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I sit before the large vanity mirror and take a long, careful look at my reflection.
Beautiful—no, *very* beautiful, if I do say so myself. My blue hair, something I never could’ve had in my previous life, is a deep lapis lazuli hue, naturally wavy, and flows down to my waist. My skin is white like porcelain, and my eyes are tinged with violet, like tanzanite. A straight nose, small lips that are slightly full—kind of on the sensual side.

And my figure… yeah, it’s growing into something quite outrageous.
At fifteen, I’m honestly more impressive than I was in my late twenties in my past life. What cup size even are these? And still growing? My waist, on the other hand, is slimmer than before.

Yeah…
Not really fit in with refreshing sunlight, am I…

At an age when I should still be a budding flower, I look absurdly mature.
Too mature, even. There’s no trace of girlish charm left.
Even if I were standing in some eerie old castle with thunder cracking behind me, I’d hold my own against the dramatic background. A striking beauty with presence.
Rather than smiling sweetly, I’d look better smirking with just one corner of my lips or letting out a high, confident laugh.
Well, it can’t be helped—I *am* the villainess, after all!

“You look beautiful, my lady.”
“Thank you, Mina…”

Ekaterina gave a feeble thanks as Mina Freye, the maid standing beside her, spoke in a matter-of-fact manner.
A cool beauty with purple bob hair who suits the duke’s maid uniform perfectly, Mina has been Ekaterina’s personal attendant ever since they came to the imperial capital. She always spoke in a mechanical manner and had a blank expression, giving off an impersonal, doll-like impression, which had confused her at first.

“Are you nervous?”
“A little, yes.”

I press a hand to my cheek and sigh. The day has finally come.

Today, I’ll be leaving the ducal estate in the imperial capital with Aleksei and moving into the dormitory at the Magic Academy.
Tomorrow, I officially enroll.

(*I know there’s no point freaking out now, but my hands won’t stop shaking…*)

What awaits me at the academy are the Villainess Doom Flags.
And worse—the *Empire Doom Flag* that triggers if the heroine fails a certain event.

I’ve already taken care of the villainess flag: I told Aleksei straight up that I won’t marry the prince, and he accepted it.
From now on, I’ll stay out of the prince’s and the heroine’s business as much as possible. And I’ll *never* bully the heroine. That should be enough to break the flag.

But the one that truly scares me is the empire’s doom flag. I have no control over whether the heroine clears her events.
So, even if things go off-script from the game, I’l have no choice but to do what *I* can. It’s the reason why I’ve been working hard on my magic control lessons. Ekaterina’s attribute is earth, and I’m not sure how useful that’ll be for events, but my teachers praised my magic power highly, and I’ve gotten to the point where I can handle all the assignments given to me.
Well, in all honesty, I also simply enjoyed using magic—it’s incredibly fun that I might’ve been absorbed in it.

I did kind of hope that maybe I’d have cheat-level magic thanks to reincarnation bonuses or something, but nope. Too bad.

Anyway, I’ve been doing all these flag countermeasures, but…
Now that it’s actually happening, I’m getting nervous about something I didn’t prepare for.

(*I’ll have to actually socialize at an academy full of nobles, won’t I…?*)

Over the past month, I’ve crammed enough academics to fake my way through the first few months. I came clean to my tutors about not having a proper education, and they helped me focus on the basic curriculum. Aleksei’s tutors were top-notch—they explained everything clearly and exactly as I needed.

But still.
It slipped my mind that student life isn’t just about studying.
What am I supposed to talk about with my peers?
I’m sure this world has its own version of popular fashion trends and idolized characters.
Yeah. I have zero knowledge of any of those. The game didn’t delve into those kinds of things.
The villainess was locked away her whole life never even met other young noblewomen.
And my past self was just a regular office worker in her thirties. Japan’s nobility system was abolished by the GHQ—so yeah, no experience there either. ¹

Forget doom flags, just starting school like this is terrifying enough.

.

That is when Mina took my hand and began to massage the base of my thumb.

“If you press here, it helps loosen the tension in your body. Try it when you’re feeling worn out.”
“Thank you. Yes… I do feel a little better.”

So this world has pressure points too, huh? Thinking so, Ekaterina smiled faintly. Just a moment ago, she’d thought a smile wouldn’t suit a villainess’ face, but laughing maniacally here would definitely make her seem insane.
Either way, despite her blunt tone and emotionless expression, Mina really was an attentive and capable maid.

“I’m glad you’ll be coming to the academy with me. Please take care of me from tomorrow on as well.”
“There’s no need to say that to a maid, my lady. You’re a duke’s daughter.”
“There’s no harm in saying it, is there?”
“My lady, you’re strange.”

Mina said that often. Ekaterina sometimes thought it was weird for a maid to call her mistress “strange,” but since she had no idea what a normal maid was like, she decided not to care.

“There are hardly any people in this country with a status as high as yours. Even at the academy, His Grace will be with you, so there’s nothing to be nervous about.”
“I… I wonder about that…”

My smile stiffened. I’d seen the “fall from grace” route in the game—relying on status was not an option. And with Aleksei around, I couldn’t afford to drag him into ruin with me!

“Are you afraid of the other young ladies? Then just ignore them—stay close to His Grace, or come back to the dorm and stay with me. I’ll protect you. Within my ability, of course.”

*“I’ll protect you.”*
Oh no—*so cool.* A cool beauty maid acting like a knight in shining armor!

Well, Mina is a maid, so “protecting” probably just meant letting me hide out in her room or something, but even that kindness warmed my heart.
And actually, that is a solid plan!
Take no shame in tactical retreat! I’d work hard to break the flags—but if things got dangerous, I’d just hole up in my room!
Student life is only three years of my whole life, anyway!

“Thank you, Mina.”

Ekaterina clasped Mina’s hand in both of hers and smiled brightly.

“I feel much better now.”

.

When I finished dressing and stepped into the entrance hall, Aleksei was waiting there.
Perhaps because he’s wearing slightly more formal clothes than usual, he looks so picturesque just standing there that I couldn’t help but stare. When he gracefully extended his right arm to me, I’m squealing in my heart while I placed my left hand upon it. It wasn’t quite holding hands or linking arms—this was *escorting,* and that alone made me giddy.

(*I’m so glad I’m alive! No—so glad I died? Or rather, that I was reborn!*)

Together we boarded the carriage and rode down the main avenue. The wheels rattled, the horses’ hooves clopped. I had ridden in the same kind of carriage on the journey from our domain to the capital, but now that my past-life memories had returned, it all felt more charming.
And the city—how beautiful it was!
A chic landscape like an old European capital stretched far into the distance—tall stone buildings, towering belfries, magnificent sculptures decorating the streets.

“Onii-sama, is that the Imperial Palace?”
“Yes, that’s right.”

The palace rising in the center of the capital was as beautiful as Cinderella’s Castle from a certain theme park.

“Oh, that’s such a big statue!”
“That’s Emperor Piotr the Great. On the next street there’s also a statue of our ancestor, Duke Sergei.”
“Would you say he resembles you?”
“Well, I’m not sure. That statue depicts him around fifty.”

I see.

“This is your first time in the capital, and yet I didn’t even take you sightseeing. I’m sorry.”
“I was the one who asked to study, remember? But Onii-sama, please do take me sightseeing someday when you have a day off. You work too hard. You need a break.”
“Yes…If that’s what you’d like, then we’ll do that. We’re almost there—are you all right?”

Ah!
I’d been so excited, I’d completely forgotten to be nervous!

“You fainted last time, remember?”
“I did, yes. Onii-sama… would you hold my hand?”

I outstretched my hand at him, and he wrapped it gently in both of his.

Ahead of the moving carriage, a great gate came into view.
It was vast, fitting for such an enormous campus—beyond it were numerous school buildings, dormitories, lecture halls, even ponds and small forests. Yes, I knew this place well.

The Magic Academy of the Jurgrahn Empire—the stage of the otome game *Infinity World: The Maiden of Salvation.*
The game’s opening began with this very gate being thrown open.

When I’d come before, the gate had been closed. Now, it stood wide open beneath a clear blue sky.

It was just a gate. Beyond it were just buildings.

“I’m all right, Onii-sama.”
“I see.”

Tomorrow was the entrance ceremony.
I would be fine. I wouldn’t lose to any doom flag.