Pain hit me first. A scorching pain in my chest, as if something had pierced me and shredded me from within. I opened my eyes slowly, expecting the ceiling of the old hospital, or at least faces I knew.
But what I saw was nothing familiar.
A ceiling decorated with golden engravings, luxurious walls, a bed draped in silk sheets… this was not my place.
I bolted upright, gasping, my mind in chaos, my breaths uneven. Then my eyes fell on the mirror across the bed.
I stepped closer, slowly… and saw the face.
A face that wasn't mine. Dark hair, piercing blue eyes, a scar running along his neck. This… this is not me.
In a flash, memories flooded my mind. But they weren't mine. They were scenes from a novel I knew well. "Alder Cain"… the secondary villain who rebelled against the imperial family and was executed by child Crown Prince Clarence after years of destruction and blood. His fate was sealed, his life reduced to a footnote.
And now… I am him. I am "Cain". The one who will be executed if I don't follow the story's path.
A terrifying voice whispered inside me:
"If you stray from the path… you will die. Follow the villain's role. Change nothing."
Are you kidding me? Am I really supposed to commit the same crimes? Rebel? Execute children? No… I can't.
I remembered the orphanage… my friend's betrayal… the stab I took… the man who adopted me… I was never evil. I was just a victim.
I rose unsteadily, each step in this new world heavy with fear.
I'm now at the age of high school. Soon, I'm supposed to go to royal training, just like the original body wanted: to become an official knight, protecting the palace, defending the elite—not out of honor, but for wealth and comfort.
But my heart is different. I dream of something else. A Hunter. Someone free, outside the empire's control, saving lives instead of taking them. A Hunter who walks through the shadows, choosing his own path… with a heart that beats for life, not blood.
Yet if I stray from the story… death is certain.
So… I must act. I must walk in his footsteps. I must enter royal training, play the role Cain once wanted… the Palace Knight, defender of the elite, even if it means suppressing all my personal dreams.
I lifted my head and looked into the mirror again. I didn't see just Cain anymore. I saw someone determined to change his fate.
"I'll pretend to be evil… I'll play my role… but I'll rewrite this story, word by word. And if death is my end… then it will be on my terms."
I donned the royal academy uniform, a long dark coat with silver stripes, bearing the crest of the noble Alder family. The servants bowed without daring to meet my eyes.
"Good morning, Lord Kyo."
I nodded lightly, hiding my unease.
Cain—the only adopted son of the Alder family… apparently hated his real name, so he's called "Kyo". Speaking his real name feels like speaking to death itself.
The path to the academy was paved with marble, silent carriages passing by, interrupted only by the soft murmur of a magical fountain in the central square. I didn't see beauty. I saw a trap.
In the original story, this is the beginning... the beginning of his downfall.
At the school gate, the doors opened automatically as I approached. The scent of magic greeted me. Everything here thrived on magic… and I had none.
"Oh? The troublemaker finally shows up?"
A mocking voice pierced my thoughts. I turned and saw a group of noble students, friends of the original body… his sycophants. I forced a faint smile.
"I'm not late. You just woke up too early."
They laughed insincerely, suspicion creeping into their minds. "Has he changed?"
I sat in the elite classroom silently. Magic lessons, martial arts, military strategy… all meaningless to me now. But I took notes.
"I'll use my academic advantage to survive, until I can step away toward my true dream… becoming a Hunter."
But dreams clash with reality. At the end of the day, I was summoned by the academy head:
"Lord Kyo, we know you are the top student, but why this request?"
"Request?"
"You submitted a request to postpone joining royal training… citing your desire to study exploration and civil hunting?"
I froze. I hadn't expected such swift rejection.
"Your personal dreams are insignificant compared to your duties. You will be sent to the Knight Camp this week. No discussion."
I left the office weighed down by frustration. The path this body once walked… but my heart goes another way.
That night, on the palace roof, I stared at the cold moon.
"If I can't change my fate now… I will wait for the right moment."
"I will not let this story end the way they planned."
Before entering my room, I paused at a long mirror. I looked at the noble, handsome face, full of false pride… but it was not me.
My gaze was sad, strange, reaching back to a distant time… a dark orphanage, where no one heard the children's cries.
I touched my chest… old breaths still lingered there.
"This world knows nothing of the real Kyo… I tried to change my fate today… it was futile, I would have killed anyone who tried… why am I so stupid?" I whispered, smirking bitterly.
Then I entered my room and closed the door. I didn't know that as I did, everything had begun to change… that the orphanage I fled had started to return to my life, not as a memory, but as a purpose.
Despite all, I must remain on the villain's path. One wrong move… and it could be my end.
I muttered in a low voice:
"I didn't ask for this chance, but since it was given… I will not repeat his mistakes."