novelraw Chapter 155 : The Witch's Reminiscence 1
Chapter 155 : The Witch's Reminiscence 1
It's too troublesome to explain in detail, but in short, it seems I'm the female protagonist in this otome game world.
"You lowborn commoner, with that appearance you still dare to try and seduce His Highness the Prince? Keep dreaming!"
"Don't get carried away just because you've gotten a bit close to Garcia and Lord Oliver!"
"And there's also Sir Arnold from the Knight Order!"
"And Lord Valen from the Elf race!"
"Always with that flirtatious smile, you must be using some dirty tricks to attract men to surround you, right?!"
Dorothy found this situation quite vexing.
"I've known His Highness since childhood, he has shown me kindness... As for the others, I met them through various coincidences..."
"How dare you! How could His Highness possibly take in a lowborn like you!"
"There's no such coincidence in this world—— You and that witch must have used some despicable means to seduce them!!"
"Shameless woman——"
Dorothy very troubledly held her forehead.
After awakening to self-awareness and knowing the nature of this world, she found such situations increasingly bothersome.
But it's understandable. For a lowborn commoner girl to know so many young noblemen that she couldn't count them on both hands, and to maintain seemingly ambiguous relationships with all of them, in the eyes of others, this behavior was no different from those scheming women who cast wide nets to climb the social ladder.
Although none of them had developed a relationship with her beyond friendship, popular women are always envied...
Three years... Do you know how I've lived through these three years...
No, this is countless sets of three years.
This world exists in such a constant cycle.
Dorothy, possessing memories of other routes, knew that in the end, she would invariably be killed by a villain character.
And now, with memories from previous iterations, she could reshuffle the deck, and all she could do was gather as much information as possible.
Just because she didn't complete the conquest missions according to the system's prompts, the difficulty of survival increased a hundredfold.
Death—— Restart——
Repeating this process endlessly, it inevitably produced...
"No matter what, Lord Aldo has a marriage engagement with me—— To actually seduce a married man!! You're despicable!"
The raised hand was about to fall on her face but was blocked by a strong wind.
"Without any evidence, don't slander people baselessly."
"!!"
A familiar voice sounded from behind.
The observing students automatically parted, leaving just enough space for one person to pass through.
Seeing the person approaching, Dorothy was somewhat surprised.
This isn't right...
It's not yet time for her to appear...
Coming towards her was one of the four families second only to the royal family in this country's hierarchy.
The villain character who had killed her countless times in other routes, the villainess of this work, Yvonne Smollett.
"So many people bullying one person, aren't you ashamed?"
No matter what, the situation unfavorable to her had changed—— In this state, she should be happier, but Dorothy couldn't feel happy at all.
Thinking of her countless tragic deaths, she felt suffocated.
Up until now, countless times... she had been... by this person...
Killed by knife, or poisoned, burned, framed...
Basically, she had experienced all the ways of putting someone to death that exist in this world.
All of this was because of this woman——
Although this world is called an 'otome game'... it's unexpectedly cruel.
The creator of this world must be quite a twisted character, right?
And this person... this villain character who doesn't follow the script's routines,
According to memories from other routes, in each route, her inner self would be different, and her speech habits would also change.
The only constant was the deep malice she harbored towards Dorothy.
Greed is always the essence of human nature.
Hmph, she must be planning to be a bit nice to me first, then find a way to deal with me, right?
There have been similar tactics before, but this time, she won't fall for it again.
Although this world doesn't need a female protagonist who can't be conquered, it doesn't mean she will surrender to this world.
Dorothy had decided—— She must find a way to survive without being manipulated.
Moreover, just this once, she absolutely won't let her succeed——
"Lady Yvonne! There's no need to protect such a person!!"
"Yes! Don't you also have an engagement with His Highness? This shameless person even tried to——with His Highness"
Those girls who came to make trouble took turns listing her 'crimes'.
"Enough, say no more."
She raised her right hand clad in a velvet glove, her eyes cold:
"It's not your place to speak here."
"...Yes."
After she released her villainess aura, those forgettable supporting characters finally wisely exited the scene.
This... this is class oppression.
"What do you want?"
Although overall the other party seemed to have helped her, Dorothy was still very wary.
If there was anyone in this world she couldn't trust the most, it would be the woman in front of her.
She is the villain, the villainess, while Dorothy is the female protagonist—— They are sworn enemies, completely incompatible existences.
"I've been wanting to ask, you're not an ordinary person either, right?"
Despite having the appearance of a villainess, she looked at Dorothy with a cheerful smile.
After they were alone, she said something unbelievable.
"Judging by your reaction, could you also be a reincarnator?"
"............"
Dorothy was completely speechless.
Does this generation of reincarnators have any sense of crisis at all, to just blurt out such important settings and information? You must be joking——
But seeing the other's expectant face looking at her, Dorothy decided to play dumb for now:
"'Reincarnator'... I'm sorry, what are you talking about?"
"Ah... If you don't know, then never mind. Sorry, please forget what I just said——"
Despite being the one who brought it up, her reaction was even more flustered than Dorothy's.
"............"
This batch of transmigrators seems incompetent... Shouldn't you press the issue?
"Anyway, let's get along well."
The villainess extended her hand to Dorothy.
"............"
Dorothy looked at the hand extended to her, seeming to smell the scent of blood it carried.
"Ah... Sorry, a handshake isn't the etiquette of this world, is it... I almost forgot."
The other party seemed to realize this point and awkwardly withdrew her hand.
"But, I really want to get along well with you, Miss Dorothy."
She gazed at Dorothy sincerely.
"............"
Dorothy was observing the person in front of her out of the corner of her eye.
She didn't seem to have any weapons, nor ropes or the like...
But, just based on this relaxed appearance, she couldn't let her guard down.
"...It would be my honor to become friends with the daughter of the Smollett family."
Putting on a business-like fake smile, Dorothy curtsied.
"Then from today on, we're friends!"
Friends?
Don't joke around.
Up until now, she had been killed by this woman countless times.
But this time, after awakening to self-awareness, she couldn't waste this opportunity.
Rather than being killed by her, it would be better to find a chance to expose her schemes and let her receive due punishment.
In the worst case, she could even accomplish a reversal and kill her instead.
She had to strike first. Survive, and then seek out the truth of this world.
Just like this—— for now, maintain a good relationship with her on the surface.
......
That's what she thought, but since school started so long ago, as the main villain character of this story, Yvonne had never actively caused trouble for her. Instead, she herself seemed to be constantly in trouble.
"...What's going on here??"
Looking at this unfortunate villainess who had fallen into a water puddle, Dorothy's mouth was so wide open she could barely close it.
"Ahahahaha... I've been a bit unlucky lately."
Struggling to get up from the pool, her cashmere uniform skirt, soaked with water, clung to her voluptuous thighs. Her beautiful golden hair was also wet and dripping water continuously.
Male students passing by in the academy couldn't help but cast malicious glances in this direction.
"Anyway... put this on first!!"
Dorothy hurriedly took off her spring uniform jacket and draped it over the other's shoulders.
She didn't remember this villain lady having such a clumsy episode...
Yvonne somewhat embarrassedly tapped her head, trying to pour the water out of her ears.
"...Could this be the punishment the system mentioned?"
While using magic to dry her clothes, she muttered somewhat helplessly.
"System... You just said system, right?!"
"Eh... Dorothy, you know about it too?"
She blinked in surprise.
"What... So you knew about it."
For some reason, seeing Dorothy's reaction, she seemed relieved.
"Haven't you thought about it... Lady Yvonne, now that you have such power, with this system... Even something like conquering the world might be possible, you know?"
"Conquering the world, huh..."
She looked up at the sky, then made a face that said 'what a bother'.
Then she shook her head repeatedly.
"No matter what, bullying people is wrong, isn't it?"
In her previous life, Yvonne had been caught up in severe school bullying, so she had quite unpleasant memories of it.
She knew better than anyone what it felt like to 'be bullied'. So, she had made up her mind to never engage in bullying behavior.
"...You don't mind being punished?! What are you thinking!!"
Dorothy couldn't understand at all.
What is wrong with this person——
As a person, one should consider oneself—— Egoism is the principle for surviving in this world of deception and intrigue.
But the woman in front of her didn't seem to think this way.
"But I don't want to bully you."
She said with a wry smile.
"If I made a cute child like you cry, I wouldn't be able to sleep from guilt."
"...What…"
Her heart rate suddenly accelerated.
This was a heart rate she had never achieved when facing those conquerable male characters until now.
"...What's wrong?"
No... This is impossible!
Dorothy kept warning herself internally.
This person is an enemy!
Absolutely cannot be deceived by her!!
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She must work harder.
Work hard to study magic.
Work hard to become stronger.
Become flawless, and then counterattack before the other party strikes——
But before that, for some reason, this greatest enemy she had anticipated had already collapsed without a fight.
"Oh my... I didn't expect the Smollett family's business investments to fail, becoming bankrupt nobles."
When the former young lady, dressed in commoner clothes, appeared at her doorstep with an apologetic smile, Dorothy was completely bewildered.
"Wait a minute, your family is a ducal house, right? With power and influence, you should be able to make a comeback no matter what..."
"It's not possible, not possible."
While flipping a spatula in Dorothy's kitchen, she showed a helpless expression.
"This world is quite cruel, you know..."
When it came to cruelty, she understood this point better than anyone.
"You could easily improve the situation just by bullying me, you know."
Dorothy, cutting vegetables on the side, finally couldn't hold back.
She gripped the kitchen knife and handed it to the surprised Yvonne, blade facing herself.
"Just by gaining 'villain' points, this situation could be easily reversed!"
But she gently shook her head.
"After my stepmother died, my father changed a lot... He did many irreversible things, this is also punishment for our family. Becoming like this now, I'm willing to accept it."
Even though she had awakened to her past life's memories at the age of 6, she still couldn't accomplish anything.
"No matter what, I won't do anything to harm Dorothy."
Her eyes were filled with sincerity.
Unlike everyone before, she truly thought this way, and intended to act accordingly.
The knife fell to the ground with a crisp sound.
"...Dorothy?"
Her face was already covered in tears.
"Why... Why are you so kind to me! Before too! You protected me from those people, right? As a villain, you had absolutely no need to do that!"
Be a little meaner to me!
Bully me!
But why... this person...
"It's because I want to do this."
She patted Dorothy's shoulder, and brought steaming dishes to the table.
This was a dish 'stir-fried' according to the method from her hometown.
She used two long wooden sticks as utensils to place a piece of layered pork belly onto Dorothy's plate. It emitted a delicious aroma.
"Although I can't fully understand, it seems the previous 'me' did many terrible things to you."
"No... Those have nothing to do with you!"
"Until now, you've been fighting against such a world."
Gently stroking the top of Dorothy's head, softly saying 'That's amazing', Dorothy's long-exhausted spirit found salvation.
"It must have been very hard, right?"
It was probably from that moment that Dorothy confirmed her feelings.
She liked this person.
She liked this gentle flavor.
If she had her support...
As long as this person existed in this world, she could continue to strive.
A fairy tale-like ending where everyone survives and everyone finds happiness.
She would definitely achieve it.
She would show her.
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This woman...
What is this woman's background?!
All the guards had been taken down by an unknown magic, and with just herself alone, she had broken through the defense system that the Oderu family prided themselves on.
"So—— Still not willing to talk?"
The gleaming blade was pressed against the neck of this corpulent nobleman. For the first time since his birth, Duke Oderu felt his life being toyed with in someone else's hands.
"I really... really don't know anything!!"
Facing a threat to his life, with the cold dagger pressed against his neck, he let out a pig-like scream.
"I, I promise! I promise you! I'll agree to anything—— Whether it's money, or anything else... Please, I beg you, spare me——!!"
Hearing these words, the witch in the black cloak finally smiled from beneath the shadows.
"——Then let's make a contract."