"Creak… creak…"
The classical window made from dark walnut wood trembled under the evening breeze, a breeze faintly carrying the fragrance of jasmine.
Under the magical lamp overhead, the girl's face was partly hidden beneath her bangs, casting a shadow across her delicate features. Her long black hair, smooth as falling raven feathers, spilled across the desk. Beneath it were a small, elegant nose and lips tinged a soft rose.
Her pure-white gothic dress—gold patterns embroidered on the bodice—spread out in layers. Lace and ribbons gathered around her thighs. A pair of long, slender legs wrapped in white garter stockings extended out, and below them a pair of snow-white feet rested in bohemian-style strappy high-heeled sandals, toes slightly lifted.
Artwork. But none of the people present dared to look directly at this beauty. After all, the girl's aura was overwhelming.
"I'm here because I need you to do something for me."
Lyco was a puppet created by Hel using a Tier-5 life-attribute elemental crystal. Though the puppet itself wasn't very strong, it housed an artificial soul of Tier-7. Therefore, Hel could use it to unleash spiritual power equivalent to a Tier-7 being.
And with Hel's elemental spell entries already at pink tier—the limit of this mortal world, the level of forbidden magic—producing that earlier display of power had been effortless.
In fact, even without such tricks, this avatar of Hel was still the strongest being below the Saint rank in this entire world.
Because…
"Prepare an identity record for me. The name will be Lyco Caramel. She's your illegitimate daughter, sixteen years old. She ran away from the Caramel family eight years ago and went missing."
Hel issued the command, and although the Caramel Duke hadn't yet agreed aloud, his body moved completely without his consent.
"What is happening…?"
The duke looked at Hel in horror, as though beneath her sweet appearance he saw a demon capable of manipulating human will.
"Fix that expression. Maintain your usual demeanor."
"I—"
The duke wanted to struggle and scream, but it felt as though his consciousness had been separated from his body. His flesh no longer obeyed him. He could only watch, helpless, as his body moved like a marionette controlled by invisible strings, responding only to Hel's commands.
So the duke walked to a nearby tea table and produced a brand-new birth certificate and identity plaque.
Humans here had identity systems similar to the beastfolk, though far stricter—identity documents could only be issued by local lords. Plaques were bound with the owner's blood and could only be activated by them.
The plaques also came in different materials:
Slave – wood
Commoner – copper
Noble – silver
Royalty – gold
Specific places only allowed entry depending on plaque rank. And each nation had its own style—like a sword carved on the back of plaques from the Knight Empire, or a set of scales in the Ymir Empire.
Different materials and systems meant Hel had no choice but to visit the Caramel family personally to obtain a legitimate fake identity.
Might as well squeeze the last bit of value out of the Caramel family.
After taking the certificate and plaque from the duke and storing them in her spatial ring, Hel gave another command:
"Summon all your family members and every transcendent under your authority to Caramel Castle. Make up whatever excuse you want—just don't reveal my presence."
"Yes…" The duke responded, but inwardly he was nearly breaking apart. He didn't want this—yet his body didn't care.
Once the duke left the room, Hel looked toward his two sons.
"You two shouldn't stand idle either. Go help. Make sure you bring everyone at the fifth tier and above."
"Yes."
The two brothers followed their father obediently.
Before long, a large crowd gathered inside the luxurious castle. Behind the duke and his sons came six elderly men, each with distinct demeanors.
They were the true foundation of the Caramel family—the strongest individuals accumulated over hundreds of years. Usually they remained in seclusion, striving to break through to Tier-6, hoping to finally overturn the suppression their family had endured under the royal family for generations.
But today, the duke had forcibly dragged them out. Naturally, they were displeased.
"Lorenzo, do you understand how precious our time is?" complained a still-vigorous old man.
"I don't have many years left if I fail to break into Tier-6," another white-haired elder snapped.
"You'd better have a real reason for calling us here."
Grumbling, the six old men entered the study. But when they saw a girl seated atop the desk, legs crossed, resting her cheek on one hand as if she had been waiting for them…
They froze.
One elder, dressed in refined clothing, immediately darkened.
"Whose child is this? How unruly. Lorenzo, you allow this kind of behavior?"
He glared at the duke. And he was the one most qualified to lecture him—after all, he was the duke's own grandfather.
Normally, his grandson would be flattering him and appeasing his anger. But today…
It was as if the duke hadn't heard him at all.
Before the elder could process this oddity, a sweet feminine voice, carrying the faint scent of lily-of-the-valley, drifted from the girl on the desk:
"Everyone's here? In that case, please proceed to kill yourselves."