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The Reincarnated Thirty-Something Woman’s Otherworldly Reform Life

The Good-for-Nothing Villainess

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*****

「Thank you for inviting me today.」

Dressed in a pale blue dress, Violet gave a small curtsy and stood there, looking quite small. Her fluffy hair swayed slightly, and she looked so much like a cute little animal that it was honestly pretty heartwarming.

「Welcome! Please, come on in and take a seat.」

Magnolia offered a bright smile and guided her over to the table set in the guest room she was using as her own.

Ideally, it would have been easier to talk at Violet’s house, but apparently, having a Marquis’s daughter casually drop by the day after they met would cause a massive headache for her family. So, just as Violet had hoped, they settled on meeting at the Azenda townhouse instead.

The timing was perfect. Lily was away visiting her family, and Magnolia had handed Dean over to Thomas for a few hours so he could get a rigorous, top-to-bottom refresher course on the finer points of being a proper servant. Thomas had looked entirely too delighted as he dragged Dean away earlier.

Since Gai had also mentioned he had some things to look into and would be out for a few hours, it was the perfect day to dive into a deep conversation.

Magnolia had told the temporary townhouse maid assigned to her for the next few days that she could rest and do whatever she liked—whether that was embroidery or reading—and that she'd call if she needed anything. To make sure no one could read their lips, she had even turned the chairs so they were facing out toward the garden. All systems were go.

「I know you must be busy, so I'm sorry for the sudden summons.」

Even though she had technically gotten Violet's okay yesterday, it was still incredibly short notice. She figured Violet might have had other plans, so she made sure to apologize just in case.

「Oh, don't worry about it at all! I was actually so excited for today! Though my parents were kind of losing their minds yesterday.」

Being suddenly summoned by a high-ranking noble family must have scared them half to death. Magnolia couldn't help but let out a wry smile as Violet giggled mischievously, then she decided to get things moving.

「So, should I call you Sumire? Or would you prefer Lady Violet?」

「Let's stick with Violet since I look like this now.」

They spoke in hushed whispers, keeping the conversation entirely in Japanese so that even if the maid caught a stray word, she wouldn't understand a thing.

「Let's get right to it. First, could you tell me what this game is actually about?」

Violet nodded eagerly, pulled a notebook roughly the size of a college journal out of her bag, and flipped to the first page. It was completely packed from edge to edge with dense, meticulous Japanese handwriting.

(Wow... the sheer intensity radiating from this notebook is kind of terrifying...) Magnolia thought, a slightly strained, hollow laugh escaping her lips.

***

The game is set in the Kingdom of Ascald, a world that looks a lot like medieval Europe.

The story officially kicks off when the heroine, a beautiful Baron's daughter named Margaret Porta (13), enrolls in the Royal Academy.

Margaret had originally lived an ordinary life as a commoner, but after her ailing mother passed away, leaving her utterly heartbroken, she crossed paths with her biological father, Baron Porta, who took her in.

Her late mother had actually been a maid at the Porta estate, where she and the Baron's young heir fell in love. But of course, because of the massive difference in their social status, everyone opposed the relationship.

Discovering she was pregnant with Margaret, she chose to leave the estate all on her own.

By the time the Baron finally tracked her down, the woman he loved was already gone, leaving behind only their sweet daughter.

Though Margaret struggles to fit into an unfamiliar noble society, her innate kindness and bright, hardworking personality quickly make her the most popular girl at the academy.

Naturally, a whole lineup of handsome guys fall head over heels for her sweet and endearing nature.

There's Arnold Virgil Samson Ascald (15), the Crown Prince of Ascald and the main romance option—a bit of an arrogant, alpha-male type.

Then there's Brian Chris Gilmore (19), the Prince's passionate personal guard and the hot-blooded heir of a prestigious Marquis family.

Next is Louis Holland (15), a high-ranking Count's heir and the Prince's childhood friend and milk-brother—the cute, younger-brother type who's there for pure emotional healing.

And finally, through a strange twist of fate, players can unlock Gerald Silas Gilmore (42), the brilliant Chancellor and head of the Marquis family, who fills the dark-hearted, intellectual older man slot.

Standing in the way of Margaret's romance are two villainesses who act as her rivals, both of whom are engaged to the Prince.

The primary villainess is Gardinia Marie Steizen (14), the daughter of the kingdom's top Marquis family. She's a brilliant overachiever who can do absolutely everything perfectly, earning her the title of "Miss Perfect."

The secondary villainess is Magnolia Gilmore (13), an undeniably cute but clumsy and slightly airheaded girl who happens to be Gerald's daughter and Brian's younger sister. Obsessed with the Prince and backed by her family's immense power, she does absolutely everything she can to bully and sabotage Margaret.

The two villainesses are also bitter rivals themselves, since it's already been decided that the winner becomes the Crown Princess, while the loser is demoted to a mere secondary consort.

The story builds all the way up to its grand climax at the Prince's graduation party. Who will Margaret choose, and who will she find her happily ever after with?!

Set in a glittering academy for the high-born elite, *Everyone is in Love with You!* is a romance simulation game where players can enjoy a sweeping Cinderella story woven by beautiful guys and rival noble girls.

***

By the way, no matter who Margaret ends up with, the villainesses always have their wicked deeds exposed, get expelled from the academy, and are locked away in a remote monastery for the rest of their lives to keep them away from her.

...Oh, and if you manage to successfully clear every single character's route, a hidden, secret route opens up for Gerald's younger brother, Claude—a once-in-a-generation military prodigy, legendary knight, and the future Margrave. His route is a bonus story, and it is brutally, pathologically difficult to beat.

***

(............)

Whether you called it a synopsis or just the basic lore... the sheer absurdity of it all was already giving Magnolia a throbbing headache. Unable to take it anymore, she collapsed face-first onto the table.

「...I mean, seriously? Aren't there way too many people from the Gilmore family in this game?」

More than half of the romance options were directly related to her. If they were going to feature her family this much, they might as well have thrown in Grandfather Servas to appeal to the "distinguished silver-fox" or "hyper-muscular" crowd.

To be fair, the plot itself was just a textbook, completely standard otome game. There wasn't any magic or crazy fantasy elements; if anything, it was actually pretty simple and grounded.

...Granted, that casual evaluation only applied if *she* wasn't the one scheduled to be ruined.

Magnolia pushed herself back up, took a stabilizing sip of her tea, and flipped to the next page. Her eyes ran across a meticulously detailed timeline, charting the exact dates, times, and actions for every single event in the game...

Just looking at it was genuinely terrifying in a lot of ways. She couldn't help but let out a heavy sigh.

Had Gerald seen this exact future with his powers of foresight? While there were probably a lot of complicated political reasons at play, Magnolia couldn't help but cynically guess that one of the main reasons her father had rejected the position of Chancellor in real life was because he desperately wanted to steer clear of this entirely ridiculous future.

(I don't know what happened back then, Dear Father... but please tell me you don't actually harbor a highly questionable preference for teenage commoner girls?)

That would be a massive scandal.

「...So, let me just make sure I have this straight. I am, without a doubt, the exact person destined to be kicked out of society and locked in a monastery forever as the 'clumsy, airheaded secondary villainess, Magnolia'?」

Magnolia tapped her finger against the notebook page. Violet looked at her with an expression of deep sympathy and gave a heavy nod.

「...Unbelievable. I'm a major member of the bad guy cast... Though, while a dual-heroine setup makes sense, having a dual-villainess system is just plain mean.」

According to the notes, the original Magnolia’s greatest hits included trying to shove the heroine into a fountain only to trip and fall in herself; claiming a valuable item was stolen and demanding a search, only to get publicly humiliated when everyone realized she'd been caught red-handed planting it in Margaret's bag; and just constantly picking petty fights.

And whenever her plans blew up in her face, she'd immediately try to act cute and throw a tantrum to get the Prince to protect her—only to be completely ignored by him.

*She's an absolute idiot,* Magnolia concluded, snapping the notebook shut.

「............ Do you really get locked up for life over pranks this pathetic? Isn't that a little too harsh?」

「Well... that's just game logic for you...」

She'd need to read the event logs more carefully to know for sure, but a quick skim suggested the original Magnolia's schemes didn't actually involve anything genuinely dangerous or lethal.

Honestly, though.

While being relentlessly bullied would definitely be stressful for the heroine, the reality was just ridiculous. Are you telling me the daughter of the top Marquis family and the daughter of a powerful regional lord are going to have their lives completely ruined over some petty schoolyard jealousy?

What on earth was the highly capable Chancellor doing while his own daughter was making a fool of herself? Oh, right—he was too busy being romanced by the heroine.

The sheer stupidity of it all made Magnolia's mouth twist into a sour grimace. The combination of an intensely bitter expression and dead, hollow eyes made her look incredibly ominous.

「Mag-tan, your face...」

「Mag-tan?」

Having instinctively slipped back into her old internet slang, Violet watched Magnolia's completely decayed expression with rapidly blinking eyes.

「Oh, um! The thing is, 'Magnolia's' character design was incredibly cute... she was super popular in the real world! Because her actual bullying was so petty and minor, the community basically called her a 'Hyper-Adorable Super NPC.' The fans all affectionately called her 'Mag-tan.'」

(What kind of logic calls a certified villainess an NPC—even with a 'Super' tagged onto it?)

Reopening the book, Magnolia flipped to the character profiles. As she read the notes, the underlying pattern became clear: the original Magnolia had been raised under severe emotional neglect, ensuring she would grow up to be a desperate, foolish girl.

...Naturally, the story needed that "loveless upbringing" factor to justify why she turned out so warped and dynamic.

「There's actually a manga serialization and a light novel adaptation, and I am absolutely dying to have you read them!! ...Though they're all back in Japan, obviously,」 Violet lamented.

Normally, Magnolia wouldn't care about pop-culture merchandise, but since pictures are a lot faster to scan for clues than dense text, she recognized the manga would have been an incredibly useful resource.

(Is this girl a literal hardcore super-fan?)

Just as the thought crossed her mind, Violet tentatively slid a second notebook across the table with a highly conflicted, thoroughly guilty look. Magnolia didn't pick it up, choosing instead to just stare at it coldly.

「Um, so... because she was just so incredibly popular, the studio actually released a spin-off game where Magnolia is the main character. It's called *Playback♡Min-Koi II: This Time, the Heroine is a Hyper-Adorable Villainess!?* ...which means...」

*Playback♡Min-Koi II: This Time, the Heroine is a Hyper-Adorable Villainess!?*

A sequel... and once again, Magnolia found herself staring at a ridiculous title. Did the developers name these things on purpose?

*Are they practically begging me to make fun of them?!*

「That title is absolutely, unmitigatedly, hilariously dorky!」

「It is not dorky!! It's a masterpiece!!」

*****

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