***Fall, Second Year of School***

"Is everything alright, Honey?" Todd asked as he entered Margaret's office in the Trent group's Wortrest headquarters to find his wife buried in stacks of papers that overtook her desk. There wasn't even space on the desk to set down the cup of tea he brought for her. "You're looking rather haggard." Despite being a cool fall day, the windows were closed so that the wind wouldn't blow the papers around which made the air in the room rather stale.

"Hm?" Margaret didn't notice Todd enter until he spoke and moved her tired eyes to look at her husband. Her vision was starting to blur from reading documents all day without rest. "Ah, sorry." Deciding to take a short break to distract her mind, Margaret took off her reading glasses and rubbed her eyes. "I've just been overwhelmed with the sudden losses we'll be incurring."

"Losses?" Todd asked as he picked up a stack of papers to look through and set down the tea in the newly created free space. "Isn't Trent dominating most trade?"

"We still are," Margaret admitted while taking a sip of tea, "But quite a few customers aren't renewing their contracts with our group despite us anticipating their renewal and already purchasing the items."

"Really?" Todd thumbed through the stack of papers he held which were a few of the expired contracts. Glancing at the desk, Todd saw Margaret was writing down and focusing on the expenses and expected losses they'd incur due to this odd behavior. "Hmm…Hm?" He went back over the contracts a second time.

"What is it?" Margaret asked after finishing her tea.

"Oh, it's just…" Todd once more went over the expired contracts before voicing his thoughts, "I know most of these fellows and they're tied to the imperial family."

"What!?" Margaret had been so focused on the numbers that she only skimmed over the names of the individuals they belonged to. She grabbed a stack of contracts and went over the names only to realize Todd was right…partially. While the customers were indeed people tied to the imperial family, they were all only those who were associated with James. "…The Crown Prince's faction is cutting trade ties with us?"

"But Her Highness is our most well-known backer," Todd exclaimed as he rubbed his mustache while deep in thought. "I can't recall us ever crossing the Crown Prince to lead him to do this."

"Neither can I…" While it wasn't everyone from James' faction, the fact that every expired contract was tied to someone from the faction rubbed Margaret the wrong way and put a bad feeling in the back of her mind. "I need to write a letter."

***

"Why are you having your people cut ties with Trent?" Olivia asked James after finding him in the student council room. As soon as she received Margaret's letter, Olivia rushed over for an explanation, and the other members of the council quickly vacated the room as their slacking-off time was interrupted.

"It's just business," James brushed her off. "I was told they could procure the items cheaper than going through Trent, so I gave the go-ahead to proceed." Olivia knew this was a lie as she couldn't believe that every single merchant under James could possibly find every single item cheaper and more efficiently than going through Trent who was well-rooted throughout the empire.

"Despite knowing the consequences? Once this becomes known, rumors will crop up like wildfires about how the Crown Prince is turning his back on the Crown Princess. Both of our reputations will take a hit from this."

"You certainly do love to speculate about things that haven't happened," James groaned and rubbed his forehead. "Your position as the future empress isn't so fragile that something like this will affect it."

"…" James was objectively wrong about that but Olivia's only reason for knowing that was her knowledge of the game. A few of the bullies the player had to deal with would sometimes mention how Olivia sent them because of the player's existence threatening Olivia's position and costing her money. It was later revealed through rumors the player could collect that, once James' route was triggered, James would pull his support for Trent which caused a rift in high society. "If it's about price, then I'm sure I can talk to Margaret about negotiating something to-"

"Enough!" James bemoaned and raised his hand for Olivia to stop talking. "Must you always force your way on trivial things?"

"This isn't trivial!"

"It is to me," James reprimanded and leaned back in his chair. "Honestly, can't you learn to be more open-minded, like the Saintess?" The atmosphere in the room shifted as a bitter cold seeped into the air.

"…Why are you mentioning the Saintess?" Olivia's voice was low and she was visibly taken aback by what James had said.

"Because she's a shining example of what you should be doing," James reasoned to get under Olivia's skin and make her uncomfortable. "Despite all the bad rumors going around about her, she still holds herself high and is managing to make friends among the nobility. She even openly talks with the Wizards, I don't think there's a single bad bone in her body." James watched Olivia's expression darken and he gave one final insult that he muttered under his breath loud enough for her to hear, "If only you were more like her, in that regard."

"…" Dark thoughts wormed their way into Olivia's mind that she had to quickly banish before they could take root. Her voice was still low and muddled with doubt as she mentioned, "You could have at least told me beforehand, I'm your fiancé."

"Yes, you are, now act like it and respect my decision." James gave no comfort or room for negotiation. "If that's all you came here for, then you can leave. The student council still has work to do and we can't do it with you barging in here for personal matters."

"…" An obvious lie. Olivia barged in only to find the council members lounging around drinking tea and enjoying snacks without a single document in sight. "I will excuse myself, Your Highness."

"…" James watched Olivia go with a satisfied smile on his face. Using the Saintess as a weapon against Olivia was working wonders, James had to hand it to Lucina. He tapped his fingers against the desk as his mind wandered to Beatrice and the few interactions they'd had over the past year at the academy. Coming on too quickly would likely scare the country bumpkin so he made sure to make their meetings as coincidental as possible. She always agreed with what he said during their conversations and would show him the brightest smiles. James couldn't help but chuckle as his thoughts leaked out, "She's quite cute."

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"You mean Her Highness?" The other members of the student council returned to the room after Olivia left.

"…No, the Saintess." James' words sent uneasy looks throughout the council. He smiled as he knew what would happen since his answer would soon circulate to the rest of the school and reach Olivia's ears. Perhaps he would bribe some foolish noble girls to bully the Saintess in Olivia's name, again? There was nothing more romantic than a prince coming to a damsel's rescue, after all.

***Winter, Third Year of School***

"Do you even hear yourself!?" That sounds like Olivia's voice coming from outside. I left my dorm room, went downstairs, and hugged the corner of the building as I listened in on what was going on. It was winter, once again, and things were getting tense around the academy because of the Saintess. While the plan James and I made was for him to go after the Saintess, Andrew and Elder Solomon were also showing obvious interest in her too and making their own moves toward her. I don't know how she's managing it, but none of them have come to blows over the Saintess as if she's able to perfectly manage their hearts. Three of the four 'male leads' were in place which only left the last idiot.

"I should be asking you that!" Derik shouted back. The relationship between Olivia and her brother had been going down over the years but it took a sharp dive this past year once Derik entered the academy. Even though he already graduated years ago, Derik was permitted to enter the grounds on James' recommendation to begin his work as his personal bodyguard… Which led to scenes like this becoming more and more frequent. Olivia and Derik were behind one of the dorm buildings for privacy, but with how loud both of them were shouting it was no wonder everyone in the academy knew how bad things were between them. "Your position as the crown princess is being threatened by a countryside Saintess and all you're doing is sending underlings after her to bully her? It's like you're not even trying to hold onto your position!"

"I've never sent anyone after her! I've been telling you that over and over!" At first, Olivia tried to control herself when dealing with Derik, but that fell apart as time eroded her patience. "Stop getting swayed by rumors and listen to me!"

"Like how you've listened to me over the years?" It's not Olivia's fault you kept spouting bullshit whenever you tried to give her advice. "Either start making a real effort to secure your position or I will! As the rightful heir, I won't watch you throw this away!" Then there was this stupid reason. I think James was the one who put it in his head.

"For the last time, Derik, I'm not aiming for Father's title!"

"My title!" Derik corrected. As empress, Olivia couldn't hold any other noble titles which would 'solidify' Derik's position as the next Duke of Holst; as if it were ever in question. But if Olivia lost her position as empress and became, say, a mistress, then she could potentially inherit the duchy despite never showing interest in the title. "Now call off the bullying and secure your position!"

"Why are you contradicting yourself?" Olivia pointed a finger at her brother and shouted, "You want me to deal with the Saintess but also leave her alone?"

"It's not a contradiction, you just refuse to learn from and be like her! All you have to do is bend the knee and be more subm-…more gentle with His Highness." Here we go, again.

"You were about to say submissive! How could you say that to your own sister? Am I a dog that's supposed to sit and stay when commanded? Should I roll over, too?"

"The Saintess isn't a dog!" Derik exploded at Olivia. If I didn't know he was married, I'd think he was a single man with unrequited love. I feel bad for Vivian because of the rumors this will create that she'll have to deal with.

"I never said she was!" Olivia exploded back. "You're the one who said to be like her and was going to use the word submissive to describe it!" I need to step in or they might both end up drawing swords.

"That wasn't-!?" When he tried to take a step toward Olivia, I momentarily used my gravity magic to force his armored boots to be unable to move which revealed my presence to him. "…Just do your duties!" Dealing with both Olivia and I was too much for Derik to handle so he would retreat whenever I did this.

"Derik!?" Olivia angrily called after him but he ignored her and stormed off. "…Damn it!" Olivia started gnawing on her fingernails; a habit she picked up last spring. A habit I wished she'd stop, but I understood why she had it.

"Olivia?" I stepped out from behind the corner of the building so she could see me and I saw her flinch at my presence.

"…Sorry for the noise," she apologized while running a hand through her hair in frustration.

"I'm not that bothered by it." This was becoming a common occurrence. "But, we should head inside. It's getting colder." A light snow began to fall as if to accentuate my words.

"…Alright," reluctance and resignation filled her voice as we headed inside and I escorted her back to her dorm room. The students we passed all fell silent and gave us a wide berth, but we could hear them start to whisper after passing.

"Did Her Highness and Lord Derik have another fight?"

"It happens almost once a week, now."

"First His Highness starts distancing himself from her and now even her own brother?"

"It's rather sad to-!?" They quickly silenced themselves after Olivia sent them a stern look.

"…" There were plenty of negative rumors about her going around because of what James was allowing the Saintess to get away with, but there were also equally positive and sympathetic ones toward Olivia mixed in. The students, young nobles who would one day fully join high society, were split on what to do.

"Olivia?" When we reached Olivia's room I spoke up. After what I helped put in motion I had no room to speak, but I still asked, "Should I take care of things?"

"…" Olivia remained silent with her hand resting on the door handle. She knew what I meant and the weight in blood that my words carried. Whether it was Derik, James, or even the Saintess, Lady Alm forgive me, I could kill them…but only with Olivia's permission. I already knew what her answer was before she even spoke, "No… I don't want to solve this with bloodshed."

"…Okay." Even with everything falling apart around you, you still refused to snap. You refuse to bully the Saintess despite it being obvious that she's reciprocating James' advances, and you refuse to do the most obvious option to alter your fate by just killing those involved. Whether it was out of a misplaced kindness or a stubborn pride, you're taking the harder path. "I'll see you in class tomorrow," I said and started to leave.

"…Lucina?" But Olivia called after me causing me to stop and turn around. Her face was mixed with sadness and apprehension as her thoughts weighed heavily upon her and she hesitantly asked, "I can make it through this, right?"

"Yes," I answered. Though not in the way you want.

***Spring, Fourth Year of School***

"Honestly, the nerve of His Highness!" Cassandra angrily spat as she, Olivia, and Lucina moved toward the academy's dance hall for their graduation dance. It was a cool spring night with a gentle breeze dancing through the air while Sailest loomed over them in the sky. "Fiancés have a duty to escort each other for this ball, but he sends a servant at the last second to say he'll meet you there!?" Her pink hair springs angrily jostled and shook to match Cassandra's mood. She wore an extravagant and puffy pink and white dress that swayed with every step she took while her heels clacked against the stone path.

"It's not like he hasn't been this shameless, before," Lucina pointed out while brushing a leaf off her red and black dress that hugged her body before freely flowing down her legs. It took until her eighteenth birthday last January, but Lucina was finally getting comfortable wearing the more mature style of dresses that Cassandra said she'd look good in. Though she wished she were a bit taller since she was still the shortest in the group standing at only one hundred and fifty-seven centimeters tall compared to Cassandra's one hundred sixty-five, and Olivia's one hundred seventy-seven heights. Lucina used one of her black lace-gloved hands to brush some of her hair over her shoulder before continuing, "Though he should've still sent at least one escort knight to keep up appearances."

"It doesn't matter," Olivia remarked as she led the three of them toward the dance hall. Her white and golden dress sparkled like stars under Sailest's light while her hair was kept up in a braided bun. Her back was completely exposed because of how far down the dress' back was open that she tried to minimize with a white shawl. It was a beautiful and terrifying dress that Olivia recognized as the one the original Olivia wore during her condemnation events. She tried refusing the dress when James first presented it to her, and she even secretly ruined it with scissors just one week prior, but James had the dress replaced as if he expected her to ruin it and even had servants take away all her other clothes so that she was forced to wear the dress he picked. "Is what I asked for ready, Cassandra?" Olivia's voice was surprisingly calm for someone approaching their bad ending.

"Yes, the villa in my barony is fully stocked and has soldiers guarding it." She tilted her head to the side and asked, "Are you sure about this?" At the beginning of their fourth year, Olivia asked Cassandra to start preparing a place for her to stay as secretly as possible. When pressed on why, Olivia revealed she believed that James would try and nullify their engagement because of how he was acting with the Saintess, and wanted a place to lay low. She didn't want to return home as she would have to live with Derik if she did and it would put her parents in danger, and Solfin was under the crown's watchful eye, so she asked if Cassandra could let her stay in one of her family's villas for a while to 'repent'. "Even if it's him, I don't think His Highness would stoop so low as to imprison and enslave you."

"I'm sure," Olivia answered while doing her best to calm her nerves as they approached the massive doors to the dance hall. That was one preparation down which only left one more. She looked over her shoulder at Lucina and asked, "Are the Hellhounds ready?"

"Peter's group arrived this afternoon and we have a carriage waiting just outside the academy's gates," Lucina explained and gave Olivia a nod. The plan was: once the engagement was broken and Olivia was about to be taken away by the royal guards, she would 'confess' to all the wrongdoings against Beatrice and exile herself to the furthest reaches of her family's duchy to repent in solitude; never to appear in high society again. A social suicide no sane noble lady would ever willingly do. Cassandra couldn't move her family's knights out of the barony, and the Azure Hawks were now under Derik's command and he wouldn't help her, which only left Lucina's Hellhounds to secretly enter the capital and quickly whisk Olivia away to her exile before anyone could stop her.

"Good." The plan was inspired by similar ones she'd seen in otome game isekai media she'd read and played that she decided to borrow to get out of her bad end, and with Lucina on her side she would also avoid the enslavement ending. Voices filled the hall in front of them and Olivia took one last deep breath before proceeding. "Then…let's go."

"…" Lucina silently followed behind as they entered the hall. The Hellhounds would certainly whisk Olivia away, but not to Cassandra's villa. It was time for destiny to take its final turn on stage.