MVBOM 01

Chapter 1

What is a villain? How can this word be defined?

When I was young, I watched a movie about pirates.

At that age, it was important to distinguish between good people and bad people, so after watching TV for a while, I got confused and asked my mother.

“Mom, who’s the bad guy in there?”

“They’re all the same.”

“Really?”

My eyes widened at her words, and I stared blankly at the TV.

It was a time when I believed that good and evil should be clearly defined, so my mother’s answer was quite shocking. But upon closer examination, they were all the same—each simply pursuing their own interests.

The protagonist was only receiving the audience’s support because of the position they were assigned as the protagonist.

From that point on, a villain became not a ‘bad person’ to me, but ‘a force that opposes the protagonist.’

That’s how I defined a villain. Ta-da!

Therefore, the villain here is no different.

Raymond Roussleau, the leader of the faction opposing the protagonist, appears as the villain in this web novel, [Taming the Mad Emperor]. And he is my ultimate favorite.

The Grand Duke Roussleau wasn’t loved only by me.

Although he is a villain, he was a charming character. A man who dedicated his entire life to avenging his parents, yet knew how to cherish and care for his people—cold hands, but a warm heart.

Especially his beautiful appearance—ah, it was truly the pinnacle.

His black hair was like a mysterious and dangerous black hole that seemed to absorb everything.

His blue-green eyes were deep and luminous, as if the entire blue sea had been transplanted into them.

Add to that his height of 185 centimeters and his broad, Pacific Ocean-like shoulders—he was the very image of a dignified commander leading his troops. Just the sight of him standing at the edge of a cliff, gazing somberly over the battlefield, was like a scene from a movie.

His appearance was devastating enough to rival that of the male protagonist, who was also his cousin—the Emperor.

Grand Duke Roussleau was actually very popular among readers and was even featured in illustrations, with that chapter receiving explosive views and comments. The author even posted a separate notice of gratitude for the overwhelming support. The Grand Duke was the one who hard-carried this otherwise unpopular novel.

After that, several more illustrations were uploaded, and needless to say, my room was plastered with them. These days, web novels even produce short promotional videos called book trailers, and I’m not lying when I say I must have watched that one at least three hundred times.

And so, my joyful fangirl life suddenly became reality through a traffic accident one day.

An SUV, not noticing the signal had changed, charged forward and struck the back seat of the taxi I was riding in on my way home. It was a direct hit, so it must have been instant death.

The moment I perceived the headlights and the oncoming vehicle rushing toward me, my mind went dark as if a switch had been flipped—and I had become a character in the web novel [Taming the Mad Emperor].

—

*Huff, huff.*

I snapped my eyes open at the suffocating sensation. But even after opening them, all I could see was the same darkness whether my eyes were open or closed.

Is there something covering my face?

I raised my hand to pull it off, but my wrists were bound by something. In short, I was completely immobilized. No matter how I thought about it, only one situation came to mind.

Am I… kidnapped?!

To grasp the situation, I quietly focused my senses. First, I was lying on something soft. Judging by the springy sensation when I shifted my hips, I figured it was probably a bed.

It wasn’t easy to sit up with my wrists bound, but I squirmed like a shrimp several times and managed to raise my upper body. In the process, I learned two things: the bed was very spacious, and the blanket was silky smooth like silk.

Where is this? Why was I brought here?

But my head only ached, and nothing came to mind.

*Tap, tap.*

Then, I heard footsteps from afar, gradually approaching. Soon, a door opened and someone entered the room.

*Creak—thud.*

It wasn’t a loud sound, but given my state, it sent chills down my spine.

The realization that the person who had clearly kidnapped me had entered made my heart start pounding wildly with tension.

“You’re awake, I see.”

Only one person entered the room.

From the voice, it seemed to be a man—a low, gentle tone that, even in this situation, struck me as pleasant. It wasn’t aggressive or sharp, but calm and steady, somehow putting my mind at ease.

Thanks to that, I found the courage to attempt a conversation.

My entire face was covered with a mask, but my mouth wasn’t sealed, so I decided to speak.

“Wh-Where is this…?”

Fear was evident in my voice. But all I received was a soft scoff—no reply.

So they have no intention of giving me information about the location. Then I needed to ask differently.

“Why did you bring me here?”

Only after my second question did the man slowly part his lips.

“You already know the reason.”

No, I don’t know at all.

But only a fruitless answer came back. To bring me, who was living an ordinary life, here without warning and claim I know the reason—the man was saying things I couldn’t understand, and such words gave me no useful information.

I had no choice but to move on to the next question.

“What are you going to do with me?”

“Well, I’m not sure. I’m still pondering that myself. But since it’s uncomfortable to talk, shall I remove that first?”

The man, who had been standing a little away, suddenly strode toward me.

R-Remove what?!

Startled, I flinched and shrank back, but the next thing I felt was the mask being pulled off my head.

In an instant, my pitch-black vision brightened.

Oh?

And then, I experienced a complete revelation.

A feeling as if I had been reborn. My eyes froze in shock at the unprecedented brilliance I was witnessing for the first time in the world.

Before me was the most handsome face I could have ever imagined.

He stood somewhere on the borderline between a handsome man and a warm-hearted man, and he was absolutely drenched in my type.

Good heavens…

I stared blankly, unable to close my mouth. I was even on the verge of drooling.

“Why are you so surprised?”

The man before me wore a bewildered expression.

That expression was unbelievably cute, too.

Crazy, this is crazy!!

My soul was bouncing around inside my body like an excited monkey.

I knew it the moment I saw him. This person was my ultimate favorite, the one I tossed and turned in my blankets over every night, longing to see!

“Raymond Roussleau.”

I slurped and swallowed the saliva pooling in my mouth, then spoke his name. My cheeks flushed crimson with excitement.

“Yes, that’s right. Aileen Cowet.”

The Grand Duke looked at me and called me that. Only then did my sense of reality begin to slowly return.

After all, I had been so out of my mind at the sight of my favorite person right before my eyes that I had completely forgotten about my own situation.

Aileen Cowet?

I mulled over the familiar name.

Aileen—that was definitely the name of a minor extra character in the web novel [Taming the Mad Emperor], the fiancée of Emperor Kyle Roussleau… Could it be that I had possessed that woman?

If so, this situation makes sense.

Because Grand Duke Roussleau kidnaps Aileen Cowet, the Emperor’s official fiancée.

According to the original novel, the late Emperor Karlon Roussleau ruled with tyranny. Under the pretext of strengthening royal authority, he slaughtered all of his brothers, including Lewin Roussleau—Raymond Roussleau’s father.

Kyle, who grew up under a terrifying father, was initially close to Raymond. He was a proper child, unlike what one would expect from a tyrant, so expectations were high. People believed that the day he became Emperor, peace would descend upon the Prares Empire. But after the Emperor died and Kyle ascended the throne, he suddenly changed. Rumors spread in the streets that the son was just like the father.

In response, Raymond resolved to seek revenge and stage a rebellion. Kidnapping the Emperor’s fiancée was also part of his revenge plan to tarnish the Emperor’s reputation.

That aside, my heart began to race for a different reason.

The Grand Duke slowly sat down on the edge of the bed. The distance between his face and mine was now about a handspan. He stroked my cheek with the back of his hand, then lifted my chin with his fingers.

“What if I were to steal a kiss from the noble lips of Lady Cowet?”

The Grand Duke’s gaze, peering through half-lidded eyes, was devastatingly seductive. Those blue-green eyes enticing the other person were a sea I wanted to dive into—one that felt like it would make my nosebleed burst forth at any moment. His red military uniform only added to his sexiness.

Oh my, oh my—this is exactly that scene.

The very scene where the Grand Duke deliberately tries to seduce Aileen to torment the Emperor, only to stop himself.