GASP!
I woke up from what I remembered was a terrible nightmare.
It was still the dead of night, likely a few more hours before the sun's first rays even reached my windows.
Sleeping again would be good, but I have a feeling that would be impossible at this point.
Something felt... odd about everything.
My bed, my body, even the dark silhouettes of the furniture in my room... it looked... unfamiliar?
"I never remembered having a wardrobe at that corner..."
I rubbed my eyes, trying to see if I was seeing things, but no, the dark wardrobe was still there, completely still and real.
Maybe the darkness was getting to me?
"That's odd... did I always have clothes this comfortable?"
I stood up from my bed, navigating the darkness with only my sense of touch as I attempted to find the light switch.
CLICK!
"Ah! There it is!"
Wait...
This isn't my room...
The walls were coated in a brooding black paint, my furniture ornate and carved like what you can find in old palaces. And to top it all off, the light bulb that illuminated the room didn't look like a light bulb.
It looked like some weird amalgamation of steampunk machinery I'd find in sci-fi stories.
Was I still dreaming?
I looked around, trying to find something to confirm if I was still in a dream.
And there it was, a mirror; if there's anything to prove whether this was a dream or not, it would be a mirror.
"The hell's going on?"
I looked at myself.
And that was... certainly not me, quite the opposite, actually, a thousand times more attractive than my original appearance.
I looked like someone from a highly photoshopped picture that was made to look as attractive and brooding as possible.
Black hair, violet eyes, features that could even make a Greek god tremble...
Why does this seem familiar?
"W-What's going on?"
I took a step backward, slipped on the lush carpet, and tumbled toward a nearby ornate desk, my hand brushing against a vase that looked like it was worth more than an entire neighborhood.
CRACK!
The vase fell onto the floor and shattered, but at least I managed to balance myself before I fell as well.
"Am I in trouble?"
tap. tap. tap. tap.
The sounds of footsteps echoed from outside.
Three people? No, dozens, what the hell?
"Lord Noctierre, are you okay!? Should we enter!?"
The voice of a grizzled man yelled out from the outside, and with it, I could hear the faint sound of metal clattering together.
It sounded familiar... was it plate armor?
But more importantly, the name, I swore I heard it somewhere.
Wait...
Lord Noctierre?
As in...
Cassian Severin de Noctierre!?
Is this what I think it is?
"I-im in another world!?"
But that begs the question, how was I transported in the first place?
No... that doesn't matter. I'm already in this mess and in this world; I should focus on the problems at hand before searching for answers beyond my comprehension.
"I-I'm fine."
I said out loud, surprised at how naturally deep my voice was. This really was the body of who I think it is...
The main villain of a romantasy novel, a powerful frontier duke situated on the frontier of the Nimean Empire, and most importantly, one who dies at the end of the story after the main hero succeeds in thwarting my plans.
I was in the body of a generic villain...
"A-Are you sure, my lord?"
Outside, the concerned man asked again, trying to confirm my safety.
But now that I had a very basic grasp of my situation, I could at least answer with more confidence this time.
"It's just a vase; it fell while I was trying to turn on the lights."
"You heard the duke! Get in there and clean the hazard."
The man outside shouted something to another group of people. A moment later, the door opened, and three maids rushed in, immediately kneeling at my feet to clean up the shattered glassware.
"Please take a step back, my lord, the shards are sharp."
A maid concernedly spoke, and I didn't waste time as I moved, watching them clean with practiced efficiency.
Once they finished, they immediately left the room without ceremony, walking past the grizzled man by the doorway.
He was a knight, a huge one at that, wearing full steel plate armor.
Edward Bane, the villain's main general. A tad bit kinder than his master, but is no less loyal to the duke.
"We'll be returning to our post now, my lord."
Edward saluted, before dismissing the other knights that gathered near the door as he closed it shut.
I couldn't help but just sit on the edge of my bed in sheer disbelief.
"This is really happening... huh?"
[...Transmigration Successful...]
[Processing first task]
[Task 1: Meet with the Heroine during the conclave]
- Reward: Complete Physical Copy of the Novel