Chapter 1: Where Is the Third Holy Maiden Candidate?!

Well, it probably wouldn’t be all that enjoyable in real life, but…

No matter what it is, I have to meet her to find out the truth…

But that would be pretty difficult. Not only did Cecil not know Mordred’s sister, but “he” was also someone of the opposite gender. A girl who’d just been assaulted by someone would naturally be wary of a guy she didn’t even know suddenly showing up to her hospital room. Plus, Mordred probably wouldn’t even agree to it anyway.

As Cecilia, I’d be a fellow girl, so she wouldn’t be too suspicious of me at the start, but…

That would just incite problems of a different nature. Cecilia had decided not to show up on campus as herself unless it was truly unavoidable.

This one’s a real toughie…

“Worried about something?”

“Oh…Lean!”

Freshly arrived, Lean set her schoolbag on her desk. Since no one else was around, she spoke to Cecilia plainly, with none of the deliberate formality that came along with the persona she usually projected.

“You’re here early today,” Lean observed.

“A teacher asked to speak with Gil. Seems like it’s about something home-related…”

“Hmm,” she murmured, seeming utterly disinterested. She sat down in the seat in front of Cecilia. “Anyway, what were you worrying about just now?”

“You could tell?”

“How long have we been best friends?!” Lean cried, pressing an impassioned hand to her chest. The gesture was such an Ichika thing to do that Cecilia couldn’t help snorting.

She explained to Lean about the third candidate and the events of the day before. Once she finished, Lean stroked her chin and responded, “I see. That’s definitely compelling.”

“Do you think it’s possible that Dr. Mordred’s sister is the third candidate?”

“Sure, why not? It’s pretty standard in otome games for there to be a love interest whose family member gets murdered, after all!”

“Yeah, you’re right!”

If this were Gilbert, that would be his cue to frown and say, What the…? Otome games are that intense?

“So anyway, I want to find out more, but I can’t think of a good way of doing it.”

“You should just go and visit her in the hospital!” Lean suggested brightly.

Cecilia sighed and slumped over her desk. “You make it sound so easy, but I’m a boy right now. Wouldn’t she be frightened if I just suddenly showed up at her door? Plus, she’s a victim of a murder attempt. Even if I do go, I bet she’ll be super wary and won’t talk to me…”

“Oh, come on. What a pathetic prince of the school you are. You just have to make her fall for you with your charming antics!”

“In front of her brother? The school doctor?”

“Yeah, you’d have to be prepared to risk your life.”

“No way! I can’t stick my neck out over something like that!” Cecilia objected, so frustrated that she could cry. What if he had a borderline unhealthy obsession with his little sister or something? Then she’d be in major trouble.

“Then how about I go with you?”

“Huh?”

“It won’t be so weird if a female student goes with you, right? Plus, I can say I’m his sister’s friend! There’s no way Dr. Mordred has a full grasp on his sister’s social life!”

True, it wouldn’t be so strange for Cecil to visit with a female student as a sort of chaperone, and it should prevent the sister from getting suspicious for no reason.

“You’d do that?”

“Of course I would. We’re deeply connected from our past lives, you know.”

“Ichika…,” Cecilia responded, surprised at how her voice had gone wobbly with emotion. She hadn’t thought Lean would help her. She was the sort who acted only in her own interest. Normally, even if Cecilia could use the help, Lean wouldn’t offer. She’d probably volunteered this time because her friend was truly in a bind.

Lean twirled a lock of pink hair around her finger. “My name is Lean now. But hmm, in return…”

“Huh?”

Suddenly, Cecilia had a very bad feeling.

Lean whipped out a sketchbook from who knows where and smiled at her. “Will you help me out, too?”

Her grin widened. After staring at Lean in shock for a few seconds, Cecilia shook her head, a dark look on her face. “In that case, forget it…”

“What?! H-hey!”

“You of all people should know better! I just pissed off Gilbert doing that sort of thing! I don’t wanna get in another fight with my brother!”

Earlier, Cecilia had agreed to help Lean with some sketches in exchange for advice about Gilbert. Oscar had ended up getting involved, too, and Lean had arranged them in a very embarrassing and compromising position. Gilbert saw it and blew his top. It led to the first fight Cecilia had ever had with him since becoming siblings.

Lean shook the other woman desperately. “Come on! Forget all about that scheming little brother who’s clearly consumed with jealousy and doesn’t see his own adopted sister as family!”

“I won’t! And he’s pretty scary when he gets mad!”

“Who’s more important, him or your best friend?!”

“Wouldn’t you choose those books you make over me if you had to?!”

“Of course I would!”

“Then why do you expect me to help you?!”

“I see how it is!” she cried, puffing out her cheeks in a pout that made her look awfully adorable. Despite her cuteness, however, her request was wicked. After sulking for a bit, Lean slammed her sketchbook onto the desk. “Okay then, I’ve got it! For this one, you’ll pose alone!”

“Alone?”

“Yeah, by yourself! Without anyone else! Gilbert got so mad because Oscar was involved, right? That means he shouldn’t get upset if you’re the only one posing, right?”

“Well, sure, but…”

“It’s settled, then! I’ll help you! And in return, you’ll do whatever I say in the solo model session!”

Cecilia was no longer sure who was doing whom a favor here.

“I guess in that case…”

“You said it! It’s a promise!”

“O-okay…”

If she modeled alone, Gilbert shouldn’t get upset about it. He’d shake his head and roll his eyes, but that would be all. Probably.

“Okay then, let’s go make our little hospital visit first! I’ll talk to Dr. Mordred about it. Do you want to go tomorrow?”

“Um, sure!”

The next day was the weekend. As Cecilia nodded, the classroom door opened, and other students entered the room.

“Uh, why did this turn into a party?” Cecilia muttered outside the dorms where she’d arranged to meet Lean. There she stood—along with Oscar, Gilbert, Jade, and Huey. With the addition of Cecilia, they made a big group of six people.

“I invited Huey and Jade,” Lean explained with a smile. “And then by pure coincidence, we encountered Lord Oscar and Lord Gilbert nearby…”

Lean was on her best behavior. Though Cecilia wasn’t one to talk herself, her friend had quite the double face. It was almost impressive.

“But aren’t there too many people?”

“It’ll be fine. I have permission from Dr. Mordred. In fact, it should be the more the merrier for his sister…”

“I hope so…,” Cecilia replied. She was a bit worried about such a large group barging into someone’s hospital room, but if Mordred had agreed, then it should be all right.

Oscar came up to her as she attempted to assuage herself. “Sorry about this. I guess we’re imposing.”

“Not at all! Sorry, my phrasing was bad,” Cecilia said, shaking her head at him and looking away.

“No, you’re right to feel worried. But Dr. Mordred is always taking care of us, so I thought I’d use this opportunity to give my regards to his younger sister,” Oscar reassured. As he spoke, his lips curved into a smile.

That strong sense of duty was quite characteristic of this world’s Oscar. In the game, he doesn’t involve himself with others like this. He never shows any concern for anyone outside of Lean and his friend Dante.

“Well, anyway, it’s been a while! You haven’t been coming to school much lately, huh?” asked Cecilia.

“Yeah, I’ve had a lot to do cleaning up after the Heimat situation.”

He was referring to the incident where she’d been abducted. When he brought it up, she scratched her cheek guiltily. “I see. Sorry, that’s my fault.”

“No, it’s not your—”

“But since we haven’t seen each other in a while, I’m really happy we happened to meet up!” she insisted, which wasn’t a lie at all. She really was happy to see him.

Oscar’s cheeks turned the faintest shade of red. After a pause, he added, “Oh yeah?”

“Yeah!”

Pleased, he reached out for her face. But just before he could touch her, Gilbert grabbed his wrist to stop him. A black grin on his lips, Gilbert hissed, “Wow. I, too, am extremely overjoyed to see Your Highness.”

“Don’t we see each other all the time?” Oscar retorted in surprise, his amusement fading.

Gilbert’s smirk dropped off his face as well. “I wish I could see you every single day.”

“Don’t say that with such a deadpan expression.”

“What? Did you want me to beam at you and say it in a baby voice?”

“Eugh! Don’t make me picture that! Gross!”

“Don’t worry. Simply picturing it is the height of nausea for me, too,” Gilbert spat with his fingers still wrapped around Oscar’s wrist while pressing a hand to his mouth. The crown prince’s face spasmed as he watched him.

Cecilia observed them from off to the side. “The two of you are as chummy as ever.”

“They are?” asked Huey, who happened to be standing next to her, in a disbelieving tone. Beside him, Lean and Jade wore equally strained smiles.

“All right, now, all of you! Let’s stop playing around and get going! Dr. Mordred is waiting!” Lean commanded, and the group headed for the hospital.

“Ah, here you are,” said Mordred when they met him in front of the hospital. He greeted the group of six with a gentle expression.

As their ringleader, Lean took a step closer to him. “Dr. Mordred, thank you very much for giving us some of your valuable time. Also, I’m so sorry. I had no idea at all that Emily was in the hospital until Cecil told me, so my visit is coming very late.”

Lean’s eyes were downcast, her expression sorrowful. Evidently, Mordred’s sister’s name was Emily. There was no telling how Lean had acquired that piece of information, but her detective skills were impressive.

It appeared that her background had been updated to include, “Lean finds out from Cecil that a friend she hasn’t seen in a long time is in the hospital.” That way, it wouldn’t be so strange for Cecil to come along.

“Oh, don’t worry. You’re here now, and that’s the important thing. I’m sure Emily will be very happy,” he responded before setting off to lead the way. It would seem he planned to escort them to the hospital room.

At the very back of the group, Cecilia whispered to Lean, “Hey, did you really lie and say you were friends with Emily?”

“Yup.”

“Is that gonna be okay?! Won’t she be shocked to see a bunch of strangers suddenly come to visit? Your bluff will get exposed immediately!”

“That’s no problem! All I have to do is be the first one to speak. I’ll say, Oh! It’s been sooo long! Do you remember me? I’m Lean! How many years has it been since I saw you last? and most people will be so confused, they’ll simply go along with it.”

“You’re as socially adept as ever…”

“Hee-hee, thank you.”

After walking for a bit, Mordred stopped in front of the entrance to a patient room.

“We’re here,” he announced, opening the door. There was only a single bed inside; it was a private suite. “She’s over there.”

He motioned them to follow him in, and everyone filed behind him and went over to the bed, where Emily was sleeping. Even though such a large group had entered, her eyes were still shut tight, and she showed no signs of waking.

“It looks like she’s asleep,” noted Jade.

“Maybe we should come back later?” suggested Huey.

As he adjusted the blankets on her, Mordred looked down sadly. “She won’t wake up anytime soon.”

“Huh?”

“Emily’s been in a coma ever since she was assaulted,” he explained. Everyone gasped in shock.

“So you mean…”

“Physically, she should be all recovered. There’s nothing wrong with her brain. But she’s just not coming to.”

He stroked his sister’s forehead affectionately. “The attack must have terrified her. Sometimes she make noises in her sleep, like she’s having a nightmare. But her eyes never open.”

Mordred looked away from her. Then he smiled, though his brows were still knitted forlornly. “I can’t wait for her to wake up. Same as all of you.”

He seemed almost on the verge of tears. Everyone was at a loss for words.

“When I was researching his sister, I happened to learn that Dr. Mordred’s parents died young, so Emily is his only family,” Lean told them on their way back from the hospital. Lean and Cecilia were at the back of the group, trailing some distance behind everyone else.

“Oh…I see,” said Cecilia.

“It must have been a terrible shock for him. I heard he absolutely dotes on her.”

That made Cecilia remember what Mordred had said as he saw them off.

“I’m sorry things are like this. But if you’re willing, please come again sometime. Somehow, it seemed like she had fun today.”

He’d said it with the same mild look on his face that he always wore. But since his expression never wavered, it hurt all the more to see.

“Even if Emily is a Holy Maiden candidate, it’s still impossible to just foist that responsibility on her, considering her condition,” said Lean.

“True…”

In all honesty, it was too early to even mention that. Maybe if she seemed healthy after waking up, Cecilia could hope for some sort of development on that front. But with Emily’s current state, it was unthinkable. Still, Mordred’s despondent, downcast face filled her mind.

Just then, the group passed a woman. She had frizzy hair and thick glasses, and her white lab coat billowed behind her as she strode toward the facility they’d just left.

Hmm?

“What’s wrong?” asked Lean, also stopping as Cecilia came to a halt and stared after the woman.

“Nothing, it’s just…”

I feel like I’ve seen her somewhere before…

Yet she couldn’t quite place it. The memory probably belonged to the in-game Cecilia, but she had no idea where she’d seen her or in whose route.

But for some strange reason…

The lady pinged something on her radar.

“Are you okay? Did something occur to you?” asked Lean.

“Oh, no, I’m fine. I think it was just my imagination!” responded Cecilia, shaking her head and turning back around. Her memory was hazy. The woman must have been a background character she’d seen somewhere. That explained why she couldn’t place her.

“Sorry, let’s go,” said Cecilia, jogging to catch up to the group ahead.

Three days after the hospital visit, Cecilia was clinging to the wall of an empty classroom. In front of her stood Lean, a sinister smirk on her lips and a sketchbook in hand.

Yes, as promised, the day had come for “Cecil” to model for illustrations in Lean’s next story. She’d even discussed it with Gilbert, who had signed off on it, reasoning, “Well, I don’t mind as long as it’s just you alone.”

The issue lay in what she was wearing.

“Wh-why this outfit…?” she whined, hugging herself to cover her body. She wasn’t in her usual school uniform. Instead, she wore a tight, red satin dress with gold embroidery. Gorgeous floral buttons adorned the high collar, and slits on either side of the skirt went all the way up to her thighs. Her feet were decked out in red heels.

Indeed, this was a Chinese-style qipao outfit.

“Hee-hee, you should be happy. I stayed up for three nights sewing this. Now go stand over there, Cecil!” Lean chirped.

Cecilia shook her head furiously. “No! What is this cosplay getup?! It’s super embarrassing!”

“Oh, come on, you’re the one who’s always dressing up as a boy! And besides, you promised to do anything as long as it was you posing alone, didn’t you?”

“B-but this is too much! And I’m still Cecil! If you want a model for women’s clothes, I’ll just take off my wig now…”

Wearing a qipao wasn’t embarrassing in itself. What was embarrassing was wearing one while posing as a boy. This would all go over much, much better if she could wear it as Cecilia.

“Don’t be so ridiculous!” Lean shouted, angrily stopping her from doffing the dress and her wig. Lean’s eyes were bloodshot from repeated all-nighters, which frightened Cecilia even more. “Nothing is exciting about a girl wearing this! The whole point is for a boy to look ashamed while wearing it!”

“You’re a pervert!”

“Yes, I am! So what?!” retorted Lean. It was actually strangely comforting how she would get defensive and fight back once things escalated to a certain point.

Lean moved away from Cecilia and formed a frame with her fingers, capturing her thoroughly humiliated friend inside it. “Heh-heh… Hmm, I wonder what pose I’ll have you make.”

“Eek!” Cecilia yelped, a shiver running down her spine at Lean’s lascivious gaze. Tears welled at the corners of her eyes.

“Come on now, Cecil. Girls all over the country are waiting to see you look embarrassed!”

“All over the country?”

“You know how Jade acquired a print shop? Recently, he figured out how to start selling books nationwide!”

Cecilia had known for a long time that Lean came up with outlandish, crazy ideas, but she was really going in a wild direction this time. And now Jade had even gotten a bizarre upgrade from “cocreator buddy” to “business partner.”

“It might come across as too eccentric to go with a cross-dressing boy right off the bat, so I’ll probably put these illustrations in my second or third book, but don’t worry! I’ll turn these into something truly wonderful!”

“Nooooo!”

“Your sacrifice will not be in vain!”

“I didn’t want to do any sacrificing in the first place!” Cecilia cried, shaking her head desperately as she continued tearing up. When she thought about people all over the country seeing her dressed like this, she felt only fear.

“Rejoice, Cecil! For this is your national debut!” Lean enthused, sidling up to her with sketchbook in hand.

A tiny scream escaped from deep in Cecilia’s throat. “S-sorry! I really, really can’t do this!”

“Hey! Hold on!”

Still clad in the qipao, she took off sprinting. Lean immediately gave chase, but there was no way someone fresh off all-nighters could beat someone who’d trained their leg muscles for twelve years.

Fortunately, no one was in the hallway, so she was successfully able to shake Lean off, but…

Oh no. I don’t have my uniform…

She’d bolted without a plan, wearing only the clothes she had on, so naturally she didn’t have her uniform to change into. Since she didn’t want the whole country to see her in this getup, she definitely didn’t want anyone at school to see it, either. Especially the Cecil fangirls—if they caught sight of “him” like this, it would all be over.

If I go back, I’ll just end up butting heads with Lean…

The outfit had to be in the classroom she’d just fled. If she went back for it, it would be tantamount to stepping into enemy territory.

And at the moment, her archnemesis was her best friend, Lean.

Best friend means the friend you’re closest to in the whole world, doesn’t it?

A bitter smile curled her lips. She knew Lean had an extreme personality, but she hadn’t thought it was quite this extreme. Still, Cecilia could never bring herself to dislike the girl for it, since she was so much fun otherwise.

Anyway, my first order of business is getting out of this thing.

Only storage rooms and empty classrooms lined the hallway, which was perhaps why it was so deserted despite the fact that it was lunchtime. But since she didn’t know when someone might come by, she had to either quickly find something that could serve as a uniform or devise a plan to take her clothes back.

What should I do?

“Hey,” came a voice from behind her all of a sudden, startling her out of her thoughts. She shot up in fright.

“Whoever you are in that foreign outfit, you look very suspicious. Where did you come from?” the person chided.

When she turned around, she saw that it was Oscar. The moment their eyes met, his opened wide. “What are you doing here?! And what are you wearing?”

“It’s a very long story…,” Cecilia muttered, averting her gaze as she tried to cover herself up.

The dress was an unusual one; the crown prince’s gaze raked over her from head to toe, which was too humiliating to endure.

Although it was a relief that it was only him, her heart would have stopped by now if some female student she didn’t even know had found her.

“Lord Cecil! That’s enough—come out already!” shouted a faraway voice. Cecilia flinched. Lean’s voice had taken on a special, fake-sounding inflection because she didn’t know who was listening.

“It’s Lean! We need to hide!”

“Whoa! Hey!”

Cecilia grabbed Oscar’s arm and dragged him into the nearest empty classroom, locked it, and crouched down so she couldn’t be seen through the hallway-side windows.

“Oh, Lord Cecil!” called Lean, making her way down the hallway before passing over the spot where Cecilia and Oscar had just been. Cecilia hunched even more so Lean wouldn’t notice her as she went past.

Scary!

Never could she have imagined that a day would come when she would dread the sound of her best friend’s voice.

“Hey,” Oscar said, annoyed.

“Shhh!” she hissed, clasping a hand over his mouth. His low grumble was still audible, but they both stayed perfectly still until Lean was gone. Cecilia couldn’t even spare enough attention to notice how loudly her heart was throbbing in her ears.

After a while, Lean moved farther away, and all the energy drained out of Cecilia’s body. “Phew!”

“Hey…Cecil.”

“Oh yeah, sorry about all that.”

“Could you just move away from me?”

Oscar’s statement made her realize for the first time what position they were in. Cecilia was on top of him, pressed flush against him and pinning him down with her body weight. Her head was resting on his chest. He pushed her hand away from his mouth to glare at her, crimson down to his neck.

“Please,” he gritted out in a strained voice, and Cecilia instantly flushed red, too.

“It’s Lean! We need to hide!”

“Whoa! Hey!”

Suddenly, Oscar was dragged by the wrist into a classroom. The momentum made him lose his balance and fall on his backside. Before he could even figure out what was going on, Cecil shoved his shoulders down until he was lying flat on the ground. Cecil had fallen on top of him.