Checkmated
I’m Victoria Emerald.
The youngest daughter of Duke Emerald. A child of one of the three Great Dukes Houses.
Such I have remembered the memories of my previous life on my third birthday.
Although I say that, they were memories of an ordinary office lady.
The age of death was twenty-eight.
I kept working from early morning until late night, it appears I died from overwork.
I have unexpectedly died young, didn’t I?
Only such an impression came out.
And then, since the day I have recalled my previous life, I have had strange dreams every night.
Dreams that can be considered my future.
◇ ◇ ◇
The first dream I saw was about the Crown Prince, First Prince Cyrus von Crystal, who declared his love to a girl with blonde hair whom I believe to be the heroine, Marietta.
My dream began at the high school entrance ceremony of the Royal Academy where Prince Cyrus met the one year younger Marietta.
Prince Cyrus fell in love at first sight with Marietta whom he coincidentally met, and he looked after her who became a freshman.
Marietta was also gradually attracted to the gentle Prince Cyrus.
She has contracted a spirit of light, but as a daughter of a baron, her social status was low.
As the country’s Crown Prince, he is to marry a girl of matching social status who will later become the Queen.
The real intention was to secure Marietta as the Second Prince’s or Third Prince’s bride.
Accordingly, the one who became the Crown Prince’s fiancee was the daughter of Duke Emerald――Me.
Victoria is seven years younger than the Crown Prince, but it’s not that much of age difference, so there wasn’t a problem.
Under the King’s Royal Edict, Prince Cyrus’ and Victoria’s engagement was formed.
While weeping, Marietta was separated from him.
It was such an ordinary love story-like dream.
After the engagement had been formed, Prince Cyrus continued to meet Marietta in secret, while treating his official fiancee Victoria coldly.
In an instant, Victoria got the villainess daughter position!?
Although I thought so, Victoria has never resorted to bullying.
That’s because Victoria has not even enrolled in the school after all.
I’m omitting various things, but after that, Victoria died in an unexpected accident.
Taking the opportunity of the confusion, Prince Cyrus and Marietta got engaged and later married.
◇ ◇ ◇
This was definitely an intentional accident, wasn’t it?
To have an accident at such time, isn’t it too convenient!?
They have killed Victoria, didn’t they?
I had such thoughts about the dream.
◇ ◇ ◇
The next night, I dreamed about the Second Prince Linus and Marietta.
Prince Linus who’s of the same age as Marietta met her at the entrance ceremony and fell in love.
Because Marietta has contracted with a spirit, the engagement between Prince Linus and Marietta was quickly arranged.
However, the noble ladies of the high houses who aimed at the peerage of the princes started bullying Marietta.
Somehow, for some reason, Victoria has been treated as the ringleader of the bullying.
They weren’t pleased with Marietta, but because Victoria has just enrolled in the elementary school, the noble ladies ended up using her name to bully.
They were, in fact, false accusations.
Because Victoria was the best candidate to become the fiancee of one of the princes, she became a thorn in the side to the noble ladies who were aiming for the princes.
She was an existence they wanted to get rid of together with Marietta if possible.
The villainous acts became a problem when Marietta became officially engaged to Prince Linus, and she was convicted with nonexistent evidence.
◇ ◇ ◇
No, no, why did it turn out like that!?
There’s no way a nine years old Victoria can be the mastermind behind bullying, right!?
Victoria of that time has not even met Marietta, right?
It’s unreasonable in various ways!
…… I was loaded with tsukkomis, but it was a dream, so there wasn’t anything I could do.
The next night, I dreamed about my elder brother Wilfreed and Marietta.
The day after that, it was a dream about the Knight Commander’s son and Marietta.
Marietta stays as the heroine without change, but the male capture targets change one after another.
It was almost as if I was seeing the individual capture routes of an Otome Game.
There were many capture targets.
The First Prince.
The Second Prince.
The Prime Minister’s son and heir to a Duke House.
The Prime Minister’s second son.
The son of the Knight Commander and an heir to a Duke House.
The son of the Magic Principal and heir to a Duke House.
The son of the Medical Principal and heir to a Marquis House.
The King’s younger brother who’s a teacher at the academy.
The second son of Count who is an Imperial Guard.
A commoner who contracted a spirit.
The Third Prince of the neighboring country.
A close associate of the neighboring country’s prince and heir to a Count House.
Why are there so many capture targets!?
What are you trying to doーーー!!
I who cried out shouldn’t be at fault.
Furthermore, there are still even more people!
Seriously, how many are there!
In the dream I see every night, I――Victoria also appear.
My futures are many――
Breaking off the engagement, ruin, exile, confinement, slavery, accidental death, assassination, execution……
Where did my peace go!?
There were only such futures.
I despaired over my expected future.
I’m checkmated……
No matter how I see it, I’m checkmated.
Even though I’m not a villainess who bullies the heroine, but just a supporting character who got involved, all of the routes lead to my destruction.