Chapter Text
My head hurts. It hurts. I rubbed my head with some annoyance and opened my eyes to see that I was in a strange and luxury room, surrounded by quite attractive strangers. There was a blond boy with blue eyes and an angelic face, another quite beautiful with lighter blond hair and violet eyes, a red-haired girl with brown eyes and a doll face, a beautiful girl with silver hair and red eyes, another blonde with blue eyes and an angelic face, a boy with silver hair and a muscular appearance and a boy with black hair and a beautiful face.
Is it a dream?
- "I have never seen so many beautiful people together." I muttered still looking at them with a small smile and they looked at me with a mixture of surprise and relief.
"Katarina"
"Lady Katarina"
"Sister"
They all screamed as they approached me. It's strange, they are speaking in a different language and I DO understand what they are saying. I looked at them in confusion, trying to understand what was happening. At one point I was running to school and now I am here with a group of quite attractive foreigners.
Am I dreaming?
- "One minute, remember what Raphael said." Said the beautiful blonde girl and everyone calmed down before looking at me with some fear.
- “Do you remember your name? You just had an accident and we have to know how much you remember ”The light blonde haired boy asked cautiously and I nodded.
-"Of course. My name is Chitose Aihara, I am 17 years old. The last thing I remember is running to school because I stayed up late playing that Otome game a friend gave me. Oh, I still can't conquer the black-hearted prince. " It was then that I noticed something important and saw the beautiful group of foreigners, who looked incredibly pale and surprised. Now that I think about it, I love his Fortune Lover cosplay, his costumes are the best and they look alike physically. Is there a convention nearby? " I asked excitedly.
- "K-Katarina ..."
Katarina?
How the villain?
Who would cosplay the villain from an otome game? If she were the villain of an anime it would make a little more sense, but it is not the case.
- “Is there also a cosplayer for the villain? Those are unpopular. " I said with some confusion, seeing for the first time the room I was in, which had quite fancy-looking and expensive furniture. "By the way, where am I?"
- "You are in your room, sister." Said the handsome boy with light blond hair and I looked at him with some confusion.
- "This is not my room and you ... Did you call me sister?" I asked with some confusion.
Is it a custom from your country?
- "You are my older sister." He said awkwardly and with much concern.
Here's a problem.
- “I think you are confused. I can tell that you have the wrong girl. I only have 2 older brothers and you don't look like any of them, and I would actually DO remember having such a handsome brother”. I responded looking around for my bag. "Do you have my bag or a cell phone to lend me?"
I should definitely call my mom to avoid being murdered by her when she finds out I am skipping class.
- "What is a cell phone?" The silver haired man asked and I looked at him in surprise.
What kind of person doesn't know something so basic?
-"A cell phone. You know, those little objects that allow us to talk to people on the other side of the world, take photos, search for information, play games, and send text messages. Everybody has one ”. I said and he and the others seemed even more confused.
They come from a remote little town in the middle of nowhere?
One minute!
"If you don't know anything about technology, how do you even know about Fortune Lover?" I asked awkwardly.
- "Fortune Lover?" The black haired guy asked and I looked at them in surprise to see his confusion.
- "The otome game from which you get your costumes." They didn't say anything and I took a deep breath. “The story of the video game is about the life of the protagonist, Maria, a peasant woman who uses light magic, when she attends the magic academy where the nobles go and where she meets the gallants of the story. In the video game she can seduce the prince with the angelic smile and dark heart, Geordo, the handsome and womanizer Keith, the tsundere Alan, the mysterious Nicol and a secret character that I believe uses dark magic”. I explained noticing how they all looked strange.
I have only played Keith and Geordo routes, although that villainess, Katarina, keeps getting in my way. To be honest, she is the most annoying and cruel character of all the otome games I have played.
The poor people doesn’t know about otome games and they surely have been hired to do this cosplay because of their looks.
- "Ka ... Chitose, could you tell us more about that game of yours." He, the blond cosplayer of Geordo, asked with an angelic face.
Who could deny something to that beautiful face?
- “I haven't completed all the routes yet, but I know the game quite well. Poor Keith lived a horrible life after being adopted, his adoptive mother and Katarina, who treat him terribly badly, he isolated himself from everyone and became a womanizer to cope with life, if Maria chooses him he stops being a playboy. In the good ending he exiles Katarina, Maria's bully and the cause of the misfortunes in her life, and ends up with Maria. And in the bad ending, he murders Katarina with magic when she tries to murder Maria and escapes the kingdom, separating from Maria forever.
Geordo is a sadistic prince with an angelic aspect and a dark heart, he is basically chained to his commitment to the cruel Katarina, he has a terrible relationship with his brother and he is a sadist, although it improves because of his love for Maria. I only have the bad ending in which he murders Katarina and escapes from the country, although surely today I will be able to achieve the good ending in which Katarina is simply exiled and Geordo continues at Maria's side”. I enthusiastically said that last part.
Might be I could finally get that ending today, if my mom decides to don’t grounded me for skipping classes, of course.
There was a long, awkward silence and everyone looked quite stunned.
Geordo’s cosplayer seems to be a little bit like the original, but less cold and intimidating. Keith’s Cosplayer doesn’t seem to be a womanizer or something like that.
And them all seems to be really disgusting with the story of their characters.
- "And what does that game say about me?" Mary Hunt's cosplayer asked cautiously.
Of course, all of them would want to know about the game to know who they were disguised as. I would like to know it too, if I were at their place.
- “Mary is Alan's fiancee and she is madly in love with him, she is an elegant lady that she decided to change to live up to her title. She is a rival of the protagonist, but contrary to Katarina, she is admirable and if the protagonist goes through Alan’s route, she steps aside for Alan to find happiness. She is beautiful". I stared at her, inspecting her carefully. “You look like her, although I think you are prettier than her. You have that beautiful doll face, those shiny and pretty eyes are beautiful and that hair looks soft and fluffy”. Mary Hunt's cosplayer hid her face behind a fan and began fanning herself.
She must be very hot to do that, although now that I think about it she was quite red before she started fanning herself.
Just looking at her I can say that she is more enthusiastic and sweet than Mary Hunt. At Alan’s route Mary was so elegant and intimidating.
-"What about me?" The silver haired girl asked and I thought about it a bit. She was Sophia’s cosplayer, and her disguise must be the most elaborate to look so realistic and natural.
- "I know that Sophia is Nicol's little sister and the protagonist's third rival, I think her final is similar to Mary's, although I haven't played Nicol's route yet." I said seeing her, she was so beautiful. "Are your hair and eye color natural?" I asked and she nodded awkwardly and I grinned widely. "They are beautiful, I have never seen eyes of that color, they are like a pair of rubies and that hair of yours looks like silk." She turned red and looked at me strangely just like the black-haired man with that incredibly seductive smile. "What a perfect smile." And I also saw Maria's cosplayer, who looked gorgeous. “And you also look more beautiful than the angelic Maria in the game, that hair seems to be gold and those eyes are beautiful. I need to take a photo with you”.
You guys really are the best cosplay team ever.
- "K-ka… Chitose". She called me Keith's cosplayer and I giggled at the red faces of the three cosplay girls and Nicol's cosplayer's beautiful smile.
Why do I always talk to strangers when they end up red or crying?
-"Sorry. I hope I didn't bother you, I'm not making fun of it or anything. It's just that everyone here is very attractive and I'm not used to seeing so much beauty together.“ I said honestly trying to fix the misunderstanding and them all looked at me strangely with abnormally bright eyes. "Did I say something wrong?"
Surely I offended them more. If A-chan were here, she would already be laughing and making those strange comments of her like always.
- "It's definitely her." Geordo and Keith cosplayers said.
- "Oh, that's right! How did I get here?" I asked and immediately noticed something strange for the first time. "Why am I wearing a costume? Wait a minute, this isn't even my body". I said in surprise seeing my big white arms, big hands and huge breasts.
- "That's your body, silly". The silver-haired man said and I looked at him.
I brought my hands to my breasts noticing that there was no padding of any kind there.
- "My breasts are not even half the size of these and not so soft." I pointed out noticing strange expressions on everyone's faces, who looked completely red and there was blood running down the noses of almost everyone, except for the black-haired man. "And my hair is too long." My hair reached several inches below my shoulders and then there was my face. "My face is different too." I said shaking with terror.
What happened to me?
Why is my body different?
What's going on?
"Why am I in this body?"
I remember going to school on my bike to try to get to class on time, since I had stayed up late playing Fortune Lover and then...
I was crossing the street and a truck ran a red light and hit me...
It hurt a lot, I went flying into the air and the last thing I saw was a pool of blood.
I still feel the blood coming out of my mouth, the difficulty in breathing, the pieces of glass embedded in my body and the cold and the growing weakness of my body, the body that was unable to move.
There were people screaming in the distance, I heard their screams but at the same time could not understand them, each time they were more distant, until finally everything went away.
The pain is over, I stopped feeling and just...
"I died on the way to school." I said with difficulty feeling how I was gasping for air. I couldn't breathe.
I died at 17 years old.
I couldn't say goodbye properly, the last words my mom said to me were a scolding and I couldn't even say goodbye to anyone.
I never got to fall in love with someone or even give my first kiss, I died before experiencing something similar.
"Why?"
Before I even knew it I was crying in the arms of the red haired girl, while the silver haired and the blonde tried to calm me down. For some reason her closeness felt very comfortable to me, so even after calming down enough, I didn't let go of her.
I died and have a new body.
-"I reincarnated? Wait a minute, if I was reincarnated, why don't I have memories of this life?" I asked fearfully.
- "Lady Katarina activated some runes by accident in this year's practical exam." Said the beautiful blonde girl with an angelic face.
-“Who is this Lady Katarina you are talking about? And did you say runes? Runes like those magical symbols that used to appear in fantasy books? " I asked curiously.
-"Your name is Katarina Claes." She answered the brunette confidently, tightening our embrace more. "And yes, I think you speak the same type of runes as us". She added absently and I finally noticed that the boys had left the room.
-“The runes we talk about erase the memory of the person who activated them. The teachers said that you probably won't even remember your name, although it's temporary". Said the silver hair girl.
-"How long?" I asked and this time it was Maria's cosplayer who answered.
- "It will only be a few days." Almost immediately I sighed in relief.
- “It's a relief, this reincarnation already seems difficult enough to not even know something about my current life. By the way, what are your names? " I asked somewhat awkwardly seeing strange expressions on her faces. "I'm sorry, I just noticed that I don't know your names".
-"Mary Hunt".
-"Sophia Ascart".
-"Maria Campbell".
All three answered and I saw them with some confusion.
-"I mean your real names, not the name of your characters". I clarified with a smile and they looked at me in silence.
-"Those are our real names". Said the supposed Maria Campbell.
- "No, those are the names of the otome game characters that I played, and the reason why I stayed up late and ended up dying in the first place, now that I think about it." I commented trying to downplay something of importance. "So I would like to know their real names."
- "We are not lying." Sophia said seriously and neither of them seemed to be lying.
Oh, kamisama, that means...
- "Was I reincarnated in the game world?" I asked awkwardly, trying to calm myself and it was then that I noticed something important. "Y-you called me Katarina. Katarina Claes KATARINA CLAES!… That means… AM I THE VILLAINESS?! I WAS REBORN AS THE VILLAINESS FROM AN OTOME GAME! " I screamed in panic and everything around me went black.
I could hear the sound of birds and crickets chirping. And when I opened my eyes I felt a little weak and dizzy, the first thing I saw when I woke up was the entire cast of Fortune Lover around my bed. I remembered what happened before waking up and looked at them with some fear.
I am the villain of the game and I am destined to be cruelly punished for all the crimes I did commit before I even remember my past life. I could have made their life impossible, and they know that I know about them and I know that I am the villainess.
I hope I have not offended you!
Anything I do or say can lead to my downfall.
Oh, I even admitted that I, Katarina Claes, was the villain.
I'm going to die now even if Katarina's trial hasn't happened!
I must be smart. After admitting to be the villainess and being aware of some of my crimes, it is difficult to avoid the punishment that my reincarnation, the original Katarina Claes, has won. Now there is only thing left that I could do in my weird situation is to beg for mercy.
Come on Chitose, what you say right now will decide your future.
I looked at the prince and Keith somewhat self-consciously.
-“Could I just be exiled? Ouji-sama, Claes-sama, I promise that I will not hurt Campbell-san, give up whatever inheritance I have and leave that commitment. I swear I'll just leave without protest and you'll know nothing more about me". I said giving them my best bow, shaking slightly with fear. I was just hoping to have been polite enough, the last thing I need is to get killed for my bad manners.
I just want to become an adult. I don't care if I end up being the villaines alone, at least I want to become the crazy and old cat lady of the neighborhood or something similar.
Although this world is different from mine, so it won’t not that simple.
What could I do to survive?
Well…
Maybe I could go into agriculture or something like that, I used to help grandma with that and since it is quite practical, I could learn fast enough if someone taught me, and in addition to receiving payments in exchange for my service, I would have food.
- "Y-you consider agriculture as a backup plan to live in exile?" Someone questioned awkwardly.
- "Did I say it out loud?" I asked awkwardly.
- "You will NOT be exiled now or ever, Katarina." Said the prince with determination and I got up, looking at him with fear.
Oh no, my crimes are so terrible that exile is not even a possibility, that means I will die again.
- "So, I..." I couldn't even finish the sentence because Keith interrupted me.
- "You won’t be murdered or anything like that, sister." He said with determination, although for some reason they all seemed quite distressed.
-"Really?" I said hopeful.
"Of course".
"We would never allow it."
Everyone gave me similar responses and I looked at them with gratitude and joy for the way they just forgave everything that I know I should have done to them as the villainess of the game.
-"What a relief. This reincarnation thing is weird enough without worrying about flags of doom or finding my doom so quickly. " I said happily and my stomach rumbled, demanding food.
- "Here I have your food, my lady." Said a woman in the back of the room dressed as a maid.
-"Oh thanks…"
- "Anne, my lady."
- "Thank you, Anne-san, is there a place where I could sit down to eat?" I asked and she nodded and I happily followed her.
Outside the room there was a kind of living room, a library and a desk, she put the tray on the low table in the living room, in which there were also various sweets, desserts and cookies. I silently watched the content of the tray, which had a fish with sauce, a bowl with salad, a soup, another with bread, and another with what appeared to be baked potato with sauce, and of course, a lot of silverware. There were various spoons, forks, and knives of different sizes.
I'm not really used to western cutlery, in my house they mainly prepared typical Japanese and oriental food, of course, with the exception of some times when we ate hamburger, spaghetti or pizza, although that was not so frequent.
How should I eat fish with only a fork or with a fork and knife?
What fork do I use for what?
Since when does eating seem so complicated?
- "Oh, how much would I give for a pair of chopsticks." I said and Anne-san gave me a strange look.
- "Are you referring to a pair of strange and long wooden toothpicks with strange symbols?" She asked herself and I nodded happily.
- "Are there of those here?" She nodded and took out a rolled handkerchief from her desk and handed it to me, I opened it and smiled widely when I saw a pair of royal toothpicks, which had my name written on them in my own handwriting. "Thank you, Anne-san." I said happily before kneeling on the floor, in front of the food from me, I put the chopsticks on the table and clasped my hands happily. "Itadakimasu!" I exclaimed with joy before starting to eat with my chopsticks, ignoring the screams of surprise and horror around me.
From the taste of the fish, it didn't take me long to notice that it was a river fish. It tastes quite good with the sauce it has, these flavors are very western.
- "Rina ... Chitose?" Claes-san spoke and I looked at him, he was standing next to me looking at me quite strangely and his face was pale.
- "Yes, Claes-san?" I asked for.
-"What do you think you're doing?" He asked and I pointed out the obvious.
-"I'm eating. The food is delicious, thank you, Anne-san. " I added looking at Anne-san, who looked strangely pale and tired.
- "What I want to know is why are you sitting on the floor and using those rods to eat?" He demanded.
-"It is more comfortable to eat like this at the low tables and since I am kneeling in the correct way there is no problem, and they are chopsticks, not rods, and it is easier to use them than trying to guess what each of these cutlery is used for" . I said sipping a spoonful of the soup, making him frown.
- "And is that necessary?" I looked at him without understanding. "To slurp."
- "Is it rude here?" I asked awkwardly and they all looked at me strangely.
Now that I think about it, in the West they have different customs than in Japan. My dad once told me about a talk he had with one of his colleagues, who was from Europe and he began to tell me about many things from Japan that were strange to the foreigners. If I weren't so bad at remembering, I probably would have known those things before I started eating.
Why am I so bad at remembering important things?
I only remember that I had that talk because that friend of my dad gave me that delicious chocolate bar.
-"Katarina, were you by any chance from the eastern kingdoms in that past life of yours?" Geordo-oujisama asked and I nodded.
Well, I guess that Japan is on the eastern.
-"Yes, I'm from Japan, Geordo-oujisama." I answered and he looked at me with some confusion. "It is also called the land of the rising, although I don't know if it exists in this world." I added and the prince's faces lit up with interest.
-"Could you explain a bit about proper manners from your kingdom, ambassadors fall short when it comes to explaining that." He said with an angelic smile and I just nodded.
-"I have no problem with that, although I'm not very good at it." I said and began to eat explaining random but important things, causing everyone's interest.
-"So you don't release the cup of rice until you finish it?" Alan-oujisama asked incredulously and I nodded. "And isn't it annoying?" I shrugged my shoulders.
-"Not really, I think we are used to it at home."
- "So everything is based on symbolism and fortune?" Geordo-oujisama asked with interest.
- "Hai, Geordo-oujisama."
- "And Katarina?" I watched him eat my last bite of salad. "My name is Gerald."
- “Oh, I'm sorry, Gerald-oujisama. I guess it was mistranslated to the game. "
- "And sister, why do you keep calling me Claes-san?" Claes-san asked and I looked at him without understanding. "Our last name."
Ah, that, we are from the same family, I almost forgot.
- “Oh, I didn't noticed it. I know many are uncomfortable with that, so I thought I should call you that too, Keith-san. " I explained and he looked at me strangely.
- "And what about Anne and them?" He asked.
- "Oh, that's because Anne-san introduced herself like that and I don't remember their last names." I said pointing to the princes, Gerald-oujisama had a rather gloomy expression, Alan-oujisama gave a laugh and the others smiled a little, especially Hunt-san.
- "And why is it wrong for you to call people by their names?" Campbell-san asked awkwardly.
- “It's something from Japan. You are only supposed to use names with trusted people like family or close friends, I have never cared much about that, although it is important. My siblings and my parents have, or had, friends that they have known for years and never spoke by name. Honestly, I prefer to be called me by my name, but there are many who get upset or uncomfortable if I give them the same treatment ”. I explained and they all looked at me with a rather fond smile.
- "Could you call us by our names?" Campbell-san asked, no, Maria-san and I nodded with a big smile.
- "Of course, Maria-san."
- "And what about those endings?" Nicol-san asked.
- “They are honorific. "Sama" is used for people of a high social level, important people or older, "san" is used to speak to the ones you can consider equals to you, and to close friends it is used "Chan" for girls, "Kun" for boys, and just saying a name. But saying just someone name can also be mistaken as a disrespect or a show of trust. It is somewhat difficult to explain the use of honorifics, among family and friends I usually use the suffixes "chan", "kun" or I say their names simply, those are. It is very difficult to explain ”. I did my best to explain it.
- "It sounds quite complicated." He commented and I just nodded.
-"I know. I do not particularly care what suffix they use with me, although there are many who complain because they feel that they are disrespected by calling them with the wrong suffix”. I added.
- "Did they use those honorific only among the nobility or in what field did they use it?" Gerald-oujisama asked.
- "At all social levels, Gerald-oujisama." I answered and he looked at me strangely.
- "And what does the word" ouji "mean?" He asked, again. He seems to be really interested in Japan’s manners. If I were at his place I would hardly ask about this type of things and just accept everything.
-"Ouji means Prince." I answered and he and Alan-oujisama looked at me strangely.
- "So you're basically calling us highly respected princes or something similar?" Gerald-oujisama asked and I nodded.
-"That sounds like too much respect for me." Alan-oujisama commented.
-"It is?" I asked and they all started saying the same thing. "Now that I think about it. From Fortune Lover I figured that you were supposed to hate me for being the villainess, but it doesn't seem to be the case. Are you my friends?" I asked and everyone looked at me with the same face as Acchan or my brothers when I say something "silly", before giving an affirmative answer and I smiled widely. "I'm very happy to hear it."
-"I think we should keep Katarina away from the public until she recovers her memory." Keith-kun commented.
-"That will be the best." Gerald-kun added and I had a cupcake to eat.
-"Oh, these cakes are delicious." I said delighting in the taste. "Soft, fluffy, sweet and with a heavenly flavor, they are so much better than those other fancy little candies I’ve just tasted." I said with a big smile savoring the second piece of heaven in my mouth.
-"Thank you very much, Lady Katarina." Maria-chan said completely blushing.
- “Oh, did Maria-chan prepare them? No wonder why they are so good! Since I saw you bake in that video game, I've wanted to try your sweets. You are like the perfect wife, if I had reincarnated as a man I would certainly marry you”. I said excitedly before continuing to eat more sweets.
-“And what about me, Lady Katarina? Would you marry me too? " Mary-chan asked crouching down next to me enthusiastically. Her eyes seemed to glow strangely, probably out of curiosity, and I nodded enthusiastically.
-"Of course I'd do it. Mary-chan is beautiful, kind and very loving ”. I said before noticing something important. "Now that I notice, your skin seems very soft, do you think I can touch it, Mary-chan?" I asked and Mary-chan nodded with a strange look as her face lowered and I happily reached out my hand to touch her face gently.
-"L-lady Katarina".
-"Your skin is soft like velvet." I commented delighting in the softness of her before touching her soft, silky hair. And your hair is incredibly soft and fluffy. Oh, Mary-chan is so beautiful. " For some unknown reason, Mary-chan turned incredibly red, her gaze seemed dizzy and a thin stream of blood began to run down her nose. "Mary-chan! Are you okay? You look sick ”. I said with concern and she nodded awkwardly.
-"Y-yes, I'm fine." She said awkwardly while still looking at me with that strange look.
-"You can have some of my cake if you want, maybe it will make you feel better." She said handing her the cupcake she was eating and she turned redder than she did before biting into it.
-"Thank you, Lady Katarina."
-"With pleasure. Although you are still very red, Mary-chan." I commented with concern.
-"She just needs some fresh air, Katarina." Gerald-kun said looking with a contemptuous and annoyed look at Mary-chan.
But what if she faints while she is getting up? Of course, Gerald-kun is a sadistic prince with a dark heart, he obviously doesn't understand what it's like to take care of someone.
-"Mary-chan could also lie down against me and rest until she feels better. Just look at that nosebleed and her face, poor and pretty Mary-chan could faint or get sick if she tries to get up too quickly. How insensitive you are, Gerald-kun". I said it hugging Mary-chan so she doesn't fall down. "Mary-chan, calm down, you can lie on top of me until you feel better."
I wiped the blood from Mary-chan's nose with a handkerchief and she hugged me, leaning against her shoulder, Maria-chan sat on the floor next to me and started feeding me so I wouldn't have to put Mary-chan out of the way. I highly praised her cooking skills and Sophia sat on the floor with us shortly after I started talking about my favorite manga and anime, and since Maria-chan started looking quite red like Mary-chan, I offered her my lap.
I sincerely thanked Anne-san when she organized the second tray of sweets and put it in front of me. And since I'm a good friend, I also gave Mary-chan and Maria-chan cookies. Oh, the poor girls were so bad that their faces were still as red as a tomato and they looked at me in such a strange way.
This world is kind of strange, but everyone here is very nice.