IATVWAMOLS 43

43. The Original Female Lead’s Blessing Has No End

Outside the story, at the Possession Management Department.

The Possession Management Department was unimaginably vast.

Screens and monitors, even tablets and smartphones — portable devices — were packed densely in a 360-degree array.

The space full of various screens looked like a gigantic studio or perhaps a broadcasting station’s editing room.

Of course, Roselia’s manager was in the Possession Management Department as well.

With bright pink hair that seemed to hold all the love in the world, and golden eyes like dripping honey.

Her gentle, affectionate eyes and a smile full of warmth.

Though her appearance was unmistakably that of a twelve-year-old boy, she wore a semi-formal suit, fitting for a professional.

She was watching Episode 1 — The Crown Prince’s Birthday Banquet — live on a streaming broadcast.

“Hey hey, the screen might break through from how intently you’re staring.”

A passing manager lightly tapped her, but she didn’t reply, only continuing to focus on the screen.

“Ugh, no matter how I look at it, the system’s so cruel…”

【SYSTEM: Mission! ‘The Villainess’ Dazzling Debut’】

[First impressions are crucial in every meeting!

Make an impression as a villainess by dousing the female lead Seraphine with wine. ♥]

Because of the system’s coercion, Roselia was forced once again to follow the villainess route from the original story.

‘It wasn’t this bad originally…’

The law of this world dictated that the more outstanding the possessed person’s abilities, the harder the original event’s difficulty would become accordingly.

Because Roselia had performed better than expected during the tutorial period, the original difficulty was set to ‘Hard.’

The manager regretted that their excessive interference had raised Roselia’s possession difficulty, but it was already too late.

After pondering briefly on screen, Roselia lifted a glass of wine and approached Seraphine.

Without hesitation, she poured the wine onto Seraphine.

—“Kyaaah!”

With Seraphine’s scream, all attention turned to Roselia.

—“Oh my!”

—“What’s going on right now?”

—“Could it be that Lady Roselia is causing a ruckus again?”

Again.

Those contemptuous looks, the blame and finger-pointing directed at Roselia…

It was almost too painful to watch. The manager, troubled, was about to put down the smartphone when Roselia used an item.

[Change Genre for 1 Minute (Obsession)]

[For just 60 seconds, the situation’s genre will be changed to a suspenseful obsession story!]

‘Obsession?’

At that moment, the manager’s eyes sparkled.

According to Roselia’s intention and the item’s operation, an obsession code should form between Seraphine and Perwin.

However, the manager secretly changed the target of the <Change Genre for 1 Minute>.

—“I’m the only one who can ruin you. If someone else breaks you, then I’d rather just destroy you myself.”

This instantly removed the conflict between Roselia and Seraphine, and was a clever tactic to save Roselia from the villainess route.

“Phew. I barely put out the fire.”

The manager sighed in relief, but a warning window popped up on the live screen.

【SYSTEM: The Story Enforcement Department raises an objection regarding Roselia’s mission achievement.】

“…What objection?”

The gist of the objection was this: although Roselia poured wine on Seraphine, romance eventually formed between the two, so she failed to achieve the goal of ‘villainess debut.’

The manager was about to request mediation, but the Story Enforcement Department acted faster.

【WARNING! You have failed the ‘Villainess’ Dazzling Debut’ mission!】

【Penalty for mission failure will be applied in 30 seconds.】

The regression timer began counting down.

There was no time to send a protest message. If they didn’t act within 30 seconds, Roselia would regress once again.

“Damn, this is all because of those Story Enforcement Department guys.”

Only one option remained: to access manager mode directly and remove the penalty execution.

【Error! Invalid access!】

But this time, the original work protection system blocked the manager. External access was not allowed while the original episode was ongoing.

“Ugh.”

Still, the manager did not give up. After several attempts through detours and loopholes, they finally managed to break through the system’s defenses—

【Mission failure penalty execution has been stopped.】

After five attempts, the forced penalty execution was lifted.

“I… I did it…”

The manager slid down the backrest of their chair.

【Mission failure penalty execution has been stopped.】

Resigned to fate, I squeezed my eyes shut, but after some time passed, no change came.

When I opened my eyes again, not only was there no bad ending screen, but the regression timer remained still at zero.

I was still in the powder room, and my arms and legs were unharmed.

‘What on earth…’

I couldn’t understand what was happening. The sudden changes felt like a rollercoaster, and I couldn’t adapt.

Seraphine grabbed my hand tightly with a worried expression.

“Milady, are you okay?”

“Ah, yes.”

Only then did I nod, regaining my senses, but she still looked uneasy.

“You look terrible. You should go home early today.”

“But…”

“Hurry.”

Seraphine pulled me by the hand.

She seemed uneasy even after escorting me to the carriage stand.

She insisted on watching me board the carriage before she could relax.

‘Feels like the roles are reversed.’

The original goal of bringing Seraphine and Perwin together had long been ruined, and the original female lead was fussing about the villainess.

I was surprised anew at how proactive Seraphine’s personality was.

Among the long line of carriages, we found the carriage of the Serteia Duke’s household.

“Oh, here it is. Our family’s carriage.”

“Serteia Duke’s household…?”

She glanced between me and the carriage.

Then I realized that I hadn’t even properly introduced myself to Seraphine yet.

“I’m late with my introduction. I’m Roselia of the Serteia Duke’s household.”

“Oh my, so you’re the Lady! I didn’t know and treated you like a friend. I’m sorry!”

Seraphine turned pale, but I shook my head.

“No, I was glad to feel close to you even for a moment. You’re Lady Seraphine of the Blaine Marquis family, right? Let’s stay close.”

“Lady…”

She covered her mouth, touched.

“Let’s meet again next time, promise!”

“Of course. I’ll be looking forward to it.”

I boarded the carriage, escorted by Seraphine.

She waved enthusiastically until I sat down, then left.

I didn’t immediately depart but waited for Icart.

How much time passed?

I saw a man running hurriedly outside the window.

“Brother!”

I recognized him immediately.

A tall, slender figure, whose appearance stood out even at midnight, and the banquet attire fit perfectly — such men were rare.

“Roselia! I’ve been looking everywhere for you.”

Icart entered the carriage, breathing heavily.

“I’m sorry, because of me… I suddenly left, so everyone must have been worried.”

I lowered my gaze.

Not only had I poured wine on Seraphine abruptly, but I also acted almost madly, possessed by an obsessive villain.

Thankfully, things cleared up with Seraphine without misunderstanding, but others must have been quite surprised.

‘After all the effort to improve my reputation…’

I worried they might whisper that I was crazy.

Icart shook his head.

“Don’t worry about that. I heard you stepped up to save the lady who was being bullied.”

“Huh?”

Icart’s explanation that followed was truly surprising.

After I had taken Seraphine out of the banquet hall, everyone whispered about me, but when Seraphine returned to the hall and actively defended me, the situation settled.

‘She left me, went back to the banquet hall, and defended me.’

She even escorted me to the carriage telling me to go home early.

‘Seraphine’s blessing truly never ends.’

Is this the kindness of the original female lead? A deep wave of emotion welled up inside me.

“Ahhh!”

While Icart and Roselia shared the whole story, the manager was tearing at their hair.

“What happened?”

A girl leaning over from a nearby seat, who had been watching the other world, spoke to the manager.

She had brown twin-tailed hair and pink eyes, and appeared to be about the same age as the manager.

When she looked at the manager’s smartphone, instead of the possession live broadcast, a warning screen filled the display.

【WARNING! Abnormal access detected in original story progression!】

[‘Possession Live’ viewing is banned for this account (3 days).]