The angel smiles and the list acquires a new item.

"All right. So, did you want to figure out a more detailed model of the world, or should we move on to the next set of mechanical options? If you don't have a particular preference on, for instance, the intricacies of how the magic system will work, the worldbuilding crew will fill in the details as necessary, but you can get as granular as you'd like. You can also give vague preferences - for instance, it sounds like as far as technology and social structure, you'd like to land somewhere familiar to you. They probably won't recreate your home world exactly, but that sort of inclination is enough to go on if you'd like to leave some details to the crew's imagination."

"Yes, but if I'm adding more magic... you mentioned I could make day-to-day life nicer?  Like," (she frowns) "make it so we don't need to salt meat so much outside the palace?  Or there isn't, er, that bad smell in summer?"

Nod.

"Yes, food preservation and… waste disposal… should be doable. At a Magic Level of Medium, that'll most likely look like minor magic items - they likely won't be ubiquitous, but it'll be enough to raise the standard of living. Sometimes people opt for a masquerade, where those who have magic hide from those without, so that they can stay at a lower overall magic level while having a higher concentration of the benefits, but that's far from the only way to set this up."

"I don't want to hide such a big part of the story as magic.

"Maybe I'll want even more magic?  But, let's go on for now?"

The angel laughs again.

"I understand. Okay, so the next part is your Role. So, by default, you're going to be a woman, your fiance will be a man, and your rival will be another woman. However, some people object to having that aspect of themselves changed - they don't want to be a woman, they don't want to be attracted to men, or both. Now, this will sound unrelated, but now would be a good time to explain advantages and drawbacks."

They take a quick breath.

"Advantages are exactly what they sound like - things we can do to make it easier to avoid an unfortunate fate. There are plenty to choose from, and they all have different kinds of results. By default, you get four 'free,' and every advantage you choose after that point must be 'paid for' with a drawback. Drawbacks are also exactly what they sound like - things we do to make your new life trickier. One advantage, however, is slightly different. It's called Flexibility. You can take it as many times as you like, but only the first is free. Essentially, when you take it, you can select any of the categories where none of the options are to your liking and invent a new one. You won't get to pick anything you want, and it'll have to 'fit' in a sense with the other options, but I'm happy to help come up with ways to justify your choices to my supervisor."

A self-conscious smile.

"Back to the matter at hand - the genders paired with the roles is a common choice for the free use of Flexibility. You don't have to change anything if you're happy with the default, of course, but it's common for reincarnators to be distressed if they think that their gender or orientation will be changed against their will, so I like to get this explanation out as soon as the topic comes up."

Lila hadn't gone out with anyone before.  It just wouldn't be fitting.  Perhaps she could fall in love with some foreign prince or adventurer who was only too happy to help restore her throne - she'd dreamed  about that a few times - but none of them had shown up.  There could of course be other reasons for marriage, but nobody was interested in marrying a princess who had nothing but a few hidden loyalists.

"I'm fine with that.  I'll be Flexible elsewhere."

Nod.

"Okay, good to know. So, as the villainess, you're going to be in a position of relative social advantage, though the exact degree and flavor is up to you. There are three Social Roles: the Royal Princess, the Duke's Daughter, and the Rich Heiress, in descending order of privilege. The Royal Princess is born into, well, the royal family of Villarosa, the Duke's Daughter is the daughter of a noble who hopes to advance himself politically by arranging a successful marriage, and the Rich Heiress is technically a commoner, though one with an affluent father."

The next page in the folder goes into more detail about what exactly each option entails, including the degree to which the villainess' parent can be induced to aid in preserving the engagement.

"Any reason not to be --"

Lila suddenly falls silent...

... as she realizes that the stories she's bathed in for years wouldn't really work with a Princess who hadn't been turned out of her rightful place.

There would be more stories, of course... like romance.  Which is the story they expect her to be in.

And a different sort of politics that doesn't feel as interesting.

But that doesn't seem enough.

"How about... the Duke's Daughter? ^{It's a different kingdom, after all.}"

The angel makes an inquisitive face but doesn't quite ask what Lila's last comment means, instead nodding and adding her choice to the list.

"Okay. The other half of your role is your Story Role, which is tied somewhat to your appearance."

They decide not to mention, at least not right out of the gate, that some reincarnators have to put up with far tighter restrictions on their appearance.

"There's the Pampered Princess, the Ice Queen, and the…"

They almost huff.

"Badass, er, Bitch. In summary - the Pampered Princess doesn't have to be literally a princess, she's just someone who's used to getting her way and often sheltered. She'll be more likely to have blonde hair that's styled elaborately, as well as a frillier sense of fashion. The Ice Queen, again, isn't necessarily a queen - she's simply got a cold, determined demeanor. Her appearance can be a little more varied - funnily enough, you're equally likely to see an Ice Queen with silvery white hair as one with jet-black hair, and she'll have a more practical fashion sense. The. Last option. Is an aggressive, emotional powerhouse. She's likely to have wild red hair and wear more military-coded clothing. I think it's worth mentioning that none of these appearance tropes are required, but it'll be easier if you choose an appearance that evokes your desired Story Role in some way."

"Pamper me but don't shelter me."

Nod.

"All right, that sounds workable. Do you have any particular appearance input? If not, the designers will come up with something they think is fitting."

She shakes her head.

"All right. The next Role to decide is that of your fiance. The three options there are the Prince Charming, the Dark Rival, or the Noble Prodigy. The Prince Charming is earnest, sweet, and upstanding; the Dark Rival is, well, a bit of a dark rival to the Prince Charming - less earnest, more mean, though never cruel, more dangerous - and the Noble Prodigy is - mm, a little out of place, compared to the others? He's already graduated the Royal Academy you'll be attending and made somewhat of a name for himself. He'll be hardened from his past and reluctant to open up emotionally, at least at first."

Lila tries to squelch the butterflies in her stomach at actually picking a fiancé, and forges ahead to take the one with apparent plothooks.  "The Noble Prodigy.  Er, you will pick someone who likes me?"

The angel nods, but it's not untainted with sadness.

"Yes. At the beginning of the plot, you will be in a political engagement, but you'll have legitimate regard for another. By default, it's friendly, but if you opt for the advantage In Love, the two of you will be romantically involved as well. Unfortunately, regardless of whether you take that advantage, he will over the course of the story fall in love with your rival as well. However, while the 'canonical' ending involves him leaving you for her, you will have the opportunity to try to avert this - whether in the form of convincing him you're better for him, seducing your rival to form a triad, or something else you think of."

"Er... good."

She's distracted by how the angel is presenting such a scandalous option as seducing the heroine, which means she's avoiding considering whether she wants to be in love.

"What next?"

The angel doesn't notice Lila's distraction, or at least doesn't think it stands out.

"The last Role for you to choose is that of your rival. While you start the plot in an advantaged position, she starts out somewhat less so. She can be a Poor Princess, a Hero's Daughter, or an Extraordinary Commoner. The Poor Princess has some sort of complication with her parentage - perhaps she's a bastard, perhaps she's only a half-sibling to whoever actually inherits the throne, perhaps she's not from Villarosa at all. The Hero's Daughter has a parent who, well, died heroically in such a way that elevated their whole family to the nobility, while the Extraordinary Commoner is simply a commoner who was accepted into the Royal Academy on merit alone."

If she's not going to be a princess, she doesn't want to be an antagonist to one either.  That'd just feel too weird.

"Hero's Daughter."

Honestly, that's pretty valid of her.

"All right. Do you have any input on whether you'd like the hero to be her mother or father, what their heroic act was, or whether she has any surviving siblings or a parent?"

"A heroic mother would be interesting - and have her still be alive - I hope our rivalry's not too strong for me to meet her?  As for what she did..."

She could've been in the right place to stop a plot, but that'd be less interesting.  She could've come to the King's attention through being an expert physician or midwife, but that's not the right sort of thing to be heroic.  There're old tales of swordswomen, but that'd feel strange... and there's something more interesting, especially if magic is going to be more common here.

"Would I be making things too difficult for myself if she's a magician who stopped some plot or saved the day in the last war?...  Maybe the war; I don't expect they'd be using battle-magic on me."

"Oh, I must have misspoken. The heroic parent can't be the same as the living parent - we can leave the option open for resurrection at the conclusion of the plot, since you didn't opt for no magic, but during the actual story, it needs to be either impossible or prohibitively inconvenient to bring her back right away. Having her be a war hero or someone who foiled a dastardly plot would work just fine, though - the only real requirement is that it was valuable and impressive enough that her family was awarded a noble title in response to it."

"Then yes, she died some time after the war, but recently enough that my, er, opponent can remember her.  And... can she have some older brothers, or do you want her to be the eldest set to inherit?"

"That would be all right, on both counts. By default all her siblings will be nobles, but if you want her to inherit a particular title that's also fine. Some options for making that work could be that inheritance is matriarchal, or that her mother selected her personally, or that her brothers abdicated… I'm sure you get the picture."

"Then I'll do it.  She and her brothers get some title each - let's say they went by partible inheritance.

Her smile suddenly dims.

"Are my parents still alive here?"