Otome Game Villainess? Who Cares? I Want Giant Mecha. 4

Otome Game Villainess? Who Cares? I Want Giant Mecha. 4

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Commissioned by Shaderic

Wordcount: 2500

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If you wish to protect others, then you must be ready to cut down those who would do them harm.

Those words rang in Godfrey’s ears as he left the niceties of his room as the sun arose in his window. Many of his classmates still slept in the rooms that they claimed to be subpar and not worthy of their status, while he opened his luggage for the necessities of his day.

Two bracelets which would distribute weight throughout his body and help him harden his body. A necklace which would provide him protection against arrows should an unknown danger arise. Then, finally, the weighted blade with which he would train with, so that he could swing a true blade like a feather against the foes of his people and land.

Godfrey took a breath as he allowed weight to wrap around his form equally, taking note of the increase upon his body, before nodding and opening the door to his room. The clocks of the other students would not chime for another two hours. Thus, Godfrey walked alone in the hall to his destination.

He did his utmost to ignore the plush carpet upon which he walked upon, the subtle decorations on the linings of the walls, and the rich colors of the wallpapers upon the simple hallway. The magical lamps that lit his path made his jaw clench, but he did not allow any anger to take him. In this place, he knew that he needed stalwart allies and firm friends, and he could not afford to be thought wanting for his lack of “aesthetic” appreciation.

So, he walked without a word through the halls lined with wealth, toward the training area granted to the students without letting his heart have him cry out for more support be rendered to his own lands. If he cried out, if he indicted these people for their wealth and frivolity, then he would lose any chance of gaining support from the other territories of the Crown. That would be the kindest of outcomes, as it did not entail his family’s loss of reputation in his conduct, which they could ill afford with their needs.

So, Godfrey endured the constant reminders of wealth wasted and strode onward, until he reached his destination.

The Academy’s training grounds were sparse and unlike the ones he knew of his own lands. It’s weights offered were light and insufficient, the obstacle course a simple affair, and the track was flat and lacked any rugged terrain. He was used to running and jogging uphill and downhill, traversing mountain paths and cliffs, and grabbing rocks to place into tough baskets and pulling upon them through motions passed down generation after generation via pulleys.

Finally, though the Academy had a vast forest suited for training with Chevaliers, they lacked weighted weapons to increase the endurance and strength of a warrior’s arms. However, with the gifts his father gave him, as his father did when he attended the Academy, Godfrey’s training would not be undone and he would not grow soft as his first ancestors did.

Godfrey readied himself to train before the rest of the day began for the Academy only to be surprised that he was not alone.

A classmate was running the track with sleepy attendants sitting on benches waiting upon their mistress. Though Godfrey wondered the necessity of domestic servants being present for mere training, he nodded at the sight of one of his fellows training hard. He found no flaws in his peer’s running form, as she ran laps on the circuitous track, without the aid of magic. Though she was sweating and dampening her training clothes a great deal, the blonde heiress did not falter as she ran and ran.

Godfrey felt his heart lighten as their eyes met and he saw the fires of competition rage within his classmate’s gaze. Finally, he felt a semblance of home at the Academy, where he lacked any fellow warriors, and readied himself to train as well. It was truly refreshing to see another person of his age in the Academy dedicated themselves to growing stronger for the sake of their people.

With that in mind, he committed himself to training once again.

…

That utter bastard didn’t know who I was!

Never did I feel as slighted as I did now.

After weeks of gathering information on Godfrey of House Ashdown, challenging him repeatedly in our classes of swordsmanship, and besting him in academia… he only acknowledged me once I tore myself from sleep to train as he did!

Only now, only today, after weeks… did he know my name!

The man infuriated me, and though I should’ve loathed him, I felt lesser for allowing myself to be so capricious and competitive.

My past life granted me greater perspective as an individual to Godfrey’s plight. His dedication to swordsmanship, his constant desire to excel, and his purpose in the Academy was to gain allies, reputation, and strength, whereas I was present solely due to obligation. Every time I bested him in a test, I lowered his rankings in our class. As I worked to defeat him in swordsmanship, I threatened his greatest bargaining chip, while so much of the Academy thought him lesser than them.

He had every right to abhor me and revile my existence.

But when he saw me training this morning, he reached out to me with a firm nod and an outstretched hand to introduce himself.

A part of me had wanted at that moment to slap his hand away, until my past life told me to look at his face. I’d thought that he would be wearing a mocking, victorious smile, yet instead I saw nothing but approval and respect in his gaze. After all that I had done, I thought that he would choose to mockingly acknowledge me as a I strained trying to keep up with him, but all I saw was his high approval of me… and a complete lack of care of everything else that I did to him.

So, I had shaken the hand he offered me and accepted his approval… but now my heart burned with indignation as I recalled what came after once again.

He had introduced himself and asked me for my name.

I never felt so slighted before in my life, so my thoughts kept returning to the matter again and again. My past self told me to let it go, to simply let the matter lie, and forge a friendship with a young man dedicated to protecting his people above all else. I could easily ignore all that occurred before, simply letting all flow unnoticed beneath the bridge we forged with one another, but… but I couldn’t!

It was wrong of me to seek to defame him, even if I did so within the boundaries of academia and practice combat, but I couldn’t accept the fact that all my work, research, and effort was only acknowledged by that bastard today! My history as a Chevalier, all my achievements in combat, my beauty, my grace, and my status… I couldn’t allow him to simply think of me as a woman who merely trains early in the morning.

That wasn’t all that he could approve of me.

Not in the slightest!

So, though I would stop my other efforts to stall his attempts to garner greater fame, I would see to it that the Ashdown Heir would properly acknowledge me.

I will do whatever it takes!

And, no matter what my past sensibilities insinuated, it was not because I was engrossed by him in the slightest!

…

Clarisse wiped sweat from her brow as she lay on the floor of her room.

The dorm that she was given had been something out of a fairytale when she first saw it. Everything about the room was warm, soft, and cozy. The plush carpet of the floor felt wonderful to step upon, the bed ensorcelled all who lay upon it with impeccable softness, and the magical lamps within the room cast a soft, steady light that outmatched any cast by candle or wick.

But now Clarisse hardly cared for it as she roused herself from the sodden carpet whilst casting a cleaning spell as she arose tying her hair back taut against her skull.

“Alright, physical training is done! Now it’s time to study!” Clarisse smiled as she spoke to herself and rouse her spirits. She gave a happy hum as she walked to her chair and desk. For a brief moment, she luxuriated in the rest offered by the simple chair, but refocused on the task she had before her. “I think history will be the best way to start!”

Clarisse nodded to herself after concurring with her spoken thoughts, whilst dragging the tome that she was given, opening it, and without hesitation, beginning to read and make markings upon the tome for her future studies. When she had first entered the academy, she had floundered when given the books, as they were meant for nobility. Their bindings were leather, the paper within parchment wonderful to the touch, and the lettering within was smaller and finer than she had ever seen. They were books that would cost her family their homes, and she had almost fainted upon learning that they were hers to keep, but now she wrote upon them without shame whilst happily humming to herself.

“You must always work hard to attain your wishes, Clarisse!” Clarisse hummed to herself as she saw particular passage in her history book. Her eyes widened, and a smile formed on her face, as she looked upon the words in the book. It was of House Baude and their deeds, thus Clarisse forgot of her fatigue, and brought out the scissors from her desk drawer. “Ooh, that’s too important to keep in a dusty tome!”

All her reverence from the tomes she was given by the Academy was now solely reserved specific passages and paragraphs pertaining to her dearest wish.

“Snip, snip, snip!” Clarisse hummed as she deftly and cleanly cut through the tomes pages and fetched the blank journal that she had asked for. She opened it and smiled as she looked upon the crest of House Baude that she had drawn and drawn until she could do so perfectly from memory. She spared her writings and observations of the Heiress Baude a scant glance, knowing that she couldn’t spare any time, and simply reached the blank pages of the book. With a happy sigh, she placed the cut paragraph on the blank page, making her profile of her dearest wish that little bit more complete. “And, there. Nice and neat!”

Clarisse took a moment to breath, to feel, and to think of her goals, while her body cried out for rest and her mind was already tired from the lessons earlier in the day.

She ignored those things with a smile and returned to her studies for the day.

Time, effort, and will.

She had plenty of all three, so she would have no issue attaining her dreams, by becoming as great and amazing as she possibly could.

“For Lady Lenore, I must be perfect.” Clarisse whispered with a smile and a hum. She believed every word that left her lips, as she focused on her gaze on the tome before her. She memorized every word to make sure that she could get the perfect score on the next test, the test after, and the test after that. Soon, she was sure that she would recall the entirety of the history textbook, and would only need to do the auxiliary reading and study up before tests. After that, she would take each class on one at a time, until she could do everything perfectly there as well. “Then, it will just be gaining a Chevalier so that I can train with my own.”

Clarisse nodded at herself with a smile as she motivated herself to reach heights she would’ve never considered reaching mere weeks ago. Those weeks ago, however, she had been a mere peasant without purpose in an Academy that did not interest her. Now, she had every reason to throw herself at every opportunity, so that she could stand beside the heirs of one of the most eminent houses in the land.

“Lady Lenore… I’ll reach you one day.” Clarisse sighed and smiled at the memory of her Lady Lenore’s visage, grace, and style. No peasant could stand beside her, and neither could the top student of the Academy, but a fellow Chevalier could, especially one that earned one of the Twenty-Four Seats awarded to the 24 top students of every year. For a noble, being awarded a seat was a mere honor, but a peasant who managed to reach the Academy, who had the talent, and who had the merit… it was a path to establishing a new noble lineage. A lesser house which would serve a Count, but a noble nonetheless. “Please wait for me.”

Clarisse’s heart beat harshly in her chest, both from her earlier exertions and her excitement, but soon enough she turned her gaze back to her studies.

Dreams are all well and good, but they would never come true without effort and time.

So, Clarisse got back to work, ignoring aches and pains that ought to fell her, and forcing her mind to focus when others would be too fatigued to function. Blessed with enough talent to enter the Academy upon simply being found, the candidate for the title Saint now worked tirelessly and devotedly to reach the utter apex of her power and might. All the harsh words and treatment of her fellow students barely crossed her mind, the trials and tribulations she now faced an afterthought, and so she would continue until she reached the point where she wished to be.

“I will support you with all my strength, after you defeat me thoroughly, Lady Lenore.”

Clarisse whispered those words with a breathy smile whilst all others in the Academy slept.