The truth
After the recent incident at the party, Maria's status at the school experienced a significant shift.
The prince's public display of affection with Maria, compared to her prior reputation as someone who merely flirted with several men, completely transformed how she was perceived. Now, she's being viewed as a potential candidate for the prince's concubine.
Considering the prince's usual favoritism, it's almost certain he intends to welcome her into that role.
However, the relationship between the prince and Isabella, who is the prospective legitimate wife, has deteriorated significantly. Even if they do get married, Isabella, who is mistreated by the prince and unable to bear a male heir, might be surpassed by Maria if she gives birth to a male child.
Given the prince's strong affection for Maria and his mistreatment of Isabella, this possibility isn't that far-fetched.
In anticipation of these dynamics, some students have begun to approach Maria, who might become the future queen mother, with the hope of gaining her favor.
In recent days, these students have formed a faction known as the "Maria faction."
In reality, everyone knows that ignoring the daughter of the influential Valiaz family, who holds power even beyond the reach of the royal family, would have severe consequences.
Most students believe the prince won't make such a foolish move, and thus, they expect that these plans will fail...
"This is indeed a very serious situation!"
Leaving that aside, there was one person here who wasn't happy with the current state of affairs.
In the drawing room she usually occupied, Milady forcefully pounded the table, causing the cake plate she had prepared to tremble.
"...What has gotten into you all of a sudden, Milady?"
"You do know about those absurd rumors spreading throughout the academy, don't you? The ones suggesting that Maria might become the next queen mother instead of me?"
"Well, yes, but they're just rumors. I believe they'll die down soon."
While placing a cup back on the table to ensure her tea didn't spill, I offered reassurance in response to Milady's abrupt conversation. Rumors spreading rapidly throughout this academy were quite common. Even the slightest piece of information that could directly affect one's interests was prone to spreading. However, the majority of these rumors tended to vanish within a month.
This situation would likely follow the same pattern.
"No, this is not acceptable. A mere Baron's daughter potentially becoming the queen mother ahead of the daughter of the Duke's family like me, it doesn't matter if it's just a rumor; it's an insult to our Valiaz family! I can say that with confidence."
Milady clutched her fists, looking both indignant and helpless. She might have been going a bit too far, but in the aristocratic society, being underestimated had its drawbacks. So, her argument wasn't entirely baseless.
"Sigh... So, what's the lord Duke's response?"
"My father seems to be quite busy now, and I haven't been able to meet him. I did report this matter, but I haven't received a response yet."
"Well, I suppose that's understandable."
If it were just Milady's personal issue, it would be a different matter. However, when it came to family matters, it was necessary to consult her father. But, understandably, as the Duke and the current head of the Valiaz family, he was too busy, especially during the most active winter social season for the nobility. It was doubtful he would be able to concern himself with an issue in this academy.
Now, what should we do?
In reality, the presence of Maria was threatening Milady's position, which could also be seen as a hindrance to the Valiaz family.
"In any case, I won't show any mercy from now on! I'll crush that little girl mercilessly!"
"Well, it feels like you weren't showing much mercy from the beginning..."
If my memory serves me right, didn't you order the men to attack her right away, Milady?
"Did you say something?"
"No, no. I was just thinking about how compassionate you are even to such rude people, Milady!"
"Hmph... Well, of course! Naturally!"
Perhaps my question had slipped out, and I found myself being glared at by Milady. I quickly changed my tune, offering words of praise. She seemed to be in a good mood and proudly smiled.
Hmm, how adorable. In the face of such cuteness, any doubts seemed to fade away.
"Anyway, this time, I'll thoroughly defeat that girl to ensure she never gets close to His Highness again!"
"But how do you plan to do that? We've tried almost every possible method to get rid of her."
In reality, we've attempted various methods against Maria, but all have failed. It would be a different story if we could simply eliminate her discreetly. However, executing that without being noticed by the prince and his ever-present companions is almost impossible.
Should we perhaps take her family hostage and use it as leverage? But it seems she's considered that as well since the prince has dispatched guards to the Norman Baron's mansion without permission.
"So, I've decided to start over."
"Start over?"
"Yes, to win, we need to understand our opponent and exploit their weaknesses. It's the basics of any battle!"
"Well, that's true, but..."
What Milady said was not wrong. It's just easier said than done. If it were that simple, we wouldn't have gone through all this trouble or, for that matter, we would have achieved it long ago.
"So, I'm ordering you, Crow, to find that girl's weakness!"
"....Understood."
Unconcerned about my inner thoughts, Milady issued her command while casually digging into her cake with a fork. Reluctantly, I followed her orders.
"Nevertheless, you know..."
After parting with Milady as she attended her classes, I walked down the corridor, pondering the situation. In reality, we had thoroughly investigated Maria right from the start. There was no use researching her now; we wouldn't suddenly discover an effective weakness.
"Can't you think of anything?"
Nonetheless, doing nothing was not an option. I turned around, looking to my capable subordinate for any suggestions.
"Well, there is one thing. I'm not sure if it's a weakness, but there's something about her that intrigues me."
"Oh...?"
I hadn't expected much, but Eins had something on her mind. Surprised by the unexpected words, I turned my ear toward her.
◇◆◇◆
"Hehehe... I've finally made it this far."
It was almost lunchtime, and Maria, who was typically surrounded by several boys, now stood alone in a quiet spot behind the school building. She was flipping through her bright red notebook, grinning in a way that was entirely unlike her usual charming self.
"I was quite concerned when I discovered that Isabella is also a reincarnator. But it seems she couldn't resist the game's influence."
Maria was likely thinking about Isabella, who was also a reincarnator. Although she wasn't sure about the details of her dissatisfaction, Isabella had repeatedly hindered Maria's capture targets. Nevertheless, it appeared that Isabella's actions had finally reached their limit. If the next event went well, she would exit the stage for good.
"Even so, it's frustrating that I couldn't capture the hidden characters in the end. Going after them before I came to school is just unfair!"
However, Maria had put in a lot of effort. It was a pity that she couldn't successfully capture two hidden characters. Evidently, these characters had been captured by someone else before the school's story began, which made it impossible for Maria to trigger any of their events, regardless of how much she tried to increase their favorability. Thankfully, the others, the princes, remained unclaimed. Regardless, it was an unsatisfactory outcome for Maria, who had been aiming for a complete reverse harem ending.
"Well, I can take my time capturing them once I've dealt with that woman. It may not be part of the game's scenario, but I know all their likes and dislikes so well that I'm sure I'll manage just fine."
Even after the ending, there were plenty of opportunities to interact with these characters. Some parts of the game were covered in the after-story, allowing Maria to revisit and pursue her capture.
While Maria was lost in her wicked thoughts, time passed, and the bell announcing the end of the break rang.
"Wait! It's already this late!? I need to get back... Aaaah!"
"Watch out!"
Maria, realizing she was running out of time, hurried back to the classroom. But just as she turned a corner, she collided with someone coming from the opposite direction.
She was about to fall, but strong arms caught her just in time.
"Are you okay? Did you get hurt?"
"C-Crow!?"
When she looked up, she found Crow's face very close, and Maria was taken aback.
Crow, a hidden conquest target she had always wanted to meet but never had the chance to, was right there.
(Why is Crow here!? Did I trigger an event I didn't know about? No, Crow's route doesn't activate without specific flags... Or did I miss an event I didn't know about!?)
Maria was surprised by Crow's unexpected appearance, and her excitement grew at the thought of talking to him, whether it was a hidden game event or something else.
"I'm sorry, I was lost in thought and didn't notice."
"Oh, no. It's my fault too for not checking; I was in a hurry."
"...It seems you're not injured. That's a relief."
Crow gently helped Maria to her feet while making sure she wasn't hurt.
Although she felt a bit disappointed that their encounter ended so quickly, Maria couldn't pass up this chance to talk to him and started looking for another topic.
"Um, well, Crow..."
"More importantly, Lady Maria, the bell for the start of class rang a while ago. Do you need to get back?"
Just as she was about to change the subject, Crow glanced towards the school building and asked. Did he unintentionally cut her off?
"Oh, right! Sorry, let's chat some other time!"
"Sure, until next time."
The excitement of meeting Crow had made her forget that she was about to be late for class. She rushed back to the school building, and Crow waved her off with a friendly smile.
◇◆◇◆
"Did she go?"
"Yes, there's a report that Lady Maria just entered the school building."
"I see."
As soon as Maria was out of sight, I wiped the smile off my face and spoke to Eins, who had been hiding behind me.
We had received a report from the undercover agents we had watching her, so I was sure there was no need for any more acting. I reached into my pocket and pulled out what I had been looking for.
"It's surprising how our bodies remember things."
"Great job, Sir Crow."
What I had taken out was a plain notebook with a bright red cover, the same one Maria had been holding earlier.
To get my hands on this, I had to stage a little scene and swipe it when I bumped into Maria. It had been a while since I'd done any pickpocketing, so I was unsure about the success. But Maria had been surprisingly distracted.
"If I remember correctly, the report mentioned it was using some kind of code, right?"
"Yes, it seems to resemble the characters used in parts of the Imperial territory, but not much more is known."
Ordinarily, I could have just discreetly looked at what Maria was reading instead of going through all this trouble. However, it appeared this notebook was encrypted with a special code, making its contents impossible to understand at first glance. That's why I had to go to such lengths to get the physical item.
"Well, never mind. Anyway, if we decrypt this, we'll likely find the weakness that Milady desires. I'll leave the duplication and decryption to you."
"Yes, leave it to me."
They used a code for a reason, so there must be important information inside. If it turns out to be just a simple diary after all this effort, I'd be pretty annoyed.
(Surprisingly, a code, huh...)
From what I found, there's no reason to believe Maria received any specialized training like this. Her upbringing in the orphanage was meant to prepare children for the sole purpose of becoming courtesans, so it wouldn't be surprising if she possessed skills to please men, including using codes. However, it's highly unlikely she received education in things like codes and espionage techniques.
Even after she was adopted by the Baron's family, her education primarily focused on etiquette, and there was no information suggesting she had undergone any specialized training.
So, is the code in this notebook something she developed on her own?
(If that's the case, it's probably just an amateur's work. I should be able to decipher it quickly.)
With that in mind, I absentmindedly opened the notebook and froze.
"...Huh?"
It was indeed a code, no doubt about it. For people in this world, it might appear as an encrypted language, created by combining characters from different systems. But for me, in my previous life, it was the most familiar language of all. There was no room for mistakes.
"Japanese...?"
The page before me was filled with characters in the Japanese language.
I couldn't make sense of it. Why does something like this even exist?
I had already confirmed that there was no such language as Japanese in this world when I regained my memories from my previous life.
The common language spoken across the continent bore some resemblance to English, but it was entirely unique.
There were ancient languages, but none of them matched Japanese. So, why was Japanese, a language that shouldn't exist here, written on these pages?
This means...
(Could it be that Maria is also a reincarnated individual, just like me?)
I see, there's a precedent, me. It wouldn't be surprising if there were others who had been reincarnated. While that aspect raised questions, what puzzled me even more was the content written on these pages.
(Why is there information about me here, alongside the princes?)
Within this notebook, amid several familiar names, was a profile about me. It included titles I didn't remember, oddly low stats in some areas, and even information unknown to Milady. What in the world is all this?
With trembling hands, I turned the pages, and the content changed once again. There were several events listed chronologically, and all of them felt strangely familiar.
(Expedition training, an attack at sea, a kidnapping incident, and even the recent evening party...)
I remembered all these events. In addition to these incidents, various other events were meticulously recorded in chronological order.
At this point, it appeared less like a regular notebook and more like some kind of documentation.
What struck me the most was the writing style. Could this be what they call a game walkthrough?
It reminded me of Maria's quirky behavior, the men who seemed obsessed with her, and Isabella, Milady who seemed to interfere with their relationships.
I had a nagging feeling that I'd come across something like this in my previous life.
Yes, it was...
"Otome game, perhaps?"
Yes, that's it. With this much information, I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed earlier. I had thought I was merely reborn in another world, but in stories from my previous life, there were cases of people being reborn as characters in games, manga, and other fictional worlds.
This was probably one of those, a type of reincarnation known as an "otome game" transformation.
If that were the case, it would explain why Maria was so unnaturally popular and why she seemed strangely fixated on me. From the information written here, it appeared that Maria was the game's protagonist, and I was likely one of the potential romance targets.
So, what was Isabella's role?
As the daughter of a duke and my master, Isabella couldn't possibly be just a background character.
"No way..."
If my assumptions were correct, Milady should have an important role in the story. There was no need to ponder her role as an antagonist since it typically opposed the protagonist, Maria.
The notebook still had more to reveal. It seemed to be chronicling the events from when Maria entered the school until the present, as if it were part of a game scenario. So what came next?
With trembling hands, I turned the page and scanned the contents.
"Ah... Aaaahhh...!"
In a story, what do you call a character that interferes with the protagonist's romantic pursuits, serving as an obstacle? A villain, or in this world of otome games, perhaps she should be referred to as the "villainess."
In stories, there's typically a predefined fate for villains. However, what was written there described the worst possible outcome imaginable.
[At the National Foundation Party, Isabella's engagement was broken off by the prince, and simultaneously, the Duke's family's past wrongdoings were exposed, leading to their downfall. Eventually, Isabella was sold as a criminal slave.]
"Don't screw with me!"
I angrily slammed my hand against the school building's wall. Is this really the fate of Milady? Why should she suffer like this?
"I refuse to accept this! I won't let such an outcome happen!"
I forced myself to calm down, letting the pain in my fist cool my boiling anger.
The contents in Maria's notebook, while roughly matching reality, contained some discrepancies.
The likely cause of these differences was me - an irregular presence. As a fellow reincarnated individual, I was never meant to exist in the game, and my presence might have subtly altered the original storyline.
If that's the case, there's still a chance.
"I won't let things go your way, you vile woman!"
I'll reshape the scenario and rescue Milady from the worst possible future.
With determination in my heart, I set my sights on the school building where Maria was.
──Three weeks remaining until the National Foundation Party.
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