Prologue

Looking in from the outside, she stared at the various desserts lined beyond the glass.

A pastry shop. 

The smell of sweet butter bread had stopped her dead in her tracks while she walked  down the Renaissance-esque streets.

As she caught herself distracted, she squinted her eyes tightly and quickly shook her head. 

Buying a snack at this time was unacceptable. She had barely enough money to handle the full three years at the academy. 

Opening her eyes again, she saw her own reflection in the glass. For a moment, she thought she was looking at someone else.

Her beautiful pink hair was tied into a half ponytail, her jewel-like golden eyes sparkling with a gentle excitement. The academy uniform, which consisted of the uniquely sky-blue ribbon-tie, added an innocent charm to her bespectacled appearance. 

Her slightly trembling hands gripped tightly on the handle of the leather briefcase,  She twisted her body several times to confirm her appearance before nodding to herself, satisfied.

Having succeeded in drawing her attention away from the serenading pastries, she went on her way. 

This girl’s name was Lowe. 

…She was  a commoner with a special destiny.

Springing with each step she took, she suddenly heard a loud crash echoing through the air.

—THUD!

“...!”

“Ughh… damn it—”

She turned towards the narrow street where that sound of a pained groan for help seized her.

Before thoughts could right her from the wrong, her feet were already moving. 

As she entered the alley, the repulsive scent of moss and blood hit her. Battered crates and broken furniture were messily strewn across the uneven ground. 

Nearing the end of the alley was a man covered in blood. 

With sleek black hair and a sharp angled jawline, a face that left an indelible impression to anyone who saw it, and a sculpted 6-pack body that was impeccably riveting to the eyes; he laid painfully against the shattered barrel, surrounded by a black inklike aura.

Lowe swallowed back her anxiety.

There was a kind of black inklike substance covering his body, a contamination caused by the blight. He was unconscious.

Torn between the possibility of danger, and saving a life, the latter outweighed the former. 

She timidly held out her hands and lightly pressed them  against his firm body. Then, an undulating ripple of golden light quickly spread across it. 

The sticky black aura that surrounded him dissolved into nothingness. Wounds which should not heal eventually started to close. The dried blood stains on his body quickly peeled off, sublimating into a sparkling gold dust.

The light settled within seconds. By the end of it, Lowe had sweat dripping from her face.

The incurable blight—she was the only one in the world to which this rule did not apply.

She lingered there, observing the calm rise and fall of his chest. Now that his life was saved, it was time to go. 

Of course, she was concerned if he would be fine being left there but… it would be better to leave before anything else happened.

As Lowe turned her back towards him, unbeknownst to her, he slowly opened his eyes. 

In his hazy consciousness, he managed to catch sight of Lowe’s fleeing figure.

That man was Drew Raven.

One of the four male leads who were fated to become part of her harem.

⋉◆⌌ ⫺⪼▫◆▫⪻⫹ ⌍◆⋊

Despite the unexpected encounter, Lowe arrived at the academy on time.

She was ushered into the assembly where the welcoming ceremony was being held. 

Unfortunately, as with all welcoming ceremonies, the formalities were just that: boring.

Lowe spent the time observing those around her. There were close to a few hundred new students enrolling this year, most of them being nobles. 

Realising she was part of the minority, she felt self conscious. Commoners didn’t normally have the opportunity to attend an academy of such prestige.

As the welcoming session came to an end, a roaring round of applause spread through the crowd. Confused, she turned her attention back towards the stage.  

Her eyes widened.

There stood a man with an air of majesty, with striking blonde hair that glimmered under the light of the morning sun, and gentle aquamarine eyes that couldn’t be missed even from afar. 

The prince of the Estelle Empire—Isodor Estelle.

He was a new attendee of Oben Academy, just like Lowe . Who would’ve thought that a prince of all people would be in the same year as her?

… Not that she knew this was all just a part of the plot. Ahem.

⋉◆⌌ ⫺⪼▫◆▫⪻⫹ ⌍◆⋊

The assembly concluded. Once dismissed, all students were directed by the kind staff to their classes.

Lowe, in awe of everything, remained slightly drunk on the mood. It hadn’t even been a day and she had already experienced many things that were beyond her wildest dreams.

Following the pointers given by the mini academy guidebook in hand, she noticed a noisy crowd of students approaching her from the front.

She stopped and moved to the side, cutely rubbernecking to see what was going on. She soon realised that the reason for the crowd was because of the crown prince Isodor Estelle—and his notorious fiance.

Lowe didn’t know why the word ‘notorious’ came to mind when describing her, but it seemed fitting for the cold beauty that was Astraea Winterfall.

She lowered her head nervously, out of respect for the two parties as they crossed each other’s paths. Yet, just as she thought the storm would calmly pass, something caused her to trip.

She fell to the ground with a hard thud.

Loud gasps quickly spread amongst the crowd.

The first thing Lowe saw when she tried to get up was Astraea’s cold and condemning gaze. Unfurling a luxurious fan that covered her nose and lips, she stared down Lowe as if she were a worm.

Lowe felt the blood draining from her face—that was, until she was bestowed a swooping grace. 

The crown prince himself came before her, shielding against the ice princess’ icy gaze. 

“Are you okay?”

“I-I’m-I’m sorry…!” 

Lowe shambled in thoughts, vehemently apologising.

Isodor turned to look at Astraea. 

“Why did you do that?” 

“What? That commoner was looking at you with a lecherous gaze. I found it unnerving, so I did what I should as your fiance. She should know her place.” She snapped. 

“You…” Isodor clenched his teeth. 

He shut his eyes, fist clenched disgruntled. Finally reaching a decision, he turned and placed his arms under Lowe’s frail body.

“Eh?” The innocent girl blurted cutely in confusion.

She was now in Isodor’s embrace. 

“Isodor! How dare you…!” The ice princess’ harsh words poured.

Observing the awe-inspired crowd, Lowe’s face swiftly flushed red.

Her complaints were left to the dust. The prince briskly departed with Lowe in his arms, leaving the villainess standing there, in the spotlight of disgrace.

The princess spat a curse under her breath  and stormed off in their opposite direction. The watching crowd didn’t pursue her fleeing figure, merely standing there in shock of what they had just witnessed.

⋉◆⌌ ⫺⪼▫◆▫⪻⫹ ⌍◆⋊

 ⋉◆⌌ Astraea’s POV⌍▫◆⋊.

As I walked away from the crowd, my heart thumping from the lingering tension, I repressed the twitching smile that I was dying to display.

He took the bait. Isodor carried Lowe with the most perfect princess carry—ever!

I could barely remember how the original cut-scene looked since it had been so long since I last saw it. Even so, in my eyes at least, the way swept her up was picturesque.

This was the world of <Devouring Blight: Estelle’s Flower>, and Lowe was this world’s protagonist.

Meanwhile, as you may have already guessed, I was the villainess who would eventually meet her doom.

As ironic as it sounded, I was doing my best to act the part. I needed the male leads to focus their affection on her, not me. 

Learning from experience, the standard strategy of ‘avoiding the death flags through rational deeds’ wouldn’t cut it. 

This story should be a lighthearted comedy, full of laughter and celebration for character growth. 

… Vision growing dark, out of breath.

If I didn't act like a villainess, they would start paying attention to me instead —in order to support the protagonist, I had to become the plot device.

… I pressed myself against the wall.

There was really no other choice. The story had to progress as it was intended…

… Calming my breath, I slowly stood back up. 

So don’t smile— Frown. 

Act mean. Hurt people. Do it wickedly and intentionally—not giving fate a chance to paint me in a good light.

I’ve returned to the past to change this damned future. I will not allow the world to enter another apocalypse.

Suppressing my tremors, I headed for the classroom where the real story would begin.

I tried my best to act cold. Keeping my head straight, line of sight before me, I paced forward.

In this world, only I knew what the future held.

As a light breeze blew, his presence brushed past me. 

Seeing his tanned skin and black hair…

My stomach lurched and I almost threw up.

I neither turned around, nor did I stop walking, resisting the urge to cave in to my pitiable emotion.

… It’s been a while.

The culprit who killed Lowe in the previous iteration. 

This time I’ll make sure of it.

You will die.