(A/N: For those of you that are already quite familiar with the isekai/reincarnation setup, you can just skim through this, no need to read it thoroughly :) I know it can be tedious.)
The bright morning sun stung my eyes. I sat up slowly, holding my head trying to stop the impending headache from rolling in.
Feeling light-headed and hungover, I clasped the sheets in hopes of retaining some form of reality. Perhaps it was because of the migraine, but the sheets felt especially cool and supple.
I groaned in exhaustion and pushed myself off the bed, stumbling to the bathroom. I crashed face first into a wall. What the- why's the bathroom a wall...?
I glanced up to see a yellow veined white marble wall and rubbed my head. I must be crazy...
I punched the wall twice before finally stepping back in confusion. It's real?
I turned my hand and saw a lavishly adorned bedroom. Sweeping while curtains drawn, a canopy bed with a blue velvet furnish, sunlight streaming through old and delicate glass designs. On the far side of the room was a large detached bathroom with an old-style western-style bath.
Then I moved my eyes down to my hands. Small, youthful, slightly fatty showing ample nourishment.
I'm delusional from the hangover. I thought. With that, I trudged blankly back to the bed, tucked myself in, and promptly went back to sleep. After a few more hours of sleeping, I would return back to reality.
----
"Young Master, it's time to wake up." I heard a voice and felt someone trying to shake me up. I opened my eyes and was greeted by the same bed, the same walls, the same window panes. Crap.
"Young Master, it is nearly noon." The voice reminded me once more. I shifted my focus onto the person speaking and was greeted by the sight of a blond-haired woman in her mid-20s wearing a maid's uniform. Behind her by a half-step were two younger maids with their hands clasped in front of them gently.
"Gueh!" I exclaimed in surprise, shuffling back and ultimately falling off the side of the King-sized bed.
Ignoring the awkward position I was in, the maid standing in the front continued, "Young Master, would you like a floral bath soak or a simple cleaning?"
I stood up and frantically jumped away to the bathroom. I responded desperately, "Forget it, forget it, please leave! I'll do it by myself!"
"Then, as you wish, Young Master." The maids shuffled out of my room and lightly closed the door behind them. I slammed the bathroom door closed and fumbled with the lock.
After confirming that no one was going to come into the bathroom, I exhaled and let an earth shattering whisper-roar escape from my small lips. "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!"
----
Over the next three days, slow streams of information trickled into my mind, one by one, like a computer downloading new software. I had reincarnated into the otome game 'Doki-Doki, I Love You For Eternity'. I wasn't delusional. According to whatever information had made its way into my brain, I was the beloved dead younger brother of Aileen Xenith.
Aileen Xenith. Also known as the heir to the Xenith countdom and the one and only heroine.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck me, fuck me, fuck me..." I cursed.
Why? Because according to my past life, the younger brother of the heroine was cannon fodder with the purpose of developing Aileen's 'more closed off and unwilling to open up' character. Her dearest brother died, causing her to become more nuanced in her relationship with the capture target.
According to the introduction, Remis dies when Aileen is 'only seven years old'. Meaning...
I have around 2 months to figure out some way to stay alive.
----
I played with the small wooden blocks boredly while flourishing a flat pillow-like object. My family giddily watched me with blissful eyes before Sister finally couldn't take it anymore and picked me up like a doll.
She shook me violently. I played my part and giggled away with her, while musing, I wonder if I could get shaken baby syndrome from this treatment. That brain injury would not be pleasant... how violent does shaking have to be in order to cause it? Still, as a mere five year old, I retained a rosy complexion during my musings and kept the same innocent and sparkling eyes a toddler would have.
That's right, my body was still five years old. My body was still quite far from maturing, and since a mind's maturity rate is accelerated during the earlier years of life, my reaction to the maids startling me awake three days ago was an exceedingly strange anomaly, as I was able to form and convey complex sentences while standing and walking.
I have to act normal, like a normal child, masking whatever abnormality that was considered as, until I figure out what to do and how to counteract my death.
At this time, I had already recovered all the memories that the past Remis had to the fullest extent. I had a clear understanding of the otome worlds' format, such as the elements in which the magic system is based, the main organizations running main economic sectors in the country, and Xenith's complicated family dynamics.
And by complicated dynamics, I mean the one-way doting and coddling from not just immediate family, but from aunts, uncles, grandparents, and servants.
After Aileen had finished vigorously shaking me, she passed me onto my father, who threw me up in the air and rubbed his smooth chin against my cheek roughly.
I silently rolled my eyes and sighed. This family dynamic was very troublesome, after all.
----
"Mommy, I'm tired..." I whined.
I was taken to the nursery room by my mother—followed by my father and Aileen—expeditiously after I announced so. She set me on the bed with a slightly obsessive stare which I couldn't put my finger on and cooed, "Sleep well~"
Then reluctantly, the family backed away and closed the door quietly, leaving me to my devices.
My peacefully closed eyes and light snore immediately ceased as soon as I heard the door close.
I sat up anxiously. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck..." I whispered in rapid succession as I rubbed my temple.
I hadn't thought of a game plan yet.
Each night, I carefully reviewed my memories of the otome game's heroine's brother before I went to sleep, and I reviewed the new memories I received as Remis.
But it was all useless! Because in both sets of memories, there was no information on how Remis had died!
I was a healthy child, with no diseases (as far as the family doctor stated) and no lack of mana in my body. In fact, it was quite the opposite—I had an excess of mana that would cause me to awaken my abilities early. Aileen as well, she would awaken her abilities at an extraordinarily young age due to excess mana. I suppose it ran in the family.
So what is the cause of Remis' death? I sighed.
The drowsiness soon kicked in after a few minutes of quiet deliberation. In the end, my body was still only five years old, and overuse of brain functions can cause intense fatigue. I could only concede and tuck myself back into the bed.
My mind slowly drifted away as I fell into a deep slumber.