Chloe von Rosenberg, a daughter of a military noble family, suddenly realizes she's become the villainess from a game she played in her past life. Her fate is to be condemned and exiled. But Chloe, who was a salaryman in her previous life, decides to use her strategic mind to change her destiny.
She aims to become a perfect lady to improve her relationship with Crown Prince Alexis. However, her inner self is still male, causing her to act too familiarly with men and fluster Alexis constantly. Y
The Villainess with a Bewitching Face - A Vow in Flames, Scars as Weapons
A few days after that meeting. Chloe swayed in the carriage, absently gazing at the unfamiliar townscape spreading beyond the window.
This was Brückenhafen. A border trading city connecting Elvasion and the Margraviate of Melvita. Stone buildings lined the streets, and lively voices could be heard from the marketplace. But today's destination wasn't such a bustling place.
"Graustein Hall, is it?"
Chloe murmured quietly.
It was a guesthouse renovated from an old fortress, where the main peace negotiations would be held today. About one hundred thirty kilometers east of Felsenheim. After the spy incident at the previous preliminary meeting, the real event was finally here.
(If a peace treaty is concluded, Elvasion's eastern flank will stabilize. To oppose Grünford, this absolutely must succeed.)
She organized her game knowledge in her head. In the game *Valkyria of Supremacy*, this peace negotiation should have succeeded. But there was that spy incident. She couldn't be sure what might happen.
The carriage stopped.
When the door opened, chilly air brushed her cheek. Before her stood an old fortress with ivy entwined around its gray stone walls. Graustein Hall.
"Chloe."
She turned toward the voice to find Alexis standing there. His shoulder-length platinum blond hair swayed in the wind. Dressed in formal attire befitting the Crown Prince today, his sky-blue eyes seemed sharper than usual.
"Thanks to you seeing through those forged documents last time, today's main meeting has been realized. I thank you once again."
"I merely did what was natural. I am honored to have been of service to Your Highness."
A perfect lady's smile. But inside, she was thinking something else entirely.
(If things proceed as they did in the game, there's no problem. But if something happens, I'll have to act.)
Alexis opened his mouth for a moment, as if wanting to say something. But in the end, he just nodded.
"Let's go inside. The other representatives are already assembled."
The two passed through the gate.
Once inside, the structure was far more magnificent than she had expected. Iron chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, and old tapestries adorned the walls. The hall, called the Grand Staircase Room, was already filled with many people.
Nobles from the Elvasion side, the delegation from the Margraviate of Melvita. Each sat at tables, spreading out documents.
Chloe took her seat at the lowest place, diagonally behind Alexis.
(Now then.)
Until the meeting began, Chloe observed her surroundings. The seams in the walls. The stone paving of the floor. The positions of the windows—her experience from her previous life as a salaryman, forced to create office crisis management manuals, proved useful in a strange way.
(Escape routes... up that grand staircase, and the corridor to the right.)
While thinking such things, she suddenly twitched her nose.
Something smelled burnt.
At first, she thought it was her imagination. But as time passed, the smell grew stronger.
"This smell..."
Chloe tried to stand up.
That was the moment.
BOOOOOOM!!!
A deafening roar. Her vision was dyed crimson. Part of the wall blew apart, scattering stone fragments. Someone's scream. The sound of tables overturning.
An explosion.
(Damn, this is—)
A second blast, a third. The sound of consecutive explosions echoed through the hall. Flames surged toward the ceiling, and black smoke covered her field of vision. Screams and angry shouts mixed together as people rushed for the exits.
Chloe's gaze caught Alexis ahead of her.
He had lost his balance from a nearby blast and was staggering. Above his head, a burning beam looked ready to fall at any moment.
(—Oh no!)
Her body moved before she could think.
"Your Highness!!"
Chloe leaped at Alexis, pinning him to the floor.
WHOOOOSH—
The blast and flames swept over her back. A searing heat. The smell of scorched clothing.
"Chloe!?"
Alexis shouted. He immediately tried to roll over and cover Chloe beneath him. But at that moment, burning timber collapsed from the left side.
The flames licked Chloe's left cheek and arm.
"Ah, aaaah—!!"
(Hot. It hurts. But—)
"Chloe! Stay with me! Chloe!!"
Alexis desperately beat at the flames. He struck them with his cloak, swatted them away with his bare hands. Uncaring that his fingertips were swelling red.
Chloe's consciousness was already fading.
Her vision blurred. Sounds grew distant. But at the end, only his azure eyes remained clear.
(Ah, if Alexis is safe... well, I suppose that's fine.)
Not wanting to die like in the game, Chloe's consciousness sank into darkness.
Alexis scooped Chloe up and headed for the exit. Her body temperature was dropping steadily. The pulse he felt against his skin was growing weaker.
"Please, don't die... Chloe..."
A trembling voice no one had ever heard from him before.
———
Several days later.
The Royal Medical Institute in the royal capital of Felsenheim. In one of its rooms, Chloe slowly opened her eyes.
(This place is...)
A white ceiling. The smell of medicine. Soft afternoon light streamed through the window.
"Chloe!"
At the voice that burst in, Chloe turned her face.
Alexis rose from his chair and rushed to the bed. His face was terribly haggard, with dark circles heavy under his eyes.
"I'll call the doctor. You mustn't move."
"I am fine, Your Highness. More importantly, the peace negotiations..."
"That can wait! You, you..."
Alexis choked on his words.
Soon a doctor arrived and examined Chloe's condition. While removing the bandages wrapped around her left cheek, he slowly began to speak.
"The burn area is extensive. Using magical healing arts, we can restore it to some degree... but returning it completely to its original state will likely be difficult."
Alexis's face paled further.
"I should have... I should have been the one to protect you..."
He clenched his fists tightly, trembling.
"A mirror, please."
Chloe's voice was surprisingly calm.
A small hand mirror was brought over. Chloe took it and stared intently at her own face for a full minute.
From below her left eye across her cheek, a burn scar ran. Even if it healed, it probably wouldn't disappear completely.
(So this is my new face.)
Chloe set the hand mirror down.
"Alright."
"...What is?"
"I said, I can use this."
Alexis looked at Chloe's face in surprise. She wore an utterly serious expression. She wasn't crying, nor was she angry. Her eyes were quiet, as if she had already seen through everything.
"Someone is bound to start rumors anyway. That my engagement might be broken off, and so on. In that case, I should just use it first. This is my medal of honor. Like a general wounded on the battlefield, I will fight through high society."
Alexis couldn't say anything.
He just tried, somehow, to accept the weight of her words.
(Chloe... for you to say something like that.)
When the doctor left the room, silence fell between just the two of them.
Alexis slowly opened his mouth.
"You... protected me. That was an action I should have taken."
"Protecting one's fiancé is a natural judgment. If you consider it in terms of cost and benefit, me acting as a shield was more rational. You are the Crown Prince, and I am the daughter of a mere noble. Which of us is more important to Elvasion is obvious."
Alexis caught his breath.
It was an answer so dry, so utterly like Chloe. He fell silent, unable to continue.
(That's not it. That's not what I wanted to say.)
Alexis gazed softly at Chloe's left cheek.
The burn scar. A wound she bore to protect him. Guilt, and a deeper emotion, swirled violently in his chest.
Noticing his gaze, Chloe smiled just a little.
"You don't need to stare so much. Please get used to it, Your Highness."
That smile seemed to Alexis the most beautiful he had ever seen.
He felt something solidify within himself.
(I will protect her. This time, I will.)
He couldn't put it into words. But that resolve slowly hardened in his heart.
———
Several more days passed. Chloe continued her recuperation at the Rosenberg estate.
One day, a maid who had served her for many years brought tea and, with an apologetic look, began to speak.
"My lady... um, in the upper district, strange rumors are..."
"Tell me."
"Th-they say things like, 'The Rosenberg daughter has suffered a terrible wound to her face,' or 'How long will her fiancé tolerate a lady who has become ugly'..."
Chloe kept her mouth shut sullenly for a while, but eventually laughed lowly.
"Heh... Interesting. So that's how they're playing it."
Lying on the bed, she looked up at the ceiling.
(Hide the scar? No. If anything, I'll flaunt it.)
Plans were already beginning to move in Chloe's head.
She wouldn't hide the scar in high society. She would adorn it ostentatiously and march in with dignity. Turn the rumors into a weapon. The cunning she had cultivated in the strategy games of her previous life quietly bared its fangs.
The last thing she recalled was the shadow of the mastermind behind the bombing—Grünford's Chancellor, Sergio.
(The method of that bombing was exactly like the diversionary tactics of the enemy nation I saw in the game. If that man is involved...)
A sense of caution slowly began to burn deep in her chest.
The battle had only just begun.
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