Ball of the Villainess and Supporting Characters Part II

Shortly after changing into my ball gown and returning back to the plaza, the people greeting each other were slowly breaking off, and the ball began.
The regularly held b.a.l.l.s are both a gathering place and scheming ground.
Thus all the women dressed themselves up gorgeously for appraisal, while sharp-eyed men made advances and appraised the women.

……Putting aside the sordid circ.u.mstances, all girls admire attending the royal ball at least once.
I am currently attending by myself.
Even though it’s my first time at a ball.
Rather than feeling lonely, I felt miserable.

Because I didn"t want a repeat of the earlier incident, I had Keika wait in the room and decided to attend the ball alone.
Although the role of escort was her main duty, to drop out before the actual event was not really a laughable matter.
I gave her a somewhat stern lecture about the matters regarding the incident, but she kept mumbling something about my pride, so it"s unlikely she truly reflected or regretted her actions…….

"A pleasure to meet you, young head of Rujil, how is your first ball?"
"A pleasure likewise, I am enjoying myself"

Occasionally people would come greet and talk a bit to me, but upon finding their target lady they would instantly rush away.
Thus I ended up as a wallflower with a gla.s.s of fruit juice.

But anyhow…
Attending a ball, is just in name so I also wasn"t expecting much from it.
The typical social debut for a n.o.ble daughter is around sixteen.
Hence, I will not be invited to dance.
If there was actually any adult man that would make a move on a ten year old girl, even in this world he would surely be labeled as a dangerous man.

That aside there was one more factor.
Fortunately, being the head of a clan of magicians charged with defending the country although I also tentatively hold the position of count, not much is expected of me in regards to being a "n.o.ble".
My bloodline is what strengthens my standing.
Therefore I don’t need to step into that world which is voracious when it comes to relationships.
Obviously that didn"t mean complete free love is allowed, but rather I don"t have to think about annoying political marriages, which is very helpful.
To begin with marriage is usually kept within our clan, so something like external political marriages would essentially never happen―――though father and mother are different. That was a special case.

……Well, even upon reaching the period of marriageable age nothing would happen, for "Origa" that is.
Since the author had written so.
Because the presence of her villainess was so strong even with her charming appearance, her very existence is way too powerful and villain-like, she ended up being a sheltered girl who never received any letters of marriage.

For one, there are several boys with heights similar to mine in the venue.
It would seem some have brought their sons in order to partner up with me.
But perhaps the previous exchange had spread about, as everyone was keeping far away from me and averting their eyes in fear.
This situation must be what the words ‘you will not be cursed by a G.o.d you do not come in contact with’.¹
Perhaps they think that if they displease me I"ll abandon their territory in an emergency situation, the weight of responsibility must be heavy for the boys.

―――No, I don"t mind. Love and such.
This was my first ball, so I wasn"t secretly antic.i.p.ating a childhood friend romance flag trigger or anything like that.
I am satisfied with just being able to watch over onii-sama"s youth secretly.
I’m definitely not thinking that this was a dry life, or this is why no one wants to be a villain.

"Haah………"
"Oh, are you tired? Miss Origa"

I had unintentionally closed my eyes and let out a sigh, but then I heard a voice coming from above.
Oh my…
This voice was certainly, if I recall, from that man with a bear-like physique.
With a friendly smile, my finely decorated head was gently patted.

"It"s been a while, it would appear you"ve grown quite a lot, I was surprised"

The Marquis and head of one of the five great magic clans, the Wood Clan, Harvester-sama.
I met him several times in the mansion back when Gil-sama hadn"t entered our house yet.
I have memories of him doting on me quite a lot during those times.
But ever since taking charge over Gil-sama, I never had the chance to see him again.
In the bloodthirsty environment of the Rujil house, a person like Harvester-sama was my ideal father and someone I secretly yearned for.
The parent-child relationships in our house was a bit that… So even more so.

"It"s been a while, Marquis Harvester-sama. I do apologize for not coming to greet you after taking over as head."
"Oh no, don"t worry about it. Ah-, you, bring a sweet drink for Miss Origa."

The attendant gave a bow and left to obtain a beverage, after giving a side-long glance Harvester-sama then immediately bent his large body down.
As I was wondering why he had ordered his attendant to leave, tilting my head mentally in confusion, he then hid his mouth with his wide hand in display.
Just as I braced myself for something secret that must be said in a public place.

"I was quite surprised at the many rumors spreading about today. I was wondering if my cute and serious princess had changed that much in just a single year."

It would appear I was overthinking it, but I could only return a wry smile to the playful smile on his face.
Ahh……as I thought what happened earlier was spreading .
Since it even reached the Marquis, it would seem it"s being treated as an established fact now.
Anyways, I rather he didn"t tease me over being too tense.
Since he already knows me, so the fact that I am going out of my way to fit into high society is probably also obvious to him.
When I unintentionally glared at him, he gave a big laugh.

"I have someone I wanted to introduce to you today, ―――here, go introduce yourself."

As he said this, I could see a boy from behind his large laughing body.
He looked a bit older than me―――about the same age as Gil-sama.
His expression was sharp but still had the features of a young child.
Being pushed forth in front of me by a large hand, he had an extremely disgruntled look on his face.

……Hmm?
This person, have I seen him somewhere before?

"Nice to meet you, I am Rujil"s current head, Origa Emelda Rujil."

His attire appeared well-made, and considering that Harvester-sama brought him here he was likely also a magician.
Seeing that he was perhaps related to Harvester-sama I properly greeted him, but he merely snorted and looked away.
I was slightly taken aback by his obvious show of displeasure and wondered whether something happened to him at the ball.
Although this was coming from me, children can be quite moody.

"Now Atlas, introduce yourself properly."

Harvester-sama hurriedly urged him in a low voice and the boy became further disgruntled.
I didn"t really mind and I smiled at Harvester-sama to convey that, but the time continued slowly ticking by.
Anyhow, a grayish-black hair along with brown eyes is not really that uncommon but…….
It felt like I"ve seen him somewhere before, but considering my shut-in lifestyle for the past few years it should be impossible.
As I was thinking about that, the boy finally spoke up.

"Atlas ……Atlas Ville Harvester."

After being warned again he simply stated his name in a flat and expressionless manner.
The eyes which were a similar brown like the Marquis beside him indicated their blood relation.

In the lineage of the wood clan, the first son will take on the name of Harvester.
Eh? So could it be that this is the next Marquis?
……Atlas?
Wait…"Atlas of the Wood"?
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh-I remember now!
He is one of those that will become onii-sama’s closest friends.
His abilities didn"t stand out as much in the protagonist"s party, and was a person who wasn’t often in the spotlight in the last part.

"He is usually at the knight school surrounded by other men, so he doesn"t know how to interact with such a cute girl like Miss Origa and is just shy. I do apologize about him but―――Miss Origa, would you partake in a dance with him?"

From the smiling face of Harvester-sama as he spoke, I could feel that his intentions were completely in good faith.
The next head of the Harvester and the current head of Rujil dancing together at the ball.
Just that itself would be intimidating, as it would be saying that the head of the wood clan is supporting me being the head of the fire clan.
It would reduce the burden of me standing alone by myself, he is probably thinking of that.
And for that reason, he went out of his way to call his son back from the training grounds deep in the mountains.
How kind……

However…
Although I was touched by the simple display of kindness extended out to me, beyond that I couldn"t respond due to the ma.s.s panic in my mind.

I was careless. Yes, careless.
Although I was carefully taking into consideration the movements of the other main characters, I completely forgot the existence of this supporting character.
Since he was a person that didn"t use any flashy sorts of magic, he didn"t really leave much of an impression.
Essentially, until "Origa" reached sixteen, she and Atlas shouldn"t have met.
In the story this person and I didn"t meet until the very end, we were only suppose to meet once yet I encountered him in such a place.
This won"t do, I have to make sure things don"t deviate too much from the actual story.
Because this boy would come to meet onii-sama, forge a friendship, hone their body and skills, enemies―――

"Miss Origa? Is something wrong?"
"No."

My thoughts were in turmoil.
In prioritization of the story, I should quickly flee and leave here.
But in regards to respecting Harvester-sama"s goodwill and reputation, contact here is inevitable.
Wondering if I could manage one song, I turned towards the boy with the smile I have been making all day.
His eyes were sharp and appeared as if he were looking at something foul――――this is hostility.

"I don"t want to."

With an obviously discontent expression, the boy turned around and ran off towards the courtyard.

"……….."

Well no, I wanted to avoid interfering with the story as much as possible, so I am thankful.
Rather I am actually relieved.
But what is with this feeling of defeat.
Also as the next successor, that att.i.tude really wasn"t suitable for a public place.
Even if just in name, I am the Count you know? Not the Count"s daughter you know?
While glancing up with a look of surprise, fury was distorting the face of Harvester-sama.

"Atlaaas!"

Perhaps it was his rebellious period, or he simply disliked me……either way it seems like it will be hard to educate him.
It would appear the boy"s feelings as a knight was stronger than his feelings as a n.o.ble.
Speaking of which, even in the light novel he would argue vulgarly with the kind Gil-sama.
I felt that this sort of event was indispensable for this type of character.

I watched as Harvester-sama repeatedly lowered his head in apology and ran off in search of his son, there were also many n.o.bles looking over here in interest.
Discord between the head of the fire clan and the next head of the wood clan on their first meeting―――no one wants to miss the contents of this story.
There were already rumors circulating about me being a problematic child since before nightfall.
Adding this situation in, I"ll be even more troubled in the upcoming future.
……A disagreement with an older n.o.ble, and discord with someone of the same generation, just going by all the rumors I would be a deplorable person!
Seeing the fake smiles of the n.o.bles as if they had seen something cute, I started running around to nonchalantly convey the situation.

Hmm…?
Why is it that the situation is gradually becoming worse……?
Even though I already have my hands full with my subordinates.
I didn’t want to get involved with him, but this is not worth it if I don’t get to say one of two sarcastic remarks next time I meet him.

Today really was a terrible day.
I already lost count of how many times I sighed on the short path back to the carriage.
Even Keika who hadn"t shown any signs of regret thus far, was looking towards me with an apologetic expression because of my numerous sighs.
But well… It wasn"t as if there were no results.
I wasn"t able to attain my original goal of a graceful and smooth debut though.

But due to the incident that occurred during the ball, I was able to obtain information from numerous n.o.bles.
――――As expected, the skirmishes are beginning to intensify at the western border, or that was the word.
As an ace, it is unlikely I will be sent to the front-lines immediately, but for now there is a need to dispatch some clan members.
However, just the dispatchment of numerous skilled people will also cause problems within the current Rujil.
Although are probably many who wish for that.

"Move too much and be crushed."
"Origa-sama?"

Even in the light novel Origa had enemies on all sides, I could only heave a sigh.
In the light novel the story only advanced from the protagonist"s side, so this was only speculation, but the stage is likely changing very swiftly.

"―――When we return back to the mansion, I will begin instructing the younger people. Plan out a schedule for it."

Keika bowed her head after acknowledging the orders, her eyes shining with respect.
Power is everything in Rujil.
Age doesn"t matter.
I was stronger than everyone else, just that alone would make everyone obedient.

But that doesn’t work in with aristocrats.
No matter how talented I am, once my t.i.tle as the powerful head was stripped away, I am only a child.
Because of my overwhelming display of ability, everyone would wait and observe for a year.
However, if the situation doesn"t improve I would only be seen as a decoration of the clan of fire, a puppet.
That was one of the catalyst for the great war in the actual story.
In the light novel "Origa" actively fueled the war, although it could be said as the actions started by one clan, it could also be said as a scheme by the n.o.bles to bring down the Rujil.

Even if it was instigated, I have nothing against it if it could be won but―――currently, only father and I can stand against the new weapons that the neighboring countries are likely developing.

Because of the emphasis on ability, there are problems with the way techniques are handed down, and there ware differences in prowess between each person.
Even those who are considered inferior in the clan, on the outside would still have enough capability to be seen as a full-fledged magician.
Therefore, everyone in the country held absolute faith in regards to the "Rujil" name.
Apparently some foolish n.o.bles believe that although the neighboring countries" strength could weaken "Rujil" they could never breach the borders.
Thus they would provide support to various neighboring countries to cause dissent among the battlefield.
Normally, that would be true.
However, the new weapons that will be developed by the neighboring countries from their support――――

……Even if my destiny of ruin couldn"t be changed, at the very least, I must move such that the protagonist can save as many as possible.
I believe that was the role of the villainess(last boss).
Whether I wanted, or not, I am the villainess.
I was born as the villainess.

When I looked up, the night sky was gloomy, covered in clouds.

¹ English equivalent of ‘let sleeping dogs lie’