*Knock* *Knock*
Rias sat on his bed in a lotus position, cultivating his mana. The sudden knock interrupted his focus.
'Who is it now?' Rias thought, slightly annoyed.
'Are they bringing more poison? Do they have a secret factory in their vault? Well, at least it might help me level up my toxin resistance.'
"Come in," Rias called out.
He expected to see another terrified maid clutching a silver tray. Instead, the person who walked through the door completely shattered his calm expression.
He immediately scrambled off the bed and stood up.
"It is an honor to meet you, Your Highness," Rias said politely, offering a perfect bow.
"Is there something you needed? You could have simply summoned me to your quarters."
She wasn't just a princess.
Princess Eliza was a key figure in the novel he wrote. She was the Crown Princess of the Velmer Empire, but more importantly, she was the biggest, most dangerous manipulator in the entire story.
She considered everyone her puppets. She was an obsessive maniac. If she wanted something, she would cross any line to get it.
In the original novel, Eliza had grown obsessed with a neighboring kingdom rich in mana stone mines. She manipulated their Crown Prince into falling in love with her. After their engagement, she secretly fed him a soul-shattering poison. The poison destroyed his consciousness, turning him into her mindless puppet.
Eliza used him to murder his own father and ascend the throne as a tyrant. When the kingdom fell into chaos, Eliza swooped in, killed her own puppet "for the good of the people," and merged the wealthy kingdom into the Velmer Empire.
She gained all the wealth and political power while being hailed as a tragic 'saint' who sacrificed her love for peace.
"Hello," Eliza smiled, her eyes gleaming. "So you are the Rias who impressed Father on your very first meeting. I certainly didn't expect you to stun all the nobles. You are truly shameless, lying in front of everyone without a single hesitation."
Rias's eye twitched slightly at the mention of 'lying'.
'Is my skill that weak?' Rias thought. 'First Amyra, and now her. Maybe even the Emperor knew I was just bluffing. I need to level up my Deception skill, or it will be completely useless against these monsters.'
Eliza looked at him with a smug expression.
"You are interesting, Rias. I came here to ask: how did you manage to stun my little sister too? She was completely fine before you arrived, but after your private chat, she started acting very weird. She didn't even come down for breakfast this morning."
She tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Wait a second... did you manage to charm her? Is that why she is acting so stunned? Oh, that is definitely possible! My adorable little sister falling in love with the son of the most hated Duke in our empire... how exciting! Don't worry, I will definitely support you two!"
Rias was completely speechless. Her outrageous thoughts were absurd.
'And how the hell did she know we had a secret conversation in the first place?'
"Anyway," Eliza waved her hand, ignoring his silence.
"How did you charm her?"
Rias looked at her, already annoyed by her dramatic act.
"Your Highness, can we get to the main reason you came here? I highly doubt you visited just to gossip about your sister's expressions."
She smiled sweetly.
"Of course! There is a reason I came here."
She stepped closer. Way too close. She tucked a strand of her blue hair behind her ear. Her golden eyes narrowed slightly, and the air between them grew incredibly tense.
"You know," Eliza whispered, her voice dripping with sweetness.
"You remind me of someone I knew in the past."
Rias blinked. As far as he knew, the 'original' Rias had never met her. If he had, the memories would have surfaced.
"I think you have the wrong person, Princess," Rias replied calmly.
"There is no way I could have met someone like you in the past."
Her smile didn't waver. She lifted her hand, reaching toward his face.
Rias's breath hitched. His body instinctively tensed. He tried to step back, but the edge of the bed blocked him.
Instead of attacking, she simply flicked his forehead.
"Ouch!" Rias grunted, rubbing his head. "What was that for?"
Eliza stepped back, laughing softly.
*Hehehheh...*
"You are cute, Rias. I like cute things. Make sure you keep entertaining me, or you will have to get used to being flicked by me."
She walked toward the door. Just as her hand grabbed the knob, she glanced back.
"See you later, honey," she whispered. With a click, she opened the door and left.
Rias stared at the closed door. He still had no idea why she actually came.
He didn't want to get entangled with her. If you got too close to Eliza, it usually meant she had already manipulated you into doing exactly what she wanted. She wasn't the main villainess of his novel, but she was arguably much more dangerous.
He sank back onto the soft cushions of his bed with a heavy sigh.
He needed to stay focused. He wasn't in a safe haven. He was currently living in the home of the literal protagonist.
'Alen Celestia'. The illegitimate third prince of the Velmer Empire and the main character of Rias's novel, 'Reborn with the Ancestors' Power'.
Like all classic underdog protagonists, Alen awakened a ridiculously overpowered cheat. The ancient ancestors of the Celestia bloodline had sealed their souls and power into their lineage. When Alen proved his talent, those ancestors manifested inside his mind space to train him personally. Eventually, Alen would save the empire, become a hero, and take the throne.
But his path wasn't easy.
Amyra was obsessed with protecting her empire and claiming the throne for herself. She became the biggest stepping stone in the protagonist's path. She eventually turned into a tyrant to secure her power, but a protagonist could never be defeated. She died fighting Alen in an incredibly intense battle—a chapter that had earned Rias a tons of 'Magic Castles' from his readers back on Earth.
Eliza, on the other hand, had zero interest in the throne. She preferred to sit in the shadows and control everything with a flick of her finger. In fact, the only reason the protagonist eventually ascended the throne was because Eliza manipulated him into doing it.
Rias sat up. He couldn't waste any more time.
The first major arc of the novel was coming soon: the Imperial Tournament. Whether by coincidence or the natural force of the plot, he knew he would be dragged into it. He had literally been pulled from the sidelines to become the fiancé of the Princess.
He took the lotus position again and closed his eyes. He needed to reach the Gold Tier before the tournament began. It was the only way to protect himself from the inevitable face-slapping moments that always surrounded a protagonist.
But first, he had to hit the peak of his current stage. He was right at the bottleneck before Eliza interrupted him.
His breathing technique activated, pulling the ambient mana from the air into his core. He carefully absorbed nature's energy while circulating his own mana through his body.
If he just absorbed power blindly without circulating it, his core would overload and shatter.
Cultivation was a slow, careful process, completely different from getting instant EXP from System quests.
He pushed the gathered mana against the invisible wall of his bottleneck.
With a silent crack, the wall shattered.
[Ding!]
[Initiating Breakthrough...]
[Ascending to Silver-tier Lv. 9...]
Rias opened his eyes. The mana in his body felt much lighter. He opened his palm and channeled his energy. It flowed through his arm like liquid, much purer than before.
He laid back on the bed, feeling completely drained from the mental and physical stress of the morning. Sleep claimed him instantly.
The room fell silent, illuminated only by the warm rays of the afternoon sun filtering through the window.