This Is Why You Play the Villain
The night of that day. Inside the Grand Ducal Castle, in Giselle’s office.
“……So that man stood at the front and crushed Baron’s entire faction himself.”
After hearing the full report, Giselle pressed her fingers to her brow, visibly incredulous. Before her stood Knight Commander Hexion.
“Yes, Your Highness. It may be difficult to believe, but it is the truth.”
Hexion continued, recalling the carnage that had unfolded in the courtyard the previous night.
“His Highness the Prince’s swordsmanship…… was nothing like the style our knights employ. He kicked up dust to blind his opponents, then struck precisely through the gaps in their armor to end their lives in a single blow. It felt…… almost cowardly, if one were to describe it.”
“Hmm……”
“Furthermore, His Highness deliberately used the fact that he was royalty as bait to throw the enemy into confusion, then charged straight into the heart of their formation without the slightest hesitation. The sight was exactly like…… a beast famished for blood.”
At Hexion’s vivid description, Giselle fell silent. How could a prince raised in the empire’s luxurious greenhouse, surrounded only by indulgence and pleasure, possess such refined killing techniques? Could the rumors be true—that as a bastard child, he had endured countless assassination attempts amid the imperial palace’s deadly power struggles since childhood?
“Hexion.”
Giselle lifted her head.
“What is your opinion?”
“……Pardon?”
“That man told me he killed Baron in a fit of rage because the fool disturbed his sleep and stabbed a blade into his belly. You were right beside him, watching the entire situation unfold. Do you believe his words were true?”
At Giselle’s question, Hexion closed his eyes for a moment and replayed the previous night’s events. The look in Cael’s eyes as he stood drenched in blood, decapitating Baron. The madness that radiated from him when he seized Hexion by the collar and snarled, “Who dares test me when they don’t even know who owns this castle?”
“His Highness the Prince certainly stated that he killed the man for offending his mood,” Hexion began carefully. “However, Your Highness…… my long-honed warrior’s intuition tells me…… something felt slightly off.”
“Off?”
“That rage did not feel like the simple anger of someone whose rest had been disturbed. It was far too cold, rational, and controlled.”
Hexion added with firm conviction, “It was as if he had planned from the very beginning to annihilate Baron’s faction inside these walls.”
“……”
If Hexion was right, it meant Cael had deliberately lured Baron into a trap and purged him. Yet questions remained. Why had he helped her by eliminating the northern rebels? And why was he so determined to hide that fact even at the cost of sustaining a near-fatal wound?
Giselle sank into deep thought. She wanted nothing more than to grab that insane prince by the collar and demand the truth, but she could not interrogate an imperial family member on mere suspicion.
“It is nothing more than my personal opinion, so please do not dwell on it too deeply.”
“……Understood.”
Giselle nodded, suppressing the tangled web of thoughts.
“Whether that man is truly a beast trying to devour the North, or whether he has some other scheme in mind…… for now, we will simply watch him a little longer.”
The next day, in the central conference hall of the Grand Ducal Castle.
The morning after successfully repelling the first wave of the Demonic Beast Wave and crushing Baron’s rebellion, the atmosphere inside the hall was heavier and more lethal than it had ever been.
Giselle, seated at the head of the table, swept her sharp gaze across the vassals gathered around her.
“First, the 2nd Defensive Line Fortress previously managed by the traitor Baron will be placed under the concurrent command of Viscount Godwin effective tomorrow.”
At Giselle’s order, Finance Officer Godwin rose from his seat and bowed deeply.
“I shall obey with my life, Your Highness! I will defend it at the cost of my own life.”
After entrusting the fortress to her loyal subject, Giselle leaned back in her chair and lowered her voice.
“Now, then. Let us move on to the main topic.”
At those words, the air inside the conference hall froze solid. Cold sweat began to trickle down the foreheads of several nobles.
“The rebellion Baron staged last night. Does anyone here have any guesses as to how that man found the nerve to point a blade at my castle?”
“……”
“You intend to stay silent? The rats who secretly promised to supply him with military funds and private soldiers are undoubtedly sitting in this very room.”
Giselle did not possess the exact list of names. Yet her intuition had already roughly identified who had colluded with Baron in hopes of snatching a few crumbs for themselves.
“Will you continue to hold your tongues until I call out your names one by one?”
Clang!
Giselle drew the sword at her waist and drove it into the center of the table. The sharp ring of steel made several men flinch. Those who could no longer endure stepped forward of their own accord.
“Y-Your Highness!! We have committed a crime deserving of death!!”
Four nobles sprang from their chairs and prostrated themselves before the table. They were the four opportunists who had always hovered around Baron, leeching away the North’s interests.
“Please forgive us, Your Highness! We never intended to participate in any rebellion!”
“That’s correct! That madman Baron secretly gathered troops and deceived us, claiming there was a way to siphon imperial military funds and turn a profit!”
“Our territories were simply poor, so we only sought a small gain…… We never dreamed they would open the gates and incite a riot!! It was all Baron’s scheme! He tricked us!!”
The four men, faces streaked with snot and tears, frantically shoved all the blame onto the now-deceased Baron.
Giselle looked down at their repulsive display. While the people of the North bled to hold back the demonic beasts, these vermin had tried to sell their own lands for a handful of coins. The original Giselle would have drawn her sword and taken their heads without hesitation.
But the North was currently facing a national disaster known as the Demonic Beast Wave. Executing all four at once would cause the administration and defensive lines of their territories to collapse, creating even more casualties.
“Silence.”
Giselle’s low growl carried overwhelming pressure and killing intent. The four nobles, who had been wailing excuses, let out a strangled “Hiiik!” and immediately shut their mouths.
“Under normal circumstances, I would have your heads severed and displayed on the castle walls this instant. You are worse than beasts who know no gratitude.”
She continued, “However, the North has already shed more than enough blood. With the Demonic Beast Wave still ongoing, I cannot afford to throw your territories into chaos as well.”
“Y-Your Highness……!”
“This is your one and only chance.”
Giselle pulled the sword free and sheathed it once more.
“I will give you one final opportunity. Triple the amount of the filthy funds you invested in Baron and donate it all to the relief fund by tomorrow. Then return to your territories and defend against the beasts with the resolve to die.”
Giselle drove the final nail in with a voice dripping with murderous intent.
“There will be no next time. If any of you dare harbor treacherous thoughts behind my back again, I will personally erase your entire families from the map.”
“Th-thank you, Your Highness!! We will serve with our lives!”
“We will never forget this mercy!!”
The four traitor nobles slammed their foreheads against the floor, groveling desperately. Though the other vassals looked displeased, they recognized this was the Grand Duchess’s decision during wartime and offered no objections.
“……Whew.”
Outside the conference hall, I leaned against the wall and finally released the breath I had been holding, rubbing my chest.
“Thank goodness.”
To be honest, I had been nervous the night before that Giselle might lose her mind and lop off all four of their heads during the morning meeting. Those four were none other than the idiots whose bloody fingerprints proudly adorned the very top of the Covenant Baron had presented to me.
If Giselle had executed them today, the parchment hidden in my chest would have become nothing more than useless scrap.
No, no. If those guys die, my money pipeline disappears.
When someone wants to accomplish something, money is essential. Why kill off such perfectly serviceable ATMs?
“Since Giselle spared them…… it’s my turn to move.”
I clutched my bandaged side and smirked.
In front of Giselle they had probably wept, claiming they were deceived by Baron and begging for mercy. But I wasn’t like her. I could never be that kind.
What would happen if I shoved the Covenant in their faces? It was clear evidence that they hadn’t simply been tricked—they had actively supplied troops to overthrow the Grand Duchess.
If I threatened them with that and said, “Offer your salaries as my entertainment fund,” those bastards would sell their souls to deliver the money.
“Yes. This is exactly why you play the villain.”
I hummed a cheerful tune, waiting with pleasant anticipation for the four suckers to emerge from the conference hall.
Coo, coo, coo.
Morning sunlight poured through the window of the Annex. A single small messenger pigeon flew in and landed gracefully on the sill.
“Oh, right on time.”
I removed the tightly rolled note from the tiny tube tied to the bird’s ankle.
Your Highness.
Here’s the fund flow and list of hidden assets for the men you asked about. Luckily they were stupid, so their tails were nice and long.
— Viola
P.S. I’m really going to wash up and sleep now, so don’t come looking for me for a while~ If you contact me, know that I will actually bite you.
Viola’s information network was truly top-tier.
“I might have pushed her a little too hard.”
I should at least give her a generous reward. Of course, it wouldn’t be coming out of my own pocket.
I slipped the note into my clothes and resumed humming. Just then, word arrived that the morning meeting in the central hall had concluded.
I ordered a servant to discreetly summon the four nobles—who had just had their souls thoroughly wrung out by Giselle—to the Annex.