Project Necro is an official initiative by Re:Library.

With a *pop*, the world seemed to burst open, and I opened my eyes.
I could see the gods of the heavens.

(*Wait, is this heaven? No, no—those are just paintings on the canopy of the bed. They look like something painted by a Renaissance master. Wow, this place is seriously fancy.*)

What am I thinking? Where even am I?

“Ekaterina!”
“Eep!”

Hearing her name called from right beside her, Ekaterina turned her head and felt relieved.
But the person inside her nearly jumped out of her skin.

(*Wha—what an insanely beautiful man! I’ve never seen anyone like this in real life, not even actors! He’s so totally my type it hurts—like, I could actually feel my heart explode!*)

Standing beside the bed was, of course, her favorite character from her previous life—Aleksei Jurnova. Light blue hair, light blue eyes, and even his trademark monocle, he had it all.

*But he’s so much more stunning than he ever looked on the game screen!*

That flawless white skin. And those eyes—“light blue” doesn’t even begin to cover it. It’s like paraiba tourmaline, that neon blue gemstone that seems to glow from within. His slanted eyes gave him an intelligent look; his nose was perfectly shaped; his slightly thin lips, well-balanced.

From an adult woman’s perspective, he still had traces of youthful slenderness, but his body had already matured, showing the sharp edges of a grown man. Not “cute”—handsome.

(*Wow, I’m analyzing him way too closely right now!*)

“Are you all right? Does it hurt anywhere? If I lost you too, I…”

His voice sounded pained—more pained than hers —and that snapped Ekaterina back to her senses.
*I’ve made Onii-sama worry again.*

(*This is a chance! A chance to fix our relationship! All I have to do is act cute and rely on him a little—Onii-chan will be so happy!*)

*…Wait, what?*

(*Ah, so my personality’s split… I’ve got two sets of thoughts running at once…*)

*My head hurts.*
Before she knew it, she was holding her forehead.

“Ekaterina… Should I call the doctor? Just nod if you can hear me, please.”

*I need to tell Onii-sama that I’m fine. But, after putting up a wall for so long, I couldn’t possibly bring myself to speak.*

(*Okay, then—let’s just move the hand on our forehead sideways, yeah?*)

She shifted her hand from her forehead to the side—ending up reaching toward her brother.

Aleksei’s eyes widened.
Then, realizing it, Ekaterina’s hand trembled slightly.
Noticing that, Aleksei took her hand gently and wrapped it in both of his.

*Large, warm hands. …Comfortable.*

Ekaterina turned her face toward him and met his eyes.

“Onii-sama… I’m sorry… for making you worry.”

Aleksei blinked in surprise for a moment, then smiled—so gently, with uncontainable joy shining through.

“What are you saying? I’m the one at fault. I shouldn’t have dragged you around the capital on your first visit.”

*That’s… right. Before arriving at the ducal estate in the capital, Onii-sama had kindly taken me to see the magic academy I’d be enrolling in.*
*But the moment I saw the academy building beyond the gate, something inside me surged up—and I’d lost all sense of myself.*

(*The academy gate—that’s the one from the otome game’s opening! So that’s what triggered my memories. Which means this must be the duke’s estate. No wonder it’s so fancy.*)

*Memories from a previous life, is it.*
(*Unbelievable as it sounds,*)
*It seems that I, Yukimura Rina, a thirty-something corporate drone, have apparently been reincarnated as the villainess, Ekaterina.*
(*Wait, doesn’t that mean I’m headed straight for doom? There’s even a route where the whole empire gets destroyed!*)

“EH!?”

Startled, Ekaterina flinched, and Aleksei quickly let go of her hand.

“I’m sorry, Ekaterina. I should really call the doctor.”
“No, Onii-sama. I am not ill. Please, don’t call anyone.”
“But—”
“Instead, could you hold my hand… A little longer?”

Hearing that, Aleksei’s face lit up with joy.

“Of course. If that’s what you want, I’ll do anything.”

When he smiled like that, he looked less like a composed nobleman and more like a boy—his monocle suddenly out of place.

(*Oh my god, Onii-chan just got all deredere! …Uggh, cute! And good for you, Ekaterina, finally breaking that wall!*
*All right, I swear I’ll never let you two meet a bad end. And I’m never dying from overwork again, either.*
*I’ll smash every doom flag! Let’s all be happy together!*)

“O-, ow…”
“Ekaterina!”

(*Whoops, my bad. First things first—let’s deal with this split personality thing…*)