Please Bully Me, Miss Villainess!

Chapter 156 : Reminiscence 2 + Princess's Banquet 1

"...Are you serious?"

Brilliant fireworks bloomed in the night sky, exploding in her ears along with her confession.

"Yes, I like you, Dorothy."

The light screen tightly wrapped the noisy sounds outside the festival, as if isolating the two of them from this world.

Her mood seemed to soar high with the ascending fireworks.

An indescribable, wondrous feeling,

Her words enveloped Dorothy gently, as if about to submerge and melt her.

Strange, strange, strange—

Dorothy's mind was racing, but her body was like an unoiled, rusty gear, unable to move.

Why was her heart beating so fast when confessed to by this person?

It was almost as if she had fallen in love with her too.

"I want to know Dorothy's response... Can you tell me now?"

She wanted to refuse, but her lips trembled, unable to say a word.

This was the first summer event, and the item drop was to collect these fireworks.

Strangely enough, although it was a fantasy-style story stage, the plot design here was quite Oriental in style.

The independent extra activities, to avoid conflict with the main storyline, all took place in a 'magic book'.

The clothes they wore were not Western-style outfits, but a type of decoration called 'yukata'.

Choosing different conquest targets would trigger different confession events in this scene.

But the confession scene before her was one that Dorothy had never seen in any route so far, as far as she could remember.

...What an unpleasant feeling,

Her own heartbeat was shaken by the exploding sounds,

She hated how those eyes, which should have been arrogant, looked at her gently, and that expression as if she had fallen in love.

But, the refusal had to be spoken.

"This is impossible... We are—"

"One is the story's protagonist, while the other is the villain——Is that what you want to say?"

She perfectly took over Dorothy's words.

The cool summer breeze passed through the night sky, lifting the golden long hair draped over her shoulders.

"Dorothy... Do you know what 'death' feels like?"

Resting her chin on her hand, placing her slender arm on her knee, she turned her head to look at Dorothy.

That feeling was like falling into an eternal night that would never see dawn.

"You can't hear anything anymore, can't touch anything anymore, can't do anything anymore... I really dislike that."

Although Dorothy had experienced death many times, she didn't have such thoughts.

Because she knew that an endless repetition of tomorrow awaited her.

"In my previous life, before I died, I regretted it so much. Thinking 'There are still so many things I haven't done, am I going to die without accomplishing anything? I haven't even fallen in love yet——' I was filled with regret."

"...So?"

She was still holding the apple candy this person had bought for her, willing to listen until she finished eating.

Just for this reason, she confessed to her??

For some reason, she felt a bit angry. The reason for her anger was that her reason was too casual.

"So? You think it's fine to fall in love with just anyone before you die?"

"Of course not!"

She refuted quite seriously.

"When I saw Dorothy, I understood in an instant."

"...Understood what?"

As the last huge firework ascended into the sky, a smile blossomed on her face.

"I want to have a shared future with you."

"...That's just your wishful thinking, I don't have such thoughts at all."

Having finished the last bite of apple candy, she threw the wooden stick into the trash can.

"Is that so? I thought it was mutual between us..."

"Ha... How could that be possible, it's impossible even by common sense!!"

They were both girls!

How could there be such a route in an otome game!!

Moreover...

The system would definitely not allow such a deviant ending.

It's just that this reincarnator was a bit special, that's all.

When she completes the 'world's' task and realizes her wish, she'll leave this plane like everyone else.

At that time, she'll definitely forget all about Dorothy completely.

"Huh?... Why would I leave? I still quite like this fairy tale-style world—"

She hugged her arms, smiling as she looked at Dorothy.

"If possible, I'd like to live in a place by the sea, where I could see the sea horizon every day when I open the window—"

Clear skies, flying seagulls, salty sea breeze, an endless summer.

...How strange.

For some reason, following her description, Dorothy clearly saw that scene.

However, although she wanted to believe, she couldn't trust it.

She wouldn't live past 18.

The moment this story ends would be the beginning of her own end.

"If it's me... is it not possible?"

She lowered her voice. For some reason, Dorothy felt that at this moment, she became incredibly attractive in her eyes.

Like a sweet lie, almost deceiving her as well.

She took a deep breath.

Suppressing the fluctuations in her heart, she spoke words to extinguish the other's.

"Give up... This kind of thing will never work out."

"How would you know if you don't try?"

"......"

Dorothy hated being looked at by her like this.

It always threw off her rhythm.

And in the end, it would surely repeat the same mistakes.

"Moreover, your taste is really bad——So bad that I want to roll my eyes."

All the males in this game only liked her because of program settings.

But when it came to female charm alone, she had already clearly understood this point.

"Aren't you very cute though?"

"Don't call me cute!"

"Then kawaii?"

"That's meaningless!"

"Alright, although I'm a bit hurt... But I won't give up so easily."

She pointed her index finger, saying quite spiritedly:

"Someday, I'll make you say you like me!"

"Impossible——Give up early."

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In the end, those words became like a curse.

Until the very end, her feelings never reached her.

It also became her biggest regret.

No matter what, she couldn't forget.

The longing she had once buried with her own hands still swayed in her heart.

Changing the future, this was her purpose, and an almost pathological obsession.

"......"

The black witch concealed her form, floating in mid-air, overlooking this lively banquet.

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"Congratulations, Princess!"

"Thank you, everyone!"

The princess was undoubtedly the protagonist of this banquet.

Although only 14 years old, she had already begun to show the budding form of a young lady, like a flower bud starting to unfold its petals.

A straight nose, rosy and glossy lips, eyelashes fluttering with smiles in her eyes. Except for the slight childishness remaining on her round little face, one could almost certainly say she would become an immeasurably great beauty in the future.

Her silk-like shoulder-length golden hair was tied into high twin tails today, swaying lively.

Yvonne thought this hairstyle suited Shirushi very well, like a golden fairy.

After the fawning nobles dispersed, Yvonne finally approached.

"Big Sister!!"

Seeing Yvonne, Shirushi was also very happy.

"First, congratulations on turning 14. From today on, you're an adult recognized by the gods——And here's your gift."

"...This is!!"

Shirushi very delightedly accepted the gift Yvonne handed over.

In the wooden box, a horn cup as smooth as jade, nestled in golden velvet, was presented before this princess.

She widened her eyes, a joyful expression leaping onto her face:

"It's actually a unicorn cup——How amazing!! This is definitely the most precious gift I've received today! Thank you, both big sisters!!"

"Although we're very happy you say that... Isn't it a bit disrespectful to the other gifts?"

Elsa smiled wryly, looking at the pile of jewelry and ornaments stacked high beside Shirushi.

"I can receive piles of those things every year, and this is from Big Sister Yvonne after all~"

Her little mouth was still as sweet as ever, calling them "Big Sister" repeatedly. Yvonne felt Elsa's gaze become somewhat prickly and hurriedly maintained some distance from this little princess.

Nearby, Michel was also dressed in men's clothing, conversing with guests who came to offer congratulations.

Because she (he) had disappeared for several days, many people were quite worried, including Michel's friends.

"Your Highness, it's so good that you've recovered your health..."

"Thank you for your concern, Arnold."

Arnold was the son of the Knight Commander. When they were young, because Michel practiced swordsmanship under his father, he and Michel had always had a good relationship, like close brothers.

Today's Arnold had taken off the thick armor he usually wore in his character portrait and changed into formal wear, which was quite rare to see.

"By the way... Has Your Highness been exercising recently?"

"Aha?... Why do you suddenly ask that?"

Michel tried hard to lower her voice.

Fortunately, her voice had always been that androgynous teenage boy type, so it wasn't difficult to imitate.

However, having to imitate her original self's voice made Michel somewhat helpless.

"Because your pecs seem much more developed than the last time I saw you. Have you been doing push-ups? Come on——Let me feel!"

Looking at Arnold's outstretched hand towards her.

Michel inwardly cried out in alarm.

Those weren't pecs!! They were accumulations of fat on her body, completely unnecessary for males, but full of charm and allure as secondary sexual characteristics for females——

Her body instinctively dodged backward, but it was already too late.

Of course, the hand reaching for Michel's chest bore no ill intent. These men who had undergone knight training always admired strong physiques and took pride in having robust bodies.

Due to body type (character portrait), Michel had always given people the impression of being more on the frail side.

In fact, this was true. His real specialty was light attribute magic, able to provide strong support magic to teammates.

"Wait a moment!!"

Michel very much wanted to make this foolish best friend stop.

"Huh? We're both men, since when did you become so shy? I just want to take a look, it's not like you'll lose a piece of flesh."

But she's a woman now!

Although she used to be a man, Michel's mentality had undergone a subtle change... So regarding touching sensitive areas, she began to develop a very resistant psychology.

"I-I don't think it's appropriate in this place..."

"That's true, today is Shirushi's birthday banquet, so let's be more proper."

Arnold sighed, seeming to give up. Michel was just breathing a sigh of relief when she didn't expect the other to quickly launch a counterattack:

"——There's an opening!!"

Stop it, you muscle-head——

However, trying to stop Arnold in this state was already impossible. What he wanted to do, he would definitely accomplish. Never giving up was the motto of the Knight Order, and he was also a hot-blooded, single-minded fool.

"Ah——"

At this critical moment, a silver-haired maid accidentally spilled juice on this unintentionally lecherous hand, making him timely withdraw his hand.

"...I'm terribly sorry! Sir Knight!"

"Ah... It's alright, it didn't stain my clothes. Be more careful next time, Miss Maid."

Fortunately, Arnold had a good temper and only took out a handkerchief to wipe his hand, not blaming the clumsy maid.

Noticing the maid's appearance, Michel immediately showed a surprised expression.

Why would she appear here??

After cleaning up, the silver-haired maid curtsied to the two and left, quickly disappearing among the many guests in the hall.

"What's wrong, Michel? Did you take a fancy to her? That won't do——You can't be a playboy like before, you have a fiancée now. The daughter of the Bernalson family isn't as tolerant as Lady Yvonne."

"...I know."

Michel gazed at that departing figure, falling into deep thought.

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"Today's desserts are all specially made! How is it——Big Sister, is it delicious?"

Although the desserts before her were exquisite and tempting, Yvonne wasn't in the mood to enjoy them, and just kept putting desserts onto Elsa's plate beside her.

"But... Is it really alright to receive me as a guest like this?"

Looking at King Oz sitting on the throne not far away, she couldn't help but worry.

She was the daughter of an exiled criminal. If King Oz saw her here, he might get angry and have her thrown out.

"It's alright~ Big Sister, actually... Father was——"

"——Shirushi."

"!!"

The sudden voice startled both Shirushi and Yvonne.

King Oz seemed to have been watching this side all along.

Understanding her father's intention, Shirushi blinked and obediently closed her mouth.

"Come here, daughter of the Smollett family."

"......"

After being called out, Yvonne held her breath and walked to the throne with unsteady steps.

King Oz was already over sixty. Due to his daily toil with state affairs, wrinkles had appeared on his face, and his hair had become a mottled mixture of gray and gold. His brow ridge was high, his eye sockets deep, and those grayish-blue eyes seemed able to see through everything.

Just standing near him, one could clearly feel an intangible pressure.

King Oz beckoned to an attendant beside him, who respectfully gave Yvonne something like a small bell.

...A whisper bell?

Yvonne was somewhat surprised that such an item would be prepared for her.

This was a special magical tool, usually in pairs. When held in hand and activated, one could only hear the other person's voice, while those around could not know the contents of the conversation no matter what. It was a magical tool quite favored by those nobles with many little secrets.

"I just have some things I want to ask you, no need to be so nervous."

"...Yes."

Yvonne timidly raised her head, still not daring to look directly into the eyes of this king.

To say she wasn't nervous would definitely be a lie.

In this situation, how could she not be nervous?

The other party was the king of this country——

One wrong word could lead to a Game Over!

How could she not be nervous?!

King Oz slowly opened his mouth:

"Not long ago, you went to the northern border, didn't you?"

!!

Yvonne immediately fell into panic.

So that's it...

Although she had already withdrawn the monitoring soldiers, her movement route still couldn't escape the surveillance here?

"Your Majesty, I know this violated the exile regulations... but I really just wanted to go home to see my parents, absolutely no other intentions——"

This panicked explanation didn't seem to gain the other's approval.

King Oz shook his head.

"I'm not talking about that."

He played with the small bell in his hand, then said something that surprised Yvonne.

"——How is Campbell doing?"

King Oz rarely showed such a lonely look in his eyes.

"...Father is doing well, just often playing chess alone now..."

Hearing this, King Oz also sighed audibly.

"Without Campbell's chess games, I feel a bit lonely too."

Come to think of it, Father and King Oz used to be close friends, often playing chess together in their leisure time.

Her engagement to Michel was also decided during a chess game.

So... Why?

There were too many unreasonable things.

The doubts in Yvonne's heart were almost overflowing, making her unable to help but ask:

"Your Majesty... Regarding the rebellion incident two years ago... Do you really believe that our Smollett family colluded with the demon race?"

The king raised his head, looking at her with deep eyes, then slowly opened his mouth.