I Enrolled as the Villain

"Lucia, I…"

My voice barely came out. There were a thousand things I wanted to say, but none of them felt enough.

She turned her head slightly, still bandaged, eyes hidden beneath the gauze.

"Kael, I… I'm sorry. I said too much, I shouldn't have—"

"No. Please don't."

I stepped closer, voice firmer than before — not to silence her, but to stop her from blaming herself.

"You didn't say too much."

I sat down beside her again. The chair was cold. The silence louder than anything.

"You said what I needed to hear. What I should've heard years ago."

Lucia didn't reply, but her hand twitched just slightly like she wanted to reach out, but wasn't sure if she was allowed.

I looked down at her, then whispered:

"You waited by a locked door… and I never turned the key."

A breath.

"I'm sorry for every second of that."

For a moment, she didn't move. Didn't speak.

Then, slowly without drama, without sound her head tilted, and her body slumped gently back against the bed.

Her fingers loosened.

Her breath slowed.

She had fainted.

I stayed there in the chair.

Watching her sleep, finally.

Alone with the silence she used to fill.

—————

I remember it clearly.

That day.

My small hand wrapped in my father's, led gently not lovingly through the marbled corridor of the Valery banquet hall.

The sound of music echoed across the golden dome above, beautiful and distant, like it belonged to a dream I hadn't earned.

Velvet curtains lined the edges of the hall. Gold-plated walls shimmered beneath candlelight.

Each wall bore the Eye the symbol of our House engraved into the metal like a silent watcher.

It gleamed in every direction.

We walked slowly. My shoes barely made a sound.

Then a tall woman approached us, her voice sharp and warm like clinking coins.

"Azmat. How long has it been?"

I glanced up.

She wore golden jewelry with red accents, and her presence felt like a painting come alive. Elder Lady Adelina. I remembered her name even though no one told me.

"Lucia," my father said.

"you'll be spending time in the children's room."

He pointed toward a quiet room tucked beside the main banquet.

There was a mirror on the wall a large one. Tinted. One where adults could see in, but children could never see out.

"If anything happens," he said, "we'll be right next door."

He didn't kneel. Didn't smile.

Just gave me a gentle push forward.

I obeyed.

The door closed behind me with a soft click.

Inside, the room was too big for a child.

There were toys, but none used. Books, but untouched. A playhouse with a locked door. A small window too high to reach

There were already children inside older than me, louder than me.

All of them sitting in a circle around a boy in the middle.

He didn't smile, but everyone listened when he spoke.

That must be Kael.

I wanted to go near them…But something stopped me. So instead, I looked around.

In the corner, near the shelf, something soft caught my eye.

A bunny.

White. With a red ribbon around its neck.

It looked clean, new.

But also like no one had touched it in a very long time.

I reached out and picked it up.

It was so soft.

I held it close to my chest.

"Wow… you're cute," I whispered.

My voice echoed a little in the empty corner.

No one noticed me.

But that was okay.

The bunny didn't mind.

I sat down by myself — far from the circle, far from the mirror.

And hugged the toy tighter.

I carried the bunny across the floor, its soft ears bouncing with each step.

"Let's go, Bunny," I whispered, guiding it across the marble tiles.

"An adventure awaits!"

I giggled quietly and tiptoed behind a column like we were sneaking through enemy territory.

That's when a shadow fell over me.

I turned —

and saw a girl.

She was older than me, taller too. Her hair was neat, her clothes too perfect.

But her eyes weren't mean. Just… curious.

"Hello!" she said brightly.

I blinked. "Hello…"

"I'm Evelyne," she said proudly, hands behind her back. "And I'm going to be the future heir of the Valery House!"

I gasped a little.

"Oh— sorry, Leader!" I said, holding out the bunny quickly. "Do you want this? We can share!"

She blinked, surprised, then smiled —

not the kind of smile adults make to look polite,

but the real kind.

"Hmm… only if Bunny wants to come too," she said, kneeling down beside me.

I nodded.

"Bunny likes sharing."

And just like that…

we played together.

————

The music of the banquet echoed softly off the golden walls lined with Eye emblems. But in a secluded lounge tucked behind a velvet curtain, two of Valery's pillars spoke not with pleasantries — but with weight.

Azmat Valery, stood with his arms behind his back. voice cold with logic.

Across from him, seated in a chair of carved obsidian and silver trim, was Kaezel Valery — the Lord of the House. His eyes — the Lumigan, bright and sharp like a sun carved into a blade — fixed on the elder before him.

Azmat spoke first.

"Kaezel… let's speak plainly."

Kaezel did not blink.

"You always do."

Azmat gave a small nod.

"About my daughter. Lucia."

Kaezel tilted his head slightly. Listening.

"She's disciplined. Clean record. Bloodline unbroken for twelve generations. You've seen her performance reports."

Kaezel's gaze didn't waver.

Azmat continued, a hint more carefully.

"Would you consider her… for Lord Kael?"

A pause. The weight of the sentence lingered between them.

Kaezel leaned forward slightly the light of the chandelier catching the etched Mythrigan crest on his ring.

"You're asking if your daughter could be my son's fiancée."

Azmat didn't flinch.

"I would not have brought it up lightly, my lord. You know what I see in her.""

Kaezel exhaled — slow, not tired, but as if pushing out something heavy.

Then he spoke. Not to Azmat, not entirely. Almost like he was remembering something.

"Ketsugan… awakens easily.

A grey eye. Common. Obedient. It sees what it's told to see.

Safe."

He paused, then continued, a faint edge in his voice.

"Terragan the buried stone. Rarer. Heavier. It doesn't shimmer, it endures.

Those who bear it don't rise quickly, but when they do… you can't move them."

His gaze dropped slightly as if pulled somewhere far away.

"Korigan… that one's cursed, in its way. The eye of the moon. Beautiful. Distant. It sees too much, but feels too little.

And those who bear it? They shine in darkness… but they rarely come back from it."

The room was quiet. The banquet music outside a distant murmur.

"Lumigan… ah. The sun carved into a gaze. That light doesn't warm, Azmat it scorches. It blinds the weak. Burns the proud. You don't choose Lumigan. You survive it."

Kaezel's fingers curled on the obsidian armrest. For just a moment a crack in the steel.

"And Mythrigan…"

A long breath.

"You shouldn't ask me about that."

His eyes the Lumigan flared, just slightly.

Kaezel looked at Azmat again but now, something colder lingered beneath.

"So if you're asking me whether your daughter might awaken an eye worthy of him…Ask yourself this instead, Azmat —"

"Do you want her to?"

Kaezel's reply came slowly. Not dismissive just… final.

"Kael can choose whoever he wants."

His voice was low, ironbound.

"He won't be running out of options, Azmat."

The silence afterward said everything. Kaezel wasn't insulting Lucia but reminding Azmat of something greater:

That Kael was not just a son.

He was a symbol.

A myth walking in mortal skin.

And myths… don't take orders.

Not even from the council.

Azmat bowed slightly. Not out of submission — but out of respect for power.

"Of course, my Lord. Consider it only a suggestion. From one who believes in strengthening the Eye."

Kaezel didn't speak at first. His gaze lingered not on Azmat, but beyond — toward the ballroom below. Toward a woman in deep violet silk, speaking with Adelina.

His wife.

The Lady of Valery.

His voice, when it returned, was quieter. Not softer — but more human.

"Lucia… she reminds me of her. Of the one I chose. Stern eyes. Silent discipline. Always listening."

Azmat's brow shifted, just slightly. He said nothing.

Kaezel stood slowly, shoulders heavy. His next words were precise not an approval but something in between.

"Let her attend private Kael's class. Let her walk the same halls."

A pause. Just enough for Azmat to think it meant more.

"We'll see what the Eye decides."

He didn't smile. But for the first time in the conversation his tone didn't carry finality. It carried possibility.

Azmat gave a firm nod. His posture eased just slightly.

Kaezel, however, had already turned.

And behind his glowing eyes… something unreadable stirred.

—————-

A few days after the banquet, my father began bringing me to the Valery Main Estate.

As we arrived, just before father leave me at the training field, he turned sharply.

His voice cut through the summer air like frost.

"Lucia," he said, "listen closely."

"Do not ever ever speak down to him. Not in tone. Not in posture. Not even by accident."

His eyes didn't soften. They sharpened.

"You lower him," he said quietly,

"even in jest… and I will hear about it."

I froze. My hands clenched the hem of my uniform. He didn't wait for a reply. He turned and walked away.

That was the first time I saw him up close.

Kael Valery.

The heir.

The myth.

He was already standing at the far end of the courtyard

A servant knelt beside him, holding a tray of water.

Kael shouted something the servant immediately flinched and set the tray down as if he'd done something wrong.

I didn't move. I barely breathed.

Kael.. he stood like a war general

Time passes and—

Swordsmanship class began shortly after.

It wasn't a real duel just forms and drills.

Kael moved like he was born holding a sword.

Even when he fumbled, breaking the sword which he did, once — the instructor said nothing. Only nodded.

"Perfect recovery, Lord Kael."

When I stepped forward to copy the same form?

"Lucia! That's not the stance we trained."

My arm shook as I corrected it. My eyes flicked to Kael he didn't look at me.

He never did.

Maybe he already knew about my mistake just doesn't feel acknowledge it

From then on

I began watching kael from behind

I didn't admire Kael because he was kind.

He wasn't.

He was cruel, perfectionist, loud, and terrifying.

But I needed him to see me.

Because if Kael saw you… if he acknowledged you…

Even once…

You mattered.

You became part of the myth.

So I trained harder.

Memorized his sword forms.

Learned what foods he liked, what days he trained longer, what phrases he used when angry.

I never spoke to him.

Not once.

But I watched.

Every shout. Every snapped command. Every time his eye that cursed god eye turned and made even the elders flinch.

And I thought:

If I can endure that gaze… if I can be the one who doesn't flinch…

Maybe he'll choose me.

Few days later

It was supposed to be just sword drills.

The main courtyard was closed, so they sent us to the east hall the one with polished obsidian floors and tall, quiet walls. Only two students.

Just me.

And him.

Kael Valery.

He stood at the center of the training room like the floor itself bowed beneath his presence. The Mythrigan Eye glinted faintly.

I didn't speak. I didn't dare.

"Step forward," Kael said.

I obeyed instantly. Every part of me trembling.

We practiced stances for a while. In silence. He didn't correct me just stared. Just moved. Perfectly.

I messed up. I knew I did.

I shifted my left foot when it should've stayed planted.

He noticed.

He said nothing.

Until…

"You're not ready."

I opened my mouth to protest to apologize.

But Kael turned toward the far end of the room.

There was a small door. One I hadn't noticed before. Tucked beneath the wall sconces. Black wood. No windows.

He walked toward it.

Opened it.

And gestured.

"Inside."

I blinked. "I— I didn't mean to—"

"Inside."

I hesitated only a second.

He took a step toward me.

I stepped in.

The room was small. No bigger than a closet. It smelled of polish and dust.

Before I could say anything. The door slammed shut.

Click.

Silence.

I pressed my hand against the wood. My heart thumped against my ribs.

"Kael…?"

No answer.

I listened.

Nothing.

Not footsteps.

Not breath.

Just my own.

I waited. Minutes. Hours maybe.

There was no window. Just darkness. Just me.

I curled up in the corner. I didn't cry. I didn't dare.

Because somehow I knew—

This was a lesson.

Not about swords.

About him.

About what happened when you disappointed the myth.

⸻

A few days later—

When the door finally opened, he was already gone.

He never mentioned it again. Neither did I.

But in the days that followed, when light touched my eyes—

it burned brighter than before.