Reincarnated As A First Rate Villain: I Don't Know How To Play My Role-Chapter 39

The faint ticking of a golden-framed wall clock echoed softly in the waiting chamber as the three—Lucien, Knight Rex, and Maid Marie—found themselves alone once more. The opulent room, still basking under the glow of its enchanted crystal lamps, had grown unusually quiet, almost reverent, as though recognizing the weight of Lucien’s transformation. Bookshelves lined with ancient tomes and scrolls stood in perfect symmetry along the polished marble walls, while a velvet-draped table at the center remained untouched, the tea that had been prepared for a simpler moment now cold and forgotten.

Knight Rex exhaled deeply, a breath of relief that seemed to ease the tension locked in his broad shoulders. He turned to Lucien, his sharp eyes scanning the boy—no, young man—who now stood taller and far more mature than when they last truly looked at him. And then, with a slight squint of confusion, Rex asked, "Young master... why are you wearing a robe? Where did your clothes go?"

Marie, who had up to now been too busy internally wrestling with the blush creeping up her cheeks, suddenly snapped her attention back to reality. She blinked, her brown eyes trailing from Lucien’s ethereal silver hair down to the pristine white robe that now clothed him. Her face flushed red as a forbidden thought or two slipped past her mind’s filter. She quickly turned her gaze away, pretending to examine the intricate embroidery on the rug instead.

Lucien, for his part, gave a tired yet playful smile as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I... don’t know. It just happened," he replied vaguely, his mismatched eyes glancing toward the door as if seeking escape.

Rex raised an eyebrow, sensing the discomfort his young master now radiated. But he was no brute when it came to personal matters. He nodded respectfully and dropped the subject. "Well, I suppose all that matters is that you’re safe."

Marie nodded as well, though her fingers fidgeted at the hem of her uniform, and a glance still flickered toward Lucien’s side profile now and again. They understood. No further questions were needed.

With the moment of awkwardness slowly dissolving into the ornate stillness of the room, the trio moved as one. They approached the same double doors through which they had entered hours ago—or what felt like days for some of them. The twin doors, dark wood laced with silver veins and ancient runic engravings, creaked faintly as Rex pushed them open. The cool air of the corridor greeted them like a returning breeze, tinged faintly with the smell of blessed oils and polished stone.

As they stepped into the grand stone hallway, Lucien glanced around and noticed the absence of the two stationed guards who had previously stood stiff and vigilant by the entrance.

"Where did the guards go?" Lucien asked, tilting his head.

It was Marie, still trying to hold back her fascination with the older-looking Lucien, who answered. "They left earlier young master. After the system interface shut down, they went to inform their higher-ups... to get clarification on what happened."

Lucien nodded solemnly. The silence left by the missing system interface—it was like an old companion had vanished. He couldn’t call upon any windows, no list of talents or attributes, no pings of energy fluctuation or familiar sounds. For a world that had relied on it since the dawn of recorded time, this shift was a quiet but thunderous blow.

He stuffed one hand in the pocket of the robe, the other brushing his silver bangs aside. "So it’s really gone..."

But even as he said it, a more mundane thought crossed his mind. "Now that I’m an awakener," he murmured internally, "I can finally eat some magic beast meat."

He remembered the smell vividly—walking through some merchant stalls near the Velebrandt estate alongside Knight Rex, the scent of roasted wyvern haunches, sizzling void eel skewers, and spicy featherdrake stew. It had all been off-limits to him. Magic-infused food was toxic to those without an awakened core. But now...

A boyish spark twinkled in his eye. Marie noticed it and tilted her head curiously but didn’t ask.

The corridor stretched endlessly before them, torches glowing steadily in their mounts, casting flickering shadows across the rune-marked stone.

The slow echo of footsteps reverberated along the dim stone corridor as the trio continued their return from the awakening chamber. With each step, the ornate sconces lining the walls cast their shadows, dancing with the rhythm of their quiet retreat. The tense silence that followed their earlier conversation had softened somewhat. Lucien, now garbed in the elegant white robe provided by Aurorwen, walked in the middle—his figure tall and graceful, exuding a presence more befitting a mature young noble than the child he had been merely an hour prior.

Knight Rex led at the front, ever-vigilant, and Maid Marie trailed behind Lucien, occasionally stealing glances at him, her thoughts a whirlwind of admiration and quiet embarrassment. As they neared the arched double doors that marked their entrance into the Church of Elyssira’s main hall, the murmurs of a distant commotion began to grow louder.

Rex reached the brass-knobbed door first and pulled it open, letting in the full weight of the chaos that awaited them on the other side.

The once orderly and reverent hall had descended into disarray. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

Rows upon rows of ten-year-olds that had once patiently queued in anticipation of their awakening were now scattered and out of place. Some were shouting at one another, some were arguing with the stationed clerics, and others cried in fear and confusion. The wide, cathedral-like hall—known as the Grand Vestibule of Grace—was a cacophony of disorder.

Lucien blinked, taken aback.

"What... happened here?" he asked aloud.

Knight Rex clicked his tongue. "The system interface shutdown... this must’ve caused the Church to halt the awakening procedures. And without instruction, panic has taken root."

At the far end of the hall, a trio of clerics in pale blue robes attempted to address the children, their voices lost beneath the rising din.

"I demand to speak with someone within the highest order of the church of the Goddess Elyssira!" barked a noble boy in a richly embroidered violet tunic, pointing his finger with the entitlement of someone unaccustomed to denial. "My father funds this church!"

"Who do you think you are?! You are not some special person!" snapped a sharp-tongued commoner girl, her fists clenched. "We’ve waited all morning just like you!"

"Who cares about waiting if the system’s broken!" another child yelled. "I don’t want to awaken and suddenly explode!"

A flustered cleric raised her hands, her silver eyes wide. "Please, calm yourselves! We are awaiting word from the Church’s central branch—this is merely temporary! Do not incite chaos!"

A knight in full plate armor, bearing the sigil of Elyssira, stepped forward with thunderous authority.

"If you continue this unruly behavior," he boomed, "you will forfeit your right to awaken today—and possibly for the rest of this year’s cycle!"

That threat landed hard.

Some of the louder children instantly quieted, fear flashing across their young faces. The threat of missing their one chance to awaken—and the future it promised—was enough to break through their panic.

But not everyone.

"Tch," muttered another noble youth near the front of the room. "This is why they shouldn’t let commoners into sacred halls. Bunch of noisy riffraff."

"What did you say?" a boy from the back barked, storming forward. "Say that again, you spoiled sack of horse—"

"ENOUGH!" shouted a cleric, slamming his palm against a podium. A wave of pale light surged from his hand, casting silence across the immediate area.

Knight Rex pinched the bridge of his nose. "Children with power, yet no discipline... goddess help us."

Lucien chuckled quietly. "It’s strange, isn’t it? Just hours ago, I was one of them. Now... I feel like a stranger to it all."

Marie didn’t speak—she was too busy staring at Lucien’s profile, a flush ever-present on her cheeks.

Knight Rex turned to the two. "Let’s not linger too much. The Archduchess is waiting, and I have no desire to watch young nobles and commoner’s pull each other’s hair off."

Lucien nodded. As they turned away, he glanced one last time at the spectacle.

He caught sight of a small boy sitting in a corner, hugging his knees, eyes red with tears.

He felt a strange pang of guilt.

Maid Marie noticed his somber look. "Young Master?" she asked gently.

Lucien shook his head. "I’m fine. Just... thinking."

They continued walking along the edge of the great hall, avoiding the chaos while moving toward the exit corridor. The echo of shouting children and anxious clerics slowly faded behind them.

Knight Rex muttered under his breath, "I’d rather face a squad of beast hounds than be a supervisor here right now."

Lucien gave a tired laugh.

Marie, still flushed, looked down at her feet to avoid anyone noticing the dopey smile stuck on her lips.

Behind them, the enormous double doors to the awakening hall slowly closed, leaving the chaos sealed away behind sacred stone.