“Ah, this is a predicament.

In the moonlit garden, the Crown Prince and the pink-haired Baroness lock eyes. The moment I saw them, I thought, ‘I’ve seen this before.’

‘But what is a still?’ I pondered. As soon as I did, memories from my past life surged back.

‘This is the world of a romance smartphone app that I played in my previous life; I recognized that fact.

I am Mireille Gasstark, the daughter of a marquis. Possessing a spirited beauty with blonde hair and blue eyes, I am the fiancée of Crown Prince Judrich Floren. In the ‘main route’, where the Crown Prince becomes the target of conquest, I play the role of the villainess obstructing the heroine’s love path.

Watching from a distance as the Crown Prince holds the hand of the Baroness and whispers something with a melting charm, I mutter, ‘Not interested.’

The heroine of this game is Isla, a commoner-turned-baroness adopted by the Donovan Baron family. On the first day of the noble academy, she has a fateful encounter with Crown Prince Judrich Floren.

And thus, I, Mireille, out of jealousy for Isla becoming close to the Crown Prince, engage in various malicious acts such as bullying, theft, and extortion, hindering the romantic path.

…In the end, at the graduation party, the Crown Prince declares the annulment of our engagement, and I am abandoned by the king and queen, deemed ‘unsuitable as the Crown Prince’s consort.’ That’s my role.

Shocked and confused, Mireille is sent to a convent, closing her lifetime in recovery and prayer. (Like hell, I will!)

It seems that regaining memories from my past life has made me foul-mouthed.

I, Mireille, am the villainess, in other words, a stepping stone and a pawn.

Every time Mireille bullies Isla and puts her in a crisis, the distance between Isla and the Crown Prince shortens, and friendship eventually turns into true love.

(Friendship, huh… Considering they’re holding hands and chatting in the night garden, they’ve long surpassed mere friendship, I think. Despite being engaged to me, well, well, well.)

Where can you find friendship in the sweet smiles Crown Prince Judrich Floren directs at Isla? It definitely looks like a more advanced relationship.

Being used as a stepping stone is unbearable. So, pretending I didn’t see their secret meeting, I decided to silently withdraw from the garden.

(Oh well. Since I regained my memories right after choosing the route, let’s consider it a stroke of luck in misfortune.)

Today is April 1st.

We are now second-year students at Noble Academy.

And currently, the advancement party is taking place in the school hall.

In the game, the advancement party for the second year is a crucial event for determining the conquest route. By selecting the ‘partner to leave the party with and go to the garden together,’ the route is decided.

—The heroine chose the Crown Prince route.

The still from earlier appears after a scene where the Crown Prince confides his troubles to Isla. If Isla chooses the line, ‘I respect His Highness and will always be on your side!’ the Crown Prince thanks her with a handshake and a smile. That’s the still.

Immediately after, the villainess Mireille, who had witnessed their secret meeting, interrupts—a happening event leading to a showdown triggered by the clichéd and intrusive comment, ‘My, my, Lady Isla. You seem quite intimate with His Highness, Judrich. Shouldn’t you be aware of your social standing?”

Of course, I won’t commit such foolishness now.

If I had regained my memories from my past life just a step later, I think I would have intervened. I had witnessed the still from the shadows of the bushes, and I had been tailing the two who had left the party venue… It was dangerous, indeed.

I don’t need that cheating guy, Judrich. I’ll give him to Isla. Besides, Judrich wasn’t my ‘favorite’ at all.

The only one I absolutely supported in this game was ‘Noel’!

(…I see! So, if I’ve been reincarnated in this world, does that mean I can go meet the living Noel!?)

Thinking about that, my motivation suddenly increased!!

(But, right now, it’s not a situation where I can see the face of the living Noel.)

Mireille and Noel live in completely different worlds, and there was no connection in the game. Plus, considering the harsh future awaiting me, I can’t afford to be infatuated with Noel.

—The future is prepared for me. It involves the annulment of the engagement by Crown Prince Judrich. I don’t mind the annulment. However, it would be bad if it was taken in the direction of ‘annulment due to issues on Mireille’s side.’ If it becomes my fault, there’s no avoiding leading an unfortunate life with outcomes like being sent to a convent, imprisoned, making compensation claims to the Gasstark family (my home), and being disowned by my family.

In my past life, returning a product purchased online depended on whether it was ‘customer convenience’ or ‘company responsibility.’

For the sake of my free future, I must secure the ‘annulment due to the Crown Prince’s responsibility’!!

Now, how should I go about it?

As I pondered over my thoughts, I returned to the party venue.

The moment I returned to the party venue, three noble girls from my entourage approached with worried expressions. They had seen me chasing after Isla and the Crown Prince with a changed expression earlier, so they were concerned. However, their true intentions were not friendship; they simply wanted to curry favor with the leading house of the three major factions in the country, the Gasstrak family.

“Lady Mireille, I cannot forgive that, Baroness Isla!”

“Me neither! Despite being born a lowly commoner, she’s too familiar with His Highness.”

“Isn’t it about time we taught Miss Isla a lesson about her place?”

The noble girls glared with wicked smiles. It was about to become a bullying moment…

However, I reprimanded them.

“Stop thinking about such trivial matters.”

The girls around me were bewildered. Mireille, who always glared at Isla, had suddenly become calm, and they seemed surprised.

I am in a state of unshaken self-discipline; I want to cut ties with the Crown Prince. So, I must not bully Isla under any circumstances.

Fortunately, in the first year, I hadn’t engaged in bullying; I had only made a few sarcastic remarks and glared. In the game, serious bullying, such as stealing Isla’s textbooks or tearing her uniform, only began in the second year… in other words, after today’s advancement party. Just in time, it’s safe!

“I, Mireille Gasstark, won’t allow any harassment towards Miss Isla.”

If my entourage starts harassing Isla and it is misunderstood as ‘Mireille pulling the strings behind the scenes,’ that would be troublesome. I need to make it clear.

“But… Mireile-sama.”

The entourage seemed dissatisfied with Mireille’s sudden change. Of course, I won’t forget to reassure them.

—Strategy No. 2, ‘Increase Mireille’s Allies.’

“Sophie-sama, Claire-sama, Erin-sama,” I called each of their names and smiled at them.

“I understand that you expressed your concern for me, and, of course, I appreciate it. Thank you always.”

Thinking back, this was the first time I had expressed gratitude to them. Just that was enough to shake them intensely.

“If you treat Miss Isla harshly, someone will inevitably speak ill of you. That makes me sad. ‘The villainess’ is enough for me alone. I understand that some students have resentment towards me for taking an intimidating attitude towards Isla. It’s sad, but that’s the reality.”

“W-What’s wrong, Mireille-sama?”

“Mireille-sama has been… quite…”

“With all due respect, it seems like you’ve changed.”

Yeah. I’ve changed. I just installed my past life a moment ago.

Phew. I let out a troubled sigh.

“The truth is, I… witnessed Crown Prince Judrich and Isla intensely loving each other in the garden just now.”

“I-I-Intensely loving each other!?”

Actually, they were just holding hands, but I embellished a bit.

“Yes. Even though I had suspected it before, seeing them affectionately together like that… Well, there’s no room for me to intervene between them anymore. So, there is no longer jealousy or impatience in my heart.”

I displayed a lonely smile.

“I couldn’t hold back His Highness’s heart, a miserable me. …Even so, will you continue to be my friends?”

“Mireille-sama!”

With a moving expression, they took my hands.

“Of course. We will always be Mireille-sama’s friends.”

“I was deeply moved by the depth of Mireille-sama’s heart.”

“Despite your suffering, you still care about us… Mireille-sama is truly kind.”

The previous Mireille was intimidating, and they were just buttering her up. From today on, I want to aim for a healthy friendship.

“I, even more, cannot forgive Miss Isla now!”

“Me neither!”

“Hurting Mireille-sama is truly hateful.”

“Thank you, everyone. But please, handle it peacefully. …There have been too many things, and I’m quite tired, so I’ll take my leave soon. See you tomorrow.”

I decided to exit before the party ended. As I finished my greetings to notable acquaintances and tried to leave—

“Not even a word to me. Don’t you think you’ve lost the manners of an engaged couple, Mireille?”

A male voice echoed from behind.

…Why are you bothering me?

With that question in mind, I turned around, and sure enough, there was the Crown Prince. His dazzling golden hair, gently wavy like sunlight, and sky-blue eyes Truly a ‘prince’ with a beautiful posture, just like in the game. Behind him, the petite, pink-haired Baroness Isla peeked out anxiously.

Why are you talking to me?

Didn’t I pretend not to see?

You two just enjoy yourselves!

While hiding my crude thoughts behind a smile, I tilted my head, holding a fan to my mouth.

“Crown Prince, where have you been? I couldn’t see you, so I couldn’t even make my exit, and I apologize for that.”

“Don’t play dumb! You were probably spying on me and Isla in the garden, right!?”

Oh, was it that obvious?

But, Your Highness, was it okay to openly declare your secret meeting? The gallery is buzzing with whispers like, “The Crown Prince and Isla in the garden?” and “I wonder what they were doing.”

“…His Highness and Lady Isla seemed to be having an important conversation alone, so I just turned back in silence.”

“What!? Don’t make baseless assumptions. It’s not that she invited me; I asked her if she could ‘listen to my troubles.’ There’s nothing suspicious about it!”

“Yes, Mireille-sama! We were just chatting, really!”

His Highness and Isla’s lines are the same as in the game.

The dialogue between the two of them after Mireille confronts Isla at a chaotic event and yells, “How dare you seduce my fiancée, His Highness Judrich!”

However, the situation is completely different, and now it looks like the two of them just self-destructed because of their annoying relationship in public.

“Crown Prince, raising your voice on a bright day celebrating our advancement is out of place. Besides, casually mentioning ‘troubles’ is not preferable. You are the Crown Prince burdened with the country, after all.”

“Wha…”

The Crown Prince stumbled, looking frustrated. This guy is painful. I can never choose such a man.

“Well then, goodbye to both of you.”

With the grace of a lady, I finally left the hall.