The Epidemic Event Doesn't Happen

The kidnapping incident was quietly made to have never happened, culprits and all.

After all, it was a scandal involving the fiancé of royalty. If it came to light, they could call it a sting operation; if it didn't, that was even more convenient.

"Summer, I'm glad you weren't silenced to keep the secret, desu wa."

"Eh!? Where did that come from!?"

"It's nothing."

But she had completely let the matter of "events" slip from her mind.

It had been quite some time since her memories of her previous life sprouted. It was about time she sorted out those memories.

The game had been from the heroine's point of view, so there were many parts she didn't fully grasp, but there had still been plenty about the villainess. She was the fiancée of a capture target, and also the capture target's "sister" (though now they were no longer siblings, merely relatives).

"Let's focus on remembering the parts about Kurushu, shall we."

He was family, after all, and that meant lots of information connected to Koleha.

If she recalled correctly, her father Yarkot was called the "Ice Marquis", and Kurushu had been raised very strictly. Meanwhile, Koleha was doted on and grew up willful. The contrast was extreme.

Yet, in the end, they exiled Koleha.

At that, Koleha suddenly turned to the maids, Emma and Summer, who had grown quite easygoing around her, and asked a question.

"Emma, Summer — if I were kicked out of the house, would you come with me?"

"Eh? Are there plans for you to be kicked out?"

"I'll follow you no matter what!"

"I mean if — if."

"Even so, I can't imagine the marquis sending you away, Lady Koleha."

True enough — it was hard to imagine Father, who adored his daughter, exiling Koleha.

"… Indeed. In that case, maybe this isn't a 'family serves-you-right' story."

"Family serves-you-right?"

"Mm, nothing. Just talking to myself."

That trope worked best in cases where the family overworked and exploited the girl — the setting of "without me this enterprise couldn't function" really shined then. Despite depending on the villainess, the incompetent family casts her out, and then "serves you right!" comes for them. That's the "family serves-you-right" genre.

As things stood now, it didn't quite fit.

First of all, the marquis — Father — was simply competent, she had her own account, and her rightful compensation was automatically deposited. This situation was not going to lead to "family gets served, too."

(If anything, when the engagement gets broken off, they'll be the type of family that goes, "What! That foolish prince! How dare he do that to our precious daughter! We can't stay in a country like this!" and elopes to another nation with the whole house, desu wa!)

I know that type. I'm well-versed — Koleha nodded to herself and smirked, imagining the "country gets served, too" development to come.

And then, a major sense of wrongness pricked at her.

(… Wait, the Ice Marquis? That affable Father?)

She couldn't help but tilt her head.

In Koleha's memories, Father and Mother were lovey-dovey; if anything, it felt like a younger brother might be born as the heir. That differed greatly from the game, and as long as Mother was there, she couldn't see Father turning to ice.

One could say that face was only for family and he was "icy" at work, but…

(… No, he was perfectly friendly with old man Robo, too.)

Thinking about how he dealt with outsiders like Roborovski Haster, he still didn't seem like "ice".

In that case, there had to be a trigger — something big enough to adopt a relative as heir.

Yes, meaning—

—Mother died?

The marchioness died without bearing an heir.

So they took in a capable relative.

It made sense.

Because the marchioness died, the late wife's only child, Koleha, was indulged in any selfishness.

That was plausible.

"… Mother will die…!?"

No sooner had she thought that than memories of her mother welled up independent of any past-life knowledge. Real memories — of her beloved family, her gentle mother.

A gentle hand that stroked her head at bedtime.

A gentle voice that read her books.

The warmth of sleeping together.

But she hadn't seen her mother even once since recalling her previous life.

If her past-life memories hadn't returned, Koleha would have been sulking alone in loneliness.

The reason was… convalescence for an illness.

"C-could it be that Mother is ill…? Ngh!"

A stab of pain shot through her head.

She remembered a new piece of information. An epidemic.

What first seemed like a cold spread through the Nyarlathotep lands and raged.

Half the populace died, and among them was the marchioness, who had been living apart temporarily to recuperate.

"… The commoners are one thing, but Mother dying is unacceptable, desu wa!!"

She loved other people's misfortune, but family deaths were her own misfortune.

Unable to bear it, Koleha ran to her Father's office to save her mother.

"Eh? An epidemic? One that starts with cold-like symptoms…"

"Yes, that's right! We need countermeasures at once! … It hasn't happened yet, but I had a dream that it would spread and be terrible!!"

"A dream? Hahaha, it's fine. You're a worrywart, Koleha."

Even as Koleha was desperate, Marquis Yarkot said that airily.

Thinking that something bad would really happen if this continued, Koleha practically shouted at Roborovski Haster, who, for some reason, happened to be there.

"Roborovski-sensei! Do you know of any such illness!?"

"Hm. Starts as a cold and then spreads… That would be Ilunza. There are countermeasures."

Roborovski answered calmly. As expected of a physician connected to the royal family.

Koleha paused for a moment. For just a moment. She stripped off the "good girl" skin she'd worn thus far and steeled herself to save her mother regardless.

"Please tell me the countermeasures, Roborovski-sensei!"

"Mm. If they drink a medicinal herb early, it clears right up."

"So we need medicinal herbs, yes!? Then by any means necessary, secure them at once!!"

Other lands or commoners could wait. At the very least, secure enough for their own — for Mother to be saved. With that resolve, Koleha slapped the desk and hurried the adults along.

But the two adults smiled broadly. They smiled. Not a shred of urgency seemed to reach them—

"Ho-ho-ho, Lady Koleha is truly kind-hearted."

"She is, isn't she."

"Don't be so leisurely! This is a family emergency! Gather enough herbs to fill our warehouse!!"

To that, Yarkot answered unhurriedly.

"Right. The herbs you made are already stocked in the warehouse, so even if every commoner came down with Ilunza at once, we'd have plenty."

"… Oh?"

—Koleha remembered.

(Oh right, I'm the medicinal-herb tycoon, desu wa!!)

Yes. Forget securing them — she had enough to sell by the cartload, and the herbs had already circulated through the domain.

The extremely bitter medicinal herb, Kias.

"In fact, Roborovski-sensei was here about that. There were signs Ilunza might spread, so he asked that we notify the people to drink the herb the moment they think it's a cold. I've just agreed."

"I-I see?"

"Yes. So there's no fear that dream will come true."

Hearing that, Koleha's legs gave out and she sat down in relief.

Which meant Mother would be safe, too.

"Th-that's such a relief, desu waaaaa!!"

"Ho-ho-ho, Lady Koleha is truly a Saint."

"Right? She's the angel of our house."

Oh? Koleha tilted her head. She personally felt her statements a moment ago were self-centered and far removed from "Saint" or "angel." What she'd wanted to say was to secure enough for themselves even if the commoners didn't matter.

However, Koleha was the herb tycoon. If that Koleha said "secure herbs," it could only mean "increase production for a scale beyond the populace."

That was naturally how the adults took it.

No doubt about it — an angel. She'd been worried for the commoners, too — how admirable.

… Koleha decided to let that be the truth!

"Mm, mm, nothing matters more than everyone being saved…!"

She'd only picked up a reputation she'd tossed aside once that no one else had bothered to pick up! Nothing wrong with that!

"That's thanks to you, too, Koleha. Ah, that reminds me, Roborovski-sensei — how is my wife?"

"Mm. Just about fully recovered."

"Eh, Mother will recover too!? Wait, Roborovski-sensei, you were attending to Mother!?"

"Mm. While I was at it… I'll have you know I'm a rather capable physician."

"Thank you so much, Roborovski-sensei!"

Incidentally, the fact that Koleha had learned Poison Magic early and taken Roborovski as her teacher had also contributed to her mother's treatment.

At this rate, Kurushu might never become her "older brother".

Thus, Koleha felt firsthand how the story was diverging greatly from the original.

She believed it. This was going smoothly toward the villainess being the one to dish out the "serves-you-right," desu wa!