I was reincarnated into the world of the otome game 'Rosalian Chronicle' as Mia Rosalian, the villainess. In the game, she's executed after being condemned—an utterly garbage role. But I know this world's rules, the love interests' weaknesses, everything. If I use my head, I can avoid the bad end.
At first, I planned to live quietly. But wait, as a commoner I couldn't do anything. So I used my past-life knowledge and schemes to take the top spot at the Royal Academy, crush the nobles, and climb
The Villainess's Rise to Power. - Academy Festival Eve ~The Orchestrated Trap and the Stolen Silver Butterfly~
The plaza in front of the grand hall of the Royal Academy Alventia, where preparations for the academy festival were underway, was crammed with colorful flags and floral decorations, and the enthusiasm of the young students stirred the cold autumn air. The afternoon sunlight illuminated the cobblestones, and the laughter of students test-driving the magical lamps could be heard. But a little apart from that bustle, in the corridor of the East Building, Remilia Rosalian walked alone with quiet footsteps.
Her lustrous black hair, reaching to her waist, gave off a bluish sheen under the light streaming through the windows. Her right eye was a deep red like blood, her left a purple that seemed to dissolve the darkness of night. Those mismatched eyes gazed down the length of the corridor. At her chest hung a silver butterfly necklace. Her grandmother's keepsake. The one thing in this world she held onto as her sole emotional anchor.
(The academy festival, huh. In the original game, there was no event like this.)
Remilia murmured inwardly. The otome game she had been absorbed in during her previous life, "Rosalian Chronicle," had no academy festival event. That was precisely why this academy festival was highly likely to be a new stage set by the mastermind.
"My lady."
A deep, composed voice called from behind her. She turned to find Cyan Crawford, a butler with deep violet-navy hair swept to one side, standing there. His deep jade-green eyes quietly watched Remilia. His black butler's uniform had not a single wrinkle, and even the fingertips wrapped in white gloves were perfectly ordered.
"An urgent report has arrived from the Shadow Garden. Might we relocate?"
Cyan's voice was kept very low, so as not to be overheard. Remilia gave a small nod.
"Understood. Let's use an empty classroom."
The two entered an empty classroom on the second floor of the East Building. Old wooden desks and chairs were lined up, and the courtyard fountain was visible through the window. Remilia stood by the window, while Cyan stood at the door, sensing the presence outside.
"So, the report?"
Cyan produced a folded parchment from his breast pocket and handed it to Remilia. She unfolded it. It was a report from the Shadow Garden—the intelligence network she had built on her own.
"Regarding the mysterious organization operating in the royal capital of Alventia, new confirmation has been obtained. The organization seeks the relics of the ancient magical civilization, and is paying abnormal attention in particular to the 'Black Evil Eye' of Lord Rosalian, the Frontier Count. It is extremely likely that members of the organization have infiltrated the influential noble scions of the Royal Academy, some of the faculty, and even the courtiers of the royal palace. On the eve of the academy festival, suspicious figures were confirmed in the vicinity of the underground archives."
Remilia's fingers clenched around the parchment.
"...Influential noble scions of the academy, the faculty. And even courtiers of the royal palace."
Her left eye, the purple one that dissolved the darkness of night, glimmered faintly.
(The Black Evil Eye. My greatest secret, awakened at the Vernheim underground ruins when I was eight. A power that triples the might of dark-attribute magic and lets me see another's magical power. This power is directly connected to the mastermind's objective.)
Remilia cross-referenced this with her knowledge of the game from her previous life. In the original "Rosalian Chronicle," the villainess Remilia is condemned at eighteen and executed. That condemnation event was depicted as a matter of course in the game's scenario. But in this world, it was different.
(The condemnation ending in the original isn't just a game scenario. The mastermind was orchestrating it behind the scenes to have me executed. In order to obtain my Evil Eye.)
Remilia brought the parchment close to the flame of the candlestick. The fire slowly consumed the parchment.
"Cyan. There should be a forbidden scroll concerning the ancient magical civilization in the academy's underground archives. It may provide clues to the mastermind's identity and the location of the relics."
Cyan's jade-green eyes narrowed sharply.
"My lady. Do you intend to go alone?"
"Yes. Moving in numbers would only make me stand out. Alone, I can slip through the academy's security network."
Cyan started to say something for a moment. But he immediately bowed deeply.
"Understood. However, please do take care. If anything should happen, I will come at once."
His voice, beneath its deference, was tinged with an uncontrollable unease and attachment. Seeing Cyan like that, Remilia relaxed her lips just a little.
"It's fine. By my calculations, this much is within expectations."
Her habitual phrase. But contrary to those words, Remilia felt a cold premonition run through the depths of her chest.
(I only hope it truly is within expectations.)
That night.
On the eve of the academy festival, the Royal Academy was quiet, as if the daytime bustle had been a lie. A few students still remained in the grand hall that served as the preparation venue, putting up decorations. But around the stairs leading underground, in the depths of the school building, there was no sign of anyone.
Remilia, wrapped in a black robe, soundlessly opened the door to the underground archives. The underground archives were among the oldest sections of the Royal Academy, and general students were forbidden to enter. Surrounded by thick stone walls, only the pale blue light of the magical lamps illuminated the countless bookshelves.
(This is the academy's underground archives. The forbidden book repository.)
Remilia advanced cautiously between the bookshelves. The smell of old parchment, the dusty air, and a faint residue of magical power. Her Black Evil Eye keenly sensed the magical power around her.
(It should be somewhere. The forbidden scroll concerning the ancient magical civilization.)
She recalled the arrangement of the bookshelves, relying on her knowledge of the game from her previous life. In the game, the underground archives were one of the event locations, and examining a specific scroll yielded fragmentary information about the ancient magical civilization. But the exact location of that scroll was never revealed in the game.
"...Found it."
The farthest bookshelf. A scroll with a black binding, clearly different from the others, was placed in a conspicuously prominent spot. Remilia reached for it.
The instant her fingertip touched the scroll—
Zwaan!
The entire bookshelf was enveloped in pale blue light. A magic circle drawn on the floor surfaced, and a powerful sealing spell activated. Remilia's body became immobile, as if bound by an invisible force.
"W-what is this!?"
Her left eye, the purple one, widened against her will. The Black Evil Eye was trying to awaken on its own. The magical power within her body began to rampage, losing control.
(No, the Evil Eye, it's going out of control—!)
Remilia resisted desperately. But the sealing spell drew up her magical power. The power of the Black Evil Eye was being released more and more, ignoring her will. Her vision was stained purple and black, and from the depths of her body, something that was not herself came overflowing.
"A-ahh...!"
She fell to her knees. Sweat dripped onto the cold stone floor. Her breathing grew ragged, her heart pounded violently. Magical power gushed from her fingertips, from her eyes, from every opening in her body.
(At this rate, all my magical power will be drained.)
The archives began to tremble, unable to withstand the rampage of her magical power. The bookshelves shook, and scrolls fell to the floor one after another. Dust and stone fragments rained down from the ceiling.
"Stop... please, stop...!"
A feeble voice escaped Remilia's lips. Tears ran down her cheeks. This sense of helplessness was the first she had felt since her reincarnation.
Then, it happened.
Bang!
The door of the underground archives was flung open.
"My lady!!"
Cyan burst in. His jade-green eyes caught sight of Remilia in her suffering. From his face, the mask of the perfect butler had vanished. Anger, fear, and a fierce self-reproach were laid bare.
"My master, please stand back."
Cyan removed his white gloves. He directed his bare hands toward the magic circle drawn on the floor. From his fingertips, a deep green magical power overflowed, clashing violently with the light of the sealing spell.
"Return my master's magical power."
Cyan's voice was devoid of warmth, cold as a machine. His magical power eroded the sealing spell. The green light gradually, but surely, repainted the pale blue light.
"Cyan...!"
Through her hazy vision, Remilia saw Cyan's back. She could see his body being wounded by the recoil of the sealing spell. The back of his white shirt was being stained red.
(Stop, Cyan. Don't let yourself be hurt too.)
But no voice came out. Remilia could only stare at Cyan's back.
Clink!
There was a sound of something shattering. The light of the sealing spell shattered like glass. The magic circle vanished, and the pale blue light that had enveloped the archives dispersed.
"My lady, are you unharmed?"
Cyan rushed to Remilia's side. He lifted her up, supporting her body. His hands were trembling faintly.
"Yes... somehow. Thank you, Cyan."
Remilia answered in a hoarse voice. Cyan's jade-green eyes showed a flicker of relief for just a moment. But they immediately turned to a sharp light.
"...My lady. That sealing spell was deliberately constructed to react to your Black Evil Eye. This is a trap."
Remilia caught her breath.
(So it was a trap after all. The mastermind anticipated that I would come to the underground archives.)
Then, it happened.
"How perceptive. As expected of the Rosalian witch's pet dog."
From the depths of the underground archives, from the shadow of a bookshelf, a man appeared. Clad in a black robe, the upper half of his face covered by a silver mask. His voice was low and laced with mockery.
"Who are you?"
Cyan shielded Remilia behind him and faced the masked man. His jade-green eyes were now cold as ice, filled with killing intent.
"I am no one worth naming. I merely carry a message for you."
The masked man slowly turned his gaze to Remilia. The eyes behind the mask glinted sharply in the darkness.
"Remilia Rosalian. Your very existence is an irregularity in this world. Reincarnator. Be executed, just as the game's scenario dictates."
Remilia's entire body froze.
(Reincarnator. This man knows that I am a reincarnator with memories of my previous life.)
Deep in her chest, something pulsed violently. Her memories of her previous life. Her knowledge of the otome game. The greatest weapon that had allowed her to gain the upper hand in this world. Its existence was known to the mastermind.
"...What do you know?"
Remilia's voice trembled. The masked man chuckled, a low rumble in his throat.
"Everything. Where you came from, what you know, and what will become of you."
"Do not come any closer to my master."
Cyan stood in front of Remilia. In his hand, before she knew it, was a dagger. His bare hands, stripped of their white gloves, were stained with blood.
"So you too are the mastermind's dog. Anyone who would harm my master, I will eliminate without fail."
The masked man glanced at Cyan.
"Don't get cocky, butler. But for today, this is enough. I have taught you despair."
The masked man's body was enveloped in black mist.
"The next time we meet will be at the academy festival venue. I look forward to it, Remilia Rosalian. I will show you the stage of your condemnation."
And then, the masked man vanished like smoke.
Silence returned to the underground archives. Remilia remained sitting on the floor, unable to move.
(The mastermind knows I'm a reincarnator. My memories of my previous life, my knowledge
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