I stared helplessly as the Saintess puppetted my body. My will to fight had long been shattered before I touched the accursed bracelet. Initially, I accepted my place. The world was not kind to me. It hated me with a passion. When she helped the prince defeat the Principality, I gave up ever taking back my body. The world was better off without me.

I was wrong. Ann did not save the kingdom because it was the right thing to do. She saved it so that she could dismantle it herself. I had to endure for years as she tore the kingdom piece by piece. She slowly poisoned the prince and his friends against each other. She relished as they slowly distanced themselves and fought. She ignited civil wars just so that the boys would slaughter themselves.

In the end, she stabbed Julius in the heart.

Not long after, my body was struck down.

It was selfish of me, but I only felt relief. The nightmare would finally be over.

I was standing on a familiar pathway. It was when my nightmare began. This was where I would meet Julius.

No, no, no, no. Why? I didn't want to do this again. Please. This world was too cruel. I just wanted to die.

I instinctively pressed myself to the side of the walkway as I saw the prince approach. Memories of the mistreatment that befell me flooded my mind. I desperately closed my eyes. I did not want to meet the prince again. I did not want to suffer again.

As the sound of footsteps got closer, I grew the urge to run. But I didn't. I knew it would be useless in the end. The world hated me. I was a cursed existence.

As I braced myself, I heard the footsteps grow more distant. Opening my eyes, I saw the prince continuing down the pathway without looking in my direction.

The Academy was infinitely more pleasant than when I was the prince's pet. The bullying was still present, but it was girls foisting their duties onto me compared to the malicious attacks on my person. As a commoner, my presence was seen more as hired help. I was no longer an intrusion.

The only person who seemed to take issue with me was Angelica, but I could not discern why. I wanted to question why she was displeased, but I couldn't get close to her. Her followers kept me from talking to her, and I was too afraid of pushing the issue and earning their ire.

For now, I was content with studying and doing the odd task. Just keep my head down. Everything would be alright if I kept my head down. I chanted that to myself.

Good, no boy asked me to attend their tea party. I could relax in the library and get ahead on with my studies. The sense of loneliness was preferable to hostility.

"Lea?" I asked with surprise when I saw the lone boy. He looked exactly like the man in the Saintess's memories.

"That's quite familiar of you to call me by a nickname," the boy said with a confused look.

"I'm sorry," I frantically said.

Stupid! I was supposed to stay invisible. What was I doing? Now that a boy noticed me, the girls will start attacking me like last time. I was overstepping by getting to know a noble.

"Whoa there. I wasn't angry. Just confused how you know me," the boy tried to say placatingly.

"You look like a friend back in my village," I quickly lied.

"Makes more sense than knowing about some hick like me," he said before turning around and checking his equipment.

Was he not going to continue the conversation? I let out a sigh of relief. There was no reason for the girls to attack me.

Before I turned to leave, I noticed he was alone. We were supposed to enter the dungeon in groups, but no one wanted to partner with him. Why was that?

"Because people don't care about rural barons."

"Did I say that out loud?"

"Well, I'm not a mind reader."

"Oops? Nevermind that. What do you mean about people not caring about rural barons? Aren't you still a noble?"

"Hardly. I might as well be invisible. Especially with the prince and his entourage being here," he sighed.

I shuddered when he mentioned the prince. Memories of his bloody look of betrayal haunt me.

"Well then, Miss. I better be off. The teacher wanted me to act as the vanguard so the prince won't have to dirty his hands. You should join his group while you can," he bitterly said.

"You're going alone? Isn't that too dangerous?"

"Don't mind me. I'm not someone worth paying attention to," he said with a dismissive wave as he walked off.

"Why are you following me?" the boy said, annoyed.

"No one wants to partner with a commoner," I sheepishly said.

"The prince would."

"No!"

"Huh? What was with that reaction?"

"Just please, no," I said tearfully.

The boy's insistence on having me meet the prince made me freeze in place. It felt that the world was trying to force me back into that role again. I didn't want to go back to them. My mind was overwhelmed as the memories of the Academy and the heirs' fragmentation were brought forth. My body went numb as the thought of losing myself became more of a possibility. My heart pounded faster and faster. My vision became clouded, and my hearing became filled with a buzzing noise.

"Take a deep breath. It's okay. You've nothing to fear. Just listen to the sound of my voice," the boy said gently, yet it still cut through everything.

I desperately gasped. As I breathed, the memories started to fade. My heart rate slowed. As my vision returned, I noticed the boy kneeling before me. His face was right in front of mine. He was repeatedly telling me to breathe in and out. I soon realized I was doing as he said.

"I'm sorry," I finally managed to say.

"Hey, us hicks have got to watch each other's back," the boy said in jest.

Despite his friendly attitude to help me, I was unsure of him. The prince and his friends were friendly to me too, and that had not ended well.

But this was the boy who was so similar to Lea. Lea was the only person to quiet the Saintess's madness. Was Leon the same for me?

But that made no sense. I don't know him. Yet he was still able to calm me down. Was this some carryover of the Saintess?

He must have taken my silence as another panic attack. Leon said, "I got you. Everything is going to be okay."

My heart told me to listen.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to greet you, Lady Angelica," I said nervously as the words jumbled.

Rather than make a big deal, she graciously accepted my gift and apologies. She only asked for an explanation of the circumstances. When she heard that I was unaware originally and that I had to gather Dia from exploring the dungeon to afford the gifts for her followers to greet her, she nodded in understanding but had a displeased look. She told me not to be afraid to come to her for questions and that her followers would not hinder my approach from now on.

I was dismissed with no further complications.

Leon felt something was wrong and dragged me from the library.

It was happening again. Leon and I caught two girls trying to burn my things. They were the girls who had stopped me from greeting Angelica at the beginning of the school year.

"Why? Even when I was doing what I was supposed to, I am still being punished," I said tearfully.

"I'm getting to the bottom of this," Leon snarled before turning around.

"Where are you going?"

"To these two's master."

"Don't. You'll only cause more problems for yourself."

I lied. It was true he would cause trouble for himself, but that wasn't why I was trying to stop him. If he confronted Angelica, it would only escalate the situation. The bullying would get worse, and it would have Angelica's backing. Any pretenses would not be needed as Leon would have offended the daughter of a duke.

"And I'll not stand by and allow this to continue."

No matter my pleas, I was promptly ignored. I was terrified of what would come, and he ignored my concerns. While I had avoided the prince and his friends, had my situation changed? My will was ignored in favor of what the boy wanted. I had only exchanged five masters for one.

I could not see why the Saintess cared for such a callous man.

Leon demanded an explanation from Angelica while I clutched onto his back. In a surprise twist, Angelica did not admonish him. Angelica apologized profusely to him. Leon demanded that she apologize to me. Before I could argue against such a thing, Angelica did so. She promised she was going to punish the girls thoroughly.

When he saw Angelica's sincerity, he apologized for being curt with her.

It was odd to see the girl who had hounded me so humbled. Memories of her execution came to my mind. Had she always been willing to leave me be? Had I confronted her earlier... tried to communicate with her properly, would I not need to suffer so?

No more incidents occurred. Even though Leon was almost a commoner, he did what I could not. He did what the royal entourage could not do in a year. All by challenging the one person no one should challenge.

Perhaps my fears of him were unfounded.

A couple of Angelica's vassals had stopped a few girls from bullying me.

Being Angelica's and Leon's pet was a much better experience than being Julius's.

I dare not consider myself Leon's friend. No matter how much I wanted it, I couldn't risk what happiness I found.

We were in Leon's tea room when we heard a knock. Leon opened the door, and to my surprise, we saw Angelica with two bags. It had been a few weeks since Leon had confronted her.

"I got you two something to apologize for my followers' behavior. I'm sorry for the delay since it took some time to acquire the book."

The bag she handed to Leon was a bag of expensive tea leaves. She handed me a rare tome on magic.

We chatted for the afternoon, with Leon brewing his new leaves. It was an awkward affair as Angelica was from a different world than ours. She was trying to connect, but it never felt right. But none of us felt it was a bad thing. It was such an honest attempt that we couldn't help but appreciate the moment for what it was.

After the afternoon of tea, Angelica pulled me aside. She wanted to tell me something that she felt would add to her apology since I was the target of the bullying.

"Do you love Leon, Olivia?"

Angelica took my silent shock as a yes.

"It's not a well-known loophole, but if you and Leon and interested, I could arrange for you to become a noble. That way, you two can get married. Just something to think about."

"I'll keep it in mind," I said politely.

It seemed to be the right thing to say. Angelica's tenseness melted away. A weight was lifted from her shoulders.

"Great... Also, feel free to talk to me whenever you need help with school," Angelica said before leaving.

Left alone, all I could think about was Angelica's offer. She thought Leon and I were close enough that such an offer would be appealing. Were we close enough for him to be interested? Was he interested? While the thought was starting to seem appealing, I didn't know what answer I wanted to hear.

I didn't want to lose my place for overstepping.

My heart ached.

I felt bad. I knew how much Leon enjoyed his hobby, but he chose to set up a food stand instead. I knew he did it out of consideration for me. I would not be able to act as a server in a cafe. Talking with the other students would be too much for me. Working a food stand, I could work in the kitchen and not interact with others.

"Don't think too hard about it, Olivia."

He was getting good at reading my mood.

Working side by side in Leon's donut stall was fun. It reminded me of when my parents and I would have fun in the kitchen.

Oddly, Leon seemed to fit right in those memories. His playful hip bumps made me giggle. Without thinking, I would give back as good as he gave.

I saw Angelica approach our stall. It was the first time we saw her since she had delivered us her apologies a few weeks ago.

"I see your stall is doing quite well," Angelica said. She had a soft smile.

"Yo."

I flicked some water on Leon's face.

"Alright. It's a pleasure to see you again, Lady Angelica," Leon said irreverently.

Angelica looked at me with an amused expression.

"And how are you doing, Olivia?"

"Good. Thank you for the book. It was enlightening."

"I'm glad you liked it. Just wanted to check on you two since I was patrolling," Angelica said before turning away.

"Would you like some donuts?" I blurted out.

"Ah... I'm afraid my coins are... too much," Angelica said awkwardly.

"It's on the house," Leon said.

"Huh? I couldn't possibly."

Leon didn't listen and placed the box of donuts in her hands. Leon was a rather stubborn person. He would have his way. It was a strangely comforting trait.

Yet seeing him do it for Angelica made me feel something unpleasant.

Stephanie cornered me while I was getting supplies from the kitchen for the stall.

"Don't think so highly of yourself for gaining the interest of Bartfort and Angelica. You're only a pet," she said haughtily.

"That's good enough for me," I said while tightly holding the ingredients.

Seemingly satisfied with my response, she left.

That's right. I had forgotten my place. It didn't matter how nicely Leon treated me. I was not his equal. I was not worthy of respect. I was always under his care. He was always looking out for me. How was I any different from being a pet?

"You're not a pet to me," Leon said as we closed up shop.

How did he know?

No. It did not matter how he knew. I wanted to know what I was to him, if not a pet.

Though I knew I was more than a pet, I couldn't muster the courage to ask. I wanted more, and I was too afraid to be disappointed.

Neither of us spoke of the matter again.

Leon invited me to try out his hot springs for the break. He was trying to see if commoners would be interested in vacationing on his island. I warned him commoners wouldn't be able to afford to vacation on any island.

His disappointed face convinced me to try anyways.

On our way to his island, we were attacked by the sky pirates. They flew the flag of the Sky Sharks. Despite being outnumbered, Leon took them down as I hid in the cabin. I bit my lips as I felt how worthless I was.

I paled at the sight of the necklace Leon held. Leon had just defeated the Sky Sharks and found it among the wreckage.

When he approached me with the cursed thing, I recoiled. I knew it was too good to be true. Who would want me when they could have the Saintess at their fingertips? The world would not accept my existence. It wanted me to disappear.

I closed my eyes and gave up.

Hopefully, Ann won't go genocidal with Leon by her side.

"Livia!"

Looking up, I saw Leon by my side with the artifact suspiciously missing.

"Where's the necklace?" I mumbled, shocked.

"Threw it overboard."

"Why? Why would you do that? You must have known it was the Saintess's necklace. Why would you throw it away?"

"Because it scared you."

"What?"

"Because I'm here for you, Livia. I'll always be here for you. I won't let anything hurt you," Leon said as he stroked my back.

I cried into his arms until I fell asleep in his arms.

Returning from the break, I approached Angelica.

"Angelica, do you know how Leon feels about me?"

Angelica stared at me.

I sobbed in my room. Leon was interested in Angelica. He pledged to be her vassal. Why else would Leon do so? He hated the nobility. It was the only thing that made sense. I've read enough romance novels to see the plot unfold.

It also would explain his earlier behavior with Angelica. Why would he ever be romantically interested in me?

Useless Olivia.

This was what I got for getting my hopes up.

A week after Leon pledged himself, Angelica presented me with a piece of paper.

"What's this?" I asked.

"I found a family to adopt you. With this, you'll be a baroness."

I remembered what Angelica mentioned before.

"But I thought Leon loved you."

"What?!"

Angelica was sitting in my chair laughing as I lay on my bed with a pillow covering my face.

I was an idiot! Of course, Leon needed to be Angelica's vassal for my adoption to be approved. Her family needed something in return for this favor.

What's worse, I assumed Angelica would have been vindictive enough to steal Leon from me. Fortunately, she took my fear as something humorous.

Angelica or Leon still could have told me what they were planning.

Despite my mortification, my heart soared. Leon loved me. He didn't just see me as a friend. My Leon loved me.

I entered Angelica's room for my weekly etiquette lessons. Since I was to become a baroness, I needed to be tutored.

I found out Angelica was miserable today. She had gotten into another argument with the prince. She didn't understand why the prince was so cold with her. She wished her relationship was closer and wanted it to be more like what I had with Leon.

I told her to buy him some skewers. She looked at me funnily but shrugged.

"Worth a shot."

Angie hugged me profusely.

It felt good to give something back to someone looking after me.

Angie was giving me the cold shoulder when Julius tried to get to know me again. He found out that I was the one to suggest the skewers. I adamantly ran away whenever I heard him approach.

Angie found me having a panic attack in a corner. She had come to check on me after I ran from Julius again. Her cold attitude was forgotten, and she sat by me until I calmed down.

Angie scolded Julius when she realized Julius triggered my trauma and refused to take no for an answer. He claimed she was trying to isolate him simply so that she could become Queen.

The callous response stunned and hurt her to the point she wept.

Why was he so insistent on meeting me?

It was the last day before the short break, and Leon's temper finally broke.

"Leave my fiancee alone," Leon said after punching Julius's face.

The hall devolved into chaos as Julius's friends launched themselves to defend Julius. Had one less person been fighting, I felt Leon would have won that fight.

"Wait... the school wants you to fight the prince and his friends in an honor duel? Weren't you supposed to be punished for getting in the fight in the first place?"

"Yeah. It sounded stupid to me too. Master mentioned something about being the appropriate way to settle disputes. He also mentioned something about it helping vent our frustrations."

"The etiquette professor? That doesn't sound like him. Wouldn't he have preferred talking through the issue rather than using your fist?"

"Right?! Now that I think about it, he seemed particularly displeased with Julius."

"The crown prince did try to court your fiancee after being repeatedly rejected."

"... How far do you think I can take it before Master gets annoyed with me."

I think Ann had the right idea. Seeing Leon dismantle the five by himself made me melt.

I only worried about how the school would treat Leon over fighting the prince.

Surprisingly, Leon was left alone when we came back from the break. Everyone clued in on the fact that the prince was being a creep. It probably helped that Leon was Angie's vassal.

Angie was in tears. Her family formally dissolved the engagement. Angelica's father saw Julius's insistence to approach me was seen as him being immature and unfaithful. His loss cemented the idea he was weak. His friends' cries of Leon cheating only tarnished his reputation further.

As a result of all these, Angie's father wanted nothing to do with the royal family.

Julius's seeking me out violated the terms set out from the honor duel. He stated the terms were for the crown prince.

Having enough, I slapped him and told him under no uncertain terms to leave me alone.

I found him despicable for tossing Angie away instead of appreciating her honest efforts to make him happy. It shouldn't matter who told her about his fascination with skewers. He should have been happy over his fiancee taking the time to learn and accept his interests, especially since he refused to let her in.

I hated how he claimed Angie didn't love Julius because she didn't understand him. Of course, she couldn't understand him with how cowardly he was being. His fear of rejection prevented her from accepting the real him.

I hated how Angie's heartfelt efforts to make Julius happy were spat on. What had the boy sacrificed? What had he done to make Angie happy? Nothing! He gave nothing and expected everything!

I hated how he saw Angie's attempt to help him as nothing more than nagging! He could not understand Angie wasn't lecturing him! She was doing what any partner should do! She was gently reminding him of what he needed to do!

I hated how he claimed to want to be treated like any other student but expected everyone to cater to his whims! No one else had the luxury of people doing whatever he asked! No one else would have gotten away from approaching another man's fiancee! No one else would have the gall to do so!

I hated how he refused to listen to me! My opinions and will did not factor into the equation! He would get what he wanted because he did not understand rejection!

I hated how willing he was to hurt my fiance!

I hated how he did not consider any consequences! Damn everyone else, so long as he was happy!

I yelled and yelled. I hurled every insecurity back at his face. Every inane conversation we have ever had, I used against him. Years of hate spat through my lips. My voice went hoarse well before I stopped.

After it was all said and done, I saw the once-empty hallway filled with people with withering gazes.

I ran away.

"I'm proud of you," Leon said as he held me.

"What for? For lashing out at the prince?"

"While that was satisfying, that's not why I'm proud of you. You stood up for yourself."

"But everyone was glaring."

"But did it feel good?"

It did. It felt good not curling up and hiding.

"Julius apologized to me. He asked if I wanted to go to town," Angie said hesitantly.

"Why do you seem apprehensive? Isn't that a good thing?"

"I heard what you said to him. I didn't like what you had to say."

"I apologize, Angie."

Of course, she wouldn't be happy. I had blown up on the boy she loved. No woman in love would be happy to see that.

"You misunderstand me. I thought about what you said to him. It made me realize how poorly he was treating me. I didn't like it after hearing it all laid out."

"Couldn't you use this as a chance to fix it?"

"I don't know if I want to anymore."

"Angie?"

"What would you do in my situation?"

"Why are you asking me, Angie?"

"Because you're my best friend, Livia. Livia?!"

"I'm your best friend?" I said with tears.

"Of course you are."

"But why?"

"How could you not be after you defended me so fervently?"

Angie had a gentle smile as she hugged me. She called me her best friend. My heart burst with happiness. I finally found the happiness I was looking for.

Julius blew his chance with Angie during their date. He only took Angie to places he wanted to go and ignored how Angie would look at stores she wanted to go to.

Good riddance.

Angie would occasionally drop by Leon's tea room. Since Angie told me we were friends, she saw me whenever she was not busy as the first-year representative.

Weirdly, she and Leon did not make more of an effort to get to know each other. There was no hostility, but they didn't seem to want to get close to each other.

It was probably something about propriety.

During one of the times Angie tried Leon's service, she asked him what she should do now that she lost her purpose in life.

"Have you considered exploring more of what the world has to offer?"

Learning a new language was surprisingly fun. Seeing Leon struggle with something was also amusing to see. I had not expected him to struggle over something as simple as a few words.

Leon's insistence on getting the shrine charms was rather silly. What's funnier was that he gifted the two charms he got to Angie and me. He mentioned the two paired well since they were of the same design but of our favorite colors.

His gift made Angie and me feel closer.

During the end-of-year ball, I finally kissed Leon. It was a magical night that I will remember forever. Leon's familiar took a photo. I must thank Angie for taking the time to pretty me up.

"I'm going to miss you, Angie."

"It's only a year, Livia. Besides, I don't want to eat up too much of your time with Leon," Angie said with a playful wink.

"Promise me you'll write often."

"Of course. I do wish you could come with me to Alzer, though."

"It is what it is. My scholarship was meant for the Academy."

"I know, but it's not fair."

"Angie... I want to say something before you go."

"Livia?"

"I'm glad I came to the Academy. Even though it was difficult at times, I got to meet you and Leon. I want to see what else the Academy has to offer, and more importantly, I want you to see what Alzer has. Times will be tough, but always know that Leon and I are here, supporting you always."

"Livia!" Angie said as she hugged me tightly.

AN:

1) I was writing about how a NewGame+ Olivia would react to a legitimate Leon route. Of course, she had to be traumatized. Otherwise, why would she meet Leon and not hook up with the main cast again?

2) You can think of this Olivia from the same ending as where Angelica came from in The Villainess Reincarnates.

3) After years of being a pet, possessed, and possibly raped, I expect anyone to be an emotional wreck. The plot of the Otome game is stupidly dark when you dig into it.

4) Timeline is altered a bit.

5) Only Angelica is going to Alzer. No, Angelica did not fall for Leon. She is exploring herself. I only say this because I remember someone thought this was some wank session to have Leon collect the waifu.

6) Likely to be only three chapters long. One for each year. I have something in mind for chapter two already. Chapter three is iffy as of now.