I Reincarnated as the Villain in an Eroge, But Before I Realized, I Became a Capture Target
Translator: Reo
Editor: PalenMisha
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Luca POV 12 (Part 1)
By the time I realised I had a physical form again, eleven months had passed and it was only a few days until a birthday party would be held in my honour. For a while after that, my brain functioned mostly on instinct – thinking only of food or sleep and before I knew it, I was three years old.
Once my consciousness returned to me, I confirmed all kinds of things and fell into deep thought.
First of all, there were thoughts about myself.
As, for the first time ever, I had been reborn as a baby, there existed a chance that I would have been born as someone else, however, I remained Luca Soleil. My family structure didn’t change either, nor did the faces of those who worked at the castle.
The fact that I went back to infancy was most likely because of Zagan’s soul, right? Because Zagan was there too in that empty space. Could it be? In this loop, was Zagan also reliving his life?
If that were the case, then Zagan might try to change all kinds of stuff on his own. He may try to somehow escape the abuse. However, even if he did run away, the discrimination in Soleil had not changed. Rather, if his memories were intact… he’d remember it all – the abuse from his parents, being thrown out of his home, being discriminated against, the numerous lives that he’d taken. If his hatred towards this kingdom remained, then the first thing he’d do was probably kill his parents who had mistreated him. It was possible that at this very moment he was hatching a plan to kill Sensei and his wife.
I, as someone who repeated time over and over while retaining their memory, knew just how painful that was. Which was why I couldn’t be optimistic and expected the worst.
As I was currently three years old, Zagan would still be at the Brady mansion. I wanted to see him, wanted to somehow change the future that awaited him, but a three-year-old princeling could not leave the castle, and I had no choice but to impatiently wait for time to pass.
There was some good news though. The hero, Lyle, Vice Commander of the royal mages, was well-known within the castle. Which meant that I was able to confirm that he was still alive and unharmed.
Thus, two years passed and my fifth birthday was just around the corner.
As I started being assigned private tutors, Lyle-sensei, just as before, was assigned as my magic teacher. It was probably because I had shown interest in him.
Sensei was as friendly as always and it was hard to imagine that this was the man who had confined Zagan in a basement and abused him. But that was something that had undoubtedly happened.
I wanted to stop him somehow, but I couldn’t just suddenly ask him if he was abusing his child. First of all, Sensei never told me that he had a son, nor did he tell me that this son was a dark attribute user.
I had class three times a week and we’d talk for a bit before the lessons started, but I had to keep in mind that I was currently five years old and that he was carefully hiding the fact that he had a son with the dark attribute. So, even after six months had passed, I couldn’t find a chance to bring it up.
Then towards the end of June—
“Let’s stop here for today. Good work.”
“Thank you, Lyle-sensei. I had a lot of fun in today’s class.” I smiled and expressed my thanks.
Sensei, who had been gathering his books, let out a sigh.
“That smile again. Why don’t you act your age…? I was worried about it and asked around, but everyone I asked was worried about you too. Is everything really ok, Your Highness?”
He was that concerned about someone like me whom he’d only known for half a year that he would ask around about me?
I was happy about his concern, but I didn’t know how to deconstruct this smile. Having repeated the same loop so many times, this smile, a tool to hide my emotions, had been ingrained in me.
“Well, I guess you are someone who’s being called a genius. You understood both the lecture and the contents of today’s class, right? Are you sure you’re five?”
Oops, seems like he’d caught on. Lyle-sensei was a father of two, after all. It was quite hard to fool him.
More importantly, if we continue down this line of conversation, I might be able to ask about Zagan.
“It’s because Sensei is very good at teaching and it was easy to understand.”
“See, a child wouldn’t say something like that. Well, my son is more sensible than Your Highness. Plus he’s so honest and cute.”
“Eh? A son?”
By son he meant Zagan, right? Who would have thought that Sensei would voluntarily start talking about him?
“Speaking of which, it’s my son’s birthday soon. What should I get him this year…?”
“That child, what kind of person is he!?”
“Oh? To think Your Highness would be interested in my son. Aaah, I get it, you wanted a friend to play with, huh?” Sensei made up an excuse all by himself.
I didn’t have any interest in anyone other than Zagan, so I wished he would stop with the delusions. Anyway, I wanted to hear the answer to my question, so I kept looking straight at Sensei.
After his gaze wandered about, lost for a bit, he opened his mouth.
“My son, Ciel, is almost eight years old, but… he’s very weak. Which is why he can’t leave the mansion, and I can’t introduce him to you. Age-wise though he would have been the perfect escort for Your Highness… I apologise.” Sensei lowered his head. His expression, which I could see peeking out the gaps in his red hair, seemed very sad.
It didn’t seem like he was mistreating Zagan, quite the opposite – he’d called him cute. And it seemed like he gave him a birthday present every year. The fact that he was even talking about Zagan in the first place was already a huge change.
As expected, Zagan had changed things by himself.
Was this done consciously, or subconsciously? If he did remember the past, was he truly honest and sweet like Sensei claimed, or was he just looking for a chance to kill him?
I didn’t know what Zagan’s true intentions were, but in the meantime, at least it didn’t seem like Sensei was abusing him.
By the way, Zagan’s real name was Ciel, huh? It was my first time hearing that Zagan was an alias.
“It’s a shame that we can’t meet… Could you at least tell me what his personality is like? What kind of things he likes? I might be able to help you come up with a birthday present.”
“Ah, that’s true.”
So Sensei told me about Zagan as he saw him.
Basically, he said that Zagan was a very good kid – mature and honest, never saying anything selfish. He didn’t smile often, but there was this sparkle in his eyes and when you looked into them, so it was easy to tell what he was thinking. He clearly expressed his opinions, especially when it came to magic tools, something that he was particularly interested in. That he resembled his mother and was cute, and so on and so forth.
Wait, so he was an over-doting parent?
Anyway, based on the information he gave me, it was decided that Zagan’s present would be a magic doll assembly kit and a toolset. If his memories were intact, putting the doll together would probably be a simple task.
I also decided that I would send him a small bouquet of flowers. I would be sending it anonymously though. For the grandson of the king to be sending his first present to a boy whom he’d never met before, it would not only look bad to the public but might also cause problems for Zagan as well.
It was fine as long as Zagan could decorate his room with beautiful flowers. May his heart, from now on, always be at peace.
Around one year and three months after that, in October, the news came that Sensei’s son had passed away.
The Brady mansion hadn’t been destroyed, but, same as before, Sensei was absent for about two months. Then, the next time I saw him at the castle he apologised.
“Sorry. It took me a while to let go of my son. I’m fine now.”
Unlike before, he was cheerful and bright. The sadness was there, but I couldn’t sense any regret from him.
Seeing as he’d returned to the castle in one piece, it also seemed that Sensei and Zagan had parted ways on good terms.
In the game, Zagan was abandoned at the Great Etoile Forest, but… could the current Zagan be there as well? I was worried about him, but if he still had his memories, he would definitely do fine.
Just in case, I wanted to confirm whether he did actually die, but I refrained from asking. Sensei said he had a weak body just to hide the fact that he was a dark attribute user, right? He didn’t actually suffer from a serious ailment, right?
Zagan was the strongest person I knew. He wouldn’t have died so easily. Everything was ok.
Two weeks later, I met Noel [for the first time in this life]. Since nothing had happened to her mother, she was as bright and innocent as ever. On the other hand, her drive to grow stronger was bigger than ever.
“I will become Your Highness’s escort in Nii-sama’s stead! I will become a praiseworthy knight that will make him proud!”
I’d never seen her so gung-ho and I’d never tell anyone, but it kind of overwhelmed me. Furthermore, it seemed that this Noel already knew about Zagan. In previous loops, she wasn’t even aware of the fact that she had a brother. As expected, Zagan had changed things.
If Zagan had his memories, they were probably only memories of the last loop. He’d only learned that he had a sister in the earlier loops, so he must have been surprised to find out he had a sibling. However, Noel truly adored him. To the point where she’d happily talk about him if I casually asked.
She told me how he’d read her picture books, how they’d take naps together, and how he would share his snacks with her. Her words were overflowing with love for him.
I hadn’t done anything, yet so much had changed. If this were to go on, would I be able to witness a future I’d never seen before? Maybe this would be the end of it.
They were such big changes that I couldn’t help but hope.
And, maybe because I wasn’t actually a child on the inside, I noticed significant changes in my surroundings.
Due to the knowledge and experience I’d accumulated over the years, I was labelled a genius, however, those who claimed I was a better fit for the throne were still cornered and silenced. They were threatened that the next time they said anything disrespectful about the royal family, legal action would be taken against them. At times like this, I remembered what Zagan had told me – “If you don’t kill them properly, they’ll come back to bite you.” Which was why I forced those people to kneel and made sure they never showed themselves in front of me again.
Another thing was that I always smiled and never showed my true emotions. Of course, this was also true when I was talking to children my age. I was still fine when they expressed feelings of admiration towards me, but when those feelings turned romantic, I could not help but feel disgusted. I felt like throwing up. So the young ladies that tried to approach me were immobilised through intimidation and then handled with smiles.1
Those who weren’t close to me from the start said I was a cold person, while my family and the people of the castle were worried about me. They’d always ask me just how my heart had grown so heavy or tell me that I should try to enjoy my life more. Especially my brother, who’d invite me to have tea with him in between lessons. He seemed to know about all those nobles who tried to approach me hoping to take advantage, and would always come to check up on me after something had happened.
“Are you ok?” he’d ask with concern and stroke my head.
As always, he was a kind, sharp-eyed, reliable brother. I couldn’t help but respect him.
