When overworked salaryman Eiji Kurono dies at his desk, he wakes up again—as Chloe von Rosenberg, the stunningly beautiful villainess of his favorite strategy game, *Valkyria of Supremacy*.
There's just one problem: he knows exactly how this story ends. Within a year, the crown prince will expose her schemes, shatter their engagement, and cast her out as her family's prestigious name is dragged through the mud. In the game, Chloe was never meant to be loved—just defeated.
But Eiji isn't about
The Devilish Villainess - Peace Conference, the Lady's True Worth
Three days had passed since that disastrous scene in the courtyard.
Chloe stood before the mirror in her chambers and let out a deep breath. Today's dress was a chic, deep blue gown. Her silver hair, long enough to reach her waist, was gathered into a single tail at her back. The burn scar beneath her left eye seemed, in the mirror, to look just a shade redder than usual.
"As if this could possibly be going according to plan..."
Today, a preparatory meeting for peace negotiations with the neighboring Marquisate of Melvita would be held at Weisckrone Castle. And she would attend as the representative of the Rosenberg family. Her betrothed, Crown Prince Alexis, was sure to be there as well.
According to the game knowledge from her past life's memories, this meeting was supposed to be an uneventful waypoint. But the Chloe of now was the game's villainess. If she kept moving along the game's rails, she would eventually be stripped of her engagement and fall into ruin. She absolutely refused to accept that future.
She straightened her spine. All right, then. Time to go.
When she stepped out the front door of the estate, the early summer breeze stirred her silver hair. The sky stretched blue and endless. In the distance, Weisckrone Castle—a white citadel perched atop a hill—glittered in the morning sun.
"Please take care, my lady."
The aged butler bowed deeply. She gave a slight nod and climbed into the waiting carriage. As it rattled over the cobblestones, she quietly closed her eyes.
(Crown Prince Alexis. In the game, he was an earnest, awkward man. But at heart he was sincere—once he believed in someone, he would protect them to the very end. With a nature like that, maybe...)
No. She mustn't overthink this. In her past life she'd been nothing but an ordinary office worker. For now, she just needed to carry herself with dignity.
The carriage passed through the rows of noble estates in the upper district, then climbed the slope leading to the castle. Before long it rolled through the castle gates and came to a stop before the grand staircase hall.
The interior of the castle was cool, and a massive chandelier suspended from the high ceiling cast the faint glow of a mana furnace. Old tapestries hung along the stone walls, telling the history of the Kingdom of Elvasion.
Already, several nobles—likely attendees of the meeting—had gathered. All wore formal attire and exchanged words in hushed tones. Among them, she spotted a tall young man.
Platinum blond hair that fell to his shoulders. Slightly wavy, with bangs that hung over his left eye. Bright blue eyes, close to the color of the sky. A small scar on the right side of his forehead. Alexis von Elvasion. The Crown Prince.
When he noticed her, his eyes widened just slightly. Then he walked straight toward her.
(Here he comes. All right, I need to make a good impression here.)
She tried to smile gracefully. But her nerves were so frayed that her face stiffened instead. Seeing her like that, he let the corner of his mouth curl into a faint smile.
"It's been a while, Chloe. Today you're... walking with quite a bit of spirit, aren't you?"
She blinked.
She'd been paying no mind to her skirt, striding forward with long, heavy steps to peer at the documents. Oh no. As a lady, there was no excuse for walking like that.
"I—I'm so sorry, I just..."
She hurriedly smoothed down the hem of her skirt. She could hear the surrounding nobles stifling their giggles. How embarrassing. But Alexis showed not the slightest trace of mockery.
"No, it's fine. You're different from the other young ladies—you carry yourself boldly. I find that rare, in its own way."
He said this, gazing steadily into her eyes.
(W-was that a compliment...? He's not angry?)
She was a little confused. But his blue eyes held a certain gentleness, so for the time being she gave a deep nod.
The meeting proceeded around a large, long table. Afternoon light streamed through the windows, and thick stacks of documents were piled on the tabletop. Five representatives on the Elvasion side, five on the Melvita side. Alexis sat in the chairman's seat on the Elvasion side, while Chloe took the farthest seat at the end.
The discussions moved along without incident. Agreements on the border trade routes. Matters of tariffs. Regulations on the stationing of troops from both nations. Listening carefully, she took notes from time to time.
(At this level, even I can keep up. Who would've thought my experience poring over meeting documents in my past life would come in handy here?)
As she was thinking this, the Melvitan secretary began distributing new documents. A young man. Neatly slicked-back black hair and narrow, nervous-looking eyes. He arranged the papers with practiced efficiency and said in a low voice:
"These are the details of the peace terms. Please review them."
She took the document handed to her and ran her eyes over the columns of numbers.
In that instant, something cold ran down her spine.
(This sequence of numbers...)
Like déjà vu, a memory from her past life flashed through her mind. As a trading company employee, she had once combed through a falsified financial statement to expose a client's fraud—and this was that exact pattern. No, wait. This was—the pattern of the disinformation sabotage operation that enemy spies used in the game *Valkyria of the Conquering Path* to wreck the peace negotiations.
The trade balance entries were unnaturally inflated. The tax rates didn't add up. If the peace treaty were signed as written, the Elvasion economy would collapse within a year. Someone had deliberately inserted false numbers.
She stood up.
"This document is fundamentally wrong!"
The air in the conference room froze.
The nobles all turned to look at her at once. One elderly noble furrowed his brow in obvious displeasure.
"Lady Rosenberg. A woman does not raise her voice like that in a meeting of this nature."
Another noble shook his head with a sour expression.
"Is something not to your liking? What could a young lady who can't even read numbers have to say?"
Cold stares pierced her from every direction. Her breath came short. Her heart pounded like a hammer. But she could not back down. This was the one moment where the knowledge from her past life could actually be of use.
"Please listen to me! This trade balance entry—when cross-referenced with the tax rates, the calculations don't add up at all. This is a falsified peace proposal, with the numbers deliberately manipulated!"
"Ha, what an insult. This document took a full week to prepare in our homeland. I hardly think a slip of a girl has any grounds to criticize—"
The young secretary flushed red and tried to argue back. But his voice didn't last to the end.
"—Wait."
Alexis quietly raised a hand.
He rose, took the document from her hands. Then, narrowing his sky-blue eyes, he began tracing the numbers intently. Wrinkles of tension deepened on his earnest face.
(Please. Notice it.)
She held her breath, watching his profile.
After a while, he let out a small breath. When he raised his head, his eyes were nothing like the gentleness from before. They held the cold, piercing brilliance of a Crown Prince.
"Secretary. Explain the basis for these calculations. Here and now."
The secretary's face went pale before her eyes.
"Th-that is... well..."
"You can't answer? Then perhaps I should have our own accountant recalculate it."
Alexis delivered this calmly, hand resting on his chin. The young secretary finally began to tremble.
"I—I didn't know! I was ordered from above to submit it as-is..."
It was a confession.
The meeting was temporarily suspended, and the secretary was dragged away by guards. It came out later that the man was not a young Melvitan official at all—he was a spy planted by the Duchy of Grinford. The great eastern power had been feeding in falsified documents to sabotage the peace.
The meeting concluded without further incident.
(It's over...)
The tension drained from her, and she found herself bracing a hand against the wall. Cold sweat had soaked her back through. This was far worse for her heart than any all-nighter preparing a presentation in her past life.
"Chloe."
At the sound of his voice, she looked up with a start. Alexis was gazing straight at her. His blue eyes were serious, and yet somehow a little bewildered.
"How... how did you see through that error in the numbers? It was a falsification that couldn't be spotted at a glance. And yet you acted as though you knew from the very start that something was wrong."
Her heart skipped.
(Oh no. I can't possibly tell him about my past-life game knowledge.)
She hurriedly cobbled together a plausible excuse.
"Um... I often read my father's accounting books at home. Thanks to that, I suppose I've developed a sense for when numbers look unnatural..."
"And that alone was enough to be so certain? I'm astonished. You are a far more brilliant young lady than I took you for."
He slowly stepped closer to her. Being stared at with such intensity made strange sweat pour down her back. This situation was, somehow, incredibly awkward.
"I owe you my thanks. Because of you, Elvasion has seized the initiative in these negotiations. Thank you."
He smiled, looking a little embarrassed.
"You've... changed lately. Before, you gave a much meeker impression, but now you carry yourself boldly. That suits you far better..."
He trailed off mid-sentence.
And then, just as he tried to step closer—
"Whoa!"
Chloe caught her foot on the stacked pile of documents. The hem of her skirt had snagged on the corner of a thick bundle of papers.
She lost her balance. Her feet tangled. The floor rushed up toward her—
Thud.
The impact never came.
"—Whoa!"
Alexis had caught her in his arms on pure reflex.
She felt the firmness of his arm against her back. His platinum blond hair was right beside her face, carrying the faintest scent of soap. They froze completely, close enough to feel each other's breath.
His blue eyes were wide open. In them was clear bewilderment, and then—
(What is that face? He's gone completely red.)
Only then did she register the warmth of his body and the weight of his unwavering gaze. But her mind was occupied with something else entirely.
(So this is what it feels like to be caught. It's like steadying a drunk boss at a client meeting... no, that's not it. This is much worse for my heart.)
With the easy familiarity of someone slinging an arm around a male servant's shoulder, she gripped his arm firmly and stood up.
"Th-thank you, Lord Alexis! You saved me!"
She beamed at him and bowed deeply.
He opened and closed his mouth as if he wanted to say something. But in the end he couldn't manage a word, and only nodded. When she released his arm and hurried out of the room, she thought she heard him heave a deep sigh behind her.
What was I doing? Treating my lifesaver with such rudeness. But for now, she hoped he would just let it go.
In the corner of the meeting room, there was an elderly noble who had watched everything.
He had been silent the entire time, jotting something in a notebook. But what remained on the paper each time his pen moved was not a record of the meeting.
'Chloe, the young lady of the Rosenberg family. A dangerously gifted woman of exceptional analytical skill and nerve. Brilliant, and held in deep trust by Crown Prince Alexis. Report to the homeland required.'
The elderly noble, his face unnervingly blank, gently pressed his pen tip against the blotting paper. Deep in his eyes, something glimmered. He was a secret envoy of Grinford, who had been embedded in Elvasion for decades.
"Well now... this will make fine material to bring back to Lord Sergio."
He muttered under his breath, and for just an instant, a smile crossed his lips.
Not a single person noticed his presence. The Elvasion nobles, elated by the meeting's success, were already
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