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 Tragedy ~What Remains at the End When You Lose Everything~
The grand plaza before the main auditorium of the Royal Academy Alventia was wrapped in the cold autumn air. The final day of the academy festival. On this day, when the final exam for the top seat would be held, colorful flags swayed in the wind across the plaza, and the fervor of the noble students swirled like a vortex.
But the footsteps of Remilia Rosalian, walking through that clamor, were cold and silent as ice.
Her lustrous black hair, reaching to her waist, gave off a bluish sheen beneath the overcast sky. Her right eye was a deep red like blood, her left a purple that dissolved the darkness of night. Those mismatched eyes were fixed on the heavy doors of the main auditorium.
(This academy festival can't possibly end as just a festival.)
She placed a hand to her chest. The silver butterfly necklace that should have been there was gone. Her grandmother's keepsake. Stolen. Through Mia Celestia's accusation.
Her fingertips cut through empty air. That sensation opened a cold hole deep in her chest.
"My lady."
A deep, composed voice came from behind. Turning around, she found her butler, Cyan Crawford, standing there with his deep violet-navy hair swept to one side. His deep emerald eyes quietly gazed at Remilia. His black butler's uniform had not a single wrinkle, perfectly ordered down to the fingertips wrapped in white gloves.
"The venue for the final exam is already open. It is time."
"I know. Let us go."
Remilia passed through the doors of the main auditorium.
—In that instant, two hundred pairs of eyes pierced through her.
Curiosity, mockery, and—since yesterday's magical rampage incident—clear fear.
"Look... those eyes. I heard she really did go berserk yesterday."
"You shouldn't get close to her. Who knows what she might do."
"The Rosalian witch has finally shown her true nature."
Whispers meant to be heard surged in like waves. Remilia didn't change her expression in the slightest, walking toward her designated seat at the front. Cyan walked half a step behind her. His emerald eyes silently pierced through each person who had whispered, one by one.
(Glances of this degree are nothing at this point. More importantly—)
Remilia stared at the back of Mia Celestia, seated ahead. Pink, fluffy curled hair with a peach tint. The lovely saint candidate. But from her back, the cold afterglow of yesterday's accusation still rose.
(That girl passed off my necklace as stolen goods. And she secretly read my grandmother's will. She leaked information to the mastermind.)
Her fingertips were clenched on her lap until they turned white.
"The final exam for the top seat shall now begin."
The examiner's voice echoed through the main auditorium.
The final exam was practical. On the magic circle set in the center of the auditorium, each student would demonstrate their most advanced magic, competing in refinement and power.
(This magic circle...)
Remilia stared intently at the magic circle drawn in the center. A stone floor engraved with ancient magical script. There was the slightest sense of wrongness in its pattern. One line differed from what she knew from her past life's game knowledge.
(No way—)
A cold sensation ran down her spine.
"Next, step forward. Remilia Rosalian."
Her name was called.
Remilia stood. Cyan looked up at her with worried eyes.
"My lady. Please, do take care."
"Yes. I know."
She stepped toward the center of the magic circle.
The patterns carved into the stone floor pulsed faintly beneath her feet. As if drawing up magical power. As if amplifying it.
(This isn't just an exam magic circle. Someone in the mastermind's employ has tampered with—)
By the time she realized, it was too late.
The moment Remilia channeled her magic, the circle emitted a pale blue light.
—No. This isn't my magic.
Something was forcibly dragging her magic out from beneath her feet.
"W-what...!?"
Her left eye—the purple eye that dissolved the darkness of night—opened on its own. The left eye she had been hiding. The Eye of Darkness.
—It was going berserk.
Her vision was dyed black.
Darkness overflowed from within her body. Uncontrollable. Her magic, ignoring her will, swelled.
"Kh... uaaaaaah!!"
Purple and black light swallowed the main auditorium.
A shockwave struck the spectator seats. Screams. Shouts. The sound of chairs toppling. The sound of glass shattering.
"S-stop!"
"You monster!"
"Help! Someone!"
The noble students rushed toward the exits. Pushing, shoving, some falling. Some trampled. Utter chaos.
Remilia couldn't move her own body by her own will. The Eye of Darkness was devouring the surrounding magic, amplifying it, releasing it.
(Stop. Stop. Stop—!)
Even screaming in her mind, her body wouldn't obey.
Then.
"Remilia!!"
Golden hair shone at the edge of her vision.
The First Prince, Ren Alventia, leaped into the vortex of rampaging magic.
He embraced Remilia's body with strength.
"It's all right. I'm here. I won't let you go."
A clear blue light overflowed from his body. Light-attribute magic. Ren's magic desperately tried to suppress Remilia's rampaging darkness.
"Stop! She's being controlled! This isn't her will!"
Ren shouted toward the nobles.
But his voice had the opposite effect.
"The prince is defending that monster...?"
"Something's wrong. The prince has been bewitched by the witch."
"Isn't it the prince who's being controlled?"
The nobles' eyes shifted from Remilia to Ren. What rose in those eyes was no longer fear, but suspicion. And cold rejection.
(Stop. Ren. If you defend me any more than this—)
Remilia's consciousness was fading.
The rampage wouldn't stop.
Cyan dashed out from the spectator seats.
"My lady! Please, accept my magic!"
From Cyan's hands, deep green magic flowed into Remilia's body. Just like last night, it gently but powerfully calmed the rampage of the Eye of Darkness.
(Cyan's magic is calming my Eye.)
The rampaging magic gradually quieted from Remilia's body. The purple and black light weakened, and eventually vanished.
Silence returned to the main auditorium.
—No, it wasn't silence.
Toppled chairs. Shattered windows. Screaming nobles. And several who lay motionless on the floor.
"You truly are a monster, aren't you."
One of the examiners said in a cold voice.
"Rosalian witch! You've ruined the academy festival!"
"The Eye of Darkness? You had such a dangerous power?!"
"Keeping a monster like that in the academy—that's sheer madness!"
Voices of condemnation overflowed through the auditorium. Remilia heard them in Cyan's arms.
(Monster. Witch. Yes, I am the villainess. In this world, that is always my fate to be called.)
Remilia's heart grew cold and quiet.
Then, it happened.
"Lady Remilia... why would you do such a thing..."
Mia Celestia said in a trembling voice.
She knelt beside the fallen nobles, tears in her eyes. Wearing the mask of a saint to perfection.
"Everyone is hurt... I was so frightened... Lady Remilia, did you truly possess such a terrifying power...?"
Her words echoed through the auditorium.
"The saint candidate is grieving so deeply..."
"It's all that witch's fault!"
"Expel Remilia Rosalian from the academy!"
The nobles' anger swelled at once.
Remilia looked at Mia.
Mia's aqua eyes were wet with tears. But deep within them, a cold light certainly dwelled.
(That girl knows. That this rampage was a trap. No—perhaps she's connected to the mastermind somewhere.)
Remilia bit her lip.
"Everyone, be silent."
The headmaster's voice echoed through the auditorium.
"This matter is a grave case violating the academy's discipline. We will convene an emergency council. Until then, Remilia Rosalian shall be confined in the academy's underground dungeon."
Cyan stood before Remilia.
"I will not allow a single finger to be laid on my lady."
His emerald eyes shone sharply like blades.
"...It's all right, Cyan. If we resist here, things will only get worse."
Remilia gently restrained Cyan's arm.
"Let us go. By my calculations, this much is within expectations."
Her habitual phrase. But her voice was faintly trembling.
—The emergency council was held that same day.
A temporary court, converted from the Royal Academy's main auditorium. In the center, Remilia. Around her, nobles surrounded her.
Court officials from the royal palace also participated in the council. Court officials infiltrated by the mastermind.
"Remilia Rosalian. You caused your magic to rampage at the academy festival and harmed numerous students. This is a grave violation of the academy's discipline."
One of the court officials announced in a cold voice.
"Therefore, you are hereby expelled from the Royal Academy Alventia."
Expulsion.
Those words pierced heavily into Remilia's chest.
(Expelled from the academy. Meaning I lose the top seat, my voice in noble society—everything.)
"Furthermore, you are ordered to be forcibly returned to the frontier count's territory. You will never again be permitted to set foot in the royal capital Alventia."
Forced return.
(Exiled from the royal capital. Meaning my investigation of the mastermind, my relationship with the prince—all severed.)
"And—"
The court official paused for a moment.
"You are unfit to be the betrothed of His Highness First Prince Ren Alventia. The engagement shall be nullified."
—Engagement nullified.
In that instant, something inside Remilia snapped.
(I've lost my position as his betrothed as well. Now I've truly lost everything—)
"Wait!"
Ren rushed to the center of the court.
His golden hair was disheveled. His blue eyes were bloodshot.
"It's my responsibility that I couldn't protect her! She was being controlled! She's not the one at fault!"
Ren shouted toward the court officials.
"If you intend to exile her—then I will renounce my right of succession to the throne!"
The court stirred.
"The prince would abandon the throne...?"
"As I thought, the prince has been bewitched by the witch."
"This is a major affair for the royal palace."
The court officials exchanged glances. But their eyes were cold.
"Prince Ren. Please cease your jesting."
One of the court officials said quietly.
"This ruling was decided by the headmaster and the royal palace in council. It cannot be overturned by Your Highness's sole discretion."
"Then I—!"
"Prince Ren, be quiet."
Another court official cut off Ren's words.
"If you intend to further disrupt this proceedings, Your Highness's own position will be in jeopardy."
Ren's face went pale.
He tried to say something, but the words wouldn't come.
(Ren. You don't need to destroy yourself for my sake any further.)
Remilia quietly closed her eyes.
(I am the villainess. I never had the right to stand by your side from the beginning.)
"...The ruling is final. Remilia Rosalian, take her away."
Soldiers flanked Remilia on both sides.
She didn't resist.
Just before leaving the court, her eyes met Mia Celestia's.
Mia wore the smile of a saint. But her lips moved slightly.
—A witch who rose from commoner stock should have ended as a commoner.
She didn't say it aloud. But she certainly said so.
A cold sensation ran down Remilia's spine.
(That girl's malice beneath the mask. Now, for the first time, it was thrust before me head-on.)
She bit her lip and left the court behind.
—She departed the royal capital that evening.
The carriage passed through the castle gates of the royal capital Alventia.
Remilia watched the receding streets of the royal capital from the carriage window.
(The Royal Academy. The top seat. My position as betrothed. I've lost it all.)
The silver butterfly necklace was no longer at her chest.
(My grandmother's keepsake too—lost. It's fallen into the mastermind's hands.)
Outside the window, the setting sun dyed the spires of the royal capital red.
"My lady. Why not rest for a while?"
Cyan, seated across from her, said quietly.
"No. I can't sleep. More importantly, any word from the Shadow Garden?"
"...That is, the communications have been cut of
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