Chapter 5:
The Results of Hard Work
“THIS IS SO UNFAIR,” Marie grumbled.
We were making our way down a main street as we headed back to the academy. Unlike the countryside, the capital was bright and bustling even at this late hour. They used the energy of magic stones to produce electricity, which kept the streets illuminated all night.
Shops lined the avenues. Signs on their doors indicated they were open for business, and customers wandered in and out. I tipped my hat to all the workers pulling late-night shifts.
“I get that you’re bummed, but why stew?” I asked Marie. “We’re background characters. We gotta live within our means.”
This was my attempt to console her, but Marie wasn’t having it. She froze in her tracks. “I don’t wanna. I was
lucky enough to get a second chance. What’s wrong with reaching for my own happiness this time around?” Marie was really hung up on that “happiness” thing. Not that I could blame her. Her last life had been one long series of tragedies, and it hadn’t gotten much better since reincarnating.
I stopped just a few feet ahead of her and glanced back. “No good wanting what you can’t have…” I wanted to urge her toward compromise, but then I realized she was ignoring me in favor of a storefront, and I trailed off.
Luxion drifted closer to me. “That is a women’s clothing store.”
“I can see that, thanks.”
Marie’s eyes were fixed on a dress in the window. It came with a matching pair of shoes and a complete set of accessories. Some passing women stopped to ogle, much like Marie, but most gave it only a glance. I made my way over to Marie and studied the object of her attention.
“A dress, huh? I guess every grade has a party before the long vacation. Fancy schools like ours really like to go all out whenever they do something like that.” I chuckled.
“Yeah,” Marie agreed, though her voice lacked its usual energy. She stared at the dress not with the longing you’d expect from a girl her age, but with resignation—with the sadness of knowing it would never be hers. “I wish I could go to a party in a dress like that,” she mumbled. “Just once would be enough.”
***
Meanwhile, Stephanie and her lackeys were visiting a pub elsewhere in the capital. Handsome, well-dressed men played instruments, and the waiters were similarly gorgeous. This was one of many such establishments that catered specifically to women.
Stephanie and her girls weren’t the only female students breaking curfew to party in this joint. A few alumni had even come to enjoy the service. As for Stephanie and her crew, they’d rented a room where they could chat while demi-human staff waited on them hand and foot.
“Carla,” said Stephanie, “you finished looking into Marie, didn’t you?” She reached out and plucked a grape from the table, tossing it into her mouth.
Carla straightened in her seat. “I investigated her as you requested, but nothing came of it.”
“What was that?” Stephanie snarled, infuriated by the lack of results.
Flustered, Carla explained, “There was nothing to find. She isn’t associated with any notable faction, and House Lafan is drowning in debt. The Lafans lost a border dispute a while back, and their situation has only worsened. That was the only real thing I discovered.”
Stephanie pulled a face. She really hadn’t expected such a pitiful backstory. When Carla leaned over, offering a sheaf of papers with the fine details, Stephanie snatched them up and skimmed. “What’s up with this? Why hasn’t the palace disposed of them? Or rather, why haven’t any of their neighboring lords claimed that territory for themselves? The Lafans have basically no defenses.”
The Lafans were barely managing to keep up the facade of nobility, and they were neglecting to fulfill their duties in the process. The royal family—and by extension, Holfort’s entire government—had no good reason not to quash them and be done with it. At least, not as far as Stephanie was concerned. Her entourage was similarly bewildered.
“The little land they have left is neither fertile nor otherwise beneficial. Absorbing it would only mean taking on its debt. None of the surrounding lords are eager to do so. It seems the royal family and the rest of the administration think finishing them off would be more trouble than it’s worth.”
Everyone in the room made a face. The Lafans’ territory was pitiful indeed, if no one else could be bothered to claim it.
Stephanie sighed. “Fine. It’s enough to know that she has no ties to anyone I have to worry about. That means I can crush her without worrying about repercussions.” Most probably pegged Stephanie as the impulsive type, but she had the sense to choose her battles. She would threaten her position if she recklessly picked fights with her betters. She always acquired at least basic knowledge of her opponent before making a move.
The corners of Stephanie’s lips curled. “Bring those three girls here.”
Carla left to fulfill her orders, fetching the trio who’d been waiting outside the room for Stephanie’s summons. They were the same girls who had slandered the Offreys before. Each looked utterly terrified as they filed in, anxiously awaiting Stephanie’s commands.
Stephanie unfolded and refolded her legs. “There’s something I’d like you girls to do for me.”
“Wh-what would that be?”
The girls’ spirits had already been broken. They didn’t even try to resist.
Stephanie grinned devilishly, as did her entourage. They derived pleasure from the cowering of those who’d wronged them. Carla was the only one who turned her gaze away, unable to stomach the sight. Her behavior annoyed Stephanie; she couldn’t stand Carla’s lack of vindictiveness. All Carla had to do to fit in was force a smile, but even if Stephanie ordered her to do so, that smile would be noticeably strained.
She really gets under my skin… But she’s my most useful lackey. I have no choice but to put up with her, Stephanie thought.
She tucked her own annoyance away and focused on the three girls in front of her. “You girls know Marie Fou Lafan, right?” Stephanie spoke sweetly, as if she was only a friend entreating them for a favor. “Seems like she’s trying to make a move on the crown prince—and some of the other esteemed noble heirs, to boot.”
The three girls traded glances.
“So you want us to put her in her place?” one of them asked nervously.
Stephanie smiled. “You want to let her off with a warning? How sweet.” Abruptly, all traces of emotion vanished from her face. The sudden shift was so unsettling that all three girls’ legs began to tremble. “I’m going to crush this Marie into the ground. You girls are going to do exactly as you’re told, and if you don’t, your families will pay the price for your failure.”
The girls blanched. All three of them nodded quickly.
A grin spread across Stephanie’s face. “Marie will make a perfect sacrifice. I was just looking for an example—something that would show people just what happens if they choose to defy me. We’re going to break her. Utterly.” Stephanie reached for a fork on the table, lifting it through the air before stabbing it down on the stack of papers that was Carla’s report. The prongs lanced all the way through the paper into the wood. “Those who dare to scorn me deserve their death.”
***
“I’m not gonna give up on my happiness.”
The academy dorms could house the entire student body, and there was a vast cafeteria to match, with enough food to keep their bellies full. The words “cafeteria food” probably don’t inspire the best mental image, but the academy’s menu was a cut above. The cuisine would have been on par with that of a top-class hotel in my previous world. When noon rolled around, students rolled in, crowding around tables to have lunch with their friends—or in some lucky cases, their romantic partners.
It was a bit noisy, but Marie and I found ourselves seats at a table. Today, I’d selected the fish for myself. I worked my fork and knife to cut bite-sized pieces. As I tucked them into my mouth, I muttered, “What I wouldn’t give for a bowl of white rice to go with this grilled fish.”
Marie slammed her fists on the table. “Listen to me when I’m talking to you! I said I’m not gonna give up on my happiness.”
I sighed. “Did you forget everything I told you yesterday? If Miss Olivia doesn’t end up with one of the love interests, it’ll be the end of Holfort as we know it.”
“I got the memo,” she huffed. “But there’s five whole love interests, right? There’s no reason why I can’t take one for myself.”
That was a decent point. I didn’t see any obvious consequences of her taking one of the ones Olivia dismissed. But was that really what she wanted?
“Are you sure? Don’t girls normally wanna marry someone they love?”
Marie lowered her gaze as she primly polished off the last of her fish. Her plate was empty, save for some bones. “All the men in my last life had crawled out of the gutter—every last one of them. Yes, I’m sure.”
Again, I sighed. I tried to tease her to lighten the mood. “You mean those gorgeous love interests aren’t your type?”
“I like a handsome guy as much as the next girl, but looks aren’t important. What matters is how well they can provide.”
“Seems like an equally odd way to decide on a partner.” But given all Marie had been through, it made a certain amount of sense.
Marie glared at me. “That’s all the compromise you’re gonna get from me. And if you still plan on getting in my way…”
Then she’ll make me pay, right? There was nothing scary about making an enemy of Marie. I only decided to acquiesce on this because it would have been too much of a pain to resist. Not that she needed my permission in the first place.
“Why would I try to stop you?” I asked. “As long as it’s not going to level the country, I don’t give a crap who Miss Olivia winds up with.”
All I cared about was that she ended up with one of them. The fates of the four she didn’t choose had no bearing on my life.
Marie frowned. “Ugh, you really piss me off, acting so high and mighty.”
“You get pissed off no matter what I say.” I’d told her exactly what she wanted to hear—that I had no plans to bother her—and she still wasn’t happy. This girl was so irrational, which yet again reminded me of my little sister.
Marie sucked in a breath and slowly exhaled. In that short stretch, her attitude shifted. She smiled at me, and in a saccharine-sweet voice said, “Having said that, I would really, really appreciate it if you helped me.”
“Come again?”
“You’ve got Luxion, right? And he was a cash shop item. So I want you to pitch in and help me with Operation Leftovers.”
Operation Leftovers? Yikes. What a terrible (and slightly offensive) name for her plan. That kinda amused me.
“What’s with the sudden mood swing? You’re like a totally different person,” I said.
“What’s moping around forever gonna get me? One of my secret keys to life is smiling through the pain to pump myself up.”
It didn’t seem like a very good secret key, given that her previous life had ended in domestic violence. I wasn’t about to say as much, though. I kept that very much to myself.
“Nothing brings you down, huh?” I muttered.
“I pride myself on my perseverance.”
“Yeah, well, forget it. I don’t wanna help you seduce another dude.”
Marie tilted her head. “If you aren’t interested in guys, why did you play this game in the first place? And why did you clear all the routes if you hate it that much?”
“I didn’t have much of a choice.”
I couldn’t tell her the truth—that my little sister had threatened me into it. That was too embarrassing to admit.
***
After lunch, I was on my way to class for my next lesson when a student ran up behind me and threw an arm around my shoulders. “Leon, what’s all this?” he said. “Didn’t we promise to fill each other in if we got cozy with a girl?”
This was one of my friends, Daniel Fou Durland, a tall boy with short hair and skin the color of toasted wheat. Another male student came up beside him, Raymond Fou Arkin, who had silky-smooth hair that fell just below his chin, though it wasn’t quite long enough to reach his shoulders.
Raymond scowled at me. “Don’t forget you’re from the poor, backwater barony brigade. It’s not fair for you to abandon us like this.”
It seemed they’d seen me eating lunch with Marie. Now they had it in their heads that we were dating. That’s ridiculous.
“It’s not what you think,” I told them. “And anyway, we definitely weren’t talking about anything like marriage.” Or at least not marriage to one another.
My friends exchanged looks; neither seemed entirely convinced.
“You mean that? School’s barely started, and you guys were eating alone together. Seems awfully intimate to me,” said Daniel. “Don’t you agree, Raymond?”
“Sure do. You guys were sitting way too close—just the two of you at a tiny table. Plus, she’s petite and adorable. Ugh, I’m so jealous.”
All the academy boys suffered in their pursuit of a fiancée. It was only natural that we dreamed of escaping the hell that was hunting down a bride as quickly as possible. And, of course, we tended to resent those who managed to get a leg up and snag a partner early on.
I pressed my hand to my forehead. “If we really were lovers, I’d be gloating and bragging like crazy right now.”
Raymond snorted. “Yeah, real cool guy, Leon. Though I guess that means you really aren’t dating then, huh?”
“Nope. Besides, Marie’s after…well, not me. Let’s leave it at that.”
Marie was exclusively focused on the love interests who hailed from the esteemed houses and would one day inherit their fathers’ titles. I wasn’t even on her radar.
“Marie?” Daniel froze. “As in, House Lafan’s Marie?”
Raymond seemed similarly taken back. “Why would you involve yourself with her?”
“What? Something wrong with her?” I asked, puzzled.
They hesitated over how best to explain. Daniel scrunched his face, racking his brains, which wasn’t exactly his strong suit. After a moment, he blurted, “She’s got a bad reputation with the girls. No, bad’s putting it nicely. She’s an outcast.”
“Marie? Really?”
“Word has it that immediately after school started, she began trying to make passes at His Highness and some of the other wellborn guys,” Raymond explained further. “Seems like a lot of the girls don’t like her because they feel like she doesn’t know her place. All we’ve heard are rumors, though. I don’t really know anything else.”
Somehow, that wasn’t surprising. Marie approaching Prince Julius and company had been bound to make her stand out in a bad way. If I’d stopped to think about it a little more, that much would’ve been obvious. Was it really going to be okay, leaving her to her own devices?
***
After school, Marie found herself in the courtyard with one of the other love interests: Jilk Fia Mamoria, a boy who was often glued to Prince Julius’s side. He would one day inherit his father’s viscount title, but since his family was court nobility rather than regional, his middle name was Fia instead of Fou.
Jilk’s emerald-green eyes matched the color of his long, flowing hair. He always had a soft smile, indicative of his gentle disposition. His rank was comparatively low next to the rest of the main cast, but sharing a nursemaid with the prince had meant he was raised alongside him like a brother. When Julius ascended the throne, Jilk would naturally be part of his inner circle. He was sure to be a powerful man.
Marie’s eyes lit up when she spied him. “Lord Jilk,” she said by way of greeting. “You’re not with Prince Julius today?”
“No. His Highness said he wanted to be alone,” Jilk answered politely, careful not to divulge any further details.
If Marie was going to deepen her relationship with Jilk, she needed to invite him to hang out, one way or another. “In that case, why don’t the two of us go into the city together? I discovered a shop with some rare items. It deals in antiques, and—”
“Could you perhaps be referring to one on the southside? That hidden gem tucked into a maze of narrow streets?”
“Y-yes,” Marie stuttered, shocked. “You know of it?”
No way! I was sure he wouldn’t have found that place yet!
One of Jilk’s events involved introducing him to that shop. Going there together was the prime way to increase his affection. But if Jilk already knew about it, there was no point in showing it to him.
“Miss Olivia and I discovered it when we were out together,” he explained. “It certainly is a splendid little place. I’ve gone there frequently since. In fact, I was just there yesterday.”
That wasn’t information that he really needed to share at this juncture. The only reason he’d brought it up, as far as Marie was concerned, was to gently turn her down.
“Th-then I guess you wouldn’t want to go again today, would you?” she asked feebly.
“Indeed. I doubt their inventory has changed much since then.”
Jilk wasn’t directly saying he didn’t want to go with her, but the underlying implication was clear.
“Then maybe if there’s another opportunity,” Marie suggested.
“Yes. Perhaps some other time.”
Marie knew Jilk was only saying that to be polite. Once she’d backed down, he took his leave.
Marie clenched her fists and dropped her gaze to her feet. “What the heck? What do you mean ‘some other time’? When is that going to be? Never, right? And why’s Olivia going after Jilk, too?” As if it wasn’t bad enough that Olivia had already taken the other events, now she was doing Jilk’s route as well.
While Marie stood there frozen, digesting the fallout, three girls strode up to her.
“Hey, you there. Come with us.”
***
The trio led Marie behind the school building, where they cornered her against the wall. They stood in a semi-circle around her, making escape impossible. The girl in the middle, whom Marie presumed to be their leader, regarded her as if she were no better than filth.
“Do you seriously not understand your place in the hierarchy?”
“What? If you’ve got something to say, spit it out,” Marie snapped. She wasn’t about to cower.
Incensed by her attitude, the leader seized Marie by her shirt collar. “I’m saying that a poor girl like you has no business casually approaching the prince and his friends. What? You think you stand a chance with them? Don’t be stupid. They’re out of your league.”
Marie glowered and slapped the leader’s hands away. “Think whatever you want, but don’t you dare get in my way.”
“Don’t get cocky with me!” A dry sound echoed as she cracked her hand against Marie’s cheek.
Marie balled her fists. She pulled one back, ready to sock the girl right in the face—until someone suddenly appeared behind the trio, which made them bolt.
“What terrible timing.” Before the girls were completely out of earshot, Marie shouted after them, “You’ll pay for this tomorrow!”
Once they were gone, Marie pressed a hand to her throbbing cheek and turned to face the person who’d interrupted their confrontation.
“Summoned behind the school, huh? This is like a scene right out of a manga,” said Leon. His smile was strained, likely put off by those girls and their behavior.
“What’re you here for?” Marie demanded.
Leon shrugged. “I just think you oughta give up on your plan for Operation Leftovers. You’ve earned yourself a pretty rotten reputation with your fellow girls.”
Marie didn’t bat an eye at this revelation. “I hate to break it to you, but I have no intention of giving up.”
“You wanna be happy, right? You don’t need one of the love interests for that. You can find happiness in some other way. It’s all about your frame of mind.”
Although Marie understood what he was getting at, she was in no place to concede. “Could you stop yammering on like some know-it-all? I just need one of five guys to fall for me. As long as that happens, I’ll get everything I’ve ever wanted.”
If Marie hadn’t reincarnated into this world with knowledge of the story and characters, perhaps she would have been content to set her sights lower and find happiness closer to home. But that wasn’t the case. She knew this was the world of the otome game she’d played all those years ago, and which guys were top-tier. That made it far harder to consider surrender.
Leon sighed quietly. “The love interests already have fiancées. It’s one thing if Miss Olivia gets between them. It’s a much bigger problem if it’s you. Marie, you’re not the protagonist.”
Blood rushed to Marie’s head. The next thing she knew, she was screaming at him. “How could you possibly understand?! You just wanna be some background character! You say you’ve faced misery and poverty, but your life is so much happier than mine! You already have everything you could possibly want. So stop acting all high-and-mighty with me!”
Leon’s eyes widened.
Marie instantly realized that she’d gone too far. Crap. I-I need to apologize to him. But…
If they had been friends, or even true acquaintances, perhaps she could have done just that, but since their meeting, there had just been grievance after grievance.
Leon and Marie were comrades in a sense, given that they both hailed from Japan, though he was far more knowledgeable about the game. Having obtained a cheat item for himself, he could live his life freely as he saw fit. He’d also been raised in a much more loving household. Though what she really couldn’t stand was how much he reminded her of her older brother.
Unable to bring herself to voice that one little apology, Marie turned from Leon and ran.
You’re not my older brother. You’ve got no right to speak to me like that!
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