My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Volume 4

by Satoru Yamaguchi

  The one who had pulled Jeord away was my adopted younger brother, Keith. He had a remarkable smile on his face too, one that was comparable to Jeord’s. Ah, thank you, my dear brother. Thanks to you, the integrity of my heart and its chambers have been preserved... for now.

  “Keith. Katarina and I will be united in marriage one day. I do not see the issue with me being a little closer with her,” said Jeord as he extended his arm and placed a hand on my cheek. I involuntarily shivered at the sensation of his fingertips brushing across my face, and quickly retreated to a safe distance.

  Keith, upon seeing this, furrowed his brow. “What marriage? You are scaring her, do you not see? Please, this way, Big Sister...”

  I quickly hid behind Keith’s back, grateful for his quick thinking. But dear brother of mine... I would not exactly say that I was scared...

  “Ah... but you see, Katarina is not scared of me — hardly! She is merely becoming aware of my presence.”

  It was as if Jeord was reading my mind! What he said was true. I wasn’t scared of him, no... but I wasn’t used to these things, especially when it came to love, so I was caught off guard. As expected of the perfect Prince Jeord... he really does see through everything. I couldn’t help but feel a sense of appreciation for Jeord’s sharp senses, even as I continued hiding behind Keith.

  “Unlike a certain someone, who does not seem to register in her mind in the slightest... no, not even a fragment,” Jeord said with that same defiant smile.

  I felt Keith twitch at those words. Register? Mind? Hmm? Who is Jeord talking about? Judging by the way Keith reacted... does he know who it is?

  Looking up at Keith, I was surprised to see a certain sorrow in his features. “Um...” Just as I was about to call out to him—

  “Good morning, Lady Katarina.” That cheerful greeting was from Mary Hunt, a close friend of mine. She was here with her fiancée, Alan Stuart. Her bright voice immediately dispelled the strange atmosphere that had been hanging over us.

  “Good morning, Mary, Prince Alan.” I returned her greeting with a smile. Mary responded in kind. Ah, her smile really is lovely.

  Mary was the very image of a noble lady. She had that perfect smile and aura of elegance no matter the occasion, whether at an event in noble circles or a public space. The smile she showed when speaking to us was different though. It was warmer.

  On the other hand, Alan, who had been trailing behind Mary, simply responded with a simple “yeah.” There wasn’t much to his greeting, but this was how he always was. He was nowhere as friendly as Jeord. Maybe he could just use a tiny bit more of Jeord’s sociability, but Alan’s fans actually preferred his gruff nature.

  I was baffled by this whole situation. The complexities of a maiden’s heart were indeed numerous. With the two of them here, the atmosphere changed. Mary, who had been smiling at me just a second ago, now suddenly had the smile she usually reserved for social affairs on her face.

  “Well, if it isn’t Prince Jeord. Is it really all right for you to be here at this point in time? I do recall quite the amount of work piling up at the council chambers...” she said to Jeord. While it almost seemed like Mary was actually worried about unfinished work at the council, that strange atmosphere was back again.

  “Why yes, it was quite the workload indeed. However, all I had to do was actually put my mind to it. I have already finished it all, you see.”

  “I see... how nice to hear...”

  Hmm. What is this? It’s Mary’s smile, sure, but something about it seems off.

  “Even so,” Jeord continued, “I feel like the workload at the council has increased quite a bit as of late. I wonder why that would be the case?”

  “Perhaps it is due to the impending graduation ceremony?”

  “Is that so? It almost feels as if a certain individual is funneling work toward me, so as to unjustly rob me of my time... I cannot help but think of that, no?”

  “Surely you jest, Prince Jeord. Perhaps your work and tiredness have gotten the better of you, for you to become delusional like that? Perhaps it would be best for you to get some quality rest on your own today?”

  “Hmm. Perhaps I shall simply attribute it to that for now. However, no matter how much work gets piled up on my desk, I will hardly see it as a trial of any kind.”

  “Ahaha. As expected of you, Prince Jeord. I see you are as capable as ever.”

  Although the two were all smiles, the aura emanating from their conversation was somewhat unpleasant.

  “Good morning, everyone. Should we not be headed to the campus soon? We will be late if we dally...” a somewhat sleepy, yet panicked Sophia said.

  With that, the conversation ended, and we all headed toward our classrooms together.

  By the way, it seems that Sophia did oversleep, as I thought. Apparently she’d stayed up all night reading novels again. The one she was reading sounded really good, so I asked to borrow it from her.

  When we finally reached campus, we waited for Maria, who lived in a different dormitory. Then we all went to our classrooms to attend the few remaining lectures this term.

  “I went to the Ministry yesterday and met with Lady Larna. She was eager for you to come along next time as well, Lady Katarina,” Maria told me when our lecture ended and lunch break began.

  Maria Campbell: the original protagonist of the otome game, Fortune Lover, and one of the few Wielders of Light in the kingdom. Maria had decided to work for the Ministry after her graduation. With our lessons at the academy steadily decreasing in frequency, Maria had been visiting the Ministry.

  Maria’s future superior was Larna Smith, someone I had met during a certain incident not long ago. I didn’t know who she was then, but I’d spent some time with her when she was going by “Lana.” She was easy to talk to, and seemed like a candid person who didn’t mince her words. I never would have guessed that she was actually some important person from the Ministry!

  From what I heard, Larna had a senior position there, too. For some reason she’d become interested in me, and arrangements were made for me to start working at the Ministry after I graduated. In fact, she was personally recommending me for the position.

  If I were to just graduate normally, it was likely that Jeord would whisk me away to formally become his bride. I mean, it’s not like I disliked him. But the problem was that he was royalty, and if I married him, I’d become royalty too! Honestly, maintaining my social status as the daughter of a duke already took too much effort. Even if I tried my best to play the role, Mother always complained about my performance.

  It hadn’t taken me long after regaining my memories to realize that I wasn’t cut out for this noble thing at all. I’d make a better farmer, or at least some common townsperson. But me, of all people, becoming royalty? Standing at the top of the kingdom...?

  A little while ago, I was pondering what I’d do with my life once Jeord found someone he really liked and called off his engagement with me. Most nobles preferred that their daughters get married as soon as possible, but my family was different. My father spoiled me like crazy, and my mother couldn’t care less. “Let Katarina do as she pleases!” my father said. “If she were to get married she’d embarrass herself even further, so wouldn’t it be better for her to stay home instead?” my mother said. So the two of them never really campaigned for me to get married.

  This was why I had been happily thinking about what I could do after graduation without a care in the world, only for Jeord to suddenly go on an all-out romantic offensive. At this rate, I’d really end up becoming a member of the royal family!

  To prevent that, I had to enter the ranks of the Ministry at all costs. The one who had informed me of this potential way out was Raphael, a friend of mine who was currently working at the Ministry. After all, the Ministry was the next most powerful organization in the kingdom, second to royalty. So joining the Ministry’s ranks would provide me with some protection. Even if a prince wanted to marry me, I couldn’t simply be wh
isked away to the royal castle.

  Although that was supposed to be my salvation, and the only way out of this mess... I now wasn’t so sure. After all, my magical power was low — the bottom of the barrel at the academy, really. If I was good at my studies then maybe I could join the Ministry as a researcher or academic, but my grades were average at best.

  Would a normal, relatively boring and plain girl like myself have any business tunneling into the Ministry, the nest of elites? Although I was often scolded by my parents in my past life for being brazen and cheeky, this was too much for me. I didn’t have any skills or abilities, and to just wiggle my way into the most elite organization in the kingdom via a connection... it felt wrong, even for me.

  So I hadn’t given Larna a response yet, even after she went out of her way to invite me into the Ministry. Of course, I didn’t expect to suddenly have powers on par with Maria’s, but I at least wanted one special skill of some kind that would mean I could enter the Ministry without shame.

  All I could do was keep trying to come up with something, all while giving Maria vague answers, despite her earnest push for me to join the Ministry with her. There were only a few months left until graduation, and the path I would take remained undecided.

  Ever since his proposal after the kidnapping incident, Jeord’s aggressively romantic approaches showed no signs of stopping. With his beautiful face, Jeord would approach me elegantly, then lean in with whispers of love and desire for intimacy. These incidents turned me various shades of pale blue and deep red, and each time my friends would come to my rescue. But honestly, I had zero resistance when it came to love, and I felt like my poor heart couldn’t possibly keep up. I felt like my heartbeats in this short span of time had already gone way past the heartbeat count of the rest of my lifespan combined.

  Honestly, having a handsome prince like this almost tackle me with his aggressive approaches was... difficult. For a novice at love like me, shouldn’t we start with exchanging notes or something like that instead?! I’d prefer a slower start like that!

  Today was the same as ever. Jeord’s relentless approaches had left me tired, and I now found myself in Keith’s quarters. “I’m... s-so tired,” I groaned. With that, I collapsed on Keith’s sofa, taking up the whole thing myself and complaining all the while.

  Keith, however, merely smiled bitterly at my antics. “Ready to give up, I see,” he said, while handing me some snacks I liked and pouring the tea I loved.

  “Fan kyuu...” I said, with my mouth stuffed full of the snacks he’d offered me. Normally, Keith would be upset at my lack of manners. But today, he merely looked on with that smile and forgave my transgressions.

  I’d been doing this for a few days — sneaking into Keith’s room and doing nothing but complaining the entire time. But he never once seemed bothered by it, and instead listened with an empathetic ear. I really did have a wonderful younger brother.

  Come to think of it, Keith had always been covering my tracks and supporting me ever since we were children. He was always there after I was lectured by Mother, or if I did badly at a tea-party. He would stay with me until I cheered up.

  It made me think of my somewhat rougher older brother in my past life. Upon seeing his sister depressed, he would usually cheer me up, although he chose to do it with a pro-wrestling move. That was the kind of brother he was. I didn’t dislike him or anything, but I always found myself thinking, Maybe you should understand the intricacies of a maiden’s heart, or at least try, you dummy!

  Compared to him, Keith had a much better understanding of said intricacies. Even if he did get something wrong, he would never come at me with some pro-wrestling move. Instead, he’d present me with snacks and tea that I liked. Keith was gentle, caring, and considerate — he really was a wonderful brother. He would never have any issues marrying into any other noble family. Well, I suppose our family would be the one the bride would be getting married into, not the other way around.

  Keith would definitely be very popular amongst the ladies. As his adoptive older sister, I really did hope for Keith to find a good bride. At the very least, not someone like Mother... that would be really worrisome. The ideal was someone like Maria, cute and kind.

  Just as I was indulging myself in the thoughts of who my adoptive younger brother should marry...

  “Hey, Big Sister... do you really have reservations about marrying Prince Jeord?” Keith asked with a serious expression on his face.

  “Of course I do, Keith! After all, if I were to marry Prince Jeord, I’d become royalty! Royalty! I’d stand at the top of this kingdom! I couldn’t possibly fulfill such a role!”

  Even Mary, who was the very epitome of what a noble lady should be, didn’t find the prospects of becoming royalty very pleasant at all. She often talked about how troublesome it’d be. If Mary couldn’t do it, there was no way I would be able to. Such was my spirited response.

  “Haha. I suppose so. It would be a little difficult for you to play the role of a royal.” Keith smiled, now strangely happier than before. However, his serious expression soon returned. “But... Big Sister, if you ever... feel that way about Prince Jeord...”

  “?”

  “No. It’s nothing.” Keith stopped speaking. For some reason, he looked sad, like how he looked way back then when he had just arrived at Claes Manor. My heart tightened at the sight.

  However, Keith soon returned to his usual self and started speaking again. The conversation soon shifted to me complaining once more, and before long, I had all but forgotten about the tightness in my heart. It wasn’t long before I felt refreshed and returned to my room.

  We would be on a short break from the academy starting tomorrow, and I had decided to return to Claes Manor. At the very least, I would be able to escape from Jeord’s intense approaches for a while. That was a relieving thought.

  The next day, Keith and I returned to Claes Manor as planned. I immediate changed into my gardening overalls, and for the first time in a long time, headed into the gardens to tend to the fields.

  In the past, Mother would always try to get me away from doing field work. Now, she simply said this with a tired expression: “Just... refrain from uttering those strange sounds of yours, and... do as you like, Katarina.”

  “I understand!” I cheerfully replied, although I wasn’t quite sure what the strange sounds she was talking about were. Have I been making strange sounds without noticing? Maybe a “haa...” here, or a “hyaah!” there...? Hmm. I guess I should be careful.

  With that, I took my hoe into my hands and... “And a one! Hup! And a two! Hup!” I started my agricultural work as usual.

  As expected, Jeord didn’t show up at the manor today. I supposed he was taking his rest too. And Keith immediately left after we got to the manor, claiming that he had “matters to attend to.” As a result, I spent my time with Grandpa Tom and Anne, and gave it my all in the fields.

  In the past, Anne would make a face and say something like “A noble lady working the fields...!” But maybe because Anne had stuck with me every time I did field work, she now assisted me instead — if anything, she’d become more knowledgeable about agriculture than me.

  She even gave me advice now! “Ah, young miss, it is still a little too early to harvest those. Perhaps that row over there would be a better choice,” she would say. She’d also become very skilled at planting seeds and saplings, and gave me all sorts of information. She’d suggest different fertilizers and farming tools. It was really very useful.

  It had been a long time since I had the opportunity to do anything like this, and I was soon fully absorbed in the process. Before I knew it, the sun was already setting. It was well worth the work, though — the fields were now a lot cleaner, and we had our fair harvest of vegetables and crops.

  I eagerly wished to show off the fruits of my labor, and so I found myself walking to Keith’s room while still dressed in my gardening getup.

  “Hey, Keith! We have made some improvements to
the fields, would you like to... hmm?” I had knocked quite a bit, and the door had opened. “Eh? Has Keith not returned yet?” There was no one there — the room was empty.

  I’d thought that since Keith left so early that he should have already come home by now. Was he somewhere else in the manor? I quickly located Sebastian (not really his name), our butler, and asked, only to be told that Keith had not returned.

  Is he out doing something that takes a lot of time? That’s a bummer, but I guess there’s no helping it. I turned around to return to the fields, only to cross paths with Mother, who had just left the tea room. As her eyes met mine, her demeanor changed. She was so happily speaking with the maids not long ago, but now her brows furrowed and rage flashed in her eyes.

  E-Eh?! Why? What happened? Just because I crossed paths with her? I found myself paralyzed by Mother’s piercing gaze. Her expression shifted to look behind me and her angry expression intensified.

  Eh? What? I turned around, only to see that I had left a trail of mud and soil where I’d walked. To make things worse, this mud trail extended all the way into the corridor and back. I, of course, was still dressed in my gardening overalls... my muddy, dirty field work gear.

  This... was bad. I could instinctively feel it — a sense of primal danger. I had to escape from this place, but alas, my opponent was faster than I was. Before I could make a run for it, Mother had me by the collar.

  “Katarina... you would do well to come with me... to my room...” Her voice was terrifying and low, as if she had become an emissary from hell itself.

  And so I brushed off what remaining soil there was on my overalls, before being dragged to Mother’s room like an unwilling prisoner. I would then be lectured for several long, tedious hours...

  With the lecture finally over, I was released, and I once again found myself heading to Keith’s room for the express purpose of complaining, and to report the results of my harvest. The sun had already set, after all. Surely he’d be in his room by now?