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When An woke that morning, she was expecting to be in her messy bedroom, clothes sprawled on the floor, console still running her otome game.
Not in a four poster bed of a lavish estate bedroom.
Wow, nice . In her half awake state, she admired the high ceilings and french door windows. A warm sunlight peeked through the white curtains. She closed her eyes and snuggled deeper into the fluffy duvet and plush pillows. Such a lovely dream!
“Lady An! It’s time to wake! I let you sleep in a bit more today, but don’t forget, you must prepare for the Prince’s ball later this evening!”
Prince? Who? Huh?
An opened her eyes. She was greeted by a maid scowling down at her.
“Wha- Meiko?”
“Yes?”
Why was Meiko, the Vocaloid singer, standing in the room, waking her up, and… presumably her maid? Why did she have a maid?
Sitting up, she realized she wasn’t in her pajamas, and could vividly touch and feel the fabrics of the clothes and blanket she was swaddled in. Hold on, she wasn’t actually in a dream? And wait, different clothes? Was she in a different body? Did she swap bodies with someone? So many questions ran through her head all at once. She scanned the room for a mirror. There, on the vanity! She darted over and looked into the mirror and-
“Huh?!”
Indeed, the crusty soup stained band tee and pajama shorts she went to sleep in were replaced by a white Victorian style nightgown. A fancy one at that, adorned with lace and pearl embellishments. Her own face stared back at her, relieved, but then confused.
She turned to Meiko.
“Am I… are you… real?!”
Confused, the maid raised a brow, then bowed her head. “Lady An, you often ask me strange questions, but this has been the strangest yet. Of course, I am real. For, who fed and bathed you, since you were young? And–”
Sensing an oncoming lecture, An interjected, “Yes ma’am, I understand! Thank you!”
She turned away and tried to figure out what was going on. Last night, she fell asleep on her bedroom floor, in the middle of playing her otome game, trying to unlock the next character route. It was her number one obsession at the moment. In a historical romance dating sim, the heroine AKA the female lead, daughter of a well respected duke, goes on to win the hearts of all, from the prince of the kingdom to the valorant knights that guard the palace! Being a fan, of course, meant that An had read the comic adaptation, watched the animated series, and played the game multiple times in an attempt to unlock every single route possible. Not to mention, she regularly forked out a portion of her allowance to buy merchandise– her favorite being her plushie of the female lead–
But that’s beside the point! Why wasn’t she in her bedroom?
An looked at herself in the mirror again and pinched her cheek. Hard.
“Ouch.” Definitely awake.
“Lady An! You’re ruining your face on the day of the ball! Truly, what has gotten into you?”
She looked at the maid. “I get it now.”
“Get what, my lady?”
“I was isekai’d into my otome game!”
◇◇◇
If one thing was for certain, it was that An had definitely awoken in a different world, and she could tell by the sheer quality of the food. Her mid day meal was served to her in her bedroom, and the pastries she’d eaten were divine. The buttery croissant was like no other– she nearly requested Meiko ask the head chef for the recipe, for her to bring back to her family’s cafe when she figured out how to return to her own world. But in the meantime, she wouldn’t mind living in this world.
Another thing she needed to figure out was, who was she? Sure, she somehow deduced she was now living in her otome game, which was honestly a wild guess at best. And based on that logic, she was probably now a character in the otome series, but which one? It definitely was not the female lead, because the she had a really cute blonde hairdo that she often split into two pigtails, and light brown eyes, and a really lovely smile-
Focus, An! This is no time to gush about the female lead! What other characters were there?
Strangely, An had not changed her appearance despite isekai-ing into this world. She had read a few isekai comics before. Often, the main character died in their world and then was reborn into the body of a different character.
An’s eyes widened. “Wait, don’t tell me I died?!”
“Goodness, what are you saying? You’ve been spouting all sorts of worrisome things today!” Meiko said, walking into the room. “I may have to tell your father about this.”
A lightbulb clicked in An’s head. “My father!”
“The marquess has always been a bit worried for you. He thinks you do fair on the more… eccentric side.”
A marquess… who in the game was the daughter of a marquess? What even was a marquess again?
“Lady An, let us start getting you ready for tonight’s ball.”
◇◇◇
If the otherworldly pastries she ate earlier that day, or literally everything else that had happened thus far, didn’t convince her she was in a universe like her otome game, then her ball gown would have been the final indicator. Her maid and other ladies had finished putting on the finishing touches on her hair and make up. An went to the full length mirror and looked at herself.
She wore a deep red rose gown, with roses sewn into the bodice and ruffles. Roses weaved through her braided half-do. A string of pearls went around her waist, matching the pearls that were strung throughout her hair. When she saw herself in the mirror, she knew.
“Oh my god.”
“You do look lovely, Lady An-”
“I’m the villainess.”
◇◇◇
The carriage pulled up to the palace. The game graphics had only been mid at best, so An had never realized it was this huge and beautiful in real life. It seemed to take inspiration from the Palace of Versailles.
“Lady An.” Meiko said, her voice pulling An out of her admiration.
“Yes?”
Her maid sighed. “Please try to not say anything strange at the ball tonight. This is your chance to meet future suitors.” An grimaced, which Meiko noticed. “If not suitors, then perhaps even friends.” Meiko sat up straighter. “You must keep in mind that you always carry the reputation of your family behind you.”
Mirroring Meiko, An also straightened out her posture. “Yes, I know." A pause. "I won’t do anything weird, I promise!" An grinned.
The maid looked into An’s eyes, as if searching for any lies. She sighed, then smiled. “Okay. Have fun tonight.”
“I will!”
◇◇◇
Not! An thought to herself. If she recalled correctly, this ball was a crucial part of every single route in the otome game. No matter what path you attempted, this night would be one to determine your fate. When she was playing the game, An always loved this event. However, as the villainess, this was the day with the most death flags!
Well, maybe not death, at this point of the plot. More like doom flags. In the route that pursues the prince of the kingdom, the villainess gets framed for spilling wine on the female lead’s gown. Being in a bad light in the eyes of the prince and the heroine, the villainess loses favor with everyone else in the kingdom, and is sentenced to a sad, sad life of banishment. The knight route was worse; he finds the villainess tormenting the female lead and takes it upon himself to torment the villainess and eventually doom her to execution.
An cautiously walked into the ballroom, mentally preparing for the worst. Awe washed away her nerves as she admired the sheer beauty of the palace. Crystal chandeliers hung from the painted ceilings. Gold decor adorned the high archways, and statues of angels lined the walls. There was music from a string quartet, and guests were dancing in the middle of the ballroom, their gowns swirling with rich violets, burgundies, emerald greens. In the midst of her admiration, she felt a tap on her shoulder.
“Oh, Haruka!”
“Greetings, An!”
Haruka was one of An’s favorite characters in the game. She was a side character but she was one of the few characters that got along with everyone– including the villainess. Most importantly, Haruka was known for her beautiful singing voice, and in one of the routes, you could go on a date to her opera concert. Though opera was not a genre An was well-versed in, she still loved singing along to the game OST.
“You look really lovely tonight, Haruka!”
“You as well.” Haruka smiled. “Have you tried the desserts yet? They’re delicious.” She gestured toward the tables of food.
An looked past Haruka’s shoulder, towards the food tables. “Not yet, I just arrived! They look amazing…” And just beyond the table, An saw her.
The female lead.
That must be the female lead! I’m supposed to bully her? But she seems so nice (and cute!)
As An experienced her internal conflict, she locked eyes with her, the heroine of the game. She smiled at An, and An felt her cheeks flush. She turned to Haruka.
“Ah, my apologies, I think I’m going to step outside for some fresh air.”
“Okay. I’ll see you later.”
◇◇◇
An couldn’t believe it. She saw the female lead right in front of her eyes! Being that the heroine was one of her favorite characters, An kind of wanted to talk to her, but that would risk setting off her doom flags. What if, when she was talking to her, she was unfairly framed for harassment and reached the bad end?! What would happen if she got the bad end? Would she make it back to her original world? Would she die? An’s head spun with questions.
“Ah… I’d always liked the villainess character, but I can’t believe she was such a bully to the protagonist in the original story! Didn’t she even try to poison her?! And she said all sorts of terrible things as well” An recalled another route where on the night of the ball, the villainess tormented the heroine out on the balcony, calling her all sorts of horrible names. She tried to imagine herself taunting the female lead. As if I could do that! “If I have to be mean to her…I might as well just avoid her.”
She sighed, resting her elbows on the balcony railing. It overlooked the courtyard, and she could see a couple people chatting in the moonlight. It was a warm evening with a gentle breeze that rustled through the tree leaves.
Lost in her observations, An hadn’t heard the approaching footsteps “Um, excuse me?” a voice from behind.
“Ah, how can I help you-” An turned around.
And there she was. Standing in a pale orange gown adorned with flowers, her hair in two pigtails decorated with floral pins. It was her, the heroine.
No way!!! She’s even cuter up close!!
“U-um, do you mind if I join you?”
“Oh, yeah! I mean, sure, I don’t mind!” An fumbled.
“Thank you.” She smiled, and An felt a little weird in her stomach. “I’m Kohane, by the way.”
Kohane. An was wondering what her name was. Originally in the game, the heroine didn’t have a canon name, since the player often just set it as their own name.
“That’s a pretty name…”
“What’s your name?”
“Right, I didn’t introduce myself! I’m An.”
“It’s nice to meet you, An.”
“Likewise!”
An leaned against the balcony railing, unsure of what to say next. The weird feeling in her stomach continued. It must be because she was nervous about setting off a doom flag.
“Have you… seen the prince yet?” An asked.
“No. But I don’t think there’s much of a reason for me to seek him out. Our families are somewhat acquainted, but we're not that close to the royal family. I’ve probably talked to Prince Toya once or twice.”
“I see.” Maybe Kohane was on the knight route then.
“Do you want to see the prince, An?”
“Me? No, not really. I’ve only seen him from afar. Actually, I’ve only ever seen him with his right-hand man… the head of the Royal Guard.”
“Oh, you mean the knight, Sir Akito?”
“Yes! I think they’re nice together. Akito is so loyal to the Prince. He’s always by his side. And, Akito always looks so stern, but when he talks to Toya, his eyes soften and he's rather gentle. There’s a fondness and passionate devotion that’s just so good, you know?!”
Kohane giggled. “Yeah, I know what you mean. They’ve always been together for as long as Sir Akito became a knight. I can’t imagine them apart.”
An laughed. “Finally, someone else that sees it! They’re perfect together-” She caught herself.
Shoot, I shouldn’t have said that. What if that messes up one of the routes she's on?
Kohane just smiled at her. An felt her cheeks flush and looked away.
They stood in silence for some time, but surprisingly, it wasn’t uncomfortable or awkward. Something about standing under the moon’s light, enjoying the cool night breeze together felt so right.
An glanced over at Kohane, surprised to see that Kohane was already staring at her. “Ah, do I have something on my face?”
“O-oh, my apologies, I didn’t mean to stare! I was, just, um, admiring the way you’ve done your hair!"
She’s so nice! “No, it’s alright! Thank you, I’ve never had my hair like this before. I thought the roses and pearls were a nice touch though.” she said, fiddling with a lock of hair.
Kohane reached over to tuck a loose strand of An’s hair behind her ear. “Roses suit you.”
An felt her heart flutter. She took a step back and nearly tripped over her gown. Kohane reached for her hand to catch her.
“An, are you alright?”
An caught her balance. “Sorry, I’m okay! Thanks.” She became aware she was still holding Kohane’s hand. It was warm. She didn’t want to let go.
Kohane pulled her hand away. “That’s good.”
An didn’t know what to say, but this, like, weird feeling in her stomach and chest kept growing. She glanced back toward the ballroom. “Oh, I don’t want to keep you out here. I’m sure your friends are waiting for you inside.”
Kohane gave a small smile and looked towards the ground. “Don’t worry about that. I was hoping… maybe, we could become friends?”
An wanted to say yes. She didn’t know what it was, but there was some part of her that wanted to hang out with Kohane more and more. But, the logical part of her brain kept telling her, You need to keep your distance. You don’t want to set off any doom flags, remember? Execution doesn't sound fun!
An bit her lip. She shook off her worries, smiled, then looked at Kohane, who was waiting for a response. “Yeah, we can be friends!” An said.
She watched Kohane’s eyes light up. “Really?! I’m so glad!”
“Yeah, me too!” An said, ignoring her worry. “Should we go back inside?”
◇◇◇
An hadn’t anticipated spending the next couple of hours with Kohane at the ball. She was sure that once they went back inside, some of Kohane’s friends would come chat with her, and then An could find a corner to sit in to hide from her doom flags. But when they went in, only two of her friends had politely greeted her, and then carried on socializing. Thus, An found herself on a bench with Kohane, watching the other ball attendees dance the night away.
“Kohane, don’t you want to dance?”
“No, I’m okay just watching.”
“Ah, okay.” An leaned back. Wait, did it just sound like she was asking Kohane to dance? Oh my god, and did Kohane just turn her down?
In the midst of her inner turmoil, An noticed a blue haired prince looking over at them from across the ballroom. Oh my god, it’s Toya!
Suddenly aware of how close she was sitting to Kohane, An scooted over closer to the edge of the bench. She looked around for a clock, there was one across the room. Squinting, she read approximately 15 minutes until 9pm. If she remembered correctly, they were approaching a doom flag, in which the villainess could be framed for harassing the female lead, and would lead to her eventual banishment, or execution! She’d have to be careful.
Her hands were getting sweaty and she felt the world around her spin a bit. She really didn’t want to be executed. Actually, the more she thought about it, the more she didn’t want to be in the game anymore. It was fun to play, but not in this extremely immersive state with possible execution looming over her head. She really wanted to go back home, home to her room with her Kohane plushie and game console, and–
“Um, An?”
“Y-yes!” An choked
Kohane scooted closer to An before scooting back. “I’m sorry if I’ve done anything to make you uncomfortable. I… I feel like maybe you don’t like me, and if you’d prefer I stay away from you, I will.” Kohane looked down to her lap, her eyes a bit moist. Was she tearing up?
“Kohane…” An trailed off. The whole night, she had been so worried about reaching a bad end that she forgot that Kohane was a real person. Well, actually, no, she was a video game character. But in this world, she was real. Everything was real, and An felt really bad for not treating her as such.
“That..!” An turned towards Kohane and grabbed her hands, interlocking fingers. “That’s not true at all!!”
Kohane’s eyes were wide with surprise. An continued, “I like you a lot!”.
“R-really?”
“Yes!”
They held hands for a moment, before An felt her cheeks heat up for what felt like the tenth time that night. Quickly pulling her hands away, she exclaimed, “Oh, sorry for suddenly grabbing you like that!”
“N-no, it’s okay!”
Oh my god, that sounded like a confession! Why do I keep doing this? She’s going to think I’m a weirdo now…
An’s thoughts were interrupted by a loud striking of the clock. Like, abnormally loud. She covered her ears and looked up, “That clock is too noisy…!”
To her surprise, everyone around her was frozen. Mid dance, the other attendees' dresses hung still in the air; others looked as if they froze mid sentence. The liveliness of the ball was replaced with silence.
“What’s going on?!” An had never seen anything like it, and it was scaring her.
Suddenly, a gold light shone on her, and a holographic text box appeared in front of her.
“Huh?”
An read the text on the box. “You have the unlocked Kohane [The Heroine] route”
“Eh?” She reached out to try and touch the box. Shing! It turned gold and fizzled out as her fingers passed through it. The people around her immediately unfroze– the dresses flowed to the music that had just resumed, people continued their chatter. An lowered her hand and stared out at the crowd, trying to process what just happened. What did the text say again?
“An, is everything okay? You’ve been pretty quiet.”
An turned to Kohane. Kohane . “You have unlocked the Kohane route…” An mumbled.
“An, did you say something?”
Embarrassed she had said it aloud, An waved her hands. “No, nothing! I didn’t say anything!”
She looked back over to Prince Toya, who was no longer looking over at them. Instead, he was chatting with Akito. Was she in the clear?
The party continued on, and An wasn’t completely sure if she was safe from execution. But, she did indeed make it past the worst of the doom flags, so why not have some fun now? The weird feeling in her stomach continued, but as An and Kohane continued to chat, she felt herself feel more and more relaxed, and she began to genuinely enjoy herself.
After some time, both Kohane and An’s carriages had come to pick them up from the ball. They exchanged their goodbyes and went home, feeling giddy from a good time.
◇◇◇
The next morning, An – once again– woke up in the four poster bed of her estate bedroom.
It wasn’t a dream! She rolled over and remembered her night at the ball, and how she met Kohane. She also remembered that she avoided the doom flags! She was not executed! She giggled and kicked her feet a bit.
“Energetic this morning, are we?” Meiko asked.
An rolled over and smiled, “Good morning, Meiko!”
As she ate her breakfast, An thought some more about last night. That text box had said she unlocked the Kohane route. As in, An, was on a romance route. Not Kohane? If that was the case, that must mean An was no longer the villainess, but the main character? Maybe this was the hidden route that she was struggling to unlock before getting isekai’d into the game?
After An finished dressing, Meiko came into her room with a letter. “From Lady Kohane.”
“Kohane?!” An jumped up from her seat and received the letter.
Hello, An. She had pretty handwriting.
I hope you don’t mind me writing to you. I had a really lovely time at the ball yesterday, and I hoped it wouldn't be too bold of me to invite you to my home for tea. I would love to get to know you better. Please do let me know.
Best wishes,
Kohane
“Meiko, could you get me a pen and some paper?”
◇◇◇
Two days later, An was at Kohane’s family estate, drinking tea in the garden.
They had spent the afternoon chatting about anything and everything. An learned that despite her gentle appearance, Kohane was a fan of snakes and extreme activities like sword fights. They shared a love for music, and that Kohane had a really lovely singing voice, so they sang a few duets together. Both of them were fans of Haruka, so they agreed to go to her next concert together. Then, Kohane showed her around the garden. They stopped in front of the bushes of roses.
“Oh, these are lovely!”
Kohane blushed and smiled. “I have to admit… I asked the gardener to make the roses look a bit prettier than usual. Because, I think they suit you.” Kohane waved over the gardener and had them cut a rose for her. She examined the flower for any thorns, and then tucked it in An’s hair, behind her ear. "I was right, they really do suit you."
An felt as though cupid’s arrow struck through her heart. With glee, she pulled Kohane into a hug. “Kohaneee! Thanks! You’re so sweet!”
“A-An?!”
An pulled away. “Ah, sorry!”
“No it’s okay! You just surprised me is all.”
“Sorry, I just had the sudden urge to hug you and I couldn’t help myself! I’ll control myself better next time.”
“N-no, you don’t have to do that.”
“Hm?”
“You don’t have to stop yourself from hugging me. Or anything else” Kohane’s cheeks were tinged with pink.
“Oh, okay!” An took Kohane’s hand. “Can you keep showing me around the garden?”
And they spent the rest of the afternoon strolling through the garden together, hand in hand.
◇◇◇
Meiko greeted An as she returned home.
“Lady An, your father would like to speak with you.”
Her father? An had been wondering who her father in-game was.
She entered her father’s study, and… Kaito?
“Huh?” An said, before quickly covering her mouth. “I mean, hello… father…” An stifled a laugh.
Kaito looked at her, confused. He gestured for her to take a seat on the couch across from him. She took a seat and looked around the room, admiring the mahogany furniture.“An, we need to talk.”
She stiffened in place. That couldn’t be good.
“Yes?”
“You’re reaching that age where you may begin courting other people-” An interrupted him with a groan.
“What is the problem?”
“I’m not interested in meeting anyone!” An slouched in her seat.
“Well… why is that? Do you already have someone you fancy?”
An sat up straight. She did. “Yes”
“Who?”
“Lady Kohane.”
Kaito paused. “The daughter of the duke?”
“Yes.”
“Hm. Well, that could be a good match. You didn’t tell me this.”
An was surprised he didn’t put up a fuss. “Er, sorry, that’s because I just met her. At the prince’s ball.”
“I see.” They sat in silence. An fidgeted in her seat, waiting for Kaito to continue.
“Uh, so…” An wasn’t sure what to say next. Were they done here? Could she leave yet?
“Okay, An. Here’s the thing.”
“Yes?”
“You can continue to see Lady Kohane, I support you in that–”
“Yay! Thanks, you’re the best!”
“Hold on, I’m not done yet. I had already arranged for you to meet with a young man in a couple days–”
“Whaaaat?!”
“Please let me finish! Because I’ve already arranged this meeting, I still want you to do it, for courtesy’s sake. You don’t have to do anything about it, just treat it as if you’re making a new friend. After this meeting, you’re free to do as you will.”
An thought about it. She really didn’t want to, but Kaito was being fair. “Okay, fine.”
“Great. The young man is a knight, and his name is Akito.”
“Akito?!”
◇◇◇
Somehow, An found herself having tea with a certain orange-haired knight that she secretly paired with the prince of the kingdom. When he greeted her in the presence of her father and staff, he was very courteous, but now that they were alone in the sunroom, he was rather abrasive.
“So…” An began.
“Lady An.”
“Yes?”
“I’m going to be blunt. I’m not interested in you one bit.”
An laughed. “Well, that’s a relief, because I too, am not interested in you one bit.” She took a sip of tea. “Actually, I hope you won’t find this rude, Sir Akito, but I think you and Prince Toya are a nice pair.”
Akito choked on his tea. “Really?”
“Really. I can tell you’re really devoted to him.”
“I’m one of his knights, that’s kind of my job.”
“Yeah, but with you it’s different.”
Akito frowned at her, then softened. “When I first began training to be a knight, I really had no idea what I was doing. I was pretty mediocre compared to the other knights-in-training. One day, Toya came to oversee our training. But, he wasn’t just supervising. He actually came down and joined us.”
Akito set his tea cup down. “He’s a really amazing swordsman. Somehow, I caught his eye and he came to practice with me. He taught me so much in that one practice session, and after that, I knew that I wanted to try my best to catch up to his level. I worked really hard, and when it came down to the test for knighthood, his highness himself vouched for me to become a knight. Truthfully, I don’t know if I would have even passed the test if it weren’t for his vouch. I owe him a lot.”
Akito’s face glowed as he talked about Toya. An smiled. “He’s really important to you, huh?”
“You’re right. He is. He is the one I want to serve for the rest of my life. I probably wouldn’t have tried so hard to become a knight, if it wasn’t him I was doing it for.”
“Woah…” An knew Akito was ardently devoted to Toya, but she didn't realize it was to this extent.
“Oh, close your mouth. I’m sure you have something or someone you are just as passionate about.”
“Yeah, I do. A lot of things, actually. But are you inquiring about my love life?”
“You can interpret it however you want.”
An’s fingers traced the tip of her teacup. “I did recently meet someone who, admittedly, I don’t know as much about yet. But when I’m with her, I feel my heart skip a couple beats. We recently had tea together, and I discovered we both love music. And, and… when I sung with her, I don’t know. Something inside me told me that she was the one I wanted to keep being with.”
“Mmm,” Akito took another sip of tea, “There’s a reason your heart is responding that way. Follow that feeling. Though, I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you that.”
“Yeah,” An grinned. “Thanks.”
“Do you mind me asking who this is?”
“Oh, I didn’t say? Her name is Kohane!”
“Oh, Lady Kohane? My family is fairly well-acquainted with hers. Hey, if you ever need it, I can help wingman.” He frowned, “I don’t offer this often, by the way.”
“Haha! Thanks, I appreciate it.”
They continued to chat, and before she knew it, their meeting was over. An and Akito both wished the other luck in their endeavors, and agreed to keep in touch.
◇◇◇
A week had passed since her meeting with Akito, and An was waiting for Kohane to reply to her letters. She had sent them a few days ago, and was surprised she hadn’t gotten a response yet. Kohane was usually pretty good about replying right away. An wondered what happened.
“Meiko?”
“Yes, Lady An?”
“Do you know if my letters have been getting through to Kohane?”
“Yes, I’m fairly certain they’ve been delivered. Oh, by the way, you have another letter here, from the knight.”
“Oh, Akito?”
She opened the letter.
Hello, An.
When you passionately told me about Lady Kohane, I wasn’t expecting her to show up to the palace as my competition. She had a meeting with Toya. What’s happening? I was rooting for you guys.
I jest, of course. Knowing you, I’m sure everything’s fine. I do wonder why she visited Toya, though. Do you know anything about it?
Anyways, hope you are well.
Akito
Kohane visited the Prince? Why would she do that? Kohane herself told An that she wasn’t close with the Prince. What was going on?
“Oh no. Is she back on the prince route?!” An felt her stomach drop. She hadn’t realized how much she took for granted in these past couple weeks. She nearly forgot she was still in a game, and needed to make the right decisions to get a good ending. She really wanted to get the good ending on the Kohane route, but it didn’t occur to her that there might be competition.
An got out her pen and paper.
Dear Akito,
I wasn’t aware that Kohane went to see the Prince. Actually, she hasn’t been responding to my letters recently. I don’t know what happened.
Honestly, I don’t know what to do. Could I ask you to help me out? If you see her, could you please ask her to meet with me? Or respond to my letters? Or anything? I don’t know if I’ve accidentally made her upset or something, but I want to meet her so I can clear things up and apologize.
If it’s too much to ask, I understand. Thanks for telling me about Kohane, though.
An
She sent off the letter.
◇◇◇
An owed Akito one. In response to her request for help, he had gotten clearance from Toya, and arranged for An and Kohane to meet at one of the palace’s smaller gardens. However, Kohane didn’t know it was An she was going to meet. According to Akito, when he ran into Kohane the first time and mentioned An, she dodged all of his questions and didn’t seem willing to meet. He wrote to her a few days later, telling her someone at the palace wanted to meet with her.
An had absolutely no clue as to why Kohane would avoid her to this extent. She didn’t think she did anything? In fact, the only significant thing she’d done was have that meeting with Akito, and the rest of the time, she was sitting at home.
Huh?
Wait. Did meeting with Akito mess something up with the Kohane route? That would make the most sense. An kept forgetting that this world operated under the otome game rules. Every choice you made would change what ending you got, and thus, who you could end up with.
That would make sense. But An also tried to think of this from Kohane's perspective. Maybe An had been coming on too strong. In her letters, she wrote as if they were already close friends. Kohane might have felt overwhelmed by that. An made up her mind that she would have to apologize to Kohane when she saw her.
◇◇◇
Out of all the days to be running late, of course it had to be the day An was meeting Kohane. It didn’t help that it was pouring rain. Frantically jumping out her carriage, An dashed to the gardens.
She forgot her umbrella, and for some reason, there were no covered patios. Dripping wet and breathing hard, she scanned the area, looking for Kohane, but she was nowhere to be seen.
She’s not here .
An didn’t blame her. It was raining harder and harder with every passing second. An had arrived late, and Kohane wasn’t even told who she was going to meet, so even more reason to just go home.
An felt her eyes welling up. She felt stupid. Here she was, in the rain, soaking wet, desperately looking for a girl who in reality, she was only just friends with. She grew so attached to Kohane so fast, and had confessed to everyone how much she liked her. She knew she was in some fantasy game world, she knew that even if this felt real, nothing about this was reality. She knew she shouldn't have gone in too deep, but she couldn’t help it. She couldn’t help how she felt.
The rain was drowning out the sound of footsteps approaching behind her.
“An?!”
Recognizing that voice, An turned behind her, and there she was.
“Kohane!”
She quickly wiped her eyes. Kohane approached her and gently took her hand.
“An, are you crying?”
Embarrassed, she looked away. “No, I’m okay! Just got rain in my eyes.”
“You’re soaked, come on, we need to get you out of the rain.”
An let out a shaky laugh. “Kohane, you’re also soaked now.”
“I guess you’re right.” Kohane pushed her wet bangs away from her face. “An, why are you here?”
An squeezed Kohanes hands. “Kohane. I’m the one Akito arranged for you to meet with. I… I don’t know why you haven’t been responding to my letters, but I just wanted to apologize if I did something wrong.” She looked away, unable to bear looking into Kohane’s eyes.
“Maybe I was getting too attached to you, and you were uncomfortable. I’m so sorry if I came on too strong or was overbearing, or, or–” An hiccuped, struggling to get her words out as she started crying. “I understand if you don’t want to be friends, a-and”
Kohane grabbed An’s face and turned her head to look at her. Her eyebrows were furrowed with concern. “An! T-that’s not true at all! I like you a lot!”
“Really?”
Kohane smiled. “We’ve had this conversation before, haven't we? At the ball.”
An laughed through her hiccups. “You’re right.” She wiped her tears. “Why haven’t you been answering my letters then?”
“Ah… I’m sorry about that An. I heard you had a meeting with Sir Akito the other day, with the intention of meeting for courtship–”
“No way! I mean, you’re right, I did meet with him, and it was arranged originally for that, but we both are not interested in each other like that at all!!”
“Don’t worry, I know that now. He hunted me down to tell me that earlier today.” Kohane continued. “But when I heard that, I thought it would be best to stay out of your way. I didn’t want to get in between anything. But, I shouldn’t have ignored your letters like that. That was unkind of me.”
“No, no, Kohane, it’s okay!” An reassured. She looked down to the ground. “Why… did you see Prince Toya, though?”
Kohane got quieter. “It was kind of like you. My family is somewhat acquainted with the Prince, and they wanted me to have a meeting with him. I’ve been declining, but when I heard you met with Sir Akito, I thought I should probably… start meeting people too.”
“Oh.”
“U-um…”
“Kohane, can I tell you something?.”
“Y-yes?”
An took a deep breath. ‘Kohane, I know that I don’t know everything about you. We’ve just recently become friends. But, I really like you. I really do. When I’m with you, I get this feeling in my heart that I can’t describe. But it feels like I’m being pulled to you. I want to spend more time with you, and I want to get to know you more.”
She looked straight into Kohane’s eyes, earnest. “Do you remember when we had tea, and both found out we both liked music? And when we sung together, I knew. I knew you were the one I wanted to be with. I want to keep being with you, Kohane. To be honest, I’m really afraid you don’t want to be with me. I am so, so aware that we haven’t even been friends for very long. I don’t want you to leave me alone though. I can’t help it.”
Her voice wavered. “And I know this is really unfair for me to drop on you. It’s a lot to be told that someone wants to be with you like this. So, I… I understand if you don’t want that. And… and if you want to just be acquaintances, or…”
“An, I think I feel the same way.”
An was taken aback. “You do?”
“Yes. I was really drawn to you the moment I saw you. And… and I’ve had a lot of fun being with you, at the ball, and at tea together. You know An, you shine. There’s a radiance to you, and it’s like, I can’t look away. I want to get to know you more and more, too.”
Kohane pushed An’s hair out of her face. “Nothing in the future is guaranteed to us, but for now, I don’t want to stop being friends or leave you.”
“Kohane…”
Kohane pulled An into a hug. “Let’s be together for a long time.”
“Kohane…!" Tears fell from An's eyes. "Yes!” She pulled Kohane in closer. “Thank you”
In their embrace, An closed her eyes and felt the rain stop. The sun’s light shone on them, warm and soothing. She heard the sound of clock tower bells in the background, and a familiar shing noise.
Congratulations, An! You have reached the Kohane [The Heroine] Good End.
An pulled back and opened her eyes to look at Kohane, sparkling in the sunlight. Kohane beamed at her, and An smiled back.
Good End? No, this was just the beginning of their story.