Chapter 18:The Villainous Ladies Quartet… Aftermath… (Part 1)

――A month and a half has passed since the attempted explosion incident.

I, Mireille G. L. O.R. i. O.S.A., the Countess, am completely exhausted from this unfamiliar life…

(…No, no, no. It’s ridiculous, no matter how you think about it. Why did I, a villainess, end up getting a countess title? In this world, it’s supposed to be the female lead, Isla, who rises in status like a climbing fish.)

However, Isla, after being demoted from a baron’s daughter to a commoner, ended up on the guillotine after a splendid downfall as a traitor to the nation.

…I thought that as long as I could support my favorite, I didn’t need anything else. Yet, I am being tossed about by the rapidly changing life.

“Mireille-sama. Your change of clothes is ready,”

A maid’s voice brought me back to my senses.

Here I am, in the dressing room of my mansion, in the middle of changing clothes before going out.

“Oh dear, I was daydreaming. Thank you.”

Today, I’m going to meet my old friends from school. I left Noel to watch the house and boarded the carriage alone.

＊

The place I’m heading to is the townhouse of the Crestdi Count family, where one of my old school friends, Erin Cresdy, resides.

(…Initially, they were just “Mireille’s villainess entourage A, B, and C.”

But after I regained my memories of my previous life, we became a close-knit group of four. How nostalgic.)

Even though we graduated only a few months ago, school life feels like a distant past.

Sophie Neil, the marquis’s daughter.

Claire Emald, the count’s daughter.

Erin Cresdy, the count’s daughter.

In the game, these three were the fiancées of the three capture targets and the villainesses of each route.

In other words, Sophie was the villainess of the knight commander’s son, Guile’s route; Claire was the villainess of the prime minister’s son, Claude Cromwell’s route; and Erin, whom I’m visiting now, was the villainess of the viscount’s son, Isaac Orton’s route.

However, this world mainly progressed along the crown prince’s route, so these three avoided ruin and nurtured their relationships with their respective fiancés. They also became kind and considerate women compared to when they were just “entourage.”

I’ve heard they all get along well with their fiancés.

Today, we are having a garden party at Erin’s mansion, the first girls’ gathering since graduation. Just thinking about seeing my friends again slightly eases my accumulated fatigue.

＊

“It’s been a while, Mireille! Sophie and Claire just arrived too,” Erin greeted me with a smile and guided me to the courtyard where the garden party was prepared.

“Oh, Mireille!”

“We missed you!”

As we reached the courtyard, Sophie and Claire walked up to me with smiles.

The reunion of the former villainous ladies quartet. By the way, the days of addressing each other with honorifics and formal language are long gone. Since midway through our second year, we started calling each other by name, and the formality naturally faded away.

Seeing my nostalgic three friends, a smile naturally blossomed on my face.
“I’m so glad to see you all looking well!”

But the three of them looked at me with concern.

“Mireille… you seem a bit tired.”

“Yes, today’s Mireille doesn’t look quite well.”

“A lot has happened, hasn’t it…”

For some reason, the three of them got sentimental. ―Why?

“The incident with Prince Judrich must have been tough, Mireille.”

“To think he would conspire with a neighboring country to commit treason. Such a despicable man…!”

“And that woman was his accomplice too. Just thinking about that pink-haired girl makes me furious.”

As they recalled, the three of them seemed to get irritated.

“If it was going to come to this, we should have thoroughly punished those two while we were still in school!”

“Really! We should have crushed them until they were irreparable.”

“Yes. We should have nipped the treason in the bud immediately…”

With their eyes gleaming fiercely, the three of them radiated anger.

Wow! They look like villainesses…

“C-calm down, everyone. It’s in the past now, and it’s all settled. The trouble was prevented, after all. This incident even improved diplomacy, and I’ve heard it heightened cooperation among the nobility within the country.”

“After a storm comes a calm,” I said, and Erin nodded as if to calm her anger.

“…Well, you’re right. As Mireille said, not everything was bad.”

Sophie and Claire agreed.

“That’s true. Mireille was granted the countess title because of the Judrich incident’s resolution. I’m proud of you as a friend.”

“And Erin’s fiancé, Isaac, was also awarded by His Majesty!”

With Claire’s remark, Erin looked around awkwardly.

“Isaac disabled the bomb Judrich planted, didn’t he?”

“Thanks to his achievement, he became a special chemistry doctor at the Royal Research Institute, right? Congratulations!”

Erin seemed somewhat uncomfortable.

“W-well, we don’t need to talk about him… Anyway, everyone, let’s start the party.”

Erin urged us to sit.

Seeing Erin try to avoid talking about Isaac, I suddenly realized―

(Damn. Did I inadvertently steal the title that Erin’s fiancé, Isaac Orton, was supposed to get…?)

Recalling the game scenario’s setting, I felt incredibly awkward.

(Have I caused Erin to fall out with Isaac…?)

As the garden party started, I felt a cold sweat on my back, thinking about the scenario setting.