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The Reincarnated Thirty-Something Woman’s Otherworldly Reform Life

Returning Home and the Discussion

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She thought Gai would try to confirm what happened, but he didn't ask her anything in particular. Feeling a little relieved by that, Magnolia hurried through the royal palace garden toward the waiting room with him.

...It wasn't like Gai wasn't curious.

He just knew that no matter how casually they interacted, they still had a master-servant relationship. The nobler the person you served, the bigger their secrets tended to be. And when secrets were kept, it wasn't a matter of trust or anything like that; it was either because there was no need to disclose it, or to protect him.

...If the need arose, he would hear the details. But that wasn't for him to decide—it was up to his master.

Though it was incredibly bizarre, he hadn't seen or felt anything dangerous about the girl from earlier. In that case, he just needed to focus entirely on keeping Magnolia safe.

...Magnolia herself was a mysterious girl. He could always sense that she was probably harboring some massive secret.

(She's been deep in thought for a while now...)

She was probably trying to figure out how to explain things to him if he asked.

(It's not like a servant is there to make things difficult for their master, though.)

Magnolia was terrible at ordering servants around. She exerted way too much consideration for them. While such thoughtfulness—unbefitting her high status—was a virtue and the reason her subordinates adored her, he felt she could afford to be at least a little more selfish.

「Milady, Lord Claude is probably back by now, so leaving before the Queen tries to say something to us is our best bet.」

Leaving early due to sudden illness wasn't considered rude. Collapsing right in front of everyone would be far worse. Since they had already left a message with one of the Queen's ladies-in-waiting stating they wouldn't be returning, going home wouldn't be an issue. There was no doubt the other party would try to say something to make them stay, though.

Magnolia looked up into Gai's narrow eyes and nodded silently.

When they returned to the waiting room allocated to the Margrave's family, it seemed Claude had just gotten back as well. He was in the middle of draping his freshly shed knight order jacket over the back of a chair.

The other three felt a brief wave of relief seeing Magnolia return safely, but it didn't last long. Looking somewhat displeased, Magnolia raised both arms and looked up pleadingly at Claude.

It seemed she wanted him to pick her up. They stared at each other for a brief moment.

「「…………」」

Claude thought it was rare for her to act like this, but he scooped her up with practiced ease and held her in his arms.

Lily smiled warmly, murmuring, "Oh my, oh my. Are you all tuckered out?", while Dean snickered, teasing her for acting like a spoiled kid. But after a sharp glare from Magnolia, Dean hurriedly started checking their luggage to get ready to head home.

Gai caught Claude's eye, which seemed to ask if something had happened, before announcing he would bring the carriage around to the entrance and promptly leaving the room.

Magnolia wrapped her arms around Claude's neck, letting out a small sigh as she sank into his familiar warmth. A blend of mild soap and scented oil—it was Claude's distinct scent.

Feeling deeply comforted by this scent that was completely different from either her father's or grandfather's, she whispered in his ear, so soft that no one else could possibly hear.

「...Just listen to me without changing your expression. Today, I met a fellow reincarnator.」

His body tensed up for a split second, but Claude kept his face perfectly neutral, lightly patting her back like he was soothing a child.

...Did that mean he understood?

Magnolia pressed on.

「She apparently knows the future, so I intend to invite her to the townhouse to get some answers.」

「...Dean, Lily. Let's hurry home before the royals try to say anything to us.」

Claude gave out the orders while continuing to gently pat her back.

「I plan to invite her to the townhouse tomorrow so we can check everything as soon as possible. Send out the invitation immediately once we get back. I've already gotten verbal agreement from both the girl herself and her mother that it'll be sometime soon.」

Claude let out a quiet breath, gently patting her back.

...Before he could even hear her report on the tea party, which surely hadn't been smooth sailing, his niece had somehow dragged in—or stumbled into—yet another completely unimaginable situation. Though whether it was the tea party or the reincarnation business, she was just as much of a victim caught up in it all.

Still, both the alternative world and the future had to be sensitive topics for Magnolia.

(Didn't she say that while her mind functions fully, her emotions are closer to her physical age...?)

If so, was she feeling anxious right now?

Despite her usual tendency to treat Claude like he was the younger one, he rested his cheek against his tiny, childlike niece's head and adjusted his grip to hold her securely, trying to put her at ease.

As they hurried down the palace corridor, the Prime Minister and the Chief Lady-in-Waiting came walking toward them side by side.

「Keep your head down just like that.」

Claude's low voice brushed against her ears. Magnolia acknowledged his command by burying her face flat against Claude's shoulder.

「What seems to be the matter with Lady Magnolia?」

「She seems to have fallen ill, likely from exhaustion... His Majesty the King gave us advance permission to head home early. I do apologize for leaving the tea party midway through, but we would like to take our leave now.」

The Chief Lady-in-Waiting looked rather displeased—perhaps she had been ordered by the Queen to bring Magnolia from the waiting room—but the Prime Minister nodded his assent.

「...Very well. The event just concluded anyway, so it is no problem. Being put on the spot to speak in an unfamiliar setting must have been quite draining. Thank you for making the effort to attend despite your condition.」

「Not at all. If you will excuse us.」

Clutching Magnolia, who was pretending to be asleep (or passed out), Claude bowed along with Lily and Dean as they walked past.

(Sorry about that, Mr. Prime Minister! Good luck with the rest~)

In her mind, Magnolia gave the Prime Minister a little wave. Resultantly, thanks to his presence, she had managed to avoid a direct showdown with the Queen, at least to some extent. Magnolia genuinely hoped he would keep up the good work as Prime Minister for a very long time.

Once everyone had piled into the carriage, a collective sigh escaped them all. Magnolia was set down onto the seat, and her eyes instantly flew wide open.

As if declaring that they had overstayed their welcome, the carriage smoothly sped away from the palace grounds.

「...So, how did the tea party go?」

「It was kind of awkward. The Queen asked me if I was enjoying the party and if I liked the Prince, so I told her I wasn't really cut out for it and recommended Lady Gardinia or Lady Hortensia instead.」

Hearing this, the other three exchanged glances, amazed by how incredibly blunt the conversation had gotten.

As she recounted her interactions with the Queen and Prince step-by-step, Dean wore a complicated look, while the two adults' expressions grew grim.

Magnolia let out a sigh and shrugged° her shoulders.

「At any rate, I have absolutely zero intention of becoming the Crown Princess to begin with. Plus, I don't think my personality meshes well with either the Queen or the Prince.」

「...It would have been a disaster if Father had been there with you.」

Everyone nodded in agreement.

Still, though she couldn't speak for the King since she hadn't met him, the Queen and Prince were exactly the kind of people Colette had made them out to be. Meeting them in person had honestly left Magnolia quite stunned, or rather...

Can someone really pull off being royalty acting like that...? Unlike what she had imagined, she tilted her head, thinking that it was a position requiring immense discretion, caution, and consideration. Had the people holding similar positions back on Earth whom she'd heard about just been exceptionally proper?

For the time being, since she was officially playing the part of someone who had fallen ill, she felt a wave of relief knowing she probably wouldn't have to attend any of these events for a while.

Once they arrived back at the townhouse, they disbanded immediately.

Since it had been a while since they were last in the Royal Capital, Lily was scheduled to return to her family home for a few days. Dean, having been incredibly tense during his very first palace visit, looked extremely sleepy.

Magnolia sat in the office to write the invitation to the Rishua household. Since it was so sudden, she was about to add a letter of apology to the parents, but Claude took over the task, suggesting it would be better coming from an adult.

Meanwhile, Thomas deftly arranged some flowers from the garden into a bouquet to be delivered along with the letter. Sebastian back in the Margraviate was exceptionally competent, but his younger brother, Thomas, was equally capable.

The expressions on Dean and Lily's faces when they first saw Thomas's face had been priceless. ...Even Magnolia, who should have seen him once before moving to the Margraviate, was quite startled when she saw him again. No wonder she had felt a sense of familiarity when she first saw Sebastian upon arriving at the Margrave's estate. The two of them were spitting images of each other, practically identical.

At any rate, Gai took the items and set off to deliver them to the Rishua household. ...He had probably also gone to check out the Rishua family's background, specifically to make sure they weren't the type of people who would cause any harm to members of the Margrave's household.

In the empty° office, Claude decided to hear the full story from Magnolia once more.

She explained that the realization that Violet was a reincarnator came about because Violet had uttered a word from Magnolia's original world.

In the first place, their encounter had occurred because Violet knew about Magnolia and the actions the "original" Magnolia was supposed to take... and since Magnolia's movements had strayed from that path, Violet had grown curious and followed her.

As he listened to the explanation, Claude furrowed his brow as if nursing a headache.

「...Is it a frequent occurrence on 'Earth' or in 'Japan' for adult women to climb trees or venture into bushes?」

Magnolia had once climbed a tree to keep Dean company and ended up with sore muscles, which had earned her exasperation and teasing from Claude.

Having her sore spot poked, Magnolia made a complicated face. ...To be fair, even if she wasn't quite an adult, a fourteen-year-old wouldn't normally navigate by moving through the bushes either.

「She seems to have been only fourteen years old, but... even in Japan, people don't really climb trees or crawl through bushes at that age.」

He gave her a look that said, "Figures." ...Was it just Magnolia's paranoia, or did he look like he still wanted to say something?

「Well, fine. But putting aside how strange it is that she was reincarnated as well... how does someone living in 'Japan' know about this world?」

Claude's question was entirely reasonable. Why would someone know about events and people in an "alternate world" whose very existence they shouldn't even be aware of?

「...Do you remember when I told you I was a reincarnator, I mentioned that reincarnation wasn't something that actually 'happened' as a proven fact°, but was merely a concept in stories?」

Claude nodded. Magnolia continued her explanation, trying to make it as easy to understand as possible.

「It has to do with that, actually. There are 'stories' that deal with that exact concept.」

Some stories are about being reincarnated into an unknown place or country, others are about being reincarnated into the past or the future, and some are about being reincarnated into the world of a game or a book.

「…………」

「Just like how there are various books and plays on this continent, Earth has all kinds of creative works. Among them, there are many fictional works set not in a real country, but in imaginary worlds or nations.」

Having followed the explanation this far, he asked to confirm, his tone sounding completely incredulous at the conclusion he'd reached.

「...So, you're saying there was a story set in Ascald and Azenda back in your old world, and because it describes the exact same events and people that exist here, she knows the past and future of this world from reading or watching it?」

His comprehension skills were amazing. Even though the premise should have been incredibly hard to believe... well, the truth was that this place was apparently the world of a game. Despite looking confused and as if finding it utterly impossible, he perfectly grasped the preposterous concept Magnolia was trying to convey.

「Exactly. I don't know why a world or country that was purely imaginary to them actually exists in reality, but—there is a creative work, a story, out there where we are depicted as characters.」

A small breath escaped Claude's lips.

Trying to differentiate between a game and a light novel would probably only confuse him further. Keeping it simply as a "story" was bound to be the easiest to follow. Especially a game. While he would grasp it instantly if he saw one, she didn't think he could comprehend it at all through a purely verbal explanation. Explaining that images move and talk, that you watch it on a screen like a play, and that every time you choose an action, someone's affection meter goes up... it would sound completely nonsensical to him.

「You don't know that story yourself, Magnolia?」

「No, unfortunately...」

「I see...」

There was no point in getting into any more detailed explanations. It would be far more constructive to pour their energy into preparing for or averting the actual future.

「With everything going on... are you holding up okay?」

She gave a wry smile at his worried tone.

「Well, either way, I know I'll regret it if I don't ask her about it. I'll be fine.」

Magnolia returned to her room, lost in thought as she got ready for bed. Judging by the way Violet spoke, *Min-Koi*—short for *Everyone is in Love with You!*—must be a pretty famous game.

If it was that popular, even if she had never played it herself, she felt like she should have at least known the name from commercials or something.

(Maybe it was a game released further in the future?)

Then again, it was entirely possible she'd just ignored it because she had zero interest.

(An otome game, huh...)

Her light-novel-loving friend from back then had probably forced her to play a few. But she had never played any of them enough to really get into them. Looking back now, she regretted not playing them properly.

The last time she played one was a few months before she reincarnated into this world. While her friend was away on a trip, she had begged Magnolia on her hands and knees to level up her characters... forcing her to play through some mid-game episodes.

...It was supposed to be a game set in an academy in an alternate world. The heroine was a cute baron's daughter who was super popular—a typical, run-of-the-mill game. If she remembered correctly, the route she was assigned to handle was for a cute, little-brother-type love interest. She only remembered grinding through it endlessly with dead eyes.

(Since I had absolutely no context for the story before or after, none of the details stuck in my head... Wait, what was the title again? She handed me the manga and the novel later, telling me to read them because they were so good.)

Preoccupied with her busy life, she had left them completely untouched, and they were probably still piled up in a corner of an empty shelf. The fact that it had both a manga adaptation and a novelization meant it had to be a reasonably high-selling game, though.

(What was it? I'm pretty sure it had a totally lame title.)

Come to think of it, *Min-Koi* was pretty lame too. Couldn't they have come up with something a bit better than that?

(...Hm?)

*****

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