The mansion of the Schugenharz Duchy was peaceful today as well.
"Make it again."
"Master...?"
"Didn't you hear me?"
I repeated my order clearly to the confused servant.
"This dish. It's tasteless, so remake it."
"But..."
"Are you the one cooking? The chef is the one making it anyway. Or are you so foolish that you can't even say, Master Julian wishes for a different dish because today's meal looks like it was just pulled out of the trash bin?"
"I-I'll bring a new dish right away!"
The servant hastily left. The other servants and I watched the new servant closely.
Emma, the heroine with the most significant presence in this novel.
Originally, she would still be at her house, enduring the abuse of a wicked housekeeper known as her mother. But now, she worked as an exclusive servant at our mansion.
One might ask if I was being too harsh on her. Sure, that was possible. But this was all for her sake.
Emma had a fundamentally flawed nature. She was too kind and weak. With such a half-hearted personality, she wouldn't survive in this harsh world.
Therefore, I was helping her. I was investing my time and effort to ensure she could thrive at the Academy.
The reborn Emma would have a strong heart and would let her talents bloom splendidly.
"I've brought a new dish. I'm sure you'll find it to your liking..."
"Make it again."
"M-Master? At least taste it a little..."
"It smells off."
"...I'll be back soon. Please wait a moment."
Yes, this was all for her sake.
---
It had been a week and two days since I entered this novel.
Before my transmigration, I was a genius actor who entered the Department of Theater and Film with the highest grades, with not just a handsome appearance... well, enough about me. Let's talk about this place.
I knew about transmigration stories.
To be precise, I had read such novels.
The title was something ridiculous like [I Transmigrated into a Side Character in an Academy Novel?! ] The plot was somewhat interesting, except for the maggot-infested ending, but the title was too childish.
At least they could have removed the question mark and exclamation point.
Anyway, the important thing was that I had possessed the third son of the villainous duke's family in that novel.
It seems crazy to transmigrate into a transmigration story, but on second thought, it seemed to have a connection rather than being another genre entirely.
The story I read was about a protagonist who transmigrated into the body of a commoner in a novel he had read.
He overcame the limitations of his ordinary body with some ridiculous abilities.
A few months later, he entered the Hero Academy, Academia, and the story revolved around the incidents that happened there.
Fortunately, the novel the protagonist read wasn't a transmigration story.
In that story, the protagonist was the third prince of an enemy nation striving to become king, and he fought against villains to make Emma, a commoner with exceptional abilities, his queen.
It was a typical plot.
Incidentally, I was included among the common villains in both stories.
In other words, from my perspective:
The protagonist of the novel I read was the real protagonist, and the prince protagonist in the novel he read was the fake protagonist.
Was it complicated?
Well, let's focus on the important part.
I transmigrated into a transmigration story and became the third son of a villainous duke.
I liked the role of the villain, the status, and the appearance, and decided to live well in this world for my own sake.
The real protagonist of the novel I read tried to escape from the novel, but I couldn't accept his thinking at all. Why, for what reason would he want to leave this world?
Someone might ask.
"Why do you want to stay in there?"
I was a descendant of a prosperous duke's family.
I could live grandly. In this world, I could do whatever I wanted, so why would I want to return to such a harsh reality? I would rather ask them back.
"Why should I leave?"
Why on earth should I go back?
Here, I just needed to step towards a bright future. It was a guaranteed future. Where else could I find something better?
— Of course, there were problems to solve.
As was typical in life, this villain didn't just prosper unchallenged.
As a villain, he initially tormented the protagonists with great vigor, but in the end, he was overpowered and met a miserable end.
That was the fate of Julian, whom I had become.
So, should I cling to the protagonists and overcome crises together? Should I submit to them or join their group to share glory?
No, I wouldn't do that.
I would live as the protagonist of this new life. I disliked the idea of clinging to other protagonists, and their way of thinking didn't align with mine.
Even when I read the novel, I liked this character, Julian, the villain.
Wasn't he cool? Living as he pleased and being so confident. He was like my alter ego. So, I should show a fitting appearance.
I would do as I please and overcome all crises.
I dared say this because I knew the information that both the real and fake protagonists didn't.