Chapter 1

'Mn...'

A quiet groan escaped his lips as the young man stirred. He blinked, confused by the oppressive darkness around him.

Blink

'Ah... did I... just die? Wait... why? What just happened?' His thoughts swirled in confusion.

'Oh. I remember now... I was hit by a truck while crossing the pedestrian lane.'

"..."

Really? Wow, what a typical "novel" moment. What now? Am I about to transmigrate into some kind of cliché story?

While his thoughts raced, a sudden Bang! startled him.

'Ugh...!'

The pale boy groaned as a sharp pain like a bolt of lightning struck his head. His vision blurred, and the world around him spun wildly.

'Fuck...'

Darkness soon claimed him.

---

'Mn...'

A quiet groan came from the pale silver-haired boy. His ocean-blue eyes fluttered open and slowly adjusted to the soft light, his gaze falling on the intricate Victorian-style ceiling above him.

'Where am I?'

As his senses returned, he tried to sit up, only to feel a strange weight in his body. He glanced around the wide, opulent room-everything screamed luxury, though he couldn't quite make sense of it.

'Is that a chandelier?' He looked up at the grand chandelier hanging overhead, his mind still in a fog.

As he blankly stared at the ceiling, the creaking of a door interrupted his thoughts. A tall young man stepped in-his aura exuded elegance, his features sharp and poised, suggesting someone in his late twenties.

The boy turned his head toward the sound, his gaze locking with the man now standing before him.

'A foreigner?' he thought, quickly scanning the man's features.

"Young master," the man spoke with a deep, hoarse voice that carried an oddly captivating quality.

The boy blinked, confused. "Young master? Who is he calling?"

He looked up at the man, feeling a mix of uncertainty and confusion. Was this him the young master?

It seemed so. His beautiful snow-like eyes blinked slowly as he tried to signal the man that he was utterly lost in the situation.

The man, however, ignored his silent gestures and continued.

"Young master, you have finally awoken from your deep slumber after... falling down the stairs. The lord will be looking for your well-being after you recover, so please, rest assured and relax, young master."

Shiori then realized the familiarity around him, with this appearance, he was sure that he was in a body that was not his. Young master...which young master?

He could barely process what the butler was saying. His mind was a chaotic mess, unable to focus on the man's words.

"Uh... yeah, okay..." Shiori murmured, unable to respond meaningfully. His mind was too scrambled to form any coherent thoughts.

"Then, I shall take my leave, young master. Please rest well."

The butler nodded once before turning to leave. He closed the door gently behind him, followed by a soft rustling of the maids.

'So... what now?'

Shiori took a deep breath, attempting to collect his scattered thoughts. If he remembered correctly... he had died, right?

Let's try to process this.

It had been raining nonstop in the city. He remembered buying groceries, refilling his food stock for the next month. His arms had been weighed down with bags-bags filled with all sorts of things. He hadn't seen the truck coming, and then... it all blurred into the crash.

Wait. He was telling himself he died because of his carelessness? How could he have missed a huge truck? The driver must've been drunk, right? That's the only explanation. There's no way he didn't see that massive thing.

'Ugh...' Shiori ran a hand through his hair, feeling the sting of embarrassment at how he'd met his end. He had been so careless (wearing earphones while crossing the street-it was his fault).

He stared at the unfamiliar room again, feeling a strange sense of disorientation. And then, he noticed the mirror beside his bed.

Who is this guy? he wondered, his reflection staring back at him. The face was youthful, undeniably so-he was clearly a teenager now, not his adult self.

'Wait... this face. This person...'

As memories began to resurface, they fell into place.

Adrelo Le Ven Dierre. The fifth son of the Marquis Dierre. A spoiled, talentless second youngest son, known for being a worthless member of the family. His reputation was tarnished beyond repair, and his name was associated with nothing but disgrace.

The only redeeming feature of Adrelo was his face-smooth, delicate, and pale. His skin was as white as snow (though Shiori found this description a little odd), and he was considered strikingly beautiful... for a villain, at least.

Adrelo's character in the novel was nothing more than that of a villain. He was cunning, malicious, and made the lives of others miserable, especially the female lead. His love for her was obsessive and blind, and in the end, it was this very obsession that led to his downfall.

Shiori felt a pang of sympathy for the character, but he couldn't fully accept the judgment others had placed on him. The male protagonist and the female protagonist only saw him through the lens of their own desires and perspectives. It wasn't fair. Surely, there was more to his story than just being an evil, lovesick villain.

Maybe... just maybe, Adrelo had a tragic past that led him down this dark path. It was often the case with these types of villains-something in their history twisted them into the monsters they became.

The thought made Shiori shiver. He knew that Adrelo's end was not easy-it was brutal. But the details of his death, the way it had been written in the novel... He shuddered just thinking about it.

Still, staring at his reflection, Shiori realized it might not be so bad, living out the life of a villain. Sure, it wasn't ideal, but he'd lived his life freely before. His parents had given him everything he could want, and he had every intention of living life to its fullest.

But now?

His destiny was out of his hands, it seemed. He was stuck here-trapped in the body of a villain.

'Now what should I do with this?'

Shiori thought, scanning his surroundings again. He didn't want to follow the same tragic path as Adrelo. He hoped he could escape that fate.

But would the plot of the story even let him live in peace?

Maybe... he could avoid the story's grand conflict altogether. Perhaps he could stay out of the way of the obsessive characters that had already sealed his fate.

But then again, what if he followed his own route? The "brutal" one? No. Shiori wasn't stupid. He didn't want to die miserably like Adrelo had in the novel. He wouldn't be a lovesick fool either. He would stay out of it.

Besides, he wasn't the main villain. The story could go on without him.

'But... should I recall the other characters?'

He rummaged through his memories again, searching for the names and faces of those who would be part of this world.

'Ah, of course, the princes.'

The First Prince of the Breneille Empire, Azekeian Luxein Geovri Breneille-the heir to the throne. His wealth, status, and power made him the ideal partner for the female lead. It was clear she would end up with him in the end.

Azekeian hated Adrelo, and the hatred only deepened after Adrelo began harassing the female lead. In the end, the prince ordered Adrelo's imprisonment and a brutal, painful death.

Shiori's stomach churned as he remembered the vivid details of Adrelo's torment. But this time, it wouldn't happen to him. He would make sure of it.

'Then there's the Second Prince...'

Luxecio Azekian Geovri Breneille. The intellectual of the family, the second prince was known for his wisdom and talent in magic. He was the brain of the empire, and with his knowledge, he was the future of the Breneille family.

Shiori couldn't help but admire the second prince's quiet grace. Unlike the first prince, Luxecio was gentle and thoughtful-a stark contrast to the psychotic personalities of many other characters in the novel.

The more he thought about the characters, the more Shiori realized: if he wanted to survive in this world, he'd need to tread carefully.

He was also the one who tried to stop his older brother from torturing and assaulting the villain until the very end. Adrelo was supposed to be tortured for six years at most, but he died too early because the second prince tried his best to convince his brother. Of course, the first prince listened to his brother and ended up killing Adrelo earlier than he had planned.

After learning that Adrelo’s body was rotting in prison, the second prince decided to move it and bury it somewhere surrounded by nature. He felt sorry for the villain but also pondered why Adrelo would go to such lengths of evil just for someone he truly loved.

His last words to Adrelo’s body, buried in that quiet spot, were: "I guess love can really make people do things that are unexplainable." After that, he left and never returned to the grave.