The so-called villainess, Angelina Grey, stood alone in the garden where she had once struck down the final boss and let a languid sigh of ecstasy escape her lips. Her cheeks were flushed, her eyes shimmering with a languor verging on rapture. And in the haze that filled her head, only one thought reigned supreme: Yes, reincarnation truly is the most marvelous gift. I never dreamed things would go this perfectly! God Himself must be on my side!
Her thoughts flew back to scarcely ten minutes earlier. Having returned from Class C, Angelina had been greeted by none other than Gilbert, with an invitation she could hardly believe.
“Shall we find someplace we can be alone to talk?” he’d asked.
Those eyes, that voice, those words! How could their meaning be anything but obvious? He clearly yearned to make a confession of love.
Since it never happened in the world before time rewound, this time it must happen at the tea party! There could be no mistake. Beaming with a smile she couldn’t begin to restrain, Angelina reaffirmed the truth she cherished above all: Oh, yes, this world truly does revolve around me!
How else could it be explained? She had put the dull-witted Brima to clever use, and by happy chance managed to send the heroine, Sierra, off to the infirmary, thereby ruining her chance at the student council. She had smeared Milly’s name, and now she would receive a confession of love! Everything was falling into place too perfectly.
What was more, she had made certain that if Brima wavered, the threat of “say my name and your family is finished” would seal her lips. No hint of the plot could possibly blow back upon Angelina.
And thanks to the rumors she herself had sown—that Milly detested commoners and strutted about with high-handed disdain—the reputation of the grand duke’s house had sunk lower than ever within the academy. At this rate, Milly would be forced to step down from the council. Her end was near.
Ha! How utterly pathetic! That an alleged “final boss” thought she could sidle up to one of the love interests. Serves her right!
The student council was a garden where the love interests gathered, the main stage of the entire scenario. For Milly Asteara of all people to be permitted entry into such a place was an outrage.
After all, Gilbert, Nicholas, Edgar, Lucius, and Ike all belong to me, the true heroine of this world, for I am the reincarnated villainess, Angelina Grey.
They must not be snatched away by Milly. Nor by Sierra. Nor by any other girl. They were destined to love Angelina and Angelina alone. Truth be told, Angelina had despised Milly Asteara even in her former life.
She had been appalled that the final boss was blessed with such a flattering character design and treated like a beauty even within the story itself. Worse, the fans adored her. When Angelina once stumbled across a piece of fan fiction where Milly and Gilbert ended up together, she was in such a foul mood she sulked for two weeks. The very idea was intolerable. Gilbert was a love interest, for heaven’s sake!
Indeed, in the game, the love interests were meant to pour their devotion upon the protagonist, the player. No other girl had any right to catch their hearts. But when she’d awoken in the world of the game itself, her mindset shifted entirely. Now, the one to receive that love must not be some faceless heroine, but her, the true heroine of this world: the reincarnated villainess, Angelina Grey.
And so, she’d schemed to drive Milly out of the student council, so that the world might be set back on its proper track. Everything was proceeding exactly as she wished. Now, here she was, basking in the triumph of being summoned by Gilbert himself.
Heh, of course. I really am the heroine of this world, aren’t I? Gilbert should be along any moment now.
Gilbert had told her, “I don’t want the other students to notice,” and so he would come a little later. Even the restless wait was a blissful thing for Angelina. After all, in just a few minutes, she would have it all.
Because Angelina was the villainess.
And in reincarnation stories, it was always the villainess who became the heroine, the undeniable winner.
“My, so this is where you’ve been? I’ve been looking for you.”
Her dream shattered in an instant. Angelina froze and turned around, finding a girl who had no right to be there.
“Milly Asteara...”
The final boss, Milly Asteara. Her cool, unreadable eyes fixed squarely on Angelina. A bead of cold sweat slid down her back. Her heart thudded, hard enough to hurt.
Why...? Why was she here? It was supposed to be Gilbert.
As though reading the doubt plain on her face, Milly’s lips curved in a faint smile. “You’re careless. A reaction like that is as good as admitting you’ve got something to hide.”
Angelina’s face twisted as if she wanted to swear. But by the time she realized that only made her look guiltier, it was already too late. Milly murmured something under her breath, and a soundproofing barrier snapped into place around them. The click-click of loafers approaching made Angelina’s heart race faster.
“It was you, wasn’t it? You’re the one who made Brima do that.”
A sharp intake of breath escaped Angelina’s throat. That idiot actually blurted it out?
If Angelina’s involvement had leaked from anywhere, it could only have been from Brima. The moment that thought registered, fury rose in Angelina’s gut. She could not forgive it. Brima should have stayed silent. Instead, she’d opened her mouth and made everything worse.
Unforgivable! That stupid girl! I’ll ruin her family!
She clenched her fists and glared at Milly with lethal intensity. Brima would pay. Angelina would make her and her whole household understand the terror of defying someone who knew everything about this world.
But first, I have to deal with this woman before Gilbert arrives. He was surely on his way to the garden right now, thinking of Angelina. There was no time to dally over Milly.
Angelina snorted and pinched her brows together. “All right, then. So, what are you going to do about it?” Angelina’s words dripped with mockery, meant to flaunt her composure.
“You seem awfully sure of yourself,” Milly said evenly.
“Of course. Even if that poverty-stricken girl dared to say my name, who would ever believe her?” Angelina hadn’t taken this risk without a fallback. She had her safeguards in place, guarantees that nothing could touch her. “The culprit is Brima, plain and simple. Do you understand? There’s not a shred of proof tying me to her orders.”
“My, is that so?”
“The law is clear: Suspicion isn’t enough for punishment. And Grandor is indulgent with nobles, besides. Brima’s testimony will be smothered and forgotten in no time.”
Milly’s lips moved faintly, but she had no words to counter with. Angelina smirked. The final boss had clearly realized there was no way to bring her to justice. The pitiful look on her face was too delicious, and Angelina let out a high, triumphant laugh. To see that stupid woman recognize her own helplessness was exquisite.
“Ah ha ha! And let me throw your own words back at you—you’re the careless one here. You really think raising a soundproofing barrier was clever? Idiot. If anyone else had overheard this, you might’ve had evidence. As it stands, you’ve trapped yourself.”
“...”
“See? Nothing to say! You’ve been muttering under your breath this whole time. What, are those supposed to be excuses? Hey...”
It was just then, as Angelina spat the words, that it happened. Her vision was suddenly drowned in a blinding white glare, forcing her to shield her eyes. Squinting against the painful brilliance, she managed to open them a crack and saw something she could not believe.
What? Behind Milly Asteara, a massive magic circle had appeared. What... What is that?
But no one else was there to answer her unspoken question.
The only person who might have—Milly herself—just stood there, staring directly at Angelina, lips moving in steady rhythm. With each word she spoke, smaller magic circles shimmered into existence around her, until Angelina finally realized what it was.
“An incantation?”
Correct. Milly Asteara hadn’t been muttering empty protests at all. She had been chanting a spell, continuously, all this time.
No way. You’ve got to be kidding. This girl... Angelina could only stand frozen as the thought surfaced in her mind. Impossible. No mere human should be capable of something like this. I have to run!
For a human to use magic, there is a set procedure: raise a wand and speak the incantation. It might sound simple, but it is a trap many novices fall into. Magic is far more intricate than it appears. Even the slightest deviation of a few centimeters in the wand’s movement is enough to cause failure, and when it comes to chanting, precision alone is not enough. The tone and speed of one’s voice must be perfectly controlled at every step.
I have to run...so why...?
For this reason, spells requiring long incantations are said to be cast by only a handful of people in the entire world.
The famed Count of Magic, Neil Franster, once said: “Twenty seconds. That is the limit of what a human can chant. But if anyone were to go beyond that, maintaining perfect clarity and accuracy for longer...”
Why won’t...my legs move?
“...then that being would no longer be human. And the only sane response would be to turn tail and flee.”
“What was that you called me? ‘Careless’?”
By now, nearly a full minute had passed. After chanting for far longer than any normal human could dream of, Milly stood encircled by a host of floating magic circles, glowing in the air around her.