Afterword

Saying hi from the ground below is me, Yui! That’s right, I am writing this afterword to you while also prostrating myself on the floor. It’s been about a year now since I brought you all the last installment of this series, and yet it’s still not finished. I’m sorry. No, truly, I am.

As I was writing this volume, I stopped to count how many days had passed from Eli’s perspective and—get this—it’s only been four days. I’m so sorry. I’m so, so, so sorry. I’m so—oh, I don’t have to apologize anymore?

Um... Hahaha, a year sure does pass by fast, doesn’t it? (Yeah, okay, I’m making excuses, but let’s just leave it at that!)

No, but seriously, I acted like everything was going well, but deep down I was full of anxiety. (Midway through and nearly in tears, I was about ready to throw in the towel and say, “Enough! I’m sick of this!”) Nonetheless, I continued diligently writing and managed to finish what is now the fifth volume of this series. (And yet only four days have actually passed in the story...)

Anyway, enough raking me over the coals for taking forever; let’s talk about something else.

You’re probably wondering why it’s still winter in the story when so much time has passed IRL, and the answer, I’m afraid, would have you throwing things at me. (Please recycle your empty soda cans. And whatever you do, don’t throw food; this author is already at her wit’s end and acting strange enough as it is. You don’t need to feed her and make it worse.)

So yeah, that aside, this is the situation I originally planned from the very beginning. The prince had to step up in his father’s place, he and one of his close friends had a showdown, and now danger has befallen his relationship with Eli. I stuffed so many ideas in here.

My friend, who’s normally not very soft on male characters, actually surprised me when she said, “I feel bad for the prince.” (Woohoo! I did it! Wait a minute. This wasn’t my original objective...)

Yeaaah, Chris’s chastity is in some serious danger here. I’m also excited to see how he manages to overcome this challenge! Oh, wait. I’m the writer, aren’t I?

Hmm. I’m the one who created his character to begin with, but no matter how big of a pickle he gets himself into, I can’t imagine it being that serious. He has a habit of being able to smooth talk his way out of any situation, so I’m not really worried for him. (I am actually complimenting him here, by the way.)

That leaves us with our protagonist, Elianna. Her struggles are still continuing. In fact, as I was writing this volume, I figured you readers would respond more to Eli’s predicament than Chris’s. I suspected you would all be angry, but your reactions were so much worse than I thought. It was almost scary lol.

Well, that’s just proof of how much our spacey protagonist means to all of you. As her creator, I am so grateful and, for lack of a better way to express myself, happy.

This time, there were three main people who had a large impact on Chris and Eli. One of them has already passed away (Grandpa Teddy), but how will Eli and Chris deal with the other two? If possible, I hope you’ll continue reading and find out.

Also, for the publication of this volume, I shuffled the chapter order a bit so it’s slightly different from the web version. After I finished and asked my editor for her input, she said, “Oh, how odd. It’s so much easier to read and so much more organized than the web version.”

I feel like I owe her an apology. I mean, I am truly grateful to her, though. She’s always helping me get the story back on track, giving me a new perspective in the process. I’m always bowing my head as we converse over the phone.

Anyway, the main story has gotten incredibly serious, but my more playful side still yearns to add in some humor and lightheartedness here and there. As usual, I suffer from the eternal plague that is writer’s block, but how should I put this... Through defiance—or maybe complete desperation—I managed to include some humor in this volume before I finished it. I hope you were able to enjoy it.

And speaking of my most feared topic and that which is most difficult for me to write...let’s talk about the short story at the end. I really drove my editor nuts with this one, writing it through endless tears and sleepless nights. And every time I finish these short stories, I sit there and wonder what the heck is wrong with me, fussing over something that always turns out to be insanely short. Of course, I’m only able to berate myself like that after I finish writing it all out.

The image I had in my head was of the summer shortly after the events in the first volume. And in Japan, when you think of summer, you think ghost stories. Summer also means getting lovey-dovey at dusk. And yeah, that about sums up my original idea.

To no one’s great surprise, I was on the verge of tears as I wrote it, and if you’re wondering why Eli’s cousins kept taking jabs at her about being a ghost, that was my impish side shining through.

I am sure many of you probably already know this, but Bibliophile Princess is being adapted into a manga by the lovely Yui Kikuta-sensei. Her drawings of Eli had me squeeing, “Cuuute!” over and over again. And thus, being as twisted as I am, I felt strangely compelled to return Eli to the ghostly character she was meant to be.

Lilia wasn’t the one disparaging Eli; she was merely being a stand-in for the author. So if you have complaints about her attitude, you can direct them at me lol.

When three girls step into a haunted house, someone inevitably gets chosen to lead them. I speak from my own experiences as I say that. And yet as I was reading back over it, it reminded me of a scene from the comedy trio Dacho Club where one of the guys is telling his friends, “Whatever you do, don’t push me, okay? Don’t push me!”

Chronologically, this arc takes place after The Desire to Cheat and before The Flower Protector, but Eli and Chris are already quite intimate. That’s partly my way of apologizing to them for all I’ve put them through in this volume, as well as my way of thanking you readers and offering some fan service since you have stuck with me this long. I hope you’ll be forgiving with me in exchange!

And now, as I continue to prostrate myself, I must make a confession. I, Yui, could lower my head so far it’d pierce past the earth’s mantle and it would still not be enough of an apology for all the trouble I caused everyone. To the lead editor, lead proofreader, the illustrator (Sheena-sensei), and everyone else involved with the publication of this series: I bow my head all the way down past the earth’s core—that’s how sorry I am. I dare not even look up at any of you because of the guilt I feel and am instead groveling.

Yes, I really am sorry.

To my editor, who no doubt experiences great stomachaches every time we go through this, I thank you from the bottom of my heart for sticking with me through everything and giving me words of encouragement.

To the illustrator, Sheena-sensei, your art was a great inspiration to me this time as well. There were serious scenes, comedic ones, romantic ones, and seeing all of the emotion in all of them made me glad I struggled through and finished writing this volume. I never dreamed I would get to see a 4-koma (four panel manga) page with your art lol.

And to the head proofreader who let me keep proofreading up until the very last second, as well as to everyone else who had a hand in this book, thank you once again.

Of course, I can’t forget to thank my friends and family who suffered essay-length Line messages from me as well.

Bibliophile Princess has been blessed with the opportunity to be adapted into a manga by Yui Kikuta-sensei. Through her magnificent art, many more people will encounter my story. I feel so blessed to have both Kikuta-sensei and Sheena-sensei drawing these characters, and I think both artists really bring out the cast’s charm. I truly feel lucky that through their drawings, my story will touch many more readers.

I’m so deeply grateful to all of my readers as well. Those of you who stuck with me from the beginning as well as the new readers and anyone else who has picked up one of my books and enjoyed it. I still have a long way to go as an author, but I hope you will continue to enjoy this story with me.

It’s summer now as I write this, but wherever you are, whether it’s hot or cold, I hope you take care of yourselves. I pray we’ll soon meet again!

-Yui