I'm a Villain in My Own Game?

The following morning, I found myself standing in a public cemetery.

Before me stood a gravestone bearing the name Sephira. I reached into the pocket of my uniform, took out a pocket watch, and placed it on top of the gravestone.

”I’m sorry.”

The wind blew gently, sending fallen leaves scattered across the ground. For some reason, the quiet atmosphere made me feel strangely at ease.

As someone who loves games as much as I do, I suppose a peaceful, secluded place like this suits me perfectly.

After leaving the cemetery, I walked along the bustling streets of Terragon—the capital of the Empire.

Watching the citizens enthusiastically go about their daily lives, working tirelessly to make a living, made me imagine the suffering they would endure once the Demon Race eventually invaded the Imperial Capital.

I truly had to prepare everything I could to minimize the damage when that invasion occurred.

When I passed through the academy’s front gate, I noticed that the area, which was usually crowded, was unusually quiet.

That was because today was the tenth day of the month.

As a side note, the system used to determine days, months, and years in this world was quite different from the one on Earth.

A month in this world consisted of only thirty days, with twelve months in a year. The tenth, twentieth, and thirtieth days of each month were designated as holidays.

For reference, the current year was 620—the eighth month, the tenth day of the Frankia Calendar.

I made my way toward the academy’s Student Council office, located beside the main academic building.

Why was I going there?

Because I wanted to make a deal with the Student Council President.

They had just finished a meeting with the Discipline Committee regarding the death of an academy student who had been killed by the monster that escaped yesterday.

My goal in making this agreement with the President was to guarantee her full support when I eventually obtained the position I wanted.

I was only one person. No matter how strong I became, I couldn’t be everywhere at once.

That was why I needed trustworthy allies and had to build my own team to prevent the disasters that were coming.

When I arrived at the Student Council office, I saw several members organizing documents scattered across the desks.

I approached one of the students and asked about someone’s whereabouts.

”Do you know where Elena de Aragon is?”

”What do you want with the President, Raul de Garcia?” the student asked in return, his tone cold.

Raul’s reputation must have been terrible enough to make other students cautious whenever they spoke to him.

But I didn’t have time to entertain him.

”This is a noble matter. How dare a lowly commoner like you pry into the affairs of those who govern this country?” I replied, deliberately intimidating him.

The student’s teeth clenched in frustration. He could only ball his fists after being humiliated by my words.

Yet he could do nothing about it.

There would be severe consequences if an ordinary commoner like him attacked a powerful noble such as Raul.

”The President is in the meeting room, Raul.”

A female student wearing glasses suddenly approached the two of us. It seemed she wanted to help her colleague out of the situation.

I merely nodded before leaving them behind and heading toward where Elena was.

When I arrived, I opened the door to the meeting room.

Inside was an incredibly beautiful blonde woman.

Her blue eyes sparkled like diamonds, her skin was as white as snow, and the alluring curves of her body were enough to make any man fall to his knees at the mere sight of her.

She was Elena de Aragon—the Second Daughter of Emperor Phillip de Aragon.

In the future, she would become better known as the Goddess of War of the Empire.

Upon noticing my presence, she glanced in my direction and smiled.

”Isn’t that you, Raul? It’s quite rare to see you here,” Elena said, her tone clearly mocking me.

I frowned, somewhat offended.

Raul was one of the members of the Discipline Committee. He had obtained the position because of his influence as a noble.

However, he never attended any of the committee’s meetings at the Student Council office.

That was why Elena had made that remark.

”I have no idea what you’re talking about, President,” I replied as I sat down in front of Elena without asking for permission.

”Shouldn’t you obtain permission from a noble of higher rank before sitting in front of them, Raul?” she asked. ”Didn’t the House of Garcia teach you proper noble etiquette? It seems they truly don’t care about their heir. As a member of the Imperial Family, I’m beginning to worry about the future of your house.”

Her words were gentle yet razor-sharp, and they irritated me.

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I stared at her coldly in response.

Yet Elena wasn’t intimidated. Her smile only widened, as though she were deliberately provoking me.

Her expression seemed to say:

Are you going to dare speak rudely to an Imperial Princess the way you always do to commoners?

Indeed, Elena’s noble rank was higher than Raul’s.

But that was precisely one of the reasons I had come here.

I wanted to make a deal with her.

”President, academy regulations prohibit students from using their noble status to oppress other students,” I said, protesting her unfair treatment of me.

”But isn’t that exactly what you often do to other students?” she immediately countered. ”Don’t you think it’s time you realized that there is always someone above you?”

Tch. Why does she enjoy irritating me so much?

This was the first time I’d discovered this side of her.

In the game, she mostly interacted with Brian.

”I came here because I wanted to discuss something with you, President,” I said, attempting to change the subject.

It was a little embarrassing to feel irritated simply because I’d lost a battle of words.

Hearing this, the President’s expression became pleased, as though she felt superior to a haughty noble like Raul.

Apparently, dealing some emotional damage to me had improved her mood.

”Very well. What did you want to discuss?”

”I want to become your primary supporter in the succession for the next Leader of the Aragon Empire.”

At my words, Elena looked genuinely shocked.

Her eyes widened as though she couldn’t believe what she’d just heard.

”Eh? What did you say?”

---

[Elena POV]

In this world, men were always the ones given center stage in society.

They were the ones who led nations, occupied important positions, and became heads of their families.

All the glory seemed to belong to them.

And to some extent, it was understandable.

For generations, men had been the ones protecting women from various threats. They fought wars, gathered food to provide for their families, and made the decisions that shaped their households.

Yet this gradually caused women to feel as though their roles in society had been pushed aside.

They were looked down upon, and more often than not, women were treated merely as political tools to accomplish the ambitions of others.

The same was true in the Aragon Empire.

Nobles often regarded women as nothing more than political assets.

However, this paradigm began to change when Queen Isabella de Aragon ruled the nation 250 years ago.

She was an extraordinary woman who became an inspiration not only to the women of Aragon, but also to its men.

Queen Isabella was also the ruler who transformed Aragon into a feared power, elevating its status from a Kingdom to an Empire.

After her death, the status of women in Aragon became more respected.

Women could inherit their families’ titles. They were allowed to hold important positions within the nation. They could even become Knights.

When Queen Isabella ascended the throne after succeeding her older brother, she gave the women of this nation a dream—a dream of achieving something greater.

She gave the women of Aragon the pride they needed so they would never feel inferior to men.

However, as time passed, the Aragon Empire gradually abandoned Queen Isabella’s legacy.

Men once again began occupying most important positions within the nation.

Female Knights were often looked down upon, while noble daughters were frequently treated as nothing more than political tools.

The policies enacted by the government also created an even greater social divide than before, separating the nobility from the common people.

Before long, dissatisfaction spread throughout the nation.

More and more citizens began rebelling and participating in anti-government movements.

I wanted to make this country better.

I wanted to give everyone, regardless of their social status, a dream to pursue and the freedom to achieve it.

That was why I had begun building my influence throughout the Empire, seeking support from nobles who shared the same aspirations as I did.

Yet I had been doing this for two years.

Only one noble had been willing to support me.

That was why Raul de Garcia’s words had shocked me.

He had just declared that he wanted to support me in the upcoming succession for the Imperial throne.

Judging from his expression, he didn’t appear to be joking when he said something so important.

I coughed softly, breaking the awkward atmosphere created by his declaration.

”Erm... Could you repeat what you just said?” I asked, wanting to make sure Raul’s previous statement hadn’t simply been a slip of the tongue.

”I—Raul de Garcia, heir of House Garcia —wish to become a supporter of Elena de Aragon in the succession for the next Emperor,” Raul said, making his declaration perfectly clear this time.

”Did I really have to make it sound that formal, President?”

”N-No. I was simply surprised by such an unexpected request from you.”

I was still struggling to figure out how I should respond to his declaration.

However, Raul surely wouldn’t offer his support for free.

He must have had certain conditions attached to it.

”Then what conditions do you want in exchange for your support?” I asked, clarifying the terms of our agreement.

”First, I want you to appoint me as the new leader of the Discipline Committee,” Raul said, raising one index finger.

I thought about it for a moment before making my decision.

I had run for Student Council President because I wanted to expand my influence among the younger generation of this nation.

I also wanted to reform the academy’s policies so that the social inequality within the Empire would not become even worse.

One of my strategies for achieving that goal was to appoint talented individuals to important positions within the Student Council regardless of their social status.

Appointing Raul, whose credibility and reputation were extremely poor among lower-class students, would be counterproductive to the policies I was trying to establish.

However, with Raul’s support, I could gain an additional twenty-five votes in the upcoming Imperial succession.

”All right. I can appoint you as the Head of the Student Council’s Discipline Committee,” I said, accepting Raul’s first condition.

Hearing my answer, Raul looked satisfied before raising his middle finger, signaling his second condition.

”Second, I want the President to always support and protect me from any actions I take while holding important positions within the Aragon Empire.”

At first glance, Raul’s second condition sounded reasonable.

A supporter naturally expected their candidate to protect them.

But as I had mentioned before, Raul had an awful reputation.

I didn’t want to become responsible for his discriminatory actions or anything else he might do that violated the rules.

”I can’t accept your second condition, Raul,” I replied firmly.

Hearing my rejection, Raul’s expression became confused, like that of a complete fool.

I could only sigh at the sight.

”Why do you look so surprised? Aren’t you aware of your own reputation? If I supported all of your reckless actions, my reputation would fall alongside yours.”

If my reputation became as terrible as Raul’s, how could I possibly gain the support of other nobles?

I couldn’t accept his condition.

However, I couldn’t deny that I needed Raul’s support as the heir of a Duke.

”I won’t do anything that violates the academy’s rules or the laws of the Empire. Isn’t that fair enough?” Raul offered, trying to convince me. ”And you don’t have to reveal that House Garcia has given you their support.”

Well... If those were his conditions, then I supposed there wouldn’t be a problem.

If Raul caused trouble someday, I could still deal with it.

”Very well. I accept all of your conditions, Raul.”

However, there was still one thing that needed to be confirmed.

There had previously been rumors that the Garcia family was very close to the faction of Crown Prince Felix.

Because of this, many nobles assumed that the Garcia family had already pledged their support to him.

”Before we finalize this agreement, do you already have Duke Alvaro’s blessing to offer the House Garcia’s support to me?”

Hearing my question, Raul merely smiled confidently.

”Don’t worry. I’ll meet with my father and convince him.”

---

[Raul POV]

After making the agreement with Elena, I hurried back to my dormitory room.

The reason I had chosen Elena as my ally was because she was a trustworthy character.

Elena was one of the NPCs in *Path of Destiny* who would eventually help Brian—the character played by the Players—after the third chapter.

However, in Chapter Five, Elena would be killed after being betrayed by one of the Empire’s nobles.

Once I reached my dormitory room, I took a sheet of paper and began writing a letter to Raul’s father—Duke Alvaro de Garcia.

I wanted to meet him and discuss the agreement I had made with Elena.

No matter what it took, I had to convince him to support Elena in the upcoming succession for the Imperial throne.

Because it was my father who would eventually betray Elena, leading to her death when the war began.