System Error: The Hero is a Villain? Chapter 04

System Error: The Hero is a Villain? Chapter 04

Those words. Describing the Lucian who’d been so gentle?

I sucked in a breath. Rubbed my aching temples.

“Impossible. Before I transmigrated, you told me the male lead’s name was Lucian.”

“No!” the system snapped. “Don’t twist my words! I said the male lead was Julian. The villain is Lucian. How did you mix that up?”

Come on. Those names are practically twins. It’s a miracle I didn’t confuse them sooner.

Done arguing with the glitchy system, I asked the real question.

“So what now?”

“Run!” Its voice shook. “Do you know what ‘primary villain’ means? He’s crueler than your nightmares.”

“The male lead? One bullet. Game over. But him? God knows how you’ll die.”

“Get out while you can!”

My head pounded. Instinct took over. I scrambled out of bed to flee.

The moment I looked up, my blood turned to ice.

At the dim doorway, Lucian stood in silence. How long had he been there?

His face was blank. But half-shadowed, he looked like a specter.

“Honey. Who were you talking to?”

“And where exactly do you think you’re going?”

Daylight ghost.

Cold sweat drenched my back.

I couldn’t read him. Had he heard everything?

I gambled.

Fastest reflexes of my life. I launched myself into his arms, beaming.

“Honey! You’re here! I was just on the phone with a friend!”

“She did an escape room today. Kept bragging about how she got out. Sounded fun.”

“I want to try with her next time. Can I?”

I clung to his arm, shaking it playfully, desperate to distract him.

Under my gaze, Lucian’s lips curved into a smile.

“Is that so?”

“Of course you can. One small condition.”

I won! He believed me!

Relief flooded me. I grinned. “What condition?”

Lucian’s voice dropped, slow and deliberate. “Since you love escaping so much… let’s start with one right here. In this house.”

“Thirty minutes. If you make it off the property, I’ll let you go.”

“And if you don’t…” His dark eyes swirled with something unreadable.
“You stay by my side. Forever.”

Joy punched me in the gut.

Before he finished, I linked my pinky with his, terrified he’d change his mind.

“Deal! Pinky swear, no backsiest!”

Then I bolted.

I wasn’t arrogant. No matter how massive Lucian’s estate was, it was still one property. How hard could it be?

Thirty minutes. I’d crawl out if I had to.

Half an hour later, staring at an endless stretch of garden, I collapsed in despair.

One thought remained.

Lucian, the ultimate villain, never let anyone walk away.

I’d thought this was just a villa.

The second I cleared the front doors, I’d tasted freedom.

Energized, I’d marched past a European fountain, a marble plaza, a man-made river, even a private training ground.

Then I saw it. The garden.

My vision blackened.

Collapsed from exhaustion, I still shook my fist at the sky.

You obscenely rich bastard. Couldn’t you spare me one square foot of land?

A cold wind swept through. Leaves rustled. Twisted shrubs swayed in the dark.

Birds shrieked like something dying.

I lowered my fist.

Adrenaline faded. Calm set in. And I was utterly alone.

In this vast garden, it was just me.

The atmosphere turned suffocating.

I crept backward, too terrified to glance over my shoulder.

Then my shoe caught on a bush.

All my focus was behind me. I wasn’t braced for the lurch forward.

Oh no.

I squeezed my eyes shut, bracing for impact.

Instead, a hand caught me by the collar and tugged.

I landed against a solid chest.

Terror seized me. I thrashed. “Ahhh! Get off!”

A soft laugh answered.