An Otome Game Spinoff Featuring a Prince with Maxed-Out Affection and a Reincarnated Noble Girl
It’s Lord Chris’s Turn Forever!
Translated by: S3
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There are some cruel scenes in the middle of this chapter.
Please be advised if you are uncomfortable with scenes involving bloodshed or the death of humans and animals.
I have included a brief summary of the main points in the afterword for those who wish to skip ahead.
*****
I caught the eye of a maid standing in the distance to get a refill of tea, then munched my way through a very pretty macaron as I relaxed.
During that time, Prince Chris didn't move, his face buried in his hands and his head hanging low.
I could occasionally hear him muttering things like, 「No... that is just... unacceptable...」
Since Prince Chris wasn't showing signs of recovery yet, I decided to have another macaron.
The surface was decorated with delicate icing in a lace-like pattern. It was a very "instagrammable" macaron. On top of that, it was incredibly delicious.
Usually, I’m the type to say "flavor over photos," but I wanted to give this macaron a perfect score for both taste and appearance.
I really dislike sweets that are made solely for the "aesthetic" and end up being frustratingly difficult to eat... They might taste good, but I don't even want to try them in the first place... What a "bae-gone."
Still, whether it's an otome game or a shojo manga, the "backside" of this world is dark...
I wish they had turned that dark part into a manga with those beautiful illustrations...
But from the heroine’s perspective, I suppose events played out exactly as they did in that manga.
The Story of How I Became a Count’s Daughter Overnight☆! A Heart-Pounding♡ Cinderella Story! Or something like that.
...Though, Prince Chris’s inner self is quite dark—or rather, a bruised, murky color. In the "previous time," he didn't even seem like the "arrogant prince" type; he seemed more like a straight-up psychopath. Or maybe someone with Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
And the airheaded heroine... she probably wasn't a bad girl. Thinking that she was used for that very reason makes her nothing but a victim...
As I was pondering this, I heard a deep, deep sigh from beside me.
Prince Chris was finally, unsteadily, returning to the land of the living.
「...Are you alright?」
You look absolutely wrecked, though.
「I’m fine...」
His voice was so thin!!
「I’m fine. ...Heh... I’m perfectly fine...」
That hollow smile is scary! Are you seriously okay?!
As I watched him with concern, Chris exhaled deeply again and froze, staring into the distance with vacant eyes.
...Yeah, this is not "fine." This is very much the opposite.
「Um... Prince Chris...」
Ah... he isn't even responding... Poor thing...
「Shall we save the rest of the story for another time...?」
Should we just eat something delicious today, take a bath, and go to sleep in a warm bed?
「No...」
His voice was still tiny and thin, but Chris rejected the idea firmly.
「Since I’ve spoken this much, would you stay with me until the end...?」
「Yes. That’s fine with me.」
I mean, I’m fine, but are you fine, Prince Chris?
Chris looked at me and gave a weak, exhausted smile.
「If I postpone it to a 'next time,' I fear I’ll become too terrified of that day ever coming, and that 'next time' will never arrive...」
Ah! He’s staring into the distance again!!
***
In the year I turned nineteen and Fiorina turned eighteen, we became husband and wife.
Over a year had passed since we first met, but during that time, Fiorina had shown absolutely no growth "as a noble."
She was a girl without a shred of "noble-lady-likeness."
And yet, she had to be fashioned into a "Queen"—the most noble woman representing the nation.
It was only natural that the tutors became strict.
In fact, no matter how strict they were, it probably still wasn't enough.
But Fiorina hated those rigorous lessons.
She said that the "princesses in stories" she admired didn't have to take such lessons. The "stories" she referred to were the ones her mother had told her as bedtime stories when she was a child.
The typical "a princess meets a prince, overcomes hardships to be united, and they live happily ever after."
Naturally, such stories never mention what it takes to receive a lady’s education. What kind of refinement a "princess" needs to live as a princess has absolutely nothing to do with the plot.
Therefore, she believed that a "princess" was a princess simply because she held that status.
She believed that regardless of what was inside the princess, as long as she held that position, everyone would naturally bow to her.
The end for those who hold high status without the substance to back it up is usually tragic.
She didn't know that reality, that history.
Normally, those were things I should have taught her, things I should have reasoned with her about.
But unfortunately, my own perception wasn't much different from hers.
To be "nobly born" was something to be revered in and of itself. Having been born at the pinnacle of the country, I believed I held the highest value just by existing.
...If anyone else heard this, they wouldn't even be able to laugh. They would be beyond exasperated.
But I, too, believed it.
If someone asked me, "Is such strict studying really necessary?" I would naturally answer, "It isn't necessary, is it?"
The woman I, the noble me, chose to place by my side was precious for that reason alone.
With that attitude applied to everything, Fiorina ended up in the seat of the Crown Princess without having acquired a single skill.
***
...Prince Chris’s voice is so quiet it’s hard to hear the story...
And now his story has entered the "Otome Game After-Story" arc.
The game (or rather, the manga I read) ended with the heroine and the Crown Prince getting together, promising their futures to each other, and a Happy Ending. I think they said something like, "Let’s make this country better together"...
Well, anyone can say that.
But the "previous" Chris actually seems like he would say it. And he’d mean it, too.
He probably genuinely thought, I’m going to be King, so of course things will get better!
But wait a minute?
Prince Chris should have had guardians who could steer him properly.
There’s no way such people would approve of him taking an airheaded girl as his consort.
「What about the opinions of your guardians, Prince Chris...?」
When I asked, Chris gave a small, fleeting laugh.
「My field of vision was very narrow; at most, I could only see myself and Fiorina. Moreover, those figures were based on the distorted perception of a monster. ...In other words, it was no different from being blind.」
...Well, yeah.
The "previous" Chris wouldn't have had a shred of objectivity.
「I didn't see it. I didn't see when my guardian became Count Staden. ...Or why those who were supposed to make me even a slightly better King had disappeared.」
「...Huh?」
Disappeared...? Does that mean they left the castle? Or does it mean they were "disappeared"...?
...This is starting to smell like a conspiracy.
***
Even if the King and his loyal ministers are present, the Crown Prince still holds a certain amount of authority.
Most of that "authority" was granted not to me, but to my guardians.
In a way, that was a natural decision.
You can't entrust political decisions to an uneducated, unrefined monster. Even before that, that monster showed no interest in "politics" and didn't even understand what "politics" was.
Giving him authority was just a waste.
At that time, my "work" consisted of sitting at a desk all day, signing documents without even looking at them, and passing them from the right to the left.
Even so, I was told by my guardians that these were "very important and noble tasks that only Your Highness can perform." ...What on earth is a "noble task"? I can only imagine the struggle my guardians went through...
I don't know exactly when it started, but the number of documents I had to sign began to decrease.
If I wasn't in the mood, I would throw aside even that simple "work" as being too bothersome. My daily workload was already quite inconsistent to begin with.
Because of that, even if there were over a dozen documents for approval one day and only two the next, I didn't find it particularly strange.
One day, Count Staden and several men came to the office.
They said, 「From today, we shall be Your Highness’s loyal subordinates.」
When exactly had the original guardians vanished from sight? I didn't even know that.
My only thought was, Oh, it’s these guys instead of those guys now. However, Count Staden never told me to "do this" or "do that." So, I even thought, They’re better than that annoying bunch.
By the time they could occupy the position of my guardian, many of the lower-ranking officials had already been replaced by those under the influence of the Staden family.
It wasn't that they agreed with the Staden family's original goal. Most were just greedy people blinded by the profits they expected to gain.
They had no particular political or religious convictions; essentially, they were a disorganized mob.
But for the Staden group, that was more convenient.
Their aim wasn't wealth or power. It was a single stone in the treasury, and revenge against the royal family that had "wrongfully occupied" that stone for years.
The castle and the country falling into lawless chaos was a situation they welcomed.
Not only was I uninterested in politics, I wasn't even properly participating in it, so I was far removed from political strife.
Even though I was used as a figurehead, putting me in the spotlight risked ruining even Staden’s plans. Therefore, Fiorina and I were confined to a detached palace within the royal castle grounds.
...No, we didn't think of it as "confinement." We thought of it as a magnificent castle prepared just for the two of us.
Being foolish might be a blessing for the person themselves. Since they can't even recognize their own ignorance.
The confined monster and the pitiful little bird lived in idle happiness, never realizing that the cage they were in was a cage.
Fiorina was a girl who could neither read nor write, nor could she do math. The only thing she had been taught was the spelling of her name. Fiorina didn't even know how to pronounce individual letters.
Such a girl had no knowledge of the value of money.
The village where she lived was in a very remote area.
There were no shops in the village, and food was basically self-sufficient. Taxes to the lord were paid in wheat. Well, that in itself isn't unusual.
Daily necessities like clothing and miscellaneous goods were obtained from a merchant who came once a month, also in exchange for wheat.
One cotton shirt for one small bag of wheat, and so on.
***
「That’s a very honest and decent merchant.」
I was actually a bit impressed.
Chris nodded with a smile.
「Yes. As a market price, it’s very reasonable.」
One garment worn by a typical commoner for one small bag of wheat. Based on the conversion rate of wheat, that’s a very normal price. It’s maybe ten percent more expensive than buying it with cash at a neighborhood clothing store? That’s the extent of the markup.
But considering the trouble of traveling to a tiny village in a remote area and the effort of converting wheat into cash, that ten percent markup is cheap.
Even by Japanese standards, there are "remote island surcharges." It’s the same thing, and this merchant set that amount at only a "token gesture."
By the way, "wheat instead of money" isn't all that rare. Barley is fine too.
In short, as long as it’s a non-perishable grain with stable demand and price, most things can serve as a substitute for money.
「Sera, you just converted the wheat into a monetary value in your head, didn't you?」
「Well, obviously?」
I mean, that's what we're talking about.
「How did you perform that calculation?」
「Eh...? Just normally, based on the unit price of wheat per weight, I figured if it's one small bag, it would be around this much...」
I mean, is there any other way?
Well, I don't know the exact prices today, so it’s just a figure based on the "average price of wheat around here."
Oh, wheat prices in this country almost never crash or skyrocket. We harvest tons of wheat. The climate is very stable too. There aren't people facing hell because of futures trading. Though I hear the adzuki bean market is a bit messy.
「Fiorina, you see, had never seen 'money' before.」
「...Eh? What?!」
Never seen it? Is that even possible?!
To the shocked me, Chris laughed softly.
「As I said earlier, life was basically self-sufficient. Taxes were paid in grain, and they bartered with merchants. Terrifyingly enough, she didn't have the concept of 'currency.'」
Now that he mentions it... that actually might be true...
...This is the biggest culture shock I've had since being reincarnated...
***
Being able to live without money isn't necessarily a bad thing.
However, that’s only "not bad" if you spend your entire life in that narrow community.
The merchant who came to the village didn't take so much wheat that the villagers had nothing to eat. He was a very sincere merchant.
He always brought only the amount of goods that wouldn't strain their food supply.
Having lived such a life, Fiorina naturally lacked any "sense of money."
In her world, the "currency" was wheat.
For the usual shirt, one small bag of wheat. For a soup pot, three bags. For farming tools, one large bag.
She understood that, but she didn't know "how much monetary value" that one small bag of wheat held.
The words she spoke upon seeing a banknote were, 「What is this scrap of paper for?」
Her tutor told her, 「From now on, you will exchange that paper for clothes and jewelry.」 That in itself wasn't a problem. It was true.
However, the tutor did not tell her "how many bags of wheat this banknote is worth."
After I started over, I investigated the backgrounds of everyone I could remember, and as expected, that tutor was also someone connected to Staden.
The Staden family's intention was to keep Fiorina ignorant.
The job of the tutor, who was supposed to teach her what she didn't know, was to leave her ignorance as it was.
Since she couldn't get a satisfactory answer from her tutor, she asked me.
How much wheat does this paper become? she asked.
I at least knew it was a banknote. However, we almost never have the opportunity to "pay for something and shop ourselves." Specifically in the previous time, I never did. So while I knew the value of the banknote, I didn't know the market price of goods.
Moreover, since I wasn't really listening to Fiorina, I didn't understand the intent of her question.
I just wondered, Why is this woman trying to buy wheat?
What Fiorina was holding was the highest-denomination banknote.
I didn't know the market price of wheat, but I knew that with that much money, you could probably buy quite a lot of it.
What are you going to do with wheat?
When I asked, Fiorina said, 「No.」
「I don't want wheat; I just want to know how much wheat this one piece is worth.」
Again, I didn't understand the meaning of those words.
So, I said it.
「I don't know how much wheat it is, but couldn't you buy about one of those sweets over there?」
The "sweet over there" was a cookie. Just one.
Naturally, if you only bought one, you’d get a massive amount of change.
I said it as half a joke. Since it was a sweet served to a noble like me, I thought it wouldn't be strange if it held that much value.
But there was no way such a joke would work on Fiorina.
After thinking for a while, she gave a bright smile.
I see! So one of these is worth about two small bags of wheat!
That was the moment high-denomination banknotes became worth little more than scrap paper in her mind.
Having come to perceive the highest-value banknotes as equivalent to low-value coins, Fiorina was, as one might expect, a reckless spender.
She spent money without hesitation on the dresses and jewelry she had admired since childhood, rare sweets and alcohol brought from other countries, and so on.
Is the expression "without hesitation" correct?
...To her, those amounts weren't perceived as "high prices to be hesitated over."
***
That’s so terrrrrifying!!
What is this story? It’s so scary!
The heroine is in a state of personal hyperinflation! And no one stopped her!
In "villainess-style" stories, this kind of development happens often.
The heroine, who gets a Happy Ending with a royal or noble, later goes on a luxury spree and ruins the family... that kind of thing.
However, the heroine who "spends money like water" in those stories has the consciousness of being "the incredibly happy Me surrounded by expensive things♡." It’s that arrogance that makes the "downfall" shine so beautifully.
But this heroine is different.
Even in front of incredibly expensive items, she calculates them in her head as having a value of about one-hundredth of the actual market price.
There was no malice, and she probably didn't even realize she was being extravagant.
...No, she probably did think she was being "extravagant." Because a dress probably cost the equivalent of dozens of bags of wheat in her exchange rate.
What’s surprising is her estimate of the price of a single cookie.
While she overvalued it, she was actually somewhat close to the mark.
She isn't stupid... Thinking that makes it feel even more pitiful... If she had been properly educated, she could have become a good Queen...
But no one wanted her to be a "good Queen."
In fact, those around her wanted her to become someone who would be called the "villainess of the century."
And just as planned, the hyper-inflated heroine continued her wastefulness without knowing.
If she kept that up, even a massive vault like the "National Treasury" would run dry pretty quickly.
***
While we were living like that, it seems a three-way struggle was unfolding in the castle between the "Current King and his ministers," the "Staden faction," and the "greedy opportunists trying to use Staden for profit." Each was plotting to sit in the major official seats.
However, on the surface, everything seemed to pass without issue.
Beneath the surface, it seems the three factions were fighting in various ways to get what they wanted.
The moderates and fence-sitters who didn't belong to any of the three factions seemed to have decided to stay out of it, but then a situation arose where they couldn't stay silent.
The sudden passing of the King.
Considering the situation, the theory of poisoning by one of the other two factions—is highly likely.
Furthermore, I believe the culprits were the Staden faction. ...Since no such incident has occurred "this time," there is no way to investigate it.
One day, the King suddenly complained of feeling unwell and took to his bed. Only four days later, despite the doctor’s treatment, the King passed away.
With the King’s death as a trigger, many people left the castle and the capital.
Convinced that there was no future for this country, they left to fulfill their duties, believing they must at least protect their own territories and people.
The King’s loyal ministers still tried their best to maintain the system... they worked hard for us. But sadly, they were outnumbered.
During all this, Fiorina’s wastefulness didn't stop.
By that time, the national treasury must have been nearly empty.
To Fiorina, money was the same as wheat. You could harvest it when early summer came. If it were wheat, that would be true.
If it’s gone, shouldn't we just harvest more?
She would say that, purely innocently.
Harvesting money that should be in the national treasury... that means nothing other than raising tax rates and collecting it from the people.
But even with wheat, you have to plow the field, sow the seeds, provide water and fertilizer, protect the seedlings from insects and birds... only after all that effort do you reach the harvest.
Tax revenue is the same.
In a land where nothing was planted and no effort was made, no money exists to be paid.
Despite that, only the tax rates kept rising.
The people’s frustration had swollen to its limit.
The people’s anger was first directed toward the nobles living in the capital.
Most of the nobles remaining in the capital were those interested only in their own profit. They were people who didn't pay a shred of attention to the state of the common folk.
As if flaunting themselves to the people struggling with their daily lives, the nobles wore lavish clothes and traveled the roads in polished carriages; there was no way the people wouldn't hate them.
The mobs rushed into the noble estates.
They tormented the beautifully dressed residents in whatever ways they saw fit.
It seems the residents there were also hated by their servants. I heard it was the servants who let the mobs in.
The knights who were supposed to crack down on the mobs had abandoned their duties long before that.
The wages that were supposed to be paid to them had been delayed for quite a long time. Even though they weren't getting paid, the people who were supposed to pay them were living in luxury themselves. To them, it must have been beyond ridiculous.
The people killed every single person of those noble families and crucified the bodies on the gates.
Everyone... even young children, had their bodies sliced open, their skin flayed, their limbs carved away...
The wretched corpses, subjected to every kind of violence fueled by anger and hatred, were lined up along the gates.
The nobles were terrified by this situation.
Thinking they might be next.
The people didn't let those who tried to flee before anyone else escape.
Some were burned along with their carriages. I heard the horses that were pulling them were dismantled and taken away, leaving only some internal organs and massive pools of blood. Many people must have been struggling for food, so they were probably used to satisfy their hunger.
Those who tried to blend in with the commoners by wearing shabby clothes were seen through because of their well-maintained skin and hair and were killed after being tormented.
Those who hired thugs with money were also betrayed by the people they hired and were killed after being subjected to all sorts of torture. If they had used that money correctly for the people, or paid it as wages to their servants... It’s pointless to say it now, though.
The noble houses were all ransacked, looted, demolished, or set on fire.
If the nobility falls, the hatred naturally shifts to the royalty. It’s a natural progression.
Ever since the King passed away, the Queen’s health had been poor.
Whether that was truly ill health or the effect of some kind of toxin is unclear. However, it wouldn't be strange at all if her body broke down due to the mental strain.
The castle servants also disappeared—not "gradually," but "all at once."
They were the same as the common folk in the city.
Their frustration had been simmering, but they had been enduring it because there was no trigger to release it.
That frustration was released by the King’s death.
They were people who served with the desire to repay and support the King they revered. With their beloved master gone, all that remained was a monster who didn't even understand the situation and a little girl who could do nothing but chirp beautifully. There was no need to die for such a place.
I only noticed these abnormalities in the castle around the time several nobles in the capital had already been "executed" by the people.
***
...This is starting to sound like the eve of the storming of the Bastille... In terms of being a "symbol of authority," this country only has the royal castle. Prisons are just places where people who commit crimes are thrown after being judged. Ah... I can hear the people sing...
The reason the royal castle, a symbol of authority and dominance, wasn't attacked was probably that the "intellectual class is extremely biased toward the nobility."
There were no leaders to incite the riots and point to the goal, saying, "The enemy is at Honno-ji or somewhere else!"
The target of anger and hatred was the nobility they saw every day. Even though the "Royal Castle" was a symbol, to the common people, it was a place far removed from their daily lives, so it was probably the last thing to be brought up as a target for attack.
To those aiming to usurp the throne, it’s pointless if the monarchy collapses. So they would instead try to divert eyes away from the royal castle.
The same was true for Staden; until their goal was achieved, they couldn't let the rabble into the castle.
...No wonder the castle was quiet even while the capital was in chaos...
Nevertheless, eventually the people’s anger reaches the castle.
Marie-sama had a loyal knight in men’s clothing (well, not in reality), but Chris and the heroine can't hope for such a person.
Isn't this the ultimate checkmate? I feel nothing but despair...
I mean, this country is as peaceful as a fairy tale, but one wrong move and that's what happens...
「Sera.」
I looked at Chris when he called my name; he was looking at me with anxious, worried eyes.
「Are you alright? Do you feel unwell...?」
「I’m fine.」
When I smiled to reassure him, Chris said, 「You don't have to force yourself.」
No, really, I’m fine. I have a decent tolerance for gore.
Besides, while it’s a real experience for Chris, to me, it’s just a "story beyond imagination." Yes, I "can't even imagine it."
If he told me the details more vividly, I’d probably feel sick. But Chris, who was acting high and mighty in the castle, probably wouldn't know the "vivid details" anyway.
Looking at lotus seed pod photos is way worse (Trypophobia vibes).
「Is it okay to continue?」
「Yes.」
I mean, actually, I’m curious about what happens next. Please go ahead, Prince Chris.
***
The trigger for noticing the abnormality was that food didn't come out.
The servants, who were faithful and sincere in their duties, never neglected the care of even this hopeless Crown Prince and his consort.
Meals came out at the same time every day, and tea was properly prepared.
I left the room, thinking I’d shout at them for being negligent in their duties.
...If the servants were negligent, what on earth was I? Strict with others, incredibly soft on myself. What a despicable spirit.
Normally, servants would be working in the corridors of the detached palace, and there would be guards at the entrances.
Every single one of them was nowhere to be found.
What is the meaning of this... I was furious.
As for Fiorina, she said, 「I’m hungry,」 and took out preserved food from the detached palace’s pantry and ate it. In times like this, someone from a commoner background is strong.
Those days continued for several days.
The food in the pantry also started to run low. If you eat as much as you want without a plan, that’s what happens.
Where on earth had the servants gone? Just how much duty do they intend to abandon before they're satisfied? When they return, I’ll have to give them all disciplinary action.
Knowing nothing of the situation, I was carefree enough to think such things.
*****
For those who skipped, this story in 3 lines:
Crown Princess Heroine-chan goes on a luxury spree as per the trope.
The Staden faction is apparently making secret moves.
The BGM is 'Do You Hear the People Sing?' Roses scatter beautifully, and the world is heartless.
That was the gist of the story.
Thank you for reading.
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