Chapter 1: The Prince's Missing Sweetheart (1)
Qi Qiu woke up on a soft bed, long, blond hair pooling onto the covers.
[Welcome to your first world.]
Qi Qiu looked at the source of the sound, tracing it to his sparkling bracelet.
Well, more like someone else's bracelet.
Qi Qiu was not in his own body, but the body of someone else.
[You are in the body of the heir of Duchy Elias, Nasrin Elias.]
He nodded, sliding his pale body off the luxurious bed to take a look at the mirror.
Qi Qiu staggered, muscle atrophy was affecting him even though Uta worked hard to reform the tissue in his body. But why? It wasn't like there should've been anything wrong with this body.
[He is the best friend of the Crown Prince, and someone especially important to the story. The book you have transmigrated into is a villain counterattack one, where the previous villain, Penelope Vira, turns into the Female Lead by manipulating her way out of horrible situations.]
[You have to stop the plot. If the Female Lead captures the Crown Prince's heart, this world will no longer be at peace.]
Qi Qiu sighed, looking at the reflection. This little prince truly was attractive.
With long, platinum blond hair that reached his knees, soft eyes and a dazzling smile.
"Such a beautiful man. Why does he have long hair, though?"
[Host, in this story, long hair is a symbol of beauty and power. You, as the heir of a duchy, have to have long hair, too.]
Qi Qiu frowned. His head was currently spinning, trying to accommodate memories into his mind.
One of the memories stood out.
"..So, the original host once injured the Crown Prince, and that made the latter scared of him?"
[Yes, which was one of his weak points that the Female Lead abused. She constantly taunted him about it and made sure he stayed away from the prince. The original host was in love with the crown prince, and deeply, too.]
"Fool. If the Crown Prince didn't pursue such a beautiful man, what was he doing?" Qi Qiu felt remorse for this poor little boy.
[Host...]
Qi Qiu couldn't help but feel like the system was hiding something.
[..The original host was in a coma for a very long time.]
The little duke's body stiffened.
[And... I may have made a mistake, but Master woke up three years earlier than he was supposed to.]
....
This is an unlucky predicament.
If Uta's words were true, then that means that the villainess would be reborn in four months.
The long, blond-haired boy pressed his fingers against the long mirror.
Just then, the sound of glass shattering was heard behind the little duke.
"Th-The prince has woken up!!" came the shrill voice of the maidservant, alarming every single person in the vicinity.
...
That scream hurt Qi Qiu's ears.
Glancing at the maidservant in contemplation, the blond strolled past the maid.
He was still wearing an oversized white lace-up shirt, underneath it brown shorts.
The Qi Qiu pat the maid's shoulder, smirking. "Don't make too much of a ruckus, okay? I'm going to visit my father,"
The youth narrowed his eyes, sauntering around the hallways with ease.
Yes, this was the little duke's persona he put on.
A carefree, honest and charming person.
..The perfect male lead.
Qi Qiu facepalmed at this author. Why would you make such a male-lead type character cannon fodder, ba!
While Qi Qiu was cursing at the author's bad choices, he had also reached the dining room.
It was more of a ballroom if Qi Qiu were honest. There was a long, LONG table that stretched across the room. It was kind of stupid how long it was, considering there were only four people and five chairs.
The current wife, Ophelia Elias sat in a chair near the head of the table, next to the duke.
This was not Qi Qiu's actual mother, but she still loved him like her own.
The third son, Samael Elias, sat there with a bright smile on his face. He was incredibly young, about 5 years old.
The only sister, and the second child, Mallory Elias, gracefully sipped her tea as her elegant expression turned into one of delighted surprise at the sight of Qi Qiu. She was about nineteen, and of marriable age.
And the duke, sitting at the head of the table, was the most surprised at the blond boy's entrance.
Of course, Nasrin, the body he was occupying, was the oldest, at twenty-one years old, yet he still looked sixteen.
Qi Qiu wanted to know his skincare routine.
The blond sauntered up the duke, smirking.
"Good morning, father. I haven't seen you in so long. Was it about four years?"
.
.
.
Qi Qiu sighed, this little cannon fodder had such a good family.
They hugged him as soon as they collected themselves and even gave him opportunities to reconnect with the princes.
Of course, a duke's heir must have connections.
Qi Qiu was being sent to the palace to discuss a strategy for attacking castles with the princes and emperor.
The reason he got such a powerful opportunity was that the current empress came from the Duchy of Elias. That meant that all the princes' (except the fourth, he was born from a concubine) maternal backing was from Duke Elias' house.
And that also meant that Qi Qiu was the emperor's nephew.
That also made him incredibly rich.
Like, rich to the point he could swim in money.
In his past life, he was poor and had to build up to success.
Being spoilt felt too good, okay!?
"Your grace, my name is Yvette. I will be your personal attendant from now on." The curly brown-haired girl curtsied deeply, smiling as she lowered her head.
But Qi Qiu couldn't have the same smile on his face.
This was the spy placed by the Penelope (the female lead), ah!!
Yvette, this maid, had fallen in love with the Female Lead.
And such, she did whatever to gain the woman's smile.
It wasn't that Qi Qiu was against LGBTQ, but this was truly becoming a simp!!
[Master, please take in note that, to progress the plot you must accept this maid. But you do not have to, as your goal is to destroy the plot entirely.]
Qi Qiu smirked. He sauntered up to the smiling, maid, placing his hand on her shoulder.
"My deepest apologies, but I must say that whilst in my coma, I started to prefer being alone. Please ask my father for a new role."
That should be alright.
Qi Qiu smiled, pushing Yvette out of the luxury room with a smile.
It couldn't be so hard to change by himself, right?
As a male celebrity, he often had to change into princely outfits for meet and greets, along with a few dramas.
.
.
.
Qi Qiu regretted his decision.
There were too many buttons.
Where did this badge go?
These cufflinks are so difficult to put on!
So he gave up.
He just picked a few things that he recognised.
A white lace-up shirt (It was fancier than the one he was wearing earlier)
A little cape thingy majigy. (It hung on only one of his shoulders because he couldn't get the other clip to work.)
Gold aiguillettes.
And some expensive-looking pants and shoes.
God, did his attire look sloppy, or was he seeing things?
But somehow, it just defined the beauty of the blond boy underneath it better.
Qi Qiu guessed that the original host always wore fancy clothing, and such, it was hard to focus on his good appearance.
Ah, what a shame.
The blond walked out of the mansion, smiling as he stepped up and into the carriage. The inside was incredibly luxurious, only befitting of a duke's son.
So rich, ah...
As Qi Qiu looked out the window, he leaned his elbow onto the sill and closed his eyes.
He meticulously went through all the original host's memories.
Of course, he gained some extra knowledge of preferences, but there was really nothing special to see.
After arriving at the castle, Qi Qiu then gained the attention of dozens of eyes among the maidservants.
Well, he was used to the stares. As a celebrity, everybody watched you, and you had to keep a clean image.
When he reached the designated room, he pushed open the large, white doors.
What he saw were six princes and one emperor.
[Ding! Target Wu Hai's favorability +5! The total favorability is now 25! Work hard!]
CREATORS' THOUGHTS 
pettyprinxe
pettyprinxe I'm sorry this took so long.. I keep on getting school assignments, ah!!