I Am The Game's Villain

"Ah..." Letting out a tired sigh, I roused my sluggish body out of bed.

I really wish these dreams could become a regular occurrence. I miss her voice, her touch...

It's becoming rather bothersome, to be honest.

I'd give anything to find her, but I have absolutely no leads.

And yet, what's the point of finding her if I can't ensure the safety of this world by ignoring the Games and leaving it to its fate? It would be both pointless and foolish. That's why I have to strive for a happy ending in these final two Games.

Yawning, I made my way to the bathroom. However, I paused when I caught sight of myself in the mirror. My body was lean and athletic, but the scars... they were truly unsightly. The worst among them was the one on my back from Pyres' sunfire.

"What about this one..." I carefully unwrapped the bandage from my left arm. It had healed, somewhat, but there were still faint red marks.

Damn.

She didn't hold back, did she?

[<You should've taken her more seriously>]

"I did take her seriously. She's the Leading Main Heroine, after all."

[<Yet you complained about her being heavy>]

"I don't recall ever saying that!" I retorted, and then proceeded to the bathroom for a shower.

I suppose I should mend things with Mom and my sister.

I don't like being at odds with them.

I want them to pamper me like they usually do.

After the shower, I put on my uniform, slung my bag over my shoulder, and made my way downstairs.

The sight that greeted me in the dining hall was rather astonishing.

Five out of the six seats at the table were already occupied - Mom, my sister, Annabelle, Samara, and... John.

"Seems like hunger takes precedence over family," I grumbled.

John shot a quick glance at me while wolfing down his omelet before resuming his meal with little concern for my remark.

Typical of him.

"Annabelle!" I spread my arms wide, a bit dramatically, really needing a hug right now.

"Papa? I'm eating."

"Ugh…"

Samara, looking a bit perplexed about how to react, was rather endearing. But Mom and Christina didn't even spare me a glance.

After a minute, both Mom and Christina stood up and began to put on their shoes, clearly getting ready to leave the mansion.

"Bye, Anna, Samara," Christina waved in a casual manner, and Mom followed suit.

"Thank you, John, for the discussion," Mother offered a grateful smile to John before departing.

"Huh?"

What on earth just happened?!

Did they all just... abandon me?

Could it be that they're grooming John to become the new heir?

I don't like this eerie feeling of déjà vu.

"May I know what that discussion was about?" I questioned John.

"About you," he replied, cleaning his plate. "We're running late; we need to hurry."

"Yeah, fine. Not like I was eating anything anyway," I scoffed.

"Feeling down, Nyr?" Annabelle's voice reached me as she approached with a concerned look on her face.

I managed to smile and patted her hair affectionately. She's growing up so quickly. "I'm okay now," I assured her before turning my attention to Samara. "Let's get going."

Samara nodded silently and vanished from the room.

"Today's probably going to be just as tiresome as yesterday," John grumbled. It was understandable – the prospect of a second day of school wasn't thrilling for either of us.

"How's your arm?" I inquired, noticing his new bandages on his right arm.

"It's fine, but the next time, you're doing it. I won't accept the drawback again."

"There won't be a next time, though?"

"W-What?!"

I was merely curious and my curiosity has been satisfied.

[<A true brother-in-law.>]

'Indeed.'

"Come on, we're running late," I stated, slipping into my shoes and heading towards my blue car. John followed suit, and we set off for school.

…

…

"Then what was the discussion about?" I probed as we strolled through the academy's garden, making our way towards the school building.

"Your life in Celesta," John's response hit a nerve, making me flinch involuntarily.

"What exactly did you discuss?" I pressed further, my curiosity piqued.

"How much of a mess you were-"

"You utter bastard!" I wasn't particularly eager to share the period of my life between the ages of seven and sixteen. Those years were the epitome of my existence as a third-rate noble.

Is that why they've been avoiding me?

"And how you were despised, ridiculed, excluded, disowned, disregarded, beaten, and almost died countless times. We also discussed the deaths of Aunt Oryanna, Louisa, and Elona," John continued, an air of detachment in his words.

"Are you trying to be my therapist?" I grumbled, this whole conversation felt incredibly awkward.

"No, I'm just saying the things you never told them," John retorted coldly. "Your mother and sister believed that your life in Celesta wasn't as bad as you made it seem with your overly positive stories. But it's precisely because of those stories that they don't understand your reckless behavior and your blasé attitude towards near-death experiences. You saw their reactions yesterday."

"You..." I gazed at John in surprise. "Are you secretly a genius?"

"Fuck off." John gave me his usual cold glare and quickened his pace.

I couldn't help but smile wryly at his retort. "I just wanted to spare them the burden of my messed-up life, but I guess I need them to grasp that situations like what happened yesterday might occur again."

[<You should be more open with your mother and sister. You've kept too many secrets from Elona too.>]

'I know…'

I'm sorry, little sister.

I closed my eyes, my eyes reddening and a pang of sadness hitting me as I thought about Elona.

It's not enough.

Walter Celeste might be dead, but I'm fairly certain that he had another ally. There's no way he could have evaded suspicion for so long without some kind of assistance. That person will also pay with their life, just like Walter.

[<Difficult since you have been banished by the King.>]

That bastard really banished me from the place I grew up.

And in Sancta Vedelia, I'm slowly getting accustomed to it even though it's difficult.

I looked up at the bright sky.

Where do I belong huh…?

Tell me Ephera.

…

…

"Mana Circle Theories... with Professor Priscilla Tepes?" The announcement caught my attention, though the name sounded vaguely familiar.

[<Come on, she's the professor, your sister is assisting her.>]

Oh, right.

It's going to be quite awkward with Christina, who's still mad at me.

Anyway, I wonder if Priscilla was also the professor for the Mana Class Theory in the Game? I couldn't recall such trivial information, but the topic itself intrigued me. Mana Circle Theories, huh?

It's an area I'm not very proficient in, so the class could definitely help me. Those anti-mana bracers might be a blessing in disguise, forcing me to use the surrounding mana and improve my skills. It's a rather practical training, I have to admit.

Entering the designated classroom, I realized it was different from yesterday's History Class. The desks were spaced about two meters apart, and there were no chairs in sight. Everyone was standing behind a desk, conversing with their peers. Thick red books were placed on each table.

After a moment's thought, I chose a table in the third row. Despite that, there was no one sitting in front of me. Most of the students seemed to be clustering in the back. Are we perhaps considered the 'problematic' class?

I placed my bag down and picked up the hefty book, starting to flip through its pages. It didn't take long for my brow to furrow at the complexity of the mana circles. Out of curiosity, I turned to the last pages, but quickly closed it as the information began to give me a headache.

"I should take this one step at a time," I muttered to myself, closing the book and setting it back down.

The classroom's noise level escalated when the well-known quartet of Great Nobles from our class entered. Victor and Selene walked ahead in silence, followed by Cylien and Celeste engaged in animated conversation with serious expressions.

Recalling yesterday's incident, I averted my gaze quickly and put on my model student persona, someone who wouldn't even harm a fly. Last year, I had been far too reckless, getting too involved in the Game. This time, I intend to take a more calculated approach, similar to how John and I intervened yesterday. While I was initially disappointed about not managing to eliminate Nora, after a good night's sleep and some reflection, I realized that the outcome was quite satisfactory.

I mean, it was already amazing that we didn't end up with more serious injuries as Nora clearly held back because of the place we were in. If her identity as a member of [Behemot] leaked out, it would put the King into high alert and he would raise the security of the Horn without doubts. Well, we also held back since we were still in a store with innocent people inside it. In the end, it worked out quite well because we took her by surprise by playing the womanizer.