BFLRS 3

Chapter 3

“Sigh…”

I didn’t even have the energy to lift my eyes from staring blankly into space. Right now, I was sitting alone inside the Imperial carriage with a dazed, vacant expression.

― Take the young lady to the Baron’s mansion at once.

Varon had spoken casually, making the oppressive weight he had put on my shoulder feel completely nonexistent. As if he were a man to whom nothing had ever happened.

‘Could I have misheard? Did I suffer from shock and hear things?’

It was a side of him I had never seen once during the five years I lived inside Bianca’s body.

‘Even if I’m not Bianca, that attitude is far too harsh.’

The bloodlust I felt from Varon earlier was so sinister it made goosebumps break out across my entire body. At this rate, if I were to bring up something only the two of us knew, I might be accused of being an evil young lady daring to impersonate the deceased young lady and get killed on the spot. Even though I played the game before transmigrating and experienced every single ending, there was never a route where such words came out of Varon’s mouth.

‘Even when he lost his mind due to the female lead Roselina’s escape, his self-destruction was all that happened.’

Then suddenly, the scenery outside the window began to bother me. Out of the corner of my sight, which had been fixed aimlessly on empty space, the constantly changing scenery caught my eye. I reached out irritably and snapped the window curtains shut. As I did, hands smaller and paler than those of the Duke’s daughter came into view.

‘This is seriously driving me insane.’

To think that even after escaping that suffocating scene, not a single thing has become clear! Why I—Bianca Barddensia—died, why I became Roselina Murshe, and why my brother and Varon hold such hostility toward me—Roselina Murshe.

Clasping my aching head in both hands, I curled my body inward.

‘If there’s a reason for my brother to dislike Roselina, there’s only one.’

He often asked me why I kept dragging around the young lady of a lowly family. And in fact, that was a question raised not only by my father, but by other nobles, and even Varon himself.

‘But could she really incur this much anger over just that?’

Varon’s reaction in particular was far too excessive. It wasn’t just once or twice that Varon and I ran into Roselina while I had her with me. Every time, Varon and Roselina didn’t exchange a single word. Rather than looking like they were on bad terms, it literally seemed as if they had no interest in each other whatsoever. Even though Varon was the main love interest pushed by the game developers, I thought it was just because the game hadn’t started yet.

‘Then what on earth did he mean by saying he’d come find me once things are settled?’

I ruffled my fluffy hair with hands that were far too small compared to before.

“Damn it, damn it, damn it!”

I was so frustrated I felt like tears were about to burst out. I avoided everything—the engagement with the Crown Prince that promised only ruin, the wicked tyranny I habitually engaged in since childhood, and the discord with those around me!

‘All I had to do was drop the act of being an innocent fool and just live a lazy life of luxury, so why?!’

This was a future I worked so hard to build over five years. My future. It wasn’t a default setting given for free to the villainous Duke’s daughter.

‘Wait a second.’

Come to think of it, I had been forgetting the most important thing until now.

‘If I became Roselina, then what about that person?’

Suddenly, I remembered that person who had left this place half a month ago.

It was roughly two years ago. The third year of my transmigration. Everything was going smoothly. I was successfully taming those around me by acting as a proud daughter, a loving younger sister, and a trustworthy friend. Even so, I couldn’t shake off an inner anxiety.

‘In typical transmigration stories, people usually work on the female lead, too.’

Besides, the female lead in this game was someone involved in every single death of the villainous young lady. Through the Crown Prince, through other nobles, through massive public accusations, and so on. Of course, all I had to do was refrain from acting like a tyrant as in the game. However, at that time, I was overconfident due to my smooth-sailing life, believing I could control every situation. Thus, a year after I found and cared for Roselina, who was living alone in a mansion deep in an isolated forest, arrived. It was around the time when Roselina, who had been terribly quiet, began talking to me first. The subtle sense of accomplishment that I had finally gotten close to the female lead who could pose a real threat to my life was incomparably sweet. That day, too, I offered her tea with a smile.

“You transmigrated too, didn’t you?”

Along with those words, the teacup held in my hand fell gracefully. Clatter. Only then did Roselina—sitting with her legs wide open—come into my view. What’s more, she was wearing Miss Mary’s first-half collection dress that I had gifted her.

“Don’t ask me how I knew. Looking at the way you act, it’d be weirder not to realize you’re a transmigrator.”

Even if her speech had gotten longer recently, it was the first time she had spouted such a long sentence. I was frozen stupidly in the exact posture I held when I dropped the teacup. Then suddenly—you too? Did she say you too transmigrated?

“Roselina, no, did you transmigrate as well?!”

How did I feel back then? Right, I felt like I had met an ally in the middle of enemy territory; I was so happy I felt like flying. The problem was that the happiness didn’t last long.

“What? Fuck, I’m supposed to end up with that red-eyed guy?” “But I think the narrative can be changed. If you keep looking—” “Ah! This is driving me fucking crazy! Hey, do you know a way to go back to how things were?” “I looked into that too, but—” “Of course you don’t know! That’s why you’re acting like this! Argh!”

Roselina—no, that transmigrator—never listened to me until the end after revealing her true colors. She said she had never played this game before. She had merely discovered it installed by her younger sister, but had never even logged in. So I diligently explained the world-building of this game to her. Though I thoroughly hid the fact that I was the villainous Duke’s daughter.

“Hmhmm.”

After listening to me in silence, she threw one leg right up onto the table.

“And right now, the game hasn’t even started yet.” “So you’re saying even you don’t know what’ll happen when that time comes?”

Scanning her surroundings with sharp eyes, she continuously jittered her leg resting on top of the table. At that vulgar motion, the desserts and teacups on the table shook along with it.

“Everything you know right now is stuff that happens after the game starts.” “That’s true.” “Which means right now, you’re not helpful for shit. What about a way to return?” “Actually, in the beginning, I tried anything and everything blindly. But as you can see, I failed. There’s a spiritual ritual similar to an exorcism called a ritol, and I even tried that.” “Wow, you believe in garbage like that? You are beyond stupid!”

She even pointed her finger right at me and burst into roaring laughter. She laughed like that for quite a while before choking on her spit and coughing. Then, after gulping down the cold black tea like it was rice wine, she spoke solemnly:

“Hey, but you.”

It was a voice far lower than a moment ago. Barely holding back my surging anger, I raised my left eyebrow. Then, she raised her left eyebrow in turn and grinned.

“You’re the villain, aren’t you?” “…Huh?” “Don’t you look in the mirror? If you open your mouth, you look like you’d spit out lines like, ‘Shall I kill you right now?’”

Saying so, she stood up from her seat. Wearing a mean smile that didn’t suit her lovely face in the slightest.

“Up until now, you paid off the Baron family’s debts, retrieved that tiny bit of property from that guy who claims to be her uncle, and even supported her living expenses. Yet despite that, you strangely seemed desperate to cater to my every whim. Carrying and bringing gifts all day, every day.”

Accompanying her words with exaggerated hand gestures, she looked straight into my eyes and said with emphasis:

“You’re in a damn desperate position when it comes to me, aren’t you?”

Though the format was a question, it wasn’t asked because she needed my answer. She was completely convinced.

“Now I get it—why you tried so hard. If I’m the female lead and you’re the villain, it fits like a glove.” “…” “It was far too unnatural to pass off as simple Nosiness with a capital N. Pretending to be nice only looks like a good deed if you keep it within reason.”

Listening to her chatter as if she were somehow excited made my head throb.

‘What kind of thug-like trash is this?’

It was true that I was flustered. Because for five years, there hadn’t been a single person who didn’t move according to my expectations. However, I was someone who had even managed to restore my relationship with the Duke—who, when the young lady in the game was executed, said it was a relief even though she was his own child.

“So what?”

When I replied in a deliberately mocking tone, deep wrinkles formed between her eyebrows.

“As long as I don’t get into a brawl with you, I won’t even appear in the game. Besides, even the most terrible punishment is just a fine.”

Unlike my attitude pretending to have guts, everything I spouted was a lie. No matter how much we were in the same boat, there was no need to reveal my weakness to a bomb-like opponent like her.

“Oh, then how about this?”

The problem was her eyes, which sparkled without losing their gleam despite my defensive attitude.