My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! — Requiem of the Starry Night
In the world of *FORTUNE LOVER*, Katarina Claes has spent her second life dodging every doom flag the game could throw at her—and against all odds, she's succeeded. Graduated, employed at the Ministry of Magic, and surrounded by the people she loves, her future finally looks bright. But when a routine night patrol leads her to a forbidden star-viewing platform and a silver-haired stargazer named Celes Valmont, her hard-won peace begins to crack. "Soon, you will be forced to make a very great cho
My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom! — Requiem of the Starry Night - Collapsing Everyday Life — The Dense Young Lady and the Thorns of Prophecy —
The third-floor office of the Ministry of Magic sat a little darker than usual, thanks to the thick stone walls that kept the morning light at bay. Every time the breeze outside stirred the potted plants by the window, their leaf-shadows swayed across the documents on the desk. Katarina Claes let out a small sigh as she faced the towering stacks of parchment.
"Ahh... why does the Magical Education Division have to generate so much paper?"
Katarina set the bundle in her hands down on the desk and stretched, arching her back. A sun-tanned wrist peeked from the cuff of her white blouse. The calluses on her palms, earned from farm work, had grown hard and thick. They didn't look like the hands of a nobleman's daughter. She had never once minded that.
(It's already been a week since Celes's prophecy.)
Katarina murmured it in her heart. The silver-haired young man she had met at the observatory in the north tower of the royal palace—Celes Valmont. Since that night, her days had felt restless, as though she were surrounded by invisible thorns.
(A choice that hurts everyone, is it.)
Katarina shook her head. She was overthinking it. It had to be the rambling of an eccentric, nothing more. She tried to believe that.
That was when it happened.
A restrained knock came at the office door. Katarina looked up to find a palace attendant standing there, out of breath.
"Lady Katarina Claes. An urgent messenger has come from the royal palace. Crown Prince Geordo has collapsed while at his duties."
The attendant's voice trembled slightly with tension.
The bundle of parchment slipped from Katarina's hands.
"What... Prince Geordo?"
Katarina rose so abruptly she nearly kicked her chair over. Something pounded violently deep in her chest. A dreadful premonition crept from the nape of her neck down to her waist, cold and crawling.
(Is Celes's prophecy starting to come true?)
Katarina ran down the corridors of the Ministry of Magic, led by the attendant. Her leather shoes echoed harshly against the cold stone. Ministry staff passing by turned to stare in surprise.
The royal palace was about ten minutes on foot from the ministry. Breathless, Katarina passed through the palace's heavy gates. The palace corridors were far wider than the ministry's, the ceilings much higher. The star-vein crystal lamps set into the walls cast a pale blue light. Katarina hurried toward Geordo's private chambers.
Outside his door, a physician and several attendants had gathered. As Katarina ran up, one of the attendants quietly opened the door.
Inside, the curtains were drawn, and the room lay in dim shadow. Geordo Stuart lay upon the great bed. His blond hair was disheveled, his blue eyes closed. His complexion had gone past ashen—it was almost blue-white.
"Prince Geordo..."
Katarina dropped to her knees beside the bed. Geordo's left hand lay flung out atop the sheets. On his ring finger, the engagement ring she had given him glimmered faintly.
"Katarina... you came."
Geordo's eyes opened a sliver. His voice was hoarse, stripped of its usual confidence.
"Of course I did! When I heard you'd collapsed, I was so worried, so worried...!"
Katarina gripped his hand. It was cold as ice.
"It's all right. This isn't your fault."
Geordo smiled as he said it. But the smile was clearly a bluff. The hand that closed around hers was trembling faintly.
Feeling that tremor, Katarina's chest tightened.
(It's my fault. Hearing Celes's prophecy, I've made Prince Geordo anxious.)
(My very existence is weakening him.)
For the first time, a guilt weighed heavily on Katarina's heart—the knowledge that her own existence was wounding someone.
The physician explained in a low voice.
"Prince Geordo is suffering from star-vein depletion. The star veins within his body are diminishing rapidly. The cause is unknown, but it is highly likely that emotional distress triggered it."
Star-vein depletion. One draws star-vein particles from the atmosphere into the body and converts them through incantation to work magic. In this kingdom, only about fifteen percent of the population can use magic. When those magic users exhaust their star veins, their magic temporarily fails them. That was star-vein depletion.
"Emotional... distress..."
Katarina murmured.
(So it really is my fault.)
Katarina cupped Geordo's hand in both of hers.
"Prince Geordo, is there anything I can do? Healing magic, star-vein crystals, anything—just say the word."
"Just having you here is enough."
Geordo said it and squeezed her hand back. His grip was terribly weak.
"Katarina. Forget that man. There is nothing for you to torment yourself over."
Geordo's blue eyes looked straight at her. Deep within them burned a sharp light. It was clear, unmistakable wariness—of Celes Valmont.
Katarina could say nothing.
(Forget Celes?)
(But he told me the future.)
(The future where I hurt everyone.)
Katarina's heart was in turmoil.
That day, Katarina stayed by Geordo's side until evening. He drifted in and out of sleep, and each time he woke, he called her name. And each time, she squeezed his hand back.
It was when the sky had stained crimson that she left the palace.
Katarina trudged along the cobblestones of the royal capital, Arcadias. The murmur of the Lumina River reached her from afar. The bustle of the marketplace was already winding down.
(I have to get back to the Claes ducal estate.)
Katarina climbed into the carriage bound for the Claes estate, sixty kilometers northeast of the capital. Through the window, she watched the sinking sun. Orange light dissolved into the surface of the Lumina River.
(I wonder if Prince Geordo will be all right.)
Katarina closed her eyes and gave herself over to the sway of the carriage.
It was well into the night when the carriage passed through the gates of the Claes estate.
As Katarina stepped down, she saw servants dashing about in confusion.
"What's going on?"
When she called out, one of the servants answered, face pale.
"My lady! It's terrible! Lord Keith's earth magic has gone out of control in the garden...!"
Katarina ran for the garden.
Half of the vast garden had caved in. The ground was gouged deep, as though something enormous had clawed it open. Where a beautiful flowerbed had once spread, now stood a wretched mountain of clods of earth.
At its center stood Keith Claes.
His flaxen hair was in disarray, and his blue eyes were unfocused. Around him stood three giant figures made of earth, motionless. The earthen giants looked ready to crumble at any moment, and yet they gave off an eerie presence.
"Keith!"
Katarina shouted.
Keith's shoulders gave a violent start.
"Sister..."
Keith's voice was so small it seemed about to vanish.
"What happened?! What on earth happened to this garden?!"
Katarina ran to his side. The earthen giants slowly tilted their heads, as though peering down at her.
"I don't understand it either. Before I knew it, the garden had turned out like this..."
Keith stared at his own hands. They were soiled with dirt and trembling slightly.
"When you're not here, Sister, my magic won't listen to me."
Keith confessed it.
"When I'm not here?"
Katarina tilted her head.
"The whole time you were at the palace, my chest kept churning. My magic kept trying to run wild on its own. It felt like you were going to be chosen by someone."
Keith's blue eyes looked wet in the moonlight.
"I'm afraid, Sister. Afraid of you being chosen by someone."
His words pierced Katarina's heart deeply.
(Keith is afraid of me being chosen by someone?)
(What does that even mean?)
In her adopted brother's desperate gaze, Katarina vaguely sensed something for the first time—something that was not simply a brother's worry.
"I don't mean to trouble you. But I want you to remember this one thing—my magic is reaching for you."
Keith murmured it.
Katarina could find no words to answer.
(Keith's magic is reaching for me?)
(What is that supposed to mean?)
Her heart was in confusion. For a girl so oblivious to matters of love, the true meaning of Keith's words was hard to grasp.
The next day, Katarina headed for the Ministry of Magic with a heavy tread.
When she entered the third-floor office, Maria Campbell was standing by the window. Her bright chestnut waves caught the morning light and shone like gold.
"Good morning, Maria."
When Katarina spoke, Maria turned. Her green eyes wavered with something like unease.
"Good morning, Lady Katarina."
Maria smiled. But the smile was far weaker than usual.
"What's wrong? You look pale."
Katarina walked over to her.
"Actually, last night my star veins were stirring again..."
Maria pressed a hand to her chest.
"It feels like my light magic is rampaging inside me."
That was when it happened.
Maria's fingertips suddenly blazed with a strong golden light.
"Maria?!"
The light spilled from her hands and in an instant engulfed the mountain of documents on the desk. The parchment rose gently, floating within the golden glow.
(Oh no! At this rate, Maria's magic will burst out of control!)
Katarina threw her arms around Maria without thinking.
"It's all right, Maria. I'm right here."
Katarina gently stroked Maria's back.
And then, strangely, Maria's light magic slowly quieted. The floating documents drifted down, one after another, onto the desk.
"Lady Katarina..."
Tears spilled from Maria's eyes.
"I had a dream that you went far away, Lady Katarina. So I was... so scared."
Maria buried her face against Katarina's chest.
"I'm not going anywhere."
Katarina said it with a smile.
"Promise me. Promise me you won't go anywhere, Lady Katarina."
Maria whispered it, clinging to her.
"I promise."
Katarina gently stroked Maria's head.
(Even Maria is dreaming that I go far away.)
(So it really is only the people around me who are acting strange.)
A growing sense of wrongness spread through Katarina's chest.
Past noon, Katarina heard from a colleague that Alan Stuart had been weeping while composing music. Alan was Geordo's twin brother, the fourth prince, blessed with genius musical talent. That he would shed tears for no reason was unthinkable.
What was more, her close friends Mary Hunt and Sophia Ascart reported that they felt watched. Both of them said a silver-haired man had appeared in their dreams.
(A silver-haired man. That's Celes.)
(Celes's prophecy is eating into reality.)
Katarina was certain now.
(My choices will hurt everyone. The signs have already begun.)
Unable to sit still, Katarina headed for the observatory at night.
She raced up the spiral staircase of the palace's north tower in one go. The smell of cold stone stung her nose. The star-vein crystal lamps set into the walls cast pale blue light, swaying her shadow as she climbed.
The iron door of the observatory stood open.
Katarina pushed it wide and stepped into the circular room.
Celes Valmont stood before the star chart. His long silver hair caught the starlight and glowed faintly. His silver eyes were fixed on the sea of stars pouring down through the skylight.
"Celes!"
Katarina shouted.
Celes turned slowly.
"Katarina Claes. I have been waiting for you."
His voice was quiet, as though dissolving into the night air.
"Your prophecy is breaking everyone! Prince Geordo collapsed, Keith's magic ran wild, Maria's light magic has gone unstable! Everyone is falling apart!"
Katarina pressed in on him.
Celes's expression did not change, even at her fury.
"A prophecy is a mirror that reflects the future. If the mirror shatters, it is because the cracks were already there."
Celes spoke calmly.
"So you're saying everyone had cracks in them?! Everyone is suffering because of me?!"
Katarina's voice was shaking.
"It is not your fault. Because you are being forced to make a choice, the hearts of those around you are reacting unconsciously. But the signs are not yet a calamity. Depending on your choice, I will act."
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