【2】-1: Game Heroine Side

I am Baroness Isla Donovan.

Though I am now a ‘Baroness,’ I was born a commoner.

My father died in an accident on the day I was born, and my mother, carrying me as a baby, became a live-in servant at Baron Donovan’s residence.

The Baron couple sympathized with my mother and me, showering us with kindness.

In order to repay her debt of gratitude, my mother worked tirelessly, and from around the age of four, I helped with her work in my own small way.

However, when I was five, my mother passed away from illness…

Pitying the orphan I had become, the Baron couple adopted me as their own.

Growing up surrounded by the kindness of the Baron couple and the servants, I truly am a fortunate person.

But above all, what made me incredibly fortunate was that

From the moment of my birth, I retained memories from my past life.

…The best!

Seriously, the best!!

Because I am the heroine of a romance game!

The world revolves around me, and in the future, won’t I have the luxury of choosing a handsome, high-spec man?

Isn’t it just the absolute best!?

Thanks to memories from my past life, even when my parents died, I was mentally completely fine.

After all, the characters who were supposed to die, my parents, died just as planned.

There is no sadness at all.

Following the scenario, if I had cried at my mother’s funeral, the Baron couple would have pitied me and adopted me!

In this world, nobles occasionally adopt commoner children.

Though adopted commoners don’t have the right to inherit the family estate, they are treated as members of the household, just like legitimate sons from the secondborn onward.

While it often serves as an “investment” to bring talented commoners into the family, the Baron couple adopted me purely out of goodwill.

The current heir of the Donovan family is the eldest son currently studying abroad in another country, and the management of the estate is going smoothly, so my foster parents are not at all aggressive.

It’s really amusing and easygoing.

Thanks to that, I had a childhood full of smiles!

Thank you so much, Foster Father and Foster Mother.

At the age of sixteen, I enrolled in the Noble Academy.

In this country, from the age of sixteen, you spend three years studying at the Noble Academy, and which of the three academies you enter is determined by the location of your fiefdom.

I entered the Noble Academy in the capital.

The game is finally beginning.

My happy love life is about to start—

Wearing a cute uniform, I eagerly welcomed the day of the entrance ceremony.

(But who should I aim for? My ultimate favorite is Mireld Gasstrak, but it’s probably impossible to capture him…)

Mireld was initially just a background character at the game’s release, but his capture route was unlocked as additional paid content.

I thought it would be added later because his standing illustration is so beautiful for a background character.

You can only choose his route after capturing all four other capture targets, so in this one-time life, it’s probably impossible to capture him.

(In that case, who was the next charming one after Mireld…)

As I was thinking, I collided with someone at the corner of the hallway.

“Kyaa!”

“Oh, my apologies.”

The one who extended a hand to me after my stumble was—

“Are you okay?”

(Prince Judrich!?)

He was the main capture target in this game, Prince Judrich Floren.

Come to think of it, the meeting scene was still like this, and I found myself captivated by his beauty.

Prince Judrich had gently wavy, glamorous golden hair and beautiful sky-blue eyes, making him a splendid young nobleman. His striking appearance was fitting for someone featured prominently on the title screen.

(…He’s quite appealing. He was my favorite after Mireld.)

But the Prince’s route is quite challenging, being the main route and all. You need to evenly increase stats like “academic ability” and “reputation” to reach maximum intimacy. Moreover, in the BAD ending, the heroine is stabbed and dies due to the villainous daughter’s plot…

“Can you stand? Here, take my hand.”

“Thank you.”

At that moment, a male student with a composed demeanor approached, saying, “Your Highness!”

He was also a capture target—Claude Cromwell, the son of the Prime Minister.

“Your Highness, the entrance ceremony will begin shortly; please hurry. …Oh, who is this young lady?”

“We just met. Are you a new student too?”

Prince Judrich, seeing the color of my ribbon, indicating a first-year student, smiled.

“I apologize for the earlier rudeness. Let’s both have a good school life.”

With a refreshing smile that truly resembled that of a prince, Judrich walked away with Claude.

(…They’re too wonderful! Both Judrich and Claude are incredibly handsome.)

It’s a shame there’s no harem ending. I wonder who I should pursue.

As I entered the venue for the entrance ceremony, I was overwhelmed by the number of students.

(…I wonder what the remaining capture targets are like.)

As I glanced around the venue from the corridor, a sharp voice behind me said,

“Leave.”

A strong-willed beauty with hair longer than her waist was standing there, looking displeased.

“If you stand there, you’re in the way. Leave.”

Ugh, what an arrogant woman!

This woman is probably Mireille Gasstark, the fiancée of Judrich and the younger sister of my favorite, Mireld.

She’s the villainous daughter who engages in quite malicious bullying on the prince’s route.

…I really dislike this character.

“Don’t you have any words of apology? Your true colors are showing.”

With a haughty attitude, Mireille, swaying her luxurious golden hair, passed by me.

(I seriously hate that woman. I wish she’d just die!)

In the game, each capture target has a unique villainous daughter, and among them, Mireille is the most dangerous and arrogant, giving off a vibe of the “flower of evil” just from her visuals.

…In fact, when I played the Prince’s route, there was a time when Mireille’s scheme led to a fatal BAD ending.

(This game doesn’t have an auto-save feature, and you can’t “redo.” Playing from the beginning after a game over was truly frustrating.)

Milay is dangerous, so should I avoid the Prince’s route…?

…No. On the contrary.

(I’ll get back to Mireille for what happened in the game! In this world with no second chances, she should experience a miserable fall! I’ll snatch the Prince away from her.)

Thinking about the concept of “capturing love,” it felt really exciting.

The sweet school life spent with Prince Judrich, the moment of condemning Mireille and feeling refreshed, I daydreamed about various things as the entrance ceremony passed.

The first year of school life is quite a simple task game.

Romance with the capture targets doesn’t progress much; you mainly trigger conversation events and raise academic abilities. You give small gifts to capture targets and friends, visit the casino to earn pocket money, and engage in volunteer activities to raise your “reputation” status outside of school.

In short, it’s a rather mundane task game.

After the spring of the second year, when the capture routes are determined, the number of stills increases significantly, but in the first year, there are hardly any standout events.

However, I had one “exciting event” to look forward to.

That was the [Mireille’s Birthday Event].

When Isla gives a bouquet to Mireille on her birthday, it triggers an event where the bouquet is trampled and discarded by Mireille. It’s not essential for game completion, but it’s an event I wanted to see.

So, I went to the flower shop,[Adams Floren,] in the capital.

In the game, when I wanted to increase intimacy with captured characters or friends by giving them flowers, I always placed orders at this shop.

(Hmm, which flowers should I choose?)

The type of flowers Isla gave Mireille wasn’t mentioned in the game. Since any flowers would be discarded right away, it didn’t matter what kind of flowers I chose, but still.

“Excuse me. Do you handle ‘White Drop Flowers of Parting’ here?”

“Yes. We can prepare that for you.”

“I’d like you to make a bouquet for me…”

Normally, ‘flowers of parting’ are not made into bouquets. Commoners, during funerals, fill the coffin with ‘flowers of parting’, saying, “Wishing for your peaceful death,” as they speak to the deceased.

In reality, when my mother died, I also filled her coffin with ‘flowers of parting’.

‘Flowers of parting’ are modest wildflowers resembling white climbing roses, and nobles rarely come across them.

(Taking them unknowingly, Mireille stepping into a downward spiral with the flowers of my deceased that I gifted. …Isn’t that perfect for a villainess?)

The clerk tilted his head in puzzlement.

“A bouquet with flowers of parting… is that so?”

“Yes. I’d like to order a custom-made one, please.”

Mireille, who had trampled on my bouquet according to the script, was truly ridiculous.

As the surrounding students looked at me with pity while I cried, Mireille briefly stiffened her face but quickly resumed her bravado. She said, “I don’t need your flowers” and threw them in the trash.

Haha, what a foolish woman!

I’m really looking forward to her being condemned on the prince’s route.

Time passed, and it was time for the second-year advancement party.

Among the capture targets, three were looking for me at the party venue—the top three in intimacy.

The route is determined based on whose gaze I notice and return. Of course, I choose the Prince.

“Prince Judrich, do you have something you’d like to talk to me about?”

Actually, there’s something I want to ask, he said. We left the party together and headed to the night garden.

“…Being with you, who is always so cheerful, makes my heart feel at ease. In truth, as the crown prince, I feel suffocated by the weight of my responsibilities.”

While Judrich always carries himself as the crown prince, he harbors the fear that he might not be as outstanding as he appears. He worries that Claude and Mireille might be superior to him.

“That’s not true. I respect you, and I’m always on your side!”

At the moment of the best response, according to the script, Judrich blushed.

“Thank you, Isla. I’m glad I consulted with you. …If possible, from now on, instead of ‘Your Highness,’ could you call me by my name?”

“You want me… to call you by your name?”

“Yes, or even a nickname. I want to be called by your voice.”

He took my hand and sweetly smiled.

“Understood… Jud-sama!”

(Well, it’s about time Mireille comes to interfere.)

Mireille, who had been peeping from the shadows, should have barged in, misunderstanding it as infidelity.

(Her futile struggles and the miserable expression when she sees us will be entertaining. …Wait, huh?)

I could see Mireille, who should have been in the shadows, returning to the party venue without saying a word.

(Wait. Why isn’t she getting involved!?)

It’s troublesome that the showdown event isn’t happening. It’s genuinely boring, and this event also comes with the effect of increasing Jud-sama’s intimacy!

“Jud-sama! Just now, Mireille-sama was peeking at us!! She looked incredibly scary and went back to the party venue.”

“What did you say?”

“Probably, she misunderstood our relationship. I’ve always been disliked by Mireille-sama. She always glares at me, and it seems she can’t tolerate us being close.”

“Mireille doing something like that? I must say something to her about it.”

Jud-sama detained Mireille in the venue.

Although I pointed out the peeping, Mireille only deepened her smile—her attitude made me feel uneasy.

“Oh my. Since His Highness and Miss Isla seemed to be having an important conversation alone, I quietly turned back. Wasn’t that right?”

Why is she acting so composed?

Not snapping back is not like Mireille at all!

Maintaining her dignified attitude throughout, Mireille said, “Good day,” and left.

“Isla, you look pale. Are you okay? …Mireille, damn her. Despite being my fiancée, she acts so insolently. If there’s any trouble in the future, tell me right away.”

“Yes…”

That’s not like Mireille at all… It’s creepy.