The Worst Villain is Actually a Cute Girl-Chapter 56

Inside the orphanage, the kids were fuming.

“You’re totally cheating!”

“How do you keep winning?!”

“Someone beat her, just once!”

Heh.

You’ve got a long way to go if you think you can beat me.

I put my hands on my hips and grinned triumphantly.

The kids glared at me from where they sat, but I didn’t care at all.

“Ugh, she’s so annoying.”

“This is exactly why she suggested playing games!”

“I knew it was weird that she offered first. So this is what it was about.”

“Lily’s a scammer...”

The kids were protesting.

Such harsh words.

Right now, I was playing all sorts of games with the kids.

It all started for a simple reason.

I couldn’t keep running forever, so I made them a proposal.

If they could beat me in a game, I’d grant them any wish they asked.

Unlimited attempts.

In return, they weren’t allowed to chase me around or make weird requests until we settled the match.

Of course, it was a favorable deal for them.

Even though they were suspicious, they seemed to think it was worth a try—and accepted.

And now this was the result.

“Ugh, I forgot how good Lily is at games...”

“Still, after all this, she should be getting tired.”

“Why does she still look totally fine?”

We were on the 500th match.

And not once had they beaten me.

The world of competition is harsh.

I don’t go easy on anyone—just because they’re kids.

Of course, the kids aren’t idiots.

They tried to overwhelm me with sheer numbers, pushing match after match, hoping I’d wear down.

But my stamina and mental focus easily outclass theirs.

In the end, the kids started dropping out first from exhaustion.

Normally, someone would throw a game or two on purpose at this point to be nice.

But I never hold back!

I laughed at their frustration.

Should’ve just done this from the start.

“It’s almost bedtime.”

Rene’s voice made the kids jump.

They all glanced at the clock.

Just as she said, it was already late.

But unwilling to give up just yet, the kids asked to play one final game tonight.

Block stacking.

A game where you take turns slowly stacking blocks into a tower until someone causes it to fall.

The kids and I took turns building the tower.

“You can do it. It’s okay. You’ve got this.”

“Are you dumb? Why would you place it there?!”

“Ugh, stop talking! I can’t concentrate!”

“We’re gonna lose again, I just know it...”

The kids huddled close, carefully placing blocks in the right spots.

I deliberately put mine in the weirdest spots to make it harder.

Their glares were sharp.

But I felt no guilt.

That’s just how this game works.

Come on, just fall already.

As more blocks were added, the tower became dangerously unstable. One small nudge and the whole thing would topple.

Persistent little brats.

They were hanging in there better than I expected.

My turn.

No problem. I’ve got this.

If I place this block where I’ve planned, their loss is guaranteed.

I moved slowly and carefully, for once, but just as I was about to place it—

Ding, ding!

The clock chimed.

In that instant, I lost focus—my hand slipped, and I bumped the shaky tower.

Crash!

It collapsed in an instant.

My body froze like a broken machine.

I was so shocked, my mind went completely blank.

Meanwhile, the kids—

“We did it!”

“We won!”

“We beat Lily!”

They hugged each other and jumped up and down.

I sank to my knees in despair, pounding the floor with both fists.

Damn it.

This can’t be happening.

I protested to the kids, but of course, it was pointless.

*

The man was dreaming.

A slow-reeling film of a past he could never return to was playing in his mind.

He had once been an ordinary office worker.

Commuting like everyone else, hanging out with friends, enjoying hobbies, then going back to work—the same cycle every day.

Not bad, but lacking something. A dullness that clung to life itself.

Maybe it was that quiet yearning that brought the miracle.

One day, an event occurred that would change his life completely.

【Don’t you want to change your fate?】

—What the...?

It happened just after he’d finished reading a webtoon—one he’d been struggling to get through for days.

The ending didn’t sit well with him. He grumbled about it.

Then suddenly, a screen like that popped up on his phone.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

【You have been chosen. The world needs your strength. If you have the courage and goodwill to save it, press YES.】

Read 𝓁at𝙚st chapters at ƒrēenovelkiss.com Only.

—Is this a second-round scenario? What a clever gimmick.

He scoffed and was about to turn off the screen when—

Memories of other stories he’d read flashed through his mind.

Games where clearing the final boss triggered strange events, webtoon or novel protagonists who found themselves suddenly whisked away to another world.

The reasons varied, but the result was always the same—some mysterious ✪ Nоvеlіgһt ✪ (Official version) phenomenon, followed by a sudden shift into another world.

It was probably a joke. But what if it wasn’t?

Gulp.

Even while laughing at himself, his eyes locked onto the screen with growing seriousness.

A boring life.

That creeping dullness.

His chest—cold and numb for so long—suddenly began to race.

He sensed it instinctively. He stood at a crossroads, a turning point that could change everything.

A once-in-a-lifetime chance.

He slowly moved his finger toward YES.

If the miracle were real, it meant saying goodbye to the world he lived in forever.

His friends, his family, his job—everything.

But he didn’t hesitate for long.

Smiling faintly at the thought of escaping this dull world for something better, he pressed YES.

—What, was it just a prank? Nothing ha—argh! My chest!

Nothing happened at first. He let out a sigh of disappointment.

Then, an intense pain pierced through his chest.

His body collapsed to the floor.

All strength drained away. His consciousness began to fade.

So this is what dying feels like, he thought, as his heavy eyelids closed.

And when his awareness returned—

A new world unfolded before him.

—Where am I!?

A city so dazzling, it pushed back the dark.

Humans and other races walked the streets together in harmony.

Technology that surpassed even Earth’s civilization.

It was a completely foreign world, yet the man knew exactly where he was.

It was the world of the webtoon he’d just finished reading.

Though astonished, his chest thudded with excitement. His face lit up with joy and wonder, and he laughed—truly laughed—for the first time in a long while.

—Ah, I see now. So this is set before the original timeline? There must be a few decades left before the story begins.

There was still a long way to go before the original plot kicked off.

In other words, it was a golden opportunity.

He could change the future—one filled only with misery.

The man believed he could do it.

Because he had knowledge of the original work. That made him steps ahead of everyone living in this world.

The one who knows the future can manipulate the present—and choose the future they want.

—Well then, what should I start with?

His life in this other world went smoothly.

He’d possessed the body of a child and faced many dangers, but he had a cheat ability.

He’d used that power early on to shape the world to his liking.

Time passed, and the child became an adult.

His talents were recognized, and his name became known across the city.

He made many companions.

Both they and others admired his insight and ability, praising him constantly.

He didn’t mind being treated like the main character.

This was his reward for devoting himself to saving the world and the people doomed to destruction.

Living peacefully in the paradise he’d carefully built, he eagerly awaited the moment when he would rewrite the destiny of the original story.

But before that moment ever came, his paradise began to crack.

—#%#$^&%^#$!! Get out! Someone like you doesn’t deserve to live in this town!

He tried to save the village that had treated him like family.

But the villagers shouted him down and drove him out.

—#%#$?#%#$$#@! Leave! You don’t belong on our team!

He helped his companions escape their tragic fates.

But they heartlessly cast him aside.

All of them.

Everyone he’d saved turned their backs on him.

He couldn’t understand it.

Suddenly, he remembered all those "exile" novels he used to read on Earth.

Characters banished for vague and unjust reasons.

The idea that such a thing had happened to him felt utterly absurd.

He never imagined his kindness would be repaid like this.

His comrades, the people, the city—they all abandoned him.

And the man... burned with rage.

—I did everything for you! And this is how you repay me?

He saved people through harsh decisions.

He changed the future with brutal sacrifices.

For the greater good, a few casualties were unavoidable.

He had made those painful choices while shouldering the filth alone, believing that his noble sacrifice would be recognized and understood someday.

But they betrayed him like this?

It was so ridiculous, it felt like a plot twist with no narrative sense.

—Fine! Let’s see how well you do without me! From now on, I’ll live however I want.

He walked away from the people who’d cast him aside.

And he knew.

He knew exactly what happened to characters who were exiled without reason.

But he didn’t care.

He resolved to live like one of those banished protagonists.

No—

That was too merciful.

A fire of fury raged within him.

Hatred and resentment seeped into the cracks of his wounded heart, melting into his rage.

That fury wouldn’t fade.

He knew that too.

He knew exactly what to do.

That day, the man swore he would make the world feel the same despair he had.

A world that abandoned its hero didn’t deserve to exist.

And he believed he had the right to do it.

Click.

The movie that had declared its end faded away.

Like walking out of a theater, the man woke from his dream.

Where is this...? Ah, right. I was outside for work.

Awakened from his dream, the Prophet sensed a presence nearby.

He sat up on the bed and turned his head.

There stood a person wearing a skull mask and holding a staff.

“Prophet. Everything you requested has been completed.”

“Good. You may leave. And pass on my message: don’t make a move until I say so.”

At his command, the follower exited the room.

The Prophet filled a cup from the drawer with water and downed it in one go.

He let out a shallow sigh and opened his narrow eyes.

His red pupils gleamed with irritation—a far cry from the gentle face he wore around Grey or the cultists.

To think the plan could be disrupted... How did they do it? No matter how strong Red and her allies are, they shouldn’t have been able to stop the explosion.

The cultists who infiltrated the festival had committed a suicide bombing.

Driven by faith and madness, they didn’t fear death.

Which meant... some unknown variable had interfered with the plan.

“Click.”

The Prophet clicked his tongue in annoyance.

As he stood up from the bed, something caught on his foot.

A cold corpse lay sprawled out on the floor.

The former owner of this room.

Well, not anymore.

The Prophet put on his coat and stepped outside.