"Darling~ What would you like for breakfast~?" Chef Pie asked me as purple puss squirted out from his face.
"Uh...just give me one of everything on the menu," I said awkwardly as I watched the puss from his face drip down onto the table.
"Of course, Darling~" Chef Pie whistled as he gestured for me to go sit down first.
I nodded once before I immediately went to go find the table where I sat yesterday for breakfast.
Within a few minutes, each seat near me was filled in by every male lead I had met so far, the heroine, and Ace.
My food had arrived too, so I began to nervously eat it all as I waited for someone to say something.
"What is...going on...Cordelia...?" Lilly quietly asked me as she noticed all of the boys' serious expressions.
"Uh...haha...I may or may not have collapsed out of exhaustion yesterday...so everyone's wondering what happened to me...hahaha..." I awkwardly laughed.
"...Oh my...! How come I never heard of this...? What happened?" Lilly asked as she looked at me with worry.
I just stared at Lilly.
You.
The reason I passed out was...because you are conspiring with the ones I want to kill.
"It's a long story..." I said slowly.
"I see..." Lilly replied.
Ugh.
Everything she says or does is completely suspicious to me now.
"Lia. You have a lot of explaining to do...don't you...?" Florence asked as he folded his hands together on the table.
"Well...uh...yes...but no," I said with an awkward laugh.
Why were they interrogating me?!
We should be interrogating the spy that's sitting right next to us!
"What were you doing last night?! No matter what you say, it is not normal for someone completely healthy to just randomly pass out, especially if they have your amount of magic and energy," Ash yelled as he slammed his hands on the table.
"What. Are you worried about me or something?" I said childishly with a pout as I gave a small frown.
"W-What are you even talking about, you stupid brat?! W-Who the heck would ever be worried about someone as dumb as you..." Ash sneered as he looked away from me.
I thought I could see the pink blush on Ash's face...but I wasn't sure.
Oh well.
"Milady...it isn't good to keep too many...secrets. If you keep your thoughts bottled in...you might explode," Grey said softly as he looked at me.
I got chills.
"Lin...Min...you two...were uh...there...when I was chasing Ace around...right...?" I chuckled awkwardly as I looked to the twins for their help.
Since the twins already read my mind and knew exactly what was going on...
They had the ability to help me...right?!
Right?!
The twins looked at me with laughter in their eyes.
"Sorry, Cow-I mean...Cordelia..." Lin smiled.
"We were dining with the others the whole time~" Min continued.
"Neither of us saw you do anything," the twins smirked to each other.
I could feel their betrayal stab me behind the back.
Why wouldn't they give me help when I needed it?!
Didn't I do them a favor yesterday by fixing up their teddy bear's leg?!
They should be in my debt!
"We offered you money," Lin shrugged.
"You never took it," Min followed along.
"So don't get too upset, 'kay?" the twins laughed.
I hope you two fall into a ditch and die.
The boys shut up immediately after they read my death threats.
Good.
"Lia. We don't want any lies. Just tell us the truth already, please," Florence urged.
Why the heck do the boys care so much anyway?!
I obviously didn't want to tell them, but they were trying to force it out of me anyway.
"...I-" I tried to say before someone behind me cut me off.
"I don't get what's going on, but don't you think it's unfair for so many dudes to gang up on a single girl?" the voice of a boy said behind me.
I turned around and froze.
With hair as red as a strawberry and eyes of the musty green of a lively evergreen tree, I could recognize him the moment I laid eyes on him.
Hidden Male Lead #1.
He was a prince from a foreign nation, evident from his green eyes.
But what was his name?
No matter how hard I searched through my memories, I couldn't remember.
His broad shoulders and thin, yet strong, arms with his incredible height let everyone around him know, based purely off of instinct, that he was not someone who could be walked on.
His fluffy red hair and his androgynous face, which held both the strong masculinity of a man's and the soft femininity of a woman's, caught the attention of everyone in the room.
He definitely didn't look like a high school student.
He walked around with a terrible posture as if he had no care in the world.
Without a doubt, he was the last important character from the otome game that I would need to meet.
"Are you okay there, little lady?" he asked as he gave me a single pat on the back before slowly walking towards Florence.
"So you're attending classes today? I thought you would stay holed up in the room forever," Florence chuckled as he acknowledged the boy.
"...You're making me wish I never got out of bed..." the boy sighed as he took a seat next to Florence sleepily.
Who?
What?
When?
Where?
Why?
How?
Did they know each other?
"This dude is my roommate, Lia. He's lazier than a pile of rocks on a roadside and has a pretty trashy personality, but he's a good guy to have around," Florence said.
"...I don't know...whether I should take that as a compliment or not," he said as he smacked the back of Florence's head with his hand.
W-Was he hitting the c-crown prince of Silverbell as if it were n-nothing?!
Isn't he a prince too?!
Wouldn't that start a war?!
"Pffft! You should see the look on your face, Lia. You're so scared that it's almost...adorable~" Florence chuckled as he looked straight into my eyes.
Gah.
I looked away immediately.
Eye-to-eye contact with the male leads was impossible sometimes.
"Florence...man...I'm going to tell you this straight-up...You're creepy," the red-haired boy said with a side-glace to Florence as he gave a yawn and stretched his limbs.
"What? You're already bored?" Florence said as the boy slowly drooped his head down to the table.
"I'm sleepy. Shut up," he yawned again as he fell asleep.
Did he actually fall asleep?
That fast?
What?
How does someone even do that?
...He must have a lot of skill and experience with this...
"...Your roommate seems...very unique..." I awkwardly chuckled.
"Tell me about it...On the first day of school, he told me he was too tired to leave his bed so he ditched all of his classes. And he's supposed to be a prince. It's too bad he won't tell me which country he's from though..." Florence sighed.
"Maybe he's just...always sleepy?" I said with a glance at the hidden male lead.
How did the original game villainess die on his route...?
If I recall correctly, Lilly was supposed to meet him during a starry night while taking a walk through a school garden.
Together, they cured one another's loneliness and had countless romantic nights together under the moon.
Neither one of them revealed who they truly were.
Lilly kept the fact that she was a commoner a complete secret while the male lead would keep his identity as a prince secret by using his illusion magic to change the color of his eyes.
Of course, the Cordelia in the game was the one who ruined it all.
.
"Why should a commoner be loved?! Why should a commoner be happy?!" the game's Cordelia yelled in a shaky voice.
"Lady Cordelia...I-" the game's Lilly tried to say.
"Why does everyone love you?! Why you?! What have you done that was so different from me to deserve all this?!" Cordelia continued to screech as her voice became raspy.
"...Lady Cordelia...please open your heart...I'm sure there are people out there waitin-"
"No one...No one has ever wanted me. Loved me. Needed me...Everyone hates me...! I can tell by the way they look at me...! What have I done to deserve it all...?!"
"You can't say that..."
"I can. I can say these things. Have you ever seen those eyes before...the eyes that look as if though they are waiting to drag you down into the pits of hell...? Because I've seen them every day...every single horrid day..."
"..."
"Tell me. Why am I, someone of such high status, so deserving of a life of misery...while a commoner like you gets to steal away every person I have ever yearned for...?"
"Lady Cordelia...I promise...I have never stolen anyone from you. &%$#& is not an object, Lady Cordelia. He is the one...I love..."
"Love...? You? A commoner...thinks she deserves to...love...? Hahaha..." Cordelia shook as she began to laugh loudly.
"...Everyone deserves to love and be loved...Lady Cordelia...Even you."
"..."
"Please, believe me-"
"...Then...Why...Why can't just one...just one...just one person...Why can't just one person love me?! You have every man behind you...! So why...am I not allowed to have...one person...?!"
"...Lady Cordelia. That isn't true..."
"Everyone loves you...! They want you...! They need you...! They all...love you...a commoner. A filthy commoner..." Cordelia screamed as tears rolled down her cheeks slowly.
"..."
"I'll curse you...I'll curse you until the day you die. You'll never be able to get rid of me...I'll make your life a living nightmare because you destroyed mine...Lilly...you've messed with the wrong person," Cordelia spat in her bout of insanity.
"Lady Cordelia...!" Lilly yelled.
.
A small scene from the game played in my head.
It was the scene in the game when Cordelia took on the role of a villainess during Hidden Character #1's route.
I don't know why...but the moment I remembered it...a small part of my heart stung a little.
Back when I was playing the game, I didn't care too much about what was happening.
I just wanted the villainess to get out of the way so I could finish the game before I died.
But now...I am Cordelia.
What would happen if Lilly fell for Hidden Character #1?
I would die right...?
Because I'm the villainess.
That's supposed to be how it works.
But why...
...is there something in my heart telling me that I'm wrong.
...that I won't die by something like that.
I didn't know where this feeling of mine came from...but I chose to ignore it.
Thinking that this world wasn't dangerous would be a foolish move on my part.
It's always better to stay safe than sorry.
How did I even die in this boy's route again?
Hmm...
I couldn't seem to remember much about his route, to be honest.
It's been too many years since I've played the otome game.
I even nearly forgot about the twins before.
This is bad...what if I forget something important???
I'll need to write everything I still remember down later today...
"Lia~ Did you think we'd forget about your interrogation~?" Florence sang straight into my ear all of a sudden while I was zoned out.
"GAH! GET OUT OF MY PERSONAL SPACE BUBBLE!" I screamed as I scooted away from him as far as possible.
"What do you mean, Lia? We're engaged, aren't we? So how about you and I share each other's personal space bubbles and get to know each other more~?" Florence asked with a childish chuckled as he brushed his hand past my cheek and softly grabbed a lock of my hair to his face.
"W-What are you doing?!" I yelled.
"...You always smell so sweet, Lia..." Florence said as he kissed my hair and looked upward at me with a smirk.
This sadistic jerk was doing this all on purpose!
"GO AWAY!" I yelled as I pushed him.
I was about to stand up and run away, but Grey stopped me.
"Milady...Where are you going? The fun has just begun," Grey said with a dark smile.
No.
Noooooooooo.
"Save me Ash! Ace! Deux!" I yelled at the three slightly reasonable boys.
"Go help yourself, brat," Ash sneered.
"Lia, where are you going? You still haven't told us what happened last night," Florence chuckled darkly.
Ace and Deux, on the other hand, gave each other a knowing look and sighed.
Why.
Won't.
Anyone.
Help.
Me?!
If that's the case...I'll have to resort to more extreme measures...
Using just a tiny amount of illusion magic, I lit our breakfast table on fire.
"FIRE! EVERYONE GET OUT OF HERE! THERE'S FIRE!" one noble boy screamed the moment my table lit up in flames.
Everyone else in the room began to panic.
I was about to run away along with everyone else until I felt a chill go down my back.
"...Can't any of you here understand that I'm trying to sleep...?! Why the heck is everyone being so loud?!" the red-haired boy muttered loudly.
He snapped his fingers and within that exact moment, my illusion magic was canceled and the fire disappeared.
"What a cheap magic trick. I can't believe this was all it took to cause such a loud commotion..." the boy groaned as he slammed his head back on the table.
"A-Are you going to sleep again?" I asked him with a stutter.
"Only if you give me enough peace and quiet," he replied with a sigh.
There was confusion in the room when the fire died out.
The boys looked at me.
"Lia...Did you...do all of this...just to stop us from asking questions...?" Florence asked me with a dark tone.
"I...uh..." I muttered.
"What has been bothering you so much that it's mandatory for you to keep it a secret?!" Ash growled.
I clenched my fists.
"Cordelia did nothing wrong. I can attest to it-" Ace was about to defend me before the red-haired boy stepped in.
"She did nothing wrong. I was there the whole time when it happened," the red-haired boy said with a yawn as he scratched the back of his head.
"W-What?!" almost everyone said at the same time.
No, he wasn't...?
"Yeah. I didn't want to say anything though since I'm still having trouble erasing the memory from my mind..." he groaned.
"There's no way you could have been there. It happened during the Moonlit Feast. Only the student council and we were able to attend-" Florence was about to say before he was cut off.
"Well, it's because I'm a prince...I can do anything," the red-haired boy said with a shrug.
"Oh, I see. Makes sense," Florence nodded as if everything he was saying was perfectly okay.
"The royal families...are corrupted..." I groaned.
"Anyway, I can understand why'd the little lady is hesitating to tell you guys...Especially her buddy over there," the boy continued as he pointed at Ace.
...Did he actually know what was going on?!
This was bad.
I can't let him continue.
"What happened to her...?" Florence asked.
"Well...to be honest, it was quite a funny show. Until...it just became hard to watch..." the boy muttered.
What...was he even talking about...?
"What happened...! Just tell us already!" Ash yelled.
"...Basically, the moment she went outside to take a breather, she walked into the school's park, sat down on a tree stump, and began to talk to a rock," he said.
...What?
"Why would she talk to a roc-" Florence was about to say before he was cut off.
"That's what I thought too. So I decided to get closer to find out. She was talking to the rock as if it were her boyfriend. She said things like 'honey, I'm back' and 'I love you' to it."
"...What...? Why would she do that and why would she pass out afterward...?" Florence wondered.
"She began to make-out with the rock. It was a full-blown kissing session. I didn't know whether I should've kept watching or not," he continued as he increased the ridiculousness of his story.
"W-What???" everyone said out loud.
"Yeah. It was scary to watch at this point, to be honest...But afterward, she placed the rock down and said something along the lines of 'you grew more handsome since the last time I've seen you,'" he said without a care in the world.
What...was...he even saying at this point?!
"But her buddy over there walked in on her, so in her nervousness, she accidentally threw up everything she had just eaten straight onto the rock she was making out with. Afterward, she started crying since she had apparently killed her boyfriend rock," the boy sighed as he nodded to Ace.
"But...why...?" everyone asked.
"I don't know. Don't ask me. Maybe she's just a weird person. Maybe she accidentally drank alcohol and got drunk. Maybe she was just probably feeling lonely and single," he shrugged.
"Oh...I see..." Florence murmured.
What?!?!?!?!?!
How the heck were they falling for this dude's lies?!
They were so obviously made up that it was a miracle they even fell for it!
"L-Lia...You just felt lonely this whole time...? Aww...you should've just told me, your fiance. You didn't have to date a rock to live the couple life...Let's spend more time together, okay?" Florence said as he grabbed me into a tight hug and began to mess with me as if I were a baby.
"Sis...that's so sad...You don't have to be embarrassed...Don't feel lonely," Ash agreed as he also grabbed me into a hug and rub his face on my head.
"Milady...who knew you were so awkward...?" Grey muttered with a dark smirk.
All of a sudden everyone joined in on hugging and giving me baby-talk, except for Ace and Deux, the only reasonable ones of the group.
I could feel something snap in the back of my mind.
I glared at the red-haired boy.
He simply shrugged.
...I'm going to kill him.
---------------------------------------------------
A/N: Sorry for the *slightly* later update today! I had something come up earlier so I wasn't able to update when I usually update...
But the update is only an hour later than usual, so I hope you guys don't mind too much~
Also, the last official male lead is here! I wonder how you guys feel about him so far~
Who is he...? And what are his secrets...?
Well, my answer to those of you who are wondering this is: Who knows~?
;)
Anyway, stay safe everyone!
Thanks, again, to my readers/voters/commenters for keeping this story going!
Okie byeee!
Word Count: 2907