The ink bled slowly across the parchment.
A single sentence.
Neat. Clean. Final.
"Goal one: Go out."
She paused.
Her lips curled slightly—not into a smile, but something colder.
Something that knew exactly what it wanted.
The pen tapped once.
Twice.
Then—
Knock knock.
Her brow twitched.
"Tch… what now?"
It hadn't even been a full day since she got here.
And already—she was tired.
both mentally and physically
She fixed her expression, burying her irritation behind a blank calm.
"Come in."
The door opened with a silent glide.
A shadow stepped in, tall and proper.
She recognized him immediately.
Amel Zekarith.
The gluttonous hound of the crown.
Marquess-rank demon. The King's errand boy. The leashed beast with too many secrets and never enough sleep.
Her heart slowed.
Her fingers stilled.
'...Why is he here?'
She narrowed her eyes.
Don't tell me that madman finally snapped.
And Sent him to kill me? Right here? Just like that?
Her body tensed.
The air around her thickened as if daring him to try.
Amel blinked, caught off-guard by her sharp glare, but didn't flinch.
He bowed slightly and spoke flatly:
"By order of His Majesty… Lady Rie is to attend tonight's royal dinner."
…Huh?
She blinked.
Just once.
Then her brows furrowed.
'What?'
She didn't say it aloud, but the word was loud in her mind.
Dinner?
With him?
Since when?
She stared at Amel, waiting for more.
But he said nothing. No explanation. Not a single extra word.
Typical dog.
He turned and left, vanishing like smoke.
The door clicked shut.
She sat down slowly, tapping the tip of her pen against her list.
Still processing.
"The hell's gotten into him…?"
There was no logic to it. There was no formal event.
In fact, it was an unspoken rule that she was not allowed to enter the dining hall…
So why all of sudden? did her word influence him that much?
His image flash past in her mind…
The Demon King.
That man.
Her pen scratched the parchment again.
She scoffed.
"Just because he invited me doesn't mean I'm going to show up."
"Tch. Who do they think they are, anyway?"
Still, her fingers paused just above the next line on the list.
For a moment…
Just a moment…
She wondered if this was a trap.
Or maybe…
A test.
But either way—
Her next words hit the page like a dagger.
Goal two ---