/
I sat in front of the dressing table and took a closer look at my face in the mirror.
Ekaterina could be categorized as a beauty. No, she was definitely one. Her blue hair, which I would never find anywhere in my previous world, had a deep color like a lapis lazuli. It was naturally wavy, flowing down to her waist like the wave in the ocean. Her skin was as white as porcelain. Her blue eyes had a tint of purple like tanzanite. Her nose was well-defined and her small lips were slightly thick. She oozed slight sex appeal.
As for her style… How could I describe it? She looked really mature.
At the age of fifteen, I looked even more amazing than my previous life self who was in her thirties. What breast size is this? Can it grow any bigger?
And my waist was more slender than before.
Yeah…
Bathing in the refreshing morning light with this appearance wouldn’t suit me at all...
Even if I was young, I already looked like an adult. And because of that, I didn’t have any loveliness at all.
I was more like an impactful beauty. Even if I stood in front of a terrifying old castle when it’s thundering, I wouldn’t lose to the background.
Rather than smiling cutely, lifting one corner of my lips to chuckle or laughing loudly would suit me more.
That’s only natural! Because I was the villainess!
“You’re beautiful, My Lady.”
“Thank you, Mina…”
The maid Mina Frey, who was standing by Ekaterina’s side, kindly praised her, but Ekaterina listlessly replied to her.
Mina was a cool beauty with bob purple hair. The Duke’s residence’s tailored maid uniform looked good on her. She had been taking care of Ekaterina since she came to the imperial capital. At first, Ekaterina was confused because the maid lacked facial expression and always talked calmly. She gave off an inhuman impression like a doll.
“Are you nervous?”
“Yes, a little.”
Ekaterina placed her hands on her cheeks and exhaled. This day had finally arrived.
Today, Ekaterina would leave the Duke’s residence in the imperial city and move to the dormitory of the Magic Academy with Alexei. And starting tomorrow, she would attend the classes.
(I already know that I’m going to be nervous, but my hands are trembling…)
What was waiting at the academy was Ekaterina’s destruction flag as a villainess. Furthermore, if the heroine couldn’t clear an event, she would reach the imperial’s destruction flag.
In the meantime, Ekaterina had taken measures to deal with her destruction flag. She declared to Alexei that she wouldn’t marry the prince, and her brother acknowledged it.
She would try not to get involved with the heroine or the prince as much as possible. She would never bully the heroine. That should break the flag.
Perhaps the imperial destruction flag was scarier than that. Ekaterina couldn’t be sure if the heroine could clear the event. She wasn’t involved in this.
Therefore, even if the heroine deviated from the scenario of the game, Ekaterina had to do what she could. Thinking so, she put a lot of effort into the magic control class. Ekaterina’s magic power had an earth attribute. She didn’t know how much she could use it at the events, but the teacher praised her for her powerful magic power. She managed to do all the tasks given to her as well.
Well, to be honest, she was absorbed into her study because she found being able to use magic was fun.
Ekaterina slightly wished that she would get a cheating level magic power with the reincarnation bonus, but she didn’t get anything like that. What a shame.
Well, she had been thinking about her measures in breaking the flags, but...
When the enrollment day was right in front of her, she became nervous about a problem she hadn’t thought about.
(The academy is full of nobles. That means I have to get along with people, right?)
After studying for the past month, Ekaterania’s academic ability had reached the level where she could disguise her actual capability for a while. Even her teachers were surprised that she hadn’t received any education so far. But they all focused on teaching her the areas that she would learn at the beginning of the semester. Since Alexei hired them, they were naturally a line of very talented people. Even if they did just like what was ordered, they made the explanation very easy to understand.
But then.
Ekaterina completely forgot. That student life wasn’t just about studying.
What kind of conversation should she have? The trendy fashion? Popular actors? Or grilled meat? She didn’t even know much about this world. There was no such idle talk in the game.
The imprisoned villainess never met any other noble ladies.
The corporate slave in her thirties was naturally a commoner. The Japanese aristocratic system didn’t exist because GHQ had abolished it.
Don’t even mention the destruction flag. She was already scared of enrolling the academy.
Suddenly, Mina took Ekaterina’s hand and began to massage the area around her thumb.
“If you press here, your body will become less stiff. Please try it when you are tired.”
“Thank you. Right, I feel a little bit more comfortable.”
Ekaterina smiled, wondering if there was a concept of acupoint in this world. She just thought that a smiling face wouldn’t suit her villainess’ face, but laughing out loud here would only make her a crazy guy.
Anyway, Marin was a sensible maid, even if she was expressionless and blunt in her words.
“I’m glad you’re following me to the academy. Please take care of me tomorrow as well.”
“You shouldn’t say ‘please’ to a maid, My Lady. You are the noble lady of the Duke family.”
“It won’t hurt anyone if I say it, will it?”
“My Lady, you’re weird.”
Mina often told Ekaterina that. Personally, Ekaterina wondered if the maid who said that a noble lady was strange directly to the person concerned was the strange one, but she didn’t know what kind of maid was normal. In the end, she decided not to mind it too much.
“Only a few people in this nation are as high-ranked as you, My Lady. You’re going to the academy with the Duke as well. You don’t need to be so nervous.”
“I… I guess so…”
Ekaterina’s face stiffened. She saw their family being stripped of their titles, so she couldn’t relax by relying on her social status. Plus because Alexei was with her, she couldn’t let him get involved with this and fell into ruin!
“Are you scared of other noble ladies? If so, you can either stick to His Excellency Duke and ignore them or go back to the dormitory and stay with me. I will protect you. But only as much as I can.”
“I will protect you” sounds like what a handsome hero would say, right? This cool beautiful maid was actually a handsome hero.
But Mina was a maid, so she probably meant she would protect her by keeping her in the room. But Ekaterina was grateful for her concern.
Right, she could do that! Escaping was shameful, but that was the best option! She would do her best to break the flag. But she would withdraw if the situation grew bad!
Student life only lasted for three years in her life anyway!
“Thank you, Mina.” Ekaterina wrapped Mina’s hands in both of her hands and smiled. “I’m starting to feel better.”
***
After Ekaterina got dressed and went to the entrance hall, she noticed that Alexei had been waiting for her.
Alexei was dressed in slightly formal attire, making him look like a picture of a young man even if he only stood alone. Ekaterina was charmed again. Then Alexei offered his right arm to her. As she inwardly squealed, she slipped her left hand there. It wasn’t linking arms or holding hands, but the so-called ‘escort’. That’s why she felt even more enthusiastic.
(It’s good to be alive! No, it’s good to be dead? Or maybe, it’s good to be reborn!)
Ekaterina got on the horse-drawn carriage with Alexei and they went down the Main Street. The wheels of the carriage made a rattling noise, missing with the sound of the horses’ hooves. Although she also rode a carriage on a trip from the territory, the experience became somewhat interesting now that she had regained the memories of her past life.
And the city was beautiful!
All she could see was a chic cityscape like the ancient capital of Europe far beyond. Tall stone buildings, towering bell towers, and stunning sculptures were all over the street.
“Brother, is that the imperial palace?”
“Yeah, you’re right.”
The imperial palace, sitting perched in the center of the imperial capital, was as beautiful as the Cinderella castle at a certain theme park.
“My, what a big sculpture!”
“That’s Peter the Great. There’s also a sculpture of our ancestor, Duke Sergey, in the next street.”
“He’s similar to Brother?”
“Well, I wonder about that? What you’ll see is his figure when he’s fifty years old.”
So that’s it.
“It’s your first time in the imperial capital, but I couldn’t bring you out to sightsee even once. I’m sorry.”
“I’m the one who requested that I want to study. But Brother, please accompany me to sightsee when we are on a day off. Brother is always working too hard. You should take a break.”
“Sure… If you want to do that, let’s do it. We’re going to arrive soon, but are you alright?”
(Ah! I was so excited that I forgot to be nervous!)
"You collapsed before, right?”
“Right. Brother… Will you hold my hand?”
Ekaterina held out her hand to Alexei. Alexei immediately covered it with both his hands.
She could see a large gate ahead of the carriage.
The academy was very wide, so the gate was also large. It had many school buildings, dormitories, auditoriums, ponds, and a small forest. Yes, Ekaterina knew that.
Yurigrand Empire, Magic Academy. The stage of the otome game, “Infinity World  ~The Maiden of Salvation~”.
The opening of the game started with the scene of the gate opening.
And right now, the closed gate was open. With blue sky over it.
It was just a gate. What she could see beyond there was just a building.
“I’m alright, Brother.”
“If you say so.”
Tomorrow was the entrance ceremony.
(I’ll be fine. I won’t lose to the destruction flag. Definitely.)