Chapter 1
Ch.1 The Villain Occupying the Joker’s Ecological Niche Turns Out to Be Myself?
Pain…
It felt as if, after getting drunk, he had been forcibly deprived of sleep for twenty-four hours, while simultaneously being strapped onto a pile driver that vigorously shook his brain into mush.
This was the sensation that assaulted Luo Nan the moment he regained consciousness.
“Am I… not dead?”
Bathed in the dim light of the room, Luo Nan’s vision temporarily cleared. He raised his right hand before his eyes and slowly flexed his long, slender fingers.
“Hss…” A sharp, stabbing pain ripped through his brain again. Luo Nan clutched his head, gritting his teeth. “Is this… my second life?”
After a brief pause to recover, Luo Nan carefully sorted through the memories flooding his mind, separating the two entirely unrelated lives and laying them out side by side.
Luo Nan, a native of Blue Planet, a regular 996 employee at some obscure small company, who—after working late into the night—attempted to rescue a beautiful girl being followed, only to be stabbed to death. Perhaps he died from excessive blood loss…
Luo Nan von Medillion—merely reading the name revealed he belonged to a major aristocratic family. Judging from the memories, he was indeed an infamous, top-tier aristocratic scoundrel whose reputation shook the entire noble circle.
Luo Nan’s own memories were somewhat blurry, but the memories of Luo Nan von Medillion were crystal clear.
It appeared that, under some unknown circumstance, he had awakened the memories of his previous life.
Having temporarily unified his sense of self, he took a deep breath and lifted his head to survey his surroundings.
Subdued gilded accents and deep crimson hues dominated the room’s decor. Luxurious men’s formal attire lay scattered across the dark pine-green velvet sofa. On the side table, an overturned wine bottle continued to drip ruby-red liquid onto the carpet.
In the full-length mirror beside the sofa, a tall, exceptionally handsome black-haired young man stared back at him, their eyes meeting—his deep, dark pupils shimmering like stars.
Who else could this stunningly elegant youth be, if not Luo Nan himself?
He then touched his own bare upper torso and glanced down at the unconscious, disheveled beauty collapsed beside his calf.
Her jade-like shoulder was half-exposed; beneath the deep blue gown, her alluring curves were plainly visible. Crystal high-heeled shoes rested atop the side table, serving as makeshift ‘wine glasses’. The girl’s delicate fragrance mingled with the rich aroma of spilled wine, constantly assaulting Luo Nan’s nostrils.
Indeed, worthy of the ‘debauched aristocratic scoundrel’ persona—he certainly knew how to live lavishly.
Wait! Hold on…
He had lost all memory of how he arrived at this scene or how he ended up in such an intimate situation with the noble young lady slumped unconscious beside his leg.
Luo Nan furrowed his brow, straining to recall the events leading up to this.
He should have been attending a banquet—the Fourth Imperial Princess, Serela, had just returned to the Imperial capital, Opalia, after completing her ‘Heavenly Inspection Tour’. The capital’s nobility had organized a grand homecoming banquet in her honor.
As the eldest son of Duke Medillion, Luo Nan naturally had to attend this ‘young generation’ social event, despite his notorious reputation having already spread far beyond the capital.
Yet, it was undeniable that as long as Luo Nan bore the surname ‘Medillion’, he remained a highly sought-after figure whom countless people in the capital wished to curry favor with.
Ah, Fourth Imperial Princess Serela…
Suddenly, Luo Nan retrieved this name from his previous-life memories—
This was a character from a game he once played, touted as a ‘fantasy epic RPG featuring beautiful girls’. In this ensemble game titled ‘The Shining Myriad Trails’, multiple female protagonists enacted vastly different stories across the continent of Estherya, ultimately converging their destinies in the ‘Final Battle’ chapter to propel the plot toward its climactic conclusion.
And the Fourth Imperial Princess Serela was precisely one of these heroines.
“So… I’ve transmigrated into a game?”
Luo Nan searched his previous-life memories again. It seemed he had indeed transmigrated into ‘The Shining Myriad Trails’.
Or perhaps, more accurately, a character within the game had awakened memories originally belonging to the ‘player’?
Regardless of which scenario was true, it didn’t matter now. What mattered was—
His character was the quintessential villainous young master.
Luo Nan von Medillion, eldest son of Duke Medillion, a prominently featured antagonist in ‘The Shining Myriad Trails’, whose villainous arc spanned multiple heroines—from tormenting the ‘Chosen Hero’, to coveting the ‘Benevolent Imperial Princess’, to becoming a lackey of the ‘Pure White Demon King’, and finally meeting his demise just before the ‘Final Battle’ chapter.
When Luo Nan played this game in his previous life, he had been deeply impressed by this antagonist who shared his name.
Not for any particular reason—anyone with eyes could see that the character ‘Luo Nan’ bore the brunt of the developers’ malice. Roles that should have been distributed among multiple villains were instead piled entirely onto his shoulders.
By the way, ‘Benevolent Imperial Princess’ was the official title bestowed upon the Fourth Imperial Princess Serela within the game.
But thinking about this heroine’s true nature…
“Never mind that for now. I should currently be situated at the debut scene of the villain ‘Luo Nan.’ I remember… this appearance was designed to boost the reputation of another heroine, the ‘Chosen Hero.’”
Luo Nan stood up and carefully examined the unconscious noble girl at his feet. He recalled her identity from his memories: ‘The cherished daughter of Count Anlute, Rose Anlute… Of course, it’s this clichéd plot’.
No need to guess—he was definitely supposed to ‘lose control after drinking’ and force this noble girl into some ‘intimate encounter’, only for the protagonist to make a dazzling entrance at the critical moment and resolve the situation beautifully.
This plot perfectly fit his villainous young master persona while simultaneously creating a dramatic highlight for the ‘Chosen Hero’.
And indeed, his previous-life memories of this plot point confirmed exactly that.
Clichéd, yet effective.
“Although I agree with the narrative purpose of this scene, please… don’t make me the villain…”
Luo Nan massaged his still-throbbing forehead, walked over to the full-length mirror, and stared at the handsome young man reflected within, murmuring to himself: “No, since I’ve awakened memories from my previous life, it proves heaven has not forsaken me—I still have a sliver of hope!”
With that, he closed his eyes and focused intently within his mind: “System, are you there?”
“Elderly mentor residing within me, are you there?”
“If nothing else works, I’ll settle for awakening some extraordinary talent at the moment of crisis.”
“…”
“Nothing… Fine, I’ll investigate later whether any of these exist. Even if they do, they’re too far off to help with my immediate crisis. First, I must figure out how to resolve the current predicament.”
Luo Nan sat back down on the sofa and carefully analyzed his situation: “In the game, the causes and consequences surrounding this plot point were never clearly explained—after all, this scene existed solely to create a highlight moment for the heroine ‘Chosen Hero.’ Why the villain—me, in this case—would behave this way was never given a reasonable explanation…”
As a player in his previous life, he might have overlooked this issue—after all, who would care about the motivations of a mere stepping-stone villain?
But now, having become a living, breathing character within the story, Luo Nan immediately recognized the problem.
Yes, he was a debauched young master—but he wasn’t an idiot.
Given his status, he could simply beckon, and countless noble ladies would eagerly climb into his bed. Why would he resort to force?
Especially since Miss Rose Anlute, daughter of Count Anlute, seemed to actively dislike him.
Moreover, he couldn’t recall at all how he had gone from the banquet hall to this private lounge, alone in a room with her.
“Something’s wrong… profoundly, suspiciously wrong…”
Luo Nan propped up the overturned wine bottle, tasted the lingering alcohol in his mouth, stroked his chin, and continued pondering: “Since I’m not an idiot, this kind of behavior driven purely by base instincts must have been induced by external factors.”
Realizing this, he narrowed his eyes and followed the train of thought: “If I’m not mistaken, in a moment, our protagonist—the ‘Chosen Hero’—will burst in on my ‘misdeed,’ execute justice, and step on me to reach her dramatic highlight.”
“And I, as a result of this incident, will see my reputation plummet to rock bottom, becoming the catalyst for a series of subsequent tragic misfortunes…”
“Indeed, the logical gaps left unfilled in the game are automatically completed by reality.”
He set down the wine bottle, his expression grim. “How ruthless…”
Luo Nan patted his trousers, then glanced at Miss Rose’s gown.
“Good, both are still intact. It seems things haven’t progressed that far yet—there’s still room for maneuvering.”
Tap, tap…
“High heels?”
Luo Nan’s ears twitched as he heard footsteps approaching from outside the door. His heart tightened. “At this timing… she’s here!”
“Damn it, not even giving me time to react?”
“I must strike first!”
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