Chapter 52 | How to Not Get Executed as an Otome Game Villainess

Time blurred, and a month quickly flew by.

Summer in the royal capital arrived earlier than expected.

By the end of April, the temperature had already risen enough to make people want to shed their coats. The maple leaves had turned from a tender green to a deep emerald, rustling in the afternoon breeze.

Waters stood before the main entrance of the student council building, reaching up to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

He looked up at the greyish-white stone building, took a deep breath, and glanced down at the metal badge pinned to his left breast—a shield crossed with a longsword, topped with a small crown, and engraved with the stylized initials “S.C.” below.

The student council badge.

It had been exactly three weeks since he joined the student council.

“Waters, what are you doing standing at the door? Go on in.”

A lazy voice called out from behind him.

Waters turned around to see Leonard Crawford, a fellow executive officer, walking over with a bulging brown paper bag cradled in his arms. He couldn't tell what was stuffed inside.

“I'm mentally preparing myself,” Waters answered honestly.

“Preparing for what? It's just a meeting,” Leonard said, pushing the door open with his shoulder and looking back at him. “You've been with us for three weeks already. What's there to be nervous about?”

Waters opened his mouth to say that Leonard didn't understand, but he ultimately swallowed the words and followed him into the building.

He wasn't nervous.

He was just... a bit dazed.

A month ago, he was merely an ordinary first-year student. His grades were slightly above average, and his family held only a small barony in the central part of the kingdom. In the royal capital, where Marquises and Counts were as common as dirt, his presence was practically negligible.

Then, he received an invitation from the student council.

Of course, not as a core member—those positions had long been reserved by the top families—but as an executive officer, responsible for assisting with specific tasks.

Simply put, he was an errand boy.

But even as an errand boy, he was still a member of the student council.

At the time, Waters was so excited that he couldn't sleep all night. When he looked in the mirror the next morning, he found he couldn't wipe the grin off his face.

Three weeks had passed, and that initial wave of excitement had faded considerably, replaced by a much more complex mix of emotions.

He realized that the student council was completely different from what he had imagined.

It wasn't that it was bad—on the contrary, it was too good.

So good that it felt unreal.

Those people he had only heard of in rumors—Crown Prince Leonhart, the eldest daughter of the Aldheim family Loris, and the genius of the Swordsmanship Department Waldenburg—were now colleagues he saw at least two or three times a week.

Sitting at the very end of the conference table, he watched them discuss club approvals, event planning, and disciplinary patrols.

Occasionally, he would be assigned an errand or two, which he would carry out with the utmost diligence.

This was his entire life in the student council.

Perfectly ordinary.

And yet, it made him feel as though he had drawn a little closer to something. Perhaps it was social class.

“Today's meeting is in the conference room on the third floor,” Leonard said from ahead, not bothering to look back. “I heard we'll be discussing the Summer Ball.”

“The Summer Ball?” Waters was taken aback. “Isn't that nearly a month away?”

“We have to plan ahead. You know how the student council is—everything has to be prepared in advance.”

Leonard shifted the paper bag to his other arm. “And this year seems a bit different. Word is, if the preparation is perfect, there'll be some sort of reward. The president is taking it quite seriously.”

Waters murmured in acknowledgement and didn't ask further.

The two made their way up the stairs. As they passed the second floor, the sound of voices drifted from the end of the corridor.

Waters instinctively glanced over—

and his pace faltered slightly.

Two people were standing by the window at the far end of the corridor.

One was a girl with pale pink hair, wearing the deep blue uniform of the Magic Department. A canvas bag was slung over her shoulder, and she kept her head slightly lowered, her profile appearing exceptionally soft in the afternoon light.

The other was a young man with short black hair, wearing the white uniform of the Swordsmanship Department. An unadorned longsword hung from his waist. He was leaning against the windowsill with his arms crossed over his chest, his dark grey eyes fixed on the girl before him.

The distance between them was neither too close nor too far.

It was exactly that kind of 「we know each other, but aren't close」 distance.

Waters recognized them.

Liliana—a commoner from the first-year Magic Department, with a mana capacity of Level Ten.

Though she had only been at the academy for a month, she had already become the center of attention. It wasn't because she had done anything earth-shattering, but rather because there were simply too many rumors surrounding her.

There was the incident where the Crown Prince came to her rescue, the clash with Loris during the mana test, the cafe incident, and the event in front of the Magic Department building that had spread throughout the school.

And the latest headline gossip in the academy—the dispute involving their Dean of Students, Ms. Elena—was even more sensational.

In short, for a commoner girl to stir up half of the royal capital's academy circle in just one month was a miracle in itself.

And the black-haired boy standing opposite her was Waldenburg Edmond.

The strongest first-year in the Swordsmanship Department, with a mana capacity of Level Ten, and a genius magic swordsman.

In his second week after enrollment, he had fought an informal duel with Loris—something Waters had only heard about afterward.

Word had it that the battle between the two had cracked the mana barrier of the training ground, and in the end, Waldenburg's sword was shattered by a longsword condensed from fire wielded by Loris.

Of course, it was just rumor, and its authenticity couldn't be verified.

When Waters first heard the news, his immediate reaction was disbelief.

Loris von Aldheim? That villainous daughter from the Magic Department? Shattered Waldenburg's sword with a sword?

But after hearing several different versions from various sources, he accepted it half-believingly. After all, where would one go to verify such academy gossip?

In any case, the affairs of geniuses had nothing to do with an ordinary person like him.

“What are you looking at?” Leonard noticed that Waters had slowed down. He turned his head, followed Waters's gaze, and then let out an “oh,” his expression turning meaningful.

“Are you looking at Liliana?” Leonard lowered his voice.

“...Yes.”

Leonard's expression grew even more subtle. “I heard she's been getting close to Waldenburg lately. Looks like it's true.”

Waters didn't reply, only casting another glance at the pair.

Waldenburg was speaking, his face maintaining its eternally deadpan expression. However, Liliana was listening intently, nodding from time to time and offering a soft smile.

The scene looked surprisingly harmonious.

“Though, I feel like they're just friends, like the friendship between two ladies? Alright, make sure you never repeat what I just said, or he'll beat me to death, haha,” Leonard teased with a laugh. “Let's go.”