"Have... have I transmigrated?"

Moen stared at himself dazedly in the mirror.

Short golden hair spread across his head like scattered sunbeams at dawn. His face was impeccably handsome, with features so well-defined it seemed as though they were carved from marble. A pair of light blue eyes shimmered with the serene depth of a tranquil lake.

So handsome!

Moen felt his heart skip a beat as he stared at the man in the mirror, utterly captivated. Even his aesthetic sense, one honed and numbed by countless idol dramas in the modern world, couldn't help but admit how such a stunning man could even exist?

But this wasn't him.

No, it was him—or rather, he had become someone else entirely.

After finishing his shift at two thirty in the morning, he gleefully had a ten-draw that yielded five five-star character in a gacha game on his phone, ecstatic, only to be hit by a passing dump truck. And the next thing he knew is that he'd been transported to this strange new world and given a new identity.

"Moen Campbell."

A torrent of memories surged into his mind, leaving him dazed and overwhelmed while he couldn't help but utter his own name that belonged to him now.

It was exactly the same name that he'd had in his previous life.

But hearing that name again caused a sudden jolt in his heart. “No way... What are the odds?”

The name left him such an impression because it was the same as his—Moen Campbell.

And a character in the western fantasy novel with a female protagonist, which he was currently reading, shared the same name with him.

The character was a duke's son: noble, elegant, dashingly handsome. He even had a fiancee—the third princess of a empire.

It was as close as one could get to perfection—born with a golden spoon in his mouth, a shining paragon among men.

The odds of transmigrating into someone like this should have been as low as the Chinese National Football Team winning the World Cup.

But there was one glaring flaw—

He was also a blonde villain in the early-stage of that novel.

Yes, he was the quintessential template of a handsome, rich, spoiled noble brat—the type who specialized in serving as a stepping stone for the protagonist's rise. His primary role was to be the insufferable antagonist who provided the protagonist with countless face-slapping opportunities, allowing her to grow stronger by overcoming adversity, all while enjoying the ultimate thrill of "the wheel of fate turning."

And naturally, Moen Campbell met his justified downfall later in the story. His descent served as the catalyst for the budding romance between the protagonist and one of the female leads—none other than his fiancee.

When reading that part of the novel, even he himself couldn't help but cursed the character's idiocy.

The original Moen Campbell—the "original owner" of this body—had noticed that Celicia (the third princess and his fiancee) was becoming increasingly distant from him while visibly getting closer to the protagonist. As a result, consumed with jealousy, he foolishly concluded that Celicia was "cheating" on him. In his anger, he spiked her drink during a public banquet, intending to rape her.

Of course, the protagonist arrived just in time to thwart his plans.

And ironically, it was this very incident that caused Celicia—who had only been mildly interested in the protagonist at that point due to her rising brilliance—to truly start developing genuine feelings for her.

It was a classic case of "Penny wise, pound foolish."

As for the original Moen? He faced the harsh penalty for attempting to harm a princess. The enraged king himself stripped him of his noble status. Even his loving parents couldn't shield him from their monarch's wrath.

The rest was predictable. His fall from grace was utterly tragic.

From what Moen remembered of the story, the original character hadn't died—though when the protagonist's group encountered him again later in the novel, he had become a crippled beggar, missing an arm and a leg, scraping together a meager existence on the streets.

"I really transmigrated into a blonde villain? This is insane. Shouldn't transmigrators be blessed with protagonist-level auras, overpowered cheats, and lives where they defy everything and claim,'I'm the master of my own destiny'? If I'm not the protagonist, shouldn't I at least overthrow them and take their spotlight?"

Moen cradled his head in his hands, tears almost spilling.

But no, he couldn't think that way.

This wasn't just an ordinary male-dominated power fantasy.

Instead, it was a remarkable female - protagonist fantasy—a captivating "Phoenix Pride" story.

The protagonist was FEMALE.

Moreover, due to the setting, this world had an exceptionally liberal view of love. Same-sex relationships, especially between women, were entirely normalized here. There even was magic capable of enabling women to bear children together!

Magic truly can do anything, huh?

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This, of course, was why the original Moen had been consumed by jealousy: he perceived Celicia and the protagonist's increasing closeness as a threat and felt his "property" being encroached upon.

But could the blonde male villain in a female-dominated lesbian novel possibly turn the tables?

No. Absolutely not.

Any hint of such a storyline would have the readers boycotting the novel with a vengeance!

Thus, it was clear that regardless of his status as a duke's son or his stunning good looks, Moen Campbell existed solely as the early-stage villain destined to meet his downfall. Within the first twenty chapters, he was swiftly kicked out of the main storyline.

"And here I thought I'd got a game with a suck start."

Moen scratched his chin and pondered.

"But on closer inspection, starting from this position does have its perks. As long as I don't antagonize the protagonist and keep to myself as the idle, pampered duke's son, I could easily stay out of trouble. Even if I can't marry Celicia, I could still settle down with some other beautiful noblewoman and enjoy a life of luxury. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"The only issue is—I have no idea how far the original Moen's animosity with the protagonist has escalated. I hope it it's not after the story's 'academy arc' begins."

Having read the novel, he knew that in this world, which was basically one giant feel-good story, the protagonist's fate and abilities were absurdly overpowered. So, Moen wasn't foolish enough to entertain delusions of competing with her.

Accepting his own weakness is the first step to invincibility!

Once he thought everything through and calmed down, he realized his situation might not be so bad after all.

"Young Master Moen."

Just as he was spiraling into optimistic daydreams, a knock came at the door behind him, and a young woman's voice called out.

It was a maid with a dignified and elegant demeanor.

"It's Anne," he murmured.

Moen recognized her immediately. The maid had appeared a few episodes in the novel. She wasn't just any servant—she was the original owner's closest confidante, often offering key advice and devising most of the schemes directed against the protagonist.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"The duchess has asked for you," Anne replied with a curtsy, hands folded demurely in front of her waist. "Apparently, your attire for tomorrow's banquet has arrived."

"Oh, is that all? Got it."

Moen responded perfunctorily, intending to send Anne away. After all, since he had only just transmigrated, he needed time to adapt. Otherwise, Anne might start noticing something was amiss.

"Wait. What?!"

Just as Anne began to retreat, Moen stopped her abruptly, his expression got stiffened.

"Banquet? What banquet?"

"It's your coming-of-age banquet, young master."

Anne frowned slightly, concern flickering in her eyes. "Are you feeling unwell? How could you forget something so important?"

"No, it's nothing. Don’t worry. I just—I’m a little groggy from just waking up. That’s all. You may go."

Summoning up a forced smile, Moen hurriedly dismissed her.

Anne seemed skeptical and still a bit worried, but she didn’t dare defy his orders. Quietly, she exited the room.

As soon as the door clicked shut, silence reclaimed the chamber.

Moen turned back toward the mirror, locking eyes with the unfamiliar yet familiar reflection.

The memories continued to churn within his mind—the recollections of two distinct lives coalescing into a single stream.

He was now both Moen and Moen Campbell.

His past and his present were now one and the same.

There was no escaping it.

"Argh! How did things come to this?!"

Suddenly clutching his head in frustration, Moen let out a miserable wail:

"Why does my coming-of-age banquet have to be tomorrow?!"

Being the laid-back son of a duke, marrying a beautiful noblewoman, and living a carefree, luxurious life—all these dreams hinged on one critical condition:

***Not antagonizing the protagonist.***

To avoid becoming the novel’s self-sabotaging blonde villain, it was essential to steer clear of any interactions with the protagonist at all costs.

Distance meant survival. That was the key to his not-so-heroic happy ending.

But now, that possibility was gone.

Because judging from the current timeline, he had already antagonized the protagonist. And the level of antagonism wasn't minor—it was like a barrel of gunpowder waiting for just one spark to explode.

Tomorrow. That was when Moen Campbell’s destruction would officially commence.

The coming-of-age banquet marked the day.

The day he would drug the empire’s third princess, Celicia.

The day everything would ignite.