Chapter 40: Villainess Princess × Slave (3)

[ You currently have 28 minutes and 45 seconds remaining, Host! ] the System chimed unhelpfully, displaying a bright golden countdown clock right over her reflection.

Lyra didn’t waste another second. She whirled around, glaring at her head maid with an icy, authoritative scowl.

"Prepare a breakfast tray immediately!" Lyra demanded loudly. "A bowl of warm meat stew, fresh bread, and a cup of wine! Bring it to my chamber this instant!"

"R-Right away, Princess!" the maid stammered, hurrying out of the room to execute the order.

Within five minutes, a servant returned holding a silver tray bearing a steaming bowl of rich beef stew, freshly baked bread, and a silver goblet of red wine.

Lyra immediately dismissed all the maids from the room, locking the doors behind them.

"Okay, System! Where is the poison?!" Lyra whispered frantically, rushing over to her vanity table.

Ding!

A tiny, dark glass vial containing a clear, odorless liquid materialized on her table.

[ PARALYZING GUT-POISON ]

Causes severe stomach cramps, internal burning, and temporary paralysis. Non-lethal, but extremely painful.

"This looks terrifying..." Lyra muttered, her hands shaking as she unstoppered the small glass vial. "Cassian is already broken and bleeding from the whip, and now I have to give him stomach-burning poison?! He is going to slice my head off the SECOND he gets his power back!"

[ 21 minutes remaining, Host! ] the System reminded her, its clock ticking down mercilessly.

Lyra poured three small drops of the clear liquid directly into the bowl of hot stew, stirring it quickly with a silver spoon until the poison completely dissolved into the dark broth. She then placed the bottle back on the table, picked up the silver tray, and took a deep, steadying breath.

"Alright," Lyra whispered, her dark eyes hardening with survival determination. "Let’s go feed the monster."

She unlocked her chamber doors and stepped out into the wide corridor. Two tall, palace guards immediately straightened their postures and crossed their steel spears in front of her path.

"Your Highness," the lead guard bowed respectfully. "Where are you heading with a food tray?"

Lyra puffed out her chest, raising her chin high in the air to exude royal arrogance.

"To the subterranean dungeons, of course!" Lyra sneered, her voice dripping with haughty disdain. "That miserable slave, Cassian Draven, thought he could look at me with disrespect yesterday! I am going to personally watch him beg on his knees for a single bite of food!"

The guards blinked, thoroughly accustomed to the Princess’s bizarre and cruel whims. They quickly lowered their spears and bowed low. "Understood, Your Highness. We shall accompany you!"

"No need!" Lyra barked sharply, glaring at them. "I do not need useless guards ruining my enjoyment! Stay at your posts!"

"Y-Yes, Princess!"

Lyra turned on her slippers and hurried down the grand stone staircase, her heart thumping wildly as the golden numbers hovered in her vision: [ 14 Minutes Remaining! ]

She descended into the damp, freezing depths of the subterranean levels. The bright walls slowly transitioned into rough, dark cobblestones, and the air grew thick with the smell of rust, mold, and bitter cold.

As she walked down the silent corridor, her silk dress swishing against the dirty stone floor, she finally reached the thick iron bars of Subterranean Cell #4.

Inside the dark, freezing cell, kneeling on the hard ground with thick iron chains binding his wrists to the stone wall, was Cassian Draven.

His dark hair hung loosely over his pale, dirt-smeared face. His shredded shirt exposed his broad back, where the dark red streaks from yesterday’s whipping were still raw and inflamed.

Hearing the sound of approaching footsteps, Cassian slowly lifted his head.

The moment his pitch-black eyes locked onto Lyra’s face, a cold aura radiated from his body. It was the exact same bloodthirsty gaze she had seen in her nightmare just an hour ago.

Lyra’s breath caught in her throat, her knees trembling beneath her skirts, but she forced herself to take a step forward, sliding the heavy silver tray through the iron slot at the bottom of the cell door.

Ding!

[ TIME REMAINING: 5 MINUTES! ]

"Look at you, kneeling like the dirty dog you are," Lyra scoffed, forcing her voice to sound as cruel and obnoxious as humanly possible, even though her inner soul was screaming in pure horror. "I brought you a gift from my table, Cassian. Eat it all... every single drop!"

Cassian glanced down at the steaming bowl of poisoned stew, his cold lips twisting into a dark knowing smirk as his pitch-black eyes fixed right back onto her face.

Cassian didn’t reach for the bowl. He didn’t even shift his weight on the freezing stone floor.

He just sat there, his tall frame locked in a posture of quiet authority despite the thick iron chains weighing down his bruised wrists. His pitch-black eyes remained fixed on Lyra’s face, reading every subtle twitch of her eyelids, the frantic flutter of her pulse against her pale neck, and the desperate, stiffness in her posture.

He could smell it. Beyond the rich aroma of boiled beef and melted fat, there was a faint, metallic undertone- the unmistakable scent of paralyzing gut-poison.

Cassian’s cold lips curved upward into a slow smirk. She poisoned it, he thought, his sharp mind dissecting her scheme instantly. The spoiled little princess wants to watch me writhe on the floor for her entertainment.

Ding!

[ TIME REMAINING: 2 MINUTES! ]

[ WARNING: IF MALE LEAD DOES NOT CONSUME THE POISON WITHIN 120 SECONDS, PENALTY WILL BE ENFORCED ON HOST! ]

Panic exploded inside Lyra’s brain like a fireworks display. He’s not eating it! He knows! He definitely knows!

Looking at his unyielding, silent mockery, Lyra’s survival instincts kicked into overdrive. She couldn’t let him eat the poison and hate her even more, but she also couldn’t afford to let the clock run out and feel her own internal organs burn!

"You miserable, ungrateful trash!" Lyra suddenly shrieked, lifting the hem of her silk gown.

With an exaggerated, dramatic swing of her slippered foot, she violently kicked the heavy silver tray!

CLANG!

The silver bowl flipped through the air, crashing against the iron bars of the cell door. The hot, poisoned beef stew splashed across the dirty cobblestones, soaking into the grimy floorboards and completely ruining the meal. Silver goblets rolled into the dark corners of the hallway.

Lyra took a fast step back, leaning close to the floating blue interface in front of her, her voice dropping into a desperate, hopeful whisper.

"Oops! System! Look at that, it’s totally spilled!" Lyra squeaked with a bright, victorious gleam in her eyes. "Oh no, what a tragedy! It’s completely ruined! He can’t eat it now, right?! The food is destroyed, so the mission is technically void!"

Ding!

[ ERROR: MISSION OBJECTIVE UNFULFILLED ]

[ RECALIBRATING MANDATORY PLOT MISSION... ]

Lyra’s tiny spark of hope instantly vanished as the glowing red letters reshaped themselves into something far worse.

[ NEW OBJECTIVE: Force the Male Lead, Cassian Draven, to kneel and lick the spilled poisoned stew off the floor! ]

[ NEW DEADLINE: 10 MINUTES ]

Lyra’s jaw hit the dirty stone ground.

"SERIOUSLY?!" Lyra screamed in her mind, grabbing her hair with both hands. "ARE YOU INSANE, SYSTEM?! Make a fallen crown prince lick poisoned food OFF THE DIRT?! Why don’t you just hand him a dagger and tell him to carve my heart out right now?!"

[ Host! The supervision algorithm demands maximum villainy! ] the System replied, its digital voice trembling slightly under her wrath. [ If you fail this updated objective, the failure penalty doubles to 48 hours of internal burning pain! ]

Lyra slowly lowered her hands, turning her gaze back toward the interior of Cell #4.

Cassian hadn’t moved an inch. But the dark smirk on his face had completely vanished, replaced by an eerie, deadly stillness.

He had seen everything. He saw the exact second her dark eyes flicked toward empty air, the way her foot had intentionally aimed for the tray rather than his body, and the blatant look of absolute relief that had crossed her face the moment the stew hit the ground. She hadn’t kicked the tray out of spoiled rage- she had intentionally ruined her own trap.

Yet, despite her bizarre, incompetent sabotage, she was now standing outside his cell, staring at him with a terrifying mixture of sheer panic and forced arrogance.

Ding!

[ HATRED VALUE METRIC UPDATED! ]

Cassian Draven’s Hatred toward Host: 99% ➔ 99.9%

A wave of pure malice rolled out from the dark cell. The temperature in the corridor seemed to plunge below freezing.

Lyra’s entire body shivered violently under her thick dress. Her knees felt like jelly, and every single survival instinct in her soul shouted at her to turn around and run as fast as her slippers could carry her.

He’s going to kill me, Lyra thought, her heart pounding loudly as Cassian’s pitch-black eyes locked onto hers with absolute, murderous promise. He’s going to skin me alive, frame my bones, and use my crown as a footstool...lord save me!!