The last thing Evelina Vance felt was the bite of winter.
It wasn't the actual season it was the Void Aura radiating from Caspian Thorne's blade. It didn't just cut her flesh; it erased her soul. As she slumped against the obsidian pillars of the Imperial Throne Room, her blood pooling on the white marble like spilled ink, she looked up at him.
He didn't look triumphant. He looked bored.
"You were a nuisance, Evelina," he whispered, his voice a low, melodic rasp that used to make her heart flutter. Now, it only made her want to vomit. "In the next life, try to be less... loud."
He pulled the sword out. The world went grey, then black.
Gasp.
Evelina's lungs expanded so sharply it felt like they were hitting her ribs. She didn't feel the marble. She felt... silk?
Her eyes snapped open. The ceiling wasn't the vaulted, gold-leafed dome of the palace. It was the familiar, dusty rose canopy of her childhood bedroom in the Vance Estate. The smell of lavender and expensive floor wax hit her a scent she hadn't smelled since her family was executed three years ago.
"My Lady? You're sweating. Is it the nerves?"
Evelina turned her head so fast she heard her neck crack. Standing there was Sarah. Her maid. The girl who had died trying to shield Evelina from the flames during the coup.
"Sarah?" Evelina's voice was a jagged wreck. She reached out, her fingers trembling, and touched the girl's warm arm. Real. She's real.
"Yes, My Lady? The carriage for the Imperial Selection leaves in two hours. Your father says if you aren't ready to present your 'Light Aura' to the Duke, he'll personally drag you there by your hair."
Evelina flinched. The Selection. The day her father sold her to the "God of Ruin" to settle a gambling debt. The day her nightmare began.
Suddenly, a sound like a tuning fork striking glass echoed inside her skull.
[Ding!]
[The 'Spite of the Fallen' System has synchronized with the Host.]
[Current Status: Reborn.]
[Current Objective: Survive the Selection without begging.]
Evelina froze. A System? She had heard of the ancient heroes possessing "Inner Guides," but this felt different. It felt... hungry.
[New Task: Initial Contact.]
[Target: Caspian Thorne.]
[Requirement: Extract 'Emotion Points' from the Target. Note: Negative emotions (Hatred, Irritation, Confusion) yield 2x points.]
[Reward: Skill 'Eyes of the Truth' (Rank F).]
Evelina let out a short, hysterical laugh. Sarah backed away, looking worried.
"He wants me to be 'less loud'?" Evelina whispered to herself, looking at her reflection in the vanity mirror. She looked young. Innocent. Like a lamb for the slaughter.
She picked up a pair of heavy tailoring shears from the vanity and, before Sarah could scream, hacked off the long, golden curls that she knew Caspian liked. Her hair now fell in jagged, defiant layers around her jaw.
"I'm going to be his loudest nightmare," she muttered. She grabbed a dark, crimson corset not the soft pink her father ordered and began to lace it so tight she could barely breathe. The pain was good. It reminded her she was alive.
The carriage ride to the Imperial Palace was a suffocating affair. Evelina sat across from her father, Count Vance, whose face was flushed with the bloated redness of a man who drank his debts away and expected his daughter to pay the tab with her soul.
"What in the hell did you do to your hair?" the Count barked, his eyes bulging at Evelina's jagged, chin-length cut. "You look like a common street urchin! The Duke likes elegance. He likes submissive, golden-haired dolls!"
Evelina didn't flinch. In her first life, this shout would have sent her into a spiral of apologies. Now, she just watched a small, translucent blue window floating next to her father's head.
Target: Count Vance]
[Current Emotion: Fury/Disgust]
[System Note: This target is too pathetic to grant High-Tier points. Proceed to the Main Target.]
"Submissiveness didn't save our family in the end, Father," Evelina said, her voice like cracking ice. "And as for the Duke... he doesn't want a doll. He wants a victim. I've decided I'm a poor fit for the role."
"You'll do as you're told, or I'll—"
"Or you'll what? Sell me to the Southern border mines?" Evelina leaned forward, the crimson silk of her gown rustling like a warning. "You've already sold me to the God of Ruin. There's no lower floor to hit. So sit back, keep your mouth shut, and pray I don't tell the Duke exactly how much of the Imperial tax gold you gambled away last night."
The Count turned a shade of purple that looked genuinely dangerous for his blood pressure. He sputtered, but the sheer, cold venom in his daughter's eyes silenced him.
[Ding! Small-scale 'Face-slap' successful.]
[Reward: 10 'Spite Points'. Current Balance: 10.]
The carriage lurched to a halt. They were at the Obsidian Wing of the palace Caspian Thorne's territory.
The ballroom was a sea of false smiles and predatory gazes. The "Selection" was a cruel tradition; the Duke of Ruin needed a spouse to stabilize his volatile Void Aura, but his power was so corrosive that most candidates ended up withered or mad within a year.
Evelina stepped onto the marble floor. She felt the heavy, oppressive weight of the Void before she even saw him. It felt like a physical pressure on her chest, a phantom memory of the sword that had once pierced her.
Then, she saw him.
Caspian Thorne sat on a raised dais, swirling a glass of dark wine. He was dressed in charcoal black, his hair like midnight, and his eyes cold, slate grey scanned the room with the indifference of a god watching ants.
The girls before her were trembling. One actually fainted when he looked her way. He didn't even signal for a medic; he just looked bored.
"Next," Caspian's voice drawled, vibrating through the floorboards.
Evelina stepped forward. She didn't curtsy. She didn't lower her gaze. She walked until she was just three paces from him, standing well within the "Death Zone" of his aura.
The whispers in the ballroom died instantly.
"Evelina Vance," Caspian read from a parchment, not bothering to look up. "The 'Light of the North.' Your father claims your Aura can heal wounds. Show me."
Evelina didn't move. "My father is a liar, Your Grace. My Aura doesn't heal."
Caspian's hand paused on his wine glass. He looked up, his grey eyes narrowing. He took in her butchered hair, her blood-red dress, and the sheer, unadulterated hate radiating from her.
"Oh?" he leaned forward, a dangerous smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. "Then what use are you to me? Why shouldn't I throw you out of this window right now?"
Evelina took a step closer, right into his personal space. The Void Aura began to singe the edges of her sleeves, turning the silk to ash. She leaned down, whispering so only he could hear.
"Because everyone else here wants to please you. I'm the only one in this room who wants to see you burn. And if you're as bored as you look, that makes me the only interesting thing you've seen in a decade."
The silence was absolute.
[Warning! High levels of 'Intrigue' and 'Irritation' detected from the Main Target.]
[Ding! 100 'Spite Points' gained!]
[Skill Unlocked: 'Eyes of Truth' (Rank F) Activating...]
Suddenly, Evelina's vision shifted. Caspian wasn't just a man; he was a swirling vortex of black, jagged energy. But at his heart at his very core she saw a tiny, flickering crack. A vulnerability.
Caspian stood up, his height towering over her. He reached out, his gloved hand gripping her chin tightly. His touch was freezing.
"You have a death wish, Lady Evelina," he hissed, his eyes searching hers for the fear that always came. He found none. Only a mocking reflection of his own darkness.
"No," she whispered, her hand coming up to grip his wrist, her skin sizzling slightly against his aura. "I just have a long memory."
He stared at her for a beat too long. The ballroom held its breath. Then, he let go and turned to the Imperial Herald.
"This one," Caspian said, his voice ringing out. "The one with the ruined hair. Send the others home. I've found my new plaything."
[System Notification: Contract Initiated.]
[Current Relationship Status: Arch-Enemies.]
[Bonus Reward: 500 XP. You have reached Level 2.]