haytham_

After dying in an accident with his little sister, Kenji wakes up in the body of the young duke, a powerful but widely despised official in the Camelot Empire. Everyone sees him as a cunning traitor who manipulated the young Empress's rise to power. But he just want to survive. The story follows Kenji as he navigates dangerous court politics while trying to shed his predecessor's villainous reputation. Though the emoress suspect and resent him, she can't eliminate him without risking her own position against rival factions.

I died as a hardcore gamer, only to open my eyes in a cultivation fantasy I once played. Not as the hero. Not even as a helpful mentor. or a big villian... But as the cannon fodder destined to die before the first act even concludes. I recognize this world instantly—the sprawling mansions of nobility, the immortal sects hidden in misty mountains, the power hierarchy where cultivators stand above common folk. I've played through this story dozens of times, defeated every hidden boss, unlocked every secret ending. And now I'm trapped inside it, wearing the skin of the game's first villain. My position? The worthless young master of a prestigious family, universally despised yet secretly possessing a dormant bloodline that nobody in-game ever discovered because this character dies too quickly. But something is wrong. Characters are behaving differently than they did in the game. Events are unfolding in unexpected ways. The cold beauty who should immediately despise me seems strangely interested in my skills. The vixen villianess who orchestrated my demise now studies me with curiosity. Is my presence changing the storyline? Or was there always more to this world than what players could see through their screens? With each deviation from the script I memorized, my meta-knowledge becomes less reliable. Yet it remains my greatest weapon as I navigate political intrigue, forge unlikely alliances, and desperately work to awaken powers that were never meant to be unlocked by a character designed only to die. I refuse to be expendable. I reject the role assigned to me. In a world where destiny is supposedly predetermined, I will rewrite the algorithm itself—or break the entire system trying.

In the church's prison, a man looked at his shackles. 'Little girl... is this the ending you wanted to see?' Thinking back to that resolute and pretty face in his memory and that golden hair like the blooming sunset, Lister sighed. 'If I had known that my end will be like this, I might as well have abandoned that little useless princess, opened a small tavern, and found a woman to spend my life with.' "Man, how unlucky am I..." Lister remembered that while he was playing with these little fluffy monster girls, he used to often tease a certain witch that she would accidentally end up on the stake, making her puzzled, but he didn't expect that he would be the one to go up first. "If all this could start over... I should have chosen the monster girls after all." "Oh? Really?" A cold yet teasing voice sounded beside him. As he turned his head to look, powerful magic energy gathered and swirled, and finally, a tall female figure walked out of it. She wore a tight black dress that showed off her curvy, mature figure. Lister knew her... or rather, should have known her. 'The Sinful Dragon Demon Lord, Priscilla' "Did you really mean it when you said you'd choose monster girls?" "...I wonder if the mighty Demon Lord has decided to grace me with a heart-to-heart in this cozy little prison." "As expected of the mastermind who single-handedly helped that incompetent woman to the throne. Even now you have the energy to crack jokes?" "You flatter me. I think it's quite humanistic for a Demon Lord who has children for breakfast, lunch, and dinner to chat with a dying man in prison." "Tsk, getting upset over a little teasing already?" "Sigh, alright, I don't have much time either. Let me get to the point with you. What are you still waiting for here, waiting to die?" "I don't know, maybe waiting for a female Demon Lord to come swoop in and save me?" "You know Aurola has abandoned you. What are you still hoping for?" "...So what does this have to do with the Demon Lord? We only have a very shallow cooperative relationship; I don't think it matters if I die or not." "Of course it does." Priscilla smiled and pressed the blunt end of her dragon horn against his forehead. "Because I want you, but I'm different from Aurola. What she gave you, I can give. What she couldn't give you, I can also give. Didn't you want to choose monster girls? In the Demon Capital, there are all kinds of monster girls. You can pick whichever you like." "Then, are there fluffy and warm ones?" "...I think the ones with hard scales and slender, elegant physiques are not bad either." "Ahem, I digress." "Anyway, I understand you better than you think. As long as you come with me to the Demon Capital, I will satisfy your everything within my power. As long as you promise me one thing..." "I know." Lister picked up where Priscilla left off, smiling back at her. "You want me, right?" "What a smarty~. So, you agree?" "Mm. I'll go with you." 'And come on, it's fluffy monster girls' 'I can't refuse.'