Chapter 8 – A Visit from a Former Subordinate

Under a clear sky dotted with white clouds, a sleek, black carriage pulled by four horses stopped at the main entrance of the Nobizel Duke’s mansion.

Gracefully stepping down from the carriage was Marquis Izeal Roydenatel’s eldest son.

He wore a light green jacket and ivory slacks—a fresh outfit suited for the season—and his long, jet-black hair shone in contrast. At the academy, he usually let his hair flow freely without tying it, but today he left the side locks loose and tied the rest back.

The maids lined up behind him, ready to welcome the Roydenatel heir, gasped in admiration at his appearance. His physique, which didn’t look like someone just one year younger than Oryuga, was truly alpha-level impressive.

“Welcome. I’m Bizet Nobizel. It’s an honor to receive Marquis Roydenatel’s heir.”

Bizet, my eldest brother, greeted him first. We all bowed our heads. Among us, Bizet holds the highest rank as duke, and next in rank is Izeal, so we had no choice but to stay bowed until the greetings were complete. Nobles are such a hassle.

“Thank you for allowing me to visit today. I am Izeal Roydenatel. Please remember me. I owe a great deal to Ninreney-senior and Oryuga-senior at the academy. I look forward to working with you.”

When he mentioned Ninreney and me, we slowly lifted our heads and met his eyes. Izeal gave a warm smile.

With greetings done, I decided to guide Izeal around. The older brothers chose not to join the tea meeting—actually, I asked them not to. I was about to share secret information, and it wouldn’t be possible with them there.

Since the weather was nice, we moved to the garden gazebo. The maids quickly prepared the tea and then stepped away, leaving us alone to talk.

“Welcome. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”

His smiling face suddenly turned serious.

“Finally, we can talk. Nobles are exhausting.”

“Agreed.”

At the academy, there were too many eyes around to speak freely. Here, although the maids waited outside the gazebo, they were far enough that they couldn’t overhear us. Speaking indoors would be risky because voices would echo.

“When did you start remembering your past life?”

“Hmm, a few months ago. It happened when Prince Narish called me to the castle and told me I was no longer the top marriage candidate. I was so shocked that I suddenly remembered everything.”

“So it’s pretty recent. That’s why the rumors about Oryuga Nobizel’s bad deeds finally stopped, huh.”

“Huh? Are the rumors really that bad?”

“I thought this place might be like some kind of game or manga. Do you know anything about it?”

I got straight to the point. I needed to know my position in this world.

“Yes, I do.”

“As expected! So, where exactly are we? What am I?”

Izeal said it was a game. He explained it was an Omegaverse BL game starring Ninreney as the main character. There were tons of characters to romance, and I was told I was one of the villainous noble heirs.

“Wait, there are a lot of villain heirs?”

“Yes. You, Oryuga, are one of the villainous noble heirs who block the protagonist from getting close to Prince Narish, Duke Ninreney’s heir, Duke Bizet, and several others.”

“Ohhh. So my brothers are romance targets too? I can understand Ninreney before he remembered his past life, but Bizet is a hardcore brother complex. If he’s a villain heir, does that mean he got punished? Did Oryuga get punished too?”

“So there are lots of romance targets?”

“That’s the nature of this game,” Izeal replied. And it surprised me that I wasn’t the only villain heir. Ninreney must be dealing with all of them. That’s amazing!

There was something I had to ask.

“Al, did you play this game?”

I accidentally called him by his old name, but Izeal didn’t seem to mind. He was drinking his tea casually. He even called me ‘Captain,’ so maybe it was fine.

“Yes, I played it too.”

Really? I don’t remember that at all. I only vaguely recall memories of my past life—just that there was a past life, and that games and books existed, but nothing detailed.

“I don’t remember much.”

He stared intently at me.

“What’s wrong?”

“…You don’t remember?”

“No, not really. I can’t recall my name, gender, what kind of person I was, or why I died.”

I answered honestly. For a moment, Izeal looked pained. Why did he look like that?

“Could it be… I killed you?”

“No, I was the one who killed you.”

I joked, but he answered seriously. Really?

“Did I kill you?”

Izeal nodded. What do I do now? Is he mad at me?

He gave a small laugh—very Izeal. Some memories flickered but weren’t clear. At least his hair wasn’t this long back then.

“Don’t make that face. I don’t hold any grudge. If anything, I’m the one who should be resented.”

He looked troubled and serious. Even though I killed him, he said he was the one who should be blamed? I didn’t understand.

“I’m here today prepared to accept my punishment. I guessed from your calm face that you hadn’t remembered, but it seems I was right.”

What punishment? What happened?

“That was in your past life, right? It doesn’t matter to the current Izeal. I don’t think anyone will punish you.”

Izeal slowly shook his head. His straight black hair swayed in the gentle breeze. The garden was filled with floral scents, but his expression was dark.

“I believe I did something terrible.”

He didn’t back down. I thought hard. I couldn’t punish him if I didn’t even remember what happened.

“Then, how did I die in my past life?”

“You blew up an entire star.”

“A… star?”

I thought about it. In this world, we didn’t have the idea of planets or space. We only knew the sun, moon, and stars in the sky. We hadn’t ventured into outer space. Blowing up a star?

“Did you blow it up?”

“No, you did. I was caught in it and died.”

Wait, doesn’t that make me the villain here? Shouldn’t he be the one resenting me?

Izeal looked down.

“I caused that. So it’s my fault.”

I didn’t remember, but okay. Even after asking that much, nothing came back.

“No way, I don’t remember anything.”

Izeal bit his lip hard. He clenched his fist on the table and looked distressed. Then, suddenly, he looked me straight in the eye, determined.

“If you remember someday and want to punish me, don’t hesitate. Even if you kill me, I won’t mind. But please do it quietly. Right now, I’m a noble with some status. If the Roydenatel and Nobizel houses go to war, it could lead to civil conflict. With your skill, you should be able to handle it without anyone finding out.”

He begged me desperately. I was shocked. What happened in our past lives?

“Can I ask what happened to cause this?”

Izeal kept his pained expression and shook his head.

“If you don’t remember, maybe it’s better you don’t know. You basically launched a self-destruct attack.”

So, if I remember, I might do it again? Then my answer is simple.

“That’s something for the future. I don’t know now, and I can’t punish what I don’t remember.”

The handsome man in front of me looked sad. No sign of the skilled marquis heir I knew.

“I see…”

What should I do?

“Then, please let me stay by your side until you kill me. I’ll be useful, I promise.”

“Huh? But don’t you know my reputation? That won’t help you.”

“I don’t care. I didn’t do anything to shake my resolve. If the Roydenatel heir becomes your ally, it might raise your status.”

He was selling himself. Wait, am I definitely going to kill Izeal?

“Alright, I guess. But I don’t think I’ll kill you.”

I sighed, agreeing, and Izeal’s face lit up with his brightest smile of the day.

From the second floor, our eldest brother Bizet and second brother Ninreney watched the scene below.

Ninreney sighed deeply, trying to calm down the eldest who looked like he might storm in. The prince Narish had warned him strictly at the academy.

“We haven’t confirmed Neiny Rizen as the fiancé yet.”

His deep blue eyes showed no smile. Whether it was Bizet or Prince Narish, I couldn’t understand what they wanted to do with me. I decided I had to be the shield to stop any trouble.

—Ninreney.