I Am The Game's Villain Chapter 809: Jeanne SS [7]

"A dangerous game, you say," Jeanne said.

Eric let out a quiet breath and nodded.

"Yeah. But honestly... I don’t think we were simply dragged into a game." He glanced toward the garden path ahead, his expression hardening with thought. "Everything here feels too real and too alive. It’s not like stepping inside a fictional world. If anything, it feels more like..."

"The game was based on real events?" Jeanne finished for him.

Eric looked back at her and nodded again.

"That’s what I think."

For a moment, Jeanne fell silent. Somehow, that idea felt even stranger than the alternative. It was one thing to imagine being thrown into a fantasy world from a game. It was another to imagine that the game itself had merely been a distorted window into something that already existed.

"Then you know the future?" She asked.

"Some of it," Eric replied. "The game was a trilogy. The events of the first game are already over, and the second one should be nearing its end as well. But neither of those really concerns us right now." His face grew more serious. "The third game is the real problem. It should begin in a year, maybe two at most. And when it does, it’ll become dangerous."

"But you do know what is supposed to happen, don’t you?"

"Yes," Eric said. "At least in broad strokes. But a lot has already changed. There are too many unexpected elements now. Me, for one. And now you too." He shook his head faintly. "Things are no longer unfolding exactly the way they did in the game. Even the events of the first game already went off course."

"Because you intervened?" Jeanne asked.

Eric hesitated.

"No..."

His thoughts drifted, almost inevitably, toward Edward.

He was the main reason so much had changed in the First Game after all.

For a moment he considered how much he should say. There was also John. But in the end, he decided it was not his place to tell all of their truths for them. If Jeanne was going to meet them, then perhaps they should speak for themselves.

Still, there was one thing he could tell her.

"I’m not the only person from Earth who ended up here," he said. "There are others too. Others who woke up inside the bodies of characters."

Jeanne’s eyes widened.

"There are other people from Earth?" She asked at once.

Eric nodded. "Yeah. There are."

Hearing it, Jeanne seemed surprised but also relieved in some way.

"They’re actually one of the main reasons so much changed last year," Eric continued. "A lot of what happened turned out differently because of them. But... I think it would be better if they told you about themselves directly."

Jeanne gave a small nod, not pressing him further. Even that much was enough for now.

Then Eric lowered his gaze briefly.

"I’m sorry you got dragged into this," he said.

Jeanne turned toward him. "What?"

He sighed softly. "I feel like this happened because of me. Like you ended up here because of my existence in this world."

Jeanne frowned faintly.

"No," she said, shaking her head. "You’re not the one who summoned me."

"I know," he replied. "But I still can’t shake the feeling that you got caught in this because of me."

And he meant it. He could not believe it was mere coincidence that Jeanne, of all people, had been brought here. His older stepsister. Someone tied so closely to his old life. No matter how he looked at it, it felt too meaningful to dismiss as a simple coincidence.

And after all the talks he had with Edward, she was sure there were more things at play.

Jeanne looked at him for a moment, then said simply, "Then let’s just survive."

Eric blinked.

Then, despite everything, he smiled.

"Yeah," he said. "Let’s survive."

After that, the conversation eased into something quieter, less strained. Eric found himself speaking more freely, telling Jeanne about the past ten years of his life in this world. Not everything, not all at once, but enough to give her a clearer sense of what this place was like, who mattered, what dangers existed, and which people she could trust.

"Aurora really is trustworthy," he said at one point. "You can rely on her."

"She is," Jeanne agreed.

"And if you ever have any problems," Eric added, turning serious again, "call me. I’ll help you."

That earned a small smile from her.

"But I suppose it would be better if we kept our relationship a secret," she said after a moment.

Eric rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Yeah... it might confuse people otherwise. Sorry."

"I don’t mind," Jeanne replied.

And she truly did not.

More than anything, she simply felt relieved. There was someone here now who belonged to her past, someone who knew her world, her life, her family. Someone close. That alone made this place feel less alien than it had even an hour ago.

"Jeanne."

At the sound of her name, both of them looked up.

Aurora was approaching.

When her gaze landed on Jeanne sitting beside Eric, a faint surprise crossed her face, though it vanished almost immediately beneath her usual composure.

Eric stood at once.

"Your Highness," he said respectfully. "I was only keeping the lost Hero company."

Aurora smiled politely. "Thank you, Eric."

Then her attention shifted to Jeanne.

"I’m sorry," she said gently. "Perhaps I moved too quickly with all of this after all."

"No," Jeanne replied as she rose from the bench, smoothing out her dress. "I think... I’m ready now."

Aurora paused, just for a moment.

Something about Jeanne had changed.

It was subtle, but visible. That lost look Jeanne had carried ever since her summoning, the quiet distance hidden beneath her calm expression, had softened definitely. It was not entirely gone, but it was no longer swallowing everything else. Aurora did not know what Eric had said to her, nor what had passed between them while they sat together in the gardens, but whatever it was, it had helped.

And for that alone, she was grateful.

"Shall we head back, then?" Aurora asked.

Jeanne nodded.

And with that, she followed Aurora, leaving the bench behind while Eric walked with them as well.

...

...

After classes ended, Jeanne returned to the castle with Aurora.

By then, that routine had already become strangely familiar. Since the day she had been summoned, most of her evenings had followed the same pattern: returning to the royal castle, dining in one of its elegant halls, and spending that final quiet stretch of the day in Aurora’s company. Sometimes Alfred joined them, and on rarer occasions Sylvia as well, but more often than not it was only the two of them.

That night was one of those quieter nights.

They ate together beneath warm candlelight, with silver and dishes Jeanne still had not entirely learned the names of, though by now she had grown used to the flavors of this world.

Aurora, as always, helped carry the conversation whenever silence threatened to stretch too far, never forcing Jeanne to speak more than she wished, but never letting her sink too deeply into herself either.

When dinner was over, Jeanne excused herself and made her way back to her quarters.

Once inside her room, Jeanne let herself breathe more freely. She took a bath, letting the hot water ease some of the lingering tension from her body, then changed into a nightgown and sat down on the edge of her bed.

For a moment, she simply looked around the room.

It was still too grand for her tastes, too elegant, more than the one on Earth which was already fairly big and lavish, but tonight the loneliness inside it felt a little less present than usual.

She reached for her phone.

The device was another one of those strange reminders that this world was not entirely as old-fashioned as it first appeared. It looked different from the phones on Earth, built with cleaner lines and subtler details, but it was close enough that using it felt instinctive. When she unlocked it, her gaze fell almost immediately on the newest contact added there.

Eric.

A message was waiting for her.

[Tomorrow we have a day off. Do you want to look around the capital? Ask Aurora about it. I doubt she’ll refuse you. I’ll bring Rubina too. You’ll see, she’s a good girl.]

Jeanne read it twice before the faintest smile touched her lips.

Then she typed back.

[You seem happy to have a little sister.]

The response came quickly.

[Well, I was pretty lost when Jason’s memories came back in this world. Rubina helped me a lot through that.]

Jeanne’s smile softened.

She typed again.

[All right. I’ll ask Aurora about it. I’ll tell her you offered to show me around the capital.]

[Got it. Good night.]

[Good night.]

After sending the last message, Jeanne set the phone aside.

For a brief moment she sat there in silence, hands resting in her lap.

She was just about to lie down when a knock came at the door.

"Jeanne, it’s me."

Aurora.

Jeanne stood and crossed the room, opening the door.

Aurora was standing outside still dressed in her academy uniform, as composed as always, but there was a seriousness in her expression.

"I wanted to tell you as soon as we received the information," Aurora said. "We have learned the identity of Arvatra’s Hero."

Jeanne’s eyes widened.

"Who?"

The word left her lips too quickly. She had already given them the names of her friends, every one she could think of, clinging to the hope that one of them might surface somewhere in this world.

Aurora’s expression softened with regret.

"I’m sorry," she said. "It is none of the names you mentioned."

Jeanne’s face dimmed at once.

The disappointment struck harder than she wanted to show. She had not let herself hope too much, not openly, but the hope had been there all the same.

Aurora watched her a moment, then added gently, "It is a woman, however."

Jeanne looked up again.

"Do you have her name?"

Aurora nodded.

***

In the imperial capital of the Arvatra Empire, within the royal castle itself, a young woman stood alone before a tall window overlooking the city below.

The capital stretched far into the distance, its lights beginning to glow against the deepening night, its towers and streets spreading outward in beautiful order. It was magnificent, grand and alive with imperial splendor.

And to the woman staring through the glass, it meant nothing.

Her long black curls had been partially tied back, leaving the rest to fall over her shoulders and down her back in dark waves. She was beautiful, but there was no life in the stillness of her expression. Only a quiet, aching sorrow she no longer seemed able to hide.

Her green eyes remained fixed on the city below.

Then slowly, almost absently, she lifted one hand and placed it against the cold surface of the window.

Tears slipped down her face.

She did not wipe them away.

Then came a knock at the door.

A short pause followed, and when no answer came, the door opened carefully from the outside.

A maid stepped in and immediately lowered her head in respect.

When she raised her eyes again, she looked toward the young woman by the window.

"Lady Chloe."