Minsoo glared at the System. "What do you mean?"

The dragon licked its belly the way a cat would. "I can let you change the course of the story, but you must give me something in return."

"Why would you do it? I thought you were the god of this world."

"I am, but I’m bored. You don’t know how tedious iit s to watch the same story unfolding again and again without changing. Your presence here is… interesting."

Minsoo crossed his legs. "And what do you want?"

"Pastries and cakes."

"What?"

"There’s no one who can see me here, so I never had the opportunity to eat sweets. I’d like a strawberry tart."

"You’re not serious, are you?"

The System stared at him, but its mischievous grin was gone. "I’m always serious about food."

How lucky, a dragon with Italian ancestry.

Minsoo sighed. "Fine, I’ll get you a strawberry tart. Then, I’ll have permission to try to change this story."

"You could try, but I doubt you’ll succeed. You already tried to make Corvaliso Maythorne fall in love with Iliana Renetta Loder, but the duke’s heart is guarded."

He had already tried, but that time he had been playing the visual novel as a simple player and he’d had to pick from the options set by the developers. Now, the situation was different. He could make different decisions; he could even intervene personally. He didn’t know Corvaliso, but he had a lot of experience with romantasy visual novels.

"Then," the dragon said, "we have a deal."

"Yes."

"Good. I’m going to sleep. Call me when you have the tart."

It disappeared, and Minsoo leaned back against the wall of the cell and crossed his arms behind his head. If the only way to survive until the end of the game was to make Corvaliso and Iliana fall in love, then he had no choice but to do everything to make it happen.

But first of all, he needed to leave that cell and win the duke’s trust again.

This means I need an excuse for my behavior from before.

The echo of steps resonated in the cell’s corridor. Corvaliso Maythorne stopped before his cell, a frown of rage and disgust on his handsome face.

"Aide Glennhort."

Minsoo pursed his lips and bowed. "Your Grace."

Corvaliso crossed his arms over his chest. "Have you regained your senses?"

"Yes. I apologize for my attitude, but I was confused."

"You fell from your horse, so I guess you hit your head pretty hard."

"I guess so."

"If you’ve calmed yourself down, then I’ll let you go back to your room." He glared at him. "But if I find out that you’re betraying me, I’ll kill you on the spot."

A chill ran down Minsoo’s back. "I’ll never do something like that, Your Grace. I’m your loyal servant."

"I hope so. You’ve been by my side for many years." Corvaliso turned toward the knights behind him. "Let him go. I’ll be in my office."

He left, and Minsoo was freed soon after. The knights returned his sword to him, then accompanied him toward his chambers. Minsoo didn’t know their names; in the end, they weren’t even minor characters.

"So," he said, "how was the situation?"

The two knights exchanged a glance, then the older one answered: "Don’t you remember, Captain? We already told you before the incident."

"Yeah, sorry, but I hit my head and I can’t remember much."

"The North is in turmoil. Lady Loder accused His Grace of setting her palace on fire and killing her parents before the Emperor himself, but His Grace didn’t reject those accusations."

Because they’re true. He did kill her parents and set the palace on fire. That prick! But I can’t say it.

"I’m sure His Grace had his reasons," Minsoo said with a smile. "Did Lady Loder come here?"

"No. She sent a letter, but His Grace didn’t reply."

"Really?"

"Well, you said it yourself a few days ago, before the incident." The older knight raised an eyebrow. "You didn’t remember anything at all."

Minsoo gave a nervous laugh. "I told you, did I not?"

The knight sighed. "I hope you’ll get better soon. We need your presence, Captain."

"I’ll be fine in a few days."

"I’m happy to hear it," the other knight said with a cheerful voice. "This means you can help us with our training, right?"

"Training?"

"Sword training!" The younger knight’s eyes shone with excitement. "You’re the best among us! I always look forward to training with you, sir."

Minsoo smiled faintly and didn’t reply.

Fuck! I can’t fence, I don’t even know how to hold a sword. Archievald Glennhort is a swordmaster, but I’m just an idiot with a sharp tongue. I need to find a way out of all this.

"We’ve arrived, sir." The older knight opened the double door leading to his chambers. "If you need anything, just ask. His Grace ordered us to tend to you until you feel better."

"How thoughtful of His Grace."

That prick just wants to watch me. I doubt he has a heart or cares about his men.

The knights exchanged another glance, but Minsoo ignored them and entered his rooms. He was tired and needed to sleep.

He took off his clothes—Archievald Glennhort's clothes—and lay down on the mattress. He stared at the ceiling for a while, until he fell asleep.

His dreams were full of trams that hit him, and damned dukes with violet eyes that thrust swords into his chest and laughed cruelly at his death.

When he woke up, sweating and panting, however, those violet eyes were still staring at him in the dimness of the room, as if they had followed him out of his nightmares. Minsoo gasped for air as Duke Corvaliso, pinning him onto the mattress with his body, grabbed him by the neck and pressed a blade against his throat.

"You’re not Archievald," he growled. "So who the fuck are you?"