The first thing he knew was pain.
A stabbing, fiery shock that shot up his spine. He gasped, eyes wide open. Cold marble beneath his cheek. A knife against his throat.
He was not in his small apartment anymore.No ceiling fan to spin lazily above. No broken bulb to illuminate the room.
Only gold pillars.Red banners.Torches aflame, dancing along a vast throne hall.
At the far end sat a throne of dark stone—twisted, jagged, and draped in black silk.Scores of guards ringed him, blades drawn.Their faces were masks—expressions unreadable.
Then came the click of heels.
She entered.
Silver hair, long.Red eyes.Her robes shimmered. Every movement a dance.
"Rise," she said.
He didn't move—still dazed.
A guard kicked him in the ribs.He gasped and staggered to his knees.
The woman nodded to a robed man beside her.
"Start the ritual."
The priest unfurled a scroll.He began chanting—words strange and old.The air thickened, heavy with incense and static.
But something else stirred inside him.
A voice not from the room. Not from the scroll.
[Binding Detected]External Source: Ritual IncantationInitializing System Response…Linking Target to Host Entity…
[System Override Initiated]
Protocol Type: OBEDIENCE
Status: Forcibly Imposed
Loyalty Threshold: 90%
Disobedience Trigger: Active
Reward Pathway: EXP Enabled
He gasped.
The scroll burst into golden ash.
A crushing weight dropped onto him.His arms trembled.His head lowered—against his will.
Then—clarity.
[You are now bound to: Princess Asthia]
Disobedience will result in pain.
Obey to gain strength.
Class: Bodyguard (Lv. 1)EXP: 0 / 100
She crouched before him, lifting his chin with a finger.
Her voice was gentle. Her face, warm.
"You are mine now," she said. "Obey well, and you'll survive. Disobey… and I'll have fun breaking you."
A shimmer pulsed before his eyes.
[New Command: Obey the Princess]
His legs stirred. He couldn't stop them.She walked. He followed.
The corridors were broad and silent.Stone dragons coiled along the walls. Drifting lights floated above.Servants bowed as they passed.
[Location Unlocked: Serpent Wing – Royal District]
[+5 EXP for Obedience]
[Skill Fragment: Threat Perception Lv. 1]
[Loyalty Sync: 3%]
They entered a velvet-lined chamber.Pillows. Incense. A warm bath.Everything soft, rich—too perfect.
She reclined on a chaise, watching him.
"Do you think I'm pretty?" she asked idly.
His lips moved before he could stop them. "Yes."
[Command Fulfilled: +10 EXP]
[Loyalty Sync: 5%]
She smiled.
"Good," she said. "A man protects what he desires. Keep that in mind."
She walked to the window, fingers crossed behind her back.Outside, the empire sprawled beneath a blood-orange sky.
Then she turned, passing him slowly.Her fingers skimmed the lip of a golden basin, steam rising.
"You can wait outside," she said, not looking back. "I don't need you to watch me bathe."
He didn't respond.
His legs obeyed.
The door shut quietly behind him.
He stood still—finally breathing.
And then—
A wave.
Not magic. Not pain.
Memories.
They poured in like water through a shattered dam.
The boy's name was Reth.Nineteen. Outer city born.No noble blood. No surname.But sharp. Fast. Good-looking enough to turn heads.Too proud for his own good.
The emperor's spies spotted him at a royal festival.Made him an offer:
Bodyguard to Princess Asthia.Power. Prestige. Wealth.
Reth refused.
Said he'd bow to no one. Not even royalty.
He vanished a week later—dragged off by men in black armor.Chains. Dungeons. Screams.
An incense-filled room.Runes.The ritual.
And then—nothing.
Now he was here.In Reth's body.
[Memory Assimilation: 67% Complete]
[Body Synchronization: Stable]→ 30% of Host's combat instincts inherited→ Skill Unlocked: Basic Sword Technique (Lv. 1)
He exhaled, leaning against the stone wall.
So the boy had talent. And pride.Turned down the best offer he'd ever get.Now he was bound.
And this body was his.
He had no choice but to do what Reth refused.
Serve.
A soft chime echoed in his mind.
[Loyalty Sync: 6%]
[Title Pending: "Bound Blade"]
[Side Quest Unlocked: Survive 7 Days Without Triggering Punishment]
The door creaked open.Steam drifted past.
Asthia stepped out, now in a black robe with a gold cord.Her hair was damp. Her skin glowed faintly from the bath's heat.
She glanced at him once, then walked forward.
"Come."
He followed.
Not because he wanted to.
Because he had to.
And deep down, he understood:
This palace. This empire.
This princess.
All of it was dangerous.
But he knew something else, too.
If Reth's pride got him bound...Then his own survival would come from submission—Until he could turn the game around.
He had died.He remembered it clearly—The fall.The crack.The stillness.
And now this.
He followed her silently—yet his mind raced.
Transmigration.Reincarnation.System binding.Obedience protocol.
If someone told him this yesterday, he'd have laughed in their face.
But now?
He knew the story.He'd seen it in late-night isekai shows, webnovels, forums.
Dead on Earth.Woke up in someone else's body.A system imposed.A red-eyed princess who could kill him with a whisper.
It was textbook.
The kind of story he used to lose himself in.
And now... he was trapped inside one.
He swallowed.
His lips were dry.