I Am The Game's Villain

Chapter 793: Milleia Sophren SS

MILLEIA

I believe that everyone is born to accomplish something in life.

It does not have to be something grand in the eyes of the whole world. Sometimes it is enough to leave a mark on a single person, to change one life, to become a memory that remains after you are gone. But whether that impact is small or great, I have always believed it must happen. A life could not simply pass through the world without leaving anything behind.

And if what you leave behind is not only in the hearts of others, but in the world itself, then that is even better.

My father used to say that often.

He worked hard every day to provide for us, and because of that, our home was a happy one. We were not rich, and yet I never felt deprived of anything. I had my father, my mother, and the simple peace of our village, and for a long time I thought that was all I would ever need. I never dreamed of leaving. I never wished to go anywhere else. I was happy where I was, with the two people I loved most beside me.

And as for what I wanted to accomplish in life, it was something very simple.

I wanted to make my father and mother happy.

That was enough for me.

And when I grew older, I wanted to protect them, to watch over them the way they had always watched over me. They were good people. Kind people. The sort who never wished harm on anyone and who deserved, if there was any justice in the world at all, a life filled only with peace and happiness.

But then my father died.

And I cried.

I cried so much that it felt as though there would never be anything left inside me. I refused to accept it. Even now, when I think back on that time, I remember the confusion as much as the pain. Why had my father died? Why him? He had been kind to us, kind to everyone in the village. He had harmed no one. He had made me a promise, such a small and ordinary promise, that he would take me to the nearby town one day, that we would visit it together, that he would buy me a gift there.

And yet he died before any of that could happen.

For what?

At the hands of brigands.

Cultists of Ante-Eden.

He died for nothing.

He died even though he had done nothing wrong.

So I cried again.

My mother cried too.

And seeing her cry only made my own grief worse, because it made the loss real in a way nothing else could. It was not only that my father was gone. It was that the world had been cruel enough to take someone good from us and leave only sorrow behind.

Still, I did not break.

Or perhaps I did, but not in a way that left me unable to keep moving.

Because Raphiel was there.

She protected me.

She loved me.

She believed in me.

She counted on me.

And because of that, I found something to hold on to. I began to believe that if I stayed by her side, if I helped her, then perhaps the world could become better than it was now. Less violent. Less cruel. A world where the evil of Ante-Eden could be torn out by the root. A world where bloodshed would no longer take good people away from their families. A world where no more little girls like me would have to lose their kind fathers to senseless violence.

That was why Raphiel chose me.

At least, that is what I came to believe.

She chose me because I understood both kindness and loss. Because I knew what it meant to be loved, and I knew what it meant to have that love ripped away. Because I knew the pain of grief, and because of that, I would never forget why peace mattered.

So I had to become stronger.

I had to become someone worthy of her faith.

I wanted to make Raphiel proud.

I did not want to leave the village. I did not want to leave my mother behind, especially not when she was already frail and sick. Every part of me that was still only a daughter wanted to remain there beside her. But another part of me understood that I could not.

Because by then, I believed I understood what I had been born to accomplish.

What I had been meant to do.

I was Raphiel’s Daughter.

Raphiel, the Holy and Supreme Goddess, who loved us more than anything, just as Eden did. If I walked the path laid before me, then neither of them would abandon me. Raphiel would watch over me. Eden would protect me. And with their light beside me, I would be able to fulfill the role that had been entrusted to me.

That was why the Royal Eden Academy, in the capital, felt like the perfect place to begin.

I was nervous, yes, but I was happy too. Excited, even. I thought of the friends I might make there, of the strength I would gain, of the future opening before me. To me, it did not feel like the beginning of hardship. It felt like the beginning of the world we all wished for, Raphiel’s world, Eden’s world, and mine as well.

A world without violence.

A world without Ante-Eden.

A world without evil.

A world where nothing would remain that could threaten peace, kindness, and love.

And then I met the first person who could truly help me make that world real.

Jayden.

The Apostle of Lord Lumen.

I was so happy when I met him and realized that he was kind, attentive, and sincere. There was something reassuring in his presence, something gentle that made it easy to trust him. Becoming friends with him felt like a blessing, because for the first time, I felt I was no longer carrying that dream alone.

I knew Jayden would stand beside me to protect our world.

But two people were not enough.

Not for something so large.

Not for something so necessary.

The world was corrupted far more deeply than most people wished to admit, and if it was ever going to be saved, then others had to understand that too. They had to see how much darkness had already spread, how much violence and selfishness had infected everything. We did not have endless time to wait for people to open their eyes on their own.

Perhaps it would have been easier to rely on my status as the Daughter of Raphiel.

Perhaps I could have used that name, that authority, that sacred place I held, to make people listen to me more quickly. But I did not want that. I did not want others to stand beside me merely because of who I was said to be. I did not want obedience. I wanted understanding. I wanted friendship. I wanted true allies, people of good heart who would choose this path because they believed in it, not because they felt compelled.

If they were truly my friends, then they would understand.

Jayden already had that kindness in him. He understood, and I believed that with time he would understand even more.

Then there was His Highness Alfred.

He too was kind, and I was really happy to become friends with him. At first, I had been frightened of him. How could I not be? He was a prince, and I was only a commoner. But he accepted me anyway, and that acceptance meant more to me than he probably realized.

I wanted to believe he would become a good king.

No, more than that, I needed to believe it.

He was the future King of Celesta, the kingdom of Lord Michael. If Celesta became strong and righteous, then it could become a pillar of Eden’s world, the great center from which order, peace, and guidance might spread. I wanted my own kingdom to change first, because I believed that if we could transform what stood closest to us, then one day we might reach far enough to change the rest of the world as well.

And I truly believed we could do it.

Together.

All of us as believers of Raphiel and Eden.

If we stood side by side, if our faith and purpose remained one, then we could make that future real.

And yet, among all the people I wished to have beside me, the one I wanted most was Edward.

Later, I came to understand that I had actually met him sooner than I first realized, but that only convinced me even more that Edward was meant to stand at my side.

Because Edward was a hero.

He saved those children on that first day.

He saved my mother too.

Even Ceatha accepted him, Ceatha, who was never careless with whom she allowed near her, let him touch her without resistance. That alone felt meaningful to me. It felt like proof of something I had already begun to believe.

Edward could only be kind.

Only good-hearted.

Whether he stood before me as Edward, or under the disguise of Nyrel, he had always been attentive to me, always kind in the moments that mattered, and he had helped both Jayden and me many times. People misunderstood him. They always had, and many of them still did. They judged what they saw too quickly, mistook sharpness for cruelty, distance for malice, wounds for wickedness.

But I knew Edward.

I knew Edward was a good person.

I knew he was kind.

Whenever I was with him, I felt safe.

And when he was not by my side, it felt as though something was missing from me, as though some part of my peace had gone with him, leaving behind an ache I could not fully ignore. That feeling only became worse after Layla started growing closer to him.

Even though I had become Edward’s friend first, I could not stop that pain from rising in me.

Still, I believed in him.

No, I believed in us.

I was certain Edward would understand me one day. I was certain he would accept me.

That is why it hurt me to hide things from him.

I did feel guilty for that. I felt sad each time I kept something back, each time I chose silence over truth. But even so, I told myself he would understand my reasons when the time came. He would understand why I had done it. I had hidden those things to protect him, yes, but also to protect myself.

Because I was afraid.

Afraid that if I revealed everything too soon, Edward would pull away from me.

And I knew, deep in my heart, that I would not have been able to bear that.

It hurt me, Edward, when you looked at me with such wariness that day, after I finally revealed myself to you.

I had known that would be your reaction. I had prepared myself for it. I had told myself over and over that I should expect distance, caution, even suspicion. And yet, even knowing all that, it still hurt. It hurt more than I wanted to admit, because no amount of preparation could dull the pain of seeing you look at me as though I were someone to fear.

And then Layla arrived.

The moment she came, your expression changed. It softened so easily for her, so naturally, as though that warmth had always belonged to her and would never be offered to anyone else in the same way. And seeing that hurt me even more.

Then she kissed you.

And that hurt worst of all.

Later, when I saw the two of you sitting together in the garden, side by side, looking so close, so at ease with one another, something inside me twisted so sharply that I could not bear it. I felt that pain so deeply that I cried.

Why were you looking at her like that?

Why did your eyes become so gentle for her, but never in the same way for me?

I was with you first, Edward.

Wasn’t I?

Layla is not good for you.

I know that in my heart. She refused Raphiel’s help. She refused her power. How could someone reject such grace, such divine guidance, and still claim to be good? Someone who turned away from that light could only be walking toward darkness, whether she admitted it or not.

And I could not allow her to lead you there with her.

I wanted to save you, Edward.

No, I needed to save you.

I needed to pull you away from Layla and bring you back to the side where you truly belonged: beside me, beside Jayden, beside Alfred, beneath the light of Raphiel and Eden. That was your place. That was always your place. You were never meant to drift among the lost and the faithless. You were meant for something greater.

You are a prince.

You are a hero.

And more than anyone else, I need you beside me.

I want you to remain at my side so that together we can fight for this world the way we were meant to. And if danger comes, if pain comes, if darkness reaches for you, then I will be there. I will protect you, Edward. I will not let anything take you away if I can still stand in its path.

Elona was kind.

She truly was.

And yet she still died because of Ante-Eden. Should that not have made the truth clear by now? Should that not have shown you, once and for all, what must be fought and what cannot be allowed to remain in this world?

Even so, whatever has happened, whatever you have lost, I will always be here for you.

I will comfort you.

I will give you the kindness and love that Layla never could.

And when you left for Sancta Vedelia, I felt such a strong urge to follow you that it almost consumed me. Every part of me wanted to go after you, to stay near you, to make sure no one else could take my place at your side. But I knew I had duties in Celesta, duties I could not abandon so lightly. So I endured it. I remained where I was supposed to remain.

Because I knew we would meet again.

And that certainty was enough to make me patient.

I will hold onto it.

I will wait for the day when we would see one another again, when the distance between us would finally end, and when at last we could be together the way we were always meant to be.