Valemont—the head of the Valemont family and tonight's host—glared at the three men in black suits standing before him, sweat already dripping from their brows.
"The figure… moved too fast, Patriarch," one of them stammered, his voice trembling. "We didn't even have time to react before the Young Lady disappeared."
Gus's fury boiled over. A kidnapping at the Valemont family's banquet? This was an insult he could not tolerate.
He turned to the elderly man beside him. "Rowan, deploy the main forces. You're leading them!"
Rowan, his right-hand man and the Valemont family's head security, nodded without hesitation. "Understood, sir." With a single look at the three men before him, they swiftly departed to carry out his orders.
The guests murmured amongst themselves, most of them wearing tense expressions. Gustav's only daughter was renowned for her breathtaking beauty and exceptional talent.
A kidnapping at the Valemont banquet… whoever was behind this must have a death wish.
Gus took a deep breath, forcing himself to rein in his anger before speaking. "Everyone, I sincerely apologize for this disturbance. My daughter, Sofia Valemont, has been kidnapped by an unknown party!" His voice was firm, echoing across the courtyard. "Whoever finds her will be handsomely rewarded!"
The murmurs grew louder. Some guests, hesitant at first, now showed keen interest. A reward from the Valemont family was not something to be taken lightly.
"I won't force anyone," Gustav continued. "If you wish to enjoy the banquet, please do. But if you want to help, I welcome your efforts."
Immediately, several individuals, especially the younger guests and opportunists, grew excited.
"Sofia might fall in love with me if I save her!"
"Hell yeah, I'm going after her!"
"This is a golden chance to get close to the Valemont family!"
Some guests wasted no time, leaving the party to search for clues. However, most remained, more interested in enjoying the luxurious event rather than involving themselves in a potentially dangerous hunt.
As the guests dispersed, Gustav stood his ground, fists clenched tightly. His heart burned with a mixture of fury and worry.
'Whoever you are, if I catch you… I'll skin you alive!'
---
Roughly two kilometers from the Valemont mansion, inside a lavish suite of a high-end hotel, two figures occupied the room.
On the king-sized bed lay a breathtaking young woman dressed in an elegant white gown. Her chest rose and fell in a soft, steady rhythm, as though she were lost in the gentlest of dreams. Her long, raven-black hair fanned out over the silk pillow, its luster catching the ambient light. Though only eighteen, her beauty was unmistakable—porcelain skin that glowed like moonlight, lips naturally tinted with a rose hue, and a graceful figure that hinted at aristocratic breeding.
But the young man sitting on the edge of the bed beside her had no time to appreciate the sight.
His hands were clutching his head, fingers digging into his scalp, his eyes wide and wild.
"I… reincarnated?" His voice was barely a whisper, trembling with disbelief.
Fragments of memories swirled through his mind—his life from a different world, and now, this one. And this world wasn't unknown to him.
No, it was terribly familiar.
It was the setting of a fantasy novel he had once read in his past life.
And his new identity?
Damian Archfindor. Eighteen years old. The son of House Archfindor—an ancient and powerful magus family known across the Englandia Empire.
He should have felt elated, reborn as a noble with wealth, power, and magic.
But instead, his face turned pale.
"…No. No, no, no! This can't be real!"
His voice cracked with panic. "I'm a second-generation villain?!"
He remembered every damn plot point. Damian was nothing more than cannon fodder, a stepping stone for the protagonist, Leon Emery. A spoiled, arrogant bastard whose biggest mistake was abducting the wrong girl—Sofia Valemont, the heroine.
And tonight… was the night.
The night everything went downhill.
The night Leon Emery would burst through those doors in a blaze of righteous fury and kill Damian Archfindor without mercy.
This was supposed to be Damian's final scene.
The end of the villain's arc.
"Shit…! Why did I have to reincarnate into his body?! Now, of all damn times?"
He could barely breathe. His fists clenched tightly, knuckles white with frustration.
He knew exactly how it would happen. Leon, ever the perfect hero, would slaughter the guards with ease, disable Damian in a flashy but brutal showdown, and walk away carrying the girl in his arms. A flawless victory.
What came next?
The Archfindor family, humiliated and furious, would try to retaliate—only to suffer one crushing defeat after another.
Leon Emery would become untouchable.
And House Archfindor? Reduced to ashes.
A family that had stood for over a thousand years… gone.
It was a textbook hero-fantasy plotline.
But as the weight of that fate bore down on him, something sparked deep inside Damian.
Not fear.
Not despair.
Defiance.
"No. I'm not dying here. Not like this. Not to him!"
Then, a sudden jolt—like a ripple in the air around him.
[System Activated]
Damian's breath caught. His body stiffened as glowing blue text appeared in front of his eyes.
A system?
A system!
A stunned laugh burst from his lips. "Hah… hahaha… HAHAHAHA! Of course! Of course it had to be like this!"
[System not fully activated. A trigger is required]
[Your next action will determine the system's configuration]
"…What?" Damian's grin faltered. "What does that even mean?"
There was no answer.
Only those words, hanging ominously in the air.
He frowned. This system wasn't standard. It wasn't assigning him stats or quests—it was waiting. Observing. As if ready to mold itself around his decisions.
Meaning his next move was critical.
His eyes flicked toward the unconscious Sofia Valemont.
No. Touching her again would lead down the same path. The old Damian's path.
He needed to rewrite his role—start now.
Damian glanced down at the spatial ring on his finger. He activated it with a pulse of mana, sensing the contents within: spare robes, magic crystals, healing potions… and then something else.
His eyes narrowed.
He pulled out a small black object—lightweight, palm-sized.
A mechanical spider.
Next to it, a fingertip controller with a single crimson button.
"This will do..."
---
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the same hotel, a young man moved with purpose, his steps brisk yet deliberate, cutting through the silence of the dimly lit hallway.
Leon Emery.
His appearance was not bad—short black hair, a well-built frame, and a sharp, tailored suit that accentuated his 6' stature. He exuded confidence, a quiet assurance that set him apart from the rest.
Every so often, he lifted his palm to his nose, inhaling deeply. A familiar scent lingered on his skin, subtle yet distinct. And now, here he was—one of the many searching for Sofia Valemont.
But unlike the others, he wasn't wandering aimlessly. His strides were steady, calculated. He knew he was closing in.
His confidence wasn't without reason. During the banquet, he had shaken Sofia's hand in greeting, and in that fleeting moment, he had committed her scent to memory. It was a skill honed over time—one that had never failed him.
Now, following that very scent, he had traced her here, to this hotel.
As he reached the third floor, the scent grew stronger. Step by step, it thickened in the air, guiding him like an invisible thread.
And then—he stopped.
Right in front of a particular door.
His gaze sharpened, a smirk tugging at the corner of his lips.
"I found you."