I Was Reincarnated as the Villain Who Confines the Heroine in an Eroge World, But for Some Reason I'm the One Getting Confined by the Heroine Instead

Chapter 19: A Villain Who Gets Mistaken for a Fellow Villain

Once I leave the shed, I head for the gate.
The guards should be watching it, so I move forward carefully, keeping my footsteps silent.

Luckily, it’s night, and I don’t run into anyone. After passing the fountain, the gate finally comes into view.

“All right, just a little farther.”

The moment I think that—

“…Hm?”

From the shadow of the storehouse beside the gate where the soldiers are standing, someone steps out.
In the moonlight stands a woman in a maid uniform.

“Have I seen her somewhere before?”

I tilt my head at the familiar figure, and for a split second her gaze flicks toward me.

“—!”

I instantly crouch down.

But her eyes have already locked onto me dead-on. I’ve been completely marked.
Without making a single sound, she starts walking straight toward me.

This is bad.

Cold sweat runs down my back as I hide behind the fountain.

Yet I’m apparently in plain sight from her side, because the next moment our eyes meet at point-blank range.

“Ah…”

The instant I see her face, I remember who she is.

“She’s a villain.”

Lavanda.

In the original story, she’s a villain just like Ask.

She’s Safira’s personal maid, but she actually belongs to an assassin organization and is constantly plotting to take Safira’s life—a blatant traitor. A very obvious villain.

In the end, she and the whole organization get wiped out by the protagonist Luxol, nothing more than a stepping-stone villain.

Though in terms of strength and cunning, she’s basically an upgraded version of the original Ask. In villain terms, we’re birds of a feather.

Expressionless, she draws the knife hidden under her skirt and levels it at my throat.
Then, in a threatening tone, she asks,

“What do you mean by ‘villain’?”

“No, that was just me talking to myself.”

“Don’t dodge the question. Answer me. If you stay silent, I won’t guarantee your life.”

There isn’t a single opening in her stance.

In the original story she gave even Luxol a hard time, so fighting her bare-handed would be a terrible idea.
I give up and decide to talk.

“How should I put it… I was just thinking we’re pretty similar.”

“Yes?”

“I exist solely to keep Safira locked up—nothing but a villain. And you’re a villain plotting to assassinate Safira, right? Our positions and roles are exactly the same.”

When I mutter that, her shoulders twitch for a moment.
Her eyes widen slightly, and she asks suspiciously,

“Could it be… you’re one of us?”

“Yeah, one of us.”

“…I thought so. But slipping into the young lady’s inner circle wasn’t part of the plan… No, perhaps Lord Crois did foresee that and sent you. He’s fully capable of it.”

Lavanda starts muttering to herself.

I don’t really understand, but at least she isn’t attacking right away, so I feel a little relieved.
It looks like she’s seriously misunderstood something.

“Then allow me to brief you on the current state of the plan.”

She suddenly starts talking rapidly.

“Three of our comrades have been rendered combat-incapable by someone. They’re not responding to contact either.”

“…Oh?”

“I believe the young lady must have taken them down. However, those three are among the most skilled in the organization. For the current young lady to defeat them instantly without even causing a commotion should be impossible. Do you have any idea what happened?”

“Nope, not a clue.”

The moment she says “three,” the faces of the guys crushed under that door flash through my mind.

But there’s no way those guys were actually elite. Elite members of the organization getting squashed by a door? Impossible.

“I see. If those three are out, this operation is a failure.”

“Guess so.”

I don’t really get it, but if she says so, it’s probably true.

“However, that poses no problem. The real plan is scheduled one month from now.”

“The real one?”

“Yes. Executive Lord Masquerade will visit the Hartz domain. At that time we will kidnap the young lady and have Lord Masquerade personally put an end to her.”

“Ah, got it.”

That’s an event I absolutely can’t ignore either.

In the original story the exact same thing happens, except the one who kidnaps Safira is none other than me—Ask.

In the original, Ask confines Safira, leaving her unable to move, and then Executive Masquerade shows up.

That’s how the plan goes.
In reality, before Masquerade even arrives, Luxol finds the hideout and mercilessly slaughters everyone…

Either way, it’s a major event that will affect my future. I can’t possibly stay indifferent.

“We’ll go over the details another time. If your role is to guide the young lady, the plan will proceed much more smoothly. Let’s coordinate carefully.”

“…Uh, sure.”

“All for the sake of our long-cherished desire.”

“…………”

With those parting words, Lavanda turns and walks toward the mansion.
I watch her back melt into the darkness, and in that moment I make a firm resolution.

“I’m fleeing the country.”

I can’t do this anymore.

Duke’s household, assassin organization, confinement—I’m sick of it all. It’s way too dangerous.
I have only one wish.

I just want to live a slow, peaceful life in a town surrounded by vineyards. That’s all.

And so I decided to escape abroad.

—

Chapter 20: Unforgivable

【Side Safira Hartz】

Again. Thieves have broken into the mansion and attacked once more.

But that doesn’t matter anymore.

Only one thing fills my heart.

“What on earth is going on here?”

I was summoned by my father and headed to his office.

But he wasn’t there.

I waited for a while, yet there was no sign of him coming.

A bad feeling crept over me. Maybe someone had set him up.
Though I thought it impossible, Ask-kun’s face suddenly flashed through my mind.

“Ask-kun!”

He might be in danger.

The moment that thought hit me, my legs were already running.

“Ask-kun!”

I poured magic into my feet and sprinted through the mansion at full speed. I passed several servants along the way, but I didn’t care.

I just ran straight toward him.

“…Huh?”

When I finally reached the shed, I gasped.

An unimaginable sight spread out before me.

“What is this?”

The shed door was shattered, and beneath it three men lay crushed, as if pinned underneath.
They were still breathing, but not one of them moved.

In the center of the door were several small holes that looked like footprints.

“…What happened here?”

My chest felt like it was being crushed by anxiety and dread, yet I cautiously stepped inside the shed.

The moment I did, my eyes landed on sheets stained red with blood. Broken handcuffs lay scattered on the floor. I instantly understood that something terrible had happened.

“Ask-kun?”

I called out, but there was no answer.
Of course there wasn’t—he wasn’t here. No matter where I looked, I couldn’t feel his presence at all.

“Ask-kun!”

I couldn’t hold it in and shouted.

But my unease didn’t fade.

On the contrary, I was so worried about him that my heart felt like it would tear apart.

“Ugh… what the hell, seriously…”

“Thought I was gonna die…”

“…

“Gonna puke…”

When I stepped out of the shed, the men who had been pinned under the door seemed to have regained consciousness. They groaned as they tried to get up.

“…You did this?”

If these three were the ones responsible…

“…Unforgivable.”

There was no way I could forgive them.

They needed to pay with their lives.

But first, there was something I had to confirm.

“…Where is he?”

At my question, all three froze. Then they lifted their faces, eyes turning toward me.

“Who’s ‘he’—wait, the duke’s daughter!?”

In that instant, shock filled their eyes.

“This is our chance.”

“But we can barely move.”