Cerys stared at him with wide eyes.
Her breathing grew shallow while her mind struggled to understand what was happening.
She had heard his thoughts again.
It was clear and sharp like a blade.
Every word echoed inside her mind as if someone had spoken beside her ear.
He can really read my mind…
No. That was not correct.
I was the one hearing his thoughts.
Her heart pounded harder.
But how?
Her eyes moved slowly across his face while he continued holding her down against the floor. The young man looked calm and confident, his long red hair falling around his shoulders like a burning curtain.
He did not appear to realize what she could hear.
Which made everything even stranger.
Then another question appeared inside her mind.
Why did he mention my name?
Cerys the Shadow Assassin.
That title.
She did not have that title.
Or not yet?
She's confused.
Her eyes narrowed slightly while studying his expression more carefully. The man seemed to speak about her as if she were someone else entirely.
As if he believed she was working under that person.
Suddenly the truth hit her like a stone.
Don't tell me…
He thinks I'm an underling of myself.
Cerys almost laughed from the absurdity of it.
He believed she was a subordinate serving someone named Cerys.
Which meant he did not recognize her at all.
Yet he knew her name.
He assumed her future title.
He even spoke about her life as if he understood everything.
That made no sense.
Don't tell me he knew my future too?
Cerys had spent her entire life hidden inside her family's estate. Her existence remained unknown to almost everyone outside a small group of servants and trainers.
The world should not know about her.
Not yet.
Then Clay suddenly spoke again.
"How about this, little girl. Why don't you switch masters and become my maid instead."
His tone sounded casual.
"Your master is Cerys, right?"
The words struck her like thunder.
Cerys blinked in shock.
He really believes that.
This man thought she served someone named Cerys.
He had no idea the girl lying beneath him was that same person.
But the question remained.
How does he know about me at all?
Cerys felt confusion mixing with unease.
Her family had hidden her existence carefully since childhood. Even their closest allies rarely spoke about the daughter who could barely use shadow magic.
She had always been treated like something embarrassing.
A mistake.
Something to hide.
So how could this stranger know about her?
Her mind struggled to find an answer.
Meanwhile Clay continued thinking without noticing the storm inside her head.
Inside his thoughts, another story began unfolding.
That final villainess was pitiful.
Cerys froze.
His thoughts continued flowing into her mind.
She had the same fate as me. Destined to become evil. Destined to die in the end.
Clay looked down at the girl beneath him while his mind wandered through memories that did not belong to this world.
In the dream I had about this world, her story was worse than mine.
Cerys felt something tighten inside her chest.
She was born into a powerful family that specialized in shadow magic.
The images inside Clay's mind grew clearer.
And suddenly Cerys saw them too.
She saw a large palace built from dark stone, hidden deep within a forest where sunlight rarely touched the ground.
She saw two figures standing beside a cradle.
A man with sharp eyes.
A woman with cold beauty.
Their expressions carried disappointment.
Her parents expected a powerful heir.
Someone who could inherit their shadow techniques.
The memory changed.
A small child stood in the training yard.
Tiny hands tried to form shadow energy.
Nothing happened.
The parents watched from the balcony.
Their faces darkened.
Her talent was too low.
Cerys felt her throat tighten.
She remembered that day.
The first time her parents realized she was weak.
Clay's thoughts continued.
That was the moment everything changed.
The vision shifted again.
Cerys saw the same palace corridors but darker now. The servants avoided looking at the small girl walking through the hallways.
No one smiled at her.
No one spoke kindly.
Her parents rarely appeared.
And when they did, their expressions carried nothing but disappointment.
They started ignoring her.
Then they started hating her.
Another memory appeared.
A carriage arrived at the palace gates one evening.
Inside the carriage sat a young girl with bright eyes.
She was not related by blood.
She was adopted.
But the moment she arrived, the entire palace changed.
Servants rushed to welcome her.
The parents smiled again.
They praised the new girl's natural talent with shadow magic.
That girl became the heroine of this world.
Cerys felt her chest ache as the memories continued pouring into her mind.
The adopted girl trained in the courtyard.
Her shadow magic moved beautifully.
Her parents watched with pride.
They praised her.
Encouraged her.
Loved her.
Meanwhile the real daughter remained hidden.
Clay's thoughts painted the next scene.
A small room deep inside the palace.
No windows.
Cold stone walls.
A narrow bed.
The girl who once tried to please her parents now lived there.
Alone.
They locked her away.
Cerys felt her breathing tremble.
She had tried so hard back then.
She practiced shadow magic every day.
Her hands bled from training.
Her body collapsed from exhaustion more than once.
But her talent never improved.
And every failure made her parents look at her with deeper disgust.
Clay's thoughts did not stop.
They decided she was useless.
So they prepared to throw her away.
Another memory appeared.
A group of assassins stood inside a dim room while the father spoke quietly.
His words were simple.
The girl would leave the palace.
She would join the assassin division.
Her mission would be dangerous.
Most likely fatal.
The father did not care.
He only needed her gone.
They wanted her to die.
Cerys's hands trembled slightly as those memories returned.
She remembered the night clearly.
The guards escorted her out of the palace without a single goodbye.
Her mother did not appear.
Her father only waved his hand.
And just like that, the daughter of a powerful shadow family disappeared into darkness.
Clay's thoughts continued moving forward through the dream he once had.
But fate did something strange.
The girl survived.
Despite weak shadow magic, she discovered another talent.
Stealth.
A very powerful stealth that complimented her shadow ability that became a terrifying shadow Stealth that even Paladin like me can't really sense.
Her body moved quietly.
Her presence vanished easily.
She became useful.
Very useful.
Years later she would rise through the assassin ranks.
She would become a leader.
The Shadow Assassin.
Then as a Villainess, she would go on her path of revenge!
Cerys slowly returned to the present.
Her eyes looked cloudy for a moment.
Everything Clay thought matched her life perfectly.
Every painful detail.
Every humiliation.
Everything she had tried to forget.
Except the last part.
Shadow Assassin Title and Revenge.
She came here to kidnap him so she could gather resources and escape from something she took her Inheritance from, so she desperately needed those resources due to the Shadow Stealth inheritance she received. Once she was stable, she would return to her family.
What surprised her more was that planned to pursue the ideas he had been considering: becoming the leader of a small assassin group under her family banner. To be finally acknowledged.
So mostly, he was right.
Except she didn't have a subordinate yet.
But she wanted to know more.
When she looked at him again, her voice barely escaped her lips.
"How… did you know Madam?"
She forced herself to play along with his misunderstanding.
If he believed she served someone named Cerys, then she would let him believe it.
Clay smiled slightly.
Inside his mind another thought appeared.
Your master was like me.
In the dream I had, she was destined to become evil.
Destined to die.
Just like I was.
His mind grew quieter for a moment.
But I escaped my fate.
She didn't.
And I'm not a god who goes around saving people.
Fate is cruel.
That's why I avoid anything connected to it.
Out loud he whispered calmly.
"I know more about her than she knows about herself."
Cerys fell silent.
Her mind spun with confusion.
What kind of dream could reveal so much about her life?
No one outside her family knew those details.
Yet this man spoke about them like someone reading from a book.
After several long seconds she finally murmured softly.
"I want to know more."
Then she slowly moved her hand toward the pocket hidden inside her skirt.
Clay's eyes narrowed immediately.
His body tensed.
But instead of attacking, Cerys simply held out a small bottle.
"I'll give this to you."
Clay looked at it carefully.
"The antidote?"
She nodded.
At that exact moment the system rang inside his head.
Ding.
Mission Completed: Impossible Mission 4.
Clay froze.
Then his eyes widened.
What the hell?
His mind exploded with disbelief.
The fuck!?
He almost shouted inside his head.
He had not even tried to complete that mission.
He expected mission three at best.
Yet somehow the impossible mission finished itself.
Clay stared at the bottle in his hand while trying to understand what just happened.
Did I accidentally solve it?
That was way too easy.
He glanced down at the girl again.
Inside his thoughts another idea appeared.
This girl must be one of Cerys's stupid underlings.
Her family probably assigned her to me.
No wonder she cracked so fast for no reason, she must have scared of me.
Cerys felt a sharp sting inside her head when she heard that thought.
Her lips twitched.
She felt insulted.
But right now she could not reveal the truth.
So she remained silent.
But then, to Clay, another notification appeared.
Ding.
Reward granted.
The Host has received Overlord Talent: Exponential Growth Spur.
Clay blinked.
"Overlord talent?"
The system continued.
This talent temporarily allows exponentially accelerated growth when the Host faces challenges or intense situations.
Clay raised one eyebrow.
That sounded useful.
Very useful.
Before he could ask anything else, another line appeared.
Would the Host like to test it?