Chapter 29

“I’m very sorry!” Zernite lowered his head in full force.

“It-it’s okay.” Regardless how her breast was groped, Sara understood that it was purely an accident. She would not make a fuss and make a complaint without considering the occasion. She was indeed an experienced OL1, very calm in handling things. Even if that was the case, the current Sara was a 16-year-old maiden, she cast her eyes down as her face tinted bright red.

“H-how should I apologize to you-”

“I understood that you were trying to save me. Please, don’t apologize for it.” Sara answered faintly towards Zernite who had been lowering his head continuously.

Eh? Isn’t this strange? Sara’s attitude is just too strange. This is like a whole other person compared to the usual Sara. What’s wrong, Sara? Aren’t you totally acting like a heroine in the otome game?

I perplexedly gazed at Sara.

“Fania, shall we go…. Urm, excuse us.” Sara politely bowed as greeting towards Zernite, and she grabbed my hand as she walked away.

“Eh, wait Sara, don’t pull me.”

Sara forcefully tugged me while she walked. So, I was dragged and walked along with her. Sara was quite strong. Looking at Sara, her face was still flushed red, so I could tell that she just felt so embarrassed that she wanted to get away from here.

I was relentlessly dragged by Sara and as we were heading towards the entryway to leave the library, we passed by some people who were about to enter. As expected of the royal academy, the entryway for the library was built quite wide, so we didn’t bump those people; but they were all the faces I knew.

“Al……”

It was Al, Jade, and Bailard…….. And, Louie.

There was Louie next to Al. Louie was smiling at Al, looking happy.

Why? How?

I was still being tugged quite strongly by Sara, so I couldn’t stop my steps. I wanted to call them out, yet my lips only quivered, unable to articulate anything.

I wondered whether the BL game story was really advancing. I was in Class 3 so I was out of the loop, but did the two of them cultivate their love already?

I was so scared. Like super-duper scared.

The villainous noble son inside me felt like going berserk. I was very determined to absolutely not be that villain, yet I felt like I was going to succumb to it.

*clench* With the other hand free from Sara’s clutch, I gripped my chest.

It’s okay. Remember the eve of the entrance ceremony. Both of us already confirmed our love to each other. Al already received my feelings. So everything should be okay. I tried convincing myself like that.

I chose to believe in Al. In that Al who told me he loved me. It would be rude of me to doubt Al’s words.

Even so. No matter how I tried to convince myself, the storyline in the BL game I knew still tormented me.

When we reached quite a distance away from the library, Sara finally let go of my arm.

“You must be very surprised. But I think that was an event from the BL game.”

“Eh, really?”

“Yes. An event called ‘At the Library’ in Zernite’s route. Well, the MC, Louie also came, but he was quite late after the event. It just happened that the one being pushed by the villainous noble son changed to you, Sara.”

“Can you even call that pushing someone?”

“But I actually reached out my hand to help you, Sara. It resulted with me pushing you instead. As I thought, this is because I’m supposed to be the villainous noble son in the BL game after all.”

“Sara is the heroine in the otome game, while I’m the villainous noble son of the BL game. Somehow the games goes to a weird course, but we still need to be careful anyway.”

“Hmmm….” Sara seemed to be in deep thought.

“Sara, you’re somewhat different than usual, aren’t you?”

“Eh, is that so?”

“Yeah, what’s wrong?”

“Urmmm, how to say this, Zernite-sama, isn’t he wonderful?”

”

”

“Kuaakk” Listening to Sara’s words, I unknowingly shrieked like a frog.

“Hey Fania, what’s with that attitude of yours?”

“No, I just hadn’t expected something like this.”

“We-well, even I was surprised there, he’s the type that’s not at all present among the capture targets in the otome game, you see. All the capture targets in the otome game, they are like those who definitely remove their body hair, personally, I don’t think I can stand those types….”

“Pfffttt!” I couldn’t help but laughed at Sara’s descriptions. She actually said ‘remove body hair’.

“What is it, I really don’t like the prince-like type that appears in shoujo manga, okay! ……Oh, yes! I just remembered, Fania belongs to the BL game, right?” As if she was just reminded of something, Sara brought her face closer to me like she was scrutinizing me.

“Then, they only go for cute boys, don’t they? Oh really, so it’s hopeless… Aaaah, I really am out of their range, then… Oh, is that so…… I’m so disappointed… Well, of course it is, compared to me, Fania is so much cuter after all. Then, it’s a given.” Sara dispiritedly hung her shoulders low.

“Eh, why is it suddenly about me? I’m not the MC of the BL game.”

But, when she said it like that, it really might be so. This is a BL game, everyone will fall in love with the MC, Louie. In short, everyone loves people of the same sex? My head started pondering.

“No, I like girls.” Suddenly, Zernite added in.

“Ukyaaa!” “Whoa!” Sara and I jolted as we hugged each other when Zernite appeared without notice.

Just when did he come? We didn’t realize it at all.

“Zer-Zer-Zernite! Just when did you!”

“You forgot the textbooks.” In Zernite hands, he was holding Sara’s textbooks.

I just remembered, Sara left them on the table.

“Th-thank you.” Sara received the textbooks from Zernite.

The blushing Sara’s eyes wandered here and there, probably unable to see straight at Zernite, making her actions look suspicious.

I was at a loss for what I should say to Zernite who suddenly made his appearance here. I wondered just from what point did he hear our conversations. Sara and I turned speechless.

“See ya.” Seeming to have finished his task, Zernite raised a hand and motioned that he would be going.

He appears so sudden, and he disappears just as sudden. As I thought that while looking at his back, Zernite turned his head over here.

“For me, compared to Fania, you’re actually far cuter, you know.” He chuckled and raised one corner of his lips that should be a smile(?), and he left.

What was with him! Was Zernite’s character like this? When we were small, he was wild, but wasn’t he supposed to be a crude and curt ikemen? How did this feel like I was being betrayed yet again after Bailard, and now Zernite too?

“So macho, so attractive……” I pretended not to hear Sara’s murmurings.

Was that even possible for the heroine of an otome game to like someone other than the capture targets in the otome game? I had a feeling that the story of the game(s) was gradually changing to be so different.

Footnotes

abbreviation for Office Lady, a term used for ladies working at offices usually for clerical works and general affairs, most companies even have uniforms for this line of work