By Shakushineko and Yukiko. Released in Japan as “Betabore no Kon’yakusha ga Akuyaku Reijō ni Saresō nanode Heroine gawa ni wa Sore Sōō no Mukui o Ukete Morau” by Mag Garden Novels. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Mittt Liu.

As with so many of these books that are written as one-offs but unexpectedly become popular, the subtitle to this second volume is inaccurate. The “heroine” of the first book is still being emotionally tortured by sadistic magic expert Raphael, and doesn’t figure into this volume. A more accurate subtitle might be “I’ll Fight the Foreign Prince for My Villainous Fiancée!”. As with the first book, Elizabeth is about as villainous as a wet rag, but due to plot circumstances we do get to see her acting the part near the end. This is actually the funniest moment in the book, as she’s absolutely terrible at being bad, even if it’s for good reasons. As for the series itself, it remains “decent”. There’s nothing overtly wrong with it, and the main couple are sweet, but unfortunately it also lacks that certain something to make it stand out from the pack.

Things are mostly going well for Vincent and Elizabeth. The young lady plotting their downfall has been dealt with in a vaguely creepy but also pretty permanent manner. The guy who was also antagonizing them is now under house arrest. And they’ve even managed to confess to each other in the shyest, most adorable way possible. What could possibly go wrong? Well, for a start, Lord Lars is back, and he’s now a dragon. A tiny dragon the size of a cat. And seems to have very little memory of being Lars except a vague “I am imprinted on Elizabeth” sort of way. More importantly, there are visitors from the neighboring kingdom of Orion, which is currently undergoing a bit of a throne war. In that case, why is Second Prince Leohardt arriving to study at the academy? And why is he bringing along a baron’s daughter who can barely string two sentences together without screwing up?

The most interesting part of this book is how they set things up so that Lecia, the aforementioned baron’s daughter, can marry the First Prince. Normally the status difference would be far too great, so everyone assumes that the second prince is going to unseat his brother from the throne and thus make it OK for him to marry Lecia. But no, Leohardt is craftier than that (a lot is made about his demonic smile throughout the book). The plan they have instead is a bit of an ass pull (it’s fortunate that a mere baron’s daughter can punch out all that magic after simply seeing one traumatic event) but I’m OK with the handwave, especially as it allows our “villainess” to show off her absolutely terrible acting chops. Leohardt is also very interested in Elizabeth… supposedly, this may also be a lie… but by now she is very firm at rejecting other suitors. We even get a few more scenes from her POV, which were welcome.

There is a third book in this series, and judging by the wedding outfits on the cover it’s the final one. Given that Vincent can’t even bring himself to kiss Elizabeth on the lips, they likely need to third volume to build up the nerve. Recommended for those who like adorable dorks being dorky.

By Shakushineko and Yukiko. Released in Japan as “Betabore no Kon’yakusha ga Akuyaku Reijō ni Saresō nanode Heroine gawa ni wa Sore Sōō no Mukui o Ukete Morau” by Mag Garden Novels. Released in North America by Cross Infinite World. Translated by Mittt Liu.

I am once again thinking about genre when I write these reviews. I am, as you are no doubt aware by now, very fond of the villainess genre as a whole. There are several reasons for this, but one of the main ones is simply that it gives us a female protagonist, something that was nearly unheard of in translated light novels before this point. It’s almost a reaction against the potato isekai guys. Of course, if that is the case, then this book has a big issue, which is that this is the series where it’s the prince, for once not inveigled by that sneaky heroine, who is determined to help his sweet-as-pie fiancée. He’s sort of goofy, and not a bad character, but the lack of Elizabeth in this book is a worry. That said, the other part of the premise is quite interesting: what if the “otome game” aspect was in the world itself?

Crown Prince Vincent really loves his fiancée, Elizabeth. Really, really loves her. It’s sort of sickening. Unfortunately, lately things have not been going well, because there’s a new book that everyone at school is reading, Star Maiden. A romance of the “otome game” variety, it features a hero that is clearly Vincent… and Elizabeth as a cruel villainess! What’s more, a new girl at school, Yulisse, is trying to get in close with the prince, just like the book. And events in the book start to magically happen, despite both Vincent and Elizabeth trying their hardest to avoid all contact with Yulisse. What’s really going on here? Will Vincent be forced to publicly denounce his fiancée and break off their engagement at a huge ball? After all, that’s the trope.

I did like the book premise, which, yes, does turn out to involve a reincarnation from Japan, but for once it’s not the villainess or heroine. There’s a lot of political wrangling here, which is mostly good. Harold, the long-suffering aide to Vincent, is also a great character. The trouble is that, in trying to protect Elizabeth, Vincent bars us from learning anything about Elizabeth, whose inner thoughts we are rarely privy to. (This seems to be a family thing, as it’s hinted that his mother is a complete loose cannon, but we get no evidence for this at all.) And there’s also Raphael, one of Vincent’s allies, who is, as the book notes, “a playboy and sadist”. Yulisse can’t stand him, and so while her fate at the end of the book is appropriate given what she was trying to do, it also gives me the creeps. It’s not meant to make the reader assume she’s being sexually abused, but the frisson is there.

So, overall, a mixed bag. And, once again, everything is wrapped up in this book, but there’s a second one due out in the summer. Let’s hope it has a bit more villainess in it.