Arch 5 : Maid of Thorns
The next day, the rumors started.
They whispered that the Crown Prince had taken a concubine.
That a lowly maid had hexed him.
That the Saintess was being replaced.
That a war was coming, and the palace had already been lost.
Aris smiled at them all.
She didn't have to say anything. Just walked the halls like her steps were spells. Let the silk hem of her robe drag through ancient dust, stirring it all up again.
> System: So. Just to be clear—you're not denying the concubine rumor?
> Aris: "Why deny something that makes them watch?"
> System: One of these days someone's going to try to kill you.
> Aris: "Yes. And they'll fail."
She visited the Saintess in her sanctuary.
Without permission.
The door opened, and Aris walked in like she belonged. She stood in white marble silence, watching the golden-haired girl kneeling at the altar, shaking in her prayer.
"Do you love him?" Aris asked.
The Saintess didn't look up.
"Do you?" Aris pressed. "Or do you just hate that he doesn't love you?"
"You're poison," the Saintess whispered.
"And you're boring."
The girl flinched like she'd been struck.
Aris stepped closer. "You had everything. Power. Purity. People bowing to your words. And you wasted it trying to be good."
Her voice dropped.
"Now watch what I can do with less."
She left without waiting for a reply.
> System: She's going to scream into her robes later. Just saying.
That night, the Knight intercepted her in the moonlit corridor outside the Prince's quarters.
He didn't draw his blade. But his eyes were sharp enough.
"What do you want?" he asked.
"Safety," Aris said.
"Liar."
She tilted her head, playful. "Do you want the truth?"
"No."
They stared at each other.
Then he said it. Soft. Dangerous.
"You're undoing the Crown."
Aris stepped closer. Just enough for him to smell her perfume—vanilla and something older, darker.
"I'm not undoing anything," she murmured. "I'm just… loosening knots."
"You're going to bring blood."
She smiled.
"Then sharpen your sword."
By morning, she'd been summoned by the Emperor.
Her footsteps echoed like warnings through the marble halls. She kept her head high, smile unreadable.
The Emperor didn't look up when she entered.
"You think you've trapped my son," he said. "But he is not yours."
Aris didn't speak.
"I could have you sent back. Or worse. Removed."
Still, she said nothing.
He finally looked at her. Hard. Calculating.
But it wasn't fear she wore. Or even defiance.
It was knowing.
"I serve him because he wants me," she said softly. "If he changes his mind, I will disappear."
"And if he doesn't?"
She smiled, eyes low.
"Then your palace will belong to a maid."
He didn't order her removed.
He couldn't.
Because she'd already won the first war—and it hadn't even left the bedroom.
> System: Okay. Pause.
You just told the Emperor you might take over his kingdom.
Bold move, babe. Real bold.
> Aris: "Let him fear me. Fear is the beginning of loyalty."
> System: You're genuinely terrifying. I mean that affectionately.