The Arclight Estate slept.

Draven moved through the third-floor corridor like a ghost. Twilight mana wrapped around him—not invisibility, but perception manipulation. Anyone who looked his way would find their gaze sliding off, their attention pulled elsewhere.

One of many useful tricks the Abyss Core had taught him.

[Stealth Mode active. Detection chance: 2%.]

[Current guards in wing: 4. All Marcus’s personal security.]

*Positions?*

[Two at the main stairwell. One patrolling the east corridor. One stationed outside Marcus’s study.]

Draven reached the corner, pressed against the wall. Peeked around.

Guard number four stood outside Marcus’s study door. Hand on sword hilt. Alert but bored—midnight shift, nothing ever happened.

About to change.

Draven pulled a sleep powder vial from his pocket. Alchemical mixture Lyra had made him. Concentrated dreamroot and wolfsbane extract. Odorless, tasteless, fast-acting.

He channeled mana into it. The powder vaporized, drifted down the corridor on a controlled air current. Invisible. Silent.

The guard yawned. Blinked. Swayed.

Collapsed.

[Target neutralized. Sleep duration: 4 hours.]

Draven moved. Caught the guard before he hit the floor, lowered him gently against the wall. Position looked natural—just a lazy guard taking a nap.

The study door was locked. Obviously.

Draven placed his palm against the mechanism. Twilight mana seeping in, finding the tumblers, pressing them with precise void-energy manipulation.

*Click.*

Too easy.

He slipped inside, closed the door behind him. Locked it from within.

Marcus’s study was exactly what he’d expected. Expensive. Pretentious. Massive oak desk covered in documents. Bookshelves filled with military strategy texts and noble genealogies. A portrait of Marcus in full armor, looking heroic.

*Asshole.*

[Scanning for hidden compartments...]

[Found 3. Locations marked.]

Three glowing markers appeared in Draven’s vision. One behind a bookshelf. One under the desk. One inside the fireplace.

He started with the bookshelf. Pulled the right volume—"The Art of War" by some ancient general—and heard a soft *click*.

A section of the wall swung open. Shallow compartment. Inside: a locked box.

Draven broke the lock with a burst of void mana. Opened it.

Poison vials. Six of them. Clear liquid with a faint purple tint. Labels in Marcus’s handwriting: "Nightshade Extract - Concentrated."

*Gotcha.*

[ Evidence obtained! Nightshade poison matches toxin in Duke Aldric’s system.]

But that wasn’t enough. Poison alone could be circumstantial. He needed more.

Draven moved to the desk. Checked the hidden compartment underneath.

Letters. Dozens of them. He scanned quickly:

> *To Lord Commander Graves,*

>

> *Prepare your men. When I assume the Duchy, there will be changes. The first of which involves my cousin, Lord Draven Arclight. His continued presence is... problematic. I trust you understand discretion is required.*

>

> *—Marcus*

And another:

> *Baron Torren,*

>

> *Your support during the transition will be remembered. Rest assured, once certain obstacles are removed, the trade agreements we discussed will proceed. The Dowager Duchess Elise will no longer interfere with family business.*

>

> *—M.A.*

And the worst one:

> *Inquisitor Malik,*

>

> *I have reason to believe my cousin has been practicing forbidden magic. Blood rituals. Possibly void corruption. When my father passes, I will need the Church’s authority to conduct an investigation. Evidence will be provided.*

>

> *Yours in faith,*

> *Marcus Arclight*

Draven’s jaw clenched. *Evidence will be provided.* Meaning Marcus planned to plant it.

[Oh fuck. He’s going to frame you for blood magic AND the murder.]

[That’s actually genius. Evil, but genius.]

The third compartment—inside the fireplace—held the real prize.

A journal. Marcus’s personal planning notes.

Draven flipped through it. Found the relevant pages:

> *Day 47: Father’s condition worsening as expected. Healers give him 3 weeks. I’ve accelerated the dosage—2 weeks now, maybe less. Need Draven out of the picture before then.*

>

> *Day 52: Draven continues visiting the Dowager. Servants gossip. Useful. If I can prove impropriety, I can charge him with corruption of the family line. Church law would demand execution.*

>

> *Day 58: Alternative plan—frame him for Father’s murder. Plant void-tainted poison in his quarters. Claim he wanted the Duchy for himself. Inquisitor Malik already sympathetic to my concerns about Draven’s "unnatural" power.*

>

> *Day 61: Father nearly dead. Days remaining. Final preparations: acquire void-essence vial from black market, plant in Draven’s room during Father’s funeral. During investigation, "discover" evidence. Draven executed. Elise exiled. Duchy secured.*

Every word was damning. Every sentence a confession.

Draven photographed every page with a memory crystal. Magical device that stored perfect visual records. Evidence that couldn’t be disputed.

[System Notice: Evidence Package Complete!] 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

[System Notice: - 6 poison vials (murder weapon)]

[System Notice: - 15+ letters (conspiracy, premeditation)]

[System Notice: - Full journal (confession, intent to frame MC)]

[System Notice: This is enough to execute him three times over.]

But there was one more thing. Draven returned to the journal, found another entry:

> *Day 63: Spoke with Duke Valerius about Draven. He seems... protective of the boy. Problematic. May need to discredit Valerius as well if he interferes. Remind Inquisitor that Valerius’s daughter is also close to Draven—possible corruption there too.*

Duke Valerius. Seraphina’s father. One of the most powerful nobles in the kingdom. And apparently, someone Marcus saw as a threat.

Which meant Valerius might be an ally.

Draven pocketed the memory crystal, replaced everything exactly as he’d found it. Sealed the compartments. Relocked the box.

Perfect crime. Marcus would never know someone had been here.

[System Notice: Mission success! Stealth maintained!]

[System Notice: +2,000 VP for evidence gathering!]

[System Notice: New Total: 268,150 VP!]

Draven slipped out of the study. The guard still sleeping. Retraced his steps through the estate, avoiding patrols, until he was back in his own quarters.

Safe.

He sat at his desk, pulled out the memory crystal. Reviewed the contents one more time.

Everything he needed. Proof of murder. Proof of conspiracy. Proof of the frame job.

But he needed support. Someone with political weight who could help him expose this publicly without Marcus spinning it as a power grab.

Duke Valerius.

Tomorrow. He’d visit tomorrow.

---

**The Next Day - Valerius Estate**

Duke Valerius’s mansion sat in the noble quarter of the capital. Three stories of white stone and marble columns, gardens that rivaled the royal palace. Guards at every entrance—not for show, but actual trained soldiers.

Draven approached the main gate. The guards recognized him immediately.

"