Chapter 1
Grand, majestic music echoed through the cathedral ceiling. Sunlight poured in through the stained glass windows, casting brilliant shadows across the floor.
Caliton gently held my hand. He looked at me with warm eyes, then turned toward the Pope.
Seeing that Caliton was ready, the gray-haired Pope spoke.
“Crown Prince Caliton Greylheart, are you prepared to take Lady Aisha Ambervia as your bride?”
“I am prepared.”
The Pope then looked at me.
“Lady Aisha Ambervia, are you prepared to take His Highness Crown Prince Caliton Greylheart as your groom?”
“Yes.”
I answered quickly, without hesitation. There was no need to say how long I had waited for this moment.
Soon, priests brought forward cups filled with wine.
“Bride and groom, please drink the wine.”
At the Pope’s words, Caliton and I linked arms and drank.
“With this, I officially declare that His Highness Caliton Greylheart and Lady Aisha Ambervia are now the Crown Prince and Princess of the Belcadia Empire—”
“Cough!”
Suddenly, Caliton coughed up blood.
“Ai… sha…”
The hand holding mine fell limply into the air.
What… is this?
I stared blankly as Caliton collapsed like a sandcastle falling apart.
As he hit the ground, screams filled the cathedral.
“Ahhh!”
“Guards! Where are the guards?!”
“His Highness has collapsed!”
“Your Highness, are you alright?!”
“Prince Caliton!”
The place descended into chaos. Guards began sealing the entrances, and panicked nobles shouted in confusion.
The imperial physician rushed forward and placed his fingers under Caliton’s nose.
“Th-The Crown Prince has been poisoned!”
At the same time as his shout, a familiar system window appeared before my eyes.
[GAME OVER]
I stared at the screen in disbelief and muttered a curse.
“Damn it…”
I angrily pressed the power button and threw the console.
“What kind of stupid game is this?”
This game, Starlight Chronicle, was a dating simulation where the main character, a trainee mage, romances five male characters.
But maybe because I had never dated in my life, or maybe because the difficulty was insane, none of the male leads ever showed interest in me. Not even a little.
“I played for a whole month and couldn’t capture even one of them?”
At this point, it felt less like a dating sim and more like a patience test.
Out of frustration, I made a cheat. I maxed out the main character’s Charm stat.
After that, the male leads who had completely ignored me started falling for me one after another.
It was annoying to realize it had been this easy all along, but I didn’t care.
At least not until I tried to reach the ending.
When I romanced the holy knight, the temple burned him at the stake for breaking their rule against romantic love.
My fiancé, a former imperial knight, developed severe paranoia and killed any man who talked to me. He was eventually executed.
The imperial mage decided to kill me and preserve me forever like a specimen.
And I was murdered by the villainess who had a crush on the Grand Duke of the North.
The game killed not only the male leads, but also the player.
Out of the five romance options, Crown Prince Caliton was my last hope for an ending.
And he had just died.
“Ahh! What is this? Is it trying to mess with me?”
I had spent three whole months on this game!
Fine, I admit it. I used a cheat.
But if I still couldn’t get even one ending, wasn’t that basically telling me not to play?
Angry, I sent an email to the game company.
“Do you even call this a game? I could make something better with my feet.”
(And so on.)
As someone in the same industry, it wasn’t something I should have done. But otherwise, the months I spent on this game would feel completely wasted.
Feeling a bit better, I lay down in bed.
Maybe tomorrow I’ll try romancing Grand Duke Jerome of the North again.
If I avoid the villainess properly, maybe I can survive and reach the ending…
Maybe I can…
My fading consciousness went completely dark.
When I opened my eyes, I was standing in an unfamiliar place.
“Where am I…?”
It wasn’t my room.
There was a high ceiling, white walls, luxurious purple and gold decorations, neatly arranged magic tools and books.
It looked like a fantasy movie set. And it felt strangely familiar.
“I’ve definitely seen this before. This is just like…”
I picked up the nameplate on the desk. Strange foreign letters were engraved on it.
For some reason, I could read them.
“Lowell Cyprian?”
Lowell Cyprian was one of the romance options in Starlight Chronicle. And this place looked exactly like the study I had seen in the game.
Was I kidnapped?
Did the game company build a set and trap me here because of that angry email?
That made no sense.
More importantly…
I could read the unfamiliar letters.
My mind spun with thoughts.
After a moment, I shut my eyes tightly and shouted,
“Status window!”
Nothing happened.
“….”
So I guess not… wait, then where am I?
Half disappointed, half confused, I hurriedly looked around again.
Ding!
With a familiar notification sound, a status window appeared.
Basic Information
Name: Aisha
Gender: Female
Age: 22
Race: Human
Occupation: None
Stats
Strength: LV.1
Stamina: LV.1
Mana: LV.1
Charm: LV.999
Skills
Charm: LV.999
Affection
??? : 0
??? : 0
??? : 0
??? : 0
??? : 0
My mouth fell open.
“This… is a real status window?”
Everything felt too vivid to be a dream.
Did I really get transported into the game? Did the developer curse me?
More importantly, how do I go back? Do I need to reach an ending? That’s usually how it works in novels.
Wait.
“I’ve never seen an ending.”
Every time I played, either the male leads died or I died.
That meant I had no idea how to reach the ending.
“If I fail while actually inside the game… what happens?”
Do I die for real?
A chill ran down my spine.
No. I just need to reach a proper ending.
Trying to stay positive, I thought about each romance option.
I didn’t want to be preserved like a specimen, so the obsessive mage was out.
I didn’t want to see someone burned alive, so the holy knight was out.
I didn’t want a jealous murderer fiancé either.
That left the Crown Prince who was poisoned at the wedding, and the Grand Duke of the North who had a dangerous villainess in love with him.
The first meant fighting political forces. The second meant dealing with just one person.
Facing a mysterious political faction felt too big. Dealing with one villainess seemed more manageable.
Alright. I’ll romance the Grand Duke of the North.
Just as I made up my mind, the study door opened.
A slender, handsome elf walked in.
“Lowell Cyprian.”
He was the first character the protagonist meets at the start of the game, the one who becomes her magic teacher.
Seeing his beautiful face, mysterious purple eyes, and elegant long lashes in real life made me gasp in admiration.
Then I mentally slapped myself.
Lowell Cyprian was the guy who turned people into preserved specimens. I couldn’t be fooled by his looks.
After finishing the letter he was reading, Lowell spoke softly.
“It is indeed my disciple Brion’s handwriting.”
There was sadness in his voice.
“Human lifespans are truly fleeting.”
He lowered the letter.
“The lady’s name is…?”
Our eyes met. He stopped speaking.
At the same time, a system window appeared.
[Lowell Cyprian’s affection has increased by 15.]
[Lowell Cyprian’s Affection: 15]
He was the only one whose affection started this high.
Love at first sight, or something like that?
Whatever. I had no intention of romancing the specimen-collecting mage.
“Your name is Aisha. According to the letter, you are an orphan from the countryside whom Brion took in. Is that correct?”
“That’s right.”
“Brion asked me to accept you as my disciple.”
Lowell set the letter down.
“Before that, I will give you a test.”
He brought over a flower pot. Inside was a red bud with several blue dots.
“This plant blooms only when infused with mana.”
He snapped his fingers, and the blue dots on the bud began to glow faintly.
“Use your mana to make it bloom.”
He took out an hourglass.
“If the flower does not bloom before the sand runs out, it will explode.”
Since the story only begins after becoming Lowell’s disciple, this test was unavoidable.
I placed my palm over the bud and tried to channel mana.
Nothing happened.
Of course not.
“My mana is only Level 1.”
I had poured all my stat points into Charm and never thought about raising anything else.
