The sound of water dripping echoed slowly within the dark prison cell.

Javien sat leaning against the cold stone wall. Both of his hands were still shackled with holy iron that blocked every flow of energy within his body.

For the first time after years of serving as a knight, he was incapable of doing anything.

He failed.

He failed to protect Lady Ophilia.

He failed to protect Olivia.

And more painfully...

he failed to defend his own name.

Javien closed his eyes.

Outside the cell, the sound of the guard’s footsteps grew distant. Yet, amidst the silence, a voice he had heard years ago returned to play in his mind.

"If one day you are trapped, do not look for the nearest exit." 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖

"Look for the path that your enemy would never suspect."

Javien’s eyes opened slowly.

His gaze fell toward the stone floor in the corner of the cell.

There, something hidden lay unknown to anyone. Something he hoped he would never have to use in his entire life.

He did not know the ins and outs of this prison, but he knew the nature of the man who had imprisoned him. Duke Herold was an arrogant man and was too confident in the power of that holy iron.

In the gap of the stone floor in the dark corner of the cell, something gleamed faintly. It was not a fragment he had brought with him, but a small piece of rusted iron that had somehow fallen there perhaps from the old tools left behind by the prison construction workers.

Javien held his breath. He did not know if the object could cut through the shackles, or if it was merely scrap metal. However, he remembered his training with his former Commander

Use whatever is available.

With movements that were very slow and painful, he shuffled to the corner of the cell. Every inch of his movement made the holy iron chains rattle, and he had to stop repeatedly, acting as if he were too weak to move.

He needed to ensure no guards were spying.

His heart raced. This was not about the strength of a General; this was about surviving like a trapped animal.

He reached for the piece of iron with his trembling fingertips.

His hands, already filled with wounds from the holy chains, became worse as he tried to press the rusted iron against the hinge of the shackles.

He did not know if he would succeed. He also did not know where Olivia or Lady Ophilia were now. However, the memory of Olivia’s terrified face made him keep trying.

Am I capable of this?

His demon blood felt turbulent, trying to rebel against the holy iron, but he forced it to remain silent.

He could not let his demon energy explode now, or Duke Herold would know he was already awake.

He had to get out. Not because he was a great General, but because he was the only hope for those he loved.

-Olivia-

"Olivia, do not try to escape."

Duke Herold’s voice sounded very gentle, yet to Olivia, it was more terrifying than a monster’s roar.

Olivia sat on the plush bed inside the room of the Dark Tower, which was located in the most secluded part of the Aethelgard residence.

The room’s window was only as small as the palm of a hand, high enough to see the grey mist shrouding the forbidden forest, but too high for anyone to climb out.

She was locked in.

Since she was brought here after the incident in the forest, she was not allowed to meet anyone.

Not Lady Ophilia, and certainly not Javien. Every time she asked about Javien, the guards remained silent, their faces as expressionless as armored statues.

Olivia hugged her knees. The threads on her wrist vibrated strongly before she arrived where Javien was captured. They shone brightly. And all the grey-black threads began to monopolize the situation.

Her injured shoulder was bandaged, but that pain was nothing compared to the silence that gripped her heart.

Where did they take Javien!

She remembered how Javien tried to protect her at the cave entrance earlier. Javien, who was cold, who was fierce, who was willing to threaten his own elite guards to keep her secret.

That Javien... was her protector. Yet, now she was just a helpless girl, trapped in a golden prison belonging to the man she hated the most.

Suddenly, the room’s large wooden door creaked open.

It was not the guards who entered, but Celine. The woman’s face was deathly pale, and her eyes looked swollen, as if she had just finished crying.

"Celine?" Olivia stood up quickly, but her legs felt weak.

Celine did not answer immediately. She walked toward Olivia, her hands trembling as she placed a tray of food on the table. When she turned, she whispered something that was barely audible, her voice laden with fear.

"Olivia... they have taken ’him’ to the dungeon."

Olivia’s heart felt as if it had stopped beating.

"Who? Javien?"

Celine nodded slowly, tears falling onto her cheeks.

"The Duke... Duke Herold already knows about the demon power. He accused Javien of being a traitor who brought a threat to this residence. They shackled him with holy iron... I heard the Duke wants to ’dispose’ of him tonight."

Olivia’s world seemed to spin.

No. This could not happen.

In the original novel, Javien was never captured here. The book only stated that he had died in front of his room. Was it because her presence had changed the storyline? Was she the reason Javien was in danger?

"Celine, help me," pleaded Olivia, gripping the woman’s sleeve.

"I need to get out of here. I need to help him."

"Are you crazy, Olivia?"

Celine shook her head hard.

"This is the Dark Tower. Once you enter, no one has ever left alive unless by the Duke’s orders!"

Olivia stared toward the tightly shut door. She knew she was just a weak side character, with no magic powers, no physical strength. But she had one thing that no one else in this world possessed.

She knew the future.

She knew every one of Duke Herold’s secrets, and she knew the weaknesses of this tower’s defense system. If Javien was fighting to escape from the holy iron cell, she could not sit still here waiting for them both to die.

Javien, wait for me. I will find a way.

As Celine turned to tidy up, Olivia began to observe the corner of the room. Her eyes landed on a candle that was almost burned out and a pair of iron fire tongs by the fireplace..

If she wanted to be a character who changed fate, she needed to stop being the Olivia who always needed to be saved.

Olivia did not wait any longer. As soon as Celine turned to grab a towel in the corner of the room, Olivia acted. She grabbed the heavy iron fire tongs with both hands.

"Olivia, what are you doing?!" Celine let out a small scream, her face pale with fear seeing Olivia, who now looked determined.

"Celine, listen to me," Olivia’s voice sounded firm, no longer the voice of a weak maid.

"If I sit still here, Javien will die. And if he dies, the Duke will not let anyone in this residence go. I don’t want to die as a useless character."

Olivia knew this Dark Tower was controlled by an ancient magic system that connected directly to the Duke’s movements. However, she noticed something the grey-black threads that monopolized her wrist earlier were not just decorations.

They were ’threads of fate’ that were connected to Javien’s energy.

Every time she took a breath, she could feel a subtle pulse as if Javien was sending a signal through the holy shackles.

He is trying.

"Celine, you have the key to this room, don’t you?" Olivia looked straight into Celine’s eyes.

"Open this door. I need you to create a distraction in the lower floor hallway. Burn the curtains in the main living room. Make everyone panic."

"But—"

"No buts! This is the only way we can escape from here!"

Celine, who was hesitant, finally gave in when she saw the fire of determination burning in Olivia’s eyes. She pulled the key from her pocket and handed it to Olivia.

"Javien... he is in the deepest level o

f the dungeon. The level filled with magic mist," whispered Celine before she ran out, doing as she was instructed.

As soon as the door opened, Olivia did not waste time. She ran out, moving through the quiet and eerie tower corridors. She did not use the main stairs; instead, she slipped through the back door that she knew (because she had read the novel repeatedly) was rarely guarded by soldiers because it was considered a ’dead end.’

However, the real challenge began at the dungeon entrance.

Two of the Duke’s elite guards stood straight, complete with black armor. They were not ordinary humans, but creatures that had been modified with Duke Herold’s magic.

Olivia hid behind a stone pillar. Her heart beat so fast that she feared the sound would give away her position. She observed her wrist. The threads of fate were now glowing brightly, guiding her toward Javien’s prison cell.

One... two... three.

Olivia took a deep breath. She knew she could not fight them with physical strength. She had to use the ’knowledge’ she had as a reader of the novel.

She remembered a small detail in the last Chapter she read:

The magic of Duke Herold’s armored guards would stop if they smelled the scent of ’Silver Lilac’ flowers, flowers planted in the Duke’s garden as decorations, which were actually magic-inhibiting poisons.

Olivia rummaged through her robe’s pocket. While in the forest earlier, she had managed to pick a few small flowers that grew in the gaps of tree roots that she thought were just ordinary flowers, but they turned out to be the very rare Silver Lilac.

With trembling hands, she crushed the flower petals in her palm until they released a sharp, sweet scent, then she threw them toward the lit torch near the guards.

Zap!

When the aroma of the flowers mixed with the torch smoke and was inhaled into the guards’ armor, both guards suddenly froze.

Their armor vibrated violently before falling to the ground, emitting a loud metallic thud.

Olivia did not look back. She ran through the dark dungeon hallway, looking for the very last cell.

Clang! Clang!

The sound of chains rubbing together was heard from outside. Olivia knew she was close to Javien.

Olivia stood frozen in front of the iron door.

The sound of chains from inside Javien’s cell became clearer, closer... too close.

However, that was not what made her stop breathing.

The threads on her wrists, which until then had only vibrated slowly one or two at a time suddenly vibrated simultaneously.

All of them.

At once.

Olivia looked down, her fingers trembling to see the grey-black light pulsing erratically, as if colliding with something that was not supposed to exist in the same line of destiny.

"This..." her voice got stuck in her throat.

The thread was no longer guiding her.

It was in turmoil.

And for the first time since she arrived in this world,

Olivia could not read anything at all.

She stood stunned

"...What is happening?"