The Legendary Villainess Who Vanished on the Guillotine, in Her Second Life She Wishes for Peace as

Chapter 6: Academy’s popular people come gushing in—Part 2

It’s true that as long as I don’t become the queen, my parents won’t be arrested.

I just want peace for my family and myself. That’s why I gave up the one dream I had.

I just want to live quietly and wisely by myself, regretting my past mistakes in my first life.

But if I were engaged to Camilo, my nerdy and plain glasses plan would be ruined in an instant.

I would be hated by his fans, and looked upon with curiosity by those who are not fans. I would be celebrated in a bad way as a person of the moment.

I can easily imagine being exposed to insults and suspicions like “That plain girl with Camilo-sama?”

“And above all, why me?”

Why does Camilo say he likes me?

My past life was really terrible. I did a lot of bad things to get the attention of His Highness and ended up with nobody around me.

Only my parents and Camilo didn’t abandon me.

And yet, I have been cruel to such a kind Camilo, even though he didn’t know anything about my past.

“If it’s true that you love me…then I’ve been so cruel to you.”

I always complained to Camilo about how sad I was that the Prince wouldn’t turn around and look at me.

I consulted him countless times on what kind of present to give to His Highness.

I always talked to Camilo about His Highness.

Even so, he was the kind of person who would say “Let’s go see the ocean.”

“Leticia. Can I hold your hand?”

I was stunned by the sudden request and could only watch as Camilo gently grasped my hand.

His warm palm, hardened by sword training, enveloped my hands that were normally so conspicuous as a pen holder. It brought me relief, yet made my heart beat faster.

“Well, it’s true that you were pretty mean in your past life, I think.”

“Uh…”

I groaned softly and Camilo laughed happily.

“It can’t be helped. I still love you, even so.”

As he said that, Camilo narrowed his eyes and looked at me with a face that was clearly enamored.

I couldn’t bear it anymore. Not because of joy, but because of the overwhelming sense of guilt.

I’m sorry, Camilo. I’m so sorry.

But I’m sure he doesn’t want me to apologize. I was just foolish, and I didn’t mean to hurt Camilo.

I shouldn’t apologize just to make myself feel better.

“…Okay, I understand. I’m going to try to see you first.”

“Really?!”

I nodded my head with determination, and the color of young grass curled up in surprise.

“I was prepared to be scolded more.”

I let out a wry smile mixed with amazement.

I think it is strange that Camilo reacted the way he did after he himself cut off my retreat, but I guess he was aware that he was taking forceful means.

“I thought Camilo would be good. So… I’ll take you up on the engagement.”

However, this is just an engagement for now. We’re not getting married right away.

Camilo said he’s loved me since his first life, but I think his taste is quite bad. Even now, I’m not much to look at, so he might become disillusioned and change his mind while being with me.

As long as I faced him before the engagement was broken off, there shouldn’t be any consequences.

Even if it does end in a broken engagement, I never had any intention of getting married in the first place, so it doesn’t matter.

I just want Camilo to be happy, no matter what.

He was the only one who stayed by my side as a friend throughout my first life…

“Leticia!”

“Eek?!”

Camilo called my name as if he was overwhelmed with emotion and embraced me tightly.

The warmth from his body transmitted through our uniforms and my heart started pounding loudly again. Please, let Camilo not notice this sound.

“Thank you, Leticia. I’ll always protect you. This time, for sure…!”

His voice was low, hoarse, and trembling. Did I imagine it, or did his regret from his past life seep into those words of “this time, for sure”?

Come to think of it, I wonder what kind of life Camilo lived after I died.

Did he get married after all? Did he have children and live a happy life until old age…?

“So just stay the way you are, with your glasses. Let’s keep our engagement a secret for a while.”

“Huh?”

“There’s a reason why we should keep it a secret. I’ll tell you about it when Leticia is feeling better.”

“…Huh?!”

I returned a dumbfounded voice to the unexpected proposal, as I was lost in thought as a way of escapism.

Really? Since engagements are supposed to be based on the agreement of both families, they are usually made public.

“Can I still be a plain and unremarkable nerd with glasses?!”

“Well, yeah. I’m actually quite surprised that Leticia is still self-proclaiming as a plain and unremarkable nerd with glasses.”

Camilo released me with a wry smile. His fresh green eyes, as gentle as ever when we met eyes, made me feel like the Camilo in front of me was gradually overlapping with the Camilo who was my friend in my past life.

“It’s okay, Leticia, no matter who you are. You don’t want to stand out, do you? You can keep it a secret until graduation, even if it’s a long time.”

“Of course…! Thank you, Camilo. I’m really happy because there’s something I want to do.”

Actually, I belong to the Volunteer Club.

The reason I joined was to atone for my sins from my past life.

I knew it was a motive filled with hypocrisy and arrogance, but I started the activity because I thought it was better than doing nothing. Recently, I’ve become quite accustomed to it and started to feel a sense of accomplishment.

If I were to announce my engagement with the royal Camilo here and now, I wouldn’t be able to continue my life as usual. That’s why his proposal was something that made me very happy.

“You seem so happy, it’s a bit hurtful…but it’s okay because you’re cute.”

“Huh? I’m sorry, what did you say?”

Camilo said something in a low voice, but I couldn’t make it out.

He laughed and said it was nothing. Then he took my hand again and pressed his lips against the middle of my finger.

It took me a while to process the hot and soft sensation that traveled all the way to my head. Camilo seemed satisfied as he looked at me blushing a little late.

“In the first place, I’m the only one who needs to know who you are… Right, Leticia?”

Hey, is this really who you are?

I was being filled up and bound, clearly being played with in a way that seemed to benefit me. But I had not yet realized that there was a part of me that did not hate it.