The morning after the matriculation ceremony.

Perhaps it was as expected of the greatest academy in the entire kingdom, but my dorm room was beyond even my expectations...

I've never lived in a dorm before, but from what I know, they're normally smaller in size. And sometimes, there would be more than one student living together in a room at a time.

So when I saw a room that could be easily mistaken as the master bedroom of a mansion after coming home from the ceremony yesterday, I was... truly shocked.

"A-Anne... Is this really a dorm...?"

"...I was quite shocked when I first came here with Maria and Iris as well. But it seems that every room in this dorm is the same."

"...I guess it's to be expected from the royal academy."

"Indeed..."

After overcoming our shock, Anne and Maria-chan helped me wash up in a private bathroom in my room and the four of us rested for the rest of the day.

Classes will start two days from now, on the first day of the fourth month of the year. The academy had given time for students to settle down into their dorms, relax, and perhaps befriend other students who would be in the same class as them.

And the next morning, after I had just finished my breakfast, Lu-nii came to my room, saying he wanted to tell me a few things.

I was pretty confused at first, but I let him in and had Anne and Maria-chan serve the both of us some tea.

And then... he dropped a bomb. Then another one... and even more...

"Keith told me that he met an annoying girl yesterday. She was following him for quite a while after he coincidentally caught her when she slipped."

He said nonchalantly, sitting on the chair opposite of me with his legs crossed and sipping on tea.

"Eh?"

"And when I went to the library, I saw that Aria girl chirping on and on to Wilhelm while he was reading. I don't think I've ever seen him that annoyed in my whole life."

"Huh?"

"Ah, and she also tried to "accidentally" bump into me. But I dodged, so she fell into the arms of another guy."

"..."

W-W-W-Wait a minute!!! This is too much!!!! She's doing too much!!!

It's only been a day!!!!!!!

I-I-Is he serious?! She's triggering flags like there's no tomorrow!!!

Is she that desperate?!

"A-A-A-Are you serious?"

"Of course I am. Why would I lie?"

"Oh my Goddess... She's really gunning for all of you..."

Kuh... I should've expected this from the way Amelia-sama described her...

"Yeah... It's really annoying. I feel like I need to increase my alertness so I could see her shenanigans coming."

I raised my head towards him and looked at him in the eyes.

"...You're not enticed by her cuteness, Lu-nii?"

He raised his eyebrows to my question and began looking at me like I'm an idiot.

W-What? Isn't it natural to be concerned? After all, "Lucas's" route is one where "Alterisa" would die!!!

"...Are you an idiot? You know my mind, body, and soul are already in Hana's grasp and I'm not planning on leaving, right? I really have no intention of interacting with that annoying girl unless it's to protect you."

A-Ah... That's right. Kazu- or rather, Lu-nii's heart has already been claimed by Hana/Lily-chan since our previous life. I didn't notice it back then, but now that I looked back at it, it was obvious given how close they were.

Kazuto and Hana-chan are totally head over heels for each other. Uhn, that's a fact.

"Alright... But still... The situation is still concerning. The heroine is actively triggering all the events with the capture targets that would start off their romance."

The moment when the heroine "dropped" her handkerchief right in front of Alexus and when she approached Luke in the garden flashed across my mind.

Ughhh... Things might look good now since none of them took the bait and followed the event. But... if she gets desperate, she'll definitely try to "blame" me for bullying her even though I didn't to raise sympathy from the capture targets.

"...Hey, Lu-nii. Do you know? In the game, "Alterisa" would bully Aria because she was getting close to Alexus and you. She would then cry to the two of you and you would blame me after finding out how I bullied you..."

"Hm? Why would you worry about that? You're not bullying her, right?"

"Of course not! But... Considering she's also a reincarnated person who's clearly aiming for you guys, she might... frame me for things I didn't do just to make herself look like the victim and gain your sympathy."

Argghhh... Why can't the heroine be the angel that she is in the game...? If she was, then maybe we could've been good friends... I might even fawn over her...

"..."

Lu-nii stared at me for a moment and let out a sigh. He stood up from his seat, made his way to my side, and patted my head softly.

"Don't worry, Risa. There are a lot of people around you protecting you. If you still feel worried, how about you spend more time with your friends? She won't be able to frame you if you have witnesses to support you, right?"

"But... the "Alterisa" in the game also had witnesses around her! Even though they were technically "lackeys", Alterisa was still blamed! They won't believe me-"

"Akari!"

Lu-nii put his hands on my shoulders as I flinched and looked up to him in shock when he raised his voice.

"You're not the same as the villainess in the game. That "Alterisa" doesn't have any friends she could trust! "She" doesn't have anyone who truly loved her aside from her father. "She" doesn't have anyone around her that could be considered best friends. But you have them."

He kneeled down before me and took my hands with his.

"You have so many amazing people around you who truly love you and care for you. You have a wonderful and successful company and staff who love you. You've made friends and allies with a lot of people, powerful nobles, through your efforts and charisma. You even have me and Hana with you. Now tell me, who would people believe in? You, or some commoner girl who's famous for stealing men and playing around with them?"

"I..."

The fear of experiencing the "bad ending" Alterisa experienced when Aria successfully won over a capture target still weighed deeply in my heart.

I've seen it numerous times in my dreams... Nightmares...

How Alexus condemned me and banished me from the kingdom. How Lucas threw me away and stripped me from my family name and everything. How they killed me... all in the name of their love for the heroine.

But... Lu-nii's right. I'm not the same Alterisa.

That "Alterisa" and I are nothing alike... We're the complete opposite. The only thing we have in common is our name. Even my body is completely different from hers after all the training I went through.

Moreover... I have friends I can trust now. And I've also done my best to maintain the image of a beautiful, elegant, graceful, and perfect noble lady in front of everyone. I'm not some overly spoiled daughter of a duke.

I am Alterisa von Lorya, daughter of Duke and Duchess Lorya, owner of Eden, and the future crown princess.

"Okay... Thank you..."

"Mm. If you feel afraid, remember to always be with your friends, okay? No matter if it's Evelyn, Celine, Noir, Illya, Valerie, or even Alexus if you can't find the others."

"U-Uhn... I'll talk about this to the girls... I hope I don't bother them..."

Lu-nii stood up and patted my head again.

"You won't. They love hanging out with you as much as you do hanging out with them. Maybe even more You know that, right?"

"U-Uhn... Thank you... I'll reach out to them."

--------------------------------X--------------------------------

Soon after Lu-nii left, I decided to follow his advice and invite Evelyn and the girls for tea.

I wasn't planning on doing anything, but... I want to be with them. I need my oasis to soothe my soul.

But, I quickly ran into a problem.

...I don't know where they are.

Hm... I should search for them.

Just then, Anne, Maria-chan, and Iris returned into my room after sending Lu-nii off and I immediately called out to them.

"Anne, Maria-chan, Iris, I'll be going out to find the girls' rooms okay? I want to invite them for tea!"

I was about to get up, but to my surprise, Iris appeared in front of me and held my hand.

"No... Alterisa-sama... Please leave searching for your friends to me..."

"Eh? But why? I'll be fine."

"You can't, Alterisa-sama."

"Uhn! You can't, Alterisa-sama!"

Anne and Maria-chan also began to approach me, standing right in front of my path as if to block it.

Ah... Did Lu-nii tell them about that...?

"Did Lu-nii tell you something...?"

The three nodded in unison.

"Yes. Lucas-sama told us not to let you wander around without at least one of your friends by your side."

"I see..."

Well... I guess it can't be helped.

If my memory serves me, there's no event in between the matriculation ceremony and the start of class.

But, since "Aria" is also a reincarnated person, she might do something more since she seemed unsuccessful in her previous attempts.

If I wander around alone, she might take the chance to do something like hurting herself or falling off on her own and blaming it on me...

"I understand. Then Iris, will you please send an invitation for tea this afternoon to Evelyn, Celine, Illya, Noir, and Valerie? Tell them I will be holding it in my dorm room."

"Yes, my lady."

"Thank you."

Iris bowed and headed off, leaving Anne and Maria-chan with me, just the three of us.









AN: I hope you guys enjoy this chapter~! Please vote and comment your thoughts~!