My Reborn Villainess Fiancée Is Obsessed with Me—Too Bad I’m Not Interested - Chapter 2.6

I managed to get through the morning classes, but the atmosphere in the academy was heavy. The nobles watched me from a distance, and the students from commoner backgrounds seemed confused about whether to side with Lily or follow the Prince’s lead.

The class society in this country is complex, and many likely don’t want to get caught in a conflict between a Prince and a Duke’s daughter.

During lunch break, I went out to the courtyard to eat alone. If I went to the school dining hall or the cafeteria, people would stare at me whether I liked it or not. I wanted to relax in a place that was as quiet as possible.

The spring weather was soft, and colorful flowers were blooming in the distant flowerbeds. From the perspective of my past life, a medieval academy seemed inconvenient, but being able to take an elegant walk like this wasn’t bad… just as I thought that and sat on a bench, it happened.

“Serena, so this is where you were.”

The one who spoke to me was Alexis. I didn’t expect him to be looking for me even at lunchtime.

In one hand, he held a luxurious lunch box—or rather, a basket that looked like an assortment of court cuisine. Then, as if it were the natural thing to do, he sat down next to me.

“Wait, wh-what?”

As I looked at him in surprise, the Prince said with a normal face:

“I thought you wouldn’t go to the dining hall today. I have a lunch I had prepared. Won’t you eat with me?”

You’ve got to be kidding, I thought, my eyes widening. Why is the person who was about to condemn me preparing such a thoughtful lunch?

Looking around, I could see students peeking at us from behind the shadows of the bushes in the courtyard. This will definitely turn into a rumor. But Alexis didn’t care and quickly started opening the basket.

“I heard these were your favorite dishes, so I asked the court chefs. I brought sandwiches and soup kept warm in a flask. You should eat it while it’s hot.”

He pulled out one item after another—colorful sandwiches, pottage, and small baked sweets for dessert. It was clearly a high-end light meal.

I fell silent. It’s possible that the original Serena liked this kind of menu. But for me, having just reincarnated, such a luxurious lunch felt restless.

“Uh, um… thank you. But why?”

When I asked that, he thought for a moment and gave a short answer.

“It’s probably because I’m worried about you.”

I was speechless for a moment at such a direct answer. He continued.

“I might have misunderstood you. In reality, you don’t look like the violent villainess Lily says you are… and from the start, there was a part of me that didn’t want to believe you were that kind of person.”

From my knowledge of the game, the Alexis in the “Prince Route” was the type to treat the protagonist (heroine) coldly at first and had a reliability that would cut down the villainess in one stroke. But the real Alexis was different.

He seemed to be clumsily letting out his emotions and searching for a way to close the distance between us. Looking back, he certainly was suffering last night, almost saying, “Why does it hurt my heart so much to condemn you?”

(…No way, did he have feelings for me from the beginning? That’s impossible. Because it’s a rule that the villainess is hated by the Prince in the game.)

While my mind swirled with confusion, I took a small bite of a sandwich. The high-quality aroma tickled my nose, and it was indeed delicious. Since I had never tasted such grand food before reincarnating, it felt like a fresh discovery.

Alexis watched my reaction and showed a small, relieved smile. Looking at his profile, I felt a slight fluttering in my chest. I hurriedly brushed that feeling away and tried to be calm again.

“…But you still can’t ignore the claims from Lily, right? You aren’t going to betray her, are you?”

When I asked that, Alexis nodded with a serious look.

“Of course. I cannot conclude that she is lying either. That is why I will check the facts once more. Until then, I cannot easily condemn you.”

So, his wording means it’s strictly “under investigation.” However, his gaze was kind, and I felt as if he was trying to stay by my side.

—Unless I do something about this strange situation, it will be hard to live at the academy as the “villainess scheduled for condemnation.” If that’s the case, I started to think that maybe I should just break the story of that otome game entirely.

Yes, I finally understood. If the “development according to the game” that Lily talks about comes, I am surely destined for ruin. If so, I should just force the script to change.

(Especially if the Prince cares about me this much…)

I frowned slightly and made up my mind. —I’m going to make the fate of this romance game glitch. For that, the time might come for me to take action as well.