In the original game, Leon Vardez Serpentine was a character who only appeared in three arcs throughout the entire story. He was a side character meant to fill space and an obstacle for the main characters to pass on their way to saving the world.

At this point in time, the Lesselhia Empire was divided into three vast continents: Cofrenn, Ashen, and Zeraldia. Each continent had its own culture and politics, but all were ruled under the central power of the imperial crown.

House Serpentine was based in the capital city of Korvitch, located in Cofrenn. It was a traditional knightly family known for a practical and dangerous trade: providing elite escort services across all three continents. If a noble or an official needed to travel through dangerous territories, they hired a Serpentine knight.

Leon was the second son of that house.

Every three years, the Imperial Academy opened its doors. It was built exactly at the intersection of the three continents, accepting young cadets from all regions of the empire. There, trainees were taught how to protect and serve the empire.

As a member of a knightly family, Leon’s path had already been decided. He would graduate from the academy, return to Korvitch, and become a Heresy Inquisitor assigned to oversee the Magus Faction—a group of magic users monitored closely by the state.

In the original story, he crossed paths with the Hero and the Saintess only three times.

First, at the academy, where they shared the same class for three years, and he became the Hero’s rival.

Second, after graduation, during a dungeon expedition to eradicate a sudden outbreak of demons.

Third, during the Great War, which began when the villainess fully awakened her powers and opened a massive portal to the Demon World.

Those were the only times he ever appeared.

However, things had never gone that way.

From the moment he had possessed Leon’s body, he completely strayed from that path. Because Seraphina, the future villainess, attended the academy as well. He had stayed close to her, watching her movements even outside the arcs where he was supposed to appear, trying to change the story.

And every single time, the world ended in ruin.

This time, however, he intended to do things differently. He decided to follow the original path perfectly, but he would add one small twist.

No matter what happened at the academy, he would kill the villainess before he graduated.

In every timeline he experienced, the Great War began exactly two years after graduation. That gave him a clear timeline. He had three years at the academy. Three years to eliminate Seraphina.

The reason he decided to get rid of her during that time was simple. The villainess did not awaken her demonic powers until graduation night. Before that, her powers were completely dormant.

There were rare cases where she awakened earlier, but those outcomes were tied to specific triggers of specific routes. If Leon avoided those triggers, he could prevent a premature awakening.

No, he would prevent it.

That was the first part of his plan.

The second problem was the massive difference in their baseline power.

Even without her demonic abilities, Seraphina possessed divine blessings that enhanced her physical strength, speed, and endurance. And even without those blessings, she was still a formidable opponent.

She came from the Armathorne Dukedom, a famous lineage of warriors who wielded Holy Swords. Her natural talent with a blade was unmatched. In the future, her brutal efficiency on the battlefield would earn her the title "Warhound of the Lesselhia Empire."

At this stage, the only person capable of killing an unawakened Seraphina was the Hero himself. The protagonist had the natural growth and strength to match her.

But the Hero had no reason to act. He was passive early in the story and had no motive to attack the daughter of a duke unless the Saintess was harmed.

Seraphina only realized the Hero’s feelings for the Saintess after graduation. Until then, she simply ignored the Saintess, viewing her as someone beneath her notice.

Leon could try to force a situation where Seraphina injured the Saintess earlier at the academy, forcing the Hero to kill her.

But that was too dangerous.

If Seraphina discovered the Hero’s feelings too soon, she might change her tactics and eliminate the Saintess before she had the chance to fully awaken.

And if she felt cornered, she might awaken her demonic powers early and lose control, creating a massive imbalance in the academy.

The power hierarchy was simple:

Without demonic powers, Seraphina was weaker than the Hero but stronger than a partially awakened Saintess.

With demonic powers, she surpassed both the Hero and the partially awakened Saintess combined.

However, she could not overcome the Hero if he was supported by a fully awakened Saintess.

Because of this, Leon could not allow the Saintess to die. She was the key to the world's survival. Even if Seraphina killed her before awakening, the Hero’s reckless retaliation would still ruin the empire and trigger a bad ending.

There had been exceptions in his past lives.

In Leon’s fifty-fifth regression, the Hero managed to kill Seraphina before she awakened. Leon had thought he had won. But without a fully awakened Saintess, the Hero failed to stop the destruction brought by the Demon World. The sky tore open anyway.

Even in the so-called good endings of the game, the portal to the Demon World still opened. Avoiding Seraphina’s influence did not stop the Great War. It only changed how the war unfolded.

Another solution was to awaken the Saintess earlier, during their time at the academy. Leon had tried that before. He had become her friend, her mentor, and her protector in various timelines.

It never worked.

He did not know the exact conditions required for her awakening. In every iteration, she only partially awakened for reasons he could not identify.

Worse, in the timelines where she got close to a full awakening, Seraphina’s instincts would flare up, and she would kill the Saintess during the process. The awakening left the Saintess at her weakest, making it the perfect moment to strike.

Leon could no longer rely on uncertain conditions. He could not gamble the fate of the world on outcomes that depended on chance.

If his plan failed and things reached that point, it would become a fifty-fifty scenario.

That was completely unacceptable.

For this world to survive, both the Hero and the Saintess had to live. And for them to live, the villainess had to die.

This was his last chance, and there was no room for error.

He had just one task remaining.

Create the ideal path to a good ending where the villainess dies.

To do that, he had to get close to her before the academy even started.

Leon got to his desk and pulled the cord to ring for a servant. A moment later, Mai stepped into the room again.

“Young Master, did you call for me?”

“Send word for an escort opening to the Armathorne Dukedom.”

“Yes, Young Mas—wait, what?”

Leon’s gaze remained steady.

If he wanted to win, he could not wait for the devil to move first.

He would walk right into her territory and sharpen his blade while standing directly in her shadow.

◈—◈—◈—◈—◈

A dream.

It was a dream where the world ended in her hands, covered in the blood of innocents.

A dream where the cities burned, the earth cracked open, and she had slaughtered everyone in her path.

A dream where, at the end of the carnage, she always saw the same thing.

A lone man stood before her.

He was covered in wounds, but his eyes were empty. They didn't hold any fear or anger, but absolute resolve.

She saw those same eyes every single time.

—!

Seraphina woke up with a start.

Sweat covered her forehead, and her breath came in short gasps. Her throat felt completely dry, like a barren wasteland.

She reached for the cup of water on her nightstand, her hands shaking slightly. She picked it up and drank the water quickly.

Chug, chug.

As the liquid cooled her throat, she felt her breathing slow down, and her senses slowly returned.

“Hoo...”

She took a deep breath, rubbing her aching forehead.

‘Again...’

She thought, grimacing.

‘The same dream, once again.’

She couldn’t remember exactly when it started, but it had been happening for the past year.

A blood-red sky, a ruined battlefield, and the heavy stench of death. There was always blood on her hands, her hair, and her face. And then, there were those eyes.

It was the same nightmare every time.

The corpses and the violence of the war always shook her nerves, but the eyes were different.

‘The eyes...!’

Strangely, they calmed her down. It was a fearless look that seemed to stare right into her soul. It felt familiar, yet completely unfamiliar at the same time.

In all her past dreams, she could never make out the face of the person those eyes belonged to. A thick shadow always covered his features.

‘But this time...’

In the final seconds of the dream today, the shadow had thinned. She had distinctly seen the shape of a man standing before her.

‘Who…’

Or what… was tormenting her? Watching her?

These questions filled her mind every time she woke up. But no matter how much she thought about it or searched through books, she could never find an answer. It never revealed itself.

It was misery wrapped in the boundlessness of a dream.

Knock, knock.

A sharp knock on the door broke her thoughts.

“...Come in.”

Creeaak—!

The heavy door slowly opened, and a man dressed in a neat black suit and wearing a monocle stepped into the room. He stopped and bowed deeply.

“Greetings, Lady Seraphina.”

“What brings you here, Harold?” Seraphina asked, pulling a robe over her nightgown.

“The official invitation from the Imperial Academy has arrived, my Lady.”

‘Boring,’ Seraphina thought as she stood up from her bed.

She walked over to the large window. Outside, the sun was completely hidden behind dark clouds. Heavy rain was pouring down, making the air feel cold and damp. The sound of the water hitting the glass pane was loud, but it helped soothe the ache in her head.

Pit, pat, pit, pat.

The regular rhythm of the rain helped her relax.

“Leave it on the desk,” Seraphina told her butler. “I’ll look at it later.”

Harold did not leave. He remained standing by the door, looking slightly hesitant.

“There is one more thing, my Lady.”

“What is it?”

“...The Duke has accepted an escort offer from House Serpentine.”

Seraphina turned around immediately, her eyes narrowing.

“An escort?”

"Yes, my Lady. You are to be escorted to the Imperial Academy by Young Master Leon Vardez."

“...And why would I require an escort I didn't request? This is the Armathorne estate. We have our own guards, and I am perfectly capable of travelling alone.”

Harold bowed lower, a drop of sweat running down his face.

“I am not aware of the reasons, my Lady. The order came directly from the Duke’s office. The contract is already signed.”

Seraphina’s expression turned cold. Her father never did anything without a practical reason.

“...I’ll go see Papa. Take me to his study.”

“My Lady...” Harold hesitated, shifting his feet. “The Duke is currently in a restrictive meeting.”

“A meeting?”

Seraphina’s eyes widened for a fraction of a second before her face went blank again.

“Why am I not…”

She didn't need to finish her question.

Harold continued quietly, “The Elder Sons, your brothers, have just returned from the northern expedition. The Duke has been in the war room with them since early this morning. He explicitly stated he does not want to be disturbed by... anyone.”

Grip.

Seraphina’s fingers tightened against the fabric of her robe, her nails pressing into her palm, a familiar coldness settling in her chest. She slowly forced her hand to relax.

“...I see.”

She turned back toward the window, feeling more tired than when she had first woken up.

Seeing her silence, Harold spoke up gently.

“My Lady, if you are uncomfortable with this arrangement, I can try to schedule a meeting with the Duke later tonight when he is free.”

Seraphina watched the rain stream down the glass.

“There is nothing to discuss. Papa accepted the offer. I will comply.”

“Yes, my Lady. Then I shall prepare the house for their arrival.”

Harold bowed one last time and quietly closed the door behind him.

Seraphina stood alone in front of the window.

‘It’s nothing,’

She told herself, trying to ignore the unsettled feeling in her chest.

‘Nothing unusual.’

She tried to push the thoughts away, but the peaceful sound of the rain no longer brought her comfort. Another heavy knot had formed in her heart, and the image of those empty, fearless eyes refused to leave her mind.