Leon's POV

Despite having been on the verge of breaking down, Olivia was quite animated during the meeting. Even after Master had left her to us, she didn't seem too nervous outside the usual awkwardness of trying to interact with strangers. While I had expected the girl to be more open with me since I had asked Master to emphasize my more rural upbringing, I didn't expect her to be this willing to interact with me. It just goes to show that she was the protagonist. She had a proclivity for interaction.

Looking at the other girl, I noticed she was actively conversing with the protagonist. While Angelica didn't appear as enthusiastic, she was cordial. Her attitude struck me as odd. Angelica was speaking with her fiance's potential mistress. Did Angelica remain composed because of her upbringing? Had she not nurtured enough animosity towards Olivia? It was only the beginning of the game after all. The honor duel was supposed to occur at the end of the first semester of the third year, which was quite a long time for emotions to fester.

I wonder if Angelica would be able to muster her hate properly if she was to interact with Olivia regularly. I had planned for tensions to rise by having Angelica take Olivia away from Julius periodically, and have the animosity from Julius spill over into the two girl's relationship. That plan may not be feasible anymore since Angelica seemed too kind to Olivia. I hoped that I was wrong about my current assessment. As awful as it sounded, I hoped that there was a seed of resentment in Angelica.

I could make adjustments to the scenario as necessary, but I feared the repercussions of deviating too far from the known path.

I will need to consult Luxion more about this matter later. For now, I needed to close the meeting so that I consult Angelica in private and answer her questions.

"It has grown late, ladies. May I suggest we call an end to today's meeting?"

Both girls nodded their heads, though Olivia had done so after some hesitation. Poor girl must not have wanted this reprieve to end.

Continuing on after having confirmed their acknowledgment, I pulled out a couple of wristbands and offered them to the girls. I explained that they were both Lost Items that I had picked up during my adventures and that each came with a lot of practical functions. Most importantly, they allowed us to communicate from across campus, pinpoint our positions, and notify each other if we needed assistance during an emergency. Both girls had a sparkle in their eyes when they heard that the wristbands were Lost Items.

When they started to test the functions, they emitted a childish sense of glee and wonderment. I couldn't help but give off a smile. It was refreshing to see such beautiful girls appreciate a gift in stark contrast to how the hyenas masquerading as women in this school would have demanded it as tribute. It almost brought a tear to my eye over how wholesome the scene was.

Too bad their wholesome moment told me that we may have deviated too far from the scenario. Angelica and Olivia were getting on too well. I could sense no resentment from Angelica towards Olivia as they fiddled with the Lost Items. I will need to consult Luxion about this.

After a few more minutes, I bade them good night.

As I expected, my wristband vibrated later that night. Tapping it, I was able to hear Angelica's voice.

"Good evening, Bartfort."

"Good evening, Ms. Redgrave. I suppose you wish to discuss aspects of the instructions?"

"While the results speak for themselves, I am uncertain about a few of the details."

"Ask away."

"Why did you have me whisk Olivia away after His Highness had moved to take her?"

"I suppose you are more concerned with how the crown prince would perceive you?"

"... That did cross my mind," she grumbled.

"For what it's worth, I do apologize for the potential backlash, but those will merely be temporary. An afternoon of grumbling and nothing more," I said with a sliver of truth. I was truly sorry for what I was doing to Angelica.

"Thank you for your sympathy, but I still would like to know why."

"There are quite a few. Would you mind clarifying what aspect you wish to hear specifically?"

"Why was I the one who had to do it?"

"Although His Highness wishes to be treated as a normal student, he uses the benefits freely. At the very least, his perception of normal treatment is twisted. He would simply run over an 'uncultured' rural Baron such as myself and possibly instate himself as Olivia's tutor. Or maybe he would simply wave off my reasons believing that I was trying to seduce Olivia."

"Then why not the faculty?"

"Do you trust the faculty?"

"..."

"I thought not. Plus, I wanted Olivia to see a fellow student tell the crown prince 'no'. She needs to see a fellow student do it and succeed because it shows her that she can do it as well."

"Do you not think that my status might get in the way of that goal? Olivia is just a commoner after all."

"Unfortunately, His Highness is stubborn. You are the daughter of a Duke, his fiancee, and Olivia's class representative. Even with all of that, I bet he was still obstinate. Anything less would have been denied outright," I said with a sigh. It would have been preferable if I could use someone else, but Julius was simply too persistent. I had tried and failed to account for the new interactions between the protagonist and the villainess.

I could hear Angelica grit her teeth. It appears she had not taken kindly to my critiques of Julius. Julius was such a fool for throwing away such a woman.

"Do you disagree with my assessment, Angelica? We are working together, you are free to tell me that I'm wrong or suggest a different course of action."

"No, you're right. I may not like what you had said, but it's the reality."

"I could've phrased it better."

"It's fine. Hearing you say it so bluntly helps me see the bigger picture."

"Of course. Is there anything else you wished to ask?"

"How did you know that the etiquette teacher was Olivia's magic teacher?"

"They had that relationship?" I asked in complete surprise.

"You didn't know?"

"It was a mere coincidence. So Olivia and I are both Master's apprentices? It's no wonder she seemed so relaxed after he had introduced me."

"And here I thought you were an all-knowing puppetmaster," she said with a wry chuckle.

"Is that how you thought of me? That's flattering."

"With how much you seem to know and how accurately you predicted events, it's hard not to," she grumbled.

"You seem dissatisfied."

"Worried about what you want. It's unsettling when some abnormally well-informed stranger takes an interest in your life."

"Fair enough. Would telling you that I only have the best of intentions put you at ease?"

"I'd rather you just tell me exactly what it is you want."

"I want what's best for the kingdom. Nothing more. Nothing less," I said sincerely.

"It is subjective and cryptic talk like that makes me worried."

"Unfortunately, it is the truth. What I want is something a little abstract, so I don't have a specific concrete result I want. I know that doesn't help put you at ease. But that's right, you only care about how this will affect the crown prince."

"... I care about a lot more than His Highness," she pouted as I hit the nail on the head.

I chuckled as I said, "Certainly, but you love His Highness above all else. So much so that you were willing to deal with a suspicious Baron."

"..."

I could feel the glare on the other side. Angelica was simply too easy to predict. She very much was the villainess of that shitty game. It was surprisingly a bit painful to manipulate such a pure woman.

"If it will put you at ease, I have no intention of bringing ruin upon His Highness."

"And Olivia? What are your intentions regarding her?"

Oh, that was most unfortunate for me. It appears that Angelica was more attached to the protagonist than was allowable. Angelica would not challenge Olivia to an honor duel. It may be necessary to prepare a substitute. The Offrey girl would certainly fit the scenario. This was something to ponder later.

I, unfortunately, had to play my immediate backup plan for this scenario. I was going to get back at Luxion for the batshit insane dialogue I was going to have to follow.

"She needed help, and I'm willing to provide that help."

"But why? You stand to gain very little from helping a commoner, and stand to lose a lot by encroaching what Prince Julius may consider his territory."

"True, but haven't you noticed it?"

"Noticed what?"

"Everything is aligning too perfectly. Olivia is the first commoner to attend this academy. She was accepted for her proficiency in light magic. The crown prince took an uncharacteristic amount of interest despite not knowing who she was. His Highness's friends took an instant liking to the girl. And now, she's being assigned a personal tutor who is apprenticed to the same man that taught her the magic that got her here. Let's not forget, the personal tutor also happens to be an esteemed adventurer whose accomplishments netted the title of Baron and knight even though the island I found was only fit for a baronetcy."

"You arranged that personal tutoring, and you didn't know about the connection between you two."

"Exactly. Yet somehow it lined up more perfectly than I had thought was possible."

"You're suggesting a conspiracy? The scale you are suggesting is impossible."

"Conspiracy is possible, and it is possible if you wave off some of those details as coincidences. However, I think it may be something a tad bit grander. I think some higher power is drawing us all together."

"... Are you suggesting that this is the will of the Saintess?"

"A girl wielding holy magic gets close to the heirs of the five founding families within an unnaturally short time sure sounds like some sort of prophecy. Unfortunately, those prophecies come with annoying things such as the end of times."

"I think I liked you better when I thought you were a conspiracy nut rather than a zealot."

"I'm hoping I'm just a paranoid conspiracy theorist too."

"So let's assume that these events were preordained by fate, then what is our connection to Olivia or the Saintess? As you said, everything lined up too perfectly. Somehow you are connected to Olivia as fellow apprentices. This would imply that your family is connected to the Saintess in some manner. Mine too given how involved I am in your schemes."

"I don't know, but I'm guessing the legends of the Saintess and the Kingdom's founding are incomplete in some manner. Maybe there was a sixth and seventh family, maybe we are descendants of the Saintess's untold siblings, or maybe our ancestors were the Saintess's lovers. I personally don't care what this connection is, I'm more concerned with the present and the future ruin we may face."

"And what exactly would this doom entail?"

"I can tell you are skeptical."

"How can I not be?!" Angelica yelled.

"I don't blame you, but you don't need to believe what I believe. You need only know that I believe that there is some impending doom that only Olivia and the heirs are able to handle. And as a result of this belief, I want to help those six grow and prepare."

"You know you sound insane."

"I do."

"You know that you are trying to win my trust with your insane babbling."

"Yes."

"You know there is no possible way I would believe any of this, and you still insist on this reasoning."

"It is unfortunate, but yes."

"I can't believe that I'm going to be taking my chances with you," Angelica groaned out.

"For what it's worth, I have nothing but good intentions for them so that they may succeed."

"That I believe," she said tiredly.

"Is there anything else you would like to discuss?"

"I think I'm going to just leave it here for now. I'd rather not learn any more asinine theories and plans you have after this revelation."

"Then I leave you to a good night's rest," I said before disconnecting.

I can't believe that worked.