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 2.1: To Avoid the Ruin Flag, I’ll Confine the Heroine Ahead of Schedule

The Hartz ducal territory in the Northern Guild Kingdom where I live is a relatively cool region.

The average temperature stays between 14 and 20 °C all year round. The difference between day and night is sharp, and it hardly ever rains.

Compared to the humid, sticky summers of Japan in my previous life, this place is heaven.

The air is dry and crisp. Even when I swing a wooden sword in the morning, I barely break a sweat.

And…

“This climate is perfect for growing grapes…”

Yes, this land is also famous for producing high-quality wine. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say wine is cheaper than water here.

The river water isn’t safe to drink straight, and purifying it requires magic.

—Let the poor dilute their water with wine.

That saying exists for a reason. This country truly thrives on grape cultivation.

And I’m a huge wine lover.

In my previous life, I was a third-year university student who loved wine so much that I skipped classes to study to become a sommelier.

Drinking wine, feeling its history, living for wine—that was me.

Still, that was just a hobby.

Right now, what I need to think about isn’t vineyards or wine. It’s avoiding my ruin flag.

“The problem is how to handle the heroine confinement event.”

After finishing my wooden-sword swings, I start jogging around the house.

While running at a steady pace on the uneven, unpaved road, I turn the matter over in my head.

The heroine of the original story—Safira Hartz—is the daughter of the Hartz family that rules this territory and the future lord.

But her path was never smooth.

Conspiracy swirled inside the ducal house where she was born.

Her older brothers fell one after another to incurable illnesses and vanished from the stage in the blink of an eye.

By the time the original story begins, Safira is the only one left alive. Having lost all her brothers, she has become deeply suspicious and paranoid.

Extreme distrust of people. She doubts everyone and trusts no one.

That applied to her surroundings as well.

Since she was the only remaining heir, members of the ducal house were always glued to her side.

Security was insanely strict. Get close and you’re instantly done for. Forget contact—you couldn’t even hold a proper conversation.

Confining her in that situation would be impossible.

But now is different.

At ten years old, her brothers are still alive and well, and the ducal house has room to breathe, so Safira should be living like a normal noble daughter.

Security is relatively loose. Getting near her isn’t impossible.

In other words…

“Now is the easiest time to confine her…”

If the story’s compulsion forces me to confine her anyway, doing it now is far better than following the original timeline.

The confinement event in the original game happens after Safira becomes the sole heir, so it causes a huge uproar.

But at ten years old, it probably won’t make that much noise.

Plus, I’m just a ten-year-old kid right now.

Even if I get caught, it could be passed off as childish mischief.

So if I’m going to confine her, it has to be now.

“All right!”

After finishing my run and feeling a light sweat finally break out, I drop and start push-ups.

The real issue is timing, but there is one perfect opportunity.

Safira apparently visits the church once a month to pray.

She leaves the mansion that day to go to the church in the center of the territory, so her guard will inevitably be thinner.

And a ten-year-old like me is allowed to attend services too.

In other words, I can’t let this chance pass.

“I guess I’ll go confine the heroine like the original story says.”

I don’t know if story compulsion actually exists.

It might not. Or deciding to confine her like this might prove that it does.

Either way, if I’m a villain, I just have to act like one.

—And today is that once-a-month church day.

After finishing push-ups and feeling magic power fill my body, I start walking.

Thus, I set off to confine the heroine.

※

The area in front of the church is a little busier than usual.

A single ornate carriage is parked in front of the white stone building. The crest makes it obvious.

—That must be the Hartz family carriage.

I blend in with the worshippers and watch from the shade of a tree.

Even with original-story knowledge, I need to confirm what ten-year-old Safira looks like at least once.

It would be a disaster if I accidentally confined the wrong person.

—All right, she should come out soon.

As I think that, the church doors slowly open.

From beyond the heavy doors, a single girl appears.

“—!”

In one word: golden.

Long hair that sways gently, reflecting the sunlight. Sapphire-blue eyes.

Her face is still childish yet perfectly proportioned, quietly proclaiming that she is the main heroine of the story. She is clearly on another level from everyone around her.

She wears a pure white dress, and every time she walks, her golden hair flows and her presence shines.

A level of perfection unbelievable for a ten-year-old.

There’s no need to check further. That has to be Safira.

“…Hm?”

Two guards walk beside her, one on each side.

But one is yawning, and the other isn’t even wearing a sword at his hip.

They’re completely ignoring her and talking about food stalls.

She’s a duke’s daughter. Why are they so unmotivated?

Safira herself keeps staring far away the whole time—either at the flowers in the flower shop or at the stalls beyond them.

Either way, this is a golden opportunity. No, it’s practically screaming “please kidnap me.”

—All right, let’s go.

I slip through the crowd and walk closer to Safira.