Reincarnated as a Villainous Duke (37) Who Gets Condemned by His Daughter ～I Stopped Acting Like a Villain, Yet My Daughter Keeps Becoming the 'Ice Lady'～ - Chapter 01: Wait, Am I the Villain Duke?

Act 1: The Villainous Duke Mark Stewart Remembers He’s a Reincarnator

Chapter 01: Wait, Am I the Villain Duke?

At that moment, I was looking into a full-length mirror to adjust my clothes.

Reflected in the mirror was a tall, slender man dressed in fine noble attire.

His dark navy hair was neatly styled, and the face beneath it was refined and elegant. Behind the round glasses, his eyes were narrow slits, revealing no emotion.

“Hm, it’s the same face as always… but it looks oddly familiar.”

What was I even saying? Of course, it was familiar; it was the face I saw every day.

“…Agh!?”

A sharp pain shot through the back of my head, like I’d been hit with a blunt object.

I looked into the mirror again. The same sly-looking, narrow-eyed, handsome middle-aged man stared back. A face that seemed ready to betray someone at any moment.

“I… no, I’m… Mark Stewart Blaumont… 37 years old… a duke in the Kingdom of Inteclus…?”

Then, memories that shouldn’t exist flooded my mind. The life of a man who once lived in modern Japan. And the knowledge of a video game that man had played obsessively, forgetting to eat and sleep.

As the memories returned, I felt my old personality resurface.

“‘Orlea Old Stories’… What? I’ve been reincarnated into a game world…? No way…”

Even though it sounds ridiculous, the memories of certain media from my past life clearly led me to the conclusion that I was a reincarnated person.

I had been born, raised, and lived in this world as Mark Stewart for 37 years. And now, my memories and personality from my previous life had suddenly returned.

It was an unbelievable situation… but the two sets of memories and the two combined personalities inside me confirmed it was true.

“Man, this is a mess… But why did my memories come back now? It’s not like I hit my head or anything.”

I tried to trace back my current life’s memories.

In a few days, I was scheduled to travel from this duchy to the royal capital. The ‘Crown Prince’s Inauguration Ceremony’ for the first prince of the Kingdom of Inteclus was taking place. As a duke and someone who supports the kingdom, I had to attend the ceremony.

“The Crown Prince’s Inauguration… That’s the tutorial scene from the game. In other words, the game’s story is about to start. Ah, so that’s why my memories came back.”

I almost accepted this explanation, but then I shook my head.

“Still, why did I have to be Mark Stewart? My memories return only to find out I have one year left to live? Isn’t that just cruel?”

Yes, in the game, Mark Stewart’s role was to be a villain—a mid-level boss who gets defeated by the protagonist before achieving his ambitions.

‘Orlea Old Stories,’ commonly known as ‘Oreo.’

It was nothing special—just another mass-produced role-playing game set in a fantasy world of swords and magic.

The story followed Prince Roax, the protagonist, who teams up with his companions to save the kingdom and drive away the darkness spreading across the continent of Orlea.

The game’s setting wasn’t just cliché; it even felt outdated. But at the time, ‘Oreo’ stood out because of its groundbreaking multi-scenario feature.

You could get a ‘Harem True Ending’ where you married all the heroines and saved the world, or a Worst Ending where all your companions died and the continent was destroyed.

It had a lot of hidden elements too, making it a top-selling game compared to other generic titles.

I was obsessed with it, clearing every route ten times and throwing away my precious youth into the trash can…

Recalling some of those painful memories, I sat alone at my desk in the duke’s office, holding my head in my hands.

“Fine, being reincarnated here is one thing… But the real question is, what do I do now?”

As for me, Duke Mark Stewart, I’m destined to be a mid-level boss who gets defeated by Prince Roax’s party in about a year.

And why does that happen? Because I’m about to pull a classic villain move—trying to usurp the throne. I’ll even succeed for a while, enjoy my brief reign, and then get taken down by the rightful heir, Prince Roax. That’s how the story goes.

Of course, there’s no way I’m accepting that kind of future, so I absolutely need to avoid it.

The easiest way to avoid it would be to throw everything away and retire to some remote region, hiding my identity. But that’s not really an option.

In this world, life for commoners is basically set to hard mode. The moment you leave the safety of towns, it’s a lawless land full of monsters and bandits. A peaceful, slow life? What’s that, something you can eat? Yeah, that’s not happening here.

Thanks to magical tools—handy gadgets made with magic technology—and alchemy, the level of civilization here is fairly advanced. As a former Japanese person, living here isn’t too hard. But those magical tools are only available to nobles and the wealthy. Giving all that up for a retirement life is completely out of the question.

Even more importantly, if a duke like me suddenly vanished, the kingdom would descend into chaos. That’s how important Mark Stewart’s position is.

“So, I guess the best plan is to stay a duke and avoid following the game’s storyline. When you think about it, that shouldn’t be too hard, right?”

I do wonder what kind of world this is, but after living here for 37 years, I can confidently say it doesn’t feel like a virtual world.

If that’s the case, I can hope there isn’t some kind of historical force compelling events to follow the game’s storyline—like in those typical time-travel stories. So if I just stop acting like a mid-level boss, maybe things will go surprisingly smoothly—

Just as I was starting to feel optimistic, there was a knock on the office door.

“Come in.”

“Excuse me.”

The person who entered was an elderly gentleman with slicked-back gray hair and a matching gray mustache.

It was Mildart, the steward of House McMahon.

He had been a loyal servant since the days of Mark Stewart’s father, the previous duke. But when he looked at me, I noticed something in his eyes—like he had resolved to say something serious.

“My lord, there are matters I need to discuss.”

“Go ahead.”

Mildart looked a bit surprised at my response.

Checking Mark Stewart’s memories… it seemed I had been avoiding and dismissing Mildart recently.

“Regarding the matter you ordered the other day, there are some budget allocations whose purposes are unclear. I need you to explain them. Also, I’ve heard that you ordered General Dalton to deploy a large number of magic catapults. I’d like to know the reason behind that as well.”

“…Ah, that.”

As I answered, a cold sweat started to run down my back.

Everything Mildart just mentioned was ordered by past me to prepare for the upcoming “throne usurpation move.”

In other words, Mildart was suspicious that I was planning to rebel against the royal family. But there was no way I could seriously tell this stern, loyal old gentleman, “Well, I was planning to steal the throne, but I’ve changed my mind now.”

“Uh… well… Sorry, but I can’t explain everything right now. However, I do plan to review some of the budget allocations. Even I realize now that I was being a bit rash. As for the magic catapults… I expect there will be a major event soon.”

“A major event?”

“The demons in the north are starting to move south.”

“…Is that true?”

“It’s reliable information. That’s why we need to urgently strengthen the territory’s defenses. Please understand that.”

Mildart’s eyes still held a hint of suspicion.

Well, that’s fair. I am just scrambling to cover my tracks right now. The demon invasion—a threat to humans in this world—is definitely going to happen according to the game’s storyline, though.

“Understood. If you’ve gathered such information, then expanding the military is necessary. However, we increased taxes just six months ago. Adding more budget now won’t be acceptable. If we raise taxes again, dissatisfaction within the territory will surely rise.”

“Yes, I’m aware of that. Regardless, I’ll review the budget. Also, I want you to compile a list of all the instructions I’ve given to each department over the past year. How soon can you have it ready?”

“By tomorrow evening. But may I ask what you need it for?”

“One reason is to reconsider my orders. Also, I’ll be heading to the royal capital in five days. During that time, His Majesty may ask questions about how the territory is being managed. I want to make sure there are no discrepancies with national policies.”

“This is for the ‘Crown Prince’s Inauguration,’ I assume? Understood. I’ll prepare a report that includes the current status as well.”

“Sorry for the sudden request. I’m counting on you.”

“Yes, my lord.”

Even with his stern gaze, Mildart bowed and left the office.

Ugh… Even if I want to avoid the mid-level boss route, this is going to be pretty complicated. With my memories swirling in my head, I once again slumped at my desk, holding my head in frustration.