Chapter 20 - I celebrated my birthday (1/2)

The days passed by really fast, and ever since I recalled my memories during spring when I was eight years old, seven years have passed before I even noticed.

I’ll be fifteen soon.

In this world, fifteen is the age at which noble children are required to make their social debut -

Also - it’s the age at which people with magic power are required to enroll in magic school.

This summer, I’ll turn fifteen, and I’ll be entering magic school in spring of next year.

By the way, in magic school, no matter your social status, everyone was required to live in the dorms.

As expected, those of higher social statuses seem to get better rooms, but it’s even okay to bring servants with you…… Anyways, it won’t be as free of a life as I have now.

And, when I enter magic school - the otome game that I’ve been afraid of will begin.

The story begins when the commoner heroine enters magic school with the extremely rare ability to use light magic despite not even being a noble.

At school, the heroine will meet and be able to fall in love with various high-spec capture targets, all handsome boys, such as the twin princes, the duke’s adopted son, and the prime minister’s son.

And so, the villainess Katarina Claes obstructed her, walking the path of destruction.

In the seven years since I’ve regained my memory, I’ve made various efforts to avoid my destruction ends.

I’ve practiced swordsmanship, and trained in magic, I pulled Keith out of his room so that he wouldn’t be lonely, and I had the head gardener Tom-san help me create an elaborate toy snake.

Because of all that, my sword swings have been praised, my stepbrother was no longer a shut-in, and I have a toy snake that looks perfectly like the real thing.

However, there was something that didn’t go well. ……I’m talking about strengthening my magic.

My magic was originally the shabbiest magic of them all, earth magic, and the only spell I could cast was “Earth Thud” which could only move some earth two or three centimeters at first…… After training for a year, I was able to improve it all the way to fifteen centimeters, and I had thought that I’d be able to use much grander magic soon, but……

After that, no matter how much more I trained, I couldn’t move the earth any more than that, and I couldn’t even use any other magic spells.

At first, I didn’t want to admit the truth, but…… In the end, I had no choice but to acknowledge it.

It’s extremely unfortunate, but…… I have almost no talent in magic whatsoever.

If I attend magic school, there might be the chance that my magic will “bloom” suddenly, but…… I won’t get my hopes up……

In that case, my original strategy of finding magic-related work if I get exiled out of the country may no longer be useable.

If that happens, what am I supposed to do to support myself……

When I was troubled over thinking things over, I heard from a servant that there were many large farms all over that hired farmers.

That’s it! I’m not like before where all my plants will wilt, and I’ve become pretty good at working in the field now. So if I get exiled to another country, let’s seek out a large farm and work as a farmer. As long as I have a job, I’ll be able to make a living somehow.

While I still trained my magic, just in case I had to become a farmer I started studying agriculture as well.

In this way, my anti-destruction countermeasures will be perfect.

And while I had my perfect countermeasures all planned out, there were also unexpected occurrences in my daily life.

That would be, why all the capture targets and rivals were gathering in my house every day, and why everyone’s relationships and personalities seemed to be different from the game settings.

Let’s start with Jared Stuart. He’s the third prince of the country, and the capture target that’s my fiance. Even though he looks like an orthodox blonde-haired, blue-eyed prince, on the inside he’s actually an evil sadistic prince. If the heroine falls in love with Jared, Katarina will head straight to her destruction.

However, even though Jared in the game was supposed to be “not interested in Katarina at all, and almost never visited her……” Before I noticed, he would come over to my house once every three days.

And, he even helps me harvest the fruits and vegetables from the field, and would always bring me sweets as presents, we’re completely friends now. We have a lot of contact.

Honestly, we get along pretty well…… To the point where I cannot imagine Jared cutting me down with his sword or exiling me from the country, but……

However, if Jared meets the heroine and falls in love for the first time, as his fiancee, I’ll become a hindrance…… “Love changes people” is what’s written as well in the romance novels that I read. I can’t let down my guard.

Also, my scar that caused Jared to get engaged to me in the first place disappeared a few years ago.

And, when I noticed this a few years ago and relievedly told Jared about it……

“Prince Jared, the scar on my forehead has disappeared. That means that you won’t have to take responsibility for me anymore, and can cancel the engagement.”

When I happily told him this, Jared seemed a little shocked for a while…… A little bit later, his usual smile returned.

“Oh, really? Why don’t you show me.”

He approached me with that beautiful smile on his lips, and forcefully parted my bangs to the side. My wounds were supposed to have all disappeared and left my forehead clean, but……

“On the contrary, a few scars remain.”

Jared said so as he stared at my forehead that was supposed to have become pretty again.

“Eh!? But I confirmed it in the mirror many times…… I even showed Anne……”

I muttered in a daze……

“Well, that’s wrong. There’s still some scars remaining. Hey, don’t you think so as well?”

Jared’s last question was directed at my maid Anne who was waiting by my side. Then, even though she had just told me “it’s pretty again and everything’s disappeared. Isn’t that great, ojou-sama?” she nodded her head vigorously and agreed with Jared…… I can’t believe it, that traitor……

And so, even though the scars absolutely should have disappeared, they didn’t disappear for some reason, I was told by Jared firmly that “the engagement absolutely can’t be canceled” as he smiled wonderfully, ending this conversation.

After that, even though she supported my engagement to Jared at first…… Mother was against my engagement now as well, and even Keith said directly “Katarina nee-san isn’t fit to be a prince’s bride,” trying to help me out, but even now I haven’t been able to cancel the engagement.

Indeed, Jared won’t let go of this engagement so easily because just like in the game, he wants to use this to defend against all the other noble girls that would otherwise chase after him.

Thus, I wasn’t able to cut off the destruction flag of being engaged to Jared, and it seems that I’ll have to bring my sword and the toy snake with me to school for self-protection. Also, I’ll have to practice being able to smoothly throw the toy snake from my pocket from now on.

Then, about Keith Claes. He’s the capture target that was adopted into my family seven years ago for his powerful magic, my cute stepbrother. If the heroine falls in love with Keith, Katarina will also head straight towards her destruction.

He’s a handsome boy with flaxen hair and blue eyes, and since he was neglected by his stepmother and stepsister, had a lonely upbringing and became a playboy type character because of it. And when he entered school, his loneliness was supposed to be healed by the heroine and he would fall in love, but……

If that happens, I’ll be very troubled, so in order for him to not be lonely, I’ve been pulling him out of his room every day. During this time, without me having to pull him out anymore it turned out that we were always together. Therefore, Keith shouldn’t have grown up lonely this time. This way, the heroine won’t heal his loneliness and he shouldn’t fall in love with her.

However, there’s one thing I failed at. In order to prevent him from being a trashy playboy, I always told him that he has to “treat girls gently and kindly,” and the result…… He’s become a gentlemanly ladies’ man.

Since he obediently obeyed his sister and treated women gently and kindly just as I told him to, that’s a wonderful thing. However, as the years passed and the lovely Keith matured, he’s somehow become a guy that emits lots of sex appeal just like in the game.

I didn’t notice this happening at all. Maybe it’s because I’m with him every day, I’ve gotten used to it and didn’t feel anything from Keith……

And by the time I realized it, all the noble daughters, and even all the female servants were hanging on to him and the ladies’ man had been completed.

And so, I was able to prevent Keith’s loneliness, but…… As for preventing him from becoming a playboy…… Even with my help he’s already completed this form.

Then, about Alan Stuart. He’s the fourth prince of this country, and is Jared’s younger twin brother as well as a capture target. He’s a beautiful prince with a wild streak, with silver hair and blue eyes, and he’s always being compared to Jared, so he’s constantly in pain from feelings of inferiority, and it should have been set that he hates his brother, but……

Alan didn’t seem to be troubled by an inferiority complex or anything at all now, and it doesn’t seem like he hates Jared either. Well, I wouldn’t say that they are best friends, but their relationship seems reasonably good to me.

Moreover, since in the Alan route Katarina didn’t appear as she wasn’t a rival, in the game I should have had hardly any contact with Alan, but……

For some reason Alan would come to visit me almost every day, and his talent for music has completely bloomed so I’m always receiving invitations to his piano and violin concerts, I would always go together with everyone. We’re completely friends now.

In the first place, Alan shouldn’t have had such a talent already for music in the game. Rather, it was set that the heroine would become aware of his talent for music, and would help it bloom, but……

Well, things were different from the game settings in a lot of ways for some reason.

Then, about Mary Hunt. She’s Alan’s fiancee, and is also the rival character on his route. She’s a beauty with auburn hair and doll-like eyes.

In the game settings, she didn’t think highly of Katarina Claes, and just like Alan, should have had almost no contact with me, but…… She’s already one of my best friends now.

In our first meeting, she was so nervous, but Mary’s completely changed from her always frightened self in these seven years.

She was excellent in her studies, had such a dignified and elegant manner when she made her social debut a little while ago, and her wonderful dancing monopolized the topic of conversation during her debut. She’s become exactly like the noble daughter that she was in the game.

However, in the game, Mary loved Alan from the bottom of her heart…… Mary currently doesn’t seem to be deeply in love with Alan like that right now.

I think they got along normally, but, she never really had anything to say about Alan when we were together, and they hardly ever seemed to meet each other.

Or could it be, they’re just hiding things from me out of embarrassment?

Moreover, in the game, Mary should have become a splendid lady in order to become a lady befitting a prince’s bride, but……

It seems that Mary doesn’t actually care too much about being a prince’s wife. Several years ago, Mary complained to me that she’s “not fit to be someone important like a prince’s wife.” Then, she would always tell me how hard it is to be a part of the royal family and act befitting of a prince’s wife.

During these conversations, when she heard that I didn’t like being engaged to Prince Jared, she became even more melancholy. I mean, if even the perfect Mary thinks such a role is too hard, it’s even less fitting for me.

And so, to assuage my anxieties, Mary would tell me gently “let’s run away together to another country and break off our engagements.” She’s really such a kind and reliable friend.

Then, about Nico Ascarot. He’s the taciturn, expressionless son of the prime minister, and also a capture target. With black hair and eyes, and a perfect doll-like face, he’s a handsome boy with a devilish charm that can even capture men as well as women with his unique atmosphere.