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 - The Truth of the Fallen Star — The Oblivious Young Lady and the Vanished Inspector —
The morning in the royal capital of Arcadias was wrapped in air far heavier than usual. Only the footsteps of Katarina Claes echoed—strangely loud—against the cold stone floor as she walked the third-floor corridor of the Ministry of Magic. Beyond the windows, thick clouds blanketed the sky, and she could feel on her skin that the flow of the star-veins had stalled.
(What Celes said yesterday at the observatory won't leave my head.)
"Your choice will bring about the return of the Starfall Calamity."
Katarina pressed the bundle of documents she carried tightly against her chest. The corners of the paper bit into her palms, hardened from farm work. The pain made her feel, just slightly, that she had returned to reality.
"Lady Katarina Claes."
A hard voice came from behind her. She turned to find a palace attendant standing there, the collar of his black uniform immaculately arranged. His face was pale, his lips trembling faintly.
"Crown Prince Geordo awaits you in the Ministry of Magic's special chamber. Please come at once. ...Sir Keith Claes will be present as well."
The strength drained from Katarina's fingertips. The bundle of documents slid from her arms and scattered across the floor.
(Geordo and Keith, together?)
A bad premonition crept from the nape of her neck down to her waist, cold and crawling.
When she opened the heavy wooden door of the special chamber, the hearth fire burned bright red. The drawn curtains left the room dim despite it being midday. Beyond the long table stood Geordo Stuart. His blond hair caught the firelight with a dull sheen, and his blue eyes fixed squarely on Katarina. Beside him stood Keith Claes, arms crossed. Beneath his flaxen hair, his blue eyes had lost their usual gentleness and held a sharp light.
"So you've come, Katarina."
Geordo's voice was low and quiet. Not a trace of his usual refreshing smile remained.
"Yes. I heard you called for me."
Katarina walked to the center of the room. Five steps to Geordo. Seven steps to Keith. Their gazes pierced her skin.
"As crown prince, and as your fiancé, I will formally inform you of a decision that has been made."
Geordo paused for a breath. A log in the hearth snapped with a sharp crack.
"Celes Valmont is officially recognized as an inspector of the Bureau of Temporal Audit. Not as a record-keeper of the stars. Entry to the royal palace is henceforth forbidden, without exception."
Katarina's breath stopped for an instant.
(Celes has been formally recognized as an inspector?)
(Forbidden from entering the palace?)
"Wait, Geordo. What does that mean? Do you have solid proof that Celes is an inspector?"
"I had it investigated under crown prince authority. That star-shaped scar on the back of that man's left hand—it's a star-mark, borne only by inspectors of the Bureau of Temporal Audit. There's no mistake."
Celes's left hand rose in Katarina's mind. Silver long hair, silver eyes, and the old star-shaped scar on the back of his left hand. So that had been the proof of an inspector.
"Sister, don't go near that man anymore."
Keith stepped forward. His blue eyes wavered with anger and worry.
"He was watching you, Sister. He's trying to use you to change the future. I can't stand by and watch you be put in danger."
"Keith, Celes isn't trying to use me. He's just been telling me about the future..."
"Katarina."
Geordo's voice froze the air in the room.
"I cannot leave a man who endangers you unchecked. This is my decision as crown prince. And—"
Geordo took one step closer to Katarina. Something burned deep in his blue eyes.
"I will not let anyone vanish from my side."
Katarina was at a loss for words. In Geordo's gaze, the coldness of a crown prince and the jealousy of a single man were tangled together in a mess. Keith's gaze held the same heat. The desperation to protect his sister-in-law, and the possessiveness that refused to let another man take her—both were plainly visible.
(It's my fault. Because I met Celes, Geordo and Keith make faces like this.)
(My existence is breaking the three of us.)
A heavy guilt pressed down on Katarina's chest.
"...I understand. I won't see Celes anymore."
Katarina said it in a trembling voice. Geordo's expression softened, just slightly. The tension drained from Keith's shoulders.
"That is wise, Katarina."
"Thank you, Sister."
Katarina turned her back on them and left the room. The moment she stepped into the corridor, strength left her knees, and she braced a hand against the wall.
(Forgive me, Celes. I want to believe you, but I can't hurt Geordo and Keith either.)
(What am I supposed to do?)
The answer was nowhere.
In the evening, having finished her duties at the Ministry of Magic, Katarina climbed the spiral staircase of the palace's north tower. Her footsteps echoed against the narrow stone walls. With each step, the depths of her chest grew heavier.
(If I go to the observatory, I might see Celes.)
(But I promised Geordo and Keith I wouldn't see him anymore.)
(Even so, there's something I absolutely have to ask Celes.)
Katarina bit her lip and kept climbing. The star-vein crystal lamps cast pale blue light onto the stone walls. Only her footsteps rang out, strangely loud.
When she opened the observatory door, cold night air flowed into the circular room. A stone chamber fifteen meters across. Through the skylight, beyond the cloudy sky, a faint starlight was visible. Before the star chart, a figure with flowing silver hair stood.
"I knew you would come, Katarina Claes."
Celes Valmont turned slowly. His silver eyes caught the starlight falling through the skylight and shone faintly. Those eyes seemed, as always, to be looking somewhere far away—and yet they fixed squarely on Katarina alone.
"Celes, there's something I need to ask you..."
"Yes. And there is something I must tell you as well."
Celes placed his hand on the star chart. The cold stone surface was engraved with the positions of countless stars. At its center was a star that shone especially red.
"Look at this."
Celes's fingertip pointed to the red star.
"This is an omen of the Starfall Calamity. In the year 620 of the kingdom's calendar, a massive meteorite fell on the eastern part of the kingdom, and some thirty thousand people perished. The same red star that appeared in the sky then has now appeared again."
Katarina stared at the red star carved into the chart. The star-vein crystal embedded in the stone surface gave off a red glow. As if it were the color of blood.
"The Starfall Calamity is going to happen again?"
"The probability is extremely high. And your choice will be the trigger."
Katarina's fingertips trembled.
"My choice will cost thirty thousand lives..."
"To be precise, when you choose someone, the star-veins of those not chosen will run wild, and that will draw the red star near. The star-veins of the people around you are deeply bound to your choice."
"No... How can I prevent it? Tell me, Celes!"
Katarina clutched at Celes's sleeve. Tears blurred her vision.
Celes quietly removed Katarina's hand from his sleeve. His fingertips brushed her palm for just an instant. They were cold fingers.
"The only way to change the future is for you to choose what you truly wish for, in your own words. Not to be made to choose by someone else, but what you yourself desire from the bottom of your heart."
"What I truly wish for... I don't understand anything. I don't want to hurt anyone. But if I have to choose, then I..."
"There's no need to rush. The choice is yours. No one can take it from you."
For the first time, Celes's voice carried emotion. His silver eyes reflected Katarina's tears and wavered.
"I was not watching over you. I simply wanted to witness your choice from closer than anyone. That is all."
Deep in Katarina's chest, something pulsed violently.
(Celes wanted to witness my choice?)
(Not to watch over me—to witness?)
Katarina gazed into Celes's silver eyes. Deep within them, for the first time, she felt loneliness and a faint warmth dwelling together.
"The principle of star-reading—stars are meant to be read, not changed. But even if the stars cannot be changed, a person can choose the branching of the future by their own will. You are the only one who can prove that."
Celes said this and smiled. It was the first true smile she had ever seen from him.
That was when it happened.
Celes's body began to be wrapped in a pale light.
"Celes!?"
Silver light rose from beneath Celes's feet. The light of the star-veins. It coiled around his body like chains, binding him.
"A forced recall order from the Bureau of Temporal Audit. My duty ends here."
Celes's voice was astonishingly calm.
"No! Don't go! I haven't chosen anything yet! I still want to talk with you!"
Katarina reached out toward Celes. She tried to grasp his hand, bound in light.
Her fingertips touched it.
Cold.
But the next moment, Celes's body became a pillar of light and rose toward the skylight.
"Katarina Claes. Meeting you, I learned for the first time of a world beyond the stars."
Celes's voice echoed within the light.
"The choice is yours. What you truly wish for."
The light burst.
From the observatory's skylight, silver light vanished into the night sky. The starlight shone strongly for an instant.
And then, silence.
Katarina's hand was grasping at empty air.
"Celes..."
Katarina collapsed on the spot. Her knees struck the cold stone floor. She didn't even feel the pain.
(Again. Again, someone precious has vanished before me.)
Memories of her previous life flashed back. A traffic accident. Her best friend Atsuko. Even then, she couldn't choose anything. Couldn't say anything. Only regret remained in her heart.
"No... no... I couldn't choose anything again..."
Katarina fell face-down on the floor and sobbed. The tears wouldn't stop. They fell onto the cold stone of the observatory, making small stains.
(Because I didn't choose, Celes disappeared?)
(If only I had realized my feelings sooner.)
(Forgive me. Forgive me. Forgive me.)
Katarina apologized over and over in her heart.
She didn't know how much time had passed.
The observatory door flew open.
"Katarina!"
"Sister!"
Geordo and Keith rushed in, out of breath. Their faces were pale, their eyes bloodshot. They must have heard Katarina's crying and run through the palace corridors.
"Katarina, what happened!? Where is that man!?"
Geordo ran to Katarina and reached out to embrace her.
"Don't touch my sister!"
Keith cut between Geordo and Katarina. His flaxen hair seemed to bristle with anger.
"Keith, don't interfere. I am Katarina's fiancé."
Geordo's voice turned cold as ice.
"So what if you're her fiancé! You haven't protected my sister! You let that man near her and made her cry—that's your responsibility!"
"You're the one driving Katarina into a corner! Your excessive interference is tormenting her!"
Their angry voices echoed through the circular observatory. Katarina sat on the floor, listening to them argue. Her tears had already run dry.
(The two of them are fighting because of me.)
(Because I exist, everyone gets hurt.)
(If my choosing hurts everyone, then...)
Deep in Katarina's chest, something snapped.
"Stop it!!!"
Katarina's scream rang through the observatory.
Geordo and Keith froze at the same moment.
"If my choosing hurts everyone... then I don't want to choose anything anymore! I don't want to choose anything at all!"
At the same moment as Katarina's scream, the observatory floor heaved upward with a roar.
Earth magic.
Katarina's magical power had lost control and was running wild. The stone floor undulated like a living thing, and the skylight glass cracked.
"Katarina! Calm down!"
Geordo covered Katarina with his body to shield her. Shards of glass falling from the skylight cut across his back. Blood seeped into his white shirt.
"Sister! I'll hold it back!"
Keith pressed both hand
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