Arc: Commoner's Movement
Web Novel: #33-44
Manga: #16-20
Anime: TBA
Plot Summary
One morning after the Foundation Day Fair, Rae and Claire are accosted by student members of the Commoner's Movement, a group of activists seeking equality between peasants and aristocrats—and one the villainess has no patience for. As tensions rise between the equally disgusted protestors and noblewoman, Lambert defuses the situation with a brief The World Is Not Ready speech to the demonstrators.
Departing, Rae is chastised by Claire for humoring the protestors as Lene urges the noblewoman to consider the impoverished commoners' perspective, earning a smack across the face for her troubles. Noticing her fellow maid's somber expression, the heroine warns Lene not to do anything stupid as her inner monologue yet again alludes to The Conspiracy.
Breaking the tense atmosphere with a request for lunch, they eventually discuss the Commoner Movement during an Academy Knights' council meeting, with Lambert detailing the conflicts arising from a few of the demonstrators' civil disobedience. An indignant Claire opines on commoners' lack of contribution to the Kingdom as Thane corrects her by mentioning how vital they are as taxpayers, though admitting he still doesn't deem them fit for politics.
Lambert proceeds to inform the council of rumors the activists are secretly backed by the Church, whose philanthropy and medical services to commonfolk grants influence rivaling the royal family. It's here Rae offers background on the religion, worshiping elemental spirits and the "supreme Spirit God" which birthed them. Unable to simply ignore the nobles' complaints, Lorek orders the knights to intervene in conflicts without placing blame solely on the activists.
Noticing Lene slip away for a frank discussion with Lambert, Rae and Claire happen upon an activist seeking to lobby Yu and the Church via his mother's ties as a former Cardinal. The prince's refusal does little to sate the villainess, prompting another political debate as Yu opines on both the aristocracy's legitimacy and inevitable downfall given the army's powerlessness against magic-adept commoners.
Pensively, the noblewoman departs as she, Rae, and Misha are sent on errands for the Academy Knights, her father Dole later treating the group to Broumet chocolate. Disaster strikes sometime after as the Knights are informed Dede Murray, a noble and Yu's attendant, gravely injured a student following a dispute over the Commoner's Movement. With tensions rising, the Broumet-goers are dispatched to interview the victim at a Spiritual Church clinic.
Waved in by a nun, their initial attempts to interview the victim fail as he believes the knights are simply covering for the nobility. After acquiescing to Rae's empathetic please however, he revealed himself to be Matt Monte and the one who petitioned Yu earlier. His story lines up with what was previously reported: he admonished the nobility, calling them wealth-hoarding parasites after Dede ordered him to stay away from Yu, prompting the attendant to suddenly attacking him with deadly magic.
As Matt's consciousness fades, he pleads with the group to see Dede brought to justice—a request which goes unfilled as the latter's sentence is revealed: one week's confinement, a sentence so light even Claire finds herself outraged. While the knights attribute the non-punishment to the church and aristocracy's schemes, the Royal Academy descends to chaos as resulting outrage and violent protests force its temporary closure.
Knowing full well of the impending chaos, Rae resorts to sleep magic as her pleas for Claire to take shelter fall on deaf ears, entrusting the unconscious noblewoman to Lene following a terse, yet ambiguous confirmation that she isn't "one of them". Later, Rae uses the riot to slip behind Lambert as he enters an academy laboratory.
Catching him off guard, Rae accuses the Vice Commander of sabotaging Dede's wand in a ploy to incite the deadly conflict unfolding between nobles and commoners, something he fervently denies until the heroine reveals his motive: An Offer You Can't Refuse from Nur with his sister—and lover, Lene's life hanging in the balance.
Rae's attempts to reason with the Aurousseau brother are interrupted by a gaggle of goons ushering Lene into the lab, one of whom holding an unconscious Claire at knifepoint. The maid orders Rae back as the siblings move toward the bell, only to panic when the heroine reveals she broke the summoning artifact in advance. This would prove to be for naught however, as one of the henchmen casts "Return", rewinding the bell to an unbroken state before passing it back to the traitorous siblings.
Just as Rae moves to stop Lambert from ringing it, Lene orders the heroine back once more, thinly slicing Claire's neck for effect. For as quickly as rage and panic flood Rae's mind, the lab is engulfed in equally intense screams as the now risen villainess burns the mooks to ashes. Unfazed by her magic, the masked man demands the siblings stick to the plan, reminding them of their deal as the Aurousseaus claim I've Come Too Far to surrender, with Lambert finally ringing the bell.
Before the Academy Knights lies Chimera, a ravenous tri-elemental monster issued a single command by its summoner: kill the noble students. While the so-called heroine suggests fleeing and leaving it to the army, Claire pushes Rae into helping her stop it as the villainess refuses to allow the monster to go on a rampage—and worsen the Aurousseaus' punishment.
Narrowly blocking its fire breath, the pair elect to lure it outside as the masked man thwarts their attempts to destroy the bell. Chimera's head, torso, and tail having differing attributes proves a formidable opponent, shrugging any attempts to impede it as they run for the courtyard. Once there however, the pair manage to freeze it long enough for Claire to cast Magic Ray, finally slaying Chimera.
Just as one threat is eliminated, another looks set to claim Claire's life before a wind-boosted Thane blocks the masked man's surprise attack, the two briefly clashing before the would-be assassin makes his retreat, elated to have "killed a royal". For his part, the prince quickly collapses as Rae realizes the assailant's blade was laced with Cantrella—a virulent poison from Nur. Reconstituted, Thane's embrace with Claire is cut short by a heroine's jealousy as the trio begin to depart, former maid and master trading a forlorn look as the noblewoman wonders if her abuse of Lene was a catalyst to this.
As Yu predicts, Rae and Claire are later summoned by King I'Ausseil to be rewarded for their heroic deeds. They use the opportunity to plead for the Aurousseau family's lives, but are quickly shot down as Prime Minister Salas Lilium cites the siblings' conspiring with foreign powers and attempted murder of prominent aristocrats—and a royal as reasons to deny clemency. Rushing to their aid once more, Thane suddenly enters and rebukes Salas by explaining how sparing the family will reduce the boiling tensions between commonfolk and aristocracy. Convinced, I'Ausseil orders Thane to remain as he hands down a new sentence.
Stripped of their assets and exiled to The Alpes, a neighboring ally famous for its fertile soil, the Aurousseau make way to the gate as Rae offers Lene her famous mayo recipe as a parting gift. Claire initially declines to see her former maid off, but promises to meet again someday while apologizing for failing her as a master.
The volume closes as the siblings' carriage fades into the background, prompting Rae to embrace Claire from behind and offer the villainess a chance to grieve without anyone witnessing her tears.
This chapter contains examples of:
- Adaptational Early Appearance: In the manga, Lilly Lilium cameos as the nun tending to Matt Monte well before her light novel introduction as a cardinal in the Yu's Secret arc.
- Adaptational Villainy:
- Inverted as Claire's abuse of Lene is downplayed in the manga, reducing her abrupt Bitch Slap after the maid expresses sympathy toward the Commoner Movement to a mere scream ordering her to shut up.
- Where the light novel has Lene ushered into by a group of knife-wielding assassins, the manga removes the implied duress by depicting her as acting alone, making for a far less sympathetic portrayal.
- An Offer You Can't Refuse: Seeking to weaken Bauer, the Nur Empire brokers a deal with Lambert: incite a political uprising and assassinate noble students, and the Aurousseau siblings will be free to change their names and marry in the empire. Fail or refuse, and Lene will suffer the consequences.
- Brother–Sister Incest: The Aurousseau sibling's romance is exploited by Nur, whose blackmail forces Lambert to either help murder noble students or pay with Lene's life.
- The Conspiracy: The ploy Rae constantly alluded to is revealed to be Nur blackmailing the Aurousseau siblings into inciting political outrage by rigging Dede's wand and summoning Chimera to murder academy nobles.
- The Empire: The Nur Empire is introduced as a hostile superpower and Greater-Scope Villain orchestrating class tensions and plotting the assassination of prominent aristocrats.
- The Exile: Faced with execution, Rae, Claire, and Thane successfully lobby to have the Aurousseau family's sentence reduced to banishment and asset seizure.
- Giving Radio to the Romans: Rae gives her famous mayonnaise recipe to Lene as a parting gift, a recipe which didn't exist in *Revolution* prior to her transmigration.
- I've Come Too Far: Lambert says as much before ringing the bell and summoning the Chimera.
- I Will Punish Your Friend for Your Failure: The Empire threatens to kill Lene should Lambert back out or fail to murder noble students.
- Knight of Cerebus: The political unrest and Aurousseau's banishment caused by the Nur Empire's schemes create a darker tonal shift from what was strictly a Romantic Comedy set in an Elaborate University High, raising the stakes while introducing political intrigue and drama which follows even into Act 2.
- Linear Warriors, Quadratic Wizards: Cited by Yu as why Bauer's aristocracy will soon fall, as the army won't have the numbers to contend against the equally magic-adept commonfolk.Yu: "The army is strong. But now there’s magic to reckon with, too. We’re starting to see individual commoners powerful enough to match even the most exceptional soldiers. Soon, it will all come down to numbers.”
- Mistreatment-Induced Betrayal: Claire fears her abuse of Lene following the maid expressing sympathy toward the Commoner Movement spurred her into betrayal.
- Put on a Bus: Lene and Lambert are absent for the most of Act 1's remainder owing to their exile and near-complete seizure of assets.
- Tears of Remorse: Fighting them back until Rae embraces her, Claire cries out of regret for the hand her abuse of Lene played in the Aurousseau siblings being cornered by Nur's schemes.
- Time Master: The masked man is a wind mage with some degree of time manipulation, demonstrated by his ability to rewind the summoning bell to its undamaged state.
- You Can't Fight Fate: Spurred by knowledge of Revolution, Rae's hopes to preempt Lambert's plan by destroying his artifact are dashed when a masked man rewinds the bell, allowing the coerced brother to summon Chimera.
