“H-how could such a thing…”
A lone little girl sat in her own room, devastated. She was so devastated that, if a person that knew the usual her saw her right now, they probably wouldn’t believe what they were seeing. The gold threads that seemed to flow all the way down to her waist were dropped onto the floor and her clothes were getting wrinkled but, to the girl right now, she was too occupied to be concerned about such matters.
Belfreya Alunst is a 9 year-old little girl. Born into the aristocracy, up until now, she has lived a privileged life of no inconveniences, a typical noble lady. With parents that spoil her, she easily gets everything she wants. With a well-proportioned appearance, she has been predicted to become quite a beauty in the future.
Due to living in such an environment, she grew up to have a selfish and haughty personality. If there were any servants she didn’t like, she would ask her parents to fire them. If there was a dress she liked, she would sometimes arbitrarily decide to buy every single copy of said dress. If someone has a lower social status than her, she would treat them as slaves even if they are the same age as her. In these nine years, Belfreya has done whatever she wants so much that it would be impossible to count everything she did.
However——that was all until yesterday when she remembered her previous life’s knowledge.
“For me, to be in that thing called a “game”…and as a villain…”
To the Belfreya who, up until now, had never heard of the term “game” or possessed any knowledge about villains, these memories were too sudden. Based off of her recalled knowledge, this is probably what was known as her past life’s memory, she thought. And, fortunate or unfortunate, Belfreya only recalled her previous life’s knowledge; she still had her own consciousness.
Still, due to the large amount of recalled knowledge and memories, her own self-consciouness was quite stimulated. Among everything, the thing that astonished her the most was the fact that the world she was in was actually an otome game from her previous life. In addition, there existed another her with the same name, circumstances, and appearance. As the Heroine’s rival.
“Villains, they’re the bad guys…”
To the Belfreya that now knew her previous life’s morality, she couldn’t deny that what she had done up until now wasn’t exactly that. Thinking with her past values, she was undoubtably an outrageous young lady. No doubt that she was a villain that people held grudges against and hated. Three strikes.
To put Belfreya’s current state of mind in words, it would be “Eh, seriously?”. To herself, she thought that she had not done anything wrong these nine years. Something like servants, even if you fire them, they were quickly replaced with new servants. A 9 year-old kid like her didn’t understand the importance of money. As nobility, she thought it was natural for her to stand above others.
Finding out for the first time that it was not natural, she was shocked. Hence, she understood why she was the villain in this game-like world. Indeed, if it was her, she would have unmistakably continued living her life like the game dictated. For this reason, Belfreya accepted this crazy knowledge about games and such.
However——
“I admit it. Certainly, I was the villain. This heroine girl, while having a lower ranking than me, ended up in a good relationship with my fiancé. If it was me, I would definitely have harassed her. Because she’s a heroine, her face too might be prettier than mine. Her personality should be good too.”
The trigger that caused Belfreya to remember her past life was the moment when she met her one-year older fiancé, Syulein Edward, yesterday. In that one moment, while thinking about how it was her first time meeting such a beautiful person, her heart started racing and she was assaulted by déjà vu. From there on, the knowledge kept flowing into her.
Having suddenly fainted, until now, Belfreya had been resting in bed. After organizing all her new knowledge, she had involuntarily fell prostrate onto the floor. And, after putting her own thoughts into words, her resolve strengthened.
Until now, Belfreya Alunst has never once lost. However, in the future, she understood that she would have her fiancé stolen, be expelled from school, and casted out of society. In other words, she would be headed straight down for the loser dog life. Towards such a future, something inside her started to flare up.
“Like I’ll just sit around and give in just because of that! I’m definitely not going to accept it! If I get serious, I’m definitely going to win! Just watch, my eternal rival! I’ll beat you in everything, looks and popularity!”
Even if she reflected on everything she did up until now, Belfreya’s pride was still high as usual. It is said that people with high pride also have large ambitions to reach the top. In other words, she extremely hates to lose.
Grieving over her sad future or avoiding the Heroine, such running-away attitude is inexcusable. I’ll fight the Heroine face-to-face and crush her. Her hatred of losing has now locked onto this unseen Heroine (powerful enemy) as a rival that she will bet her own life to defeat.
Of course, now that she knows about ethics, she’s going to put the rabid dog (villain role) to sleep. The rival she was aiming for won’t be defeated by such a level. She [the Heroine] is what her previous life would have called “cheat”. To be able to compete with such an opponent, she shook with excitement. And, towards her own future of winning against such a person, she was extremely excited. Right now, Belfreya was at the shiniest moment of her life.
“With that decided, I have to polish myself. For the decisive battle seven years later, I have to do everything I can to the most of my abilities. Right now, the Heroine is also polishing her fangs and raising her charm after all. Fufufu, I’m burning up now…”
While seething with a spirit that couldn’t possibly be considered a 9 year-old little girl’s, Belfreya lifted the corner of her mouth. Like this, her training aimed to overthrow the Heroine began.
＊＊＊＊＊＊
“Edward-sama! I have a request!”
“……Lady Alunst. You seem to be full of energy for someone that collapsed the other day.”
“Yes, I’m full of energy! If I was unwell, I wouldn’t be able to undergo training after all. From now on, I’m going to take good care of my health!”
“I-I see. ……By the way, regarding the matter about the engagement the other day though, let me say this ahead of time. I have no interest in——”
“Oh, yeah. Edward-sama, I have a request.”
“No, let me finish what I was say——”
“Please tutor me! Edward-sama, I believe, according to the setting, you’re very smart. Make me into the school’s, no, this country’s top talented woman!”
“Listen to what I’m saying!”
Putting romance on the backburner and having first resolved to polished herself, Belfreya’s action power was incredible. Although she had the knowledge, she was still a 9 year-old little girl. Her romance outlook was now based off of the otome game this world was based off of. In other words, she thought that, if a girl’s statuses weren’t high, no guy would find her attractive.
In addition, for someone like herself who was on the highway to villainy, she decided that she lacked the charm necessary to raise the favorability meters. For the Belfreya right now, no matter how nice she was to Syulein, she couldn’t go beyond friendship. After all, she recalled many times that in the game, there was no way to become lovers while at base status.
Hence, she thought to get closer to her fiancé, Syulein, after she raised her status. Raising the favorability meter while training, such halfhearted and naive attempts would only cause her to lose to her rival. The Heroine is a terrifying opponent that, not just at first sight, but, within the short time period of school-life, was able to capture him. Although Belfreya was a villain, she had been engaged to him for seven years; the Heroine is an extremely tough opponent to be able to kick her down. She swallowed hard at the enormity of the Heroine.
Despite that, completely avoiding contact with him would be like throwing away her advantage. So then, what should she do? While thinking that, Belfreya decided to involve him by making him help with her training. Inside the game’s school, Syulein was the student council president, the person that adorned the chief position. Just the man worthy to stand next to that cheat Heroine. It would be a waste not to use a person like him.
“What do you mean by studying? Rather, why me?”
“Why, you say. Edward-sama is brilliant enough to be called a child prodigy. In the future, you’ll be a popular person that excels in both academics and athletics. If such a person was nearby, isn’t it normal to ask him for help?”
“Wha…… E-even if you try to suck up to me, it won’t work!”
“It’s the truth! For sure! Definitely! It’s already been decided!”
“O-okay.”
Losing to Belfreya’s overpowering energy, Syulein had no choice but to agree. This arranged engagement to this one-year younger girl was one-sidedly decided by his parents. After having heard this girl’s rumors, Syulein had even felt hatred. Upon meeting her though, this happened.
“Therefore, please tutor me! For the sake of defeating my rival, I must become a beautiful and intelligent siren-class girl capable of ruining a country!”
“Hey, it’s not to become more fitting as my fiancée? Also, that goal. What kind of rival makes you go that far to defeat?”
“My rival is my rival. Another name you can use is Heroine. She is my arch-enemy that I must defeat even if I have to bet my entire life on it.”
“I can feel my head hurting…”
This was how Belfreya, (9 years-old lady) who is currently burning up like a hot-blooded protagonist, and Syulein, (10 years-old worldly-wise man) who had originally been troubled over their engagement but is now troubled even more over his fiancée, finally got acquainted with each other.
After this event, with a very unlady-like energy, Belfreya chased after him every day with a “Tutor me——!”. He gave in after three days.
＊＊＊＊＊＊
Belfreya (10 years-old), Syulein (11 years-old)
“Hey, why are you collapsed in front of my house?”
“U-umm, just for a little exercise, I ran from my house to Edward-sama’s house about 20 times back-and-forth…”
“Are you an idiot!? You’re really an idiot, aren’t you!? You’re not satisfied with just studying!?”
“You shouldn’t look down on the Heroine’s specifications. She should be familiar with every sport there is with good reflexes. Thus, for me to surpass her, I must break through my own limits and climb over this wall…!”
“Exactly just how tenacious can you be against this rival? Do you have some kind of grudge?”
“Fufufu, I have no grudge. I am her lifelong rival and she is my lifelong rival. She is the existence that I can throw my everything at. This chest’s ringing and exaltation, she is the only one who can take it on!”
“……I’m her fiancé, right? Since she’s engrossed with someone else, should I stop her? Wait, it’s not like I really wanted this engagement… Besides, the other person is a girl. But, somehow it feels different……”
filler
Belfreya (11 years-old), Syulein (12 years-old)
“……Hey, what are you doing this time?”
“Ah, Edward-sama. Good day, would you like to buy one?”
“Buy, you… So, why is a noble young lady selling bread in the town market?”
“Fufufu, it’s obviously to widen my view. The Heroine also does not discriminate against commoners and is a benevolent person that treasures equality. That commoner-like contrasting aspect, to say it is one of her weapons is not an exaggeration. Such a weapon, there’s no reason why I can’t obtai——”
“Listen. To. What. I’m. Saying!”
“Kyaa! To me who is aiming to become a beauty capable of ruining a country, don’t dig your fingers into my face—!”
“Are you an idiot!? No, you were an idiot! What are you going to do if you get kidnapped!?”
“I-it’s okay. I bowed down to my parents to get their permission to work and there are private soldiers secretly tailing me. I too possess full mastery of the “repelling molester” method. The Heroine is a pure virgin with the angel attribute. That’s why, I too must also have the angel attribute to fight face-to-face with her. I won’t let anyone touch my virginity——”
“Divine punishment——!!”
“Ouch——!!”
filler
Belfreya (12 years-old), Syulein (13 years-old)
“Wo-wow… Edward-sama, look at this! It’s such a beautiful lake.”
“Ahh, you’re right. Apparently, this lake’s water is so clear that it’s been said to “house a water goddess”……hey, why are you suddenly praying?”
“——Make me into a goddess too. Make me into a goddess too. ……Ah, well, since there’s a goddess here, I thought she could share various things. While we’re at it, I’ll also scoop up some water to use on my skin.”
“……hey, do you know the word “atmosphere”? Today, you’re on a tête-à-tête outing with me. Don’t prioritize skin care.”
“Ah, there’s a fish! It looks good for maintaining fresh and healthy skin! Wait please, today’s lunch. I’ll use these survival techniques I forged to compete with the Heroine who can survive in any environment through her guts to—!”
“…………”
filler
Belfreya (13 years-old), Syulein (14 years-old)
“Hey, your calculation here is wrong.”
“Eh, really? ……Is this formula good for here?”
“Right. Next is this problem but there’s a little trap with it. The difference depends on this one part here whether you see it or not…”
“Umm, difference. Difference, you say…”
“What’s wrong? Weren’t you aiming to be beautiful and intelligent? Is this the limit for Belfreya’s head?”
“Y-you said it! The Heroine always has tenacity and is an existence that never gives up. No matter what happens, her rival, me, won’t give up either!”
“…I see.”
“Huh? What’s wrong, Edward-sama? You look kind of happy.”
“It’s nothing.”
filler
Belfreya (14 years-old), Syulein (15 years-old)
“Fufufu, I finally get my debutante debut. Now then, let’s show them the results of my training!”
“Bell, you… Even though you’re already engaged, you intend to be infatuated with some guy?”
“That’s a big misunderstanding, Edward-sama. My target is the young and lively same-sex!”
“That’s even worse!?”
“The Heroine is surrounded by many friends and is the owner of a beautiful and sometimes helpful flower garden. I have comprehended all the recent female trends and prepared invitation tickets to a popular snack shop. I will definitely catch those girls’ hearts. ……I have to apologize one more time for all the horrible things I did until I was 9 years-old. That’s why, now is the time for me to unleash a little of this status that I trained for five years!”
“Just a little?”
“I have to save my full power for the last boss, the Heroine…”
“Yes, yes. Well, good luck. Your specifications have definitely become higher and your personality is a little that……Make sure to let them see the current Belfreya Alunst.”
“Ehehehe. ……Roger!”
filler
——Like this, the months slowly went by.
Translation Note:
Cheat: She’s not using this in the negative meaning. In Japan, the word “cheat” has the same meaning as overpowered or skillful. She’s basically saying the Heroine is extremely talented.