Pain. Searing, throbbing, incessant pain woke me from my light sleep. If a doctor asked me to point where I would take an anatomy model and point to every muscle on the body. Even something as minor as shifting weight could trigger a lower back spasm.

Thinking there would be any sort of humane accommodations for prisoners with a king like Yuri would be a fool’s errand. I was in a stone cell with a barred door. No water. No food. No bed. The dark stony ceiling welcomed my thoughts with a comforting, unjudgmental, void.

Dungeons in games were nothing new. They were always a temporary setback for the hero’s team. Usually, there would be a helpful NPC or a savvy less-than-angelic party member around to begin the epic escape. No one else seemed to break a crime at the moment. Of course. Not only was I a criminal, but I was also the only criminal.

For a city the size of Oranhail, highly suspicious. Unless this existed for political prisoners only and judging by the way I had been treated, I doubted that King Yuri had a shortage of people he wanted to dispose of once they fulfilled their purpose.

In hindsight, engaging me to Alexious was probably due to my magick stat and thinking I would be good stock for his lineage. At least that wouldn’t happen anymore.

The games never mentioned the smell, a noxious blend of vomit, poop, and must. Occasionally trickling water would echo through the silent underground. Water, of course, being a generous assumption. It could be the source of the sewage smell permeating the air. No matter what position I laid in, stony granules pressed imprinted into the nooks and crannies of my skin. I shifted to my side.

A searing spasm radiated through my back. I cried out and rolled onto my stomach, tucking my knees underneath and pushing myself up. Being on all fours with a straightened back soothed the pain. I crawled over to the edge of the cell, near the bars, and leaned against it, back as straight as possible. Shallow breathing also helped reduce discomfort. Amazing what the body notices without a goal to blind it.

I dangled my hand through a gap in the bars. Not strong enough to bend bars. Not savvy enough to crack the lock. Truly at the mercy of the whims of a king whose affection for people extended only as far as their usefulness.

I didn’t think I would be welcomed as a hero, but to be outright dismissed…

No wonder Alexious became an evil emperor in the game. With a father like King Yuri, how could he not? Killing King Yuri would be best for him too. Maybe he would have a shot at being a normal kid. I would be doing him a favor.

Big words for a powerless dolt in a prison cell. Every person who ever sat in this place probably had the same thoughts.

Did the Mother think to turn me into a villainess no matter what? Have Poran murder my family and people and have King Yuri take away the little protection I had left in an overpowering machination of fate?

It worked.

They would pay.

All of them.

The Kingdom of Poran, King Yuri--

“Lucina? It’s me.”

I jolted in place. I hadn’t even noticed someone coming close!

A small figure in a dark cloak kneeled down beside me on the other side of the bars.

What is he doing here? “My liege. I’d invite you to my quarters, but—” I gestured around me, “I haven’t a place for you to sit.”

Alexious pulled down his hood. He had changed in the few years since I’d last seen him. That innocent look, with those sweet eyes, had vanished. The baby fat in his cheeks had begun to disappear, hinting at the chiseled jawline and sharp high cheekbones he would have in the future. In fact, he didn’t have a readable expression anymore. Must be the influence of this place.

“Horrible,” he muttered.

“What do you want?” I asked, not willing to play any games of wit. The last bit of patience I possessed died in that gilded hall.

He pushed a small basket through the gap towards my lap. “I brought you some food.”

I caught it and pushed it back to him. “I’m not hungry.” Lies, but I was not in the mood to accept kindness from anyone associated with the Evoa bloodline.

He pushed it back. “I ask of you.”

I returned it. “Later.”

“That bird who accompanied you was starving of thirst and hunger. I know you are not the type of person to save yourself at the expense of another.”

“Is Gray okay?”

“He is in our stables.” He pushed the basket back to me. “Eat.”

I met his gaze with a stubborn glare. “Make me.”

He frowned. “I cannot.” His shoulders slumped and he repositioned himself to sit. “Their plans elude me. Teo refuses to give me details and I cannot get a meeting with Father until tomorrow morning.”

Schedule a meeting with his father? What sort of weird dynamic did these royals live in? No, don’t answer that question. I already know. Definitely better off without the bastard.

“I cannot leave the basket with you else they discover I came. We’re lucky Ricardo allowed me to come down here.” He paused for a second and added, “Leaving the food on the floor for later would be a bad idea, don’t you think?”

He had a point. I took the basket and set it in my lap. It was small, about the size of a lunch pail back in my old life, and woven with the teal leaves of the qi plant. I pulled the top lid off and peeled back a soft white cotton cloth. Roselles, a thick roll dotted with seeds, several chunks of steak, and cheese. Two small bottles were at the bottom. One, holding a clear liquid, probably water, and the other a milky blue color. A high potion? What a waste, my HP is hardly high enough to justify a high potion!

“I wanted to call a doctor, but Ricardo said that would be pushing my luck. So, I snuck a potion. I hope it makes you feel better.”

I popped the cork and took a swig. High potions tasted like banana milk! How unexpected! I thought it would be similar to a normal potion, but if all the potions and items had a different taste… Part of me wanted to taste them all if only to satisfy curiosity. I was more of a healing item girl than a healing magick girl. Items gave good dependable numbers that never missed. Nothing like casting a cure spell and be at the mercy of RNGesus. Of course, holding 99 bottles of potions would not be physically possible in the real world, so I may have to develop an affinity for cure magick.

The sensation felt similar to a normal potion. I expected something more intense but it eased the general aches and pains while giving a small jolt of energy. I put the cork back on and set it aside.

I grabbed the roselle and took a bite from it, not bothering to peel a petal. “Roselles are my favorite,” I whispered, taking another bite. “How did you know?”

The sweet mix of vanilla, strawberry, and rose sent me back to that morning. The first breakfast I had with my parents… Tears lined the edge of my eyes. I leaned my head back, trying to keep them from falling. A forlorn ache spread through my body. Hot tears flowed trickled out of the edges of my eyes. Freed from their constraint, deep, heaving sobs wracked my chest.

Everything I knew, everyone I loved, they were forever gone!

Warm hands wrapped around my arms and tugged.

A bar imprinted upon Alexious cheek and he gritted his teeth, stretching as far as he could manage, trying to hug me.

It felt uncomfortable, yes, with those cold iron bars pressing against me and the awkward way my spine bent, but it also felt warm inside my core, the first time I had felt warm since it happened.

My thin wailing voice echoed in the dungeon. Snot dribbled down my nose. Every few seconds hiccups punctuated my cries.

Tears flowed until my eyes were parched and swollen to the point I could barely see out of them.

Alexious had held me the entire time.

I take it back. King Yuri and that older brother of his can burn. I’ll take him from this place too. Let him start a new life without them in it.

I gently tapped his hands, signaling to release me.

He started to let go but gave me one more squeeze. “I don’t know how I’ll do it yet,” Alexious whispered in my ear. “But you saved my life once. I will repay the favor.”

I wanted to argue that the crabeas incident didn’t need to be repaid but the kindness in his tone brought a fresh batch of tears to my eyes.

I don’t know how long I cried the second time either, but now my eyes were swollen to the point even crying caused pain. Despite being a faux pas, I blew my nose into the white cloth that the food came in. He said nothing.

I couldn’t taste the food and barely noticed the texture. But I owed it to him to eat it all. The numbness in my chest returned. When I finished the food, water, and potion, I handed the lunch pail back to Alexious. He hadn’t said anything the entire time, which I was thankful for. Any platitudes at this point would feel empty.

“What happens to orphans here?”

“Most are taken in by the temple.” The pensive look to his face returned. He looked ahead, not at me directly.

A life dedicated to the Mother would hardly be ideal to gain enough power for revenge. Would I even have access to weapons or armor? No, there was something else hidden in his statement. He mentioned that he would repay the favor for saving my life.

There was no one else in this dungeon.

No food, no water, no bed.

It made sense now.

“This is where those who are to be executed are held.”

Alexious’ eyes darted to me for a second before looking straight ahead. His lips pressed together into a thin line.

“Tell me the truth.”

“That will not come to pass.” He stood up and put the cloak over his head. “I promise.”

Perhaps I cried out the last bit of emotions left inside earlier. The confirmation hardly registered any sort of anger, fear, or sadness. Instead, I could only nod. “I’ll be in your hands.”

Alexious walked away. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the wall.

Without the pain to distract, a draft for revenge began to form.

Abiding the original game plot be the most efficient plan. Given enough power, mowing down an entire battalion myself like a musou game character would be entirely within the realm of possibility. After all, a person at max level was practically a god in any RPG, why wouldn’t it be the same in real life?

The events of the game took place when Lucina was an adult. There would be enough time to grind to max level if I put my blood, sweat, and tears into it. If Alexious were to become head of an empire, blood would water the tree of his aspirations, and I could be the gardener he needed.

The ease my heart accepted becoming a villainess should have worried me. But accepting the role emboldened me. I had the capability to enact justice for those lives lost if I worked hard enough. And who was to decide that I was a villainess, anyway? Was it not just to punish those who committed the sin of killing innocents?

The small bit of my old self voiced a tiny thought: Would Valerian ally himself with a person like that?

Valerian had been a part of the hero’s party, after all.

Would he see someone like that as a person worthy of being at his side? What if I met him and he hated me? Worse, what if he saw me as a threat and wanted to eliminate me?

I clenched my fists and gritted my teeth. Was Valerian worth the lives lost? If I didn’t avenge their deaths, would their souls be able to rest in peace? I saw this story thousands of times before. The road to revenge only leads to sadness. But now I understood just how powerful that drive felt. How guilty it feels to breathe. And was I supposed to just leave their deaths as is, without consequence?

A loud creak followed by a rough sliding crunch, like rough bark against sandpaper rattled me.

Footsteps!

I pressed my face against the bars and looked down the hall. A priest and a soldier strolled towards me. Execution already?

The soldier stopped in front of the door. “Resistance will be punishable by death. Do not attempt to run away.” He unlocked it and opened it up. He shoved the priest inside the cell. “Hurry it up!”

The priest’s eyes narrowed with obvious ire but he held out his hand. “Come here so I may assess you.”

I walked to him and closed my eyes. Once the light faded, I stepped away.

The priest’s brows furrowed. He pressed his lips together and stepped backward.

“Done?” Keys jingled in the soldier’s hand. The barred door creaked shut and the deadbolt slamming back into place made a deep thock.

For the first time since learning stats existed, I had no inclination to learn what they were. I walked to the corner of the cell, leaning against the wall. My foot tapped against the ground in a rapid staccato. There wasn’t any proof, but process of elimination pinned the person sending the priest as Alexious. King Yuri wouldn’t care about a political prisoner and Teo gave no charitable reason to suspect he wanted anything to do with me.

Maybe he planned a jailbreak? No, he wouldn’t need to know my stats for that.

If I’m to be executed, then why care about my stats? If I somehow managed to be sent to the church as an orphan, wouldn’t they check stats upon arrival? No other options came to mind.

I slammed my fist against the wall.

Powerless to stop a massacre.

Powerless to maneuver my own escape.

Powerless to avenge the ones I’ve lost.

The only thing I could do was wait and trust that somehow things would work out.