My Next Life as a Villainess: All Routes Lead to Doom!, Volume 3

by Satoru Yamaguchi

  Is she really the daughter of some noble? Maybe I kidnapped the wrong person by mistake? It was enough to make me start suspecting myself.

  The rumors all said that she was... kind of weird. But I didn’t think she’d be quite this weird. At that point, I definitely thought she was a little crazy. Then she stared right at me and spoke.

  “There’s a lot I want to ask you, but most importantly... is Selena all right?”

  She’s the type that carves and walks her own path, huh. “...The rumors don’t do you justice, do they? Very well, I shall answer your question. Lady Selena is fine; she is safely sleeping in her room.”

  “...Is that so.” With that, she started staring at me again. “Rufus... are you a Wielder of Darkness?”

  A surprisingly straightforward question. Even I was caught off guard by how forward she was. “...My, aren’t you blunt with your questions.”

  “I couldn’t think of any roundabout ways to ask, you see,” Katarina responded in a somewhat absent-minded way.

  “What a strange person you are, indeed! Since you know of the existence of Dark Magic... well then. I suppose you, too, were involved in last year’s incident.”

  “!” Katarina froze in surprise.

  “Surprised? Since that was supposed to be all hushed up... ah. But you see, it is impossible to cover everything up. After all, many nobles with close ties to the Dieke family are quite shady individuals themselves.”

  Judging by how Selena had spilled the beans yesterday, I supposed it was fine to talk about it. All I had to do if it came down to it was to manipulate her memories. And since the threat yesterday seemed to have had no effect on this eccentric noble lady, I had to scare her a little more.

  “So you see... he, too, became interested in Dark Magic.”

  “...Him who?”

  “Ah. That would be my master. I became a Wielder of Darkness under his orders, before making my way into the family of Duke Berg...”

  “Wh-Why though?”

  “Didn’t I already mention it just now? So that Lady Selena could become the scapegoat for all these kidnappings and other assorted sins. So that she would disappear with Prince Ian, vanishing from the struggle for the throne, and eventually noble society altogether. The same goes for you and Prince Jeord, too.”

  “Why would you do such a thing...?”

  “Why? Of course it’s because you’re in the way, that’s why. I am working on behalf of the first crown prince, you see. Prince Jeffery desires the throne... and he is the kind of individual that would not hesitate to resort to various means to achieve his goals,” I said, allowing a cold, heartless smile to flit across my lips. Katarina fell silent.

  Finally! I’ve had some effect. At this rate, she would probably keep to herself for some time.

  “Surely even you are terrified now? Well then, I suppose that’s all we need to talk about, now. I’ve left a light meal here — do help yourself.”

  I left a bell in her room, for her to ring just in case she ever needed anything, and then left. Well, she’ll probably never ring it anyway. Or so I thought...

  I realized how naive that thought was less than an hour later.

  I was a little surprised when I heard the sound of the bell ringing. Maybe she was unnerved by my threats. But...

  “Oh nah, nothing like that. I’m hungry, actually. Please give me something to eat. It’ll be tea time soon, right? I’d appreciate some sweets and tea.”

  Katarina’s brazen request completely changed what I thought of her. Before, I thought she was just an eccentric, but I was wrong. She was a total freak.

  With that in mind... continuing the whole butler charade seemed stupid. After all, this girl probably didn’t care how I spoke at all.

  “Well, here it is. Enjoy.”

  Anyway, I prepared the snacks and tea she’d asked for and handed them to her. With a simple “thank you,” she quickly accepted.

  A noble thanking a servant...? Katarina was either really off her rocker... or maybe she wasn’t an arrogant noble at all.

  After a single sip of the cup of tea, she said, “Could I ask that you join me for tea? I don’t really like to have it by myself.”

  “...You... really... Ah, whatever. There’ll be no end to this craziness if I keep on getting surprised.” I really didn’t have the energy to be surprised by this girl anymore. I sat down, just as she requested.

  “Did the way you speak just... change?”

  Ah. Guess she finally noticed.

  “Ah that, yeah. I had to play the part of the butler, see, so I had to talk that way. But dealing with someone like you and keeping that up at the same time gets kinda dumb eventually, you know? That’s why I’ve gone back to talking like I normally do. I can change it back if it causes you distress, my lady.” I meant to give her a smile that was as fake as my last sentence, but then...

  “No, this is fine. Having you go back to talking formally feels somewhat... gross,” she declared casually.

  “Ha, you think?”

  “But so... you said you were playing the role of a butler? So you never really were one?”

  Under normal circumstances, I would have simply evaded the question. But for some reason... I felt like I could talk about it with this girl.

  “Do I look like a butler to you now?”

  “Not really, no. No matter how I look at it now, you just seem like a young man from some downtown district in a nearby city.”

  “Not bad! You’re spot on. Pretty good. Actually... you’re a noble, right? And you go downtown?”

  “...Sometimes. I dress up and look the part.”

  Her answer was honestly surprising. Most nobles look down on the common people; they wouldn’t be caught dead in a place like that. Mason was the same way. His eyes probably couldn’t even see commoners. That was why he used us however he wanted, like disposable pawns.

  ...This girl was nothing like Mason. She was the oldest daughter of a Duke, and yet this high-class noble lady was going to a place like the downtown district. Just like the weirdo she was.

  “But then... you really are just an average guy from a downtown district? Were you born there?”

  “Well, no. You got it right, mostly, but I wasn’t born there. My social life was spent there, yes, but I was born in the slums.”

  “Eh? Slums! There are slums in this kingdom?!”

  Seemed like she misunderstood. I corrected her, saying, “Ah, you got it all wrong, see. I wasn’t born in this kingdom.”

  “Eh, is that right?”

  Katarina’s surprised face made the mischievous part of my heart tingle.

  I never thought of hiding the fact that I was raised in the slums. I didn’t think it’s a bad thing, but people who I told furrowed their brows and looked at me like I was dirt. Either that, or they’d look at me with pity, especially if I talked about how I was raised.

  But Katarina just seemed surprised. I wondered how she’d react if I told her a bit more about my life. With that in mind, I continued...

  “When I was a kid, I was playing around with my friends from the slums when I got caught by human traffickers. So I got sold, and wandered from place to place until I was bought by my current master... in this country.”

  Katarina just looked more and more surprised. That reaction wasn’t too different from most other people at this point. I went on.

  “Surprised? A noble raised with love and care probably won’t believe this, but it’s more common than you think, you know? Especially in poorer countries. If anything, I’m lucky, right? I still have all my limbs, I’m still alive, and now I have these fine clothes to wear. I’m very blessed, you know?”

  As I talked, I couldn’t help but start thinking of that man, the one who’d given me my name, for the first time in a while. That man probably wasn’t alive anymore... but I think I said this same thing to him long ago.

  I found myself getting a little nostalgic. Returning my attention back to Katarina, I noticed that she wa
s now silent, and had raised a hand to her chest.

  “Ha, cat got your tongue? Even you are silent now. Or are you pitying me, thinking this is all really sad? Sorry, but I don’t need any of that. To begin with, I don’t think of myself as unfortunate.”

  I had talked about my life and how I’d grown up with the many women I’d slept with before. When they heard about what happened, some of them would be shocked and withdraw, and some would shower me with pity.

  But I believed what I said. I didn’t feel like I was unfortunate in any way. Actually I was happy, and felt blessed to be able to live this way. Though... no one else would really get it, though.

  Well then, which of the two would this girl be? I narrowed my eyes, awaiting her reaction.

  After a long silence, she finally spoke. “...cool.”

  “Huh?” I didn’t understand what Katarina had just said, and was caught off guard. What’s she trying to say? Did I mishear her? But then...

  “I think you’re pretty cool, Rufus.” There it was again. She said the same thing.

  “...What’s this all of a sudden? Well, I get that I don’t look too shabby, but...” I knew I looked pretty good. But what was this girl going on about after all this time?

  “No, I’m not talking about how you look, but how you are on the inside. How you think.”

  “...The hell is that supposed to mean? I don’t get it at all.”

  “The straightforward way you think... I think it’s impressive. And cool.” She didn’t speak with disgust or rejection, or even pity.

  “I just feel that the way you think... is really admirable. It’s cool, you see. You should keep living your life just as you are... without ever being swept away by those around you.”

  They were alike. What she said was just like what that man had said a long, long time ago.

  “...Can’t believe it. I’m all the way here, and I’ve met someone who says exactly the same stuff that guy did...?”

  It felt like my emotions were flowing back into the past. It was a mysterious feeling, as if something that I had forgotten about long, long ago was suddenly coming back to life.

  I turned to face Katarina, only to see her sparkling eyes looking straight at me. What is with her, really...? What a mysterious girl. Not only strange, but interesting.

  I wondered what she thought as I sat there, all quiet. Now she was staring at me with her mouth agape. I couldn’t help myself at the sight of her. I had to laugh.

  “Gahahaha!!” My previously restrained voice erupted into laughter. I couldn’t hold it back anymore — I was struck by waves of laughing, just like back then, when I fooled around with my friends in the slums. “Ha... You’re really interesting, you know that? Been a while since I laughed like this.”

  “Huh...”

  It suddenly felt like I was back there, back during those times, riding on a wave of emotions.

  “Hey, let’s talk some more. I suddenly feel like it’d be good to keep talking, see?”

  The more I talked with her, the more I realized just what kind of weirdo Katarina Claes was.

  I actually bought the bread in the light meal I’d prepared for her from a bakery in the downtown district. I’d done it out of spite, thinking that I’d insult the noble lady by giving her such food. But as for Katarina...

  “Eh?! A bakery downtown? Where exactly is it? It was so delicious! I really must go and buy some next time!” she said, barely concealing her excitement. It seemed like she didn’t have a speck of that strange pride that most nobles had.

  And then I found out that her hobbies apparently included tilling fields. She didn’t even grow flowers, but instead grew actual crops. And her special skills included fishing and tree-climbing. Honestly, she just seemed like she was some kind of rowdy kid.

  Katarina was also very interested in the stories of my travels from when I’d drifted around. I lived in the underbellies of the places I’d lived in. They weren’t good places, so I didn’t have any pleasant stories to tell.

  Still, she wanted to hear them, and so I told her. I told her about thugs and turf wars, and the dark things I got dragged into, and all that. Any normal girl would find the stories I told terrifying. But Katarina kept nodding with those sparkling eyes of hers. “Amazing, amazing!” she’d say.

  Honestly... I felt like this girl was nothing like any other woman I’d met before.

  Before I knew it, I was lost in conversation with this girl, and most of the day had gone by. That was when Katarina suddenly, bluntly asked me a question.

  “So... come to think of it, since you’re not really a butler, does that mean that ‘Rufus’ is a false name, too?”

  “Yeah, I used the Dark Arts to infiltrate the Berg family and all that, you know? So what would be the point in using my actual name?”

  “Well then... what’s your real name?”

  “I have more names than I can count. One for each place, you know?”

  It was true. In fact, I had so many names, that all my fingers and toes couldn’t possibly count them all if I tried.

  “Then what was your original name?”

  I felt the name the man had given me flash in my mind. “Sora,” I wanted to say, as Katarina’s eyes stared straight into mine. But...

  “Don’t got one. Unlike you lot, I don’t have parents, see? By the time I even thought about who I was, I was already sifting through trash in the slums.”

  The first name that was given to me by that man... I hadn’t used it ever since. But being asked what my actual name was made me think of that name.

  I eventually pulled my slightly wandering mind back to reality, and then turned to Katarina once more, only to find her sitting absolutely still.

  “Oi! What’s with you, clamming up like that? Too traumatic of a conversation for a lady like yourself?”

  We’d been talking about some pretty heavy things all this time. I guess hearing about how I don’t even have a name gifted to me by my parents was a little too much? But then, Katarina responded to my question in a totally irrelevant way.

  “...really beautiful.”

  “Ha?” What was this all about, all of a sudden? I didn’t get it. I could only stare back, surprised, at Katarina’s glittering, aqua-blue eyes.

  “Your eyes! Your eyes are really beautiful, like the pure blue sky!”

  “...”

  “From your beautiful blue eyes; like the sky,” was what that man had said to me, a long time ago. The same man who gifted me with the name “Sora.”

  “I just feel that the way you think... is really admirable. It’s cool, you see.”

  What she said just now was slightly different, but the way she thought about things was so similar to him. It was like I was finally able to meet someone I thought I’d never see again. It was a strange feeling.

  I didn’t even realize I was doing it, but soon I was holding Katarina in my arms. My heart was overflowing with an emotion I’d never felt before. It was a precious, truly wonderful feeling.

  I brushed my fingertips against her soft face, only for her to giggle. I found myself drawn to those pink lips...

  Then suddenly, a thunderous sound arose from her belly, jolting me back to reality.

  Katarina’s blushing face was right in front of me — and I found myself laughing again.

  “Guess I’ll bring you dinner too, huh.”

  While I had Katarina moved to another room for dinner because of Selena’s wishes yesterday, I decided to have her meal delivered to her room this time. She was a hostage, after all. I couldn’t let her just prance around the manor like that.

  I had the servants bring dinner to her room... only for her to invite me again. “It’s not any fun to eat on my own.”

  By now, I found myself somewhat comfortable with this girl, and any more objections at this point would probably be kind of silly. I quickly agreed.

  “Come to think of it, what happened to Lana? I haven’t seen her...”

  “Ah, I have her wo
rking on some other things. Don’t worry about that.”

  Lana was the maid I hired a while ago. She was an accomplice to this whole plan. She didn’t have any living relatives, so it’d be easy to silence her if it ever came down to it. I’d originally hired her only for that reason, but I realized that she was actually very useful when I assigned her some tasks. She did her work well and was tight-lipped. She turned out to be very capable. Right now I was having her look after Selena, whose situation had become a little complicated.

  As we started to eat, Katarina once again asked for me to tell her tales from faraway lands, and so I obliged.

  “Ha! Honestly Rufus, your stories are so interesting,” Katarina said after her meal, seemingly finally satisfied with all she had heard.

  “The things you tell me are interesting too. It’s too bad you’re some nobleman’s daughter.”

  This was my honest opinion. Really, it seemed like having a personality like hers and being a noble lady was probably rough.

  “I’ve never set foot outside this kingdom, but when I’m talking to you, it feels like I’ve gone on an overseas vacation!”

  “Haha, well if it’s with you, I feel like I’d like to go visit those places again,” I said absently, going along with the conversation. I didn’t expect any kind of actual response.

  And yet — “Really? Then please do take me with you next time!”

  My eyes widened in surprise. What the hell was she talking about...? “We live in different worlds, you and I. You know that, right? There’s no way I can take you with me.”

  I wasn’t ashamed about my way of life. Even so, I knew very well what kind of person I was, and where I belonged. That was why I understood that once this entire farce was over and done with, I wouldn’t be able to spend any more time with this girl.

  “Different... worlds? What do you mean? Aren’t you sitting before me right now, as you are?” Katarina said, looking straight at me the entire time. “We’re talking together, eating together. Doesn’t this mean we’re in the same world, then?”