Chapter 1
Translator: True Detective
001. Misunderstanding
It is rare for anyone to have experienced hearing such words.
"You are truly disgusting and repulsive."
And from the person they like, at that.
"Why are you smiling after hearing such things? Are you crazy? When did you ever pull that kind of crap while hiding behind your family's halo... And now you want to let it all go and be at peace?"
"Th-that's not it..."
"Then stop fucking smiling in front of me. It's disgusting to look at."
"Okay..."
The visual novel [Princess Princeps].
I really loved the heroine of this game so much.
To the point that the face that came to mind right before I died was that of the game's heroine, Yuna Castilla.
Is that why?
"What are you staring at so intently? Please just get lost already."
I couldn't take my eyes off Yuna in front of me.
Even though she was looking at me with an expression of pure disgust.
'Wow. She's really pretty.'
I couldn't think of anything else.
As I was staring blankly, Yuna raised her fist.
It would probably hurt if I got hit, so it was time to slowly make myself scarce.
"I-I'll go."
I dragged my leg.
And sluggishly moved away from Yuna.
"Crippled leg."
"I heard she injured her head too. Is she still attending the academy looking like that?"
"Serves her right. Pfft."
I heard whispering voices, but I didn't care much.
Because I couldn't really see anything else but Yuna in my field of vision.
Literally couldn't see well. Should I say it looked a bit blurry and foggy?
'I knew I would face this kind of fate, but experiencing it firsthand is a bit uncomfortable.'
Aria Witri, whom I had possessed, was the number one villainess of [PrinPrin].
A villain among villains character who relentlessly bullied the protagonist and caused a nuisance by getting involved in all sorts of incidents.
Because of this, she severely received karmic retribution from the game developers who loved cathartic justice.
In a game where magic, curses, friendship, romance, and the like were the main themes, she got payback for what she did to a somewhat excessive degree.
The secret of her birth.
Aria had endlessly bullied academy students using her status as the daughter of a prestigious count family in the kingdom, but.
It was soon revealed that Aria's mother was of humble origins.
She had been deceiving everyone that the child she had from an affair with a servant was the Count's child.
Naturally, the mother and the servant were executed.
Aria suffered unspeakable things and was expelled from the family.
Once her backing disappeared, Aria, who had bought much resentment, became the target of kidnapping, confinement, and all sorts of other crimes, ending up in this state.
Because the worldview was such that the students bullied by Aria couldn't exactly be seen as good people either.
The daughter of a back-alley godfather, the daughter of a slave trader so rich they could buy a country, etc., etc...
Due to such bizarre and twisted detailed backgrounds, Aria suffered things far worse than what she had done.
That was also the reason why she limped on one leg.
She was kidnapped and ended up getting a critical part of her ankle slashed.
She was barely rescued, but there was no way something like this would recover.
Her vision being blurry was also roughly due to something similar.
Anyway.
"Hehehe."
After possessing Aria, I bullied the protagonist even more.
...You ask why I bullied her when I liked her?
It's because the more Aria bullied Yuna, the more people gathered by Yuna's side.
You could say I bullied her mercilessly for the sake of Yuna, who was naturally prone to feeling lonely.
Of course, I didn't do anything severe.
Stealing the writing utensils Yuna used, or sneaking up to surprise her... I could do that much, right?
Thanks to that, Yuna gained connections she hadn't made in the original work, made various friends, and achieved even greater success than at this current point in the original story.
Because of that, it seems Yuna has come to hate me a lot, but...
It can't be helped.
It was like that in the original work to begin with.
"Cough, cough."
Entering the empty dormitory room, my lungs began to ache.
'Hmm... It should still be okay for now.'
It was an illness Aria had since birth. They say it's a complex disease related to magic power... but I don't know the setting that deeply.
I wasn't interested in Aria in the first place.
Until now, she had no trouble living thanks to the elixirs provided by the family, but after her true identity was revealed, the supply of elixirs was completely cut off.
They say it's a terrifying disease where your entire body eventually stiffens and you die...
"I don't want that."
I want to stay by Yuna's side a little longer. If I have to die, I'd rather die by her side.
'I should have bullied her a little less...'
Tears spilled out due to regret.
Back when I was a powerful villainess, I could go see Yuna several times a day.
But now I can't even do that.
'...Still, not yet.'
I cannot die.
The difficulty of this game is a bit bizarre.
You could say Yuna dies even if you choose a dialogue option slightly wrong.
Until now, I had frequently helped her avoid such choices from the sidelines.
Preventing Yuna from crawling into a goblin lair on her own two feet, and carrying out preemptive strikes to defeat bandits before they could ambush her.
To prevent her from being surrounded by a school of sharks when she went to play at the sea, I even fought the sharks while losing sleep for a week.
It seems a bit childish and nonsensical, but they were all events from the original work.
But at this current point, which corresponds to the middle of the game.
It means they appear frequently starting from the second year.
Grabbing my trembling hands, I thought.
Honestly, I don't think this body will be of much help to Yuna.
Because the only things I have to show off are pitch-black hair (which is unique in the game) and white skin... that's about it.
Objectively, I am pretty, but not as much as Yuna.
"Still, there is a way."
There is a method I've used to warn Yuna of danger until now.
Behind the academy clock tower, a place only Yuna and I know about.
Leaving a note in an abandoned mailbox.
It was a simple method, but the effect was significant.
Yuna, who didn't believe the contents of the note at first, began to trust it after it proved right a few times.
Still, to write a note, I have to be alive.
Therefore...
"C-cough."
I boldly tore up the withdrawal application I received from the dean.
The Harcia Academy, which serves as the game's background, is said to be a prestigious academy with a long history or whatever.
Aria enrolled as a special admission student by paying three years' worth of tuition and a substantial donation.
She doesn't have to pay tuition, but that's exactly where it ends.
From the academy's perspective, there would be no need to keep the useless Aria around anymore.
Since Aria isn't particularly talented in studying, magic, or swordsmanship either.
That's why I'm constantly being pressured like this.
"That won't do."
It's not that I particularly want to continue my studies or feel interested in studying.
It was because the probability of being murdered the moment I left the academy was quite high.
The Count, who was Aria's father, currently considered her a thorn in his side.
If the shelter known as the academy disappeared, it was obvious as day what would happen to Aria.
Even in the game, Aria, who dropped out of the academy as if running away, is treated as someone who never existed.
It's obvious whose doing it is.
I already died once. After saving a child who was about to be hit by a truck in my past life.
Even if I die a second time here, it doesn't feel like there won't be another reincarnation. Should I call it a soul's intuition?
'However, the chances of seeing Yuna would be slim.'
I must cherish my life. Not for me, but for Yuna.
"Hehehehe."
I hummed a tune as I carefully tore a piece of letter paper.
And I made a note.
Second year.
The masquerade ball held at the beginning of the semester.
So, in terms of timing, it's the ball being held next week.
Yuna would consume poison there and wander the border between life and death.
Even if she woke up, she would be swept up in severe aftereffects, and it's a poison that would ruin her mind if proper measures weren't taken in time.
'I also know exactly who the mastermind is.'
I first wrote a note advising Yuna to avoid the ball.
And slowly raised my body.
I am well aware of the cycle in which Yuna checks the notes. If we met, an extremely embarrassing situation would unfold.
Fortunately, today was not that day.
"Hah."
Yuna hated Aria.
Because she had bullied and tormented her so much.
Ending up in that state was, to some extent, an aspect of karmic retribution.
"Yuna. Where are you going at this hour?"
"Hmm, just a quick walk. I'll be back before it's late."
"...You need to be careful. You tend to get exceptionally caught up in things, Yuna."
Yuna took her roommate Arcana's advice to heart.
So, after showing a bright, smiling face.
She strolled through the academy, breathing in the cold night air.
It was then.
The sight of someone dragging their leg and hurriedly heading somewhere entered Yuna's field of vision.
It was Aria.
'What scheme is she plotting this time?'
Her interest piqued, Yuna stood in front of Aria with her arms crossed.
"Y-Yuna...?"
Just as Aria was about to call out to Yuna with a joyful heart.
Yuna coldly pushed Aria away.
Losing her center of gravity, Aria stumbled and fell straight down.
Yuna curled up the corners of her mouth as she watched that sight.
It was still not enough to pay back the things she had suffered.
Thinking so, Yuna approached Aria, who was forcing a smile.
She thought it served her right.
Until a note with something written on it fell from Aria's arms, she definitely thought so.