Chapter 58
The heroine of an otome game is usually honest and kind, often a bit naive or oblivious, whether naturally or deliberately. The heroine of [guardian] is no exception, a girl who, far from feeling humbled after being adopted from a poor baron family into a count family, calmly accepts treatment equal to Celestia.
Every morning, she heads to the beautiful garden at dawn to admire the flowers wet with dew. After enjoying them to her heart's content, she takes some flowers carefully cultivated by the gardeners, hands them to a maid, and has them displayed in her adoptive father's study.
Dressed in a one-piece dress adorned with lace and frills, she sits at the breakfast table where croissants, brioche, fluffy omelets, bacon, warm vegetables, and fruit juice are laid out.
After snacking on a breakfast filled with all the things the heroine loves, she moves to another room where a tutor is already waiting, teaching a wide range of subjects like languages, geography, history, and arts.
Before reaching adulthood, everything deemed as a lady's education is added to her lessons, leaving her with no time to rest.
The heroine works hard to adapt quickly to a life completely different from her time in the baron family.
While enduring Celestia's tyrannical treatment, she gradually gains recognition from those around her and is set to find happiness... or so the story goes.
"What's with that?"
Unable to sleep due to the anger welling up repeatedly over Celestia's attitude and words at last night's dinner, she decided to skip the early morning garden stroll she had been doing out of obligation and instead spend the day lazing in bed.
No longer having a personal maid to wake her, Mirabel woke up just before noon, shed her lace-laden pajamas, grabbed a random one-piece dress from the closet, and moved to the next room.
Mirabel glanced at her mother, who looked surprised to see her daughter just out of bed, and silently ate the late breakfast that hadn't yet been cleared away.
Truthfully, she hates cute clothes and dresses, and rather than bread or rolls of wheat, she wants to eat rice.
The contents of the pink teacup are filled with so much sugar that she wants to protest that it's not tea but sugar water. Usually, she would blow on it repeatedly to cool it down after eating, but not in the mood for that, she pushed the saucer away with her finger.
A heroine who can become happy or unhappy with a single choice.
No one wants to be unhappy. They should desire happiness, even if it means trampling over others.
—That's why, even though I'm perfectly copying and acting as the game's heroine...
"That's not even the same person anymore..."
Celestia, who suddenly disappeared three years ago, returned yesterday with the former head of the family.
The beautiful and perfect count's daughter, once surrounded by numerous maids and attendants like a queen, is nowhere to be seen. With damaged hair, sun-tanned skin, and an unchanged refined appearance but an increased intimidating presence, her towering height and rough tone would surely make anyone mistake her gender at first meeting.
—That's not a villainess, but a villainous young lord.
After letting out a deep sigh, unable to suppress her irritation, she messed up her hair with her hands.
"Are you in a bad mood today?"
"...Yeah."
She tossed the sweet offered by her mother into her mouth.
Tilting her head, wondering why it wasn't the usual overly sweet, overpriced confection, her mother said, "A new maid brought it."
"It's so frustrating..."
"Don't use such vulgar language."
"But, Mother, aren't you upset? My personal maid was dismissed without notice, and last night at dinner, in front of my adoptive father and the former head, my sister said I'm not family! It made me so sad..."
"It can't be helped. It's the truth."
"Mother...!"
"We're allowed to live in luxury, and there's no need to worry about your marriage partner or dowry. You must live with gratitude."
Her mother, who once dreamed of becoming a legitimate wife rather than a concubine, completely changed her attitude after being warned by Baldo Rotisch.
Acting more like a freeloader than a second wife, she agreed without hesitation to move to the detached building, and last night at dinner, she made an instant decision without even pretending to think it over.
"...You have no ambition, do you?"
By the middle of the game, the heroine is treated like a true daughter in this house and is doted on by Baldo Rotisch. Of course, the heroine's mother is there too, and a close relationship with the count can be seen, but at this rate, that future won't come.
The surrounding environment keeps changing from the game.
It's obvious whose fault that is.
Wanting to confirm something before the important event at the music festival, she pretended to be ignorant and sat at the dinner table.
Even if Celestia is a reincarnated person, if she hasn't played the game [guardian], she wouldn't be much of a threat.
However, if she's a reincarnated person who knows every detail of the game, as is common in light novels...
"...I might be overthinking this."
There was a time when people raved about the still image of the heroine and the crown prince locking eyes by the lake, calling it divine. The heroine's pure white dress, pink hair accessory, and the crown prince's eye color of gold matched in her accessories are quite famous.
That's why she deliberately brought it up, observing closely for any reaction, and concluded that the former was also white.
"If that was an act... that's bad."
Though she seemed confused, Mirabel pondered as she looked out the window, wondering what to make of it.
Thinking it might still be a bit early, she looked toward the gate and saw a carriage bearing the crest of a marquis family entering the grounds...
"Honestly, it's so annoying."
She had showered Floyd with so much charm and attention until now, but ever since he entered the academy in the royal capital and became the crown prince's aide, the monthly letters they exchanged stopped.
She has no intention of pursuing him romantically, but his position as the crown prince's aide is useful, so she doesn't want to let go of it.
"Mother, what's the status of the new maid?"
"Celestia's nanny said they'd select one within three days. Should I ask them to hurry?"
"No, it's fine."
"Really? I told them not to come until called since there are no plans to leave the mansion until the day of the music festival."
"That's fine. Back at the old house, we didn't even have maids, so it's okay."
"That's true."
Thinking it's actually more convenient this way, she returned to her room and reached into the closet.
She took out a light-colored skirt and a voluminous one-piece dress, shedding the randomly chosen outfit she was wearing.
"Time-wise... if I'm having tea prepared, it should be in the garden, right?"
She pulled her long hair out from where it was caught in her clothes and moved her face side to side in front of the mirror.
In the mirror was a lovely girl with an appearance that evoked a protective instinct, like a small animal, and she couldn't help but admire how fitting it was for a heroine.
"Mirabel? Where are you...?"
"I'm going for a little walk."
Before anything else could be said, she left the room and headed toward the small garden in the detached building.
She was no longer allowed to use the room on the second floor of the main house reserved for the head family and had been pushed out to the detached building, but she didn't go down without a fight.
She befriended the gardeners who took care of the gardens and learned about a small hidden path made of grass and trees that they used to access the great garden. Her small act of rebellion was to sneak into the grand garden made for the lady of the house and drink tea in the gazebo.
"It's surprisingly useful, isn't it?"
She slowly walked along the path and arrived at the great garden, crouching down and hiding in the bushes as she aimed for the gazebo.
As she got close enough to confirm visually, she saw several guards and Floyd at the gazebo.
It seemed Celestia hadn't arrived yet.
—Now then, what should I do...
The count had told her to stay away and not accompany Celestia and Floyd.
But if it's just a coincidence, no one can complain.
She stood up on the spot, deliberately rustled the bushes to make noise, and then called out toward the gazebo.