Prologue

"Wow... You really stabbed me..."

His words felt feeble, even to himself, as blood gushed from his abdomen. His hands were smeared with crimson, and droplets of blood trickled from his mouth down to his jaw. His voice quivered, and he struggled to speak, showing no signs of astonishment.

Slowly, he sank to his knees, clutching the coat of the blonde-haired, blue-eyed gentleman standing before him, his sword stained with blood.

They found themselves in a shabby, incongruous bedroom for what should have been an epic betrayal.

"Were you expecting it?" A deep, gravelly voice rumbled from above his head.

'How should I even respond...' He thought, a soft giggle escaping his lips. He wasn't one to dwell on circumstances. Not even when he and this man had a decade-long history of rivalry, ever since they met at the Riverise Imperial Academy and he watched him train with his family heirloom. Then he used that very heirloom to defeat him in their first-year evaluation examination.

Ah, those sweet days when the guy cried all night, begging him to teach him the secret. But what could he say? How could he explain that he had some kind of system allowing him to steal people's abilities and perfect them?

"You know I've always despised you..."

All he could do was chuckle as the man spoke.

"No, not because you stole my family's heritage and surpassed me with it. I've long recognized the chasm between us, something I could never bridge. So I settled for being by your side, thinking you'd have it all. I believed you'd conquer everything, rule the world, and I worked tirelessly every day to be worthy of standing beside you. But for what?

You rejected the imperial offer to become the Knight Commander, the youngest ever. You turned down Count Veley's offer to empower you, enabling you to seize the southern lands and establish an independent city. The King of Wesson was prepared to name you his heir, you just had to marry his daughter, but you declined that too. Throughout it all, I was by your side, unnoticed, insignificant. My ambitions crumbled daily when I awoke.

I wished I'd forged my own path, but over the years, I couldn't help but nurture resentment toward you. I don't regret killing you; the cost was worth it. Now, I'm the Commander Knight of the Red Origins, a knight order created by the alliance, serving only the alliance. And today, you'll die here."

He concluded, dropping the sword with a clang that grated on his ears. He'd lost too much blood, and his strength drained at an alarming rate. Other than the pain, it felt like another unintended nap.

'Damn, I want to sleep.'

Those were his last thoughts as consciousness slipped away, and her voice echoed once more...

[You have died]