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Chapter 9 – Am I Changing History?

1923 (Taisho 12), had only a few days left.

Surprisingly, Christmas in Japan was more festive than I had expected. However, at this time, it was still primarily celebrated by churches and children, so all I received were some toys and stuffed animals.

On the other hand, the tradition of aging with the New Year was still deeply rooted, creating an atmosphere of eager anticipation for the holiday. I could feel it strongly from the household staff. This year, especially, the anticipation was even greater due to the massive disaster that had claimed so many lives.

In September, the Kanto region had been struck by an unprecedented catastrophe, and aftershocks had continued. But nearly four months later, things had finally begun to settle down.

That said, I had not set foot outside the main estate of the Ootori family. The only way I could gauge the state of the outside world was through conversations between family members and the servants.

For now, my role was simply to act like a proper young girl.

Eat well, sleep well, and receive early childhood education from my tutor—nothing more.

Since I had just lost my father in the earthquake, those around me were considerate of my situation.

By my side were Mari, a maid and the wife of Tokita, as well as several young maids in their mid-teens, chosen to care for me due to their relatively close age.

A few of the maids who had looked after me in Yokohama had also been assigned to serve me here. However, all of them had either perished beneath the rubble of the mansion or suffered injuries so severe that they could no longer work.

The close aides and maids who had served under my father Kiichi have also perished—either crushed beneath the rubble of the mansion or caught in the disaster elsewhere.

After all, the brick-built mansion in Yokohama was almost entirely destroyed.

The room I had been in at the time of the earthquake was supposedly the sturdiest in the entire structure, but the rest was a complete disaster. The only reason Tokita, who had been in the same mansion, survived was that he had happened to be outside when the earthquake struck.

(But… Tokita wasn’t around at the start of the game, was he? If I remember correctly, he only appeared a few times in someone’s flashbacks. If he never showed up after that, does that mean he was already dead by then? …Isn’t that too soon? Did he get sick? Or maybe he retired?)

Thinking about it again, there were noticeably fewer members of the family at the start of the game compared to the present.

Compared to a hundred years later, medical technology and medicine in this era were far less advanced, so naturally, lifespans were shorter. My great-grandfather, Aoiichirou, was still in good health, yet despite being in his seventies, he looked like he was in his eighties or even older.

Even among the wealthy and the financial elite, that was just the way things were.

Still, there were too few of them. It was likely that many had succumbed to illness.

At this time, tuberculosis was still an incurable disease, and even pneumonia could be a death sentence. In fact, my great-uncle Ryuujirou, who had been the head of the conglomerate, died quite suddenly due to pneumonia complications following an injury.

Soldiers on the battlefield were especially vulnerable to gastrointestinal issues due to poor sanitation and water quality, but even in normal civilian life, gastroenteritis was consistently one of the leading causes of death.

The mortality rate for young children was still quite high. And I was only three years old. If I wasn’t careful, I could easily end up in the afterlife.

Even if this world followed the game’s setting, I couldn’t afford to optimistically assume that I’d survive all the way to my downfall.

(Being able to “optimistically” assume I’d stay in one piece until my inevitable ruin—what kind of twisted irony is that?)

I couldn’t help but feel a little sour about it.

But worrying about illness wouldn’t do me any good. All I had was a vague, second hand knowledge of medicine—things I had picked up from manga and the internet.

If this were a more lighthearted story, I’d probably be able to use magic to casually whip up medicine on my own. But unfortunately, my past life had nothing to do with being a doctor or a pharmacist. I was just an ordinary person.

I was a rekijo—a history girl—so I had a fair amount of historical knowledge, but that was nowhere near enough to match a professional. Even so, I had tried to use the little knowledge I had to make a move.

And yet, nothing came of it.

No one reacted to the future I had hinted at.

(Did they just dismiss it as a child’s doodles and nonsense? I even made sure to write in kanji and English on purpose… But in the end, I’m still just a three-year-old, huh?)

(—Well, there’s no point in sulking over it.)

That was around late autumn.

But if I, someone who had already died once, gave up over something this trivial, what would be the point? I had to push forward.

(More than anything, I need to establish good relationships with people. And I need to watch my own behavior. Acting like a villainous noble girl is absolutely forbidden!)

That much, at least, was clear.

I didn’t even know for sure if this world was truly the materialized version of the game.

Besides, I was just an ordinary person. Trying to adopt the personality of a villainous noble girl was impossible for me in the first place. If that was the case, I just needed to behave normally. That alone should be enough to avoid most of the ridiculous events I had seen in the game.

(So next… it’s probably going to be about my marriage, right? But if the financial conglomerate doesn’t collapse, there won’t be a need to push for a marriage with some other conglomerate’s heir. That would mean my future husband would be one of my cousins, chosen to become the next head of the family.)

I couldn’t even begin to imagine it.

As someone who was unmarried well into my forties in my past life—and who didn’t exactly have much success in real-world romance—this felt like something that only happened on the other side of a screen.

And to top it off, no matter who I ended up with, they would all be cheat-level handsome men.

(Well, I can worry about picking someone later. If I can prevent the financial conglomerate from collapsing, then even if Japan loses the war as badly as it did in my past life, we might be able to manage somehow.)

(But what really bothers me is that nightmare. The U.S. military landing on the Japanese mainland—that has to be a prophetic dream or some kind of revelation, right? This isn’t just about ensuring my personal ruin—this is on a completely different level. Just what was the entity that brought me to this world thinking?!)

At this point, I always ended up venting my frustrations.

As if my current inability to do anything wasn’t bad enough, I could already see an inevitable catastrophe coming no matter what I did.

(Ugh, complaining in my head won’t change anything, but if I’m the one who knows the future, doesn’t that mean I have to somehow stop Japan and America from going to war? Honestly, who even cares about the otome game at this point?! What kind of impossible game is this?! Damn it, damn it, damn it!)

And so, my frustration spiraled further. But anger was energy.

The obstacles ahead were overwhelming, but the only thing waiting for me was inevitable ruin. A few failures didn’t scare me.

“I’ll do it! Just watch—I’ll change this absurd fate!”

“What’s the matter, Reiko-ojou-sama?”

“Nothing at all!”

That was the usual pattern—using my solo playtime to vent before slipping back into my role as a proper young lady. And by the time I fully settled into my toddler persona again, my mind would be at peace.

However, the lack of any results was starting to get to me.

As the year’s end approached, I could feel the passing time pressing down on me, making my impatience grow stronger.

“What’s wrong, Reiko?”

A gentle, handsome voice called down to me as I sat deep in thought on the large sofa in the reception room.

Looking up, I saw a strikingly dignified man in an army uniform gazing at me with an unbelievably kind expression.

Just that alone was enough to make my heart melt.

“Ryuya-onii-sama. It’s been a while.” (Even though it’s only been two weeks.)

“Yeah, it’s been a while, Reiko. Mind if I sit next to you? Also, I’m not your ‘Onii-sama’, I’m your uncle.”

“Ehh? But Grandpa said to think of you just like my father, so you’re still my Onii-sama.”

“I see, well, I guess that can’t be helped. But only when it’s just the two of us, alright?”

“Okay~.”

“So, what were you thinking about so hard? If something’s troubling you, you can talk to me about anything.”

“Thank you, Onii-sama.”

The one smiling at me so kindly was Ryuya, the son of my grandfather’s younger brother, Ryuujirou. That made him my uncle, though one generation removed.

At 22 years old, he was still a freshly minted officer, having only recently joined the army. But despite that, he was already known as a military prodigy. That was about all I knew about him for now, but honestly, none of that mattered—because he was that much of a stunningly handsome man.

Since he was an army officer, his hair was cut extremely short, which was his only flaw. But when he stood there in his winter military uniform, draped in a cape and wearing his officer’s cap, he was so breathtakingly dashing that I could almost faint on the spot.

He was tall and slender, yet broad-shouldered with a well-built chest, and his limbs were long.

The Ootori family was known for their height and long limbs, and since he was a cavalry officer, I could only imagine how incredible he must have looked on horseback.

Unfortunately, he was already married, and he had a son my age—the same boy who would eventually become a romanceable character in the game. He resembled his father, of course, but in his younger days, Ryuya-onii-sama was on a whole other level of handsome.

This feels almost unreal.

Right now, he works at the Army Ministry. He could live in this estate, but instead, he resides in a separate residence. However, that residence was damaged in the earthquake, and according to my maid Mari, he might temporarily move here soon.

Since both his workplace and this estate are nearby, he occasionally drops by like this. As the daughter of his late brother, he often looks after me.

That’s why I make sure to act my age and let myself rely on him.

It’s definitely not because he’s an insanely good-looking man.

(But even if he says I can talk to him about anything, this isn’t exactly something I can consult him about. Were there any major incidents around this time?)

(Oh, right, 1923 was the year Disney was founded. That feels kind of fateful… Wait, no, focus!)

As I wondered how to respond, my gaze wandered and suddenly landed on the calendar.

(Today is December 26th… Something about that date is nagging at me. Think, oh villainess with cheat-level intelligence!)

“Ah!”

The sound escaped my lips before I even realized it.

A historical event—one recorded in history—suddenly surfaced in my mind.

And looking at the handsome man in front of me, I had a strong feeling.

Yes.

I might be standing at one of history’s turning points.

The realization struck me all at once.