The Reincarnated Villainess Whose Romantic Trauma From Her Past Life Is Too Strong Is Sweetly and Painfully Doted On by the Prince of the Neighboring Country - Chapter 21

“Lily, you’ve made another mistake. The flower that symbolizes ‘resilience’ is the Mitsumata. That one there is a Wintersweet.”

“Ah, right. My apologies.”

As Wraith reprimanded her with an exasperated sigh, Lily apologized with an air of “oops, silly me.”

They were currently in a forest on the outskirts of town for a mission. As the Maiden of Flower-Sowing, Lily was there to purify the miasma that had broken out in the woods. While the capture targets had to defeat the monsters affected by the miasma, it was Lily’s job to provide them with buffs.

Wraith had scolded her because the flower magic she tried to cast on him was the wrong one entirely.

Despite serving as the Maiden for over two years, Lily’s knowledge of flower magic remained shaky.

This was because, until now, whenever she made a mistake like she just had, one of the capture targets would step in and tell her the correct buff to use.

Even if I don’t learn it properly, one of the guys will just tell me—.

Out of that sheer laziness, Lily still hadn’t bothered to memorize the actual effects of her magic.

“…Look, Lily. I know your clumsy side is charming and cute in its own way, but I think continuing to make mistakes in a place where lives are on the line is a bit much.”

“………I’m sorry, Geek…………”

When Geek followed up Wraith’s comment with his own blunt, logical criticism, Lily couldn’t find a comeback; she could only offer a weak apology.

Normally, the capture targets would just laugh it off, saying, “You can’t be helped, Lily,” but today was different.

(…What is their problem? Usually, they’d just smile and forgive me, saying things like ‘Lily, just having you here is enough.’)

The only companions for today’s mission were Wraith and Geek; Thiel had stayed behind.

Lily gnashed her teeth, thinking that if Thiel had been there, he might have mediated and softened the mood. However, beyond her irritation, she was starting to feel a sense of crisis.

(…Lately, all the capture targets have been acting so cold.)

For the past two years likely due to her “Heroine Correction” buff, no matter how many mistakes she made, she was forgiven as long as she acted sweet, acted clingy, or showed them affection.

But for some reason, in just the last few weeks, everything had changed.

(Before, even if Wraith or Geek looked a little annoyed, they’d get all melty the moment I cuddled up to them and forgive me instantly.)

Lily’s intuition was largely correct. Until now, the Heroine Correction granted to her had kept their affection levels rising without ever dropping. But now, that protection was beginning to vanish.

Inwardly, Lily clicked her tongue in annoyance.

(…Fine. It’s a pain, but I have to go check the Affection Levels.)

Surprisingly, in this world, one could actually see the capture targets’ affection stats.

By going to a place called the [Grand Sanctuary of Flower-Sowing] and touching the [Stone Tablet of Flower-Sowing], the current status of each capture target would be revealed. Incidentally, this was a feature straight out of the original game.

Since the affection levels for the current targets had maxed out about six months ago, she hadn’t bothered checking lately. But given the current situation, Lily felt it was time for a re-evaluation.

Once the mission was over, Lily parted ways with Wraith and Geek and headed for the Grand Sanctuary. The fact that the men who usually dragged out their goodbyes let her leave so easily today only added to her growing anxiety.

Then, when she entered the Sanctuary and looked at the Tablet in the deepest part of the hall…

Lily’s heart was suddenly filled with dread.

The names of the current Maiden are inscribed on the tablet. This is not done by human hands, but by the gods. The person whose name is etched there is the one who has received the divine oracle of the Maiden.

Naturally, Lily’s name was written there, but—

(…Wait, is it just me, or is the text fading?)

The name written on the tablet looked much fainter than it had before.

“…Um, has someone been polishing this tablet too hard? The letters are fading.”

“Eh…? No! Not at all…”

Lily questioned the priest in the Sanctuary, but no one agreed with her. To begin with, the script on the tablet wasn’t something written with ink. It was impossible for it to fade just from a bit of cleaning. The priests, while remaining polite, couldn’t help but think: What on earth is this Maiden talking about?

Hearing their response, Lily kept a dissatisfied expression and placed her hand on the stone.

With a mechanical vroom sound, a screen resembling a game’s status window flickered into existence before her eyes.

(I think this every time, but this status screen is so out of place in a world that’s supposed to be a ‘medieval romance’…)

Furthermore, the status screen functioned like a touch panel. Lily tapped and swiped through the screens to find the items she wanted.

This screen was invisible to anyone but Lily. To the people around her, it simply looked like she was sliding her fingers through thin air above a blank stone tablet.

Finally, after navigating through several menus, Lily reached her destination.

(What…?!)

Looking at the data displayed there, Lily was so shocked she forgot to breathe.