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Chapter 14
Bertia 17 Years Old (4)
Part 3/5
Translated by LynneSuzuran & Senhiro
“…”
After I roughly finished listening to her incomprehensible story and sorting through it inside my head, I felt a strong headache.
“In other words, the graduation party should be where the judgment event occurs and at the same time, the [event] where the [heroine] decides which capturable target character she chooses also occurs? And awaiting after that, is either an [individual route] or the [harem route], each narrative already predetermined?”
“That’s right. The selectable capture target character will change depending on how much the [heroine] has been trying to capture the target character and how much favorability she has acquired up to the graduation party. The capturable target characters that are eligible to be selected will each give an ornament adorned in their own hair color to the [heroine] by the graduation party, so it will be apparent who you can choose from. Then, the selected route will change depending on which ornament the [heroine] wears to the party.”
“She was wearing a yellow dress today. …Though I hadn’t given it to her.”
Although it was evident that I wasn’t included in the options, she didn’t give up and obtained a yellow dress on her own and [selected] me, huh.
From Bertia’s story, [no favorability, no gift] should be a matter of fact, but Baroness Heronia ignored it and believed that it would be all right as long as it was the [choice] that she made.
…How foolish.
“Originally, the yellow dress is something that she is able to receive from Cecil-sama if Cecil-sama’s favorability is high. If it’s the harem route, then she will have to wear it together with the necklace, earrings, or the bracelet that the others gave. I think that… Heronia-sama wanted to choose Cecil-sama’s individual route because she was only wearing the yellow dress today.”
When I looked at Bertia who frowned for only an instant, a part of my heart felt a slight satisfaction.
Come to think of it, she might be talking about the significance of the gift dispassionately like this, but has she grasped the significance of the fact that she is currently wearing the [yellow dress] that is the sign of my favorability?
…Well, I guess that she won’t obediently accept it what with the various outcomes she’s considered, among them being maintaining a good balance with the [heroine]. After things calmed down, it might be good to point that out to her again and have her think about its significance properly.
Of course, I will give her hints and elucidation so that she would be able to reach the correct answer.
“And then, the problem lies in the individual route that will unfold after she made her selection, right?”
“That’s right. Cecil-sama’s route and the harem route are actually lovey dovey domestic affairs routes with Cecil-sama plus a 30% increase in sweetness. In the harem route, there will be an additional jealousy event as it’s entangled with the other targets, but… since I’m in the loyal-to-one-person faction, I don’t really like that route.”
“Yes, that’s good. …If you were to form a harem, I’d have to do various behind-the-scenes work so that you won’t be able to look elsewhere.”
“Eh? Did you say something?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
I shook my head and smiled at a confused Bertia, dodging over my true feelings I’d accidentally leaked out in a low voice.
Her face seemed to be slightly curious, but since her nature was simple, she didn’t seem to mind it that much.
…Nevertheless, self-consciousness is something truly frightening.
If I didn’t know of the word [obsession], I might have perceived this current emotion as just a [strange sensation].
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“Although troubles arise in both Cecil-sama’s route and the harem route, in the end, they are all overcome by working together with Cecil-sama and it’s a happy end for everyone. …With the exception of the villains. However, as for the others’ routes…”
“In the other routes, I either get assassinated, disappeared, arbitrarily leaving for a trip around the country, get engrossed in a study and become a shut-in… or becoming crazy for wars and embarking in a storm of wars, is it?”
It goes without saying that my headache reached its peak around this point.
However… when I recalled the figure of the other me and my younger self that the light spirit showed, I didn’t have any confidence to assert, “There is no way!!”
Currently, I’ve discovered an existence named Bertia that serves as the subject of my interest, as well as the reason for my existence.
That is why, I’m able to lead an enjoyable life now, but if this wasn’t the case…
I will surely despair at life and at the world.
Generally, if I was being targeted by an assassin, my reaction might just be thinking, “Well, I’ve had enough of my life, so it’s fine,” and since I just digested anything without feeling any kind of an interest, I’d grow sick of life and the future, and I might even poke my nose into dangerous things.
In order to find enjoyable things that can spark my interest, I would leave the country to Shaun and set off on a journey, or I might discover some enjoyment from engrossing myself in a study or in warfare, getting completely absorbed in it without caring for my surroundings… I can’t claim those are things I wouldn’t do.
The [doll] me that has no attachment to anything wouldn’t be afraid of losing anything and wouldn’t feel anything.
Moreover, since I met Bertia, I managed to discover my interest in being involved with people, and I managed to be able to notice the others’ weakness and pain, and the fact that they were different from me, but if that wasn’t the case… even I can’t imagine how it would be.
…Well, if, right at this moment, I were to be asked whether I completely understand the right kind of heart a person should have, I wouldn’t be able to tell.
“That’s right. In His Highness Shaun’s route, you’d go missing while leaving being a letter which contained these words, [I’m tired of being royalty. I’ll concede my succession right to Shaun. I’ll leave the rest to you]. Then, after that, His Majesty the King would be killed by poison, and His Highness Shaun, who was frightened by the neighboring countries that took this chance to invade, would be encouraged and supported by the heroine, and their love will be nurtured as they fight together. …However, I don’t feel like you’d be able to win a war with the power of love alone. In the game, after somehow emerging victorious in the first battle, he said, [If you weren’t here, I wouldn’t have been able to work hard up to this point] and a lovey dovey happy end will welcome you. However, I’m anxious of the things that will happen thereafter.”
“…Well, that’s right. No matter how you think about it, Shaun isn’t inclined to be a king, nor is he suited for war.”
“Cecil-sama of the [otome game] thinks that because it’s something that he is able to do, then his Highness Shaun should be able to do it, too. You felt that it wasn’t that difficult to do.”
“…Is that so?”
Certainly, I think that if it were the old me, then I’d think so.
Since I was the crown prince and the people surrounding me were also excellent, I considered being able to do things as [normal] and couldn’t really comprehend about not being able to do something or not being able to grasp things.
But now, thanks to continuously watching Bertia fail over and over, I managed to understand that there are people who are unable to do something, and I gained a self-consciousness on how I’m superior than most people.
That should be growth, right?
“In Kulgan-sama’s route, Cecil-sama is assassinated, and Kulgan-sama who knows that the culprit is a person from a neighboring country will want to go to the neighboring country, disregarding his own life. The heroine will go to stop him and upon saying, [I will also come along with you], the two of them will infiltrate the neighboring country. Then, as they overcome numerous hardships, their love also deepens, and then they’re able to determine that the assassin was dispatched by the neighboring country’s royalty, but…”
“…Well, if that’s the case, then war will occur, right?”
“That’s right. They will somehow manage to obtain the evidence and escape together, returning safely to the country and report it to His Majesty the King and the story goes to a happy ending, but… at the end, a war in order to avenge Cecil-sama will occur.”
“…And that’s a happy ending?”
“They become lovey-dovey after getting over dangers together, and while it’s a happy ending for their romance on the surface, I don’t agree.”
“I think so, too.”
I reflexively let out my bitter smile.
It’s certainly a situation that rouses romantic feelings, and it might even be intriguing as a story.
However, though retaliation is indispensable in the case that a royalty is assassinated, as a result, many lives will be lost, and I don’t think that can be considered a happily ever after..
If I were there, I might be able to think of a solution, but… In that scenario, I was already killed from the start.
Most likely, they wouldn’t be able to stop it from happening.
“So, I will disappear in Charles’ route?”
“Yes, that’s right. Cecil-sama’s whereabouts become unknown in the middle of coming home from a diplomacy meeting with the neighboring country. Apparently, you caught a sight of a suspicious person and went to pursue them alone. At that time, the relationship with the neighboring country isn’t that good. Therefore, we send a request to the neighboring country to allow our country’s soldiers to enter in order to search for Cecil-sama, but the neighboring country becomes suspicious, ‘Are you planning on invading our country and attack from inside?’, and so, the search is unable to successfully carry on. Thereupon, Charles-sama is going to the neighboring country as a negotiator, and the heroine is accompanying him.”
“The delay of the initial investigation would have hurt. With me being myself, I don’t think that I would have gotten done in that easily, but… If it’s the current me, there’s no way that I’d pursue that person by myself. In actuality, I can’t really guess on how I’d take action at that time.”
I thought about [what would I do if it were me] while listening to Bertia’s talk and tilted my head.
However, the current me has reliable right and left hands—there are my close aide candidates, and not to mention Bertia’s existence, I’d prioritize my own safety, and would do such a dangerous thing. When I thought about it, I wouldn’t have put myself in that kind of a scenario no matter what.
I think that [that me] who moved by himself on the spur of the moment didn’t really have the perception of relying on other people.
After all, it was how I was since I was a child.
I could do most of things by myself, and rather, since I could accomplish things faster and more reliably by myself than by asking others, I felt that it was even more troublesome to ask things from the others. Even now, I still bear that in my mind.
If I were to grow up without having that feeling changed at all, then I think that I’d surely feel that it would be natural for me to move by myself without the slightest bit of hesitation.
…Since it’s faster and more reliable that way.
Thanks for the new chapter!
Thanks for reading and commenting :3
Thanks for the chapter.
I bet the heroine chose the Cecil route instead of the harem route in the end just so that she doesn’t have to deal with the jealousy event but still went about raising flags so that she can get “achievements” and have the satisfaction of doing it.
And I think we all can agree that she knows she doesn’t have what it takes to deal with the aftermath of all the other routes.
I guess so… or that Heronia wanted to have a taste of the harem route–though in the end she tasted nothing that she expected XD
Thanks for the chapter ❤~
Thanks for reading and commenting :3
Ummm… Have you all noticed that the “Neighboring Country” doesn’t seem to be so friendly? All of Cecil-sama’s death flags are because of non-neighborly actions. *Raises Pitchfork* Strike down Cecil’s Death Flag!
It might not be the same neighboring country each time, there are probably several of those.
It might be true, but the neighboring country(-ies) portrayed here doesn’t seem to be quite friendly XD Hahaha
Now I wonder if the neighboring country is now friendly due to the route change that might affect many other things… But maybe we will never know that XD
“You Majesty, we’ve come to propose our countries as vassals. Queen Bertia is beloved by us all after she scolded us so cutely last time we invaded… Thus we’ve decided to form the [Queen Bertia Fandom] and chose to come under her rule!”
*Envoys all start kowtowing to the Queen while Cecil sits there feeling like he has suddenly become a King-consort somehow instead of the true king.*
That sounds utterly hilarious, and also very possible.
Dang, that’s totally a frightening and surprising turn of events XD
Thank you very much for the chapter!
You’re welcome :3
“leaving for a trip around the country.”
heartbreak journey? XD
Nah, since it’s talking about Cecil, maybe a journey out of boredom? XD
What kind of otome game is this? All other route except one is a war And the only way to prevent it depends in one person.
Even Bertia realize this game suck
as usual, there are
1. bad ending
2. normal ending
3. good ending
4. harem ending
5. true ending
if the normal love dovey ending that leads to war is the happy end, then cecil’s ending where there are no war should be the true end 😀
Then wth is the normal end? Not dating anyone?
That is usually the case. It’s more like acquitances/friends ending to the chosen target.
I’ve played otome games with normal and happy ending before.
Usually, the normal ending is just ok–they’re still dating or end up together. But in case of happy ending, it’s usually sweeter than the normal ending XD
*saw 4. harem ending*
*recalled the otome games I played*
Lies! I need that ending just to know how it’s like, haha XD
Since there are many male-oriented series with harem ending but not female-oriented series with harem ending~
But Bertia and Heronia seem to like it very much anyway XD
OMG! Thank you so much for the update! <3
You’re welcome :3
I thought what she would say something important … and comes to talk about the different routes of the game.
who cares if she’s a reincarnated woman, right?
Ahaha, but it’s quite important to know, right? XD
Thanks for the chapter!I Hearing all the other route options, the Cecil ending definitely is starting to sound like the safest option for everyone XD
Yup, haha! Perhaps Cecil’s route is considered the true route :3
Thanks for the chapter, I like that we can hear how the different choices would have gone and Cecil’s thoughts on them.
Yup, I also like it~! Now we don’t have to be as curious of the game’s original story :3