Chapter 5: The Forsaken Daughter's Farewell

The morning dawn broke over the Zenith empire in a cold, grey mist. In the grand courtyard, a single, rickety carriage stood waiting. Its wood was slightly warped, and the horses attached to it looked malnourished and weak. It was a blatant insult, a final public humiliation meant to show the entire empire how far the legitimate eldest daughter of the Zenith family had fallen.

Standing by the carriage door, Ereba looked at the pathetic excuse for transport.

*Ding!*

**[Object: Noble Carriage]**

**[Status: Intentionally Sabotaged / Critical Code Error]**

**[Bug: Axle designed to snap at high speeds near Dead Man’s Ravine.]**

**[Danger Level: High]**

Ereba didn't flinch. Instead, a slow, dangerous smirk spread across her lips. *'Trying to code a fatal car crash for me? How unoriginal,'* she thought, accessing her developer interface.

**[System Purchase: Impact Cushioning Script (500 pts)]**

**[New Balance: -99,200 Reputation Points]**

"My Lady, it is time to board," one of the guards muttered, his tone dripping with disrespect. His eyes flicked nervously to the horizon, a clear sign that he was in on the plot.

"Patience," Ereba said smoothly, turning back toward the mansion. "Won't my dear father, my loving stepmother, and my deeply caring younger sister come out to see me off? It would be terribly bad manners to leave without a family portrait."

Right on cue, the grand double doors opened. Seraphina stepped out, dressed in a lavish, pristine white gown, flanked by a dozen maids. Her face was the picture of smug triumph. She walked over slowly, eager to gloat over her sister’s ruin.

"Oh, sister," Seraphina sighed, her voice dripping with fake pity. "Look at you. Reduced to *this*. It truly breaks my heart. But I suppose this is what happens when you lose the Prince's favor. Even if you are the legitimate, true blood of this family, you will forever remain unrecognized and discarded by everyone. You are nothing but a forsaken daughter, Ereba. A parasite being cast away to die in the freezing cold—"

Before Seraphina could finish her grand speech, Ereba shifted her gaze.

Her violet eyes narrowed, flashing with a sudden, suffocating pressure. It wasn't magic; it was the pure, unadulterated killing intent of a ruthless developer about to permanently delete a corrupted file.

The air in the courtyard instantly felt twenty degrees colder. A million goosebumps and icy chills shot straight down Seraphina's spine. The sheer horror radiating from Ereba was so overwhelming that Seraphina’s legs gave out. She stumbled backward, tripping over her own gown, and fell hard onto the cobblestones.

"L-Lady Seraphina!" the maids gasped, but nobody dared move.

Seraphina struggled frantically to stand back up and maintain her composure, her chest heaving as she lifted her eyes. But what she saw made her blood run entirely cold.

Ereba was walking toward her. Step. By. Step. Calm, unbothered, and terrifyingly graceful.

Seraphina slumped back onto the ground in pure horror and fear. Drenched in a sudden cold sweat, her throat closed up. She opened her mouth to scream for help, to call the guards, but she was completely paralyzed, as if she were staring directly into the jaws of a monstrous, primordial apex predator.

Ereba gracefully knelt down beside her terrified younger sister. She leaned slowly toward Seraphina’s ear, her breath ghostly cold against her skin.

"Do you really think this frozen exile is my grave, Seraphina?" Ereba whispered, her voice a terrifying melody. "I built the very foundation you are standing on. Keep my seat warm. Because when I come back, I am tearing this entire house down to the bedrock."

As she spoke, Ereba gently stroked Seraphina’s silken hair. But between her fingers, a faint blue, microscopic needle materialized from her system menu.

*Prick.*

**[System Malware Installed: 'Despair Overload' Bug.]**

**[Target: Seraphina von Zenith.]**

**[Effect: Constant psychological paranoia and nightmares. Tracks target's location for the Host.]**

Ereba pulled away, flashing a chill, mocking smile.

The phantom terror of the malware hit Seraphina's mind instantly. She let out a piercing, shrill shriek of pure, unbridled terror, scrambling backward on her hands and knees away from Ereba like a madwoman.

"Monster! She’s a monster! Get her away from me!" Seraphina screamed violently, her face pale and tears streaming down her cheeks.

Her mother, the current Duchess, came rushing out of the mansion alongside the high-ranking maids, quickly shielding the hyperventilating Seraphina. "Ereba! What did you do to your sister?! You wretched girl—"

Without the slightest concern or care, Ereba merely brushed a stray hair from her face. She looked at the Duchess, her voice ringing clear. "I merely gave her a sisterly farewell. You should teach your daughter better manners, Stepmother. Weak prey shouldn't bark so loudly at a predator."

Before the Duchess could explode in rage, Ereba slowly tilted her head upward, looking toward the high stone balcony of the mansion.

There stood Duke Zenith. He had been there the entire time, watching the scene unfold in absolute shock and gripping fear. He stared down at the girl in the courtyard, his mind spiraling into deep, unsettling questions. *'Is this truly my daughter? Is this the same weak, meek, and useless girl I ignored for years? Who is this monster?'*

Sensing his gaze, Ereba locked eyes with her father. She let out a brilliant, radiant smile that didn't match the coldness of her eyes, and mouthed a single phrase to him:

*‘Isn't that right, Father?’*

Up on the balcony, Duke Zenith's breath hitched. He violently gritted his teeth, his hands trembling against the stone railing, before he spun around in a panic and walked away from the balcony to hide his fear.

Ereba turned back around, her silk dress fluttering in the morning wind. She stepped into the rigged carriage, shutting the warped wooden door behind her.

"Driver," Ereba commanded smoothly from inside the dark carriage. "Let’s go. To the North."

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