Chapter 1: As a Villain, I Don’t Want a Bad Ending

“Hurry up, move faster.”

Inside a dim jungle, a middle-aged man was urgently directing his subordinates to load a cage containing a blonde girl onto a carriage.

Once they finished, the middle-aged man spoke respectfully to the youth standing beside him.

“Master Ian, everything is ready. We can depart at any time.”

Hearing the words whispered in his ear, the youth named Ian did not look relieved. Instead, his expression became extremely grim.

Strictly speaking, he was no longer the original Ian, but a normal high school student from Blue Star who had transmigrated here for some inexplicable reason.

‘Ian?’

Hearing that familiar name, Ian pinched his arm to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

‘Isn’t this a character from that yuri game I spent all night playing in my previous life?’

Looking at the scene before him, an unbelievable thought popped into Ian’s mind.

‘I’ve transmigrated?’

The game Ian had played in his previous life was called *Dragon Blood Rose and the Kingdom’s Dream*.

It was a role-playing game that featured yuri themes as its main selling point.

In the game, players took on the role of a Human Race female character named Veronica.

The player would guide her as she traveled across the Faloran Continent, constantly fighting against the Demon Race as a member of humanity until she defeated the Demon God in the grand finale to save the world.

As a game marketed on yuri elements, it naturally featured plenty of pleasant “intimate” plotlines.

But generally, before those scenes could happen, the protagonist usually had to deal with a certain type of cannon-fodder character to fulfill the prerequisites for getting close to the heroines.

Unfortunately, Ian had transmigrated into the body of exactly that kind of villain.

The full name of his character was Ian Saint Yola, the legitimate son of Duke Saint Yola of the Farrah Kingdom.

He was a cannon-fodder villain from the early stages of the game and an utterly loathsome piece of trash.

In the first chapter of the story, he grew jealous of the innate magical talent of Aetherinra, an orphan his father had invested in and raised.

He plotted to sacrifice Aetherinra to the Demon God to eliminate the potential threat.

However, his plan ultimately failed.

He was discovered by the protagonist, Veronica, on the way to the Demon Race’s territory, and he was eventually subjected to her righteous judgment.

Thinking of this, Ian couldn’t help but complain silently.

‘Anyone would have been better than this. Why did I have to transmigrate into the body of a piece of trash like this?’

Shaking his head, Ian looked at the blonde girl who had just been loaded onto the carriage.

She looked a bit familiar.

Wasn’t that Aetherinra?

He had just transmigrated, yet was he already facing his dead end?

No, absolutely not.

He had to stop this from happening!

“Master.”

Hearing the call, Ian pulled himself together and spoke calmly.

“Take me to see Aetherinra.”

“Yes.”

Led by his attendant, Ian walked over to the carriage.

Looking up at the vehicle, he saw a girl with exquisite features and long blonde hair lying inside a cage.

Even though she was currently unconscious, the aura she radiated was still elegant and full of nobility.

One could tell at a glance that she came from a wealthy family.

Looking at the girl fainted before him, Ian already began imagining a hundred different ways he might die.

It wouldn’t just be Veronica’s judgment.

Because of Ian’s incompetence, his father, Duke Saint Yola, had essentially started doting on Aetherinra as if she were his own daughter.

If the Duke found out that Ian had done such a thing, he would likely have to face the consequences.

However, the current priority was to rescue Aetherinra.

Otherwise, he was going to die right now.

“Open the cage.”

“This…”

Hearing Ian’s order, the attendant did not immediately move to open the cage.

Instead, he hesitated.

“Didn’t you hear what I said? Open the cage.”

Ian’s eyes narrowed, and his voice suddenly rose. He continued in a tone that brooked no argument.

“Yes, yes!”

The attendant was startled by the sharp shout and hurried to comply.

Since his death was caused by his attempt to imprison Aetherinra and sacrifice her to the Demon God, then as long as he didn’t let that happen, things would be fine, right?

Ian gave himself a mental thumbs-up for the idea.

However, just as Ian was rejoicing over successfully resolving his bad ending, a voice that was cold to the extreme drifted from behind him.

That voice contained a powerful aura that made Ian freeze in place, unable to move a single inch.

“What are you doing?”

‘Oh no, I totally forgot about her.’

Hearing that somewhat familiar voice, Ian cursed his luck.

The owner of the voice was named Lilian, a cadre from the Demon Race.

She was sent by the Demon God to assist Ian in completing the mission, while simultaneously monitoring him to prevent any subversion.

Having heard that Ian wanted to open the cage, Lilian asked with a darkened expression.

“Are you planning to betray the Demon Race?”

The oppressive aura caused Ian to break out in a cold sweat.

He braced himself against the pressure and spoke slowly.

“Of course not, Lady Lilian. I just wanted to confirm if Aetherinra is truly unconscious.”

“That is not for you to worry about. You only need to do your job.”

With that, Lilian withdrew her aura.

Ian felt as if he had been saved, dropping to one knee as he gasped for breath.

‘Damn it, I actually forgot about this person’s existence. I’m completely no match for her right now!’

In the game, Lilian was a Level 9 powerhouse from the moment she appeared.

It could be said that she stood at the pinnacle of the Faloran Continent.

Meanwhile, Ian’s current strength had only reached the Level 2.

According to the power scale of the Faloran Continent which ranged from Level 1 to Level 9, Lilian could probably kill the current Ian with a single thought.

“Do not do anything unnecessary. Otherwise, it won’t end so easily next time.”

“Yes.”

Ian’s voice was very respectful.

He did not want to be kicked to death by Lilian right then and there.

Right now, Ian just wanted to curse the god who had sent him here.

Even if he had to transmigrate, couldn’t they have picked a better person?

Why did it have to be this scumbag Ian?

Even if he was Ian, why did it have to be right at the moment he was about to get killed?

How was he supposed to play this?

**[Ding! The Otherworld Protagonist System has detected a host. Binding in progress… 3, 2, 1. Binding successful.]**

‘What? The Otherworld Protagonist System? Was there a system like this in the game? Why don’t I remember it?’

‘And aren’t I a villain? Why did I bind with a protagonist system?’

Ian was filled with confusion regarding this suddenly appearing system.

However, now was not the time to care about that.

He could only hope that the system could save him.

**[Ding! Plot development detected: Evil members of the Demon Race are attempting to sacrifice the heroine, Aetherinra, to the Demon God. As the righteous protagonist, how can you stand by and watch?]**

**[System Mission 1: Rescue Aetherinra from the cage.]**

**[Mission Reward: One-time Teleportation Magic Scroll.]**

Hearing this news, Ian’s heart jumped.

He was saved.

In the original story, Veronica also used this item to rescue Aetherinra in front of Lilian.

Furthermore, rescuing Aetherinra from the cage wasn’t difficult at all; it was just a matter of a single sword strike.

But before Ian could be happy for long, another voice from the system sent his mood crashing to rock bottom.

**[Due to the excessive energy consumed while binding to the host, the system is currently unable to issue the reward.]**

**[If the host completes the mission within 6 hours, the reward will be issued in 6 hours.]**

‘Damn it, isn’t this a scam?’

Ian was so angry he wanted to scream.

In 6 hours, they would have already reached the Demon Race border.

He would have been killed by Veronica multiple times by then.

Besides, Lilian was only there to ensure he didn’t switch sides; she didn’t care whether he lived or died.

However, he wasn’t entirely out of options.

If he could stall for just one hour, he might be able to survive.

Thinking of this, Ian felt a spark of confidence reignite.

At least he saw a glimmer of hope.

“Master, what happened to you?”

The attendant who had been about to open the cage came down to check on Ian after seeing his face turn pale from Lilian’s intimidation.

The attendant jumped off the carriage, looked at Lilian who was dressed in a maid uniform behind Ian, and shouted angrily.

“Where did this maid come from? Don’t you know there are some things you shouldn’t know? Get lost!”

“Shut up and go drive the carriage.”

Ian quickly interrupted the attendant, afraid he would annoy Lilian and get them all killed right there.

“Yes, yes.”

Hearing his master say that, the attendant didn’t dare hesitate and quickly jogged to the front of the carriage.

Lilian didn’t bother with the attendant’s disrespect.

For now, she needed the carriage as a disguise to escape human territory.

She raised an eyebrow and spoke calmly to Ian.

“It’s time to leave.”

Even though Ian still wanted to stall for time, he could only helplessly board the carriage toward the Demon Race territory with Lilian.