I had a weird dream.
At least...I think so...
I can't remember my dream much...but I think it was about my previous life back on Earth.
It was...a nostalgic nightmare...
Needless to say, I woke up and opened my eyes slowly in the somewhat bright room.
Heavy.
Why did I feel so heavy...?!
It was like something was weighing me down...
I looked down at my waist and saw Principal PomPom sleeping by my side with his arms wrapped around me.
S-S-S-SO CUTE!
Ugh...
I can't believe this guy is over 600 years old...
I looked down at the fluffball holding onto me in his sleep for his dear life.
My eyes locked onto those squishy cheeks of his.
I want to pinch one of his cheeks...
My hand moved toward Principal PomPom slowly, so I wouldn't wake him up, and I was about to poke one of his cheeks but I was stopped by someone in the room.
"O' young one...Showeth restraint and holdeth back the urge to doth as thee prithee..." said a deeply mystical, yet clear, voice of a person in the room.
I looked around.
Who was it?
It was then that I finally realized that it wasn't a human talking to me.
The only other thing in the room was a white fox.
A nine-tailed fox.
The fox itself was pure white except for the tips of its tail, which had light blue highlights. Its eyes were crystal blue and they held some sort of wisdom behind them.
Its tail spread out just like a delicate blooming flower.
The being in front of me was so elegant and beautiful that it nearly took my breath away.
"...W-What are you...?" I breathed out with amazement.
"Lief, Cordelia de Boren Cyllia, knoweth mine nameth for it shalt beest one to remember. I am Ao Lune, elder fox of Oakwood, a landeth of mystic creatures," the beautiful fox spoke with a voice that was full of wisdom.
I had no idea what the fox was saying since it had a heavy accent and different dialect...but it sounded pretty so I just nodded my head along as if I actually understood what it said.
I heard the door open and turned to see the jerk prince, Florence, walk into the room.
"She said her name is Ao Lune. You can call her 'Lune' if her name is too long to say for you though. She's from Oakwood, the land of magical creatures," he translated with a smile.
"Huh? Why are you here?" I asked as I turned my face to him.
"English isn't Ao Lune's first language, so if what she's saying sounds weird, just tell her," Florence chuckled as he ignored my question.
He sat down by the fox and began to pet her behind the ears.
"...Who is...Ao Lune...?" I asked with confusion.
"...Are you jealous of her?" he asked with a smirk clearly on his face.
"What?! Why would I be?!" I asked loudly.
"I was just wondering. You didn't have to start yelling though. It makes you seem...suspicious," Florence laughed.
"Ugh...shut up. Just answer the question."
"Sure, my lovely fiance~ Lune's my familiar, of course. She was given the duty of protecting me with her life...not that it was necessary either way..." Florence sighed as he leaned onto his fluffy familiar with a sigh.
Woah.
Ao Lune's mystical appearance and Florence's irritatingly godly looks together in the same spot was too bright for my mortal eyes to bear.
"Mmm...Is it morning yet...?" Principal PomPom murmured as he stirred awake from my side.
GAH!
Seeing Ao Lune and Florence was already too shiny for my eyes...and now this cute little fluffball wakes up too?!
I'M GOING TO GO BLIND.
I need to get used to this fast or else I'll have permanent eye damage or something.
"Sorry, PomPom, you've only been asleep for less than an hour," Florence answered casually.
Wait...
Did Principal PomPom and Florence know each other?
"Have you two...met before...?" I asked as I looked at the two of them.
"Little kid, you've got a lot to learn. I basically raised this little boy when he was smaller than me," Principal PomPom said as he hurried to climb onto Florence's shoulders.
"Get off of me, PomPom...I'm not a kid anymore," Florence sighed as he attempted to push the fluffball off of his shoulder.
"Aww...It makes me sad to see you grow up. You're bigger than me now...it's creepy," Principal PomPom cried as he gave a small sniffle into Florence's arm.
"It would be weird if I wasn't bigger than you of all people..." Florence joked.
"...Are you calling me small?!" Principal PomPom suddenly snapped.
"Of course. It's a miracle that you still look like you're five-years-old after all these years," Florence sighed with a small smile.
The fluffball looked extremely irritated for a moment.
"...Are you trying to offend me, little boy?" Principal PomPom asked as he suddenly grew dark.
"...Sorry, sir~" Florence finally backed off.
I think...Principal PomPom is a little self-conscious over the fact that he looks a little...young.
It must be tough to look about 130 times younger than your actual age...
Principal PomPom and Florence seem to get along just fine though.
Actually, I think this is the first time that Florence has ever looked so comfortable talking to someone outside of me and the rest of the male leads.
Most of the time, he's always formal and serious when talking to others since he has the reputation of the perfect prince to keep up.
It's refreshing to see him act like this.
...
Wait.
I just realized something.
D-Did Principal PomPom just say...that he was the one who raised this sadistic devil of a prince?!
THIS CUTE FLUFFBALL...RAISED THIS...DEMON?!
When did things go wrong...?!
"Alloweth's not beest late. We needeth to alloweth Cordelia to settle in her dorm before ceremonies of the begin starteth," interrupted Ao Lune, the new fox familiar of Florence.
"Can you translate that for me...?" I asked as I turned to Florence.
"She basically said to shut up, go to your dorms, and then get ready for the opening ceremonies," Florence chuckled as he gave me a teasing smirk.
"Changeth mine own words as thee prithee. However, the meaning of words shall at each moment beest the same nay matter their soundeth," Ao Lune said calmly.
"Alright, I'll keep that in mind," Florence said with a sigh.
"...Wait...Do you know where the other boys are at?" I finally asked Florence with a little worry.
I was teleported here out of nowhere, so I didn't know where all of the other guys were.
"They're fine. I think they all went to their dorms...you guys will probably meet up again during the opening ceremony," Florence answered with a small smile.
He suddenly stood up and picked Principal PomPom off of his shoulder easily, as if he was simply picking up a doll, then placed the fluffball on the ground.
After that, he held his hand out to me in a princely way and gave me a charming smirk.
"May I please escort my lovely fiance to her dormitory?" he asked with a small bow.
Ugh...
At times like this, I can't help but feel my heart skip a beat.
This male lead's princely charm is off of the charts.
I swear flowers were blooming behind him...
"...Whatever. Just show me the way to the dorms..." I said with irritation.
I had no idea how this school was laid out...and...I get lost easily.
So, I had no choice but to accept the devil's offer of leading me to the dorm since he seemed like he knew where everything was...
"...My lovely fiance...you're so cute sometimes...The angrier you sound...the more excited I am..." Florence chuckled as he grabbed my hand and pulled me close to his side.
He looped one of his hands around my shoulder and gave me a small kiss on my cheek before he began to walk out of the office with me by his side.
"W-Why did you kiss me?! S-STOP!!" I yelled as I pushed Florence away from me and began to charge ahead of him.
"You'll get lost if I'm not nearby to guide you~ Slow down," Florence smirked.
He's too much.
"Just. Shut. Up. Idiot," I said sharply as I started to run away from him.
I think I heard Principal PomPom muttering about kids showing too much PDA nowadays behind us.
Ugh...Why do I feel as if my school life is going to suck?!
.
.
20 Minutes Later
.
.
We finally reached the student dormitories after all of that freaking walking.
Why does this school have so many STAIRS?!
And why is the principal's office SO FAR from the dorms?!?!
I was ready to crash into my bed.
"We've reached it," Florence announced when we stopped in front of the dormitory doors.
Ao Lune was walking behind us casually and also seemed to be intrigued by her surroundings.
This place looked so cool!
Everything was designed as a mixture(?) of modern and fantasy building styles that were appealing to the eyes.
The first floor had a beautiful lobby that was designed to suit noble students.
Our dormitory advisor sat at a decorated desk in the corner of the room and watched as students walked into and out of the building.
We walked up to the desk and were ready to ask the lady working there for our room numbers, bags, and uniforms.
But when we grabbed her attention, the lady stopped everything she was doing to stare at us with her mouth wide open.
"E-Excuse me, miss? Are you alright?" I asked as I attempted to snap her back to reality.
"I-Uh...Angels...exist...?" the woman stuttered uncontrollably.
"Huh?" I asked.
"S-So bright..." she murmured as if she were almost in a trance.
"We need our room numbers..." I continued.
"Huh...? Room numbers...? You're students...?" she spoke as if she were in a daze.
Was she drunk?!
"Yes, we need room numbers," Florence stepped in while repeating what I said.
"R-Room numbers...yes...that's right...it's my job to give...s-students that..." she stammered.
"Did our bags arrive here too?" I asked the lady, hoping that she calmed down a little.
"B-Bags...? Check...over there...there are plenty of bags...there...yeah..." she replied slowly.
Throughout this entire time, she didn't take her eyes off of us once.
It was creepy.
I don't know why...but for some reason...Florence seemed to be finding this situation funny.
I wonder why.
After we received our room numbers, our luggage, and even our uniforms, we decided to tour the building before heading to our rooms.
Florence offered to carry my bags for me, but I politely declined.
I wasn't that weak that I needed someone to carry my bags for me.
Anyway, we began to climb up flights of grand staircases.
Along the way, we walked by a few other students...who all got nosebleeds for some reason...
Maybe there is a nose-bleed disease going around?
I don't know...
For the next few floors above us, there were just student rooms.
Female rooms were on the right while male rooms were on the left of the building.
And then...on the very top floor...was the best floor in the world: the dormitory cafeteria.
Yes...the food here was supposed to be some of the best in the world.
I have seen the food featured in the game...and everything looked delicious.
Everything that was made here was supposed to have a godly taste, according to the game.
Apparently, the chefs that worked in the dormitory cafeterias were almost like ninjas.
They could slice everything at lightning speed while making absolutely no sound to disturb the students in their rooms below the top floor.
The dormitory cafeteria was where we could get breakfast and dinner. At lunch, we could eat at other restaurants littered throughout the school campus.
I've been waiting for this moment my whole life.
Food. I. Am. Ready. For. You.
My stomach started growling by accident.
"Are you hungry, Lia?" Florence asked as he chuckled.
"Yea-I mean no. I'm not hungry. I'm just tired," I lied as my face turned red from embarrassment after my stomach growled.
"You shouldn't lie to me, sweet Lia," Florence said as he cornered me against a wall with a large smile.
"Master...restrain thyself and control thy urges to bother her..." Ao Lune sighed as she stopped whatever Florence was trying to do.
Thank you, Ao Lune!
I think we'll get along quite nicely if you keep this up...
"You have the room number, 267, right? Here we are," Florence said as he stopped walking and pointed at the door with my room number.
"Yep, this should be it. Alright, go away. Bye," I said quickly as I took out my room key and opened the door in front of me.
I needed to get away from Florence as fast as possible and I immediately shut the door behind me before Florence could say anything weird.
Whew.
I'm free from that jerk.
I wonder how the others are doing...
I sighed and took a look around my dorm.
Wow.
It was beautiful.
Imagine your dream bedroom...but a hundred times better.
There was a walk-in closet, two beds, a huge bathroom, two lovely desks to do work, perfectly clear windows, couches, tables, a bookshelf, and etc.
Everything was designed and color-matched to perfection.
Yep.
This place was built just for nobles.
Judging by the fact that there are two beds and desks, I assume that I'll be getting a roommate.
I wonder who it will be...
Now that I had the time, I placed my bags on the queen-sized bed in front of me and began to unpack my things one-by-one slowly.
I needed to make sure I didn't lose anything.
In a few moments, I would need to prepare myself to go to the opening ceremony, which was the event that marked the start of the otome game.
While I was unpacking, I heard the door of the room creak open.
I turned my head to face my soon-to-be roommate.
And then I saw her.
It was a face that I wouldn't forget even in my wildest dreams.
She was the absolute best heroine in any single otome game ever.
My mortal enemy in this world...Lilly...the heroine.
I didn't know what to say.
She was the exact replica of my favorite game's main character in real life.
It was insane.
"Good day. Are you possibly my roommate?" Lilly asked politely as her full eyelashes fluttered.
"Me?! I'm your roommate?! But why?!" I yelled by accident.
This wasn't meant to happen!
Cordelia and Lilly were never roommates in the game!
So why...?!
I looked at the heroine's expression in front of me.
She seemed to have become speechless at my sudden outburst of words.
"Is...there a reason...why we shouldn't be roommates?" she asked with a small cock of her head.
This girl in front of me...was undeniably cute.
But thanks to the surprise of this situation, I wasn't able to admire her properly.
"No...I'm sorry for yelling like that. May I have your name, please...?" I asked as I quickly regained my composure.
"Oh. I'm so sorry. I forgot to introduce myself...I'm Lilly," she replied with the obvious.
Darn it.
I was hoping that I just made a mistake and that the person in front of me wasn't actually the heroine.
But...it looks like this was the real heroine without a doubt.
"It's nice to meet you, Lilly...I'm Cordelia...it's nice to meet you..." I said with a forced smile.
She smiled back at me with a pure bright aura surrounding her.
Everything she did seemed so angelic that it was almost unreal.
Even if her clothing was simple and she had average features...something about her was so...entrancing that a normal person wouldn't be able to let their eyes go of her.
She proceeded to move over to the other bed next to mine and place her bag down on top of it.
Lilly was a quiet person in general throughout the game.
She wasn't annoying or unrealistically hyper like the noble students of the school.
Instead, she was a strong character that finished what needed to be done.
That's what made her so attractive to all of the male leads, who were forced to deal with the same annoying nobles every day.
"The opening ceremony is in two hours from now...Would you allow me to accompany you on your way there?" Lilly suddenly asked as she turned to face me.
"Huh? Me??? Sure?!?!?!" I asked as I pointed to myself in surprise.
Lilly seemed a little surprised at my reaction.
"You're different, Miss Cordelia, than the other nobles here..." she continued with a small face of surprise.
"Hmm? Why would you say that?" I asked.
Was she basically calling me a weirdo?
"I didn't mean it as an insult, Miss Cordelia. It was a compliment...you're the first noble here that has talked to me so casually as if I were an equal..." Lilly said with a barely noticeable sigh.
"...Why wouldn't you be equal to everyone...?" I asked stupidly.
Why am I so stupid?!
I didn't need to ask her that!
Obviously, she's being mistreated since she's a commoner!
Luckily, barely anyone here knows that she's a commoner yet...but once everyone finds out at the opening ceremony...her life will become worse for a while before the male leads are with her.
"...Do you consider me as your equal, Miss Cordelia?" she asked with wider eyes.
I thought about how to answer her question in the best way possible.
"All humans are equal," I replied simply.
"That is true...but...I'm not like everyone else here, Miss Cordelia..." she continued as her voice died down.
"..." I didn't say anything.
"I probably shouldn't keep this information secret from you, Miss Cordelia, since we are roommates...but...I'm actually a common-" she tried to say before I stopped her.
"It doesn't matter to me whether you have the social status of a queen or the status of a slave...No matter who you are, we are equal students at Greenwood Academy," I interrupted her.
This was a part of my plan.
First, I'll try to get her to understand that I don't think she's below me.
That way, she won't think I'll try to use my power to force her to do anything and she might not be scared of me!
Which means...I CAN AVOID MY DEATH FLAG!!!
"Well...the rules of Greenwood Academy may say that we are equal...but I'm still a lowly commoner at heart in comparison to the other nobl-"
"Lilly, don't be ashamed of your commoner heritage. Be proud of the fact that you are the first commoner in hundreds of years to be admitted into this school instead," I said.
Great.
Everything was going according to plan...
I smiled and then immediately stopped myself.
A tear began rolling down Lilly's face in slowly.
OH, GODS!
DID I DO SOMETHING WRONG?!
WHY WAS SHE CRYING?!
"Miss Cordelia...I don't know what your rank or status in society is...but I believe that among all of the people here...you are the only one to have such a noble heart..." she said slowly.
"Really?! I thought I just said what everyone should say?!" I yelled as I tried to calm her down.
"...No...you don't understand...You are the first person...the very first person...in my entire life to treat me with kindness..." she continued with heartfelt words.
Her words nearly melted my heart.
But I caught myself in time.
...Something was off about what she just said.
"...I'm the first person in your entire life to treat you with kindness...?" I asked to confirm what she said.
She looked at me with her teary eyes.
"...Miss Cordelia...What do you mean? I never said that..." she replied with a perplexed look on her face.
Did I hear her wrong?
Or...
Was I just imagining things?
I swear I heard her say that I'm the first person to treat her kindly...
But then it wouldn't make sense.
Lilly had a warm family back home with many childhood friends who cared about her with an unimaginable amount of love.
It was probably mentioned about a million times throughout the game that Lilly was always grateful to her friends and family for their kindness.
...Why did she act as if she was never treated well before?
I looked at the heroine in front of me.
She gave me a cute warm smile.
Heh.
I was probably just being paranoid.
"My bad...I'm sorry...I think I haven't been getting enough sleep lately..." I chuckled to her.
"It's not a problem, Miss Cordelia. I should be thanking you for accepting me for who I am," she replied with a shy smile.
"Of course," I replied with my own smile.
Yep.
Lilly's exactly the way she was in the game.
Otherwise, it would be strange.
Really...really...really...
strange.
----------------------------------------------------
A/N: This is the moment that I think all of you were waiting for~
Lilly, the heroine, has now been introduced!
A total of three characters have been introduced in the last two chapters (Principal PomPom, Ao Lune, and Lilly)~
I hope you guys will find that their development throughout the story will be entertaining to read!
--
Question Time!
What do you think Lilly's past is?
A) Her past is exactly how the game described it.
B) She reincarnated into the otome game from Earth just like Cordelia.
C) All of the above(?)
D) Neither. (Comment what you think it is if you pick this one!)
Any of these answer choices may be correct!
**Answer choices won't affect the storyline whatsoever, so just feel free to pick what you think~
--
Also, did you guys know that I reached 10K votes on this story last week?!
LIKE WHAT?!
Thank you!!!!
Having 10K votes is such a huge milestone!
I know I basically say the same thing every time I reach a milestone, so I'll try to shorten my long rant as much as possible~~~
THANK YOU, EVERYONE!! (Especially all of you voters...this wouldn't have been possible without you guys!)
As always, thank you to my readers/voters/commenters!
You guys are really the best!
Okie byeee!
Word Count: 3466