The worst villain has a birthday

The day had finally arrived. Today was my birthday and my presentation to society.

Truthfully, I wasn’t nervous. This didn’t matter to me at all. In fact, the celebration might even help me think of a better plan.

That morning my maid woke me much earlier than usual, and I spent over an hour getting ready.

She washed my face with cold water from the pitcher, brushed my hair, and helped me layer on the clothes.

Today I wore a pretty linen underdress, wool for the cold, and finally the thick fabric outer dress that itched against my skin.

I looked at myself in the mirror and stepped out into the hall, where my father was waiting with his usual expression.

“Who would have thought the day would come,” he said, smiling. “If your mother were still alive, she would be so happy.”
“My mother…”

The words slipped out before I could stop them. Sadine’s mother had died along with Ehal’s parents—they said it was in a storm when Ehal was eight years old.

“Let’s not think about that, Sadine. Just look at yourself—you look like someone who would never shame our family.”

“Father, I would never shame our family…”

At least, that’s what I hoped.
He approached and placed a hand on my shoulder. He was wearing the family signet ring.

“Today at court everyone will see you. Duke Daliunu already inquired about you last week. And there are rumors that the young count from the eastern lands will come with his entourage.”

I nodded, pretending to be interested. In my head I was already trying to remember them from the game—they appeared in it, but none of the names rang a bell yet.

“Come, the carriage is waiting,” Father said, offering me his arm. “We shouldn’t keep the court waiting. That dress costs more than three knights’ annual salaries, so at least make it worth the expense.”

We went out to the courtyard. The carriage was white lacquered, drawn by four identical pale horses, with the golden Schutter crest on the doors.

Two servants opened it, and I climbed in without hurry.

My father would ride in another carriage. In my case, I would go with my cousin and his fiancée.

“Are you scared, Sadine?” Ahriel asked with her usual smile.

“Not at all.”

“You sure? I’ve heard a bad presentation can completely change how people see you, right, love?”

“Huh? What?” Ehal wasn’t even paying attention; he was staring out the window, ignoring his fiancée.

“We were talking about my presentation,” I said, a little louder so he wouldn’t miss it entirely.

“Oh, right.” His voice sounded like he had just woken from a dream. “You see, Sadine… public presentations like this one… they’re hell. Full of manipulation and power plays. During mine I was surrounded by women who tried to poison me.”

He fell silent for a moment, then smiled and sighed.

“And yet… it was the best moment of my life.”

I stared at him.

Poison? For real? I didn’t know if he was exaggerating to scare me or if it had actually happened. Surely the game mentioned it, but I must have skipped that part too.

“…That’s terrifying,” I murmured at last, because nothing smarter came to mind.
Ahriel let out a soft giggle, as if I were a little child.

“Don’t worry so much, Sadine. Just smile prettily and dance when they ask you to. With that dress and the jewels you’re wearing, no one will notice if you say something silly.”

I touched the pearl necklace they had put on me that morning. It weighed a ton.
My father had said the pearls were part of my mother’s dowry, but all I could think was that if I took it off I would feel much lighter.

Ehal finally turned his head toward us. His eyes were a little red, as if he hadn’t slept well.

“Don’t listen to Ahriel,” he said suddenly. “If anyone tries anything strange, just tell them your cousin is watching. Most of them would have a heart attack just seeing me frown.”

Ahriel made a face like “seriously?” but said nothing.

I only nodded, because it sounded… comforting, I suppose.

The carriage jolted over a pothole and I nearly fell onto Ahriel. She grabbed my arm so I wouldn’t face-plant.

“Careful, silly,” she said between laughs. “If you arrive at court with a broken nose, they really will change their opinion of you.”

I laughed too, though inside I thought: “Oh no, what if I actually trip or say something stupid?” Because honestly, I had no idea how I was supposed to behave once I was in there.

The rattling continued. Outside, the castle was already visible in the distance, with all its towers and flags fluttering in the wind. Something tightened in my stomach.

I wasn’t scared… was I?
When we arrived, a man who surely worked at the castle helped us down. I was no longer in my city.

The sky wasn’t cloudy—in fact, it was shining much brighter than usual. I suppose that made sense; we were in the Territory of the Fairies.

I entered alongside my cousin and his fiancée. I felt the stares in that sudden silence.

I didn’t recognize anyone from the game, so at least on that front I could relax.
“What memories,” Ehal said. His voice and footsteps echoed louder than usual. “Relax, Sadine. No one’s going to talk to you this early.”

I sighed in relief at Ehal’s words. I was surprised when he suddenly became so lucid.

“Hey, who’s there?” A much louder voice rang out. “If it isn’t the idiot Ehal.”
The owner of the voice came closer. I recognized him immediately: that muscular build, the tattoos, the tribal aesthetic—he was one of the game’s romance options.

“But if it isn’t Flontin,” Ehal replied, and his face lit up.

Flontin let out a booming laugh that made everyone else stop looking at me.
He thumped his chest with a closed fist in a warrior’s greeting, and Ehal returned the gesture without hesitation.

“What happened, you say? What happened to YOU, you bastard!” Flontin slapped him on the shoulder so hard he nearly knocked him over. “Last time I saw you, you were running from three ladies with daggers hidden in their bodices. And now you show up as your little cousin’s nanny?”

Ehal laughed—a short but genuine laugh.

“I’m not a nanny, I’m an escort. And you’re still as beastly as ever, I see. You still carrying that axe you stole from the fjord barbarians?”

Flontin turned slightly to show the handle of the axe hanging on his back, wrapped in worn leather.

“Of course. I call her ‘The Complainer,’ because when I use her she screams louder than the women chasing you.”

The two burst out laughing at the same time, as if sharing an old inside joke.
Ahriel rolled her eyes, muttering something like “men…” but didn’t interrupt.

I just stood there, watching the scene I didn’t understand, not knowing what to say.

In the game, Flontin was the rough but protective type—the one who saved the heroine. But now I was only seeing two big guys elbowing each other and talking about axes and crazy women. I felt a little out of place.

Flontin finally looked at me, and his smile grew even wider.

“And this must be the famous Sadine. The one who’s going to break hearts tonight, huh?”

I turned bright red instantly. I didn’t know if he was joking or what.

“Uh… hi,” I said, because nothing smarter occurred to me. “I don’t think I’ll break anything… I’m not that interesting.”

Ehal gave him another smack on the arm.

“Don’t scare her, idiot. She hasn’t even gone in yet and you already have her stammering.”

Flontin raised his hands in surrender, laughing.

“Easy, little one. Just kidding. If anyone bothers you inside, let me know. I’ll break their face and say it was a dance accident.”

Ehal nodded, as if it were the most normal thing in the world.

“Exactly. We’ve got your back. You just… smile and don’t trip over the dress.”

I smiled a little. At least I felt somewhat safe.

“Come on, little cousin. Time to enter the slaughterhouse,” Ehal said, offering me his arm.

I took it, because I didn’t know what else to do. Flontin walked on the other side, whistling a low warrior tune.
I wasn’t scared.

Though if Flontin was here, maybe the rest of the game’s romance interests were around too.

How wrong I was. All that time in the castle was so boring it’s not even worth describing in detail.

Nothing major happened. I just watched Ahriel shooing away every single woman who approached Ehal’s side, while he looked thoroughly embarrassed by it all. Honestly, that part was very similar to the game.

The musicians kept playing. I hadn’t danced at all. Most of the people who invited me were boys who didn’t look older than ten.

Even though I was theoretically nine years old, my mind was that of an adult, so dancing with them made me feel extremely uncomfortable.

I didn’t dance with any of them. I felt embarrassed moving like that with little kids, as if I were some oversized doll.
Instead, I went to the food table. There was a ton: honey cakes, dried fruits, small pieces of meat, bread with cheese.

I took a plate and sat in a corner far from the dance floor. I ate slowly, watching the people. The wine smelled strong, so I didn’t touch it. Just water and more cake.
Ahriel was still with Ehal, clinging to his arm every time someone came near. He kept giving me “help me” looks but said nothing. I thought: poor guy, but I didn’t get involved.

The music didn’t stop. People danced in groups, laughed, chatted about things I didn’t understand: alliances, lands, who was marrying whom. I just ate and waited for it all to end.

While I was reaching for more food, someone else went for the same thing.
It was a blond boy with a Japanese-style aesthetic. I recognized him immediately as another character from the game: Gelert Seifmarndt.

He was even shorter than me—exactly like in the game, where his height was unusually low.

“Um… excuse me,” he said, looking away and turning red. “You can take it if you want.”

“No, no problem. I can grab another one.”

“No, that would be very rude of me—especially toward you, Sadine.”

“And how do you know my name?”

“Ah, well… this is your presentation and all…” While he spoke, he fidgeted with his fingers. I didn’t remember him being this shy in the game. “Uh, I think I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Gelert Seifmarndt, the eldest noble of the Yellow Territory.”

“I’m Sadine Schutter, the eldest noble of the Frozen Territory. A pleasure to meet you, Gelert.”

“The pleasure is all mine and… well, I have to go and…”

“I understand. I hope we can see each other again.”

He ran off very quickly. He seemed like a funny boy.

“Well, back to eating,” I said to myself, since there wasn’t anything more interesting to do.

Before I could take another bite, a hand touched my shoulder and a voice whispered in my ear.

“And who was that little one?” I recognized the voice immediately—it was Ahriel.

“It was Gelert Seifmarndt. And by the way, weren’t you supposed to be guarding my cousin’s chastity?”

“Chastity? Where did you even learn a word like that?”

“I already told you—I’m not a child.”
“Relax. He ran into some of his friends and they’re chatting now. Besides, I already scared off all the home-wrecker cats at this party.”

“Really? It seems like you were actually having fun.”

“And you? Aren’t you having fun?” she said, taking both my hands. “If not, then let’s dance together.”

I stared at her for a second.

I didn’t know what to say. Ahriel had that huge smile—the kind that doesn’t let you say no. And she was holding my hands, gently pulling me toward the dance floor.

“Uh… I don’t know how to dance well,” I murmured.

“It doesn’t matter. Just follow me,” she said, already dragging me to the center of the hall.

The music was slow this time—a pavane or something similar, with soft lutes and a low drum.

People moved in pairs or lines: calm steps, forward, back, turn.

Ahriel positioned herself in front of me, placed one hand on my waist and the other in mine. I put mine on her shoulder because I didn’t know where else to put it.

“Relax, Sadine. Just watch my feet and copy,” she whispered near my ear.
We started.

She took long steps; I tried to follow without stepping on her.

At first it was clumsy: I moved too far forward, then too far back, almost tripped over my own dress. She laughed quietly and tightened her hand on my waist to guide me.

“Slower, like this,” she said. “One, two, three… turn.”

We did a full circle.

The hall blurred around us: candles, faces watching, distant laughter. My cheeks felt hot.

I didn’t know if it was from the dancing or because everyone was watching a nine-year-old girl dance with an adult woman as if it were perfectly normal. But Ahriel didn’t seem to care at all. She kept smiling, moving as if this were the easiest thing in the world.

At one point she looked straight at me.

“See? It’s not so bad. And look—no one dares interrupt us now.”

She was right. Some of the boys who had been glancing my way earlier were now looking somewhere else. Ahriel had scared them all off—not just the ones around Ehal.

The song ended. She slowly let me go, made a playful curtsy, and applauded along with everyone else.

“There. You danced. See? It wasn’t such a big deal.”

I just nodded, still breathing a little hard. My feet hurt, but not as much as I’d expected. And for the first time that night, I didn’t feel so… alone at the party.
Ahriel took my arm and led me back toward the food table.

“Now eat something else. Don’t be silly and faint from hunger.”

I took another little cake, but this time I ate it more slowly. I glanced sideways at Ahriel. She was strange, but not bad.

After finishing eating, I wanted to get some fresh air, so I went out and walked through the grand hallways.

The sky here was starry and seemed infinite—it was beautiful. I stood gazing at the sky for a long time.

“Even though it was fun,” I said to myself, “if I don’t do anything, I’ll end up dead and everyone…”

I wanted to stop thinking about it, but I couldn’t help it. I needed to make sure the game’s protagonist didn’t go after my cousin.

“How am I going to do that?”

I sighed wearily and watched as several shooting stars streaked across the night sky. I had never believed in wishes, but… I had to try. There was no harm in trying, right?

“I wish I knew what to do…” I said out loud. “No, that’s probably stupid.”

“Of course it’s not stupid,” that voice said, giving me goosebumps. “It’s noble and beautiful. We’re not perfect, but learning and knowing what you’re doing is beautiful.”

“Who’s there?” I spun around quickly. It had to be a dream—that voice was exactly like…

“Forgive my poor manners. I’m new to all this nobility business. My name is Alie Krammelz"

I knew it. She was the protagonist of the game.

But what was she doing here? Why had she come? What did she want?

So many questions. So much fear.

"What happened? Did the mice eat your tongue?" she moved much closer "Oh, but you're the one from the presentation, nice to meet you, Sadine, right?"

She can barely move her head, she is the one in charge of killing me, even if it's in the future, this was the perfect moment to not die.

I took a breath and prepared myself to speak with my executioner.

"A pleasure."

I said, smiling, I'm not going to ruin this opportunity in any way.