[Academy Infirmary]
The sharp stench of antiseptic and alcohol hung heavy in the air, stinging the nose of anyone who dared to enter the stark white room.
On one of the beds, Kevin von Clyne sat with a face burning red. Not from a fever, but from rage boiling over to the top of his head. A Healer was gingerly applying green ointment to his cheek, which was swollen and red from Olivia's slap.
"Ssshh! Watch it!" Kevin snapped at the mage.
"I-I'm sorry, Young Master," the mage bowed in fear, hands trembling.
Kevin swatted the mage's hand away roughly, then clenched his fists until his knuckles turned white. "That woman... Olivia... she's completely lost her mind. Did you see her eyes, Jessica? She looked at me like I was trash!"
In the chair beside the bed, Jessica sat in silence. She had been examined and miraculously had no serious injuries, just a reddish bruise circling her pale neck. The distinct imprint of Olivia's fingers was clear there.
Jessica didn't respond to Kevin's anger. Her petite fingers slowly traced her own neck. Touching the lingering feeling of that chokehold.
It felt cold.
That was what her skin felt. But beneath the cold and the pain, Jessica felt something else. A memory that shouldn't exist in this time loop.
"If you want to be a hero... at least make sure you can touch the hem of my dress first."
That sentence echoed in her head.
'She was holding back,' Jessica thought. Her eyes behind the glasses narrowed sharply, a stark contrast to her innocent face. 'The old Olivia... the Olivia in the 3rd or 7th life, wouldn't have hesitated to snap my neck right then and there. But this time... her grip seemed hesitant. There was a two-second pause before she tightened it.'
"Jessica? Are you listening to me?" Kevin waved a hand in front of her face.
Jessica flinched, a mask of the "frightened innocent girl" snapping back perfectly onto her face in the blink of an eye.
"Ah! Y-yes, Kevin-sama. I... I'm just still feeling a little scared," she said with a fake trembling voice.
Kevin let out a long sigh, then looked at Jessica with a self-righteous hero gaze. "Don't worry. I won't let that witch touch you again. This engagement... I'll push Father to annul it sooner. Olivia doesn't deserve to be the future Queen."
Jessica looked down, hiding a terrifyingly thin smile on her lips.
'Just cancel the engagement, you idiot. The sooner you stay away from her, the easier it is for me to have her... and protect her from the stupid deaths you always cause in every loop.'
[Olivia's Private Chamber]
SLAM!
I slammed the bedroom door shut with all my might, then locked it. My breath was still coming in ragged gasps like someone who'd just been chased by a ghost.
"Hah... hah... hah..."
I leaned my back against the cold mahogany door, then slowly slid down to the floor. My legs had absolutely no strength left.
'Okay, Renji. Breathe in. Breathe out. Don't panic. You just beat the crap out of a protagonist of this world and made him hold a massive grudge against you. No big deal. Just relax.'
WHO CAN RELAX IN A SITUATION LIKE THIS, DAMMIT?!
I crawled towards the large mirror on the vanity. The reflection there was the same. A beautiful woman with messy silver hair and red eyes that looked exhausted. This gothic lolita dress felt heavy and suffocating.
My hand... or rather, Olivia's hand, trembled as I tried to touch my own face.
"Status Window? Open? Menu? System?" I whispered, trying every keyword commonly used in isekai genres like this.
Silence. No transparent blue box appeared. No 'Ding!' sound to tell me what level I was.
This wasn't a game. This was reality. I was trapped here without a guide, without a logout button, and worst of all, without full control over my own mouth.
I grabbed a notebook and a quill pen from the desk. I needed to write down what happened.
Scratch... scratch...
First... This duel happened in Chapter 3. What was supposed to happen was Olivia intentionally losing so Kevin would win... But what actually happened was I won by a landslide and humiliated Kevin. The consequence is likely that Kevin's hatred for me has now spiked by 1000%.
The pen snapped in my hand.
'Crap. In the original novel, Kevin hesitated to kill Olivia at the end of the story because he remembered Olivia once "let him win." But the way things are going now, Kevin won't hesitate to chop my head off during the Judgment Arc!'
I massaged my throbbing temples. I had to find a way to survive. Olivia's death happens in Chapter 25: The Chimera Raid. That coincides with the Academy Summer Festival, about a month from now.
At that time, Olivia will be sacrificed by Kevin and his friends as bait so Jessica can escape.
'I need a weapon. Or a defensive item. Something that can withstand a Chimera attack.'
My brain spun fast, recalling every detail of the trashy novel I wrote over these three years. And I remembered one item!
The Aether Ring. A Legendary-class item hidden in...
Knock, knock, knock.
A soft knock on the door broke my train of thought.
"Lady Olivia? It's Marie. I brought afternoon tea and a change of clothes for you."
Marie. My personal maid. In the novel, she was the only person loyal to Olivia until death. She was a good girl.
'Okay, Renji. Act normal. Don't be mean. Just say thank you and tell her to leave.'
I cleared my throat, adjusting my voice to sound as normal as possible. "Enter."
The door opened. Marie, a young maid with cute freckles on her face, entered carrying a silver tray. She bowed deeply, not daring to meet my eyes.
She poured tea into a porcelain cup with trembling hands. Warm steam wafted up, carrying the soothing scent of bergamot.
I looked at Marie's rough, scarred hands from hard work. Pity welled up in my heart. I wanted to say, "Thank you, Marie. You can rest."
I opened my mouth.
"Marie."
"Y-yes, My Lady?" Marie flinched, startled, almost dropping the teapot.
And that was when the "Villainess Filter" took over again.
My eyes narrowed at the teacup. My hand moved on its own, shoving the cup until some tea spilled onto the tray.
"Are you trying to blister my tongue with this boiling water?" my voice came out in a low, piercing tone. "Or are you too stupid to gauge the right temperature?"
Marie's face went pale. "I-I'm sorry, My Lady! I will replace it..."
"No need," I cut in quickly, waving my hand as if shooing a fly. "Just seeing your panicked face has made me lose my appetite. Put down my change of clothes and get out. Don't let me see you for the next hour."
'THAT'S NOT WHAT I WANTED TO SAY! MARIE, I'M SORRY!' I screamed internally.
Marie bowed quickly, "Y-yes, My Lady! Excuse me!" then rushed out, half-running.
The door closed again.
I stared at the still-steaming cup of tea. Slowly, I picked it up with shaking hands and drank it.
It tasted good. The temperature was perfect.
Tears of frustration dripped from my eyes, falling into the tea.
"Dammit..." I whispered, this time my own voice sounding hoarse. "How can I save myself if I can't even ask for help?"
Suddenly, my eyes caught something in the mirror reflection. Behind the slightly open collar of my dress, there was a strange mark on the skin of Olivia's upper chest.
A mark shaped like a black rose with petals starting to fall one by one.
'Wait... I never wrote about this mark in the novel.'
I leaned closer to the mirror, touching the mark.
One petal fell and vanished into thin black smoke the moment I touched it.
A countdown?
Is this my remaining lifespan?