"Um, Lady Stormdila, you must be at the prestigious Royal Eden Academy then, according to your status?"
I asked 'curiously'.
I just needed to raise her favorability a little, then rip the affection points regardless of the number.
"Yes, in second year."
"Wow, I see. If I may ask, are you highly ranked in your promotion?"
"You bet she's highly ranked!"
Lea joined the conversation.
"Myra is in the top three of the second year!"
She said as if it was her own achievement.
"Amazing…I'd like to join this academy one day…"
I said in a crestfallen tone that would without doubt make her lower her guard a little.
Maybe.
"Oh? How about asking your father, Myra?"
""Eh?""
Miranda and I let out a dumbfounded voice at the same time.
It wasn't in the plan! I just made up that lie!
I was already registered anyway.
"Lea, I can't do that. Moreover, he's a stranger…"
"Yeah, she's right! Don't say nonsense Lea!"
Dylan helped me indirectly to get out of this problem.
"A shame..huh? What's your name? We haven't even asked that."
Lea asked with a laugh.
I thought a few seconds about it before replying.
"Nyrel."
"Nyrel? Rather, the unique name."
"Yeah, it's the first time I have heard such a name."
Theo agreed with Lea.
"Still, you must be very talented, Lady Stormdila. Your father might be a Monarch, but what you achieved belongs to you. I, personally, could never bear the pressure. Being the child of a Monarch might come with perks but also drawbacks, I guess."
I finished my long speech to get a good reaction from Miranda.
Miranda Stormdila.
Though she never showed it, she hated being compared to her father.
'She inherited her father's talents!'
How many people said the same thing?
Only she, knows all the hard work she had to put in to become strong and worthy of a Monarch's daughter. Of course, she was talented, but it wasn't only that. She worked hard to reach her current level. That was why she hated it when people gave credit to her father's genes or whatever.
Only two people said something similar to what I just said.
The first was Edward Falkrona at a young age, before his mother's death. He was close to Miranda, so he somewhat understood her feelings.
And the second one was later in the story game. It was none other than Jayden Rayena, the [Protagonist]. His relation with Miranda started with these words, just like with Edward years before…
"Hm?"
I looked up and saw Miranda staring at me. She couldn't hide the shock or surprise.
Her lips quivered a little but she soon recovered.
Wait!
It worked?!
'Jarvis! Did I get Affection Points from Miranda?'
I asked, excited.
[No.]
Jarvis crushed my hope.
Why?!
[<Probably because she just met you.>]
Still!
It should have shaken her.
"Hey, Theo, don't you feel like he's trying to seduce Myra?"
"I know, right? You think he has a chance?"
"If Dylan don't kill him before, yeah."
I ignored Lea's and Theo's whispers and Dylan's murderous stare as well, before racking my brain to find something to get those freaking points.
[<Continue to act like a simp, it will get you somewhere.>]
I should never have taught her this word but she was right.
I just have to throw my dignity as a man away. I was masked anyway…
"Um, Lady Stormdila."
When I called her again, I felt now, even the bodyguards' annoyed gazes toward me. I avoided Dylan and only saw Lea's and Theo's amused expressions.
As for Miranda, fortunately, it didn't seem to bother her.
Maybe.
"I'm hesitating between a sword and a bow as a choice of weapon and I wanted your opinion as an expert at bows, to help me."
If 'lie' was a person, I would certainly be that dude.
Since I don't give a damn about bows!
The men using bows are all cowards!
Yeah!
Insult me if you want, the bows' lovers! But I wouldn't change my opinion on that!
Miranda looked at her bow on her thighs and smiled a little.
Jarvis! Did I get affection points?!
[No.]
[<You are too impatient, Amael.>]
'Yeah, but she smiled! I saw it!'
[<You sound like a virgin misunderstanding the first girl smiling at you.>]
'I haven't stooped that low, useless goddess!'
I was hurt by Cleenah's words, but she was right.
Dammit.
That challenge was driving me insane.
"I chose the bow because someone.....told me I looked beautiful with it."
Shit!
It was me.
The younger Edward, to be exact.
[<The younger Edward seems more charming than the current you. >]
Buzz off!
"But this is not my reason anymore."
Miranda's face turned cold for a split of a second. I fixed my mask just in case.
"I want to help and save people in need. I can't clone myself, but I can at least assist several people at the same time."
She stroked her bow with care.
"It's only possible with a bow. It might be possible with other weapons only if you have a godly speed."
Yeah.
She was really a Heroine of that game.
She deserved that title.
There was no lie in her words.
I know because I played the game.
Miranda Stormdila was such a woman.
Though she said that, there was another reason why she picked the bow. The main reason. Obviously, she wasn't going to reveal it to a stranger like me.
"..."
I stared at Miranda.
She was stroking her bow with a slightly sad smile. Her tangerine eyes weren't showing emotion but I could guess what she was thinking about since I played her route.
Even with such an expression, she was breathtaking.
Miranda…
She was going to die in the First Game.
No, it was better to say that there was a 95% chance of her dying in the game.
She was either going to die during a battle or r*ped brutally and then killed by her enemies.
When I played the game, I never succeeded in saving her.
It was a NC-17 game, so I didn't need to say that Miranda would go through inhuman atrocities.
I witnessed my failed endings with her from the start to the end with Ephera.
The game was so realistic, be it screams, images and videos, that we had a hard time watching the scenes. Ephera burst into tears and it was because of her that I tried to get a happy ending for Miranda but I had never succeeded. It was too hard honestly.
As I said, it wasn't just a fluffy game of seduction, it was more than that.
When I look at her sad smile, I just want to help her.
Ephera would probably do it without a second thought, but how?
I recalled all the problems Miranda would have to face and I was shivering just from remembering. I will die without doubts. Even in the body of the cheat [Protagonist] I couldn't save her. Then what about Edward's body?
I feel bad for Miranda, but my life comes before her life.
I couldn't risk dying again. I didn't want to die again.
Still, I have time before that…
"What's up, Nyrel? Were you touched by Myra's story?"
Lea broke the silence.
"You are quite the compassionate one, aren't you?"
She grinned at me.
If only she knew that I was planning to let her best friend die a brutal death without doing anything…
"Right, Myra?"
Miranda looked at me, seemingly trying to guess my expression behind my mask.
"I appreciate your sympathy but there is no need to feel anything."
Miranda said in a neutral tone.
Extremely neutral tone.
She was furrowing her brows as if she had a hard time understanding something.
She probably found me being 'touched' which she misunderstood, as I was just feeling pity for her future, 'strange', since we had known just for a few minutes, so she put a wall between us to avoid anything weird. Still a cautious girl, huh.
[<Wow, you are a master at understanding the feelings of others!>]
'Don't underestimate me.'
I snorted inwardly and hid the fact that I had a good grasp of Miranda's way of thinking since I read her biography a dozen times.
She may have put a wall up, but I wasn't going to give up.
"Lady Stormdi-"
"Enough!"
Before I could ask what she thought of the recent hot weather, Dylan snapped.
He finally reached his limits…
"Don't you see you are annoying her?! Mind your status before speaking again!"
"Calm down, Dylan-"
"Shut up Theo! He's clearly seducing Miranda, don't you see?!"
"Eh?"
I was the one letting out this dumb voice.
"..."
"..."
"..."
"..."
They all had strange expressions.
Don't tell me they were thinking this whole time that I was on her…?
[<It's obvious though.>]
[I confirm.]
What?!
My brain short-circuited at this revelation.
Was I too forceful?
I just wanted to earn affection points though…
How can I face them now?!
It was so embarrassing.
"Euh-"
-Booooom!
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Another chapter soon!