Chapter 5: I Think it's a Bit Shabby for an Otome Game

Sponsored Content

 "Marquess Rebecca Howard! His Highness Garrett intends to break off his engagement with you!

　The firm voice of Miss Charlotte echoed in the dance hall.

　In addition to attracting attention, the performance dropped its volume as it entered the joints of the piece. The poor conductor looked pale, but I would like to give him credit for his professionalism and refusal to stop.

　In an otome game, this is where the fancy music would be played. But that was from Miss Charlotte's perspective. The conductor was doing everything he could to avoid an awkward silence by selecting a soothing, soft song.

　On the other hand, His Highness Garrett, whose name was used without permission, was horrified at the content and volume of the lines uttered by the beautiful rose-gold haired girl standing next to him.
　He glanced around and realized that it was already too late, and let out a sigh as if he had given up.

“Baroness Silva. This is not the place to talk about such things.”

　I snapped to attention as His Highness Garrett chided Miss Charlotte. --- He did not deny that he was breaking off the engagement.


　My memories of my previous life have returned to me, so I have no intention of getting married.
　If His Highness, Garrett, would like to be united with this unfortunate child, that's fine with me. Personally, I don't recommend it, but people have different tastes. I hope that he will be happy.

　That said, there is no need for me to be the bad guy.
　I can assume that His Highness Garrett was planning to follow the regular procedures and also has the affection of having spent time as a fiancée. It's natural for royalty to maintain their dignity, so I've decided to ask Miss Charlotte to take responsibility for enforcing the condemnation event without permission.

Sponsored Content

　Now, everyone in the hall - from guests, faculty, students, orchestra members and servants - were paying attention to the sudden start of the "condemnation event".

　Miss Charlotte, who was pleased by this, smiled triumphantly. She didn't even seem to notice that His Highness Garrett had called her a Baroness, implying that it was her official title.

“His Highness Garrett has heard of the harassment you've done to me and is furious, saying that it's unbecoming of a young lady.”

　His Highness Garrett turned pale, shook his head, and struggled to pull off her fingers that were digging into his sleeve.

“I have not harassed you in any way.”

　I countered with a relaxed smile, to which Miss Charlotte snapped back.

"Don't play dumb with me!
　You've been jealous of how close His Highness Garrett and I are and you've said mean things to me many times!
　Evan-sama, Brandon-sama, and even David-sama are on my side!”

　The people named shook their heads behind Miss Charlotte's back.
　In addition, while shaking their heads, they were silently pushing each other to rescue His Highness. What a clever thing to do.
　In the end, Lord Brandon, who had the lowest rank, lost the battle. He reluctantly tried to pull Miss Charlotte away from His Highness, but this also turned into a "I can't believe … you're fighting over me," moe scene for her.

Sponsored Content

　Looking at it this way, aside from His Highness Garrett, the second prince, the other members who are supposed to be the capture targets are, well, let's just say they're rather shabby.

　I've never played an otome game before, so I'll use an old-school RPG style to show their status’.

[Evan Hawke]
Age: 17 years old
Attribute: Magic warrior with three attributes (water, earth, wind)
Family: Heir to Count Hawke, Deputy Commander of the Magic Division
Affiliation: Appointed as a member of the Second Special Knights of the Magic Division
Love: Has a Fiancée (Countess Samantha Lotte)

[Brandon Garcia]
Age: 17 years old
Attribute: Swordsman with fire attribute
Family: The third son of Viscount Garcia, Deputy Chief of the Royal Guard
Affiliation: Internship as an apprentice knight in the Knights of Baxter
Love: Has a Lover (Baroness Sophie Crost)

[David Howard]
Age: 15 years old

Sponsored Content

Attributes: Fire attribute, in training
Family: Heir to Marquis Howard, a diplomat
Affiliation: Student at Royal Remus Academy
Love:?


　I don't know what to think. Perhaps this world is trying to be more realistic, but the specs are not quite right for a target of an otome game.
　Wouldn't she normally be a so-called "supa-darin," (read note at end) i.e., the crown prince, the son of a prime minister, the heir of the leader of a knightly order, etc., with an extremely high social status?

　While I was pondering whether this was a case of underground idols being easier to adapt to than major debut idols … Miss Charlotte continued to make her case one after another.

“I've had my personal belongings broken and stolen … and I couldn’t attend a party because my dress was stained, and it was torn so badly it was unusable.
　And I'm sure you haven't forgotten that you tried to get me attacked by thugs!”

　I could hear whispering from the guests' seats.
　There are two princes in the Kingdom of Lendor. Even if the Crown Prince, who is engaged to the princess of the Shium Kingdom, is unable to do so, there are probably quite a few people who want their daughters to be the Second Princess Consort to His Highness Prince Garrett.
　This incident can serve as a good opportunity for them to drag me down.

　I exhaled and gave her a final chance.

"Please take back what you’ve said and apologize. If you do, I will not expose the truth here. This is a public event. Don't forget."

Sponsored Content

“You're the one who needs to apologize! But if you think I'm going to forgive you so easily, you're wrong!
　You will be stripped of your title and sent to a monastery, no, you will be deported!
　In any case! My prince, His Highness Garrett, is going to ask me, Saintess Charlotte Silva, to marry him!”

　For a moment, I was at a loss for words when Miss Charlotte put on a smug face and held out her chest. It wasn't because I was shocked by the future that was presented to me, but because there was so much to cover.

“Deprivation of title.” You have no authority.
And “Saintess”, you're not a saintess yet, are you? In order to become one, you need to achieve awakening. As long as you haven't awakened yet, you're still just a saintess candidate. That's a false career title.
　In addition, "He will ask for me to marry him", I’m speechless.

　Also, His Highness Garrett's reputation has increased a little. It seems that he has enough integrity to make a proposal to Miss Charlotte only after he has taken care of the matter with me.
　Although I doubt that he will really ask her to marry him, since Charlotte's prince, who would have been blinded by love, is now pale and on the verge of collapsing.

　Anyway, I know Peridot reported that the crazy saintess candidate had said such and such, and that the mysterious girl that compulsively lies had acted bizarrely, but when I actually encountered her, the proverb that what you hear is far different from what you see rang true in this situation.

“You've got to be mentally ill to want to suffer a wound you can't recover from as a noblewoman……”

　Muttering, I launched a counterattack to win the annulment.

(“The word is used for men who are physically tall, earn a high salary and have an advanced education, and are therefore considered to be extremely desirable catches”
Source: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2018/11/19/language/year-book-contemporary-society-celebrates-japanese-buzzwords-will-lead-us-new-year/ )

Sponsored Content