Prince Jeord, president of the student council, stood on the podium as representative of all the students graduating that year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Just as last year, the blonde prince with blue eyes was met with blushing and sighing by the female students. This time, his speech was even accompanied by some crying.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This was the academy\u2019s graduation ceremony, and I, Katarina Claes, was one of the graduating students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I had only spent two years here, but I had made a lot of memories in that short span. While looking at my fianc\u00e9 smiling from the podium, I thought of all that had happened during my stay at the academy, and of all my efforts before entering it. The entrance ceremony had made me so nervous…<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When I was eight years old, I hit my head and regained the memories of my previous life. There I used to have an average family and unapologetically otaku hobbies… until I was killed, still young, by an unfortunate accident.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Next thing I knew, I had become Katarina Claes, a duke\u2019s daughter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I was pleased to find that my silky brown hair and (slightly menacingly slanted) blue eyes made me prettier than the average, roundish face I had in my previous life… until I realized that it belonged to the evil antagonist of Fortune Lover<\/em>, the otome game I had been playing the day before my death.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the game, Katarina was engaged to Prince Jeord, and she did everything she could to hinder the romance between him and the protagonist. If the player managed to get to the Good End, the villainess would be exiled out of the country, and, should they fail and get the Bad End, she would be killed. Doomed either way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In order to avoid said doom, I started taking all possible countermeasures back when I was eight, and, a few years later, I anxiously entered the academy. I then met Maria \u2014 the aforementioned protagonist \u2014 and became friends with her, enjoying two very eventful years that led unexpectedly to the game\u2019s most uneventful ending: the Friendship Ending.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All the measures I had taken to fight doom proved useless. The toy snakes I had made with Grandpa Tom to throw at Jeord, the training with the sword, the farming to survive as a commoner \u2014 all useless. Not that I\u2019m complaining that everything went well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And the school festival… that was so much fun! Lots of stores had brought food stands offering all different types of snacks. Well, I also got kidnapped, but it was still fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What was not<\/em> fun was the disappearance of my adopted brother, Keith. At first I was scared that he had left home because he was fed up with me, but that proved wrong, and in the end we managed to get him back to safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And that\u2019s not even half of the stuff that happened to me. Any other student\u2019s stay would look boring in comparison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, after today\u2019s ceremony and the party in the academy\u2019s garden, my stay would be over too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since the two prince twins were graduating this year, there would also be another party at the castle later on… so many events to attend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The party at the academy would probably be similar to last year\u2019s… but what about the one at the castle? Would they have the usual luxurious buffet? I was already looking forward to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I knew I should probably restrain myself at the buffet here so that I could enjoy the one later to the fullest! But I had to at least try out the delicious food available here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I should choose what I eat carefully. Of course they\u2019re going to bring out some fine meat, so steak and roast beef are no brainers. But I can\u2019t pass on the fish, either… so I have to count in the carpaccio, and, for desserts, at the very least cake and jelly and…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…ister… Big Sister…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAh! Keith? What\u2019s the matter?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n My brother was looking at me with an appalled expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou were thinking out loud…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh my, I spoke all that stuff about my memories at the academy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou only spoke about food…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…\u201d I was pretty sure that I was recollecting memories \u2019til halfway through… I wonder what happened there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJust wait a bit longer; the ceremony is almost over,\u201d he said, handing me a piece of candy. He must have thought that I was hungry… I wasn\u2019t, but I did the polite thing and ate the candy anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why did he even have candy on him to begin with? He always gave me something to eat whenever I felt hungry… maybe he had all sorts of food on him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His flaxen hair and blue eyes made him look wild and handsome, but carrying food around was something I associated with the old men from my previous life. That made me a bit sad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was thinking about that while eating the candy that Keith had given me when I looked back at the podium. Jeord had stepped down, his place taken by a first-year student who was congratulating the ones graduating. It really looked like the ceremony was almost over.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My academy life, that felt so short, yet so long, had come to an end. I had felt this very melancholy a few times before… in another life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But hey, this candy really is good. I should ask Keith if he has any more on him.<\/em> The ceremony had ended. In this world, there was no line of graduates receiving their diplomas by the school head one by one, no long speeches by guests, and no student choir. Just the congratulations of a few people, and that was it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The party right after that, however, was incredible. In my previous life the most popular students were also surrounded by fans as they graduated, but it had nothing on this. It was particularly bad for the student council members, so much so that Jeord was completely lost among the crowd of admirers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe because I also was in the student council, I got people swarming around me too. \u201cI\u2019ve always been your fan!\u201d or \u201cI\u2019ve looked up to you all this time!\u201d or \u201cI\u2019ll never forget you!\u201d they\u2019d say, handing me flowers. I wasn\u2019t sure whether they had confused me with someone else or if they just meant those compliments for the council as a whole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike me, Maria, Mary, and Sophia were surrounded by boys as well as girls. Why?<\/em> That made me a bit envious, but I still appreciated all the girls blushing around me, and I accepted their flowers with a smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was just starting to get tired of smiling when the crowd dissipated a bit, and two younger girls stepped up to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLady Katarina, you had quite the following today!\u201d said Fray Landoor, who was to become the new student council president. Her beautiful face, framed by black hair and highlighted by her blue eyes, always showed a smile. She was a talented and charming girl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot as much as the other members, though,\u201d said Ginger Tucker, the soon-to-be vice president. Unlike Fray, she had brown hair and eyes, and was not particularly beautiful, but she was incredibly smart. She was a serious, even cold girl, but she was a good person deep inside. A bit of a tsundere<\/em>, one might say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy do you have to say that?! I am so sorry, Lady Katarina!\u201d said Fray, bowing her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What Ginger had said was true and, at least to me, not really offensive, but it was always like this for these two. Ginger didn\u2019t really choose her words carefully, and Fray would always step in to apologize before the situation escalated. They\u2019d been close friends ever since they joined the academy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd I also wanted to give you this. You already got a lot, but…\u201d said Fray, handing me a flower bouquet as gorgeous as one would expect such a talented girl to choose.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThank you,\u201d I said, accepting it. Then Ginger started looking into a bag and took something out of it, handing it to me. She had gotten me something different from the usual flowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI… I thought you might like this more than flowers, so…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was a beautifully wrapped assortment of my favorite sweets!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThank you so much! I love it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She was right: sweets are better than flowers. They taste good and fill you up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ginger joined me in smiling, and Fray started grinning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe was so intent on finding something that would make you happy, and she searched a lot of confectionery shops…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cS-Stop! She doesn\u2019t need to hear that!\u201d interrupted Ginger, angry and blushing, as cute as ever.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I got sad at the idea that this would be the last time I got to see the antics of these two, but then I remembered that they would probably be at the castle party, since all student council members had been invited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAre you two going to attend the party at the castle?\u201d I asked them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, I will attend, but Ginger will not,\u201d replied Fray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat? Why not?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am sorry that I cannot… but I have no dress and accessories befitting such a luxurious party,\u201d explained Ginger matter-of-factly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Indeed, some time ago I had heard that she was the daughter of a countryside baron who was not that much richer than a commoner. That would explain why she couldn\u2019t afford a dress fancy enough to be worn at the castle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a duke\u2019s daughter I had never had any problem of the sort, but being invited to a party wasn\u2019t the only requirement to attend it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fray looked angrily at Ginger. \u201cI offered to lend her one of my dresses, but she won\u2019t accept it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI could never wear one of your dresses,\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A look at Fray\u2019s figure was enough to prove that point. She was blessed with the body of a model, and a dress made for her probably wouldn\u2019t fit anyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThen we can have it fixed!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur sizes are so different that fixing it would not be enough. We would need to have it remade from scratch,\u201d she said. But then I got an idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThen I\u2019ll just give you one of my dresses!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat?! Lady Katarina\u2019s dress?!\u201d said Ginger with her eyes suddenly shining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSure! Our sizes shouldn\u2019t be that different,\u201d I said, proud of my idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unless her clothes were skillfully hiding her real proportions, she looked like she could fit my dresses without even needing to fix them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cB-But… that\u2019s… I could not…\u201d she mumbled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fray intervened by saying, \u201cYou should take her offer! When are you going to get another chance to wear the dress of the person you look up to so much?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWh-What are you t-talking about?!\u201d said Ginger, blushing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWell, after the party, come to Claes Manor so that we can get you dressed up,\u201d I told her, to which she blushed even further before nodding with a quiet \u201cyes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now all the council members would be at the party, and the more the merrier. I was already looking forward to seeing everyone when I heard a voice from behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKatarina! Did I hear something about you lending a dress?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was my friend Mary. She had been surrounded by a crowd even larger than the one around me… how had she made her way here?<\/p>\n\n\n\n And for some reason this popular and beautiful girl, with her reddish brown hair and eyes, was now breathing heavily, her face contorted with excitement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…Yes, Ginger said that she had no dress for the castle party, so I told her that I would lend her one…\u201d I said, overpowered by Mary\u2019s enthusiasm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI want one too! Please lend me a dress!\u201d she interrupted me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou already have a dress, don\u2019t you?\u201d I said, puzzled. She was the daughter of a marquess and was engaged to a prince… there was no way that she had trouble affording a dress, unlike Ginger. And I was sure I\u2019d heard her talking about the new dress she had bought specifically for the party at the castle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat has nothing to do with this!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m not sure I understand…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh no… my friend is going mad…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPlease! Lend me one as well! It\u2019s not fair that only Ginger should have one!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, she\u2019s definitely losing it. What happened to her during the ceremony?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…But our sizes are different, and you wouldn\u2019t…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s not fair! If Mary gets one, I want one too!\u201d interjected Sophia out of nowhere. Her red eyes were sparkling and her white, shiny hair was ruffled. Just like Mary, she looked a bit too enthusiastic to be her usual, elegant self.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They must all be too excited because of the ceremony…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And then, possibly because Sophia and Mary were talking so loudly, the other students who had given me flowers and were still within hearing range had joined the choir of \u201cgive me one too!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unable to understand what was going on, I found myself in the middle of a chaotic battle between female students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My friends then came to my rescue, and the battlefield went calm as we all went back home to prepare for that night\u2019s party at the castle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I managed to convince Mary and the others to give up borrowing a dress, so only Ginger came home with me. I wished I could have helped her choose the dress, but since I myself was busy preparing, I had to ask the maids to do it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Actually it wasn\u2019t so much that I<\/em> was busy; the really busy ones were the servants, who would brush my hair, do my makeup, and even dress me up. They were kind… but also strict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYoung miss, you have eaten too much. Your stomach is bulging. I will tie up the dress tighter, so please hold your breath.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…Please don\u2019t make it any tighter…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYoung miss, please stay still as I pull your hair straight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…Please don\u2019t pull it like that…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I just stood there, defenseless, while they did as they pleased, ignoring my requests… Being a duke\u2019s daughter didn\u2019t count for much when my mother had specifically ordered all the servants to be strict with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After they succeeded in turning this villainess into a proper lady, I made for the carriage which would bring me all the way to the castle. Ginger and Keith, who had already finished preparing, were waiting there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I had expected, my dress perfectly fit Ginger, who the servants had prettied-up as they had done with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m so glad that it fit you! It looks wonderful on you!\u201d I said, making her blush.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou have all of my gratitude. This is nothing short of an honor… I do not care about the others\u2019 envy anymore,\u201d she said running a hand along the dress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re welcome… Wait, what do you mean by \u2018envy\u2019?\u201d I asked her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But Keith interrupted, saying \u201cHurry up and get on the carriage, we don\u2019t have that much time,\u201d and we swiftly did as he said. \u201cYou seem to have a lot of luggage with you. Are you going to change clothes during the party?\u201d asked Ginger after the carriage had started moving, noticing that I had more baggage than one would need to just attend a party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Some high-ranking nobles did change dresses in the middle of a party, but I was planning to do no such thing. All that I cared about was the buffet \u2014 I had no time to waste on clothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, I just brought my pajamas, other things I\u2019ll need for the night, and fresh clothes for tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNight? Are you going to stay the night at the castle?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, as a celebration of sorts for graduating,\u201d I replied, and Ginger\u2019s face, for some reason, turned bright red.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…I see. So, you and Jeord are finally going to…\u201d She was mumbling so quietly that I couldn\u2019t catch what she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat?\u201d I asked, but Keith, with inexplicable enthusiasm, barged in the conversation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s not the case! The whole student council is going to stay the night!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, really? I thought…\u201d said Ginger, embarrassed, lowering her face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe only thing that will happen tonight is a tea party with Big Sister, Mary, and others.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes! The other girls and I are going to have so much fun. I\u2019m already looking forward to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before graduating, we had made plans to stay the night in the castle\u2019s guest rooms after today\u2019s party because, after leaving the academy, we wouldn\u2019t have as many chances to see each other. A pajama party with all the girls… That\u2019s bound to be fun!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat sounds so fun…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDoesn\u2019t it? I bought a new pajama set for the occasion, and I also brought snacks and tea!\u201d I said, prompting Keith to complain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere does seem to be too much luggage… make sure not to eat too much, Big Sister.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDon\u2019t worry!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd at night, always stay close to Mary and the others. Make sure not to walk around alone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI get it, I get it. I wouldn\u2019t want to get lost in the castle.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s not about losing yourself… You really don\u2019t get it, do you…?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am sorry to interrupt you, but we are almost there,\u201d said Ginger as the castle\u2019s gates showed themselves through the carriage window.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJust make sure not to walk around alone,\u201d repeated Keith just before we joined the party at the castle. Jeord, who had probably been informed that we were arriving, was standing at the entrance, waiting for us, and greeted me saying \u201cWelcome, my princess.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n If anyone but him had delivered a line that cheesy, I would have probably cringed in reply. He offered me his hand and I placed mine onto it like a proper lady, making him smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A few months ago I found out that Jeord was in love with me, and, at first, just his squeezing my hand like this was enough to make my heart race… I\u2019d now gotten used to it, if only slightly. It didn\u2019t leave me completely unfazed, but at least I managed to look calm as I returned his smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I knew I could do it!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeord went on to escort me to the party as usual, but since he was the host tonight, he would probably have lots of guests to greet. His trademark smile was there, but his face looked tired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJeord… are you okay?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cExcuse me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s just that… you look a bit tired,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After looking surprised for a second, his expression turned into a genuine, real smile. \u201cYou\u2019re incredible… You read me like a book,\u201d he said, pulling me closer towards him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am happy to see you are concerned about me,\u201d he continued, whispering into my ear, \u201cbut I am fine. As long as my beloved is with me, I will never get tired.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAh?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He had taken me by surprise, and I froze still, blushing. Romantic whispering directly into my ear was a bit too much…<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was still opening and closing my mouth like a fish out of water when Jeord was called for by some guest that wanted to greet him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI will invite you to dance later, so wait for me and do not dance with anyone else,\u201d he said with his usual smile as he left. Being a prince must be tough…<\/em> Jeord was so busy that he could only meet me for a moment at the entrance. As we were engaged, his first dance would probably be with me, but after that he would have to dance with lady after lady.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As soon as Jeord left us, Mary, who was, like me, engaged to one of the hosts, came to greet us. Her fianc\u00e9 Alan, just like his brother Jeord, was busy greeting guests, leaving her without an escort. That being said, her speed in approaching me was still impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKatarina! You look even more wonderful than usual!\u201d she said with a smile, looking gorgeous in the dress that she had prepared for the occasion. \u201cDid you prepare for our tea party later tonight?\u201d she asked with a twinkle in her eye.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOf course! I bought new pajamas and brought my favorite sweets and teas.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI too bought new pajamas just for today!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI brought a few of my favorite romance novels.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSophia!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The voice that had surprised me came from my friend, who had just come into the party donning a very cute dress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGood evening Katarina, Mary,\u201d she said with an elegant bow. Her brother and escort for the night, Nicol, looked as handsome as ever standing by her side. So handsome that his hair and eyes, despite being black, seemed to be sparkling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have been looking forward to today\u2019s sleepover for so long now,\u201d she added as a hint of red appeared on her white porcelain skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re a guest at the castle, so make sure to behave like a lady,\u201d Nicol told her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou\u2019re also staying the night, right, Nicol?\u201d I asked him. I was sure I\u2019d heard something about that a few days ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes… making Sophia stay here without me would make me worry too much,\u201d he said in a very older-brotherly fashion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou really care about Sophia, don\u2019t you? By the way, Keith will also stay the night.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n My mother had also been worried about letting me stay the night alone, so my brother was to accompany me. I was supposed to be the older sibling, though…<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThen that makes all of us! Tonight, the whole student council will be staying the night at the castle,\u201d said Sophia, beaming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If we had Nicol and Keith, that would indeed be all of us, since Jeord and Alan lived in the castle to begin with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe girls are going to enjoy each other\u2019s company, but are you boys going to stay in separate rooms?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Considering that they were all staying in the same castle, that sounded a bit lonely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy don\u2019t you also have a party together?\u201d I said, convinced I had just made a wonderful proposal. A party made exclusively of handsome boys? What could be better than that?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat are you talking about, Big Sister? There is no way we would do that,\u201d came in a reply from behind me. It had been spoken by Keith, whose expression was displeased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After finding that we were all chatting together, he had somehow escaped all the ladies that were trying to get his attention so that he could join us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy not, Keith? You could stay up and chat amongst yourselves \u2019til morning. Wouldn\u2019t that be wonderful?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere would be nothing wonderful about that… The last thing we\u2019d want to do is chat with each other. Don\u2019t you agree, Nicol?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cChatting amongst ourselves…\u201d mumbled Nicol, who actually sounded excited at the idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keith looked extremely surprised by this reaction, and Sophia blushed once again, saying \u201cBoys talking into the night would open up the door to a new world of romance!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nicol\u2019s excitement probably came from a place more pure than that of his sister… he likely just wanted to talk about guy stuff. Lately, Sophia had said that she had started reading some new subgenres of romance novels… But I decided not to think too much about that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just as things started to get confusing, Fray and Ginger, with an exhausted Maria between them, joined us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe went to save Maria from the boys,\u201d said Ginger, explaining that because she had no escort, a lot of boys had jumped at the opportunity, to her dismay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As expected of Fortune Lover\u2019<\/em>s protagonist Maria, the top-tier beauty with blonde hair and clear blue eyes. Being beautiful looked like more trouble than it was worth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat hardly surprises me. We should have found you an escort… Sorry, Maria,\u201d said Nicol after Ginger\u2019s explanation, but Maria shook her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI had heard that I would not need anyone to escort me to attend today\u2019s party, so I refused all the kind offers to do so that I received. I should have accepted…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It turned out that a lot of boys had asked Maria to let them escort her tonight, but she didn\u2019t know any of them well enough to accept. Hm… was Maria always this popular?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n She also received a lot of dresses as presents, but, for the same reason, she asked the Magical Ministry to give her one to wear at the party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere were several which fit perfectly, but that just made it worse…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I understood how she felt… getting a perfectly fitting dress from someone who you don\u2019t know very well was a bit scary. How would they even know your size? But that means that the very people who sent her those dresses are here right now! She could be in danger!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBy the way, while coming here I heard that Ginger had her dress lent her by Lady Katarina… I am so envious…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMe too! I would have loved to borrow one from her myself!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLady Mary, you already have a dress. There was no need for you to borrow one from my sister.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Right now, there may be some ill-intentioned boy trying to get closer to Maria! I have to keep my eyes peeled!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat has nothing to do with it, Master Keith. I wanted to wear Lady Katarina\u2019s dress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…You have made that obvious enough… My sister is not even listening to us anymore, though…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Did that boy look towards us? He\u2019s suspicious… That one, too! I have to protect Maria!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cShe\u2019s so busy sending menacing glances around the hall that she has completely forgotten that we are here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBig Sister… Oh, thank you for the explanation, Ginger.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That guy\u2019s suspicious as well! We\u2019re surrounded by enemies!<\/em> My dress was dirty.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It wasn\u2019t anything as flashy as somebody throwing wine on me like I\u2019d seen in the soap operas of my previous world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had been so busy protecting Maria from boys and keeping potential threats away that I had spilled some food from the buffet on myself. To me it was but an honorable wound received while protecting my friend, but Keith sighed when he saw it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I couldn\u2019t leave it like that, so I decided to go into another room and have a servant expertly clean my dress. Someone else would have to protect Maria in the meantime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKeith, make sure to protect Maria with your life,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBig Sister, make sure to behave, and come back as soon as you\u2019re done,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I<\/em> was the older sister here… but he treated me like a child.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After going into the other room, the servant used water and a sort of cleaning powder to make my dress look like new, and she even dried it with something that looked like a hairdryer. There was no trace of meat sauce left. Impressive.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I complimented the servant, a plump lady, on her cleaning abilities, but she smiled and modestly said that it was nothing. She then started accompanying me back to the party. But while we were still in the hallway, she was called for by another young lady who had dirtied her dress. I reassured her that I knew the way to the hall and could go there myself. After all, I just had to go straight through the hallway. I couldn\u2019t have gotten lost if I tried.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On my way back, I heard a \u201cwoof\u201d behind me. It was Pochi, the Dark Familiar that usually stayed inside my shadow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPochi! Go back in the shadow! You can\u2019t come out now!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Usually he was a good boy, but today he was probably excited because of the unfamiliar location. He wagged his tail and ran off down another hallway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a creature of darkness he didn\u2019t eat and wouldn\u2019t dirty up the place, but I still couldn\u2019t let a dog run free in the castle. I worriedly ran after him. When I finally managed to reach Pochi, I was in a dark corridor I had never seen before. I had no idea how to get back to the party hall, so I just moved in the direction of the only light I could see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWoof!\u201d said Pochi, currently in my arms. I followed his eyes and found a woman standing in the hallway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWah!\u201d I screamed in surprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A woman standing silently in a dark corridor… Is this a horror movie?<\/em> This is too scary…<\/em> I thought, frozen with fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGuests are not allowed to go any further,\u201d she said with a young, thankfully unghostlike voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI… got lost… could you tell me the way back to the party hall?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI see… go back that way, and then…\u201d She politely gave me directions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I thanked her and started making my way back to the party, feeling slightly bad for having been terrified of someone so nice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that I think of it, why was she standing there all alone? <\/em>I thought, and looked back at her. Except she wasn\u2019t there anymore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I felt a chill run down my spine and ran back to the hall. It was time for dancing, and Jeord had been looking for me. \u201cI was worried. I could not find you anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m sorry, I left the hall for a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He did get slightly angry, but we left it at that. That was a relief, because I was too scared to talk about the disappearing woman in the dark corridor. Having Jeord next to me, however, took the fear away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI know that you just came back, but would you care to dance?\u201d he asked, giving me his hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was customary at parties like this to have your first dance with your fianc\u00e9, so I accepted and started dancing to the music, collecting envious stares from the ladies around us. With a dancer as good as Jeord taking the lead, even someone like me could manage to look somewhat elegant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A handsome prince, perfect in everything he did… It was no surprise that all the girls blushed looking at him. In my previous life I had been one of those girls, staring at Jeord through the screen, but I\u2019d never expected that he\u2019d really fall in love with me<\/em>, the game\u2019s villainess.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I still had trouble believing it. I wasn\u2019t anywhere near fit for someone like him. After all, I\u2019m…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKatarina, is something the matter? Are you tired?\u201d asked Jeord, interrupting my train of thought. He was so good at leading that I didn\u2019t even have to think about dancing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, no, I was just thinking about stuff,\u201d I said, and he frowned slightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThinking of other things while you are dancing with me… That makes me sad. I wish you would think of me,\u201d he whispered so sweetly that I felt weak in the knees. Please, Jeord. This is going to kill me one day.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWould you like to continue with the next song?\u201d he asked after the song was over, but Keith, who was waiting nearby, informed him with a smile that there was another lady waiting for him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The lady in question, who was now staring at Jeord with starry eyes, was an important guest, so the prince had no choice but to appease her. He gave Keith a scary smile, then told me that he\u2019d be back soon, and approached that lady. The next song started, and I accepted Keith\u2019s offer to dance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBig Sister, why did it take you so long to get your dress cleaned? I was worried you wouldn\u2019t come back,\u201d he told me while elegantly leading our dance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unlike Jeord, he knew that I was away for a long time, so I had to explain to him that I was trying to go back to the hall by myself when Pochi led me astray.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPochi ran away? He usually always listens to you… why would he do that?\u201d he asked with a questioning expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWasn\u2019t he just excited about being at a big party?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s just you, Big Sister…\u201d Keith replied. Rude, but not wrong. \u201cI\u2019m impressed that you found your way back through this huge castle, though,\u201d he continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Should I tell him about the woman in the dark hallway? <\/em>I thought to myself, but the whole thing was so creepy that I just said, \u201cI just have a good survival instinct.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s really like you, I guess,\u201d he said, convinced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I expected him to say something like \u201cDon\u2019t you mean womanly intuition?\u201d,<\/em> but he just agreed with me…<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBy the way, didn\u2019t Jeord tell you anything?\u201d he asked me, changing the subject.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLike… to come to his room tonight, or anything like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy would he say that? We\u2019re planning to have a tea party between us girls tonight… you wanted to do a boys\u2019 party, as well?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n So Keith wanted to have a tea party with the other boys?!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI don\u2019t… That\u2019s not it… It\u2019s just that Jeord could go after you tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeord… go after me?!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe\u2019s still planning to kill me?! I thought we were over that!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortune Lover\u2019<\/em>s plot was over, so I thought that I wouldn\u2019t have to be scared of the Bad Ends anymore… Was I wrong? That would mean that when Jeord told me that he liked me, he was lying…<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNobody said he\u2019s after your life! And what do you mean still?<\/em> He\u2019s never been out to kill you! I really don\u2019t get you…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keith got mad at me, but what did he know of the perils of living as a villainess…? I gave him an offended stare, and he sighed in response.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe\u2019s after you to do… you know… things that couples do,\u201d he went on, with his voice becoming smaller and his face redder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Things that couples do…<\/em> I reflected upon those words. In my past life I had never known romance, but even then I understood that Keith wasn\u2019t talking about dancing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is he talking about that?! The things that Mother and Father do after their kids are asleep?!<\/em> I could feel my face burning with embarrassment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…You don\u2019t mean…!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe\u2019s approaching you that overtly, so it wouldn\u2019t be surprising if he thought of doing such things tonight,\u201d he replied as I panicked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His approach really was overt, but… No way…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n That would make Fortune Lover<\/em> an R18 game! But it was a game for all ages, and in my previous life I had died before I could turn 18, so I had never played R18 games… Of course I was curious about that kind of thing, but I knew nothing about it… Just a kiss was enough to shock me, so anything more than that would be…<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKeith, what should I do?\u201d I asked, worried sick and on the verge of tears. For some reason, he froze in place and blushed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cW-Well, just don\u2019t go walking around alone, and if he tells you to go to his room for sweets or anything, refuse! Stay with Mary, Sophia, and Maria at all times! Got it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…Yes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ll do as he says. I\u2019m not ready for any R18 developments yet.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n We were standing still as we spoke, and the song was close to ending. Once it did, we were surrounded by an army of ladies intent on reaching the handsome, still unengaged heir to a duke, Keith, pushing me away in the meantime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n They screamed \u201cDance with me!\u201d and \u201cNo, me!\u201d like carnivore animals before their prey. I could still see him among his fans, but, lacking the courage to fight all of them to get back to him, I elected to root for him from afar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I was trying to go back to the buffet, I noticed that a lot of girls were blushing and sighing while all staring at the same place. I followed their gazes, and… Just as I thought.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n A certain someone<\/em> was there, walking towards me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWould you like to dance with me?\u201d he asked, producing a smile that made even more girls sigh and that made my heart skip a beat as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, thanks to the immunity I had developed over the years, I managed to keep my cool and say \u201cIt would be my pleasure,\u201d like a proper lady, taking Nicol\u2019s hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A lot of people stared while I danced with Jeord or Keith, but in Nicol\u2019s case they weren\u2019t only girls, but boys as well… and they looked truly captivated. In particular, there was one man whose eyes were burning holes into Nicol\u2019s face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hasn\u2019t he noticed? Is he in danger, just like Maria?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNicol… there\u2019s a man, over there, who\u2019s been staring at you very intensely this whole time…\u201d I said, just to be sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, him? He is always like that, but he is not dangerous. He just sometimes takes my used tableware and things like that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHuh?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n How is that not dangerous?! That\u2019s totally creepy! He\u2019s a stalker!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHe poses no threat,\u201d said Nicol, noticing my shock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This shocked me even more… What in the world do threatening people do then? <\/em>I couldn\u2019t bring myself to ask him that, so I changed the subject to break the awkward silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI heard from Sophia that you had been secretly looking for a fianc\u00e9e,\u201d I said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I knew I was the one who had brought up the staring man in the first place, but the whole stalker thing was just too scary. Thankfully, Nicol seemed to understand that and didn\u2019t go back to that topic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI tried to keep it a secret from her so that I would be spared her comments… but she found out anyway.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…Her comments?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I could see why he wouldn\u2019t want that, but we were talking about Sophia… She loved her brother so much that she\u2019d never let him find a fianc\u00e9e without her approval. She would probably even accompany him to the matchmaking dates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnd when she did find out, she was furious that I had hidden it from her, and she is still upset.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI can\u2019t blame her… I would be upset too if my brother kept something so important a secret from me,\u201d I said, imagining how I\u2019d feel if Keith started looking for a fianc\u00e9e without telling me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou have a point…\u201d he replied. Nicol was smart, but sometimes he seemed to miss obvious things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAnyway, how did the matchmaking go?\u201d I asked him excitedly. Nicol, despite not being engaged yet, was extremely popular. It would take him no time to find a fianc\u00e9e, and a wonderful one at that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot well,\u201d he replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat?!\u201d Even someone as charming and beloved as him could have trouble finding a partner?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Handsome (eerily so), heir to an earl, talented, kind, smart (if sometimes slow), gentlemanly… He didn\u2019t have any big flaw that I could think of, so I thought that the ladies would be fighting for him. Why hadn\u2019t things gone well?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe finding a fianc\u00e9e is harder than I thought. Do they have to fight to the death to decide engagements?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe do no such thing, and it is not even that hard to begin with,\u201d said Nicol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWait, did I say that out loud?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was sure I\u2019d only thought that… I must be more careful. Anyway… why didn\u2019t it go well for him, then?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBecause I was not yet ready to find a partner.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He replied to my thought again!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…Did I say that out loud again?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, but it showed on your face.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Am I that easy to read? <\/em>I worried, making Nicol smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI will have to decide what to do eventually… but not right now,\u201d he whispered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I wasn\u2019t sure what he meant, but more importantly, his usual charming aura hit me even stronger than usual and… before I knew it, I was eating salad at the buffet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n …Huh? I was dancing with Nicol, then there was some man staring at him, and then… what happened? How did I come here? Why am I eating salad?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Nicol\u2019s handsomeness was scary indeed. I had to be careful, or I\u2019d become just like that man who collects Nicol\u2019s tableware.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Feeling tired, I went from the salad corner to the meat one. I need some protein!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, this looks nice. And this! This must be good.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As expected of a party at the castle, there was delicious meat as far as the eye could see. I couldn\u2019t eat all the dishes, so I planned to choose the tastiest-looking ones and limit myself to those. But they all looked tasty… so I ended up putting a bit of everything on my plate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat\u2019s with all that meat? Are you going to eat all of that?\u201d I heard someone say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAlan! What are you doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As today\u2019s host, he was supposed to be busy greeting guests. What was he doing near the buffet?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI just got tired and snuck here to rest for a while,\u201d he said. He really did look tired. Being a prince must be tough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cEat this, then!\u201d I said, offering him my plate. I thought that some food might give him some energy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…I definitely don\u2019t need all that,\u201d he refused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYour mood will get worse if you don\u2019t eat something!\u201d I insisted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat only applies to babies and to yourself,\u201d he said, quite rudely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fine. I\u2019ll eat it myself, then. And I\u2019ll do it in front of him, and if he asks for some, I won\u2019t give him any. That\u2019ll teach him!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I started eating, and… Wow, it\u2019s really tasty. Delicious. This steak is so juicy… This one just melts in your mouth…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Knowing that I could eat as much as I wanted of all this delicious food made me so happy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Munch munch munch.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Munch munch munch munch munch munch munch munch munch munch.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMpfh… Gahahahah!\u201d I heard Alan laugh next to me all of a sudden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What happened?!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAlan…? Wh-What\u2019s wrong?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou should see yourself eating! It\u2019s as if you\u2019ve never had food before! Hahahaha!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He was amused by how wholeheartedly I was enjoying the meal… But I didn\u2019t know what was so funny about that. He kept laughing and laughing, and I couldn\u2019t really go back to eating. If only he\u2019d eaten it himself, he\u2019d know how good this meat was. He\u2019d be eating it like that too. That gave me an idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I stabbed a piece of meat with a fork and shoved it inside Alan\u2019s mouth, which was still open and laughing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…Hmgff! Wgfh!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n At first he stared at me without moving, but I reached close to his face and told him, \u201cI\u2019m sure you\u2019ll like it, Alan,\u201d at which point he finally started chewing it silently. Maybe it was because of all his laughing, but his face looked a bit red.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIsn\u2019t it delicious?\u201d I asked once he was done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYeah…\u201d he replied coldly. But after knowing him for all these years, I could tell from his face that he was actually really pleased.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What did I tell you? This meat\u2019s delicious. You\u2019d go crazy for it yourself.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis one\u2019s tasty, too!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I put a piece of a different dish on the fork, because I wanted Alan to see how good the buffet\u2019s offerings were.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cL-Lady Katarina! P-Please do that to me too!\u201d said a panting Mary, who had come running from somewhere and was now out of breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMary! Are you okay?!\u201d I asked, worried about her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cY-Yes! I was just a bit hungry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOf course! You\u2019ve been dancing for so long! Don\u2019t worry, I\u2019ll go get you something to eat!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat?! No! Please, Lady Katarina, let me eat from that fork, too…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s not fair, Mary!\u201d said Sophia, who had appeared from nowhere. \u201cI want that too!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSophia, where\u2019s Nicol?\u201d I asked her. He was Sophia\u2019s escort, but he was nowhere to be seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, a man about the same age as my father invited him to the terrace…\u201d she said with a smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s no smiling matter! This could be dangerous! That man could be the one who was staring at him! And even if it were someone else, it could still be dangerous…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Sophia, noticing that I was shaking, comforted me with her beautiful smile. \u201cHe probably just wants to discuss some business matters with my brother. Either way, he\u2019s used to this kind of thing, so there is nothing to worry about.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Used to this kind of thing? What does that even mean? He\u2019s used to stalkers? Oh well, if his sister says that it\u2019s fine, then she\u2019s probably right.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As I was busy worrying about Nicol, Mary started talking with Alan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPrince Alan, what exactly are you doing here?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Is it me or does she sound kind of angry?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, I was just resting… I was tired…\u201d he replied, seemingly nervous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIndeed, you must be tired. However, I suggest that you go back now. There was a servant looking for you,\u201d said Mary, who was smiling but somehow still sounded very forceful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The prince reluctantly agreed and went back to the middle of the party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMary, Sophia, are you two done with greetings and dancing?\u201d I asked the two of my friends who had remained there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, I am quite done.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMe too, yes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perfect.<\/em> \u201cLet\u2019s eat together!\u201d I proposed. \u201cWe can share each other\u2019s plates!\u201d If we did that, we\u2019d all be able to eat a larger variety of dishes. To be honest, I was having trouble choosing what to eat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOf course!\u201d they said in unison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The three of us, later joined by Maria, who had to dodge quite a few boys along her way (I had to scare away a couple of flirty guys who were trying to approach her), had fun eating and chatting together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeord, who had told me he would be back soon, was so busy that he barely managed to show his face before he was called for again by the servants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was relieved that I didn\u2019t have to deal with any invitations to do those things that Keith was talking about…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nicol came back safely, although he did look tired. Once the party was almost finished, that man from before \u2014 the one that had stared at Nicol while we were dancing \u2014 was sneakily taking some used glasses, trying to bring them out of the castle. I pretended not to see anything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So the party came to an end. I did get lost in the hallways, but, other than that, it all went smoothly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As soon as the party ended, we were escorted to the rooms where we would stay the night. They were gorgeous, as expected of the castle\u2019s guest rooms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was finally time for the long-awaited girls\u2019 party!<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was planning to prepare in my room and then meet with everyone else in Mary\u2019s room to chat until morning. I had my maid Anne pretty me up, help me with my bags, and change into my new pajamas, but I was so excited that I finished preparing way before the time we were supposed to meet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But waiting in my room would be too boring, so I should go for a walk inside the castle…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n And risk getting lost? Better not.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n If I met Jeord there was the risk that he\u2019d invite me to do adult stuff with him, and Keith had told me not to walk around alone to begin with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In that case…!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m going to the room next door!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe room next door? But young miss, that\u2019s…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Before Anne could finish voicing her complaints, I had already barged out of the room, knocking on the door of the one next to mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWho is it…?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKeith, it\u2019s me, your sister. I\u2019ve come to hang out!\u201d I said, entering the room as soon as I heard Keith\u2019s reply. As we were siblings, our rooms were close together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBig Sister? What\u2019s wrong?\u201d he asked, surprised by my visit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was too early to go to Mary\u2019s room, so I thought I\u2019d come and show you my new pajamas,\u201d I said, taking off the gown that Anne had made me wear to walk in the hallways. I had fallen in love at first sight with these cute pajamas. The light, pastel colors reminded me of spring.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAren\u2019t they cute?\u201d I asked Keith while spinning around so he could see better. His face turned dark in reply. \u201cDo I look weird?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Anne thought they were cute too, but what\u2019s with that face? Maybe someone with a villainous face like mine looks weird when wearing something cute?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, they\u2019re cute all right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThank you!\u201d I said, relieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s not the problem…\u201d he sighed. \u201cAs you can see, my maid has gone back to her room.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHuh? I guess she has.\u201d Indeed, Keith\u2019s maid was not there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhich means that it\u2019s only the two of us in my room right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes… and?\u201d I had come without Anne, so obviously there was no one else with us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAhh…\u201d Keith sighed.\u201cYou really don\u2019t get it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He suddenly grabbed my arm and threw me on the bed. He did it gently enough that it didn\u2019t hurt at all, but I was so confused by the situation that I started getting nervous. And then, he stood up by my side, looming over me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHave you forgotten that I declared my love to you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That\u2019s right! After the kidnapping thing, Keith did say that! I hadn\u2019t <\/em>forgotten it or anything, but…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut you acted the same as always after that, so I thought that maybe it was a dream…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Keith\u2019s face looked troubled now. \u201cI know that you\u2019re not used to this kind of thing, so I tried not to trouble you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That was true; I was so unused to that kind of thing that Jeord\u2019s romantic behavior always made me jittery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…Thank you,\u201d I said, grateful that he\u2019d worry so much about me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut if you\u2019re going to write my confession off as a dream, then I won\u2019t restrain myself anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat?!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou should realize that I am a man… Big Sister, how naive can you be?\u201d he said, inching closer to my face. \u201cI told you to be careful. If you come to a man\u2019s room alone, and at night to boot… you can\u2019t complain about whatever happens to you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n After being told that, I finally realized that this position we were in was… bad. I was lying down, with Keith hovering over my face… This is just like those scenes in manga or games! Oh no, oh no… What am I going to do?!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n So confused that I was unable to move, I watched Keith\u2019s handsome features get closer and closer. His eyes had a fierce passion that I had never seen in them. They scared me a little, so I closed mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smack!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I heard a cute sound and felt something soft on my forehead. Unsure of what had happened, I slowly opened my eyes and saw Keith, standing away from me, frowning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cK-K-Keith?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have enough self control to stop at that… but if it were Jeord, it could have been much worse. Try to remember that you\u2019re a woman, I beg you,\u201d he said, putting my gown back on me and sending me outside of the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I stood there, processing what had just happened, and ended up being late to the meeting with the other girls. \u201c…Lady Katarina, Lady Katarina!\u201d Someone was calling out to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUhm? What\u2019s the matter, Mary?\u201d I hurriedly replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDo you not feel well?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, it\u2019s just that… between the graduation ceremony and the party after that, I\u2019m tired.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That was no lie \u2014 between the preparations and the actual parties, I had been busy since morning. However, the main reason why I was spacing out was what had happened with Keith… I was used to being scolded by him, but this was… different. And I\u2019d never seen his eyes light up like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAre you okay? Do you want some sweets?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe also have tea and juice,\u201d said my kind friends. I thanked them and gratefully accepted their offerings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had been looking forward to this party for so long, and it could be the last time we all met together like this. I\u2019m going to have as much fun as possible!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, this is delicious! Thank you, I feel better already,\u201d I said, making my friends smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mary, Maria, Sophia, and I were in Mary\u2019s guest room, with snacks and tea, ready to talk until the sun went up. As I had always wanted to do a pajama party, I had suggested that we all wear pajamas. Now each girl was wearing sleepwear that reflected their tastes, and they all looked so cute!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIndeed, today was so busy that I have little energy left,\u201d said Sophia agreeing to what I had said before.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes. For me it was even more exhausting, because it was the first time I have attended such a party.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, that\u2019s right! You\u2019ve never been to a party except those at the academy, right, Maria?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a commoner, she never had the opportunity to join the nobles\u2019 gatherings until now. And to think that her first party would be one so huge! Poor thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI have not… Everyone has so kindly taught me about the proper etiquette, but I\u2019m scared that I may have committed a faux pas…\u201d she said with a worried expression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNot at all, you were wonderful. You were so perfect that I could hardly believe it was your first party,\u201d said Mary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If Mary, who was looked up to as the ideal young noblewoman, said that, then she must have done really well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even to me, Maria had completely looked the part of a noble girl today. I just didn\u2019t have enough confidence to praise her, since Mother and Keith reminded me at every opportunity that I wouldn\u2019t know ladylikeness if it bit me in the face.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI am so happy that you would say that. More people than I had expected came to greet me, so I was very busy all the way through.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe crowd surrounding you really was incredible…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For some inscrutable reason, the other main game characters never became more than friends with Maria. But, as expected of the protagonist, she was always stupidly popular with the boys, and today was no exception. She was cute and a good cook… What more could one want in a girl? If I were a boy, I\u2019d probably ask her out on a date too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut you didn\u2019t dance with anyone, right?\u201d asked Mary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat?! Really?\u201d I asked Maria, surprised. I had been too busy getting lost to see it myself, but it turned out that she really hadn\u2019t danced with anyone.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c…I was not confident that I could dance well enough,\u201d she said, embarrassed. Unlike us nobles, she hadn\u2019t been taking dance lessons since when she was a kid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m terrible at dancing, but it\u2019s not that big of a deal. I just leave it to the lead and it looks decent enough…\u201d Even if I\u2019m daydreaming while doing it, <\/em>that is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cKatarina usually dances with Prince Jeord or Keith, who are extremely good dancers… but she is right in that following the man\u2019s lead is usually enough. You also attended the dance lessons at the academy, right, Maria?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes, but… dancing with someone I do not know is still scary,\u201d she said as her eyebrows went down in a frown. She had a point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou are right. I wouldn\u2019t want to be led in a dance by someone I don\u2019t know, either,\u201d Mary agreed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBut what if it were a gorgeous man? Would it not be wonderful to dance together?\u201d said Sophia, with passion in her eyes and too many romance novels in her head.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA gorgeous man…\u201d repeated Maria, pensively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that I thought about it, I had never asked Maria what kind of man she\u2019d be attracted to. \u201cWhat kind of man is your type, Maria?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy… type?\u201d she said. After thinking for a while, she said \u201cSomeone who smiles a lot, is always positive, and enjoys eating the sweets that I bake.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I had expected her to say something like \u201cI have never thought about it\u201d or something, but her reply was surprisingly specific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh… is that so…?\u201d I asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMe too! I like positive people who always smile! And with brown hair and blue eyes!\u201d said Mary, just as specific.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Doesn\u2019t your fianc\u00e9 have silver hair? What\u2019s the poor prince to do?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat about you, Katarina?\u201d she asked me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMe?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n To be honest, until recently, I never had any experience with boys either in this or my previous life… I did like some fictional characters, but no real ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve never thought about it in that much detail… What about you, Sophia?\u201d I asked, feeling left behind and finding refuge in my friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, I would love to meet the fallen prince of a former kingdom, who…\u201d And so she went off, enjoying her novel-like fantasies and making me feel relieved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having asked her the question myself, I listened to her ramblings until the end, when the topic became the romance novel she\u2019d gotten into lately. She then took some books out and started talking about them, careful not to spoil any important plot points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our conversation then went on to the popular sweet shops, antiques, and many other topics, to seemingly no end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ah, tonight is the most fun I\u2019ve ever had.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p>\n\n\n\n What have I done…<\/em> I sighed, alone in the dark hallway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Well, knowing that it was too late for that, I was now regretting what I had done to my sister Katarina.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But isn\u2019t it Katarina\u2019s fault?<\/em> If a girl comes alone to a man\u2019s room at night and takes off her gown, wearing nothing but her nightdress, am I to blame for falling to the temptation?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n If anything, I felt like congratulating myself for being able to stop at what I did. Had Jeord been in my place, he wouldn\u2019t have stopped at appetizers, but eaten all the way to dessert…<\/p>\n\n\n\n I just hoped that this wouldn\u2019t make Katarina scared of me… I would be sad if she started avoiding me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not being seen as a man was harsh. But being seen as a man and avoided because of it would also be harsh. I felt like I was asking for too much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For nine long years I had hidden the feelings I\u2019d had for her since I was eight years old inside my heart, where they grew stronger and stronger. Recently I had finally found the courage to show them to her… but I didn\u2019t know what to do next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Should I act like Jeord and approach her without restraint, prepared to be avoided by her if it came to that? But would I even be able to do anything like that?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n That whole situation in my room had really tested me, so I\u2019d ended up pursuing her actively… but normally, I could never do such a thing. After all, if I were able to, I wouldn\u2019t have spent nine years longing for her in silence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I sighed again, and heard a voice call to me from behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHey Keith, you\u2019re here too?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was the familiar voice of Prince Alan, followed by Nicol. Despite being approached so suddenly, I was expecting them to come by at some point, so I wasn\u2019t particularly surprised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMary asked me to help her, just to be safe,\u201d Alan said almost apologetically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI was asked by Sophia. Everything should be fine if we stay here,\u201d said Nicol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes… you cannot go anywhere without passing by here. This should be fine.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mary had chosen to stay in that peripheral guest room for this very reason.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I looked at the hallway stretching in front of me and saw someone approaching. Is it him? I don\u2019t think anyone else would come here at this time of the night…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n As expected, I saw a head of blond hair approaching. It was <\/em>Jeord, after all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, Keith, Alan, and Nicol too. What could you all be doing in such a place?\u201d he asked, with an obviously fake smile on his lips and a look of contempt in his eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As I was thinking about how to respond, Nicol beat me to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe were arranging a boys\u2019 party. What about you, Jeord?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I was surprised both at the speed of his reply and at the fact that he still hadn\u2019t forgotten about the boys\u2019 party<\/em> affair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cA boys\u2019 party? That sounds quite diverting. Now, if you will, I must pass through. Please step aside,\u201d said Jeord.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe only room in that direction is Mary\u2019s,\u201d I told him, as if he didn\u2019t know that already.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat is exactly where I am headed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This scoundrel plans to go directly to Katarina!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n While I was shocked by how bold and unashamed Jeord could be, Alan intervened. \u201cThe girls are having a tea party inside Mary\u2019s room, and she asked me not to let anyone go there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAlan… you really do whatever she commands, don\u2019t you? Wouldn\u2019t this be the perfect chance for you to advance your relationship with your fianc\u00e9e?\u201d said Jeord condescendingly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe like our relationship exactly the way it is,\u201d Alan replied offhandedly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Seeing that we were not going to let him pass, Jeord sighed. \u201cOh well, I expected this to happen from the moment Mary said that she wanted to stay in that room. And to think, I had worked so hard to free some time for tonight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou have free time tonight?\u201d Nicol asked, suddenly interested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYes. I prepared so that I would be free to enjoy time with my fianc\u00e9e tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As the former student council president, Jeord had been very busy even after graduation with documents and other bureaucratic tasks (which were probably pushed onto him by Mary). All in all, he\u2019s got his troubles to deal with as well, <\/em>I was thinking before being shocked by Nicol\u2019s proposal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf that\u2019s the case, let\u2019s all do a boys\u2019 party.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What?! What are you saying, Nicol?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n His expression was as neutral as always, but his eyes were sparkling… Jeord, predictably, also seemed very suspicious. His brother, however, seemed less averse to the idea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHuh? A boys\u2019 party, you say?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Are you serious?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s a party for boys to chat about a variety of topics until morning,\u201d explained Nicol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSounds fun! Let\u2019s do it!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He was serious.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cVery well! Then we shall all go to my room!\u201d said a very excited Nicol. And so, all the boys present \u2014 including me \u2014 were made to participate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You two guys may seem excited (apart from Nicol\u2019s usual lack of expression) but look at Jeord\u2019s face… He couldn\u2019t be more annoyed.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n However, completely ignoring how unenthusiastic he was, Jeord \u2014 together with me \u2014 was forcibly dragged into Nicol\u2019s room. I considered sneaking back to my room, but he sent me a gaze which, while silent, made the prince\u2019s thoughts quite clear: If you don\u2019t suffer through this with me, you will regret it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I therefore reluctantly elected to follow the others to this \u201cboys\u2019 party\u201d where Nicol, having lost his usual coldness, chatted happily with a similarly exuberant Alan. Meanwhile, Jeord was so glaringly annoyed as to make my stomach hurt just by looking at him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ah, tonight is the least fun I\u2019ve ever had.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our girls\u2019 party was lots of fun, but after all we had been through that day we were so tired that, one after the other, we got sleepy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I couldn\u2019t hold out much longer either. I felt my head getting heavier. I… must sleep…<\/em> The pink walls, the black table, the metal-framed bed with azure duvets and blue cushions… it was a familiar sight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This bedroom belonged to Acchan, my friend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, I used to go play at her place all the time in my previous life!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis is a sequel to the game she was playing, so I\u2019ll have to go tell her once I\u2019ve finished it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is Acchan\u2019s voice! It\u2019s been so long since I\u2019ve heard it! But where is she? I can\u2019t see her.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n But then I looked at the mirror in front of me, and saw… Acchan?<\/em> Looking back at me? But that would mean that… I\u2019m Acchan?!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if I tried, I couldn\u2019t move my body. It was as if my consciousness was trapped inside her body. I then realized that this was a dream of my previous life, and decided to enjoy the nostalgic memories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I saw Acchan put a disc in her computer and start playing a game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A game? Now <\/em>that\u2019s nostalgic. I wonder what it is. <\/em>I looked on excitedly as the opening cutscene started playing. And there was…<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maria?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I could see the character I knew so well in my current life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So she\u2019s playing <\/em>Fortune Lover? It feels so weird to see it as a game after I\u2019ve lived inside it.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Just as I thought that, the game\u2019s title appeared on the screen: Fortune Lover II<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Did I just see a \u201cII\u201d?! What\u2019s that supposed to mean?!<\/em> I started panicking as the cutscene still played.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeord, Alan, Nicol, Raphael, Sora, and two other male characters I had never seen before flashed through the screen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This isn\u2019t the game I played before dying, is it? Was it so popular that it got a sequel…?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The title screen popped up, reading once again \u201cFortune Lover II,<\/em>\u201d this time with a subtitle: \u201cLove at the Magical Ministry<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I saw Acchan click on the \u201ccontinue\u201d button, showing that she had already been playing before. And so… the game started.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among many familiar faces, a male character I didn\u2019t know appeared on the screen. Is he a new character from the sequel? Was the sequel released after I died?<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Acchan was clicking through the text and occasionally choosing dialogue options, and, looking at her, my initial shock eventually faded. The reason for this was that I realized that Katarina could have nothing to do with FL2<\/em>, having been exiled out of the country at the end of FL1<\/em>. She couldn\u2019t be in the game. There could be no doom for her. All was well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Knowing that, I could enjoy watching my friend play. Now that I thought about it, the first game had received a lot of preorders, so maybe it wasn\u2019t that surprising that it would get a sequel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Judging from the subtitle, this one was probably about Maria\u2019s romantic troubles at her workplace. There was a really grown-up-looking character called Cyrus, charmingly mature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And also a younger one called Dewey who looked cute and endearing. Since all the original characters were the same age as the protagonist, they probably added older and younger romanceable options in the sequel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sora\u2019s coming back too… I wonder what role he\u2019ll play.<\/em> I took mental note of the men in the game so that if Maria fell in love with any of them, I could help her along.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A new character, a female one, appeared on the screen. Instead of the name, the game just showed three question marks, and she had a hood covering her face. Just as I was wondering who this new character was, Acchan spoke up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOh, is it that villainess again? Her name isn\u2019t shown yet, but I\u2019m sure it\u2019s Jeord\u2019s fianc\u00e9e from the prequel, Katarina.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n She… what?!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAfter all she suffered, she\u2019s still here to ruin people\u2019s lives in the sequel? Sheesh, she doesn\u2019t know when to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n What do you mean?! Suffered? Ruin people\u2019s lives? What\u2019s happening?!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m sure this time she won\u2019t get off with just being exiled.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n You mean… death?! No! Have mercy! Don\u2019t treat poor Katarina like this! Let Katarina… Let Katarina…<\/em> \u201c…stay out of the plot!!!\u201d I shouted while waking up in a room that didn\u2019t look like mine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where…? <\/em>I asked myself, looking around, only to see my friends staring at me in surprise. I finally remembered that I was staying at the castle, and that yesterday we had stayed up late having a girls\u2019 party. And then I had that dream…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cL-Lady Katarina, are you alright?\u201d asked a worried Sophia, who was standing next to me. Her eyes still looked sleepy, so I figured that I must have woken her up with my scream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI-It\u2019s nothing, I just had a bad dream. Did I wake you up? I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo, no, actually it was time we woke up anyway, so that was good timing,\u201d she replied with a smile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cYou must have been so tired that you had nightmares,\u201d Mary added kindly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere are still a few days until we start working at the Ministry, so please take your time to rest,\u201d said Maria.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Right… the Ministry. <\/em>Fortune Lover II: Love at the Magical Ministry… That\u2019s the title of the game from my dream.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I reassured myself that it was just a dream. As Mary said, it was probably just brought on by tiredness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I\u2019ll just forget about it.<\/em> After having breakfast with the other girls, we greeted Jeord and Alan and then went back to our respective homes. For some reason, Jeord looked very angry and Keith looked absolutely destroyed. Maybe he hadn\u2019t slept well? Or did he have nightmares like me?<\/p>\n\n\n\n On the carriage home, he apologized to me all of a sudden. \u201cBig Sister… About last night… I\u2019m sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLast night? Did something happen? More importantly, I had the worst dream. I woke up screaming! I must have been really tired. You know, like, when…\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n I kept talking, but Keith\u2019s face now looked even worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI can\u2019t believe she\u2019d forget it in a single night… A dream, <\/em>that\u2019s what it was to her…\u201d he muttered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, I kept thinking to myself that my nightly vision was only a nightmare I\u2019d had because I was tired, and nothing more. I had to believe that if I wanted to stay sane.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then again, it had felt so real…<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if it wasn\u2019t a dream, the existence of a sequel to Fortune Lover<\/em> set at the Magical Ministry wasn\u2019t a problem…<\/p>\n\n\n\n What was <\/em>a problem was Katarina coming back. And what was an even bigger problem was the possibility of a fate even worse than exile… Please! Stop it!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n After all my efforts to prevent those Catastrophic Bad Ends, you want to tell me that there are even more?!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n It was just a dream… Nothing but a dream. A very realistic one, yes, but nothing more. I must have been tired and anxious about the start of my new job, that\u2019s it. Couldn\u2019t be anything else.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n However, in order to keep my cool, I had to chant it to myself over and over…<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt was just a dream… just a dream… just a dream…\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Prince Jeord, president of the student council, stood on the podium as representative of all the students graduating that year. Just as last year, the blonde prince with blue eyes was met with blushing and sighing by the female students. This time, his speech was even accompanied by some crying. This was the academy\u2019s graduation […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-tak-berkategori"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3413","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3413"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3413\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3414,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3413\/revisions\/3414"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/novel.mdtaal-aminii.my.id\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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