Chapter 47 | How to Not Get Executed as an Otome Game Villainess

This guy really was unique.

“Interesting,” I said, trying to maintain a calm, indifferent facade. In truth, it was pure sarcasm—exactly how a villainous daughter should behave.

Before the words had even fully left my mouth, he kicked off the ground.

He was even faster this time, moving in a bizarre arc as if trying to flank me from the left.

I spun around immediately, gathering mana in my right hand—

Wait.

His body suddenly changed direction.

He stomped hard against the ground, a flash of magical light erupting. A feint!

In an instant, a massive cloud of dust and gravel kicked up.

His real target was my right.

“—!”

With no time to adjust my stance, I instinctively leaped backward, simultaneously tracing a semi-transparent Mana Barrier in front of me with my right hand.

Waldenburg's blade crashed into the barrier.

The screech of metal clashing against mana was as sharp as shattering glass. A shockwave rippled outward from the point of impact, kicking up coarse sand from the ground that stung my face.

The barrier didn't break.

But my arm was left completely numb from the impact.

Waldenburg pressed his sword hard against the barrier, leaning forward to throw his entire body weight into the strike.

His dark gray eyes stared at me through the semi-transparent barrier, as if asking how long I could hold out.

He wasn't holding back in the slightest.

I had no choice but to extend my left hand from behind the barrier, aiming my palm directly at his abdomen—

A point-blank Wind Blade!

This time, I didn't chant. A green glow coalesced in my palm, nearly brushing against his uniform.

Waldenburg's eyes widened slightly.

A silent cast meant there was absolutely no warning.

He instinctively released the pressure on his sword and threw himself to the side, rolling across the sand in a rather ungraceful scramble.

The Wind Blade grazed his waist, slicing a tear into his uniform.

He rolled three paces away before dropping to one knee, the tip of his sword propped against the sand as he looked up at me.

“...What... was that just now?”

I pulled my hand back and let out a haughty breath.

“Is that all you've got?”

Okay, maybe I got a little too serious just now? But if this were a life-or-death battle, all of my magic would be cast without chanting. Not to mention, I was still holding back my other trump cards. I had already gone pretty easy on him.

But... would he press for answers?

Liliana, watching from the spectator stands, probably hadn't seen it clearly. After all, from that distance, she wouldn't have been able to hear even a quiet chant, let alone follow such lightning-fast exchanges.

Waldenburg caught his breath and slowly stood up.

His gaze locked onto me once more, entirely unyielding.

It seemed he had decided not to overthink it. After all, just because he hadn't heard a chant didn't mean there wasn't one. It could have been whispered, or perhaps the spell had been prepared beforehand and released the moment he drew close.

In short, there were plenty of possibilities.

Seeing this, I realized he was about to get even more serious.

From our brief clash, our strengths were indeed very close. He had the advantage in speed, while I had the advantage in range. He possessed superior close-quarters pressure, whereas I had a higher density of long-range firepower.

But this was only the beginning.

Neither of us had played our trump cards yet.

Waldenburg stood up, brushed the sand off his uniform, and gripped his sword tightly once more.

“Miss Aldheim.”

“Yes?”

“You're still holding back.”

“How can you tell?” I asked.

“Because none of your attacks just now carried any killing intent,” he said calmly. “The Wind Blades targeted my shoulders, the Fireballs targeted my flanks, and the Water Arrows targeted my feet. Not a single one of your moves was aimed at a vital point.”

“...” Well, obviously. Did he expect me to actually try and kill him?

“You are showing mercy.”

“Those are the rules,” I said flatly.

“Then I will no longer abide by them.”

Waldenburg raised his sword, holding the blade vertically before his face. His dark gray eyes stared at me through the steel.

“I am serious.”

“?...” Holy crap.

The moment the words left his mouth, a blinding silver light erupted from his blade.

Mana infusion!

The silver-white glow spread from his palm to the hilt, from the hilt to the blade, and from the blade to the very tip. The entire sword resembled a bar of white-hot iron, emitting a low, vibrating hum!

Silver-white particles of light began to drift around his body—a physical manifestation of mana overflowing from within.

“The full power of a magic swordsman?” On the inside, I was starting to lose my composure, but I maintained a cool, unbothered facade on the outside.

In my past life, this would probably be summed up by a “scared to tears” meme.

“Yes.”

“Are you sure about this?” I asked, wanting him to ease up on the pressure.

“Yes.”

And yet, Waldenburg nodded.

He was dead serious. No matter the matter, he had to free his swordsmanship from its heavy burden...

My thoughts ended there.

His feet moved.

This time, I couldn't even see him.

His speed far exceeded the tracking limits of my current student-level vision. Perhaps I really should practice some magic in that department.

His body left a trail of afterimages in my field of vision, looking as if they had been copy-pasted. Each afterimage held a different pose—

Gripping the sword, turning, sprinting, leaping.

The afterimages overlapped, resembling a blooming silver flower.

Then, the flower withered.

The blade appeared right before my eyes.

A downward slash—followed by an upward sweep.

The silver-white blade whistled through the air, slicing diagonally upward from my bottom right. His target was—my right hand.

He didn't actually want to hit my vitals.

He only wanted to disable my ability to cast spells.

“...” I was seriously about to cry from fright, okay?

If I hadn't activated one of my trump cards, Mana Perception, at the very last second and sensed that sharp, overwhelming surge of mana...

I hastily leaned backward, my body falling nearly parallel to the ground. The blade grazed past the tip of my nose, shearing off a few golden strands of hair.

The strands drifted in the air before being incinerated into ash by the mana coating the blade.

While leaning back, I planted my left hand on the ground and executed a backflip to create some distance, landing on the sand three meters away.

Being this agile wasn't surprising, though it might not have looked very elegant to the onlookers. But hey, I had practiced swordsmanship too.

The moment my feet found their purchase, I had already raised my right hand.

“Wind Blade!”

Not just one, but ten.

My right hand gathered a massive amount of mana, a level of exertion that felt slightly taxing even for me. Ten Wind Blades shot toward Waldenburg from different angles, at different speeds, and along different trajectories, resembling a web woven out of thin air.

Waldenburg didn't dodge.

He held his sword horizontally in front of him, the silver-white light on the blade flaring violently!

Then—he swept it across.

A silver-white arc of sword energy erupted from the blade, crashing head-on into my ten Wind Blades like an invisible giant sword.

The air tore apart.

The light shattered.

Boom—!

The two attacks collided in the center of the training ground. The resulting shockwave kicked up the coarse sand on the ground three meters high, forming a curtain of dust.

I couldn't help but shield my face with my arm, forced back two steps by the shockwave.

And then, I felt my blood begin to boil slightly.

So this was... combat?

A world of magic and swordsmanship. Catching a glimpse of a true battle actually made me realize I might enjoy this feeling a little.

As the dust settled, I saw Waldenburg standing opposite me, the tip of his sword resting on the ground, his chest heaving violently.

So he wasn't as effortless as he looked; that move had clearly taken a lot out of him.

A trickle of blood ran from the corner of his mouth. It wasn't from my Wind Blades, but from mana backlash. The cost of fully channeling mana wasn't something just anyone could bear.

“You're injured,” I said.

“A scratch,” he said, wiping his mouth with his usual expressionless face.

“Are you sure you want to continue?”

“Yes.”

Waldenburg looked up, his dark gray eyes devoid of any hesitation.

“Because I haven't lost yet.”

He raised his sword once more.

I took a deep breath and lowered my right hand.

“Very well.”

Then I suppose I should throw the match completely.

After all, defeating Waldenburg would be a massive headache. He was one of the male leads, and getting on his bad side would be troublesome. Besides, in the original storyline, he was supposed to win the duel against Alden and win Liliana's heart.

So here, I should—

Just as I was thinking this, that familiar voice echoed in my mind once more.

【Warning.】

The cold, completely emotionless voice rang out from the depths of Loris's consciousness, like a tolling bell echoing from the deepest, most distant darkness.

【The Human God is observing your destiny.】

【Detected impending key event: “Duel with Waldenburg.”】

【According to the established storyline, you are destined to lose this duel.】

【The chain reaction of your defeat is as follows:】

【1. You will draw a line between yourself and Waldenburg, no longer confronting each other as enemies, and instead enter a friendly relationship forged through combat. He will become your swordsmanship instructor and an ordinary friend in subsequent plotlines.】

【2. The tension between you and Liliana will ease significantly. She will no longer view you as a threat, and you will no longer need to play the role of the villainous daughter—you will become “ordinary friends” with her.】

【3. The above two points will lead to the dissolution of your identity as the “villainous daughter.” You will completely lose your stance for driving plot conflict and lose your meaning of existence as a “villain.”】

【The Human God expresses—no interest in this.】

【The storyline the Human God wishes to see is: you continuing to exist as the “hated villainous daughter,” maintaining opposition with Liliana, conflict with Waldenburg, and ongoing friction with the various male leads. Only in this way can the narrative tension be maintained.】

【Therefore—】

【Corrective Directive: In the upcoming duel, you are forbidden from losing.】

【No matter the means, no matter how many trump cards you expose—you must win.】

【As compensation for the plot deviation, the Human God will grant you a reward:】

【“Heartbeat Exemption.”】

【Effect: From this moment onward, your forced physiological heartbeat response toward Crown Prince Leonhart von Edelstein will be permanently dissolved. Your heart will no longer pound for no reason when you see him. You will regain complete free will regarding him—you may hate him, feel nothing, or ignore him entirely.】

【He is merely an ordinary fiancé, no longer a “love at first sight” forced upon you by Providence.】

【The reward will take effect immediately upon winning the duel.】

【Should you lose the duel—】

【The reward will be canceled.】

【You will permanently retain your heartbeat response toward Leonhart.】

【Furthermore, your friendly relations with Waldenburg and Liliana will be irreversibly established. You will lose your identity as the “villainous daughter” and your value of existence in the storyline.】

【The Human God will lose interest.】

【At that time—there will no longer be any possibility of changing your destiny. Proceed at your own risk.】

The voice vanished as if it had never existed.

Leaving me frozen in place, this single second stretching out infinitely as cold sweat slid down my spine.

What the hell?

I can't lose? I have to win?

And what on earth did it mean by the Human God losing interest?

Wait, wait, wait... I could more or less understand what would happen next. If I lost to Waldenburg, my relationship with him would soften, as would my relationship with Liliana. That was exactly what I wanted.

But for Loris the villainous daughter, that was completely counterproductive.

Hence, the warning.

But! But!

According to the plot, I should have lost here. Waldenburg fought Alden, and Alden lost. I had merely replaced his role in this duel.

So I should lose, following the plot.

Why would I still receive a warning for that... Was it because the Human God found such a plot uninteresting?

Wait, it wasn't like this before, was it?

Thinking along these lines, I could piece things together a bit. This warning must have been issued by the Human God, or at least influenced by its will, demanding my victory even though it ran completely counter to my original plot trajectory.

And yet, it was still issued.

And because this was Providence actively deviating from the storyline, I was given compensation this time.

Allowing me to obtain the ability I had wanted for years: no longer having my heart race when facing that Crown Prince. Perhaps this would allow me to change my destiny even further.

Phew...

One second, two seconds.

The moment the warning popped up, the flow of time in the entire world slowed down, as if entering bullet time.

Until I understood, comprehended, and accepted.

Not lose?

Fine...

With a reward like that on the table, what else was there to say? It wasn't like I couldn't beat him. Besides, that final threat about no longer observing my destiny and having no possibility of changing it sent a shiver down my spine. An unchangeable destiny meant my guaranteed death at eighteen—the very thing I had been trying to avoid all along.

Based on the information I had gathered before, I had always assumed these warnings were meant to restrict me. But looking at it now, that didn't seem entirely true... If I wasn't observed, my destiny couldn't be changed, huh?

Phew...

Perhaps I should take some time to rethink my future.

But for now, let's fight.

I'll win this, then, and show this so-called Human God.

According to the plot, Loris shouldn't stand a chance against this male lead. But I was someone who had poured sweat and effort into desperately trying to change my own destiny all this time!

Bullet time dissolved.

Waldenburg said coldly, “Here I come.”

I let my hands fall to my sides and closed my eyes.

My mana.

Other people's mana capacity might only amount to a small river, a frog pond, or a basin of water inside their bodies. The peak of powerful mages might reach the level of a lake.

But my mana...

It was a boundless ocean, stretching out as far as the eye could see.

What I needed to do wasn't to draw water from it—it was to pull and lift the entire ocean itself.

Magic circuits, fully open.

The slender, silver-white magic circuits within my body ignited like fuses, spreading from my heart to every corner of my limbs.

Wherever the mana surged, faint blue lines of light emerged beneath my skin—a symptom of overloaded magic circuits, the external manifestation of mana nearing its absolute limit.