Until a month ago, I lived a perfectly normal life.School. Headphones. Instant noodles. And the occasional spiral over boys I'd never even talk to (not that I had time for that, you know?).Nothing wild. Nothing that screamed 'main character energy'. Like I said — perfectly normal, quiet, boring life.
But then, I bought a game.
Yeah, yeah — that's how every reincarnation or transmigration story starts. But hear me out. My story is different. Well, kind of.
The game was called 'Royalty'.One of those dark isekai visual novels — part strategy, part romance, part psychological breakdown simulator.You played as a nobody dropped into a magic empire. To survive, you had to form alliances, build a reputation, dodge assassins, and maybe — maybe — find love.
Or not. You could also die. Horribly. A lot of people did.
Yep, it was your basic simulation game. But hear me out again: I'm a broke gamer, and this one was cheap. So yeah, I bought it. No regrets.
I wasn't even there for the romance. I was there for the story.Specifically — the villain route.
That meant following the path of the most feared man in the empire: 'the Duke of the North'.A mysterious, powerful noble who served the crown with deadly precision… until he turned on it.Cold. Ruthless. Practically a ghost.
No one in the game had ever seen his real face — only a towering figure in black, always shrouded in mist and rumors. He wasn't even a love interest, just a side villain you could challenge in the late game.
So of course I had to beat his route.Yeah. Just me and my big ego.
I played for days. Slept maybe two hours. Had thirteen breakdowns. And guess what?I finally — finally — won.Go ahead, give me some applause.
My screen faded to black, and the text I'd been waiting for appeared:
"YOU HAVE COMPLETED THE DUKE'S ROUTE." "ENDING UNLOCKED: FALLEN ICE."
I barely had time to process it before my laptop glitched. Like — real glitch. I'm not exaggerating.The screen went white. Then black. Then… honestly, I don't remember. Maybe my laptop exploded. Maybe I just collapsed from lack of sleep.
When I opened my eyes, I wasn't tired. Or dizzy. Just… cold.Stone floor. Gray sky. Wind cutting through my bones.
And in front of me, a soldier was kneeling.
"Your Grace," he said. "The Emperor has summoned you."