I Became the Narrow-Eyed Villain in a Dropped Novel

Werner stepped outside and looked up at the sky.

In the Imperial Capital, famous for its good weather, holding a banquet on such a gloomy day was quite the ironic coincidence.

Ignoring the worried gazes of his subordinates, he stepped out the gate, where Joseph was waiting for him.

“I’ll escort you.”

“No escorts allowed.”

“I’m not planning to follow you into the banquet hall. I just want to go with you part of the way.”

“Don’t treat me like I’m heading to my death.”

I chuckled at his funeral-like expression.

“Even if His Majesty doesn’t heed my counsel, he won’t treat a Duke carelessly. Plus, with the secret letter incident weighing on him, he’ll be even less likely to act rashly.”

The letter uncovered by the Imperial Army was undoubtedly written by the Emperor.

Werner couldn’t possibly fail to recognize the Emperor’s handwriting.

It was a deplorable matter, but it was also a chance to turn misfortune into opportunity.

Even a foolish Emperor would know the repercussions of aligning with Vestol.

The newspapers had been silenced to reduce the fallout, but there was no stopping the spread of rumors that the Emperor had joined hands with Vestol.

‘If he wants to regain the people’s trust, he’ll align with me. If not… it’ll be unfortunate.’

There was no certainty, but a sliver of hope remained.

“I’ll take my leave here.”

Joseph bowed his head.

The palace office’s jurisdiction was just ahead.

Crossing that invisible line meant no turning back.

Without looking at his second son’s face, Werner crossed that line.

‘No surveillance, it seems.’

He didn’t sense any presence nearby.

There wasn’t even the faint trace of mana that usually accompanied magical surveillance.

He hadn’t expected a warm welcome, but to not even have watchers?

Either they were very confident or utterly thoughtless.

Werner walked familiarly through the intricate garden toward the banquet hall, but his mind was tangled with thoughts of the Emperor.

So much so that he didn’t immediately notice the clockwork-like movement of mana.

‘This…!’

Werner sensed something amiss and stepped back, but he was a fraction too late.

Boom!

A loud explosion erupted in the middle of the paved path, sparks flying in all directions.

Werner belatedly deployed a defensive spell and retreated a safe distance.

‘No strange movement of mana was felt… Did they handle the spell so delicately it mimicked natural mana?’

Few in the Empire could wield magic with such precision.

For such meticulous setup, the lethality was low.

‘Producing this output with an 8th-tier Discharge is impressive, but using this instead of a high-destructive spell…’

It meant the purpose wasn’t to kill.

First, they used a simple spell to perfectly conceal it.

Second, it wasn’t set up to kill someone.

Werner gathered mana and shaped it into a sword.

A shimmering silver blade parried an attack coming from behind.

Quickly creating distance, Werner shouted at the assassin exuding a vicious aura.

“To do such a thing in the palace—quite the nerve!”

The assassin, face and body completely covered, thrust their sword instead of answering.

A mana-infused sword strike grazed past Werner.

As he dodged, Werner felt a surge of confusion.

The flexibility to always keep defense in mind while attacking.

It wasn’t the piercing thrusts of Stetten or the heavy blows of Chartra, but a balanced strike.

‘It’s definitely the Imperial Guard’s swordsmanship.’

The worst-case scenario flashed through his mind.

Killing him at the banquet hall would clearly point to the Emperor.

But taking him out en route left room for deniability.

Was that why weapons and escorts were banned?

Blood rushed to his head.

‘How much do they underestimate the Chartra family?’

Werner formed another mana blade and charged at the assassin.

“Hah!”

The assassin, in a defensive stance, staggered back a few steps under Werner’s blow.

‘I’ve grown old.’

Werner clicked his tongue.

In the past, or with a proper weapon, he could’ve easily broken through that defense.

‘I need to end this quickly. A prolonged fight won’t do me any good.’

Granting substance to mana and sustaining it wasn’t simple.

Even seasoned Magic Swordsmen who knew how could only manage it for a few seconds.

Werner was no exception, able to wield it for just over a minute.

Moreover, since magic swordsmanship centered on the sword as a medium, it couldn’t unleash its full power in this situation.

The assassin, aware of this, focused on defense over attack.

But there was something the opponent hadn’t considered.

The core of Chartra swordsmanship was breaking through defenses in a single strike.

It was a technique optimized for situations like this.

“Haaah!”

With a booming shout, Werner swung his mana blade three times.

Three was enough.

The assassin, pushed back by the first two strikes, couldn’t fully prepare for the last.

“Ugh!”

‘This is the end.’

Any more mana consumption, and his aged body wouldn’t hold up.

As he gathered all his strength to form one final blade.

“…!”

A spear pierced his side.

The radiant blade shattered, and Werner barely managed to create distance.

‘I didn’t sense any presence—where did it come from?’

He’d thought they sent just one to make it look like an ambush, but he was mistaken.

Touching the wound, his hand came away covered in hot blood.

It didn’t seem to have damaged organs, but with this injury, defeating two elite Imperial Guards seemed unlikely.

“…If you’d ordered me to die, I would’ve, but you chose this method, Your Majesty?”

Spitting out a lament, Werner glared at the assassin coming to finish him.

‘So it came to what Valheit said after all.’

Yes, Blaiher might be more suitable.

But as a vassal, he wanted to do everything he could until the end.

Having heard the Emperor’s answer, he had no more regrets.

His role ended here.

Werner closed his eyes, awaiting his end.

Bang!

A deafening roar, incomparable to the earlier trap, rang out.

Continuous explosions, large and small, echoed, and red flames shot skyward from the banquet hall.

The startled assassins exchanged a few words and ran toward the banquet hall.

‘Even with dirty work, the Imperial Guard is still the Imperial Guard.’

The Imperial Guard’s top priority was protecting the Emperor.

No matter the mission, if the Emperor was in danger, they’d join him immediately.

‘I hope your loyalty is rewarded.’

The aftershock of expending mana and the pain of his wound overwhelmed him.

Groaning in agony, Werner collapsed to the ground.

As his consciousness faded, the last things Werner heard were endless explosions and Joseph’s voice.

* * *

The palace office was deathly quiet.

Normally, it would’ve been bustling with work even in the evening, but not today.

Regardless of rank, everyone clamped their mouths shut, staring at the soldiers blocking the door.

Not the gray-clad Imperial Army, but the dark green private soldiers of the Chartra family.

‘It’s been a while since they came to the capital—why now?’

Everyone silently asked that question.

Even when Werner Chartra arrived unannounced and seized the political situation, he hadn’t sent private soldiers to the palace office.

“Why are Chartra’s private soldiers here?”

An arrogant voice laced with amusement rang through the silent palace office building.

The voice alone told them who it was.

“Count Valheit! What is this outrage!”

The old head butler stood abruptly, his voice trembling despite his dignified stance.

Valheit smiled faintly and walked to the center of the palace office.

“I trust you’re not asking because you don’t know. So, pick your preferred phrase: we’re ‘taking over’ or ‘seizing’ the palace.”

“Do you think such treason will be forgiven?! As the Imperial advisor, you’re trying to oust His Majesty the Emperor?”

“Yes, exactly.”

The head butler was speechless at the brazen response.

Valheit turned his head as if surveying the room.

It was odd for someone with closed eyes, but no one pointed it out.

“Let me clear up a slight misunderstanding. I’m the Imperial advisor, not the Emperor’s secretary. In simpler terms, I’m doing this for the Imperial Family.”

“Isn’t that sophistry?”

Another voice mustered courage to speak, followed by murmurs of agreement.

But as Valheit sighed and shook his head, they quickly fell silent.

“You want to call me a traitor? Go ahead. But I must say this.”

The amusement vanished from Valheit’s face. Even the usual trace of mockery was gone.

“As the Emperor walked into the mire, what did you all, who stood by and watched, do? No need to answer. Everyone knows.”

Valheit deliberately clacked his steps, weaving through the palace officials.

“Half of you gave up out of exhaustion. Didn’t you resign yourselves to whatever the Emperor did, passing off responsibility, looking for excuses to escape? Are you loyal vassals?”

Valheit approached the head butler, still standing awkwardly.

“Or is it you, who filled your pockets while the inept Emperor was unaware, the loyal one?

Selling offices for money, acting as a megaphone for Vestol merchants—can you call me a traitor?”

“……”

The head butler closed his mouth and slowly sat down, and Valheit smiled broadly again.

“Don’t take it too badly. There are plenty of maggots stinking up this room besides you, aren’t there? You were just following the crowd.”

Flinging a final sneer at the cowed head butler, Valheit raised his voice.

“You have two choices. First, swear loyalty to His Majesty the Emperor. Whether it’s true loyalty or because you’ve done too much to back out, I don’t care.”

Observing the reactions, Valheit added a few more “buts.”

“The other choice is to go home. There’ll be no further retaliation. We’re comrades on the same ship, after all.”

As Chartra’s private soldiers flung open the door, the officials began exchanging glances.

After much hesitation, the old head butler stood reluctantly and walked out.

Soon, others followed in droves, leaving only five people in the palace office.

“Welcome, true loyalists of this era.”

“N-no, it’s not that we support the current Emperor.”

The young official, waving his hands frantically, exchanged looks with the other four and cautiously asked.

“There’s only one child left of the late Emperor. If you oust him, who do you plan to put forward…?”

“Oh, so you stayed to get in line early.”

“No, well, if you put it that way… just answer.”

“You know better than I do. It’s a private matter of the Imperial Family.”

Valheit raised the corner of his mouth, looking at the five with expectant eyes.

“There’s one left. His Majesty’s illegitimate child.”