Volume 1 - CH 20

“Ugh, I’m so tired…”

Having finished in assisting with the aftermath, Christopher finally returned to his room and quickly collapsed onto the bed.

In the end, Luciana still had not woken, but she was now resting in another room under a doctor’s supervision. Her parents were also there to watch over her.

Meanwhile, after he was apprehended, Buque Kischel was confined to a separate building. A doctor would come to examine him, but his fate had not yet been determined. Since he was aware of Buque’s background, Christopher was reluctant about judging too hard, but he did want to question Buque about the Demon King. To that end, he could be neither too strict nor too lenient to the new prisoner.

Christopher lets out a deep sigh from atop his bed. It would be a true blessing if he could just fall asleep like this….

“You worked pretty hard today.”

… but he could not since Annemarie was here. She had already been relaxing on the sofa and making herself at home when Christopher had entered his room.

“…You know, if you’re going to use the secret passage, could you at least wait until I’m back in the room first?”

“Oh I’m sorry. I should have known you needed some time to hide away some of your more… provocative material from curious eyes.”

“N-nothing of the sort! I don’t have anything like that to begin with! Are you an idiot?!”

Those books really did not exist here: male-oriented literature had no place in the world of a female-oriented dating sim like this… What a tragedy!

To be precise, printing was still in its infancy, so the world had yet to know of certain types of stimulating media that adolescent boys tend to enjoy… What a tragedy, indeed!

“Well then, please accept my sincere apology for entering your room without permission, while you were absent.”

“You better be sorry. It’s such a jerk move to just sneak into someone’s room like that.”

“…Shall I come knocking at the door then? It is perfectly normal for a lady to enter a man’s room in the middle of the night while everyone else is asleep, but… you should know that would confirm our marriage.”

“I’m sorry for calling it a jerk move! And thank you very much for your thoughtful consideration!”

“…Even though I feel the same way, it is annoying to be told so.”

Annemarie sighed as Christopher kneeled to her in supplication.

“Come to think of it, how is Luciana-chan doing? What did the doctor say?”

After the incident, Annemarie had stayed with Luciana for some time alongside the Luthorburg couple.

“The diagnosis didn’t show anything wrong with her for now. She should be waking up by tomorrow.”

“Hmm, wait, doesn’t that seem a little strange?”

Indeed, it was very strange that Luciana had come away unharmed even after taking a direct hit from the Demon King. There had to be something going on…

“Of course I also asked her parents, but they were still too shaken up from the attack. All they could do was answer ‘We don’t know’… It was so sad, seeing them tremble like that…”

Annemarie had taken the couple’s agitation to be an aftereffect of the incident.

“Well, you know, I don’t think anyone could stay calm if they had to watch their own child be cut down. We can just ask Luciana-chan herself when she wakes up tomorrow…. Do you think it has something to do with the Saint?”

“I do not think Luciana-chan is the Saint, at least, because she does not have much magic power. In the game, the heroine, the Saint, does have a lot of magic power, but she could not make use it at the start.”

The two sighed in unison. Nine years have passed since they first regained the memories of their past lives, and they had been preparing since then for this very moment, when the story truly begun. But now, after just the first event, the story they thought they had known was completely different. It was a disheartening development, to say the least.

“…Oh, I had nearly forgotten. The Luthorburg couple asked for their maid to be allowed to come and take care of Luciana-chan, and I gave them my approval. I trust that will not be an issue?”

“Hm? Well, there shouldn’t be any problems, right? But wait, they didn’t bring along any servants, did they?”

“That is correct. It seems they only have one maid working at the mansion.”

“I see, a single maid huh… I guess that’s why everyone calls them House Luthorbroke. But still, wasn’t Luciana-chan’s dress really well-made? On top of that, she’s naturally beautiful, and her escort was Maxwell. She attracted a lot of attention tonight, especially with how many people are talking about ‘that lovely dance of the fairy princess’. It’s no wonder everyone’s calling her this year’s rising star…”

Christopher nodded his head in satisfaction as he recalled Luciana’s appearance during the ball, but from his words, Annemarie suddenly realized something else.

(…Wait a minute. There is something weird going on with Luciana-chan. If she’s the type of girl that could become the center of attention, then she should have been a major character in the game. But I don’t remember such a cute girl in the game… Hmm… Luciana Luthorburg, who exactly is she? …Huh. Wait, Luciana… Luthorburg..?)

A strange unease came over her. There was something about Luciana Luthorburg… That name… Was it a name Asakura Anna is familiar with?

(I should know this… I’ve heard that name somewhere, but from where..? Ugh, I can’t seem to remember..!)

Annemarie frowned as she struggled with recalling her memories, but Christopher’s next words connected everything into place.

“In any case, I, for one, am glad Luciana-chan is safe. She pretty much stole the show, and she has a bright future ahead of her… It would have been tragic if she had died, especially since she had done it to protect me.”

Annemarie’s eyes widened in shock, and she abruptly stood up from the sofa.

“Woah, what the?! What’s with you, all of a sudden?”

“Oh no… How did the situation come to this?! Our Luciana-chan was supposed to be a fallen maiden, Luciana Luthorburg the ‘Witch of Envy’! I didn’t realize they were the same person because she is so much cuter than in the game!”

“F-fallen maiden? And Witch of Envy..? What do you mean?”

“I didn’t realize it at first because she looks different compared to the in-game portraits, but Luciana-chan was supposed to be the first real enemy the heroine encounters after starting the Academy part. Luciana was destined for tragedy: she fell to the Demon King’s temptations and attacked the heroine, but she had the tables turned on her and was simply disposed of like trash… That’s the fallen maiden, the ‘Witch of Envy’, Luciana Luthorburg.”

※The following is an excerpt from the companion book of “The Silver Saint and the Five Oaths”.

Count Luthorburg, newly-assigned to the Office of the Prime Minister, had planned to move his family to the capital where he would be working and where his daughter Luciana would enroll in the Royal Academy.

However, an unexpected problem had come up in the Luthorburg territories, so the Count and his wife remained behind while their daughter went to the capital alone.

But what they did not know was that this was the beginning of Luciana’s journey of misery and despair.

It was a month later that the Luthorburg couple finally arrived at the capital.

“Wh-what in the world…”

“Is this… really our mansion?”

They had found the residence in a state completely unfit for human habitation: ivy covered the rusty gate, the cobblestone path was more cobble than stone, and the house, lost in a sea of overgrown trees, was the very model of a haunted mansion.

— How could they have let their precious, only daughter live in such a place? And for an entire month on her own?

And the mansion’s interior was just as badly rundown. Spider webs and dust covered every visible surface, and there was damage everywhere they looked; it was as though they were looking at an abandoned dwelling. The state of the mansion left the Luthorburg couple in shock.

The only thing they could do now was call out the name of the daughter most precious to them.

” “Luciana!!” “

“…Father? Mother?”

And there their beloved daughter was, drenched and an empty bucket beside her. Dark circles emphasized the hollowness of her eyes, and her small frame had become far more haggard; her hair and skin were in terrible condition, and a suffocating air of fatigue hung about her.

Luciana merely stared back in blank apathy, despite reuniting with her parents after a month alone.

Luciana eventually began to explain how the whole situation was her own fault and how the old maid had injured herself and retired. She talked about the job posting had garner no interest and how she had been too busy between managing the estate and handling admission procedures to find time to write letters home.

But if she had just been busy with that, Luciana could have persevered with her efforts… No, what had truly wounded her was the scorn and contempt of those around her and the inferiority complex they had created.

Despite being from a less affluent family, Luciana had never experienced disdain or mockery when she lived in the Luthorburg lands.

But since coming alone to the capital, all she could hear were the derisive jeers of the nobles around her.

“Did you hear about how little miss Luthorbroke is coming to the Academy? She’s so gross! Have you seen her dress? It is so embarrassing to think about how we will be in the same year!”

“Oh my, it is not just her dress that is shabby! Look at her hair and her skin! How unsightly! She is such a disgrace! To think she is supposed to be a graceful noble like us! How shameless!”

“Is she not the daughter of a Count? Surely not! Even a merchant’s daughter would wear a better dress!”

Because of the ‘haunted mansion’ and the less than stellar reputation, many people were familiar with the pitiful “House Luthorbroke” nickname, and nobles of every and any status shamelessly gossiped about and slandered Luciana.

Luciana was once a gentle and cheerful child, protected by the loving kindess of her parents and friends. But the merciless needling whittled away at her, and and a great crack formed on the pure mirror that was her heart.

It did not matter how much her family comforted her; the crack would never close, and the broken mirror could no longer reflect the the shining light of kindness.

Her looming inferiority complex twisted the positive emotions she received, and it only grew worse as Luciana began isolating herself at the Academy; her friendships became estranged, and her dark emotions continued to grow.

And then there was the Spring Ball that happened after the entrance ceremony, an event for the aristocratic children.

Luciana, lacking both a beautiful dress and a proper escort for the affair, chose to not attend the Spring Ball, despite her parents’ urging.

— Deep down, she truly wished to go, to be a part of it all. But how could she go, when she could no longer bear the ridicule of her peers?

Then there was the Count, completely ill at ease from his daughter’s transformation. He could no longer focus on his tasks and began making several mistakes until finally, three months after Luciana’s enrollment, he made a fatal blunder.

And so Count Luthorburg, having lost the trust of the Prime Minister and the assistant, was summarily dismissed from his position. From there he turned to criminal activity, but his honest nature meant he would find little success; indeed, it was not long before his actions came to light and all knew of his misconduct.

Thus the mockery grew, labeling Luciana a corrupt noble, and a new crack formed on the mirror of her heart: it had become a terrible, black pitch that swallowed any light.

“Why… why is this happening to me? It wasn’t always like this… not until after I came to the capital…”

Because the authorities had arrested her father, Luciana could no longer attend the Academy.

Why was she the only one going through this? Why was she the only one suffering like this? Such negative emotions began to overflow and manifest as magical power.

Then, with her heart in such a state, Luciana happened to hear cheerful laughter, unabashed glee coming from a beautiful girl.

What she noticed first was girl’s silver locks swaying in the wind, glossy and smooth like silk.

(It’s so different from my own blonde hair, so dull and ragged…)

The silver-haired girl suddenly stumbled, but a handsome boy beside her had caught her; the girl’s cheeks grew pink with embarrasment.

(And she’s beautiful… Her face is alive and animated, completely different from my own tired and palid expression…)

(And there is nobody, not one person, beside me… Nobody who… would save me.)

It was unfair, so unfair, so so unfair… Luciana could only silently ball her hands and clench her teeth as she watched the silver-haired girl, the daughter of another count, Cecilia Reginbars.

(Why are we treated so differently when we’re both daughters of counts? It’s so frustrating. Why can’t I be there too? It’s unfair… It’s so unfair… It’s all so unfair!)

Luciana… could only cry.

(Ohh, such exquisite tears of “Envy”! Thy cracked heart of covet, thou knowst to blame is sin yet sin thou dost! Thou art a pawn most worthy! Accept mine majesty!)

Without warning, a black sword pierced Luciana’s chest, and a black mist flowing out from the sword began to completely cover her body.

On that day, the Witch of Envy was born.

“And then what, she loses to the heroine and gets executed by the Demon King? Isn’t that way too cruel?”

“Originally there was nothing on her backstory in the game. It was not until later that the scenario writer added lore through the companion book that they would release later on.”

In the game, the showdown between Luciana and the heroine was like solving a mystery.

Luciana had planned to frame the heroine for a nonexistent crime; she wanted to seal the heroine’s saint powers by traumatizing her with overwhelming humiliation, thereby casting the heroine’s heart into darkness.

Incidentally, the hapless stooge Luciana used to denounce the heroine’s supposed crimes was none other than the foolish villainess, Annemarie.

Through the course of the confrontation, the heroine would gather testimonies and evidence to prove her own innocence. At the end, she would discover the true culprit to be Luciana, and then the true battle would begin. In addition, during this arc, the affection levels of each love interest would change depending on who the heroine picked to be her investigation partner.

Then, once the heroine triumphed over the unfortunate Luciana, the Demon King, enraged from the failure, would kill Luciana with the very same magic he first bestowed upon her.

“The battle was the start of the heroine becoming aware of her saint powers. Even if Luciana-chan had not died, she had still become an unfortunate victim of the Demon King. Overall, she was the only character to have actually died.”

The fight against the game Luciana had resulted in the heroine beginning to awaken to her saintly powers to combat the encroachment of the Demon King.

“…So that’s what you mean by ‘tragic heroine’. How did you even forget such an important character?!”

“Ugh, I am so ashamed at having forgotten, but it was not entirely my fault! She just looks completely different now compared to the game”

“…Maybe our memories aren’t as complete as we thought before. What if there are even more things we haven’t remembered?”

(I’m curious about that, but Luciana-chan is a bigger priority at the moment. She definitely isn’t someone who could be tempted by the Demon King right now, but… wait a minute…)

Annemarie tilted her head in deep thought; there… seemed to be something strange going on.

The same dissonant feeling from before had returned, and it was again Christopher’s next words that connected her thoughts together.

“Hey, you said Luciana-chan didn’t attend the Spring Ball in the game, right? So then why did she show up last night?”

“…That’s it!”

That was why Annemarie felt a disconnect: their current Luciana-chan was in a vastly different situation than the one from the game!

Annemarie’s thought processes suddenly accelerated, organizing the facts she knew.

Christopher von Theolas, the first love interest, did not encounter the heroine “Cecilia Reginbars”. However, a girl with a different appearance but bearing the name “Cecilia” did appear at the ball, and her escort was Lectias Frodo, just like in the game. This mystery Cecilia had then danced with Luciana and then departed early.

Furthermore, instead of the heroine, it was Luciana Luthorburg who had met and befriended the second love interest, Maxwell Lycrents.

It was the love third interest, Lectias Frodo, who escorted Cecilia… There must be a connection between him and Luciana, who partnered with Cecilia during the Same Gender Couples’ Dance. Future events would change to a certain extent depending on with whom the heroine danced, and yet the girl calling herself Cecilia had done it with Luciana…

Finally, there was the fourth love interest, Buque Kischel. In the game, the heroine was one of the characters involved in the Spring Ball Raid.

Instead, Luciana had taken her place. In doing so, Luciana had not only protected the crown prince by taking a direct hit from the Demon King, she somehow came away uninjured. As of now, the sword of the Demon King had broken into pieces, the Demon King itself has disappeared somewhere, and Buque was under Kingdom custody.

In the game, Luciana had fallen to the corruption after the sword of the Demon King pierced her heart. Now, however, that same sword lay broken. It seemed they had greatly deviated from the original storyline in the game.

The current Luciana had a beautiful dress to wear, and nobles called her a fairy princess; many even saw her as the ideal marriage candidate. The tragic future that awaited her no longer existed, and instead nobles knew her to be an exceptionally brave girl that put herself on the line to protect the crown prince.

…It was as though the plot was progressing with Luciana as its focus.

Annemarie could only think of one possible explanation that fit:

(Could it be… Is Luciana-chan like us..? Is she… also a reincarnator?)

If that were true, then everything made sense.

If Luciana were a reincarnator, then she may have already known about the tragic fate that awaited her. From there, it was possible she took steps to overturn that destiny.

It could be that she also read the new companion book that Annemarie had not been able to in her past life. In that case, could it be that both the heroine not appearing and the existence of a Cecilia with different characteristics… were a result of Luciana’s meddling?

But Annemarie could only doubt the conclusion she had drawn from the circumstantial evidence.

The girl she met wore such a pure, whole-hearted smile that it was hard to believe it veiled some convoluted scheme. More specifically, Annemarie, who had been training as a fiancée candidate since she was six, was well-versed in detecting ulterior motives and hidden agendas, so it would be unheard of for her to miss such a thing in the first place.

And most telling of all, it was hard for Annemarie to believe that Luciana could have a secondary objective in mind after seeing the girl risk her life to protect Christopher.

In short, Annemarie held Luciana in great esteem, and that was more than enough to overturn the doubts.

(…But if I want to be absolutely certain, I will have to ask her directly.)

Annemarie thus planned to ask Luciana tomorrow, after she has awoken. Then, if the girl really was another reincarnator, Annemarie would explain the situation and ask for her cooperation.

So long as they lived in this world, confronting the Demon King would be inevitable, so the more allies they recruited before then, the better their odds would be. For her part, if Luciana were to become a comrade, Annemarie would be very happy.

“Christopher, when Luciana-chan wakes up tomorrow, we–… Christopher?”

Hearing no response, Annemarie looked over to see Christopher was sleeping soundly atop his bed.

“Oh Christopher, how could you just fall asleep when there are still have important things– huh?”

Suddenly, Annemarie’s vision grew hazy, and a strong lethargy came over her. She gripped the armrest of the sofa to focus her resistance, but it was a futile effort; it did nothing to ward off the drowsiness.

(What’s… going on? Is that… a song? But… I put up… a soundproofing barrier…)

Annemarie stumbled towards where the song seemed to be coming from: the balcony.

And when she stepped out into the open, an amazing spectacle dazzled her.

There, up above, was a truly beautiful sight: a blanket of silver was washing over the quiet midnight sky, as though to putting the world to bed.

The source was a brilliant fountain, rising like a great tree from amidst the Noble District and spreading its silver branches across the capital. The gentle light touched even the royal castle, giving it a mystical quality.

And from the light fell tiny silver grains, like ephemeral motes of snow. Annemarie reached out to catch a single speck, but as it touched her fingertips, she could feel consciouness slipping further away.

(These particles… Is this all magical power..? This drowsiness… Is it… that silver light.. That… silver..?)

If the silver light currently enroaching the entire capital was pure magical power, then it would have come from some almighty source well beyond human comprehension…

And Annemarie knew there was only one being in this entire world capable of silver magic on this scale.

(This power… Could it be… the Saint’s power?!)

In this world, there were only two beings capable of producing magical power dense enough to become visible: the Demon King and the Saint. But while the Demon King’s magic was an inky, invasive blackness, the Saint’s magic was a shining silver light, and right in front of Annemarie’s eyes, that very same silver was gently blanketing the capital. Unable to look away, Annemarie could do nothing to stop her fading consciousness.

(The Saint… whoever they are… using this much power… Why are… Ahh… I can’t… much longer…)

Through sheer force of will, Annemarie pushed herself back inside from the balcony. She could not recall what happened after returning inside, but it had not been an unpleasant feeling.

And so Annemarie slipped quietly into a world of dreams, and a peaceful stillness settled over the Royal Capital of Partesia

…This dream she was seeing, a memory from when she was still Asakura Anna, when did it happen?

“Aww, whenever I see Luciana-chan, I always feel sad for her, Anna-neechan.”

“Me too, Maika-chan. Why couldn’t they also give Luciana-chan a happy ending?”

“Why do you guys keep bringing this up?”

“But onii-chan, don’t you also feel bad for Luciana-chan?!”

“I mean, I think it sucks to be her, but it’s just a game.”

“Onii-chan, you’re such a jerk.”

“Yeah, Hideki, you’re such a jerk. This is why you got rejected by Akiko-chan from Class Three.”

“How did you even know about that?!”

“Don’t underestimate our information network, onii-chan!”

“What the, that’s too scary! Please, please don’t tell anyone else!”

“I don’t like gossiping, you dummy.”

A corner of the sleeping Annemarie’s mouth rose just a little.

Meanwhile, in another dream was a memory from when Christopher was still Kurita Hideki…

“Now that I think about it, we’re already halfway through the game now. Where’s the fifth love interest?”

“Yeah, you’re right. They usually introduce all five of them near the beginning of the story.”

“Hmm… Oh, I know! The fifth target is probably the Demon King, and you can only do that route after clearing the game!”

“You are such an idiot, onii-chan.”

“You know the place where they sealed the Demon King right, the “Great Forest of Vanargand”? Do you even know where the name comes from?”

“How would I know? Is ‘Vanargand’ even a real word? Hey, why are you guys sighing?”

“Onii-chan, ‘Vanargand’ is another name for a really famous animal…”

“It comes from the famous wolf of Norse mythology, Fenrir. ‘Vanargand’ is another name for it.”

“And the Demon King looks like a wolf because it’s based on Fenrir, onii-chan. That’s why it can’t be a love interest. Geez, aren’t we always playing games together? Why is this so hard to remember?”

“…I’m not even interested in otome games, so don’t blame me for not remembering.”

“That’s okay, that just means we have to play it enough so that you don’t forget, onii-chan!”

“Fufufu… Now that sounds fun. Good luck with that, ‘big bro’.”

“…Oh shut it. Let’s just finish this game already.”

Christopher wore a slight scowl, but… a happy expression was softening it…

Meanwhile, at the base of the great tree of silver, within the Luthorburg estate in the Noble District…

The gentle lullaby came to a quiet end, and the silver light hanging over the capital gradually faded away.

A girl sitting quietly in the servant’s dining room opened her closed eyes and smiled.

“…It’s sleeping so happily.”

Atop Melody’s lap was a small, silver-furred dog. The cute puppy was fast asleep, an expression of peaceful content on its face.