Antagonist.
It is a role whose nature is always the opposite of the main character's. It exists to hinder the objective—that's why I don't like it. And the one who plays it is written to be hated, never loved. So it's only natural that I dislike it. In my eyes, the Antagonist is always the bad one.
But, for some reason—life always leads me towards downfall. If life could speak directly to me, maybe it would say, "You are not allowed to be happy, you must suffer."
Because, I can feel it directly—what life says to me.
Right in front of me, two people are seated. One of them stares straight ahead. His body is slightly hunched, his fingers clasped over his thigh. The luxurious clothes he wears contrast with his dark blue eyes, tassels draped behind him.
The other one sits beside him, though a clear distance remains between them. Her posture is upright, her legs stretched out in front of her. She wears a long dress that leaves her shoulders bare. Her straight hair falls to her shoulders, bangs resting over her forehead. Her long, gentle eyes seem inherited by blood, giving her an almost perfect appearance.
I swallowed my saliva. My gaze sharpened towards her.
"..."
But from all that beauty, there is something that makes her like a thorny rose, unapproachable.
That black hair and eyes...
Black.
In my old world, that color was considered directly related to goodness. One example is the black ant, "black ants are better animals than red ants." That is the opinion that many people say.
However, in this world it is clearly different. In fact, that kind of color is directly identical to the role I don't like, the Antagonist.
Now, she seems to be staring back at me, standing behind the chair before her. My feet urge me to step back, but something about her stops me.
My eyes widened.
For some reason, the look in her eyes is different from how she was described in the novel I read. In the story, she always looked down on others, arrogance seeping from her every appearance.
But the gaze she shows me now is clearly different. It seems… a little empty.
...I don't understand.
I don't know what happened that made her like that.
But in the story?
It's impossible that there are small details that I missed in the story.
I took a long breath.
...Calm down myself. Maybe she's hiding her nature right now.
My eyes narrowed.
I have to be careful.
The head butler, Razoru—seemed to peek at the calm atmosphere from the door. From his eyes that slowly narrowed, it made him have to do something.
"...Ahem! Ahem!"
Everyone in the room turned their attention to him, including me.
He took a long breath. His gaze went to the Duke in the chair.
"...Isn't there something that needs to be continued here, sir?"
His face looked calm for a moment, before his eyes widened.
"...You're right, Razoru."
The Duke turned his attention to me.
"...There must be something to continue here."
"..."
The Duke took a short breath, glancing at his daughter beside him for a moment, before turning his gaze back to me.
"...Hey, kid. Introduce you, next to me is my daughter—Reina."
My eyes widened, then narrowed again.
...I know that.
"..."
"And she, as you know, will be the person you serve from now on."
My gaze briefly looked at the person called Reina. I don't know if I can serve her properly. Especially in me, there is a feeling of dislike for her.
...But, in order to survive, I will do everything I can.
I bowed, doing seikeirei.
"...Yes, Duke!"
Immediately after hearing it from me, the Duke's eyes widened for a moment. A thin smile greeted afterwards. The person next to him could only pay attention for a moment, before his eyes fell down.
"...Alright. Since there is nothing else I can say, you may begin exchanging ideas. I will simply watch. I won't interfere."
My gaze shifted to her. She now also seemed to return my attention with that empty gaze. I immediately lowered my gaze.
"..."
Even if I'm told to exchange ideas, what can I say to her?
What I think about her must be related to negative things; her arrogant attitude, her condescending eyes, everything. Memories from the novel related to her kept flowing into my mind. I searched—kept searching for something that could be my good impression of her. One by one I visited the memories. But, after diving into that ocean of memories, I didn't find a single good thing about her.
My gaze deepened. My fingers curled tightly together with my thoughts.
...Should I just be honest about my bad impression of her?
"...Alright," I muttered.
I have to be honest with her.
My eyes looked at her again.
"...My lady—."
"You," she interrupted. Her voice was so flat.
I fell silent instantly. My mouth was unable to speak, other than answering her,
"...Y-yes, My Lady?"
She stared at me for so long. Her empty gaze still made me a little strange. A few seconds passed, before she finally spoke again,
"...Your name. What is your name?"
My eyes widened. For a moment I was silent for a moment.
I don't know what to say. If she asks for my nickname in this world, of course not—wait a minute.
I nodded slightly. I have that name.
I took a short breath. My gaze stared straight at her.
"...My name is '010,' My Lady."
For a moment the atmosphere was silent. Her head tilted slightly. Her forehead furrowed slightly. From the look she gave me now, it was as if she was saying directly to me, "Is there really a name like that?"
A thin smirk appeared at the corner of my lips. Haha! What is her reaction now? Quickly bring out that true nature of yours, and say something harsh like—
"Strange."
The smirk widened on my face.
Haha! As I guessed. Antagonist, just stay—
"Your name is so strange. It must be changed, to be better."
"...Eh?"
My eyes widened. My smirk instantly broke.
What does that mean—?! Or, ah...
My smirk returned, but not as confident as before.
...Maybe what she means is to change my name to a worse term, like 'The Dog', right?
I don't know why I could have such an opinion. But maybe, because in the novel—she is famous for naming other people with inappropriate animal names.
I kept looking at the person in front of me. She still seemed to be tilting her head, looking at me who was standing upright in front of her. Her empty eyes still made me falter.
Her gaze slowly deepened. Accompanied by her mouth that was slightly open.
"...Touji. Your name, Touji."
My eyes instantly widened. My mouth seemed unwilling to open. I don't know what's happening to me now, but this feeling is really, strange.
The Princess who saw me standing still, took a short breath. Her body suddenly rose from the chair, and walked towards the exit calmly. I there couldn't do anything, my body was like it had been locked by reality.
The Princess—Princess Reina—was already at the doorway. For a moment, she looked back at me. Her eyes slowly sharpened, yet still retained that same emptiness.
"...Don't approach me again. And consider the name I gave you our farewell gift."
She turned forward once more. Her hand clenched lightly, her gaze lowering.
"... Because everything always ends up the same," she muttered.
Not long after that, she came out of the doorway. The head butler nor the Duke, did not stop her. Her footsteps echoed on the floor for a moment, before disappearing. I don't know where she went, what is certain is that she will not leave this "Mansion"—she shouldn't.
I who was still inside, for some reason still didn't want to move. Not because of reality anymore, but more towards myself. My hands clenched tightly. My eyes were downcast, with some brown hair covering half of my face. The corner of my lip was bitten tightly. My body trembled slightly, almost invisible.
...I didn't expect it to end like this.
The bite at the corner of my lip and the clenching of my hands began to loosen. The tremor in my body slowly disappeared.
But, still I have to serve her as a servant.
I took a long breath. My gaze returned to the front.
...Because, if I don't serve her as the task given... My chance to survive, will be lost.
And that is the same as death.
"..."
Somehow, from there—I believed that my task had started from now on. A very big task that I will always carry everywhere. A task that is perhaps as heavy as the job in my old world. The job of serving someone I don't like. That is, to become the Antagonist's servant.
A faint smile curved my lips. ...For some reason, I can't wait for this journey.