Lucien Ashborne was supposed to be a nobody — an early-game villain who existed only to be crushed by the protagonist. After provoking the wrong person, he vanished from the story without even a dramatic death scene.

When a player named James dies and wakes up in Lucien’s body, he inherits every bit of the villain’s broken reputation and zero of his privileges. Bullied, scorned, and abandoned by his own noble family, Lucien now stands at the bottom of the academy hierarchy.

To make matters worse, the world he knew as a game has no guaranteed happy ending… and the protagonist’s party treats him like a criminal.

But James isn’t the Lucien they think he is.

With fragments of meta-knowledge, a half-broken system that barely works, and a determination to avoid becoming cannon fodder, he chooses a different path.

He doesn’t seek glory.
He just refuses to disappear.

This is the story of a former villain trying to rewrite his role — not as a hero, but as someone who survives on his own terms.

"When are you going to introduce your 'friend' to me?"


"Ok~ Ok, I won't tease you anymore," she said, chuckling behind her hand. "Well~ I never knew you could make such an expression. It's adorable."


I groaned, rubbing my face. I needed to steer this conversation away from my love life before she started planning the wedding venue.


"Anyways, Mother," I asked, regaining my composure. "Why have you visited the capital so suddenly? You usually hate leaving the estate during this season."


"Oh~ It's not something important," she said, waving a fork casually. "It's the opening ceremony of the new theme park, CrystalVale. Countess Seliora Belmont is a close friend of mine. So naturally, I was invited as a VIP guest."


I had read it in the newspaper, but hearing it from her mouth made the danger real. She wasn't just visiting; she was going to be right in the crosshairs of Infernus.


Chapter 74 - D-Day