Volume 2, Chapter 1
There is a "prince" at Wruhel Academy.
Both scholarly and athletic.
Well-shaped eyebrows on a beautiful face.
Courageous and daring.
A magnificent spirit with a broad heart.
It was like fresh sprouts would spring up in the path he walked.
And if he smiled, the sun would appear even during a storm.
If he whispered sweetly, anyone would instantly lose their balance.
Those whom he touched are said to feel an unprecedented bliss that could not be described.
Among the students of the academy, especially the girls, it was the greatest fortune to have him talk to them. [1]
And today again, another lucky person...
"Hey, you dropped something."
As the person turned towards that sweet and melodious voice, there was a beautiful youngster who even made the goddess of beauty, Aphrodite, blue with envy.
"Ah, Cecil!"
That sudden appearance surprised the student. Her cheeks reddened and her eyes became moist.
He held her hands to deliver the handkerchief. The gesture looked like he was holding onto her with both hands.
"Thank you--!!"
"Be careful. You can't wipe your tears with a dirty handkerchief."
His thumb touched her cheek and gently wiped the tears that have accumulated around the corner of her eyes.
At that moment, a shriek broke out from nowhere, and the student fell while holding her handkerchief.
The name of that "prince" is Cecil Admina.
The fact that "he" is a "she" was still unknown to those innocent schoolgirls.
◆◇◆
"Hey. Recently, your 'princely act' is getting more outrageous."
Gilbert was talking inside the empty greenhouse. Right beside him "the prince" was casually throwing the last piece of the sandwich he was having for lunch into his mouth.
"Eh? Really?"
"I think it's okay if you want to keep up however you like, but if you overdo it, it'll bring in trouble later. First, you didn't want to be conspicuous and dressed as a man but then you went around acting all flamboyant. What is it with that? Are you stupid?"
"Uuuh..."
As if Gilbert's sharp words had directly pierced him/her, he/she held down a hand over the chest.
Her real name is Cecilia Silvy. She is the only daughter of the Silvy Dukedom.
She is also a so-called 'reincarnated person' who was reborn into a world that was very similar to the Japanese otome game "Wruhel Academy Saint Princess 3".
In this kingdom, there is a person called a Saint that protects people from certain evil entities known as 'disturbances'. When the power of the current Saint weakens, an event called the “Selection ceremony” is held to determine the next generation. "Wruhel Academy Saint Princess 3" is a game set during this "Selection Ceremony" when one can enjoy romance with a chosen Knight who protects the Saint candidates.
In the original story, Cecilia Silvy was a villainess who was also the love rival, and a character who was fated to perish in any of the game routes. So, to change her predestined death path, she dressed as a man and has taken the appearance of 'Cecil'.
At present, they were entering a short school break. The students were waiting for the final exam results to be released before the required home visit.
"So what are you planning to do from now on? Will you stick to your strategy of pairing Leanne to one of the Knights?"
"Well… you see...that's actually..."
As she took in the inquiry made by Gilbert, her only support, Cecilia frowned awkwardly.
Leanne was the heroine of "Wruhel Academy Saint Princess 3", in other words, the main character of the game. However, for some reason, she also ended up being a 'reincarnated person'. Additionally, she was utterly surprised when she discovered her true identity was the former best friend "Ichika Kisaragi" from Cecilia's previous life as "Hiyono Kanzaki".
And as a matter of fact, Leanne had already refused the matter of becoming the Saint. She declared:
"If I become the Saint, then Huey and I can't remain lovers! I won't give up! I refuse it!"
And it seemed the situation went down like that. Indeed, Leanne couldn't be together with Huey as the Saint. Simply because he was not one of the appointed Knights.
(But… isn't there anything we can do about it…??)
She wanted to support her friend's love life, but her own life was also very important for Cecilia.
Moreover, Leanne returned the treasure that Jade had bestowed her. As it was, it will become inevitable that Cecilia, who has Gilbert's treasure, will be chosen as the Saint. If that happens, she will be attacked by bandits and die on her way to have her title acknowledge by the kingdom. Moreover, unlike in the original game, Cecilia was crossdressing. She can't even fathom how things could go even worse in this context!
"It will be okay if Cecilia becomes the Saint! You won't die, I know you won't die! … … Probably!"
Those carefree words of her past life's best friend suddenly popped up in her mind. Gilbert looked at her with a worried look as Cecilia smiled bitterly.
"What 's wrong?"
"Well..."
She wondered how to explain the whole thing. Leanne wished to keep the fact that she was a reincarnated person and also her former best friend as a secret. Of course, this meant that Gilbert shouldn't know. Cecilia honestly wanted to tell him, but since it was Leanne's decision, she couldn't go against it. She muttered her next words.
"It seems it has become a little difficult for Leanne to become the Saint..."
"Is that so?"
"Yeah, it looks like she's really into Huey for some reason, doesn't it? I don't think it would be possible for her to fall in love with anyone else!"
"Well, what will you do then?"
"Hmm..."
What else could she possibly think of? That was Cecilia's honest opinion. She bobbed her head sideways to check if any good ideas would suddenly appear, but her empty brain couldn't come up with any thoughts.
"In that case, can't we just look for the third candidate?"
After staying quiet for a while, Gilbert gave that suggestion. Cecilia stared back at him and blinked repeatedly.
"The third candidate. The whole thing revolves around the fact that sis should not become the Saint. Then, if we can just push all the responsibility towards that person who might still be alive somewhere, it would all round up nicely."
"That's it!"
She spontaneously pointed her finger at Gilbert.
There were many differences between this world and the world in "Wruhel Academy Saint Princess 3" that Cecilia was familiar with. It started with the personality change of the one sitting right next to her, Gilbert and even affected one of the main characters, Oscar. And then, the relationships between each character and the way the game events unfolded. Amongst those, there were two puzzling matters. One was that the assassin known as the 'Killer', who murdered the Saint candidates, hasn't appeared yet. And the other was that the third Saint candidate, who had a mark shaped as an Azalea flower, hasn't been declared dead. In the game, the Saint candidate with the Azalea mark was assassinated by the 'Killer' early in the prologue, before the main story begun. However, in reality, they haven't heard any rumors about a murder. There weren't any shocking stories similar to that published in the newspapers. Because of that, and since the 'Killer' hasn't made any movements so far, it was likely that the Saint candidate bearing the Azalea mark was alive.
"There must be some reason why they haven't been appointed as a Saint candidate or couldn't come forward earlier so I think it would be worthwhile to search for them."
"Yeah! Gil, you're the best! So smart!"
With a big smile, Cecilia hugged Gilbert. And patted his head as to compliment him.
"Having such a smart little brother makes me so happy!"
"Aaah, ok, ok."
Gilbert just sighed tiredly. Seeing his attitude, Cecilia leaned her head sideways.
"Huh? Gil, you don't hate it when I hug you anymore, right? Maybe your rebellious period is over?"
"It wasn't a rebellious period in the first place."
"Oh, is that right? I thought it was a puberty induced bashfulness, or something like that!"
"It might be related to puberty, but it's not the kind of cute feeling that sis is thinking of."
"Well, I don't get it...!"
"...Of course you don't."
Gilbert exhaled again. His expression had a touch of melancholy.
"Anyway, I decided to help you out since this is my privilege."
"Privilege?"
"Sis, you would never ask His Highness to help you with this, right?"
"Of course not, why would you even bring up Oscar?"
"I wonder about that too..."
Cecilia thought he looked a little happy. She couldn't understand Gilbert's mood lately. All she knew was that he seemed to have more restrained facial expression and gestures. Cecilia interpreted his change as "becoming more like an adult." One could consider he was already quite mature for his age since long ago, but now, it seemed like her stepbrother was becoming even more independent and it made her feel a little lonely.
"Well, I've already made up my mind."
Cecilia had no choice but to nod in agreement even though she couldn't quite get it.
1. This whole intro act is written with some idiomatic and poetic phrases so pardon me for not being able to communicate the full richness. My English vocabulary is quite lacking for this.