The Argent family.
A ducal house whose name alone made children cry across the continent, and made nobles spit inwardly.
A notoriety so vile that even the royal family lost sleep every night thinking, “If only it weren’t for those bastards…”
They did only one thing.
The education, management, and sale of slaves.
Outwardly, they prattled on about noble bloodlines, wearing elegant smiles and pretending at refinement. But peer beneath the surface, and they were a monstrous organization that monopolized more than half the slave market.
Combat slaves who had once been death-row convicts swept in from wars across the continent, demi-human slaves hunted down in the forests, princesses of defeated kingdoms, abandoned children…
No filthy deal was beneath the hands of the Argents.
The imperial family considered them a thorn in its side not because of morality, but because they were too powerful to touch easily.
Corrupt officials.
Underground organizations.
Demonic beast research groups beyond the mountain ranges.
They had even joined hands with power holders within the imperial palace, their roots tangled across the entire continent, and their immense gold and manpower had grown to the point where it would not be strange to call them a “kingdom” in their own right.
Literally, the main villains of this world.
That was what the Argent family was.
And how did I know the inner workings and secrets of such a filthy organization?
…Because I was a child of that family.
Though to be precise, even calling me a “child” was too generous.
“Fuck… of all people, why Lucas Argent…”
Those were the first words that burst from my mouth the moment I opened my eyes.
Amid the scandal of the Argent family head’s affair, I was, quite literally, “an illegitimate child made by mistake.”
An existence whose name wasn’t even properly entered in the family registry, and whom even the family maids did not treat as human.
That was the human I had possessed.
A filthy creation born from a filthy family.
Lucas Argent.
‘No… I’m sure I got hit by a bus and died. Is this that famous otherworld possession thing?’
If that had been all, maybe it would have been some light novel protagonist-tier luck.
But the problem was, even if I had to possess someone, why did it have to be a person worse off than dead?
A revenge tragedy without blood or tears.
And one of the representative villains of that revenge tragedy was none other than Lucas.
I stood blankly for a long while before a cracked full-length mirror.
The boy in the mirror had a delicate frame, a half-loosened shirt, and though he was an illegitimate child, his face somehow looked like half a noble’s golden beauty and half a whore’s seductive charm.
His features were needlessly pretty, making him all the more repulsive. It was Lucas Argent in his childhood.
And I knew.
I knew just how horrific a future this face led to.
This guy… according to my memories, in the original work, his arms were cut off, his eyes were gouged out, needles were driven under each of his fingernails, and even his balls were removed. He was tortured so artistically that he died of shock.
Even in the R-rated grimdark work I had possessed, that was an exceptionally gory end among all the villains.
The content of the story was very simple.
Three girls who had been abused by a slave-trading family and barely managed to escape.
Those girls, who were the hero, the Demon King, and the queen of this world, would later grow into top-class heroes and take revenge on the shadow of this world that had brought tragedy upon them.
In other words, the Argent family.
And the first human villain to die pitifully in that story was this body right now.
Lucas.
Was it because of his inferiority complex as an unacknowledged illegitimate child?
Ever since he was young, Lucas had been a textbook psychopath who played by breaking slaves’ arms and legs whenever he saw them.
A lunatic who considered that a prank.
Unaware that three of his victims would later grow into pillars of the world such as a hero, a queen, and a Demon King, he continued doing that for quite some time.
And when he became an adult.
When the now-powerful girls returned and captured Lucas, the torture description that followed was truly… something else.
Even I, after reading the original work because my friends dragged me into it, sincerely realized, “Wow, fuck, so that’s why it was rated 19+…”
And now that villain—
The first slaughter scene of that insane world was me. That was the problem.
“Imperial Year 582… Did I regress to ten years before the original story?”
The main story begins in mid-October of 592, exactly ten years from now.
That is when the three heroines have grown into a hero, a queen, and a Demon King, and begin tearing the Argent family apart.
In other words, if I ran away right now, there was still a chance I could survive.
Of course, there was a problem.
Even though I was an illegitimate child, I knew some of Argent’s secrets because I was still “of the family bloodline.”
If a guy like that tried to leave, saying, “I’m washing my hands of this now!”
They would simply kill me in the name of family rules.
These bastards didn’t care about family or status.
“…Still, ten years should be enough to do something.”
As befitted an illegitimate child, the place I lived was a single room the size of a studio apartment, worse than the servants’ quarters of a baronial house.
The walls were cracked, and there was a smell of mold.
But none of that mattered.
Because unlike the Lucas of the original, I had no intention of taking the madman route of abusing slaves while desperately trying to be recognized by the family despite being treated like this.
If I wanted to live, I had to go in the opposite direction of that route.
I walked over to the creaking desk and spread out a sheet of paper.
Then I began writing down my plans.
“First… the Argent family’s destruction ten years from now is a ‘confirmed event.’ If I want to get out alive then, I need to make the kingdom side indebted to me in advance. In other words, secure the position of informant.”
I rolled the pen between my fingers.
There were two things to do.
First, prepare to completely cut ties with the Argent family.
Second, the three girls currently treated as defective slaves.
They would become a great hero, a queen, and a Demon King in the future. I had to soothe them, take care of them, absolutely not abuse them, build an appropriate bond with them, and then “liberate” all of them while avoiding the family’s eyes.
I needed to change the future revenge route as gently as possible so that they would not point their blades at me.
I tapped the paper.
“Time… is more precious than gold.”
Although I had been born an illegitimate child, I had the mind of someone who had possessed this body.
And now—it was time to move.
Bang!
“…Young Master?”
What I heard the moment I opened the door was neither a welcome summons nor a polite greeting.
Just one dry voice that came out by habit.
“Karen. I’m going to the market for a bit, so tell them to bring a carriage.”
If I were a noble’s child, there should normally have been a maid waiting in the hallway, and when I opened the door, she should have said something like, “Good morning, Young Master…”
But this place was different.
An empty hallway.
Air so cold that even light seemed to merely brush past it.
And in the middle of it stood a woman looking down at me as though inspecting trash.
Karen.
Outwardly, she bore the title of my personal maid, but in reality, she was closer to the family’s “watchdog.”
A woman assigned to me by the great members of the Argent family out of their oh-so-touching consideration: “Even if he’s an illegitimate child, we might be able to sell him off later, so manage him well~”
As if to prove it, Karen’s expression was always the same.
Ridicule.
Contempt.
Exhaustion.
Disgust.
And today was no exception.
“Haa… Young Master. What useless thing are you trying to go out and do this time?”
A mere maid using that tone toward a noble’s child, even if I was an illegitimate one, someone who still counted as part of the “bloodline”?
That was the reality of the Argent family.
Karen crossed her arms and snorted.
“Are you planning to do something strange again to catch the family’s eye? The market this time? A place commoners go? Without even sending a maid? Goodness… I almost teared up from pity. Are you trying to buy the family head’s sympathy?”
“……”
“For your information, I won’t call a carriage. I have no intention of going along with that pitiful little act.”
If this had been the original Lucas?
He would already have been trembling, backing away, and fleeing without even managing to close the door behind him.
And Karen would have let out a sharp little “pfft” behind his back.
But—
The person inside this body right now was not the original Lucas.
I slowly raised my head.
“Hey… fuck. What did you just say?”
“…P-Pardon?”
Karen’s eyes wavered for the first time.
Until now, even when she spat in his food, casually tripped him while pretending to stumble, or secretly pricked him with needles while he slept, this loser had simply endured it all. Of course she would be shocked when he suddenly snapped.
But that bewilderment lasted only one second.
Because in Karen’s eyes, the only label attached to me was still “an illegitimate child abandoned by the family.”
“Ha… ha! Did you just curse at me, Young Master?”
“I did. So what?”
Karen smirked and lifted her chin.
“I’m simply dumbfounded. Have you reached your rebellious phase? Young Master, do you know this?”
She deliberately paused for a beat, smacked her lips, and continued.
“I received separate permission from the family head for ‘disciplinary authority’ in case you ever behaved this rudely.”
Karen bent her head slightly over me and smiled with fake kindness mixed in.
“In other words, if I so choose, I can ‘correct’ that arrogant attitude of yours to some extent right here and now.”
…What a load of bullshit.
I knew what that “discipline” meant.
It was just an excuse to hit someone whenever she felt annoyed.
In reality, nothing but a wrapper for violence.
Karen crossed her arms and strode toward me.
As if this place belonged to her, her eyes saying she would “teach me who the master was.”
But—
“Discipline?”
I raised my head very slowly as I spoke.
“About that… can you still do it now?”
“…What did you say?”
And without another word.
Thwack!
I punched myself in the face.
“Y-you crazy…! What are you doing?!”
A scream burst from Karen’s throat.
The composure she had shown just moments ago vanished completely.
But I was smiling now.
A smile she had never seen before, the kind worn by someone truly dangerous.
I “harmed” myself once again like that, instantly stopping Karen as she came running toward me.
“Karen. Did you know? I may be an illegitimate child abandoned by the family… but before that, I’m merchandise.”
Karen’s face turned white.
“A product manager damaged the merchandise? And the family found out?”
Blood trickled from one nostril.
But I paid it no mind and stepped forward, lightly tapping beside her shoulder.
“In that case… who do you think will really be ‘disciplined’ here?”
“Y-Young Master…”
“Karen.”
I brought my face close to her ear.
“I’m in a fucking terrible mood right now.”
When my breath brushed her, she flinched violently.
“On nasty days like this…”
Regardless, I whispered softly.
“…I have this strange habit of ‘hurting myself.’”
Silence.
The entire hallway froze.
Finally, I looked her straight in the eyes and said,
“So don’t act above your station again. Not unless you want to disappear without a trace.”