A glimmer of light pulled me from my sleep.
Slowly opening my eyes, I saw the faint silhouette of a brown-haired woman drawing open the curtains by the window.
"Good morning, Young Master Raul," the woman said with a gentle smile. "Did you sleep well?"
If I remembered correctly, she was the servant assigned exclusively to Raul during his studies at Grunbelt Academy. High-ranking nobles like Raul were permitted to bring a personal servant roughly their own age to the academy.
These servants would attend regular classes and were given a special permit card that allowed them access to the dormitories reserved for nobles.
"What time is it, Sephira?" I asked as I rose from the bed.
Sephira took a pocket watch from the pocket of her uniform. If I recalled correctly, it was a gift Raul had given her when she passed the selection to become his servant at the academy.
"It's 6:30 a.m., Young Master. Classes will begin in an hour," Sephira replied.
She then walked over to my bed and began tidying it.
"The warm bath is ready if you would like to freshen up."
Walking into the bathroom, I removed my clothes and sank into the tub of hot water Sephira had prepared.
Closing my eyes, I recalled everything that had happened yesterday.
I had suddenly entered the body of Raul de Garcia and ended up sparring with Brian—the very event that marked the beginning of the game Path of Destiny.
From what I had learned so far, the original Raul's emotions still lingered within this body. That meant some of my actions could be influenced by Raul's lingering feelings—both good and bad.
Raul de Garcia was the main antagonist of Chapter Three, an event that would occur at the end of the third academic year.
Which meant that if I managed to survive past that point, the story route would deviate drastically from what was originally supposed to happen.
Let's see… how can I avoid dying before that day arrives?
Most of Raul's death flags were triggered by his interactions with Brian and Ariel. Should I simply keep my distance from the two of them until graduation?
Alright. I'll start doing exactly that from now on.
"Next, I need to increase my influence within the Empire."
If my influence in this country grew, I could prepare something against the Demon Race invasion that would occur in the future. I needed to start preparing now so that my chances of survival would be greater when that disaster finally arrived.
Aside from influence, I also needed to strengthen my own power in case I ended up in a desperate situation.
After all, when it comes to life and death, relying on yourself is far more reliable than entrusting your life to someone else.
In that case, I would need to make use of my Blessing—Villain Destiny.
However, that Blessing only became effective if many people hated me.
That was a problem. If too many people hated me, it could trigger new death flags that I might not be able to anticipate.
"…Perhaps I should make sure that the hatred directed at me only comes from weak people who pose no real threat?"
After soaking in the hot water for a few minutes and cleaning myself, I stepped out of the bath and put on my academy uniform.
Not long after, Sephira returned to the room carrying various dishes for breakfast so I could start the day with more energy.
"Today's breakfast, as usual: eggs Benedict, jasmine tea, and assorted fruits," Sephira said as she placed the tray on the table.
"Please enjoy your meal, Young Master."
She bowed slightly and turned to leave the room.
"Join me for breakfast, Sephira," I said, stopping her before she could leave.
There were several things I wanted to ask her about the current state of this world.
Even though I was the one who created the game, there were plenty of details about the world that I didn't fully remember—especially about Raul's character, who wasn't described in much detail since the game focused mainly on the protagonist and his heroines.
"With pleasure," she replied with a smile.
While eating my breakfast, I asked her various questions about Raul's life and habits.
In the game, players only ever saw Raul during major story events.
For instance, Raul had a habit of associating with nobles from Prince Felix's faction—the first son of Emperor Philip de Aragon.
The Empire used an elective succession system, where the nobles across the Empire voted for one member of the imperial family to determine who would become the next ruler of the Aragon Empire.
"Oh, I just remembered something, Young Master," Sephira said. "A mysterious person asked me to deliver this letter to you."
She handed me a sealed letter.
I opened it and read the message inside.
Young Master Raul,
I have secured professional assassins and instructed them to eliminate the target you specified during the upcoming survival exam.
Wait a minute…
An order to kill?
Did Raul hire assassins before the main story even began?
Thinking back, during the survival exam, Brian's group was attacked by an unknown group.
Could it be that Raul was the one who hired them to kill Brian?
During that incident, several students were injured—and two even died because of the mysterious attackers.
If that was the case… which assassin group had Raul hired?
"Sephira, do you know what the person who gave you this letter looked like?" I asked, trying to gather information about the assassins Raul had hired.
"I'm sorry, Young Master," Sephira replied apologetically. "The person who approached me was wearing a mask, so I couldn't identify them."
"Don't worry about it, Sephira," I said, trying to reassure her.
Seeing her lower her head, something suddenly came back to me.
If I wasn't mistaken, there was an event where Brian saved Sephira from a monster that escaped into the academy grounds today.
The creature had broken free from the academy's research facility while the mages were conducting experiments on it.
It later spotted Sephira walking alone and attempted to attack her.
Fortunately, Brian—who happened to be nearby—heard her scream and rushed over to save her.
After that incident, Brian grew closer to Sephira.
If I remembered correctly, she eventually switched sides and became Brian's personal servant when Raul's cruel personality began to worsen.
"Sephira, how is your younger brother doing as a student at the academy?" I asked.
Sephira had a younger brother who had successfully enrolled as a first-year student at Grunbelt Academy.
However, unlike Sephira—whose education was funded by the Garcia family—her brother relied on Sephira's wages as a servant to pay for his studies.
"Ah, Roland has been very enthusiastic lately," Sephira replied cheerfully. "He said he's currently learning Temper magic."
Sephira was a kind woman. She was disciplined, hardworking, and never complained—even when Raul treated her harshly.
Perhaps being close to Brian would make her safer if danger ever threatened the academy.
After finishing breakfast, Sephira and I headed toward the academy building to begin our lessons.
At exactly eight in the morning, inside the elite classroom, I attended an intermediate magic class taught by Master Ignacia de Rubicon.
Magic was a mysterious phenomenon created by the manipulation of mana.
Everyone possessed mana, but the amount varied from person to person.
Students with large mana capacities typically became mages, while those with lower mana capacity tended to pursue the path of a knight.
Those with low mana compensated for their shortcomings by combining magic with martial combat skills, allowing them to keep up with those who possessed large amounts of mana.
Well… except for Brian, who had Infinite Mana thanks to one of his Blessings—Fated Hero.
"Does anyone know why not everyone with mana can use healing magic?" Master Ignacia asked.
She herself was a Priestess of the Temple of Goddess Diana.
In this world, the teachings of Goddess Diana were the most widely practiced faith across many nations.
The Temple of Diana was one of the most influential organizations in the world. They could even threaten an entire nation if it was proven that heresy had occurred there.
A green-haired girl wearing a witch's hat raised her hand.
"That's because only those who possess Divine magic can use healing magic," she said.
She was Valeria de Artagnan—one of the five main heroines that Brian could romance in Path of Destiny.
By the end of the game, she possessed the highest Intelligence stat of any character.
In fact, I had intentionally designed it so that players would struggle to surpass Valeria's Intelligence stat, just to make the game more interesting.
"Correct! Ten points for you, Valeria," Master Ignacia said happily.
At the academy, a point system determined the overall ranking of students.
For reference, Raul currently ranked 9th among second-year students and 40th overall at Grunbelt Academy.
Knight-track students who ranked in the top ten at graduation would automatically be recruited into the Knight Order of Calvatra, the strongest knight order in the Aragon Empire.
Meanwhile, the top ten mage graduates would be assigned to the Magic Tower of Castille, one of the most magnificent magic towers in the world.
After class ended, I headed to the academy library to devise a plan for surviving in Raul's body until graduation.
I tried to recall the important events that would occur and wrote them down in a notebook.
The nearest major event was the Survival Exam—one of the four major events in Chapter One of Path of Destiny.
"Everyone, please return to your respective dormitories immediately!"
The library visitors were suddenly startled by the librarian's shout.
"A murder has occurred on academy grounds! Everyone must leave and return to their dormitories!"
A murder?
What exactly happened?
Did that escaped monster attack another student besides Sephira?
Thinking about it, I hurried out of the library.
Students were running away from the direction of the garden.
Ignoring the danger, I rushed toward the garden to see what had happened.
When I arrived, I saw a woman lying on the ground near a gazebo in the garden.
I approached the body.
Her eyes were open like those of a corpse.
Reddish-brown hair was matted with blood.
Two large wounds marked her neck.
Those wounds were clearly the cause of her death.
"How… is this possible?"
My body froze as I stared at the corpse of the woman I had spoken with just this morning.
Yes…
The victim of the murder was—
Sephira.
The personal servant of Raul de Garcia.