Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I think I’m in an otome game. 

That was my second thought after waking up to an unfamiliar ceiling in an unfamiliar room, looking into the mirror to see an unfamiliar face staring back. Amethyst eyes blinked back at me, seeming to reflect my stupid, gaping expression as I carded through neat blond locks with trembling fingers. My first thought was that I was in a dream, a lucid dream that had somehow spiraled out of control, though that clearly wasn’t the case. 

A group of people who seemed to be servants had woken me up, showing concern at my dumbfounded state. Looking back at it now, I must’ve looked crazy in their eyes. They’d gone on about getting ready and dressed for breakfast or something—I was too out of it to fully process what they were saying—referring to me as “Your Highness” all the while. 

It sounded like some sort of sick joke or prank show gimmick, and honestly, I’d been tempted to ask if there were any cameras lying around that I should be aware of. I ended up keeping my mouth shut, mainly because their expressions were dead serious and filled with worry at my nonsensical… nonsense. 

While I was still in a state of shock and trying to process what the hell was going on, the servants had helped me tidy up and get dressed. It felt weird having other people dress me instead of just doing it myself, but I was too bewildered to protest, instead remaining silent as the sensation of silky and probably extremely expensive cloth brushed against my bare skin. Only a noble would get this kind of treatment. Actually, looking at just the room itself, this might as well be treatment meant for a royal. 

While I was being led out by the attendants for breakfast, I was able to somewhat gather my thoughts into a comprehensible bundle. First off, it seemed like I’d somehow possessed someone else’s body. Neat blond hair, crystalline purple eyes, enviably fair skin, and a gentle, beautiful complexion. Someone who looks as handsome as this could only be the main character… but male leads in this type of setting were typically dark haired, not blond. 

Then I finally realized, upon looking out a window at a setting that was all too familiar, that I knew this character. A grandiose residence, servants, being referred to as a prince, that familiar blond hair and holy amethyst eyes… 

I’d transmigrated into a fictional world as one of the characters from an otome game—nicknamed QNW—that my little sister played. Prince Jesse Venetiaan, a diplomatic hostage of the Riester Empire who was sent all the way from the Holy Venetiaan Kingdom. He was one of the love interests in that popular dating game, and my sister really seemed to favor him over the other love interests. 

It was awkward enough hearing my name being called out every time my sister talked about him—our names are basically the same, Jesse and Yeseo—but now… I didn’t know how to feel now that I actually was the character himself, not just associated by name. At least there weren’t any fangirls raving about me like they had about the real Jesse Venetiaan… though not much could be said about whatever was happening beyond the fourth wall, if that even existed. 

After sitting down for breakfast, barely managing to ask for a cup of herbal tea without earning bewildered stares from my attendants—what were they so surprised about anyway?—I busied myself with my thoughts… as well as the delicious assortment of food set out before me. 

While I was stuffing my face, my mind was preoccupied floating up into the stratosphere. There were a bunch of issues that I had to sort out, but that could be settled one problem at a time without any sort of rush. 

First on the list was the issue of my status. I was no longer Jung Yeseo, a 28 year old Korean man living with his two siblings in an apartment building. Instead, I was Jesse Venetiaan, a prince who had been sent to the enemy country of his homeland as a diplomatic hostage. The original prince was listed as a potential love interest, romanceable by fans who would play as the story’s main character and beloved heroine, Christelle de Sarnez. I didn’t actually know much about him or the game’s actual storyline, but I did have a vague idea about certain romance routes, mainly the ones involving Jesse and one other potential love interest… 

If I could recall correctly, there was one specific love interest who was ordained as the “true male lead” of the story, overshadowing nearly every other route in his own favor. From what I’d heard from my sister, this character was highly favored by the majority of fans and even the developers themselves. Hell, you could even say that this “true male lead” was the poster boy of this highly popular franchise. 

My sister didn’t seem to share the same sentiment as most of the other fans. At the dinner table, she’d always go off on a rant about how much more appealing Jesse Venetiaan was in comparison to “Crapdric,” as she called him, who was also known as the QNW poster boy. Admittedly, I never actually played the game, so I didn’t know his name apart from the fan-given nickname. My sister would often describe his shitty personality and apparently saintly good looks. With my limited knowledge, I also knew that he was the imperial crown prince, was very proficient with a sword, and that he was handsome with dark hair and red eyes. 

Realistically, if an otome game was to play out in real life, it was highly unlikely that all of the romance routes would be completed like in the actual game. In a real life scenario—it was ridiculous that such a scenario would happen in the first place—the path with the highest chance of being chosen was probably going to be the imperial crown prince’s route. That kind of ending would honestly be fine with me. I don’t get involved with the main characters, they leave me out of the drama, they get their happy ending, and I can find out how the fuck I’m going to get myself home in relative peace. On that note, there was a slight issue with taking that route, mainly because of the body I was possessing… 

The evening before I fell asleep and transmigrated into QNW, my sister had been busy wallowing in despair after finally reaching the true ending of Crapdric’s love route. I remember her vividly describing the death of her favorite character, Jesse Venetiaan, after the completion of that route. As it turns out, Jesse was destined to die in every single ending if a player chose to see the end of the crown prince’s route, no matter the type of ending the player got. 

From what I’d heard, Jesse had tragically taken a fatal blow in the crown prince’s stead during a war between the two opposing nations in the “true end.” His death actually varied depending on what type of ending was reached. In the bad ending, he was murdered by assassins who were sent from the holy kingdom. In the neutral ending, his drink was spiked at a party and he ended up being bedridden for days before dying of fatal poisoning. In the good ending, he somehow managed to get on the bad side of the Young Duke of Blanquer, who would eventually kill him in a horrifyingly gruesome scene that had been too bloody and explicit to keep in the official game. 

I couldn’t help but let out a sigh. 

Jeez… it seemed like Prince Jesse’s fate only got worse and worse as the male lead’s endings got better and better. What the hell was up with that? It was like the game developers were purposefully trying to stir up some beef between Crapdric’s and Jesse’s diehard fans. 

Nevermind that. My point was that if the main character ended up taking the crown prince’s route, which she probably would, I was going to die. If I died, I wouldn’t be able to go home, and that was a problem. Even more, it wouldn't do me any good to try to romance the main character. That was supposed to be her job, first of all, and secondly, I wouldn’t be able to romance a desperate pick-me girl to save my life—not that I willingly would. Trying to play cupid for the other love interests was also a no-go. I didn’t even know who they were, much less what their personalities were like. Hell, they could end up being some random guy on the street for all I knew. 

I decided on not worrying too much about the storyline just yet. There wasn’t much that I could do as I was now. I was a diplomatic hostage, first of all. That meant I had very limited access, even around Juliette Palace, which was the place I was supposed to stay in while being “held hostage.” Second, the main character was currently in a comatose state. 

At sixteen years old, right after her debut into nobility as an adult, Christelle de Sarnez suddenly fell into a mysterious coma. Three years later, she would wake up just in time for the Spring Ball, where she would make her re-debut into society. The game was supposed to officially start at the Spring Ball, so I had until then to at least prepare myself. 

I set down my teacup and let out another sigh. 

“Um… Your Highness? Is there something troubling you?” 

“Uh?” 

Surprised, I glanced up with wide eyes at the attendant, a young boy with sky blue hair and vibrant golden eyes, who was the only one left by my side after the others had been dismissed. It also looked like the table had been cleared out while I was busy sorting through my thoughts. Carefully cradled in his arms was a stack of books, though I didn’t remember requesting anything? 

“Ah, my apologies. I was just spacing out,” I replied with a smile. 

The boy became flustered at my apology and quickly tried to change the subject, nearly fumbling as he placed the stack of books on the table. “Y-Your Highness, here are some books that you might be interested in. I’ve also been informed that Her Majesty has given you permission to walk around the palace gardens at your leisure.” 

I thanked him as I grabbed and flipped open a book from the stack, brushing the rough edged paper with my fingertips. Even as I busied myself with reading (or rather, gathering information about this world) the boy remained in place, refusing to leave. Upon second glance, it looked like he was anxious to speak up. Thus, I spoke up in his place. 

“Do you need to speak with me about something?” 

The boy flinched. “Oh, um…” 

His face was completely red. He gripped the ends of his shirt, and I was worried that he might end up creasing it. I waited patiently, and after a moment, the boy regained his bearings and introduced himself. 

I learned that his name was Ganael Callamard, the eldest son of Viscount Callamard who had his coming of age ceremony not too long ago. While we exchanged words, I couldn’t help but get the feeling that his name sounded oddly familiar. Did my sister ever talk about a character named Ganael? I couldn’t clearly recall anyone by that name, but it did sound familiar… 

There were a lot of things that I was able to find out just from that one conversation with Ganael. They were all small, trivial details, but as someone who hadn’t played QNW and was now literally immersed in the gameplay, I grasped onto those little tidbits like my life depended on it. 

Apparently, I—or rather, Prince Jesse—was considered a royal priest, and Ganael wanted me to listen to his confession. I very vaguely recalled my sister mentioning something about the prince’s holy occupation or… something along those lines. Rather than that, she was probably commenting on him being a holy person in general. 

That was probably the most important piece of information I managed to gather. Other than that, I learned that Prince Jesse was also around the same age as me, looking at the age gap between me and Ganael. I gave a rather vague reply to Ganael’s request, but he looked elated nonetheless, seeming to be under the impression that I’d agreed. Well, I had no intention of outright refusing either way, but my first task would be to find out what priests do. 

After Ganael went on his way, I was left alone with the pile of books he’d gathered for me. I began flipping through a few of them, and drowning myself in my thoughts and the words on the pages. I was thoroughly impressed at the selection, seeing as most of the books contained invaluable information about both the Holy Kingdom and the Riester Empire (in my eyes, at least). 

Thank you, Ganael, I’ll definitely listen to your confession.  

Later, I ended up staying holed up in my room, studying the books that Ganael had selected for me plus many others, jotting down anything worth noting into the prince’s empty notebook. When I stood up to stretch after sitting for so long, I could feel my muscles threatening to cramp up. Dammit, so the prince’s body was pretty similar to mine after all. 

It was then that a translucent window suddenly popped up right in front of my face. I let out a muffled yelp. My heart just about leapt out of my throat and I nearly tumbled over in surprise, just barely managing to catch the edge of my seat before gravity could take over. 

Holy shit?!

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Was this real? Or maybe I was really hallucinating this time. A dream inside of a dream, maybe?! (Jung Yeseo, this is an otome game, not Inception.) 

I tried looking away, but the translucent screen only followed my line of sight, refusing to go away. I could’ve sworn that it even got closer to my face—to spite me or to insist that I read it, I didn’t know, though I was tempted to think that it was the former. 

“What is this…” I murmured to myself in disbelief, staring wide-eyed at the screen as if it had murdered my entire family. 

The word “SYSTEM” was written, bolded and in stylized font, at the very top of the translucent window. (I had to do a double take, calming myself before continuing to read its contents.) Below that was some sort of description page, titled “Main Quest” before going on to list even more information. 

“Main quest, meet the main character of QNW, Christelle de Sarnez… time limit, the Spring Ball, and there’s a side quest too…?” 

I wasn’t sure how to react. The game just gave me a system window. Out of all things, a system window . I had to take a moment to close my eyes, trying not to look at the screen as I gathered myself and regained my bearings. It was then that the situation really started to settle in. This wasn’t a dream, but it wasn’t reality either. This was fiction, and I was currently trapped inside of a game. 

I opened my eyes and read the rest of the screen. 

Below the main quest descriptor was a set of ellipses with a small line of text reading “Side Quest Menu.” I apprehensively reached out to tap it, but the screen changed before I could, seeming to respond to what I was thinking rather than my physical actions. It was probably an inappropriate sentiment to have at that moment, but I was pretty relieved that I could change menus with my mind. How awkward would it be to randomly tap the air out of nowhere while around other people? I’d probably look like a madman. 

But I digress. The side quest menu replaced the main quest, listing out a completely separate description. I furrowed my eyebrows while looking at the screen, cupping my chin in contemplation. 

Side Quest: Introduce yourself to Christelle de Sarnez. Time Limit: None.  

That was pretty self explanatory. If I had to meet the main character for the story to progress, then it was pretty obvious that I’d also have to introduce myself to her. I had to agree with that, but the only problem was that… 

I really don’t want to get involved with the main character. 

Most of Jesse’s deaths resulted from certain situations that he was involved with in the game’s haphazardly organized storyline. Some of his fated endings had nothing to do with the main characters or the other love interests, such as his assassination ending or his spiked-drink ending, but the majority of them did involve interaction with the main character and certain NPCs. The ending where he was murdered by Duke Blanquer’s heir, for example, happened due to a conflict involving the the imperial prince, which Jesse managed to get tangled up in because of an unfortunate line of events that ultimately stemmed from his involvement with the main character herself. 

Maybe I was just being paranoid. It was probably possible to avoid that ending if I just sidestepped certain scenarios, but that brought up the question of what the system was meant to do. If I was correct, it was probably there to ensure that I stayed faithful to the original story and to dissuade me from going off-road. It didn’t mention anything about what would happen if I failed to complete the main quest, and I definitely wasn’t looking forward to finding that out. 

I groaned, covering my face with my hands. 

I guess I really had no choice but to do whatever the system said. Dammit, they’d at least give enough leeway for me to jump through some loopholes here and there, right? Really, I just wanted to go home without causing any trouble. 

A loud CLANG! startled me out of my lamenting, and I quickly glanced up towards the window. I flinched as another loud noise reverberated from below, and reeled in by curiosity, I approached the window before peering outside. 

Below the window’s line of sight, right behind the palace, was a group of people standing outside on what looked to be training grounds. Two people stood in the middle, each of them holding weapons that collided loudly as they sparred against each other. There was one final collision—I flinched at the sound—marking the end of the sparring session as one of the blades broke in half. 

But I wasn’t paying attention to the fight. Instead, my eyes trailed down to what nobody else seemed to notice. 

Cédric Riester: Love Interest. Affection Level: 0%. 

Hovering above the head of the victor was a compressed version of the system window, displaying the character’s name and role. Everyone else, including the man’s sparring partner, also had something similar, but unlike the man, they were all listed as NPCs. Most importantly, none of them had an affection meter. 

His surname was Riester. And his description gave it all away. 

Even when he turned to look up towards the window, fiery eyes staring up at me like burning embers, I couldn’t bring myself to look away. I gripped the curtains, resisting the urge to pull it shut as I stared back in a daze. The man who may ultimately lead me to my death in this twisted, fictional reality was right in front of my eyes. 

Eventually, I pulled the curtains shut and let out the breath that I didn’t know I was holding, staring dazedly at the ground. 

Ah, dammit, I thought with a sigh. Why me? 

Chapter Text

yo, it's been a while

this isn't a chapter update, BUT, it's not an abandonment notice either

sorry for going MIA! halfway through drafting the next chapter all the way back in september, i noticed my grades were dropping significantly and decided to at least make it through the semester before committing to anything outside of that.

but yeah i'm alive! and made it through the semester, woohoo

thank you so much for the love and comments! this and my other work are the very first fanfics i've shared outside of my small friend group since i'm pretty self conscious about my writing so really, it means a lot to me and i greatly appreciate you all. happy holidays, i'll try to reply asap <3