Oh good, it’s another villainess show with a twist. This time, however, the villainess can’t rid herself of the prince. But why would she want to? Isn’t the villainess supposed to try and steal the prince away from the heroine? Well, in her previous life, Bertia was a big fan of Cecil’s route (yes, of course, she’s a Japanese girl who has been isekai’d). The fictional version of him had helped her through some rough times. As a result, she’s content to fulfill her role as a villainess in her second life even if it means he gets to live happily ever after with someone else, i.e. the heroine. She’s willing to sacrifice her own happiness for him, which is a bit disturbing if you think about it. I mean, you gotta be able to separate fiction from reality. For instance, just because Bertia claims to be the villainess doesn’t mean she has it in her to actually become one. She’s not an inherently bad person, and thus Cecil has no reason to annul their engagement. In fact, this story is being told from the prince’s perspective, and he finds her utterly fascinating.

Alright, that’s all fine and dandy, but is this enough of a twist on the standard villainess formula to make this show watchable? Well, what actually piques my interest is not just Bertia’s foreknowledge of the game’s events, but also what Cecil does with the information she feeds him. We’ve seen shows where the villainess is the actual author of the story she’s in, but she still can’t remember or prevent what happens next. But Bertia does remember, and Cecil is somewhat capable. More than that, actually. He’s practically a Gary Stu who can do it all. His only weakness is that he seems detached and emotionless, but I suspect Bertia will have a role in changing that.

Immediately in this first episode, Bertia opens up about how an epidemic in a year’s time will eventually claim her mother’s life. Why? Because there won’t be enough of a rare plant to go around, and it’s the only cure for the disease. Hearing this, Cecil sets about cultivating said rare plant, thereby avoiding the impending disaster altogether. Okay, I don’t honestly care about all the villainess/heroine nonsense. I can also already tell that Bertia will likely remain oblivious to the fact that Cecil obviously likes her, which will be annoying. But the part of the story where they team up to fix things already feels more “new game plus” than that other creepy ass, borderline pedophilic new game plus anime we’re getting this season. If Bertia can spin her otome love into smart and proper governance through Cecil, this show might have some legs.

Of course, I’d prefer it even more if our self-proclaimed villainess could do more. Cecil basically took care of the epidemic himself. Again, this story is being told from his perspective, so the prince is arguably the main character and our villainess is just the deuteragonist. But that doesn’t mean he can’t share a bit of the spotlight and give Bertia a more active role to play. Well, it’s just the first episode. Hopefully in the future, Bertia won’t be relegated to simply remembering stuff. There are other things I’m not so keen about, like an eight or nine-year-old embarking on a quest to lose weight. Hopefully, this is just a one-off thing.

At the very end of the episode, we find out that the heroine is also someone who has reincarnated. She’ll probably serve as Bertia’s foil, i.e. she expects to receive Cecil’s love but gets none of it, whereas Bertia is trying to give Cecil away but can’t. Someone’s gotta be the actual villainess, after all.

Ultimately, Bertia needs to realize that the Cecil in front of her is a real flesh-and-blood human being. Yes, she’s been reborn into her favorite story. Yes, he resembles the fictional prince she adores so much. But the real world is not a game. He has his own thoughts and feelings. As such, I hope it doesn’t take all damn season (and more) for the girl to learn that the story can change. Hell, it already has! Her mom is still alive!