The villainess will survive!

Part 48: Back at the academy, except.....

Suddenly, Ivy was being waited on hand and foot. 

Its like she suddenly became the protagonist heroine of a story, where everybody came to love her eventually (she was, anyways).

But even so, this was a bit early if we followed the otome game properly. 

It was only after the magic tournament that she was finally recognised as the hidden flower of society. 

But the tournament isn't even that close to starting, with us still having to wait a few days before the visitors from other nations even started pouring in. 

This one tournament was a very special event, while people finally getting to show their strength they had nurtured over the year. 

But since it was such a big event, they obviously had to organise things into fair battles. 

Our battles were limited by age, but age only. 

Which meant us students of the magic academy had to fight other students from all over the world. 

Not that I had an issue with it, just that if I wanted to steal Ivy's thunder, it was an obvious choice to register in the medical contest. 

But while I did study medicine straight from herbs and ingredients to rival Ivy's autoheal, I hadn't focused on healing from other parts of the world. 

I wasn't going to win squat if I didn't even know well my other obstacles before I could reach Ivy herself. 

Since the old Roselyn hadn't entered the medical contest, I would know what order the people would be paired up with. 

But I had to enter this time, so the pairs were going to get jumbled up to fit me somewhere in there. 

That rendered any information I know from the otome game for this time completely useless. 

Well, I couldn't just let Ivy win the medical contest without any interference. 

I would at least have to try to sabotage this event for her, because this would probably be her biggest leap in the storyline so far. 

I glanced to the side as I saw Ivy, who had been laughing like a fairy a minute ago, walking towards me with a sweet smile on her face. 

I'm sure she held no hostile aura towards, not yet. 

It was more like her followers behind her were scared of her talking to me. 

'Ivy, bring it on. I refuse to back down anytime.' 

"Hello, Lady Ivy. Would you like something from me?" I asked in full angelic tone, something similar to hers. 

Obviously, I had no idea what she was here for. I might as well act like it.

She looked away, her face red. She was clearly embarrassed, but I was confused. 

Why would she be embarrassed?

"L-lady Roselyn!!! C-can we be friends?" 

I stared at her, not knowing what to say. 

This was clearly acting, I could tell, but everybody else had already been enchanted by her. 

"What do you mean, Lady Castria?" 

I made sure to call her in a politer way, hence the way she had said my name would be considered very, very rude in this world. 

But what could I do? The moment I make her unhappy, my status would melt immediately into the original Roselyn's. 

I made sure to call her by her house name, which signified our distance contrary to the way she addressed me. 

"A-and! You mustn't worry about status!" She looked at me with desperate eyes. 

She started to lower her voice, "My father has recently been promoted to the status of an earl." 

She stared at me with another round of yearning but serious gaze. 

"S-so! Can I be your friend, now that my status is higher! I swear I won't dirty your position!" 

She made that last phrase extra loud, so that everybody could hear. 

Dirty glares were falling on me, one after another. 

I see now, Ivy. So this was how you were going to play. 

"Ivy? You wanted to be friends? I apologise, but I have enough already. I don't care about ranking or status or anything like that, but the quality within." 

She knew, no; we both knew that if I didn't accept, I would be closer to death. 

In short, this was a trap to make her play me like a puppet. 

So be it, then. 

I'd rather be hated by the rest of the academy than being part of her plan, then thrown out like a dirty rug later. 

I nodded my head politely as if I were ignorant of all the hate that was starting to come on me, and left unhurriedly to show her I wasn't nervous. 

'So her father had gained the rank of an Earl now, was it?' 

There was only one of the capture targets who had the power to do such a thing, which would be Albert. 

However, what made me confused was the fact that Ivy was an Earl's daughter?

This hadn't even happened at the end of the story, since a lowly baron's daughter becoming queen added an extra tinge to the otome game. 

But did my presence and actions change the story? 

Or was it Ivy that had changed, which was a thought that had been going on in my head for a long time. 

If I was from another world, then she could be too. 

Actually, I was keen on the idea that she was just like me, another soul transported into this otome game. 

She knew so much about this world, and kept on making moves on the exact capture targets, especially on Albert.

A normal baron's daughter wouldn't even dare flutter their eyelashes at the Crown Prince knowing that his fiance was the duke's daughter.  

If she was so sure on her destiny, then I would ruin it completely. 

Surely, this was enough hints that she knew much more about this world than we thought. 

She knew as much as I did, if not even more than me. 

I gulped while knowing that my fight was going to be a lot harder. 

This was fine, this was all fine. 

I would be able to fight them all alone, as Roselyn. 

But no. 

Perhaps the whole key to this was getting help from others, which was why I was heading to the garden right now. 

As soon as I stepped in, I saw Seria having tea with my other friends, Ciana and Emerald. 

"May I join your lovely tea party, ladies?" I asked while seeing their surprised faces. 

Were they that shocked at seeing my face again? 

Or had they perhaps they had already been dazzled by the holiness of our heroine Ivy that they didn't want to interact with me?

It was time to prove which side they were on right now. 

I had gotten close to them, especially Seria, and it was time to see if I were to cut off ties before it was too late and I got hurt myself. 

I sat down with a my usual unreadable face so they couldn't tell my emotions as of the moment. 

To my surprise, my body automatically made me look sideways as I was nervous, but I didn't turn it back to face them in the eyes. 

"Can I take a bit of your time? I have a question to ask."