I Am a Villain, So What?

A few miles away, a heavily armored convoy arrived at the outer gates of Winterguard.

Leading the procession was Princess Rumina, surrounded by an elite vanguard of the Royal Knight Order.

Though bringing a detachment of the Empire’s finest warriors seemed excessive to protect just one person, it was the absolute bare minimum required for a royal to step foot in Winterguard.

"Your Highness, you should turn the carriage back now. We have verified the state of the fortress," a decorated knight riding beside her window spoke in a deeply serious tone. "This place is too unstable. The ambient mana is chaotic, and monsters could break through that failing barrier at any moment."

Rumina, sitting rigidly in the carriage with her piercing eyes fixed on the distant, patched walls, didn’t waver.

"If the barrier is unstable, and a breach could result in an unprecedented massacre that threatens the northern territories, then it is only natural for the Crown to inspect the frontlines personally," Rumina stated, her voice carrying the absolute authority of the ruling bloodline. "I will not manage the Empire’s defense from a comfortable drawing room in the Capital."

Her logic was flawless, and her resolve was ironclad. The Royal Knight could only bow his head in defeat and order the convoy forward.

*****

I returned to the Officer’s waiting room with James.

Not long after we arrived, the heavy oak doors were pushed open. A man strode into the room, instantly silencing the dozens of rugged knights and mercenaries inside.

"At ease. I am Viktor, Commander of the Ashen Knights," the man announced, his voice reverberating like striking iron. "From today, and for the duration of the royal inspection, I will be assuming ultimate command here in Winterguard. I expect your absolute cooperation."

Viktor had a solemn, unyielding face and the sturdy build of a fortress wall. He wore the ash-grey, heavily enchanted plate armor unique to his order.

The eyes of the local knights briefly sparked with awe. It wasn’t just Viktor’s commanding presence—it was the name of his order. The Ashen Knights were one of the oldest, most revered military factions on the continent. The order itself predated the founding of the current Aurelian Empire.

Although centuries had passed and they were no longer the absolute zenith of military power, their strict adherence to ancient tradition and unbreakable discipline made them living legends to ordinary soldiers.

"There may be those among you who are dissatisfied with yielding command to an outside force," Viktor continued, his eyes scanning the room. "But as long as Her Highness is within these walls, you will follow my orders to the letter. Is that understood?"

It was an undeniable command. A knight without a strict chain of command is just a thug with a sword. Everyone in the waiting room silently, respectfully nodded.

Then, Viktor’s sharp gaze snapped through the crowd and locked directly onto me.

"Lucien Ashborne," Viktor barked.

I stepped forward slightly.

"You may not be an officially sworn knight, but the same rules apply to you. Be prepared," Viktor warned, his tone flat and uncompromising. "I do not care if you are a noble’s son, the heir to the North, or an Academy student. This is Winterguard. There will be absolutely no special treatment, no coddling, and no insubordination just because you decided to play soldier on your holiday."

"Understood," I replied instantly.

"..."

Viktor paused, his eyes narrowing slightly. He seemed thrown off by my response. I had answered him with a completely flat, perfectly disciplined tone, entirely devoid of the arrogant indignation he had clearly expected from a spoiled aristocrat.

For a brief moment, his gaze shifted from authoritative sternness to genuine, deeply buried unease. He looked at me the way a veteran looks at a young child left unattended by the edge of a deep, fast-flowing river. Yet the situation at Winterguard was far more dire than a river.

"...Good," Viktor finally grunted, turning his attention back to the room at large. "Today, Princess Rumina herself will be inspecting the barracks, the defensive artillery, and the mana barrier."

This time, the hardened knights in the room couldn’t help themselves. They let out an excited cheer of "Ooh!" at the prospect of seeing the beautiful Eldest Princess in person.

Standing in the back of the room, listening to the cheers and feeling the timeline aggressively accelerating toward disaster, I secretly sighed to myself.

****

Time passed, and the frozen sun dipped below the horizon, plunging Winterguard into a harsh, bitter night.

In the commander’s office, Arthur Whitmore was vigorously rubbing his temples, feeling a massive, throbbing headache building behind his eyes.

First, the exiled heir of the Ashborne County shows up unannounced. Now, the Eldest Princess of the Aurelian Empire was here.

Everyone in the high-society circles of the Capital was keenly aware of how ruthless and calculating Princess Rumina could be. She was a royal who demanded absolute perfection and results. Why is she coming to the absolute edge of the world at such a volatile time? Arthur thought bitterly.

Sigh. If any mishap were to happen—if the barrier failed while royalty was within these walls—everyone’s heads would be rolling on the executioner’s block, assuming the monsters didn’t eat them first.

Creak—

At that moment, the heavy oak doors of the command office opened.

A sharp gust of freezing wind swept into the room, followed by Princess Rumina. It had started to snow outside. Rumina casually shook the heavy snowflakes off her fur-lined cloak before stepping fully into the warm light of the office.

In Winterguard, snow fell even when it wasn’t officially winter. Out here, the word ’winter’ simply meant the deadly season when the monsters in the Wilderness became violently aggressive due to the food shortage.

Arthur immediately stood up from his desk and dropped to one knee, bowing his head respectfully. Though he was the Lord of the Lornfell Barony and the Commander of the fortress, he was a knight of the Empire first and foremost.

"I greet Her Royal Highness, the Eldest Princess," Arthur said formally.

"Rise, Commander Arthur," Rumina replied, her voice smooth but carrying an undeniable weight.

She took a seat in the heavy leather chair opposite his desk. After a few brief, mandatory pleasantries regarding her journey, Rumina’s sharp eyes cut straight to the chase.

"Lord Whitmore, the outer wall is in an abysmal state."

Arthur sighed, sitting back down. "Hmm. I am painfully aware, Your Highness."

In fact, it was worse than ’abysmal’. It was dire. The outer edges of the fortification were already starting to crack under the constant stress. The parts with structural holes were being patched up with whatever loose materials the engineers could scrounge up—rubble, frozen timber, even scrap metal.

Since the monsters native to the Wilderness possessed a cunning, predatory intelligence, it was only a matter of time before they found the fatal weak points in the patched wall.

"Shouldn’t you be implementing aggressive countermeasures?" Rumina asked, leaning back and crossing her legs. "A fortress is only as strong as its walls."

"Of course, Your Highness. We are trying. However... it is not as easy as it sounds."

"Not easy, you say?" Rumina raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow.

"The frequency of the monster attacks has drastically shortened," Arthur explained, his expression grim. "They are hitting us in waves, day and night. There is absolutely no room or time for our engineers to reinforce the masonry. However... the sheer volume of monsters attacking all at once has noticeably decreased."

At Arthur’s answer, Rumina’s eyes narrowed as her sharp mind processed the tactical data.

"So, the monsters are intentionally attacking in smaller, relentless skirmishes to hinder the repair of the wall?"

"It certainly appears so," Arthur nodded, though he looked deeply troubled. "But that is exactly what puzzles me. No matter how smart these beasts are, self-preservation is their base instinct. I can’t understand how they can willingly engage in such wasteful, suicidal behavior just to harass our engineers..."

The constant, low-volume onslaughts were a bizarre anomaly. Though they effectively denied the humans time to repair the wall, from a single monster’s perspective, charging the fortress walls in a small group was absolute suicide. Given their predatory intelligence, they should be well aware of this.

So how could this be possible?

"Because there is a leader."

Arthur’s troubled thoughts were interrupted by a calm voice from the doorway.

It was Lucien. He had just finished his voluntary patrol duty along the inner barracks and had come to drop off the guard logs.

"A leader?" Arthur frowned, looking up at me.

"Yes," I started to say as I walked into the room. "The monsters aren’t—"

I froze mid-sentence. My eyes landed on the woman sitting in the leather guest chair.

My heart completely stopped for a full second.

Princess Rumina. I instantly snapped out of my shock, hastily dropping into a crisp, deep bow.

"I greet Her Royal Highness, the Eldest Princess," I said, keeping my head down.

An amused, highly intrigued expression blossomed on Rumina’s beautiful face as she looked me over.

"Lucien Ashborne," Rumina purred, resting her chin on the back of her hand. "I certainly didn’t expect to see you here, at the frozen edge of the world. When was the last time we met?"

She tapped her cheek in a delicate, mock-thinking gesture. "Ah, yes. The Imperial Dungeon Tournament. You certainly made quite the impression that day."

Cold sweat instantly broke out on the back of my neck.

I am dead. She actually remembers my name. I had desperately tried to lay low after that tournament, hoping she would just write me off as a lucky cadet and forget I existed.

Gulping down the dry lump in my throat, I kept my voice perfectly steady. "Yes, Your Highness. I am honored that you remember."

"How could I forget?" Rumina smiled, though her eyes were sharp and calculating. "But let us return to the topic at hand. What is your hypothesis regarding this ’leader’?"