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 7: It’s Weird How Often I Lock Eyes with the Duke’s Daughter

Chapter 7: It’s Weird How Often I Lock Eyes with the Duke’s Daughter

Since it was the first day of school, the afternoon ended with nothing but explanations about what comes next.

After that, some students would train, some would chat with classmates, and others would throw themselves into clubs or hobbies.

A time when everyone spends the hours however they like.

In the original story, this would be the moment the protagonist meets the saintess—one of the heroines—and an incident on campus gets resolved.

Of course, that has nothing to do with me.

As the villain who exists only to imprison the heroines, I have no plans to cause trouble at this academy, and I have no goals here either.

The only thing I have is my love for wine.

That’s why, the instant classes ended, I came straight to the library and started devouring every book related to wine.

But it seemed I wasn’t allowed even a quiet, peaceful moment.

“Our eyes met again.”

I glanced up and, sure enough, a certain duke’s daughter was sitting there as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

—Does the duke’s daughter have nothing better to do?

The original story is told from the protagonist’s point of view, so I have no idea what she usually does. Aside from training and studying hard, the rest is a complete mystery.

Yet she definitely shouldn’t have been free enough to stare at me the whole time I’m reading.

Even so, Safira rested her cheek on her hand and, every time our eyes met, her face lit up with a happy little smile.

—This is awkward.

When someone is watching you, every little thing you do feels weighed down by their gaze. I can’t help but be hyper-aware of her presence.

“Um…”

“What is it?”

“Do you… usually read books, Safira?”

“I don’t. I read textbooks, though.”

“So, any other hobbies?”

“None. I spend all my free time training.”

“I-I see. You’re really serious, huh.”

“Not as serious as you, Ask-kun.”

“…………”

“…………”

Silence fell.

I only asked because the awkwardness was killing me, but it somehow got even worse.

When every question gets a short, straight answer, the conversation dies fast. My communication skills are trash, but she’s pretty bad too.

“You don’t need to worry about me. Tell me about you, Ask-kun.”

“Me? I’m just a normal commoner.”

“I want to know how you were born and how you’ve lived until now.”

“O-okay…”

“In detail.”

Introducing yourself to someone you’ve only just met.

In that sense, it’s the right topic, but every word feels strangely heavy.

“Tell me everything.”

Safira leaned forward in her chair and stared at me, not wanting to miss a single move I made.

Talking was painfully hard, but staying silent wasn’t an option, so I opened my mouth.

“Uh… I’m a commoner. My house is near some vineyards—”

“How many people in your family?”

“Three. Dad, Mom, and me.”

“What do your parents do?”

“Dad’s a carpenter. Mom and I mainly help with grape harvesting.”

“So you’ve been surrounded by grapes since you were little?”

“Yeah, pretty much. Is there anything happier than being surrounded by grapes?”

Safira said nothing to my earnest answer; she just smiled, pulled a small notebook from her uniform pocket, and started scribbling furiously while continuing.

“What do you do on your days off?”

“Train… or help in the vineyards…”

“Do you train every day?”

“As much as I can.”

“What time do you wake up?”

“Around five…”

“When do you go to bed?”

“Nine or ten at night.”

“So you get about eight hours of sleep.”

For some reason she wrote down my sleep schedule. Is she just super serious and meticulous, or is there another motive?

Either way, the barrage of questions was overwhelming.

“What are your current hobbies? Past hobbies? Hobbies the moment you were born?”

“They haven’t really changed. Grapes and wine have always been my hobby.”

“Then who was your first love? Who did you like after that?”

“First love? Uh…”

“Tell me. I want to know every woman who has ever appeared in your life.”

“Why?!”

“Because it’s important.”

Her eyes were dead serious. There was no room to brush it off.

“I’ve never had a first love. My life was nothing but training and helping in the vineyards. I’ve never even had female friends.”

“So that means I’m the only one?”

“I’ve had zero.”

“Then I’m your first love.”

“Huh? Were you even listening?”

Her cheeks softened into a smile as she kept writing, but it felt like my words were being twisted.

“Then… favorite food?”

“Grapes.”

“Favorite drink?”

“Grape juice.”

“Favorite scent?”

“The aroma of wine. Especially Pinot Noir.”

“Then favorite person?”

“The person who first made wine in this world.”

“Was that person a woman?”

“I don’t know. Does it matter?”

“It does.”

I had no idea what was wrong, but the questions didn’t stop.

“Food you hate? Drink you hate? Have you ever been injured? What happened? Where did it hurt? What position did you fall in? Do you still have scars? Has anyone besides me ever hurt you?”

“I can’t answer all of that at once!”

This was no longer a conversation—it was an interrogation.

Even the police wouldn’t ask for this much detail.

But her hunger showed no sign of stopping.

“Tell me. I want to know more about you. What kind of child you were, what you liked and hated, who scolded you and who praised you, how you cried and how you laughed—”

She spoke without expression, words pouring out like a waterfall, then said,

“—I want to know everything. What you’ve seen, what you know, every experience that shaped the person you are now. I want to know it all.”

She repeated it with a deadly serious face.

“All of it.”

This wasn’t just heavy anymore.

It was chains. Invisible chains wrapping tighter and tighter around me, making it impossible to escape—that’s how it felt, and—

“Anyway,”

Feeling a real sense of danger, I cut in to stop the flow.

“I’m getting tired of only answering questions. Mind if I ask you something now?”

“Sure. I want you to know more about me too, Ask-kun.”

I thought she’d refuse, but surprisingly she agreed right away.

“Thanks. Then just one thing—”

I took a slow breath, looked her straight in the eyes, and carefully asked,

“How did you know my name?”