The heavy, rotting oak doors of Winterhaven Castle groaned in loud protest as Stephanie pushed them open with her numb fingers.
A cloud of dust and snow swirled into the grand hall. The interior was barely better than the harsh blizzard outside. The grand crystal chandelier lay shattered on the cracked marble floor, and the once-luxurious tapestries were chewed to shreds by rats.
"M-My Lady, it's freezing in here," Vespera chattered, her teeth clicking together uncontrollably as she hugged her thin shoulders.
Stephanie didn't answer immediately. She was busy staring at the blue panel floating in her vision, rapidly exploring the System's interface.
With a mere thought, she navigated to the [Shop] tab. Rows of blueprints and magical items appeared, glowing with a tempting golden light.
[Basic Ondol Heating Blueprint: 100 WP]
[Magic Thermal Blanket: 50 WP]
[High-Calorie Bread: 5 WP]
Stephanie let out a bitter, cynical chuckle.
Great products. Terrible liquidity, she thought. My current balance is minus 500 Gold Coins, which translates to negative Wealth Points. Without capital, this miraculous System is just a useless digital catalog. If she couldn't generate heat in the next hour, both she and Vespera would become frozen statues by morning.
"Vespera, gather whatever dry wood you can find and pile it in the center of this hall," Stephanie ordered, her voice calm and authoritative, cutting through the howling wind.
"W-What about you, My Lady?"
"I'm going to secure us a heat source."
Without waiting for a response, Stephanie picked up a half-burnt torch from a fallen wall sconce. She struck a rusty flint she found in the carriage, lighting the oil-soaked rag.
According to the System's glowing radar, the 'SSS-Class Asset' was located directly beneath her feet.
Stephanie found a heavy iron door hidden behind the grand staircase. It was covered in rust and strange, dark stains that looked suspiciously like dried blood. She pushed it open with her shoulder, revealing a spiral stone staircase going down into total darkness.
A foul stench hit her nose instantly. It smelled of rusted iron, rot, and the musky scent of a wild beast.
Any normal noble lady would have fainted at the smell alone, or turned back in terror. But Stephanie merely pinched her nose and began her descent into the abyss.
High risk, high reward, she reminded herself, her leather boots clicking against the stone steps. If this asset is really SSS-Class, taking the risk is worth it.
The deeper she went, the stranger the atmosphere became. The biting winter cold that seeped into her bones was slowly replaced by an unnatural, sweltering heat. By the time she reached the bottom of the stairs, Stephanie was actually sweating under her thick fur coat.
She stepped into a massive, huge underground dungeon.
The flickering torchlight illuminated the center of the room. Stephanie's breath hitched.
Chained to the far wall with massive, glowing magical iron shackles was a man.
His silver hair was matted with grime and dried blood, hanging wildly over his face. His clothes were reduced to mere rags, exposing a heavily scarred, incredibly muscular torso that rose and fell with ragged, heavy breaths.
The blistering, intense heat in the room was coming right off his bare skin.
[Target Acquired: Revista - The Cursed Crown Prince.]
[Status: Afflicted by Abyssal Curse / Feral Mode.]
[Body Temperature: 45°C (Lethal to normal humans upon long contact).]
[Warning: Asset is extremely dangerous. Proceed with extreme caution.]
Hearing her footsteps echo in the dungeon, the man's head snapped up.
Through the thick curtain of dirty silver hair, two glowing, blood-red eyes locked onto Stephanie. They weren't the eyes of a human. They were the eyes of a starved top predator who just had their space invaded.
A low, deep growl came from deep in his chest, so deep and powerful it shook the dust off the stone ceiling.
So this is the cursed prince, Stephanie thought, her heart pounding steadily in her chest. The royal family didn't just exile him; they locked him away like a rabid dog to rot.
Stephanie took a cautious, measured step forward. "Hey. Can you understand me?"
RRAAAARGH!
Revista let out a deafening, monstrous roar. In a sudden burst of terrifying strength, he lunged directly at her.
CRACK! One of the massive iron anchors in the stone wall shattered under his sheer, brute force. The heavy chain whipped through the air like a deadly snake.
Stephanie froze. The beast-like man stopped violently right in front of her, the remaining chains pulled completely taut. His sharp, blackened nails hovered exactly one inch away from her delicate throat.
The heat radiating from him was scorching, like standing directly in front of an open blast furnace. Yet, at this very moment, that deadly heat was the only thing keeping the deadly winter cold away from her body.
Revista breathed heavily, his red eyes glaring down at her with pure murder, waiting for her to scream, cry, and beg for mercy. That was what everyone did. That was the natural reaction to a monster.
But Stephanie didn't scream.
Her CEO brain instantly ran the numbers: the exact length of the chain, how strong the remaining chains were, and most importantly, the desperate, desperate hunger hidden deep within those monstrous eyes.
He can't reach my neck. And more importantly... he's starving.
Maintaining steady, fearless eye contact, Stephanie slowly reached into her deep coat pocket.
Revista bared his long fangs, a deep growl rumbling in his throat, ready to snap her neck if she dared pull out a silver weapon.
Instead, Stephanie pulled out a piece of rock-hard, stale bread she had saved from her small stash of travel food. Without an ounce of hesitation, she forcefully shoved the bread directly against his dry, cracked lips.
Revista's red eyes widened in absolute shock. The murderous, overwhelming presence around him faltered for a split second, confused by the sudden action.
"You're starving," Stephanie stated, her voice steady, cold, yet carrying the firm, unshakeable authority.
She took half a step closer, completely ignoring the deadly claws hovering near her throat.
Think of this as your first paycheck, she thought.
"Eat," Stephanie commanded softly. "Pledge your loyalty to me, and I guarantee you... you will never know hunger again."