I Am The Game's Villain

Chapter 598 598: Rodolf Is A Nerd

”Oh? The hell are you all doing here?”

Johnʼs face soured the moment his eyes landed on Rodolf. His brows furrowed, lips pressed into a tight line—he clearly wasnʼt thrilled to see him.

Honestly, he looked like heʼd rather pretend they werenʼt even there. But luck wasnʼt on his side today—because his girlfriend? Yeah, no way she was going to ignore one of her best friends.

”Cylien!” Amelia perked up instantly, practically bouncing over to her. ”What are you doing here? Wait—donʼt tell me. Is this a date? Hm~?” She teased, eyes glinting mischievously.

Cylienʼs gaze darted away as a soft flush colored her cheeks. ”Um… yeah,” she mumbled, clearly flustered. ”Youʼre out too, right?” she added, her eyes sliding toward John with a knowing look.

”Yep! And weʼre not alone either,” Amelia said, stepping to the side like she was revealing a prize on a game show. ”Johnʼs sister is with us. Sheʼs also Amaelʼs girlfriend!”

That caught Cylienʼs attention instantly. Her eyes widened the moment she saw Layla.

”Itʼs a pleasure to meet my brotherʼs friends,” Layla said with graceful poise, offering a small, elegant bow. ”Iʼm Layla Adriana Tarmias.”

Rodolf, standing beside Cylien, looked like someone had just slapped him across the face with a revelation.

”Layla… no way…” He muttered, blinking rapidly.

Yeah. I could already tell exactly where this was going the moment I saw the dumb look on his face.

”That legendary Villainess…” He whispered like he was quoting a line from one of his favorite games.

Hearing his whisper, I grimaced.

Layla tilted her head slightly. ”Hm?”

”N–Nothing,” I blurted quickly, already trying to steer this disaster train off the tracks. ”We were just on our way somewhere. So, well—see you guys!”

John looked more than happy to follow my lead, already stepping after me—until Amelia decided to open her mouth again.

”Wait! Why donʼt you guys just join us?” She said, all cheerful and casual, like this wasnʼt a terrible idea.

John, my guy. Handle your girl, please.

”I donʼt see anything wrong with that,” Cylien said sweetly, clearly delighted by the idea.

I wouldʼve shrugged it off—if not for the ticking time bomb beside her. Rodolf. Or more precisely, Yanis, the little gremlin inside him who liked to scream JRPG lines out loud whenever something anime-worthy happened, even more when Layla was there, a character he must be remembering quite well.

”Sounds fun,” Rodolf said with that annoying grin of his.

Johnʼs expression darkened, and he shot Amelia a look. But when she gently nudged his side, pouting a little, he sighed through gritted teeth and gave in with a reluctant nod.

Pathetic.

I leaned toward Layla and whispered, ”Stick close to me. And for the love of everything sacred, stay away from that guy.”

Rodolfʼs ears twitched. ”Oi, I heard that, you bastard.”

”Glad to know those fluffy ears arenʼt just for show.”

”You wanna go, huh?!”

”Donʼt start it again you two,” Cylien sighed.

”Whatʼs wrong, honey?” Laylaʼs voice pulled me out of my thoughts as she nudged me gently. Her eyes scanned my face. Of course she noticed. It was nearly impossible to keep secrets from her.

”Heʼs got Yanisʼs memories, and Cylien has Marleneʼs ones,” I replied.

She blinked, registering the name. ”Yanis, Marlene… your friends from Earth?”

I nodded, my gaze lingering on Rodolf in the distance. ”Yeah. He was a big fan of your character, actually. So, if he says anything weird or starts acting overly dramatic, just roll with it.”

Layla let out a soft giggle. ”A fan of me? Thatʼs unexpected. I mean… of all characters, why mine?”

To be fair, she had a point. Laylaʼs in-game character wasnʼt exactly a poster child for heroism—more like the exact opposite. She played the role of the cold-hearted villainess after all, the final boss in many routes. But some players… well, they had a taste for the complicated ones.

There were always outliers—like Ephera and Yanis. Ephera, especially, had this strange obsession with women who were mentally unhinged or morally gray. Layla, Myrcella, Maria… all of them had that edge, and Ephera loved it. It was almost funny—almost—considering how much darker their stories had been in the original game.

In that version, Myrcella had lost her entire adoptive family—the Olpheans—after Edward brutally wiped them out. Mariaʼs fate was no kinder. Sheʼd watched Seraphina, the only person she loved, die right in front of her. Compared to that, the current timeline was merciful.

Thankfully, things had played out differently here.

Eventually, the three of us—Layla, Rodolf, and I—had ended up hanging out for a while.

Later, I left Layla chatting with Amelia and Cylien, who were bubbling with curiosity about the outside world. Theyʼd lived their entire lives within the walls of Sancta Vedelia, so of course they bombarded Layla with questions about what lay beyond—different cities, cultures, and all the chaos and beauty of life outside this cloistered kingdom.

Meanwhile, I was with the usual suspects—John and Rodolf. We were shaping up to be a pretty chaotic trio, to say the least.

Rodolf leaned forward with a glint in his eye. ”So? Who were you in your past life?” He asked John point-blank, like he was just asking what he had for breakfast.

”I donʼt need to tell you that,” John replied curtly.

Rodolf blinked. ”What?”

I couldnʼt help but laugh.

”He didnʼt even tell me anything, so good luck getting an answer.” I smirked. ”I barely know anything about his past life either.”

John shot me a flat look. ”Do I know anything about your life?”

Fair enough. I hadnʼt exactly been an open book either.

”Well, I told you about Leon, at least,” I pointed out.

”That was necessary,” he said.

And he was right. I couldnʼt afford to keep Leonʼs existence or his link to me a secret—not from John. Not when Leon could potentially ruin everything.

”Leon? If heʼs really that dangerous, Iʼll need more details,” Rodolf said, shooting me a glance.

Fair enough. Iʼd mentioned Leon here and there—mostly after the war, and always briefly. But I hadnʼt really sat him down and laid out the full picture. Not yet.

”Iʼll tell you everything,” I replied, meeting his eyes with a serious look. ”But right now, heʼs not the one we need to worry about.”

”Fine. For what itʼs worth, I already warned my brothers about a possible threat from Behemoth.” He gave a dry scoff. ”Obviously, they didnʼt believe me.”

”Canʼt say I blame them. Since when have you shown any real concern for your kingdom? That mustʼve freaked them out—ʼWho is this impostor pretending to be Rodolf?ʼ or something,” I said.

”Yeah,” John nodded, deadpan. ”You showing sudden patriotism? Definitely sus.”

”Shut the hell up!” Rodolf snapped, scowling. ”I care way more about my kingdom than you two ever cared about yours. My brothers will raise the defenses—they trust me. So cut the whining and just remind me again: which bastards do I need to keep my eyes on? I kinda forgot.”

He was getting worked up, but I knew it came from a place of real concern. Beneath all his usual bravado, Rodolf did care. He just sucked at showing it properly.

”Just the Behemoth executives,” I said. ”There are three left. And the one leading them… is Braham Moonfang. Your half-brother.”

Rodolfʼs teeth clenched instantly. A muscle twitched in his cheek, and for a second, he didnʼt say anything. Then came the cold mutter: ”That bastard... Heʼs not my brother. Just half-blood trash. He was stripped from the family the moment we found out what he did.”

I didnʼt push. I knew Braham had killed his own parents—Rodolfʼs parents—but the rest of the story was murky at best. Not something Rodolf liked talking about, and I respected that.

”Next is Nikolas Tepes—Duncanʼs brother,” I continued with a sigh. ”Seriously, at this point, Iʼm starting to wonder if thereʼs a single noble House that doesnʼt have a hidden psychopath in it. Olpheans excluded, of course.”

Rodolf glared at me for a second but didnʼt argue. He knew I had a point.

”And the third one... I donʼt even remember her name. She was some rando who got offed early on. Who killed her again?” I asked, looking over at John.

John shrugged lazily. ”Think it was one of the Moonfangs. Maybe that Monarch guy? Honestly, she wasnʼt important enough to track.”

”Jefer Moonfang?” I said after thinking it over. ”I donʼt trust that guy. Rodolf, you might want to keep an eye on that one. Iʼve got a few questions for him myself.”

Rodolf gave a slow nod, eyes narrowing slightly. ”What kind of questions?”

”Connor, obviously,” I said quietly.

I needed answers. What really happened to him? Did Jefer actually kill him?

And if he did... why?

Rodolf didnʼt answer. Just gave me a look that told me everything I needed to know—he had no clue either.

”Itʼs better if youʼre with me when I ask him,” I added, turning to face Rodolf properly. ”Iʼve already pissed off all the noble Houses. I donʼt doubt some of them are just waiting for an excuse to have me thrown out. Having you there might stop things from spiraling.”

He clicked his tongue and nodded. ”Yeah, alright. I need to find out too. If Jeferʼs involved in anything shady, he canʼt stay as Head of House Moonfang. Thatʼs not negotiable.”

I looked at him for a moment. Rodolf was rough around the edges—arrogant, impulsive, dramatic as hell—but when it came to his House, he wasnʼt stupid. He knew the stakes.

And once again I was reminded that he wasnʼt Yanis anymore but the merge of Yanis and Rodolf.

”By the way…” I started, hesitating slightly as my eyes met his.

”What?” He asked, brow raised, sensing something behind my tone.

I thought for a second—about telling him everything. About future Roda, the timeline that might have been, the path she took, what became of her. But the words stalled in my throat.

In the end, I just gave a small, noncommittal shrug and looked away.

”Never mind. Itʼs nothing.”

Now wasnʼt the time to drop that on him. He had enough to deal with. Let him focus on the Behemoth situation. The rest… weʼd deal with when we had to.