I Enrolled as the Villain

I stared into the mirror.

There he was-me. Kael Valery.

Dressed in a sleek black long coat, three medals lined across my chest.

"Elira," I muttered, eyeing my reflection. "I look majestic, do I not?"

She didn't even glance up from the comb in her hand.

"Sir Kael, can you please turn right?"

I turned right.

"Now left."

I turned left.

"Now look down."

I did.

"Good boy."

"Elira, you bastard!"

She burst out laughing and bolted out of the room before I could move.

"Damnit. I'll have to teach her a lesson someday…"

But I couldn't help it my mouth cracked into a small laugh.

Then I turned and froze.

The other maids had been watching the entire time.

They scrambled to look busy, but I could see it the struggle not to laugh was written all over their faces.

I sighed, dragging a hand down my face

Then my eye caught the deflated ball in the corner of the room.

I picked it up, turning it over in my hands.

"Say… do any of you know who this belongs to?" I asked, glancing at the maids.

Silence.

Then, slowly, their eyes turned to one woman near the back.

The head maid.

She cleared her throat, a bit too quickly.

"It's my son's, sir. I apologize I must've left it in courtyard by mistake."

I blinked. "No need to apologize. I just wanted to thank him."

I held the ball out. "And, uh, sorry for borrowing it without asking. Here."

She stepped forward, hesitating.

When she took the ball, she looked more confused than anything like she didn't expect kindness at all.

"Tell him," I said, "that it helped me more than he knows."

And I meant it.

A soft knock tapped against the door.

"Sir Kael," a voice called gently. "It's time for the transfer ceremony."

I exhaled. "I see."

Then I turned back to the maids and servants still in the room. Their eyes were on me.

"I just wanted to say…" I paused, finding the words. "I'm sorry. For everything I did to you. Back then."

A breath. No one moved.

"You don't need to worship me," I continued, quieter now. "You never did. Just… treat me like a human."

The silence that followed wasn't empty.

It was full with surprise, confusion… maybe something else.

But none of them spoke.

One of the younger maids bowed her head not out of duty, but quietly, almost like gratitude.

And that was enough.

As I walked toward the door, I heard a small voice behind me.

"Thank you, sir."

I didn't turn. But I smiled.

—

The car slowed to a halt in front of Valery Hall.

I stepped out… and was instantly hit by the storm.Lights and drones hovering.

Cameras flashing like lightning strikes across the marble steps.

Dozens of journalists crowded behind the line of guards, their voices overlapping into a wall of noise:

"Lord Kael! Is it true you're stepping down from the heirship?!"

"Is it connected to your visions what did the Eye show you?!"

"What future are you trying to prevent, my lord?!"

Then one voice cut through the rest. Clear and Urgent. Almost trembling.

"One rumor says… you saw something…something terrifying."

A beat of silence fell like the stillness before a storm.

"If that's true… what did you see, Lord Kael?"

The question hung in the air heavily.

I froze.

Wait what do I do?

I wasn't good with this sort of thing.

Oh. Nodding. That's safe.

I nodded to Evara standing at the entrance.

Then I nodded to a noble beside her.

I nodded again to someone I didn't even recognize.

Okay. That's too many nods.

Stop nodding!

I forced my face into something that vaguely resembled calm and stepped forward, definitely not panicking.

(Internally, I was panicking.)

—

I sat in the central seat of Valery Hall between two worlds.

To my left, the Iridian Circle: Adelina, Cassian, Lucia faces of wealth, diplomacy, and business.

To my right, the Sons of the Unblinking: Azmat, Matthias, Lucien discipline, vigilance, and faith.

Behind me, the rows of nobility and foreign guests loomed like shadows.

Among them sat the Queen of Valkcross, poised beside the elder council. Regal And Watchful. No expression on her face… but her eyes never left me.

And ahead of me, Evelyne.

She wore the white robe of succession simple, but the gold lining caught the light like a quiet promise.

I stood.

The hall hushed.

Each step to the podium was steady

I reached out and pinned the five-star insignia to her shoulder the mark of command in House Valery.

Then, I lifted the crown. a circlet, the Mythrigan Eye etched at its peak.

I placed it on her head.

And just like that, Evelyne became heir.

Not by blood. But by choice.

A wave of applause echoed through the hall.

When the clapping faded, I didn't step down.

I stepped toward the podium. The mic adjusted itself with a faint hum.

I took a breath, then spoke:

"From this day onward, I, Kael Valery Kaezel, with the authority granted by the Elder Council, recognize Evelyne Valery Kaezel as the true heir of House Valery.

Not because she is willing. But because when the world demanded someone to stay… she did."

I paused, letting the weight of those words settle not on me, but on her.

"The Mythrigan Eye does not see what is. It sees what could be. And what I saw… was her."

I turned, facing her crown now resting on her head, robes gleaming with gold.

And I couldn't help it

as I stepped back from the podium, something small tugged at the corner of my mouth.

A smile.

Not because it was easy. But because, for once, I meant it.

The hall was quiet for only a heartbeat.

Then, row by row, nobles began to rise.

Foreign envoys followed.

Even the Valkcross Queen inclined her head.

A full standing ovation Not for me.

But for Evelyne.

Her name now echoed with something close to reverence.

But not everyone clapped with joy.

Not everyone believed in what they saw.

—

Azmat watched in silence, his fingers tapping against the armrest.

He's giving it up willingly

No one gives up power unless they've already seen something worse coming.

This wasn't surrender.

It was preparation.

Azmat's mind shifted into calculation.

If the Eye showed him something… then every wall needed watching.

No—

Triple the guard.

—

She did not stand immediately.

Her gloved fingers rested on her lap

So this is the boy who once dishonored my blood… and they applaud him?

Her eyes traced the ceremonial steps, Kael crowning his sister with steady hands.

Had this been Valkcross, there would've been a trial.

Not a coronation. Not applause.

We teach justice with blades not masks.

She caught a faint reflection of her daughter in the polished floor beside her.

Aurelia Artoria Valkcross sat two chairs away, silently. Regal as she was taught.

She's never spoken of what happened that day.

But her silence says more than words ever could.

Still, the Queen stood.

If Kael steps down, it is not mercy.

It is preparation.

Her eyes narrowed.

You do not abandon a throne unless you've seen a storm coming.

A soft clap echoed from her hands

For the cameras. For the Empire.

Let the world believe Valkcross stands in polite support.

But if that boy's Eye ever drifts toward my daughter again…

Her gaze never left the stage.

I will not sit a second time.

—

Hero Association Headquarters –Elaron Federation Capital

A hologram played silently in the middle of the sleek conference room. Kael Valery, standing before a crown, placing it on a girl's head.

The lights of towering skyscrapers blinked behind the tinted glass walls. The Hero Association's upper floor was quiet executives watching.

Chairwoman Elene Dais sat at the head of the table with her legs crossed, expression unreadable.

Tier-5 Hero Derrin Wu spoke first, arms folded. "He didn't just abdicate. He projected the Eye mid-session. In a sealed council chamber."

Another leaned forward. "That wasn't a show of weakness. That was a test."

"Or a warning," Derrin said. "The kind a general gives right before moving troops."

Elene didn't blink. "What do we know?"

A younger exec scrolled through glowing files. "Internal Valery lines are locked. Their security protocol was upgraded days before the ceremony. Nonstandard Intentional."

Silent then

A woman from the intelligence division tapped her holopad, then looked up. "Valery Treasury and Business divisions Adelina and Cassian's circles have been operating outside routine for the past forty-eight hours."

"How?"

"Asset freeze on two trading guilds. Silent reshuffling of off-world holdings. Liquidation requests sent to multiple non-Empire banks."

No one spoke for a moment.

Derrin folded his arms. "They're insulating themselves. Quietly."

"They're preparing for something," Derrin said.

"No," Elene corrected, still watching the loop. "He's preparing."

A beat of silence.

Then Elene finally turned to the room. Her voice was calm:

"No one gives up power like that. Not unless the power they're gaining is greater, or the threat they're avoiding is worse."

"Do we assume he saw a god?"

"No," Elene said.

A pause.

"If Kael Valery is repositioning the entire House with Mythrigan foresight—

We assume he saw a war."

—

Kael Pov

After the ceremony ended, I stepped into the black car waiting at the gates, heading back to the academy.

Elira was outside, struggling with my backpack, trying to shove it into the trunk like it was a wild animal.

I leaned out the window and shouted, "Elira! Your left!"

She froze. "My left?! Where—what—"

She spun around… and turned right.

I blinked. "That's literally the opposite of what I said."

"I panicked!" she shouted. "Stop yelling confusing things!"

I burst out laughing.

She finally jammed the backpack in and stomped to the car, cheeks red and her pride bruised.

"I was under pressure," she mumbled as she climbed in beside me.

I grinned.

And so, I leaned back in my seat.

Back to KVE Union Academy…

An academy built by three nations Valkcross, the Elaron Federation, and the Keshar Dominion all working together. A political miracle wrapped in steel and glass.

I'd never been there.

Not really.

Not me.

But Kael's memories whispered enough.

And from what I've seen?

That place wasn't built for peace.

It was built to compete, to divide, to test.

And now I'd have to walk through its halls… dragging both my past and someone else's.

"Great," I muttered to myself, staring at the tinted window.

Drama, duels, politics, rankings…

And I haven't even unpacked yet.

Suddenly, Elira's voice broke the calm.

"…By the way, Kael. Why'd you give up the heirship?"

I glanced at her

"Hm? Getting serious, are you?"

"Shut it."

I leaned back in the seat, watching the sky shift past the car window.

"Because…" I paused, the words catching somewhere deeper.

Far away, I saw her young Evelyne kneeling by the pond, staring down at the broken book drifting in the water.

In that moment, something inside me stirred.

I imagined rising from my seat, the heavy robes falling silent as I moved toward her.

I saw myself kneel by the water's edge, fingers trembling as I reached for the soaked pages her wings, her dreams fragile and fading.

But it was only a vision.

The real me stayed distant.

Yet the image burned in my mind, a silent promise that next time, I would reach out.

A promise that must be kept

—

As the black car disappeared down the winding road away from the Valery compound, Evelyne stood by the tall window, watching its sleek silhouette fade into the distance.

"My lord, here is a paper and a pen," a soft voice interrupted her thoughts.

She accepted them with a delicate nod, voice soft as dusk.

"Thank you."

Her eyes wandered briefly to the side of the field, where the pond nestled beneath a cluster of willow trees.

Once, its surface had been glassy and still, reflecting only silence and waiting.

Near the edge, a single bud had rested quietly in the grass closed, waiting.

Now, as Evelyne stepped away from the window, she didn't notice the quiet change unfolding behind her.

The bud by the pond was slowly opening

soft petals stretching out, stirred gently by the breeze.

A quiet promise of new beginnings,

and the warmth of hope finally stirring in stillness.