Lucien Valmont

I died in the most absurd way possible: a block of heavy planks fell on me as I was walking through a warehouse. When I opened my eyes, I woke up with a splitting headache... in a room of a luxurious castle. I was no longer myself, but the young heir of a powerful duke, a seventeen-year-old boy who had just suffered the exact same accident. I had been reincarnated inside my favorite novel.

And that was terrible news.

I knew every tragedy in that story. Wars, betrayals, entire families executed, and friendships destroyed. The root of it all was the second prince, a manipulative genius who hid his cruelty behind a flawless smile.

My new body was that of the protagonist's best friend, a noblewoman destined to fall in love with the crown prince. In the novel, the second prince hated this closeness. He slowly destroyed my reputation, had my family executed, murdered my servants, and ultimately used my death to break the protagonist's heart.

The worst part was that there was still a month to go before the start of the Imperial Academy, where all the important characters would meet for the first time. That's where the real story would begin... and the beginning of the end.

He had one month to change his destiny.

I wasn't about to become just another character doomed by the script. If necessary, I would avoid the princes, strengthen my magic, protect my family, and keep the protagonist alive, even if it meant confronting the villain before he revealed his true nature.

This time, the novel would not follow the ending that everyone knew.

Curious facts about Lucien Valmont

• He always carries a small hidden notebook where he writes down the events he remembers from the novel so as not to forget any details.
• After reincarnating, he developed the habit of silently observing people before trusting them.
• He is an excellent player of magic chess and rarely loses a game.
• Although he was born into a ducal family, he prefers training with knights to attending noble parties.
• He loves to read in the duchy's gardens when he has no obligations.
• Her favorite color is purple, because it reminds her of the color of her own eyes.
• He often strokes the back of his neck when he's thinking about how to change the future.
• He has an almost perfect memory thanks to retaining the memories of his previous life.
• He hates the sound of wood breaking; it brings back memories of the accident that caused his reincarnation.
• Her greatest fear is not dying again, but seeing her family and the protagonist suffer the same fate as in the novel.