Fateful Encounter

Alicia guided Harlan gently down the hastily-paved gravel way, through the back of the expensive property.

Cale had lagged behind on the premise that he was going to "Pick up a few things so they wouldn't get in their way later.''

'Things here are very strange…'

Harlan Jiro — now incarnated as Lughys Fou Barastrosa, a generic, disposable villainous character —, continued walking with quick, elegant steps, ignoring the countless onlookers who stared in his direction.

''.....''

Loneliness was something Harlan was readily used to. Suffering and pain too.

After all, he had dealt with several tragic events in his life and found himself forced to fend for his own from an early age.

But thanks to his mother's teachings, the young man tried harder than anyone else, and so he managed to pass a renowned college in northern Italy.

Even so, many treated him with disdain, often telling him that he had just passed by luck.

Others attacked him directly, telling him that the university was not his place, and that the lad should go back to the pigs' home he had come from.

''But, they be damned.'' The boy used to repeat to himself.

As time passed by, he got used to it; Harlan was no longer impressed by the sneers raining down like torrents on his silhouette.

Hatred and contempt were recurrent throughout his path, even Diana had fired at him, at the end.

But here was the young man, being watched with wonder, hope and happiness.

'Admiration, huh?'

Admiration...

That was a commendable feeling he'd never been graced with in his entire life.

For a second, Harlan felt himself floating on clouds as the euphoric feeling rippled through his new tiny body.

Only to be snapped out of his trance at the sight of a person.

Up ahead, a man with a strong physique stood tall among the mass of people wearing different types of clothes.

He stood out way too much.

Was it some sort of special effect or attribute that important story characters had?

Harlan was delighted, even if he hated The Wheel of Fortune with all his heart.

He just kept silent, taking in the massive figure that was about four times his current size.

''Whoa...''

There was a big difference between playing and seeing the real thing.

Such as the difference between speaking and acting, seen so often in world leaders.

Simply playing was completely different.

Considering the author's exaggerated favoritism towards the main character and her companions, all sorts of adjectives and synonyms for ''good looking'' were added shamelessly.

For the Duke Julius Barastrosa — an extremely important character for the story to proceed smoothly, as he was too helpful when it came to the protagonist — it was no different.

Julius was basically described as a very handsome, skilled, and muscular man — impressively, he was one of the few characters not lacking in the intelligence department.

Something the others constantly compensated with their strength and technique. But that was beside the point now.

His setup wasn't much different from that of other generic popular characters, being very full of all the perks an average person could ask for in a fantasy world.

Despite that, it was just an idea.

A mere description of the thing.

So seeing the real individual could still leave a person, skeptical or not, in awe.

Harlan barely managed not to grunt in envy.

That perfectly sculpted, statue-like face could make any girl faint.

It also made Harlan deeply wonder why the guy's wife, Mariana Barastrosa, later chose to betray him with the demon villain, summoned by her own daughter.

Maybe she had optical or mental problems?

In the back, in a narrower corner of the room, a small girl stood out from the other people around her.

'That... could it be?' The little boy cogitated inwardly.

With his dark blue eyes, which his former caretakers of the Baroness Verlane household tended to compare to rare gems known as "Mermaid's Tears" — gemstones the color of the starry night sky — he fixed his gaze straight ahead.

Looking back at him with defiant eyes was a little girl, just a little over half his height, with beautiful dark black hair streaked with surreal violet hues.

Unlike Harlan, whose hair hung freely at the side of his head, the little girl, on the other side of the room, had small, smooth braids on the sides of her body, which were hidden behind her bangs.

Patiently analyzing her from head to toe, Harlan did not hide his dissatisfaction with the situation in which he found himself.

''He's so cute!'' A maid of the ducal house Barastrosa spoke in the ear of the other person on her side, at the back of the living room.

''I know, he's extremely cute!'' Her friend, also dressed in a housekeeper attire, responded excitedly. ''His puffy cheeks look so soft, even though he's trying to look serious!''

Harlan ignored them without a flinch of hesitation, his dilated pupils fixed completely in the direction of his main target.

"Hmm…" He grunted, realizing that the girl's dark crimson eyes, which looked more like rubies of the highest price, were glued to his.

Sitting confidently at a small wooden table exaggeratedly decorated by the staff at the venue, she was dressed in a dark purple silk dress, with ruffles and tiny, minutely handmade bows.

Her eyes, filled with evident curiosity, darted up and down across the scrawny, underdeveloped figure of poor Harlan.

''Hmf!''

Looking at him, she proudly snorted with disdain, as if watching a mere pig in a stable.

Harlan felt challenged by a child, about 16 years younger than him mentally...

Even though he knew how pathetic that was, he felt irritated…

''She must be about 6 years old by now.'' Harlan stated, bringing up some facts he remembered. ''At least, her appearance dictates that.''

Even though she appeared to be only 5~6 years old, the little girl clearly showed aspects of someone smarter than most teenagers Harlan knew in his very life.

And to make matters worse, almost all the childlike wonder she should have had at that innocent age seemed to be hidden behind a fake angelic smile.

Harlan, unlike the other fools, wouldn't be fooled for a second.

That smile.

That damn smile was worthy of a nasty villainess.

No wonder Harlan felt so uncomfortable in her presence, after all, he would recognize that glance anywhere.

''Jasmine Barastrosa…''

That was the main villainess of the most obnoxious otome game ever created by all mankind!

The same shit game that Harlan was forced to play over and over again for more than 50 days straight, because of his girlfriend!

The cgs, mediocre voice acting, and pay-to-win system still haunted him until that moment...

''.....''

Jasmine Fou Barastrosa, a individual despicable to its soul.

Even though Harlan knew that since she was the main villain of this game, she was kind of obligated to have that sly wacky aura oozing out of her, he still felt sickened.

''To think that things really were like that.''

At first, people got the wrong impression of her.

The girl disguised herself as a gentle, sweet and cheerful personality, making most people feel protective of her — including the main character herself and her other friends.

However, her true personality, later revealed to the world, could only be described as unrecyclable manure.

'Nonetheless, this lucky b*tch was blessed by the heavens... a reliable healer skilled with powerful spells, coveted by almost every church and party in the world, later on...'

Noticing more glances in his direction, Harlan quickly puffed out his chest, trying to act with the confidence worthy of a noble (even though he wasn't a real one, but damn it).

There was no reason for the young man to put himself at risk just to follow the original route of history.

Sentimental people are quite irrational, Harlan knew that better than anyone, he had a lot of experience in that regard.

And anyway, unlike Jasmine who planned to kill everyone she disliked and take the kingdom's power, he just wanted to live his life peacefully.

'I need to get strong and get artifacts as soon as possible...'

A lucky artifact would be the best amulet against bad luck, almost like a four-leaf clover.

Why bother healing when you could be lucky enough to not even get hurt?

Besides, the main factor for everything to work out was to avoid the protagonist at all costs.

As long as he didn't do anything stupid or disrespectful, like fighting a member at Taliyah's party, or offending Jasmine, then Harlan certainly wouldn't be faced with death.

Do not provoke the protagonist and others.

This was essential to staying free… and alive.

But first of all, luck and strength were needed to survive.

As he thought before, he would have to find a way to get abilities or attack artifacts strong enough that he wouldn't die to just anyone.

Lost in thought, Harlan was once again awakened by a bad omen.

'But wait, isn't Lughys' fate certain death, whatever he tries to do?' He remembered.

Harlan stopped in place like a stone statue. Immobile and frozen, viscous sweat trickling down his back.

Alicia looked back, worried, though still very shy, she waved her hands frantically.

While wasting no time, Harlan instantly retracted his gaze, promptly stepping forward as he followed a maid to his new quarters.

"Huh… Sir… I mean, Duke Lughys, are you okay?"

Alicia uttered, running after him at steps too fast for her small, poorly trained legs.

She turned back, giving a slight bow to Julius, Jasmine and the others who were watching them intently, before following the little boy back like an obedient little animal.

It looked silly, but from Harlan's perspective it was pretty cute, to be honest.

Apparently, despite being a knight graduated from a prestigious academy that few had the chance to join, she still maintained a polite and cordial manner.

Or, as was more likely by Harlan's line of thought, it had been Jasmine's bloodshot gaze…

'It's going to be a long night...'