Chakapoko, chakapoko.
The sounds only a horse"s hooves and the turning of wheels make. A journey with a horse-drawn carriage, as I slowly watch the pa.s.sing, quiet countryside.
And then there"s me who got groggy from that carriage ride.
It"s not because of the carriage ride. It"s because the horse"s destination is a heavy-feeling place.
Right now, accompanied by a maid by the name of Tia, I am headed to the Demon"s– I mean, the Brunsmeier household.
The day the proposal came. Of course, father and mother were pleased about it.
It"s because it"s from a distinguished family from this country"s 5 Fingers*, all the more it was requested by the other party. I should be happy right? Well, I"m definitely not!!
After seeing how happy my parents were, how can I refuse… Plus, I absolutely can"t tell them that the reason I don"t want to is because from my previous life"s memories of the game, Bernhardt is a villain. At the very least, it would be fine if Bernhardt was a detestable guy but he helped me out the other day at the tea party. Also, he honestly told everyone about it.
Hearing about the proposal,
“Oh my! I bet he fell in love with you at first sight at the tea party! It was destiny~”
said my mother.
Mother is an ojou-sama who grew up neither good nor bad, but loves romantic stories.
And with that, the conversation ended without a hitch. Accepting the proposal, a month later, I was officially Bernhardt"s fiancee.
Upon seeing my face, everyone at the mansion congratulated me. ‘Don"t congratulate me like that, all of you!" I screamed in my mind while smiling.
I don"t really get what that absentminded bishounen is thinking.
If by chance it is as mother said, I doubt it"s actually him having fallen in love with me at first sight. It"s not just me trying to be humble, but being self-conscious is no good either.
Since I don"t know the reason for the proposal, there"s not much I can do. First off, I have to make sense of the situation!
I thought back on the information that was squeezed into my head a month ago.
Unfortunately, my memory of the game is vague.
I could clearly remember the CGs, the characters" appearances and some of the endings.
It"s because it can"t be helped! It"s not that I messed up, but my memories of the game is mixing in with other similar games.
Moreover, this game"s system was slightly annoying.
Picking the route for the first half, and raising your love interest"s affection. Then for the second half, it"s not as simple as going into the individual route. You were able to change love interests in the middle of someone"s route, it"s the type of scenario where you can"t just be raising only the love interest"s affection.
For example, in Edwin"s route, if you were to raise just Edwin"s affections, then you"ll be met with a bad ending where you and Edwin get killed in Bernhardt"s trap. But if other love interests" affections were raised to some extent, that character would then notice the trap, save you, and you"ll then be able to reach the happy ending. This happy ending also branches depending on trivial choices you choose, it has a lot of branches that"s like that. Morever, they"re hard to understand.
It"s not that I dislike replaying this annoying system, but because of that, I wasn"t able to unlock the hidden character. Even after having frustratingly scoured walkthrough sites, I had no friends that liked otome games that could spoil it for me.
d.a.m.n, if I knew this would happen, I would have put more effort into scouring walkthrough sites!
In the mean time, with that understanding, if the protagonist were to stick close to Prince Edwin, I"d be in trouble.
Bernhardt"s little sister is Katerina, the villainess and Edwin"s fiancee. If Edwin were to suddenly meet the protagonist and is drawn to her, she"ll bully the protagonist Lila.
Additionally, the bullying includes unreasonable demands, and slapping. Rather than pestering her, she"s said to be an impulsive person who"d confidently meet them head on.
Wait, the game"s t.i.tle is “Lilac no Kun,” so the protagonist"s name isn"t simply Lila? Is that okay?
Let"s put that to the side for now.
Of course, Katerina is convicted by Edwin and the other love interests, and the engagement is cancelled.
Hearing about this, Duke Brunsmeier that dotes on Katerina a.s.sa.s.sinates Edwin. He then orchestrates everything so that the easily manipulated, childish second prince becomes the next king.
That"s how it looks like at first, but the truth is the person who planned all of this is the Bernhardt that everyone knew.
The game"s stage is set at school, where he"s the same year as Edwin, the protagonist"s senpai who"s two years above her. He"s introduced as a support character that helps the characters, and a gentleman that lends a hand.
In Edwin"s route, he"s friends with him, gently listens to the protagonist"s troubles about their difference in status, and at times, gives advice. He congratulates them when they begin dating, and even helps them set up secret dates.
As for why he had him a.s.sa.s.sinated, it"s because Bernhardt has always liked the protagonist.
I even remember him saying ‘You"re this kind, of course I started liking you," to the naive protagonist multiple times.
He thought of having his father take the blame, Edwin a.s.sa.s.sinated, and getting the protagonist. After not having known anything and dying in the bad ending, in the happy ending, the a.s.sa.s.sination was avoided and he confessed everything. He was then locked up in prison for life.
After reaching this route, the carefree me who knew nothing and thought of Bern as a good guy went, ‘W-What the h.e.l.l!?" and threw the controller.
Because this guy has no route, he was the one I personally rooted for the most, and not the protagonist. I happily cried, ‘Bern in others" routes~!‘ Thinking about it, he may have been my favorite character.
With my memories being vague, I"m not so sure if he has a fiancee.
But I wonder if he didn"t have one. I mean, even if he had a fiancee, after having killed Edwin, it wouldn"t be that easy to get married to the protagonist. Ah, but if I am inside the game, I would have already met that fiancee…
“Gyaa–!! Don"t wanna, don"t wanna! I"m going to die without giving back to my parents, and having a wonderful marriage–!”
“Even though we"re on our way to the household of that wonderful marriage"s spouse, what are you doing, Lizisama? I know you haven"t changed much from long ago, but have you finally gone crazy?”
“I have not!”
Glaring at Tia who said those stabbing words, I calmed my rising tension. Oh no, I can"t accidentally just blurt it out.
Tia is my foster sister. Big, cat-like eyes and two huge mountains that I hate, she"s the only same-aged friend I have.
“Do you hate Bernhardt-sama?”
“That"s not it.”
“Then why are you shouting that you don"t want to die while thinking about the proposal?”
“You see… I don"t know.”
“What?”
It"s not like I can talk about otome games and my previous life.
With me at a disadvantage, to escape Tia"s stares, I stared out the window.
What should I do?
If I purposely say that I don"t like Bernhardt, the engagement might be cancelled, and I can simply go back to being a bystander.
But am I fine with that? For some reason, it makes me look like a coward. But I have no redeeming features. I also don"t have an iron will that can overcome any obstacle, like the protagonist, as well as the innocence that attracts others.
Even so.
“…I wonder if we can get along at least.”
To help the selfish Katerina and black-hearted Bernhardt realize their mistakes, as a friend. To help them look for their own happiness together outside of the game"s scenario.
Or am I arrogant to think like that?
“Yes you will.”
Tia replied with full confidence.
“I wonder.”
“If you"re not able to get along with them for any reason, I"ll punish you.”
When I look at the proud Tia with her big b.r.e.a.s.t.s pushed out, for some reason, I feel at ease.
The strict Tia always cheers me up. Surely I"ll be able to get along with them! I definitely will!
…Maybe.
“Are you Lizia? Hmm… You seem kinda plain. Well, that"s fine. You seem to have no interest in His Highness! I cannot understand a woman who shows no interest in such a wonderful gentleman, but as long as you don"t get close to His Highness, we might possibly be able to get along!
The first person to meet me at the Brunsmeier household entrance was not my fiance, nor a butler, nor a maid, but the unforgettable silver hair of an ill-mannered, beautiful girl.
She arrogantly declared to the shocked, and dumbfounded me with a loud voice as if she"s standing on a bridge.
Hey, to the me a while ago. This may be too early, but it may not be possible to get along with them…! Eh, wait, my stomach doesn"t feel good!?
*5 Fingers – I"m a.s.suming it"s like 5 most distinguished families or whatever.
As always, feel free to point out mistakes. I"m legit just translating and fixing the grammar as I go. Also, if anyone wants to help edit this series, please do let me know. I sometimes miss a lot of things as I translate/edit through things.