"You got here sooner than I expected."
In the shadowy depths of Howling Castle's dungeon, a striking woman with fiery red hair and dangerous curves sat casually on the filthy stone floor. Her piercing blue eyes, sharp and calculating, studied Zane with a glint of amusement.
"What?"
Zane blinked, caught off guard.
He had rehearsed a dramatic, impressive opening—but the woman beat him to the punch the moment he stepped into the cell.
"Heh." She gave a soft laugh and casually brushed her hair back. "A few hours ago, I heard someone took the little princess from the Kingdom of Winterscar. I figured you'd be busy tonight... thought you wouldn't show up until tomorrow."
It was subtle, but Zane picked up on it—she was implying something more, something suggestive.
He rubbed his nose awkwardly, but then something clicked.
How the hell did she know who was in the other cells?
Sure, the dungeons were close to each other, but every chamber was sealed off by thick marble walls. The soundproofing was near perfect. There was no logical way for her to know the identity of the other prisoners—or hear that he had taken someone from another cell.
A flicker of suspicion flashed through Zane's eyes, and he opened his mouth to press her on it—
But she shrugged, speaking in a breezy, disinterested tone.
"Nothing worth getting worked up over. You have your secrets. I have mine. Neither of us is the type to share them freely, are we?"
Zane paused, just slightly, in his breathing.
This woman… wasn't just any royal. She wasn't some pampered flower like Lila.
And more than that—he realized, ever since he stepped into this cell, she had been controlling the conversation.
It almost felt like he was the prisoner here, and she the mistress of Howling Castle.
A dangerous woman.
Still, Zane couldn't tell whether she genuinely knew something… or was simply bluffing.
After a brief moment of thought, he decided it was time to take the reins back.
"Secrets," Zane said flatly, locking eyes with her. "This world is drowning in them. Some are harmless. Others… even glimpsing them can cost you your life."
"Tell me, Princess of Lionheart—what kind of secret do you think I am carrying?"
She went quiet for a moment, then smiled slowly, rising to her feet. Her long legs carried her gracefully across the cell until she stood right before him.
Then, she dipped into a perfectly executed courtly curtsy.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Duke Dracula. Allow me to introduce myself properly. I am Princess Wickliffe Helen, Crown Princess of the Kingdom of Lionheart. You may simply call me Helen."
Even now, she could carry herself with such grace and composure?
Zane couldn't help but feel a flicker of respect. She knew exactly who he was. She knew he could kill her without a second thought.
And yet—even now—he hadn't once managed to overpower her, not even in presence.
"Just call me Zane. I'm not fond of the name Dracula."
As always, Zane corrected the way she addressed him. Then he glanced around the dungeon, scanning the dark corners, before letting his eyes settle back on Helen.
"Miss Helen, you seem surprisingly comfortable down here."
"Comfortable?" Helen gave an exaggerated shrug. "Let's just say I'm making the best of it. Not like you left me many options, did you?"
"That's a fair point. My oversight," Zane nodded. "Still, you must know—I'm not exactly known for my hospitality. Most visitors down here meet one of two fates. The first... I eat them."
"The second… they become your Dark Servant?"
Helen's gaze locked onto him, her piercing blue eyes gleaming with a strange light—as if she could see right through him.
Zane looked away, turning his attention to the dim corridor outside the cell. As he pondered how best to deal with this woman—and maybe squeeze some Negative Emotion Points out of her—Helen suddenly spoke again.
"Mr. Zane, I believe I might be able to offer you a third option."
"A third option?" Zane turned back to her, clearly intrigued. "Let's hear it."
"An alliance. To be blunt, I believe a partnership between the two of us could bring you far greater rewards than eating me—or turning me into your Dark Servant."
Zane was stunned for a moment.
He remembered from the original novel: the Kingdom of Lionheart was a nation forged in war, and Helen—this very princess—had, with the protagonist's help, defeated her half-brother and become the first empress in Lionheart's history.
And like many other martial cultures, Lionheart prized honor above all else. Teaming up with someone like Zane—a literal demon—would fly in the face of everything they stood for.
As if reading his thoughts, Helen let out a soft giggle and covered her mouth, the gesture oddly girlish and charming.
There was no denying it—she was stunning.
If Lila was a lily, pure and untouched, then Helen was a rose in full bloom—vibrant, passionate, and impossible to ignore. Her presence was intoxicating.
Zane was beginning to think it might actually be a shame to kill her.
Still…
"What exactly do you mean by alliance?" he asked, watching her with guarded interest, trying to decipher her true intentions behind that radiant smile.
At the mention of business, Helen's expression sobered. The playfulness faded, replaced by clear focus.
"My lord Duke," she began, "you've lived in this Howling Castle for some time, removed from the affairs of the world. I imagine you're not entirely up to date on the current power struggles across the continent. If you would allow me a few minutes, I'd be happy to brief you."
"Go ahead."
Zane might have read the novel once before, but hearing the world's political tides straight from someone inside the game… wasn't such a bad idea.
"Right now, across the entire Ens Continent, there are six major powers," Helen said. "They are the Duchy of Winterscar, the Ironhelm Khanate, Carysar, the Crimson Sun Federation, the Sun Sail Federation, and, of course, our Kingdom of Lionheart."
"Among them, only the Duchy of Winterscar and the Kingdom of Lionheart are located in the northern part of the Ens Continent. The Ironhelm Khanate lies across the massive plains at the junction between the north and south. The Crimson Sun Federation and the Sun Sail Federation control the island chains scattered throughout the southern seas, while the rest of the Southern Ens Continent has been completely absorbed by Carysar."
Zane gave a slight nod. That much he already knew. Carysar was an empire of immense strength—arguably the most powerful nation on the entire continent.
Helen went on.
"For many years, the Ironhelm Khanate has been locked in constant border disputes with the Kingdom of Lionheart. In the interest of peace for our people, my father was forced to sign several treaties with the Khanate… though none of them were equal in the slightest. More importantly, after marrying my mother, the queen, my father took another bride—a princess from the Ironhelm Khanate."
Right. Zane remembered now. The reason Helen wanted to eliminate her brother was because he was the son of that Ironhelm princess. And the boy—Zane recalled—was completely under his mother's control. A puppet prince, through and through.
If he ascended to the throne, then without question, the Kingdom of Lionheart would suffer even more in its dealings with the Khanate… and might even become a vassal state.
And Helen was telling him all this because…
"You want me to help you eliminate your half-brother—the one born of the Ironhelm princess—so that you become the sole heir to the Kingdom of Lionheart?"
Zane tested the waters, watching her closely.
"Lord Duke, you truly are as wise as they say."
Helen's gaze lingered on him, this time tinged with genuine admiration.
So this was who she really was.
He'd taken her for a bold and fiery woman, yes—but now he saw the ambition burning beneath it all.
Back when he read the novel, he'd thought her rise to the throne was out of necessity, a reluctant path forced on her by circumstance.
Looking at it now… he'd been as blind as that idiot protagonist. They'd both been played by the beautiful schemer standing before him.
"Hmm. Helping you remove your half-brother and claim the throne for yourself… it's not an impossible plan," Zane mused aloud.
"But the real question is, Miss Helen—what do I get out of it?"