Chapter 1

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I became the villainess? What are these memories?

----

"Leticia, let's break up our engagement."

He's announcing the cancellation of the engagement.

I was stunned to hear the words of the Crown Prince Fritz.

"What is wrong with him?"

As I muttered, I became afraid of knowing the truth.

It's not just Fritz's gaze, which is supposed to be my fiancee, that is frosty.

I can also see water drops sliding down from my bangs.

I was soaked with water from my head, as I was trying to decipher what happened.

"It's terrible. How could you try to push others into the fountain..."

"Huh, what are you talking about?"

"Isn't it bad enough that you tried to grab Smear's hair? That not happy with that, you tried to push her into the fountain."

Wrong.

I haven't done that.

When I look up to argue, I see a delicate girl clinging to Fritz.

She has soft chestnut-colored hair and big watery green eyes.

She was trembling and leaning towards Fritz, with a lovely and cute expression on her face.

"Look. Smear is so scared? Don't you feel sorry? Isn't it embarrassing to do such things?"

"I have nothing to be ashamed of."

I can swear.

I shouldn't have to apologize for anything.

Suddenly I was told to break my engagement, and Smear was standing beside Fritz.

I just approached them to ask what was going on.

However, I was thrown away by Fritz's entourage and dropped into a fountain.

"Are you going to continue pretending to be not guilty? Why don't you cool your head in the fountain and wake up a little?"

"Wake up, right?"

In a sense, I was fully awake.

Inversely it can be said that he's... just not in his right mind.

The shock of being told to abandon the engagement and being pushed into the fountain awakened some memories.

---

"Jiro, why don't we go for a walk together?"

Looking at my eyes, Jiro got up.

Jiro, who came out of the garden, stretched his front legs in a relaxed manner, and then his back legs.

The relaxed appearance of Jiro, made me skip a laugh, while looking how he loosens the whole body.

Jiro knew it, and he raised his head a little and turned his body towards me so that I could easily put on the harness.

I put the harness through Jiro's head, where the white hair is becoming more noticeable.

Like humans, dogs may have more white hair as they age.

Jiro, who came to our house when I was a high school student, was now a fine old dog.

The season is spring.

It was a pleasant day for a walk.

While singing, I walk along the country road with Jiro.

And while paying attention to his old legs, I thought of my parents' kitchen.

Homemade strawberry ice cream is being chilled in the refrigerator.

By the time I got home after my walk with Jiro, I will be able to eat it.

When I think of the ice cream dyed in a slightly strawberry color, I can see that my cheeks naturally loosen.

The fluffy ice cream with a lot of strawberry is my favorite that I make every spring.

The smooth coldness melted the sweet and sour taste on the tongue, and I enjoyed the texture of the crisp juicy fruit.

When I first made ice cream, which is now an annual event of the strawberry season, I misread the amount of water contained in the strawberry and failed.

If the amount of water is too high, ice crystals will not grow cleanly in the refrigerator and the taste of strawberries will be dull.

After several failures, my strawberry ice cream has grown into a delicious treat that my family loves.

"Strawberry... little wonderful and sweet strawberry? Oh my delicious strawberry ?"

I sing an improvised humming while adding rhythm.

I want to forget the sad things today.

It's been a few years since I started working as a new graduate.

The company I entered was... It was a so-called black company.

I can count with the fingers of my hand the number of people who could leave on time and not work overtime everyday.

It was natural to go to work on holidays, and taking calls for urgent projects or requirements any day, any time.

Today is Sunday.

After cleaning up the housework I had accumulated, I took the train for about an hour and went to my parents' house.

While looking at the faces of father and mother, I make ice cream with strawberries given by my aunt who is a farmer.

It was supposed to be a peaceful holiday, enjoying delicious ice cream and playing with Jiro.

"Jiro, wait"

The signal in front of me is red.

Jiro quickly followed the signal of stop at the street corner.

I was the one who taught that to Jiro, who came home when he was a puppy.

I heard that Jiro is from a wise but with strong personality breed of dogs.

Jiro was no exception to that example, and at first it was hard to make him listen to me.

Especially, it was hard to make him remember when he has to wait, and I remember having a hard time as a high school student with Jiro as a puppy.

I gradually extended the waiting time to 3 seconds, 5 seconds, and 10 seconds, but it was a series of three steps forward and two steps backwards.

That's why I was happy to hear that Jiro recognized me as his owner later.

"Jiro, okay. Let's go now."

The signal turned green.

I cross the street intersection by the black and white stripped pedestrian crossing line and about halfway through...

"Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh..."

A roaring noise, a truck had rushed over here.

Crosswalk.

Isn't it a green light now?

Dangerous.

I have to avoid it.

I have to protect Jiro.

I pull the harness.

---

The appearance of Jiro running up to me is the last memory I have before losing consciousness.

"Jiro"

Tears ran down from my eyes.

Jiro didn't seem to have been seriously injured, is he okay?

"Jiro? What's that? Are you crying? Are you going to cry?"

"It's just some water from the fountain."

Ahh... That's not the case....

The reason for the tears that fall down from my eyes, are my feelings for Jiro.

And maybe it was because of this that my chest started to hurt, not because of the break of the engagement.

painful. painful. It hurts.

The tears that were about to spill were held back in my eyes.

The pride I have cultivated for 17 years did not allow me to show tears in front of Fritz.

I'm the strong and proud, Duke's daughter, Leticia Gramwell.

That was the status and name given to me in this world.

The place where I am now is the Royal Etruscan Academy, where the children of the royal aristocrats attend.

As I was walking along the garden path to the fountain, Fritz stopped me in my tracks and told me abruptly to break off our engagement.

The students around me are quiet.

Fritz and his entourage looked down on me, as if to condemn me.

Fritz, is the crown prince and my fiancee.

Smear, a baron's daughter, clings to his arm. While his entourage, composed by Ileus, Dustin and some other high ranking nobles are standing at both their sides.

Ileus, is the third son of the Chancellor of the Kingdom, famous for his deep knowledge and logical ability while Dustin, the son of the Royal Knights, excels in swordsmanship.

The so-called geniuses that are supposed to be the next generation of the kingdom are glaring at me with hostility.

...