The Villainess Carries a Strategy Guide

The Royal Academy has two tests a year. They are not events like spring, summer, autumn, and winter, but they do affect the evaluation of titles.

This year, it will be held at the end of June, so there are still about two weeks left.

So today, it’s a study session with His Highness.

A few days ago, I received a letter from His Highness. I was surprised and worried that the failed accident with Gadd was known, but when I opened it, it was an invitation to study together.

Until the Exiled Duke’s Daughter,...

The place is the school’s special lounge. I used it once with His Highness about a year ago, so it feels nostalgic.

In fact, today is the first time I’m studying with His Highness. Because our school years are different, we don’t have any classes together.

So I was looking forward to it.

“…Your Highness.”

“What?”

“Are you not going to study…?”

His Highness isn’t opening his textbook, nor does he have a pen in his hand. Instead, he’s looking at me who is studying, playing with my hair, and reading my notes with interest.

As a result, I haven’t been able to understand anything from my textbook since a while ago.

“Your Highness, today we’re supposed to study together, right?”

“No, today only Rebecca came to study. I came to bother Rebecca.”

“What?!”

When I turned my head, he was smiling.

Although it’s a rare expression for him, who is expressionless except when he’s with me, ‘cool’ lost to ‘what, no way’ “

“I’m harassing my fiancée who almost kissed another man.”

————He’s found out!

I shouted inside my heart. Why? I had told Emilia but not Melinda.

When I think about it, His Highness always finishes his studies during his spare time from official duties. He doesn’t take the time to do that specifically.

His Highness’ intention today was to bother me who is studying.

“…Your Highness, could you please teach me this problem?”

“…This is——”

But if I ask, he’ll teach me properly. While looking at his beautiful profile, the thought “he’s really kind” came to me. Oh, and his eyelashes are long.

After listening to His Highnes’ explanation, I thanked him and closed the textbook.

I showed him a book from my bag, which he looked at curiously. It was that one with [Secret Mark] on the cover, the strategy guide.

“Your Highness, how about we read this together today?”

“Can I read it too?”

“Of course.”

We talked about it but I hadn’t shown it to him before.

He hugged me tightly, saying “You did well by yourself” to me who had told him everything at the ball last year. Now there’s nothing that would be embarrassing to show him, he already knows about the [accidental chu] too.

Suddenly, an idea came to mind.

——If we were to look back at the first part together, His Highness, wouldn’t it be incredibly interesting?

I suddenly became excited and turned the page. I opened the first part of [Vanderlei Route] and held the strategy guide close to my chest so that his Highness wouldn’t see it.

“Your Highness, it’s a multiple choice quiz! Please answer so that Nii-sama’s favorability towards you will be the highest.”

Upon hearing this, Your Highness let out a laugh. He shook his shoulders and looked down while laughing in an amusing way.

I wanted to see more and peered into his face. I couldn’t help but smile too.

“Let’s take turns asking questions!”

“Alright, I got it, I’ll do it.”

I was having so much fun that I started asking questions with a voice mixed with laughter.

“First question. On the second day of enrollment, [Your Highness] got lost in the moving classroom. In the third year——”

“Rebecca, wait.”

“When you came close to the school building, you met your capture target, Vanderlei Slutarch——”

“Rebecca, wait.”

When I looked up, His Highness was laughing so much that he had tears in the corners of his eyes.

“Please replace it with something. Don’t say [Your Highness].”

I replied with a “yes” and remembered this rare sight. He was a person whose presence alone could make those around him uneasy, even when he just smiled.

I felt a strange feeling that I was the one who brought out this smile.

“So then——on the second day of school, you got lost in the moving classrooms. When you came near the building for the third year, you were approached by your capture target, Vanderlei Slutarch. How do you respond?”

I cut off the word once. Let’s make the answers in the form of multiple choice.

“1.) [Can I ask for directions if you have the time?]

2.) [That’s a really cool horse! Can I ride it?]

3.) [Do you happen to have a younger sister in the first year?].”

“Three,” he replied immediately.

I gaped.

“Three is definitely not good,” I said.

I am the villainess in this scenario. My relationship with my brother is terrible. Bringing that up on the first meeting would be out of the question.

“But it’s three,” he said, shrugging as if to say there was nothing to be done.

He says that he does not bend even in quizzes.

As expected of the crown prince. Well, it’s the wrong answer, but.

“It seems like the best answer is two…”

“That’s as may be. But weren’t “I”lost?”

“Yes, really… Emilia, for goodness sake…”

I thought of my best friend. I could easily imagine her going on about how “that’s a really cool horse!” in front of Nii-sama’s beloved horse.

“Next it’s my turn.”

His Highness took the book from me and flipped through it. We looked into it together.

“Whose route are you going to take?”

“I am. I’m the most interested.”

“You’re brave!”

His Highness scanned the letters in search of a problem.

And he muttered. The words seemed to naturally spill out from his lips.

“You have a good mother.”

For a moment, I forgot to breathe. My chest felt like something was overflowing and my eyes grew hot.

I was that happy.

“…right? You gave me so much love that I felt I didn’t deserve it.”

“That’s not true.”

His Highness looked up. He placed the strategy guide on his knee and took my hand instead.

“This book is filled with her feelings for Rebecca. She must have been very happy to have had such a good daughter.”

I returned His Highness’ grip. It was warm. I sniffled.

I should have been doing a quiz right now. Why was I being made to cry? As expected of His Highness.

“…Your Highness, the quiz.”

“…first question. Answer so that Llewayne’s favorability becomes the highest. When summer vacation starts, shall we return to the Duke of Slutarch’s territory together and visit my mother-in-law’s grave? How do you answer?”

“…what are the multiple choices?”

“None. Answer as Rebecca likes.”

He’s really too sweet to me.

I wiped away my tears and smiled, answering.

“Mother would be happy too, right.”

His Highness’s hand placed my hair behind my ear. I tilted my head slightly and looked up, closing my eyes.

It might be a reward for getting the correct answer.

After my tears dried, I realized something.

I open the page of the [accidental kiss] event in the strategy guide with His Highness hugging me tightly from behind.

Even after reading it again, it still says that this is an “affection event” and won’t happen unless the favorability is extremely high at that point.

It was strange from the beginning.

I talked about my thoughts with His Highness, who was resting his chin on my shoulder.

“If you think about it, this is a story of what would happen if the relationships were reset when the second part of the game begins. But reality is not like that.”

Gadd and I have been classmates for a year at the Academy.

On the other hand, even if it says “extremely high favorability” at this point in the [Gadd route], it’s well known that it’s only for a short period of time from April to June.

That’s probably why the affection event occurred.

I was relieved and my doubts were resolved. But His Highness was not.

“In other words, will similar [reward events] with other capture targets also happen from now on?”

I tried not to look at His Highness. His mood was in a rapid decline as if it was falling from the atmosphere to the ground.

While pretending not to notice the black aura that was bursting out from the side, I flipped through the strategy guide.

“I have Nii-sama in the summer, but this is okay. Your Highness will have another one in the winter, but that one is okay, too…”

My older brother has already graduated from the Academy, but he is actually the second part’s hidden strategy target. He is extremely popular.

“Wait, what’s the event with me?”

I wanted to brush it off, but His Highness responded. I mutter while turning my face away with all my might.

“It’s called [Exciting Secret Room Event]…”

“I see… I’m looking forward to it.”

I suddenly felt an impulse to jump out of the window. Why was it so sad to have to tell my fiance about the existence of such an event? And please stop whispering in my ear.

“And then there’s Oswald-Ceden-sama, right, Um… Ah, this one.”

“What is it?”

I had put off reading the event, but there was one more. Like [Accidental Kiss], I didn’t understand the meaning of the name. “

“Well, [Lucky Lewd Event]——”

When the two of us looked at that page, I regretted all of my actions for the past few minutes. And I earnestly wished that this event would not happen to me.

Later, I received a letter of consultation from Oswald Ceden, saying “I feel like Llewayne has been giving me cold, piercing glances lately.”

I replied with a message that said, “It’s not your fault. Please don’t blame yourself.”

Yes, it’s not his fault.

I feel like asking what’s been going on recently, with that otome game.