Chapter 5

Days passed with such doubts lingering, and Lord Yuto would still leave me behind whenever he was displeased. However, I was happy that Filo, who had become more accustomed to his duties as a butler, started coming to escort me. Even if it was just for a short while, walking together with him was truly enjoyable. We walked at a certain distance from each other, but the time I spent walking with Filo was very precious to me. We couldn't hold hands, nor could we go shopping somewhere. The relationship between the daughter of the Griedy family and her butler would never change. I knew that my feelings had to be kept hidden, so I resolved never to show them.

We would walk down the road, talking about trivial things like the weather being nice or a beautiful bird flying by—things that could only be experienced outside the house. I always wished that the time spent on the way home would last a little longer, just a little bit more, and that it wouldn't end.

As I spent my days, I deepened my friendships with the daughters of other countries and the monsters of Fakul, and my reputation outside of Aldina improved. However, the higher my reputation in other countries, the lower it became in Aldina. If I had been prioritizing diplomacy with other countries, I could have understood, but I had been conducting diplomacy that benefited Aldina.

Looking back now, it seems odd, but at the time, I felt sad about it without questioning it.

However, the day that would change my fate came suddenly.

One day, while I was alone in my room and happened to look out the window, I saw Lord Yuto and Plum walking affectionately down the road in front of the house. At that moment, all my doubts were resolved. The vague memories of my past life that I had recovered were only about the general aspects of my job and life. When I saw the two of them walking side by side, a small scene flashed through my mind. It was then that I realized for the first time that this was the world of the otome game I had played in my past life. The date scene in front of me was exactly like a game still. Holding my head, which throbbed from the recovered memories, I looked down from the window. The two of them were walking and laughing, looking happy and close, like a couple. A small laugh escaped my lips, which had been open in shock.

My mind suddenly felt clear. The way my parents had treated me when I was sent to the dangerous Fakul, and their decision to send me there as a child. The fact that Filo, who had just been bought from a slave trader, became my personal butler without any supervision. Despite my achievements for the country, I was not well-regarded domestically, while Plum, who did nothing, was loved and praised. Some of my achievements were even credited to Plum, who had done nothing. Now, I realized that those were things that Plum had done in the game. While my work was known in other countries, the people of Aldina did not understand it. Despite hardly speaking to Plum, my parents and the people of the country would show protective gestures towards her and tell me to stop bullying her, even though I had no such memory.

Most importantly, I had not felt much of a sense of wrongness about it, even though it made me sad.

"Is this... a game adjustment?"

The words I muttered were so unrealistic that they lacked credibility. A game adjustment was just a whimsical idea. It was more likely that I was doing something wrong. However, the term "game adjustment" that settled in my heart was the only answer that resolved all my doubts.

In this country, it was not me but Plum who had to be happy. The game did not allow the antagonist, who had achieved so much, to be recognized. The story could only work if Plum was the protagonist and I was the antagonist. Therefore, the country was acting to exclude me, and for the people of Aldina, this country was the center of the world. Perhaps the reason Lord Yuto believed this country was the best was because the game was set here. In the game, other countries were only mentioned by name, and the content was centered around Aldina, or rather, Aldina was everything.

If the entire country was under a game adjustment, people would not be aware of other countries that barely existed in the game. The people of Aldina would not feel any sense of wrongness about the story unfolding as it did. Lord Yuto, who was the main character in the game, might be more influenced by this. In the game, he was not as bad as he was now. He was a character who, through various failures, changed from an idealized version of himself as he was gently guided and affirmed by the protagonist, Plum. However, this was not a game but reality, where the relationships with surrounding major countries had to be considered. I could not be as kind to him as Plum was in the game. Considering that his attitude could put the country in danger, I had to be strict with him, which made us incompatible.

However, Plum, who was supposed to guide him in the game, was much more naive than in the game. The conversation I heard from outside the window sounded like a game of pretend. Nevertheless, the fact that Plum was the protagonist, and her partner was likely Lord Yuto, and that I was an obstacle, did not change.

If I had done nothing as in the game, the exile event would have occurred without any trouble. However, now that I had achieved something, it was difficult to exile me without a reason. Even if there had been bullying of Plum, it would be too harsh a punishment for a family dispute. This was only possible because it was a game. To eliminate my presence, I had to be sent on a dangerous diplomatic mission, and my evaluations had to be unfairly twisted.

Even if other countries found this amusing or felt a sense of wrongness, they did not attack or dissolve the alliance because this was the period of the game's story. There were no threats from other countries during the game's story. Perhaps events that did not occur in the game would not happen in the same timeline. Conversely, events that did not occur in the game would be considered to have happened.

The bullying of Plum, which I had not done, was believed by everyone, and even if that was the premise, no one frowned when Lord Yuto, the next king, was seen on a date with his fiancée's sister in public. The king of Aldina did not strip Lord Yuto of his position as the next king, even when reprimanded by other countries. In other countries, a prince who caused such complaints would immediately lose his right to the throne. There were several other princes in Aldina, all of whom were said to be excellent. According to the norms of this world, it would not be strange for the throne to be passed to one of them. However, Lord Yuto remained the next king, perhaps because the game's character settings were in effect.

The increasing hatred directed at me might be because the story was nearing its end. If I, or Lioum, were not exiled, the story of Lord Yuto and Plum would not come to fruition. Everything was to ensure that I, the antagonist, was exiled from Aldina.

What had all my efforts been for? For the country, for the responsibility of my birth, I had worked hard, sometimes risking my life. What had it all been for?

"I am not needed in this country."

Hearing this, I felt a darkness envelop my vision, a sorrow that felt like everything was collapsing. The sadness of not being needed in this country was more painful than not being evaluated or being hated. My eyes stung, and my nose tingled. However, the tears that were about to fall were held back when I saw his face as he entered the room.

"Lioum-sama, a letter has arrived... Lioum-sama?"

I stared blankly at Filo, who had entered at just the right moment. Seeing his puzzled face, a joy surged within me, washing away the sadness. The meaning of the years I would lose by being exiled. However, there was one thing I would gain. The invisible wall between us, the difference in status. I had resolved not to break it, but the day would come when it would be taken away from me. The day I had dreamed of, the day I could express my feelings to him, the day I could openly show the feelings I had given up on but could not let go of, was coming. The change from a position separated by the invisible wall of a noble lady and a butler to an equal position with no barriers. In exchange for losing everything, I would gain the one thing I had wished for deep in my heart, something that no one in this country could resist.

It was sad and painful, but more than anything, it was joyful. Unable to contain the growing joy, I smiled a little, even as I felt like crying. My position was something I was not allowed to give up, but what if it was taken away? My existence was for the people, but what if they discarded me? Aldina would not allow my existence within the country, no matter how much I shouted or what I did. Despite my efforts for the country and the recognition I received from other countries, my reputation in Aldina had become so low that people would frown when they saw me on the street. However, this was only within Aldina.

In the game, Lioum was only shown as a small figure leaving with a servant in the corner of a still, and then disappeared. The game only briefly mentioned Plum's past and the future after she was paired with her partner. There was no sequel during my lifetime. The Lioum in the game had no connections with other countries and her fate was unknown, but I had connections with other countries that had treated me fairly.

Even if the game followed its course, the future after the engagement was broken and Plum was paired with someone else was not set. And probably, my future after leaving the country was also not set.

On the day I was certain of the future, I quietly resolved to prepare for life after being exiled from the country.