Chapter 2

"..."

It had been one day since Tiara Roses regained her memories from her past life. Today was the day of the graduation party, which marked the end of the game.

After getting ready at home, she headed to the academy without an escort. Now, she was sitting in the guest room, sipping tea to calm her nerves.

"Miss Tiara Roses... Perhaps you should inform Sir and have him escort you?"

"It's fine, Philine. Father is busy with work, and it would be a bother to him."

"But..."

Philine, her maid, voiced her concern, but Tiara Roses stopped her, smiling and saying, "It's alright."

Normally, if there was no one to escort you, such as a fiancé, a relative would do so. For this graduation party, most of the young ladies without an escort would ask their fathers or male siblings.

However, Tiara Roses' father was a prominent figure in the country and had work to do even on the day of the graduation party. He had an important role to play as an aide to the king, who would be attending.

Knowing how much her father doted on her, it was clear that he would abandon his duties to escort Tiara Roses. Therefore, she deliberately didn't tell him anything.

"But... If Father sees me entering alone..."

"Sees you...?"

"...He would undoubtedly be furious. Perhaps I made a mistake."

"Miss Tiara Roses..."

Philine's voice was tinged with exasperation, but Tiara Roses thought, "Even if Father gets furious, the villainess condemnation event will still take place. In the end, his attention will be on that, so the escort issue won't be a big deal. Of course, the same goes for the other students and guests." In a corner of her mind, Tiara Roses hoped that things would turn out that way.

"I'm still worried about you, Miss Tiara Roses. If anything troubles you, please tell me, Philine."

"Yes, thank you, Philine. Just having you on my side is enough."

Tiara Roses and Philine had grown up together like sisters since childhood.

Even though Philine was a maid and Tiara Roses' orders were absolute, she had vowed to help her in any way she could.

Philine's words helped Tiara Roses calm down. The condemnation event disguised as a graduation party would begin in less than an hour, and Tiara Roses was grateful to have Philine by her side. Without her, she might not have been able to face what was to come.

"By the way, Miss Tiara Roses, I prepared some sweet cookies."

"Sweets! I'm so happy, thank you, Philine."

"Yes, I'll pour you some more tea as well."

Philine set up the tea and cookies, hoping to ease Tiara Roses' tension. She wanted her to be smiling until the moment she had to go to the graduation party alone. The more she thought about it, the more Philine's opinion of Hartnights declined.

Why wasn't he escorting Tiara Roses? There must be a good reason, but she couldn't forgive him, even with a smile on her face.

At that moment, a knock echoed through the room.

"Philine."

"Yes, please wait a moment."

With the graduation party starting soon, they both wondered who could be visiting. It might be a message from a teacher, so Tiara Roses reached for the cookies without a second thought. She had always loved sweets, both in this life and her past life.

As a commoner, she couldn't indulge in such luxuries, but her status as a marchioness allowed her to enjoy them.

"Mmm, delicious..."

Philine watched as Tiara Roses ate the cookie, made with the finest eggs and flour. All the sweets she ate were of the highest quality.

Just as she was about to reach for another cookie, a voice called out, stopping her hand.

"Miss Tiara, are you feeling well?"

"Lady Akari, you can't just barge in like this!!"

"...!!"

The sudden voice of the heroine made Tiara Roses jump.

Philine called out "Lady Akari" again, but the heroine, Akari, entered the room without a care.

Tiara Roses, still seated, feigned surprise and looked at Akari.

"Oh, Lady Akari, good day. Thank you for your concern."

"Good day, Miss Tiara."

The girl who smiled and greeted her was the heroine of this otome game, *Lapis Lazuli Ring*.

With straight black hair and dark eyes, she had an innocent smile, but her presence was not entirely peaceful.

Moreover, she looked unmistakably Japanese.

Since regaining her memories from her past life, Tiara Roses had noticed that the heroine was distinctly Japanese.

Still, she hadn't expected Akari to barge in, ignoring Philine's protests. Irritation welled up inside her, but she maintained her smile.

Just because the other girl acted like a child didn't mean she would do the same. Tiara Roses was from a marquess family, while Akari was from a count family. She could scold her for being rude, but even that seemed too much trouble, given that Akari would soon be exiled.

"Yesterday, you suddenly collapsed in class, so I was worried. Lord Hartnights carried you to the infirmary. He was very concerned, and Lord Hartnights is very kind."

"Yes, that's true."

Hartnights was her fiancé, so it was natural for him to be worried. But to hear that he was kind made her wonder how much he was trying to insult her.

She didn't like the heroine, and just as she was thinking this, Philine returned with Hartnights.

"Good day, Prince Hartnights."

Tiara Roses changed her demeanor, standing and performing a ladylike curtsy.

She hadn't expected Hartnights to be there. After telling her he couldn't escort her, he showed up just before the party with another woman. What a humiliation.

Philine stood behind him with a mask-like smile, clearly angry, but she was instructed to prepare more tea.

"Yes, Akari was worried about Tiara. Is your health... Are you well enough for today's graduation party?"

"Yes, I had a good night's rest, so there's no problem."

—Ah, so he came to check if I would attend the graduation party. Even with his busy schedule, he found time for this. I'd like to say something snide.

Akari sat across from Tiara Roses, and Hartnights sat next to her. It was inappropriate for him to sit next to Akari, but he didn't stop her.

"I'm relieved to see you're well, Miss Tiara. Right, Lord Hartnights?"

"Yes."

"..."

Akari, smiling innocently, took Hartnights' arm. You two are a couple! She wanted to say, but decided to get them to leave as soon as possible.

There was nothing special to do, but she could make up a reason.

"Philine, we might not have time to finish the final preparations. Should we start now?"

She glanced at the clock and told Philine, who was standing by, about the unexpected situation.

"Yes, we might not make it to the party on time if we don't start soon."

"Really! Miss Tiara, you haven't finished your preparations yet?"

"It seems we came at a bad time. We wouldn't want you to miss the party, so we'll take our leave."

"Yes, I'm sorry to have taken your time."

By saying she might miss the party, she got them to leave immediately.

Of course, if she missed the party, the condemnation event would be delayed. The honest reaction from Hartnights made her want to laugh.

Once they left, Philine, who had been holding back, burst out in anger.

"What was that all about?! Even the prince, but Lady Akari was incredibly rude! Calling Miss Tiara by her first name... How disrespectful!!"

"...Yes. I've reminded her a few times, but she seems to forget."

"Indeed... That's a terrible and unfortunate memory, isn't it?"

Philine couldn't forgive the rudeness to her mistress and continued.

"Why doesn't the prince reprimand Lady Akari? It's terribly disrespectful to the royal family. I can't imagine giving my precious Miss Tiara Roses to such a man. Why not break the engagement? Your father would smile and agree."

"Now, Philine. That would be disrespectful to say in front of the prince."

"Of course, he's not here now!"

Philine smiled, saying, "No one is listening," fully supporting Tiara Roses.

Usually, Tiara Roses would scold her for such comments, but this time, she even wanted her to say more.

—This must be because I've regained my memories from my past life.

"...But, I'm very grateful for your concern. Thank you."

"Miss Tiara..."

Philine was surprised by the lack of reprimand and the gratitude. She was certain that her mistress didn't want this marriage or engagement.

She thought about how to make Tiara Roses happy, but it wasn't an easy task.

The only thing she could do was to compile Hartnights' poor treatment of Tiara Roses and report it to her father, the marquess.

"Alright. I'll do my best for Miss Tiara Roses!"

"Philine? Um, don't overdo it, okay?"

Tiara Roses smiled, wondering what Philine was up to, but decided not to stop her. She was curious about what she would do.