The final event of the Otome Game is about to begin.
At the Royal Magic Academy, the commencement ceremony is held at the end of winter, which marks the beginning of the academic year, and the graduation ceremony is held at the beginning of winter, as the year draws to a close.
This year’s graduating class consists of nearly five hundred students, including lower-ranking nobles from over six thousand families. During the graduation ceremony, His Majesty the King will deliver a congratulatory address, followed by a standing buffet party attended by thousands of people, including their relatives and associates.
Among them, a small number of graduates consider it a matter of pride as nobles to participate in the “Graduation Party” held at the Royal Castle, rather than the party held in the academy’s main auditorium.
Only graduates from middle-ranking noble families and above, along with their associates, can participate. It is an occasion for young adults who have come of age as nobles to present their fiancées to show other families that their houses will continue into the next generation, and for graduates without fiancées to connect with noble families of matching status.
Only those involved are allowed to participate. However, there are exceptions.
His Majesty the King and the royal family, who also give congratulatory addresses at this event.
Executives from various government ministries seeking talented newcomers.
And priests who, as representatives of the Holy Church, bless the young people who are newly coming of age.
The representative of the Holy Church is usually the Temple Head, who is also the Baron of priestly robes in the Royal Capital, who would participate in the blessing. However, this year, the representative of the Holy Church was a young girl who was younger than the graduates.
“The Holy Church, Alicia Melsys-sama, will now enter!”
Along with the butler’s voice, the doors of the great hall were opened by the knights. A dark-haired girl, escorted by a man and accompanied by two Priest Knights, stepped into the venue. The eyes of those nearby were drawn to the girl—”Saint Lichia.”
The daughter of the Viscount Mercis House, a girl recognized as a “Saint” by the Holy Church.
There were rumors that she was originally a commoner, and she had impudently clung to Crown Prince Elvan at the academy, and it was whispered that she had connections with multiple men. The relatives of the middle-ranking nobles who had arrived at the venue early cast suspicious glances at the “Saint-sama,” but the moment they saw her “figure,” their doubts vanished, and their eyes turned to longing.
Lichia’s [Gift]—the ability of “Bewitchment.”
It has almost no effect on those who have hostility or strong doubts towards her, and only makes the target have a good impression of her. However, in return, there are no restrictions on range or number of people, and unlike the magical “Charm” possessed by vampires, it cannot be defended against with magical mental defenses.
(This is the power of the “Heroine”!)
The increase in favorability that the “Heroine of the Otome Game” that that woman knew did naturally.
In the real world, not a fictional story, there is no decrease in favorability that should occur due to speech, attitude, or appearance preferences. Lichia’s excessive contact with the opposite sex, which would normally cause people to frown, is all taken favorably. It was the ability that Lichia wanted most.
The price for this is a decrease in Mana Capacity. Even though she is already called a Saint, she cannot even use [Heal] satisfactorily without the help of a demon. If the decrease continues, it will affect her physical functions, but Lichia thinks that is fine for the sake of “supreme happiness.”
“—Lichia-sama, I have somewhere I need to go to greet people, so may I leave the escort to the Temple Knights?”
“Hiram-sama, Lichia is lonely…”
Lichia turns bewitching eyes to the elderly man who has been escorting her, but Hiram smiles kindly and removes Lichia’s hand from his arm.
“Knights, I’m counting on you to take care of the Saint-sama.”
“Yes, sir!”
“…………”
Lichia narrows her eyes slightly at Hiram’s attitude.
Originally, Hiram had come to the Kingdom of Claydale from the Fandora Theocracy to identify the “Saint,” and he had treated Lichia with great courtesy from the beginning, but the effect of “Bewitchment” seemed weak.
Lichia slightly distorted her mouth while thinking that the reason he was still in the kingdom was that he was still skeptical of her. She then smiled brightly at the Temple Knights who happily took over the escort duties.
“I’m counting on you, then.”
Lichia wanted Elvan to escort her to this place. But that “request” was refused by Elvan himself in a confidential letter. Lichia was disappointed, but she accepted that it couldn’t be helped.
In the original “Otome Game,” the heroine participates not as the fiancé of the target, but as a Saint who gives blessings. And if Elvan were to abandon his position as Crown Prince, it would be a different story, but in order for him to participate in the graduation party as Crown Prince, he had to bring three girls as “Crown Prince’s fiancées.”
At that time, the escort would have been Nasanitaru, who would become the Saint’s aide regardless of favorability, but it is impossible to make a dead man do that.
Only in Theo’s single route would he become the escort, but Lichia did not seriously pursue Theo because the degree of “happiness” from him was low. Perhaps because her favorability was not high enough, he was called back to his family before Lichia obtained “Bewitchment,” and he disappeared completely.
(…Oh well.)
Theo, of course, and Nasanitaru and Amor were also pieces that could be discarded, as they could not be envied even if she married them, and their “happiness” was low from Lichia’s point of view.
If Lichia were to become “happy,” it would have been fine with Mikhail or Rookwell, who were from the old royal family’s Border Count house, but those two were difficult characters with only one year to capture, and she was unable to raise her favorability with them by the graduation event last year when they graduated.
On the other hand, she was able to easily win over Elvan, who was disheartened by being distanced from the two of them, and thanks to that, she was able to obtain the [Gift].
(However… the reason I couldn’t capture those two was because of that.)
It was good until the princess, who was an obstacle to Elvan, was kidnapped by the Evil Race, but because that Pink-Haired Girl was kidnapped with her, Mikhail and Rookwell had hope. Because of that, she was unable to strike at the darkness in their hearts, and she lost the opportunity to interact with them.
The Pink-Haired Girl—Baron’s Daughter Aria Leighton.
A girl with hair color and beauty reminiscent of a heroine, but with a coldness and strength far from that of a heroine.
In fact, the biggest obstacle was Aria. Even if the title of Saint was a political shield, Lichia didn’t know if even a demon could have defended her if she had come to assassinate Lichia in earnest. Because she was so wary of her, she couldn’t keep her demon guards away from her for the sake of her strategy, and she had no choice but to use Amor as a捨て駒.
Lichia was most wary of the “Irregulars,” like that black-haired Countess Carla, who were trying to destroy the “stage” of the Otome Game by force.
(That’s all going to end now…)
If the villainess Clara is condemned, and the information gathered by the demons lowers Princess Elena’s reputation, Elvan, who will become the next king, will have no choice but to choose Lichia. The title of Saint and the trust of the people are what the royal family wants most.
Although they have become distant due to their positions, she is confident that she has thoroughly used “Bewitchment” on Elvan and has captivated him to the point where he will definitely choose Lichia.
While she was doing so, the graduating middle-ranking nobles and their associates gathered in the venue, diligently engaging in pre-performance conversation. Nobles who believed in the Holy Church also came to greet Lichia, looking at her with longing eyes with hazy faces.
The members of the small number of upper-ranking noble families also entered the venue, and just as almost all of the participants, several hundred people, had gathered, a voice echoed from another door in the back.
“His Highness Elvan von Claydale, Clara Dandall-sama, Carla Leicester-sama, and Patricia Hoodle-sama will now enter!”
Accompanied by three fiancées wearing beautiful dresses, Elvan entered from the royal family’s private door that led from the Royal Palace.
Clara is wearing a bright red dress, just like in the original story.
Patricia is wearing a chic navy blue dress, befitting her age.
Carla, who is wearing an unusually flashy “silver” dress and smiling cheerfully with a face like a dead person, should start rampaging “to die” after Clara’s condemnation, just like in the original story.
According to the contents of the Otome Game, all of the capture targets with high favorability would defeat Carla, but Lichia, who cannot do that, had been increasing the number of noble believers who would risk their lives to fight for the Saint with the power of the “Nightmare.”
Carla herself is kindly leaving behind the insufficient amount.
“His Majesty Reinhardt von Claydale, and Princess Elena Claydale will now enter!”
As if to mark the climax, His Majesty the King escorted Princess Elena as they entered.
But why is His Majesty escorting the Princess instead of the Queen? Following them, the royal aides also entered, and the lineup was unusual. There was the Prime Minister, the Commander of the Knight Order, and the Head Court Magician. As Princess Elena’s aides, not only Mikhail and Rookwell were present, but even the Pink-Haired Girl in a black dress was there.
In the original Otome Game, the King’s entrance scene was omitted, but Licia felt a slight sense of unease at the unusual lineup.
The nobles, upon the King’s entrance, did not kneel as it was a party, but all of them performed the noble’s bow on the spot. Reinhardt, seeing this, nodded, raised one hand in response, and quietly opened his mouth.
“My people, thank you for coming. I am very pleased to welcome you, promising young people, as new adults.”
His actual age should be close to forty, but, befitting a noble with high Mana, he looked like a handsome man in his early thirties, and the noble women who knew nothing were casting hot glances at him.
The Princess and her young aides beside him were all beautiful, and the young nobles, in particular, were waiting to approach them as soon as the greetings were over, but Reinhardt’s words were not yet finished.
“I would like you all to enjoy yourselves immediately, but I have heard from my son, Elvan, that he has something to announce here. Elvan!”
“Yes, Your Majesty, thank you for giving me this opportunity.”
All eyes were on Elvan as he stepped forward. Elvan, his face as white as paper, perhaps from nervousness, steeled himself as if swallowing something, and slowly turned to his fiancées.
“…I’m sorry. I, Elvan, am considering dissolving my engagements with you.”
What is the meaning of Elvan’s sudden words?
Next time: “The Real Thing”
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