I’m Reincarnated In Otome Game?

A few days had passed since Randy and his team returned to their academy life after enjoying their break in the Victor territory. While there were rumors that Cecilia and Dario's engagement had been cancelled, no one seemed particularly interested in the news.

The reasons were simple:

First, Cecilia herself was entirely unbothered.

And second…

"Did you see last week's party? Lord Weissman and Lady Evans' dance was just marvelous!"

…The relationship of Dario and Catherine was spread throughout the academy.

However, the rumors surrounding them weren't all positive.

"Isn't Lady Evans also close with His Highness?"

"I think she's been seen with Lord Rowe, too…"

"And Lord Lance as well."

Among the whispers, there were even claims that Catherine was constantly switching between men.

(Well, that's hardly surprising…)

Hearing the rumors, Randy could only muster a wry smile.

"What is she even planning to do?" he muttered absentmindedly, catching the attention of Liz and Cecilia, who both chimed in unison, "What are you talking about?"

Surprised by their reaction, Randy awkwardly explained that he was referring to the rumored Saintess and her four admirers, who had become the center of gossip.

"They can do whatever they want," Liz replied indifferently.

"They should all just get married together," Cecilia added with a smirk.

The two offered no further input, leaving Randy to sigh with a resigned smile. 

"Well, you're not wrong…"

(At the end of the day, it's none of our business.)

Strictly speaking, their schemes and the interference from the families supporting them had caused trouble for Randy and the others. 

But when it came to their romantic entanglements, Randy couldn't care less.

If the five of them could find happiness together, then so be it. 

Liz and Cecilia's words were undoubtedly correct.

While a divided kingdom might inconvenience its citizens, the die had already been cast. All Randy and the Marquis Lucian could do was minimize the harm to the populace and neutralize the troublemakers.

In fact, if their antics became widely known to the world, it could bring them down and discredit their families that had turned a blind eye to it.

(For now, I guess we'll just observe… Though, speaking of Cecilia's household—)

Randy's thoughts were interrupted when a woman, who appeared to be a servant, rushed over to Cecilia.

"My lady…"

After whispering something into Cecilia's ear, the young lady's expression immediately hardened. Randy and Liz exchanged a look, realizing it was undoubtedly bad news. 

Cecilia let out a heavy sigh—one of utter exasperation that seemed to extreme anger.

"What's wrong?" Randy asked.

"I'm amazed at how foolish some people can be," Cecilia replied with another sigh before revealing the situation:

A threatening letter had arrived at her family's estate. It was from none other than Dario's father, Prime Minister Dill Weissman. He had accused Cecilia's family of treason against the royal family and declared that no further subsidies would be provided.

"Treason against the royal family?"

"Why would anyone rebel against idiots who are already sinking themselves?" Ellie, who had suddenly appeared, interjected bluntly.

"That's a bit harsh," Randy muttered, trying to suppress his laughter, though Liz and Cecilia didn't fare much better, their smiles betraying their amusement.

After clearing his throat to reset the mood, Randy asked, "So, what's their basis for this accusation?"

"We're not entirely sure, but I suspect it might have something to do with suspicions of smuggling meat," Cecilia replied, shrugging.

She theorized that rejecting the subsidies might have led to the false accusation. And in truth, her guess was spot on.

"Although now that I think about it, refusing the subsidies at this particular time does make it easy for them to be suspicious," Cecilia admitted, chuckling bitterly at the unintended trap she had set for herself.

"But there's no actual evidence of crimes, so it's not really a problem, right?" Randy asked, tilting his head.

Cecilia and Liz, however, shook their heads in unison.

"Our household is fine, but…"

"The Weissman family, on the other hand, has a big problem on their hands," Liz concluded.

　With a serious expression on her face, Liz explained the situation, prompting Randy to furrow his brow and ask, "What do you mean?" 

Being unfamiliar with this country's customs—or rather, knowing about them but not paying attention during lessons—Randy listened as Cecilia began to explain the special privileges granted to territorial nobles.

The Kingdom of Alexandria, despite being called a kingdom, had a rather unique history. In the southwestern part of the continent where the kingdom now lies, there was once a chaotic era where numerous small nations constantly waged war against each other.

At that time, the current royal family managed to unify the region, thanks in large part to the cooperation of the so-called territorial nobles.

In exchange for their assistance, these nobles were granted a degree of autonomy even after the unification into a single kingdom. It was somewhat similar to the Knights of the Holy Roman Empire.

While they swore allegiance to the royal family, the nobles retained significant power within their own domains. Among the privileges included in their autonomy was the stipulation that their rights could not be infringed upon without just cause—provided their actions did not contradict the kingdom's laws or policies.

"But this is just baseless accusation, right?" Randy asked, still puzzled.

Cecilia continued, explaining that making unfounded threats without evidence was a clear violation of their rights. Normally, a proper envoy bearing an official letter would visit, investigations would be conducted, and both parties would present their cases. Ultimately, the matter would be judged by the king or the prime minister.

In this case, however, the prime minister had acted recklessly, far overstepping his bounds.

"Would it even help if they sent an investigative team afterward?" Randy asked.

"Impossible," Cecilia replied. "And judging by this recklessness, it's not out of the question that they might send the 'Dark Side' as well."

Cecilia sighed deeply, gazing off into the distance. While using covert agents for investigations wasn't uncommon, the steps taken in this situation were hasty and utterly inappropriate.

Skipping all formal procedures and resorting to baseless accusations was a blatant violation of the territorial nobles' autonomy. Such actions, forbidden by the ancient covenants, left both Cecilia and Liz in disbelief.

"I see. They're planning to quietly gather evidence and then say, 'See, we told you so,' if the evidence comes up," Randy remarked.

"But there won't be a 'See, we told you so,' and making threats is already a mistake. If they've sent covert operatives, they won't even be able to deny it later," Cecilia said

It seemed the Marquis Weissman was really desperate and had dug its own grave. Though Randy hadn't set any traps, the other side had misunderstood the situation and self-destructed entirely on their own.

(Well, it's called the 'Dark Side' for a reason. Finding evidence of infiltration might not be easy…)

"By the way, Liz's father, the marquis, has already sent experts to investigate. Also…"

Lowering her voice, Cecilia glanced around before gesturing for Randy and Liz to lean in closer.

"Additionally, the viscount has discreetly sent people from his knight corps to assist—apparently, even the vice-captain was sent," she whispered.

Hearing this, Randy immediately knew who she was talking about. 

"Ah, him, huh," he said.

"In any case, my family is completely unaffected, so we've been told to enjoy our time at the academy," Cecilia said, sipping her tea gracefully.

As he watched Cecilia, Randy silently clapped his hands together in prayer for the prime minister he'd never met, thinking, (You're done for, Weissman. Completely done for.)

　The Marquis Lucian had dispatched experts—likely the same shadows who had been guarding him. The phrase "set a thief to catch a thief" came to Randy's mind.

The presence of the kingdom's covert operatives, or the so-called "Dark Side," had been detected several times at the academy. Given that the crown prince himself was enrolled, such measures were understandable from a security standpoint.

In Randy's opinion, the Marquis's shadows and the kingdom's Dark Side were evenly matched. Depending on the numbers involved, the outcome could go either way. However, the Earl Hartfield also likely had his own operatives of similar skill.

And with the knight dispatched by his father, Alan, the balance would never tip back.

Moreover, it was the vice-captain who had been sent. 

Frankly, a handful of the kingdom's Dark Side would be no match for him. 

Introducing such a game-changer into an already advantageous situation left no hope for Weissman. Randy couldn't help but mentally clasp his hands together in prayer for the doomed Marquis Weissman.

"To think, he let himself be cornered by the Marquis Lucian…"

Imagining how the Marquis might use this advantage sent shivers down Randy's spine. He downed the cold coffee in front of him in one gulp.

————

"Damn it… This wasn't the plan!"

One of the kingdom's Dark Side who had infiltrated Hartfield territory was fleeing while protecting a wound on his shoulder.

There had originally been ten of them, but now they were scattered, and it was unclear if any of their comrades were even alive.

Entering Hartfield territory had gone smoothly, as the investigation also went smoothly. 

The problem was that they found nothing suspicious related to the meat industry.

They had discovered that the territory was breeding minor monsters like slimes and evil plants. While it may seems suspicious, this had been agreed upon with the government years ago.

Even the neighboring nation across the river was a legitimate trade partner, with no bans on such commerce. The new venture had been established without disrupting meat production, and the monsters in question were insignificant creatures. No matter how they think about it, there was no way to frame it as aiding a foreign military.

Their expectations had been completely off.

When they realized this, multiple shadows attacked them as if they had been waiting.

And now-

The fleeing man was suddenly cut down by a flash of silver. His legs collapsed beneath him as a group of shadows materialized around his fallen body.

"Just as the Lord predicted," one shadow muttered, and the others nodded silently in agreement.

Marquis Lucian's foresight had been correct. He had anticipated that rejecting the subsidies and breaking off the engagement would provoke retaliation. 

While the Earl's household maintained its own shadows, economic hardships had reduced their numbers in recent years. This was why the Marquis had sent his shadows to assist the Earl in advance.

The shadows from Marquis Lucian, which Earl of Hartfield used defeat the kingdom's Dark Side. This alliance between the two houses had wiped out the Dark Side for a clear reason: they interpreted the kingdom's actions as a declaration of war.

A false threat

The deployment of Dark Side to dig into baseless suspicions—this can be clearly taken as the declaration of war toward the Hartfield family.

The final straw had been the threatening letter received days prior. Even the usually mild-mannered Earl of Hartfield had reached his limit of patience

The Dark Side would never return

Whether Prime Minister Dill would realize the implications behind it is unclear.

One shadow searched the fallen dark side's body and retrieved a report. As they did, their shoulder flinched, and they abruptly turned around.

Standing there, dressed casually but armed with a sword, was Harrison.

"Well, well, as expected of the Marquis's shadows," he said.

"Lord Harrison, thank you for your assistance," one of the shadows replied.

"Oh, no, no, I didn't do a thing," Harrison said with a nonchalant laugh.

The shadow simply shook their head. "Thanks to your presence, our losses were minimal."

"Well, that's good to hear. Though… we wiped them all out. Is that okay?" Harrison asked, tilting his head.

"It was the Lord's order," the shadow replied with a bow.

The complete annihilation of the dark side, leaving only the report behind, was a situation Marquis Lucian would undoubtedly exploits

"Well, I don't know about the complicated stuff. If my job's done, I'll be on my way," Harrison said, waving a hand as he disappeared into the night.

"Randolph Victor was formidable, but…"

"The Victor household's vice-captain, Harrison Walker, is a terrifying warrior as well," another shadow remarked.

"No, the truly frightening one is Alan Victor, to be able to send someone like him so casually."

"Let's just be glad they're allies."

With that comment, the shadows vanished into the darkness, leaving behind only faint traces of blood.

——

Moar power stones!

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