I CHOSE to be a VILLAIN, not a THIRD-RATE EXTRA!!

"You've shown your daughter to the greatest healers, even the Saintess herself, and yet you still remain unaware of the mark?" Ashok remarked, his voice carrying an edge of disbelief. His words hung in the air, but his mind was elsewhere, tangled in thoughts of confusion.

'This doesn't add. In the game, the Duke was well aware of the mark. Did I come too early? No, my timing should be correct… Was someone else supposed to reveal this before the player arrived?'

As Ashok's mind raced, he was snapped back to the present by the Duke's voice, tense and urgent. "Tell me, what is this mark you speak of?"

Ashok let out an internal sigh, brushing away the fleeting doubts that tried to creep in.

'Well, who cares? Some Butterfly effect, then that butterfly can go fuck itself.

If I'd spent all my time obsessing over the future, I wouldn't have three curses wrapped around my body, nor would I have managed to take down two major bosses before the main plot even began.

Hell, I've already made witches the sworn enemies of the church—what could be a larger butterfly effect compared to that?

Now, I just have to follow my plan and I will be capable enough to deal with the unknown later.' Thought Ashok and a smirk formed on his face.

"Even though the body is unable to do much when it comes to matters regarding the soul inside, it still shows certain symptoms of what's going on within. Look at your daughter's back; there should be a mark," Ashok said, his voice steady and calm.

The Duke, his eyes wide with growing concern, quickly acted. He reached for the blanket that had been draped over his daughter's form, his fingers trembling slightly as he pulled it back. Beneath, his daughter was clad in a delicate black nightgown, the fabric soft against the pale glow of her skin.

The Head Butler moved to assist the Duke. However, before they proceeded any further, both of them hesitated, exchanging a brief glance. Without a word, they turned to look at Ashok.

Ashok met their eyes, confused by the sudden shift in their demeanor. The Duke and the Head Butler, who had been so focused on the task at hand, now paused and looked at him, their expressions unreadable. He locked his red eyes with them, his own gaze sharp and piercing.

"…"

"…"

'What are they doing? Just remove the clothes alr…' Ashok suddenly got the unspoken hint from his thoughts.

He let out a fake cough and without further delay, he turned on his heel, facing away from the Duke and the Head Butler, his back now to them as they prepared to continue.

The sound of fabric rustling behind him came in his ears, but Ashok made no move to acknowledge it, standing perfectly still with his back to the group. He showed no signs of turning around or even glancing back.

The reason was simple: the Duke's daughter was not much of his type.

When it came to matters of love, lust, and romance, Ashok's thoughts immediately centered on Morrathis. He was more into mature type than young girls.

The Duke's daughter, while undeniably beautiful in her own right and only a year younger than him, appeared far too fragile and gaunt in her current state. To Ashok, she looked nothing more than a dried stick.

Instead of any form of attraction, all he felt for her was pity.

Unbeknownst to Ashok, however, despite his turned back, the other three men in the room were closely monitoring his every move.

They were on high alert, their minds not just focused on the situation at hand but also on making sure Ashok remained appropriately respectful. They were prepared to blindfold him, if necessary, to prevent any hint of impropriety.

The three lolicons(in Ashok's eyes) were ever ready to take action.

What Ashok didn't realize was that, to the Duke, this calm and measured behavior was a sign of trustworthiness.

"There is no mark that you speak of," the Head Butler's voice cut through the silence, pulling Ashok from his thoughts.

"How am I supposed to know? All I can see are glass cabinets." Retorted Ashok sarcastically to the Head Butler.

"You can turn around now." said the Duke

Ashok turned and walked toward the bed. The Head Butler stood off to the side, his gaze somewhat hard to read, but Ashok couldn't shake the sense of quiet triumph in the Butler's expression.

The Duke remained seated by his daughter's side, his expression a mixture of worry and hope.

His daughter was laid out on her back, her face turned to the side, her chest rising and falling in slow, shallow breaths. The nightgown had been undone to her waist, leaving her back exposed.

Ashok couldn't help but notice the pale, almost translucent skin stretched tightly across her rib cage and spine, the way the bones were visible under the skin, giving her back a fragile, skeletal appearance. He felt like he was inspecting a dead body.

Ashok's gaze moved carefully over the surface of her back, searching for any sign of the mark he had mentioned earlier. But despite his careful inspection, there was nothing. Though he kept observing without any signs of losing composure.

Ashok's mind raced, the pieces of the puzzle finally falling into place as he analyzed the situation from every angle.

'There should have been a mark—right in the center of the girl's back, where the heart would be. In the game, that mark served as a key weak point for the boss, No matter how I think the witch must have done something.' Thought Ashok.

Ashok started to compare his knowledge of the game to the real trying to find the gap which the witch could have exploited.

'In the game, he thought, the Duke had always known about the mark. By the time the player had learned of his daughter's condition, the first semester of the Academy or six months had passed. The Duke must have seen the mark within those six months.

The timeline in the game was clear: the mark appeared, and once it was discovered, the player needed at least two months to gather materials and obtain the necessary items to counter the entity's influence.

But by that time, the entity would have already fully taken over the girl's body. The outcome could not be changed in any way.

He was here earlier, far earlier than the game had allowed, with knowledge that could prevent the worst from happening.

The mark should have been visible already, a clear signal to everyone that the girl was in grave danger. But it wasn't. Wait! Visibility' Ashok's mind which was running over like a horse, immediately understood what the witch had done.

Ashok turned sharply to the Head Butler and commanded "Cast a Dispel".

The Head Butler raised his hand and a delicate, white magic circle materialized in the air between his outstretched fingers. With a single, deliberate motion, the Butler directed the spell toward the girl's body, sending the magic to envelop her entirely.

The white light flickered for a moment, like a soft mist, before it expanded around her figure. It gently bathed her from head to toe, illuminating her frail, unconscious form in the shimmering glow and then it disappeared.

The Duke, his eyes wide with anticipation, leaned in, his gaze locked on his daughter's back. But the outcome was still the same -

No sign of the Mark that Ashok mentioned, No change nothing.