The Banished Villainous Noble Son Who Was Used as a Stepping Stone in the Original Work Awakens to Combat and Destroys the Laws of the World - Episode 1: The Villainous Noble Son Realizes

Chapter 1

Episode 1: The Villainous Noble Son Realizes

“—Alphonse Clichard. As of this moment, you are stripped of your position as the marquis family’s heir. And furthermore, you are hereby banished from noble status.”

In the frozen atmosphere, the inquisitor’s low voice echoed.

This place was the court hall of the Central Council in Luxteria, the royal capital. The condemnation of nobles was conducted in this solemn chamber.

(—I see, so that’s the setup.)

To protect the “house,” they would cut off “me.” In this world’s noble society, that’s a perfectly logical choice.

At the center of it all, I—Alphonse—simply stood silently.

Back straight, face lifted. No agitation, no emotion showing on my face.

No—more accurately—it would be correct to say my emotions were “in a different place.”

(…Yeah, I knew it. This is *that* game…)

The moment I heard the words of condemnation, I was convinced.

Like déjà vu, visuals in my head overlapped with reality.

Character sprites. Dialogue windows. Choices. And music—

This was a scene from the otome game I once played: Celestia Love Romance.

A glamorous academy. Sons of noble families, the crown prince, the knight commander, a young magician…

Encounters and love with beautiful men called “capture targets.”

A noble girl, at times troubled by love, at times shedding tears of friendship, growing through it all—

That kind of classic otherworldly romance fantasy.

And this scene of condemnation was the villainous noble son’s banishment event.

It always happened around the midpoint of the game—a major turning point.

In other words, I—Alphonse Clichard—was the “villain.”

“This means… I have nothing to do with you anymore.”

Leticia said firmly. She no longer called me “fiancé.”

Her silver hair swayed. Her clear eyes looked straight at me,

but I couldn’t read her emotions deep within.

Still, her demeanor was resolute, cold, and somehow proud.

She was the otome game’s “heroine,” the *protagonist*.

—And this condemnation event and engagement annulment event

were an “important branching point in the original story.”

[The heroine, even after being treated unreasonably, stays true to her beliefs and moves people’s hearts.]

[Affection level caps are unlocked, and the story begins to branch into individual routes—]

(…Ah, I see.)

That means my condemnation was just “spice” for *her* story.

Standing beside the resolute Leticia was the main capture target—Crown Prince Kaiser.

His cold, downward-glancing eyes were completely those of a victor.

(I was the one who harassed her, got the engagement annulled, and was condemned—*that* kind of role.)

But I was different.

I now had the perspective of a *player*.

More precisely, I had reincarnated as Alphonse and regained my memories—a villainous noble son with a “conscious self.”

And that “self” was a former player who had *zero interest* in romance events.

Why wasn’t I interested in the romance events?

Because Celestia Love Romance had one “god-tier” element—its battle system!

Weapon skills, magic skills, guild system, monster encyclopedia, titles, combat stat synergy, hidden events, multiple skill growth paths—

It was seriously a god-tier game.

And yet, outside the romance routes, it was never explored deeply.

It rarely affected endings, treated like a “sub-content.”

At most, its true value showed in a handful of “battle events” near the end of the story.

But after those few, such events stopped appearing until the end.

That’s why players only cared about falling for handsome men and changing dresses.

I always thought it was such a waste.

The battle system alone was polished enough to rival full-blown RPGs.

(But I’m different. *Only I* know… the true essence of this game.)

—And that’s why this current situation was perfect.

I had lost my title, fame, status, and engagement.

Banished from noble society, abandoned by my family too.

But in other words—

(I’m finally free to fight all I want!!!)

The inquisitor read out the charges dispassionately.

The verbal abuse, schemes, and insults I had hurled at Leticia—

All were the deeds of the *previous* Alphonse.

But I felt absolutely no regret or guilt for them.

Because to me, those were just things “someone else did.”

Sure, I had the same body and name.

From the outside, I was still “Alphonse Clichard” who committed the crimes.

But the current me—could only see those actions as “mere data.”

Those lines, those actions—they were all just “fixed events” I’d seen countless times in the game.

Besides… I never cared about romance to begin with.

Love, jealousy, engagements, noble pride—

All that meant nothing to me compared to the battle system of this world. Which looked way more fun.

Just moments ago, any emotion I had felt toward Leticia had already vanished completely.

“…If you have any final words in your defense, now is the time.”

The inquisitor urged.

I slowly lifted my face, and smiled.

“—A defense, is it? Let’s see… I have nothing in particular.”

My father showed no reaction. He was only nodding flatly.

My mother closed her fan quietly on her lap. She was staring into the distance.

There wasn’t a single voice raised in my defense.

On the other hand, Leticia—who had delivered the condemnation—blinked in surprise.

As if my response was completely unexpected.

Even Crown Prince Kaiser subtly furrowed his brow.

His expression should’ve been full of victory’s composure. It seemed oddly mixed with confusion and caution.

“H-Hey… the discussion isn’t over—”

“Someone stop him!”

“Where’s the security!?”

I heard such voices around me.

But I had already turned my back.

I turned away from them and walked out.

—From this moment on, I was no longer a noble.

That meant I no longer had any obligation to obey their order.

(Adventurers’ Guild. Skills. Weapon shops. Checking my stats. …Damn, this is way too exciting!)

My life as a noble ended here.

But my life as a *player*—starts now.

Leaving behind the people who could only look at me with eyes like they’d seen something bizarre—

Original Author’s Comment:

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Thank you so much for reading up to this point!

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