""Very well then""
Markus said, displaying his nonchalance about all of this.
"That's strange, you don't seem to be as dissatisfied as I expected you to be"
Unable to read Markus's thoughts, Aidan asked.
""I'm not bold enough as to oppose your decisions lord Silver...""
Markus gave a vague answer that was filled with subtle feelings and implications.
"I see…you're free to go"
With a somewhat tired voice and a complicated expression, Aidan said, Markus couldn't help but notice that Aidan's face was tinged with a little bit of sadness.
((His reaction is so real...honestly what kind of brainwashing did Executor do to him))
Finding himself almost amazed at Executor's ability to built such a convincing lie, Markus seriously wondered if breaking away from Executor was the right thing to do.
""please excuse me...""
Markus bowed before turning his back and making his way out of the room.
Closing the door behind him, Markus stood still for a few moments, thinking about the future.
((It's about time))
Finally after more than two months of patient and painstaking preparations, the time to implement Markus's master survival plan has come.
((Calm down, there's still 2.5 more months until first contact between me and Sophia is established, I shouldn't get too excited yet or I might mess up my carefully laid out plans, not to mention I need to work more on more contingencies in case of unseen scenarios or if things go wrong initially...))
Thinking that, Markus slowly walked towards his room to train, plan and prepare even more like he always had and likely always will, it has become somewhat of a bad habit for him but in order to escape the curse known as "being the antagonist" at least this much is necessary.
Financially, magically, physically and influentially etc. Markus began to accumulate as much power as possible during the time he had left, it was like he was preparing for war (which he kinda was ngl), a war between him and the rest of the world, a war that will no doubt upheave the very foundation this world is built upon, but that's a story that hasn't been told yet.
Back to the present...and so the flow of time went by, minutes became hours, hours became days and days became months until the fateful day finally arrived for Markus.
31st of Mirus, full eclipse 2485 N.E.C
The day has come, the day of destiny, the day where an unstoppable force meets an immovable object, Markus couldn't sleep the night before and spent the entire evening finalizing his plans, constantly wondering if he had missed anything, after all everything has to be perfect for his date with little miss destiny, although Markus was sure that the date was going to turn sour soon enough as he was planning to stab her at the end of the day.
Markus was woken up early in the morning as Zen had to help him prepare for his period of apprenticeship under the Rosewood house.
Zen had a downhearted expression as he helped Markus prepare and he remained uncharacteristically quiet, although Markus felt a bit guilty because Zen's feelings right now were partially his fault thanks to him erasing Zen's memories (basically making Zen forget all about the forgiveness Markus gave him), so right now Zen probably feels like he has betrayed the savior who helped his house, but Markus didn't care enough to resolve Zen's heavy heart so he just ignored the entire situation altogether.
After all, right now he's more focused on what's going to happen later on.
Markus was walked to the front gate of the mansion where a carriage was waiting.
"Come back soon"
"We'll be lonely without you young master"
"Bocchama makes this place much more fun...so please be back sooner rather than later"
"Don't get overwhelmed"
Apparently after singlehandedly saving the household's financial status, Markus has become somewhat of a respected celebrity, this was something that Markus had completely expected since it's in the nature of the weak to gather at the feet of the strong and right now Markus was almost if not the strongest person in this mansion.
((But honestly their reactions are a bit much...))
They all came here to say goodbye to Markus like he was their favorite grandchild or something, some even teased Markus.
"Make sure not to seduce the marquis's daughter kay?"
One maid mischievously said.
((Yeah no thanks, I'm not dumb enough to raise an absolute death flag like that...))
Markus broke out in cold sweat just imagining what will happen if he did that.
Despite only knowing him for five months, for some reason the maids and servants of the house acted like they were actually Markus's family as they showed him their support, maybe it was because they were forced to get to know him due to their position's correlation with each other or perhaps it's because they were grateful because thanks to him they were able to keep their jobs, whatever it was the sincere emotions Markus read in their voices surprised him since he didn't actually know them that well.
From his side of things, Markus didn't interact with any of the servants side from Zen much since he mostly spent his time in his room doing one thing or another so he couldn't understand why exactly they were all being unsettlingly chummy with him, which almost made him think that they had ulterior motives.
Markus didn't really particularly care about the people that worked in this mansion, to him they were acquaintances at best and pawns for him to use at worst, although this didn't mean that he was overly cold or cruel with them to the point of not saving them when they're in trouble or anything, it just meant that he didn't really give a sh*t about them as individuals and wouldn't even bat an eye if he never saw them again, he'd even forget that they had ever existed to begin with.
((Oh well that's still within my expectations, since I did inconvenience them a bit with my presence I guess I'll be nice and say goodbye to them properly))
Markus thought as he waved goodbye at everyone present with an extremely bland and neutral expression.
After saying his goodbyes Markus was led onto the carriage and Zen asked the coachmen to take him away and this time, Zen won't be accompanying him.
((Although it's not surprising, Aidan decided not to show up...was it because of guilt or fear? Well whatever that's not a concern for me anyway))
Looking back at a particular room in the mansion that was slowly drifting further away from him, Markus's eyes were as cold as his expression.
""Now, it's about time for the villain and heroine to meet, although it's a bit cliche, I'll need to perform this show perfectly if I hope to survive my certain death ending""
Markus muttered under his breath as he closed his eyes, not really sleeping but more of a way to make time pass by faster while simultaneously immersed in his thoughts.
For some reason despite the moving carriage being anything but silent Markus found this environment he's in endlessly relaxing, of course you could say this is just another case of him being an introvert but considering the state he's in right now it's understandable that he would find any situation when he's by himself comfortable.
The life of a villain almost always starts with a tragedy, it's a common trope in fictions such as games and novels, nothing but a gimmick for the writer to garner the reader's sympathy and attention, a good story always needs a good villain, for they are the ones that shape the course of the plot through the interesting conflicts that they generate, it could even be said that stories like these are entirely written by the antagonists and their actions.
But no matter how you perceive the antagonist or as they call it "the bad guy" of the story, readers will never be able to fully understand how unfair and frustratingly unreasonable the life of an antagonist is, can you even imagine it? Being born into a world where you are meant to writhe and suffer constantly for the sake of a story and ultimately being killed by the so called "heroes" loved and cherished by all, certainly just thinking about living a life like that would make most people want to kill themselves.
But for Markus right now, he's having an experience that few other readers can ever hope to have a chance to know, he's experiencing the story from the POV of an antagonist, a story meant to work against him, a story where the world is rigged to completely be at odds against him and a story where he is truly and utterly alone in his battle against everyone else.
They say the worst type of loneliness is the type where you feel ostracized even when surrounded by people and from Markus's standpoint right now, he's inclined to agree.
Maybe that's why the Kazuki side of him liked the Markus character so much, he related to him on a deep level that few people can and perhaps that was also the reason why both of them enjoyed he feeling of solitude so much.
Kazuki grew up as the older sibling in a broken family, Markus could still remember the vivid memories of Kazuki's childhood, a battered broken child fighting with dirty smelly adults on top of a pile of trash over some scraps, nowhere was home for the young boy and his little sister that always clung to him as if she was no different from his arms and legs.
When they were at home they got beat up by their worthless alcoholic father and their prostitute mother, outside they constantly got beat up by the kids and adults that populate the rat hole they were in, at school everyone was always looking for an opportunity to pick on them, overall both Markus and Kazuki were very familiar with the feeling of the world being against them.
((They laughed at me for being different, I laughed at them all for being the same...))
Kazuki admired Markus, his emotionlessness, his calm logical thinking, his ability to overcome almost every problem that came his way, his ability to persevere through unimaginable hardships but most of all Kazuki yearned for that ability to push back at the world that Markus had, that ability to stand at the very top of the world and scream out the words "FVCK YOU" from the bottom of his heart.
Even if it's evil, even if it's despicable, even if it was cruel and callous Kazuki didn't care he just really wanted to watch the entire world burn for what it did to him.
Both Markus and Kazuki despised and looked down upon the thing known as "friendships" and "love" since those things only exist to torture them both with what they don't have.
Television and other forms of entertainment depict things like that with a dynamic and positive light but for the people who have not and likely never will experience those things like Markus and Kazuki, that depiction can not be any further away from the truth.
The truth is things that form emotional attachments between one individual and another is nothing but a deceivingly sweet poison that slowly weaken and painfully kill an individual from deep within, Kazuki and Markus have experience too much betrayal and disappointment in their respective lives in order to learn this fact.
Inversely it is much more beneficial to keep everyone, both friends and foes at a considerable distance and manipulate them to your liking, be the one who betrays others rather than the one who gets betrayed, after all if everyone is a douchebag then no one can judge you for being the biggest jerk of them all right?
Thinking this, Markus has come to a conclusion:
((The only true way to live in freedom and peace is to be the strongest, those in power are the only ones who can decide their own fate...))
It's better to be feared and hated than to be loved and then betrayed and Markus is tired of having things taken away from him, at least when everyone is against him his enemies will be easier to differentiate, which is everyone .
There are between 10^78 to 10^82 atoms in the observable universe and if the word "hate" was written on every single one of those atoms, it would not be even close to 1/1000000 of the hate Kazuki felt towards the world around him, come to think of it the only reason why Kazuki had developed the concept of morality in his head was that he needed to take care of his sister, the only person on the earth that Kazuki still somewhat cared about, it was because of this that Markus bothered to get into university at all, he needed to take care of his little sis and also because of this he had to reluctantly borrow money from his completely useless parents despite how much he hated it.
((But in the end, I guess I was just as useless as those useless sh*theads that I hated since I died and left her behind...))
Markus laughed self mockingly.
But now that person known as his sister no longer exists and once Markus realized that, all sense of repression and shame from committing murders and other wrongdoings evaporated into thin air.
Now the being known as Markus will only live for himself and himself alone, a being only concerned with his own wants and needs, a being who's only purpose is to serve himself.
((Oops...it seems I was lost in thought again))
Markus opened his eyes after noticing that he had arrived.
The carriage door was opened and he was asked to exit by the coachman.
""Welp time to go to work I guess""
Markus whispered to himself.