That World of Otome Games is Tough for Us - Volume 3 - Chapter 9

Chapter 9:

Pride

“I CAN’T BELIEVE WE’VE GOT to pay for breakfast because you made us miss the free meal,” I grumbled.

“Oh, enough already!” Marie snapped. “This is all Cynthia’s fault for not waking up in time!”

We’d come to one of the shipboard lounges for our meal, and Marie had brought the three troublemakers with her. She’d wanted to partake in the luxurious spread the staff had prepared, but by the time she’d rounded up her three friends, breakfast was over. Thus, we had had to purchase our food before heading to this lounge to enjoy the nice scenery as we ate.

Having already polished off her sandwich, Cynthia slumped onto the table. “I’m stuffed. Wake me at noon,” she said before dozing off.

“Cynthia, no! You need to wake up!” Marie barked, smacking the top of her friend’s head.

Ellie sat beside Marie, flipping happily through a thick tome. She paused occasionally to reach for her cup of coffee or the sandwich she’d bought, but her meal was incredibly slow going. Betty, meanwhile, was modeling a painting off her sandwich. 

“They live life by their own rules, huh?” I snickered.

Tears welled in Marie’s eyes as she clutched my arm. “This is no time to laugh at the situation! You should be scolding them, too!”

“You say that, but from a guy’s perspective, their quirks aren’t exactly a bad thing.”

“How come?!”

It didn’t seem like she’d figure it out otherwise, so I sighed and explained, “Look, I admit they’ve got their faults. From the perspective of a guy raised in a backwoods barony, though, they’re practically goddesses. Look over there if you want proof.”

I motioned, and Marie turned her head to see a group of guys from my cohort ogling her three friends. They weren’t even the only ones; other guys snuck interested glances this way, too. They all looked intensely envious of me.

Marie tilted her head, still confused. “These three are so immature, I just don’t see the appeal. And if they’re prime real estate to you guys, why the heck am I so unpopular?”

“That’d be because of the debt your family racked up.”

“Why can’t guys just look at me as an individual?!”

Guys had shunned Marie since our first semester at the academy. It didn’t help that she’d attempted to seduce some of the aristocracy’s most notable scions. The girls iced her out for that, and any guy who approached her afterward was guaranteed to earn other female students’ ire. 

Still, as I’d said, the biggest reason of all was the enormous debt Marie’s family had incurred. In this game world, marriage connected two houses. Marrying Marie would inevitably mean linking yourself to the Lafans and shouldering their financial baggage. Anyone would have reservations about that.

While Marie and I were bantering, Lucle called, “Leon, do you have a second?”, his already-narrow eyes nearly shut.

***

Lucle ushered me to the arcade area, which contained a billiard table, among other things. It was a nice shipboard space that offered games with no gambling involved, but apparently it wasn’t very popular, since it was largely deserted.

Other guys from the same group of poor baron’s sons soon surrounded me. Lucle stood in front, acting as their representative. 

“From the bottom of my heart, Leon, please… Give us another opportunity to talk to Miss Cynthia and those other two girls!” he begged. The other men bowed their heads in unison.

I understood their desperation to land a match. I’d been in their shoes until very recently, when my engagement to Marie gave me an out. Seeing them still suffering was painful.

Nonetheless, I said, “You say you want another opportunity, but every time I give you guys one, you end up squabbling. That turns the girls off completely.”

They’d bribed Marie to help them by repeatedly buying her flan from the cafeteria, and she’d followed through on setting up group dates for them. Not that it did any good, of course. Each time, the guys just butted heads over which girl they wanted to talk to, and eventually broke out weapons and challenged each other to duels. Their desperation ruined any chance they had.

“You can hardly blame us,” Lucle protested. “It’s practically a miracle that we have an opportunity to get to know goddesses like those three.”

“Look, I feel you, but no girl wants to witness a bloody throwdown on a group date.”

Lucle hung his head. “You have a point there. But I promise to pare down the number of attendees before the next group date takes place.” 

The guys behind him nodded in agreement, but something about the way he worded that reassurance was chilling. It often slipped my mind, since the rest of the student body always looked down on us, but these guys were as much aristocrats as anyone. They were probably accustomed to blood and battle. The more I thought about it, the less surprising it seemed that they might try to take one another down to thin the ranks of bachelors.

“I don’t think Marie would be too pleased about that,” I said.

“Like we have any other choice! Look, right now’s the best time for a date, since a good chunk of the other guys aren’t here. We’re serious about this, Leon!”

I shook my head. “It’s fine to be serious about the group date but not about taking each other out.”

“I don’t want to hear your preaching! You can only act holier-than-thou because you’re already engaged to Marie. This might be the last chance for the rest of us!” Tears of desperation trickled down Lucle’s cheeks.

I sighed. He and the others were so much more hotheaded about this than I was. While I dithered over how to handle the request, Deirdre showed up with a retinue of female students at her heels.

“Gentlemen shouldn’t shed tears so easily,” she said.

Intimidated by Deirdre’s rank, as well as her ostentatious style and demeanor, Lucle and the other guys stood up straighter.

“Miss Deirdre?!” Lucle blurted, panicked. As a third-year student, he was well acquainted with her. “Wh-wh-why are you here?”

I figured she’d only stopped by on a whim, but she glanced at me and grinned. “I came to check on my adorable ‘little brother.’ It seemed like someone was giving him trouble.”

At her pointed accusation, beads of cold sweat ran down the faces of Lucle and the rest of the guys. They averted their eyes.

“R-right! We’ll excuse ourselves, then,” Lucle said. He scurried away, the other boys trailing him closely.

They really lose their nerve when they deal with girls. Not that I’m any better, I guess.

Deirdre and I were technically on track to become relatives, but only because my older brother Nicks was engaged to her sister. It wasn’t that close a bond.

“Tsk, tsk. They all left you behind,” Deirdre said, feigning heartbreak on my behalf. She glanced at me, amusement in her eyes, and giggled. “You poor thing. Need me to comfort you?”

“No, I’m good.”

“What a shame.” Deirdre turned and strode off, taking her throng of followers with her.

What’d she even come talk to me for?

***

Those among Deirdre’s followers who weren’t completely aware of her personal affairs were quick to question her interaction with Bartfort.

“Was that man just now who we think he is, Lady Deirdre?” one asked.

Deirdre pressed her fan over her mouth as she answered the vague question. “Yes. He’s the knight who dealt the deadly blow to those infamous air pirates and led the charge against House Offrey. Though, personally, I’m more a fan of his accomplishments as an adventurer.”

“I-I didn’t realize. I guess he’s the one you’ll soon be a distant relative of.”

They were all taken aback by how eagerly Deirdre lavished Leon with praise. After all, her connection to the young man was rather flimsy; it only existed thanks to their siblings’ engagement. Moreover, Leon would eventually become an independent lord—creating even more distance between him and his family—while Nicks would take the helm of a brand-new viscounty established by the Roseblades and Bartforts. “Distant relative” was almost an understatement; Leon and Deirdre would basically still be strangers. Despite that, though, Deirdre saw Leon as a cute younger brother.

“Personally, I think he’s incredible,” she continued. “It’s such a shame that he’s already engaged.” She let out a small sigh, sounding dramatic enough that her followers couldn’t tell whether her disappointment was genuine or meant in jest. 

She was about to tell them herself that it was a joke, but before she got the words out, a pair of familiar faces caught her eye.

Hm? Those are the two girls I spotted before. I believe they’re named Dolly and Donna. They’re nothing but trouble. I wonder what they’re plotting this time, mused Deirdre.

Dolly and Donna were ranting to one another, their moods visibly sour. Deirdre already sensed that they were on track to act out.

They’re the daughters of two of the Redgrave faction’s linchpins. What got them so riled up? I’ll need to look into this later.

***

“I’m seething! Like, absolutely furious!” Donna hissed between gritted teeth, raking her fingers through her hair. “What’s wrong with that servant jerk?!”

“He’s a real pain, that’s what he is. He’s got some nerve, dropping Prince Julius’s name like that.” Dolly downplayed her true emotions, phrasing her complaint as if she were only annoyed, but Kyle’s attitude truthfully made her stomach churn.

The two girls had been livid since their encounter with Kyle that morning. Their anger seeped into the very atmosphere around them, and other female students were actively avoiding them. That was due in part to Dolly and Donna’s high statuses—their fathers weren’t just court nobles with viscount titles, they were also key players in the Redgrave faction. No one wanted to risk sticking their nose into the girls’ problems and getting caught in whatever trouble the pair were up to.

Despite the influence and power their fathers’ status afforded them, Donna and Dolly had still had no choice but to back down at the mention of the crown prince. They both understood that, logically, there was no advantage to messing with Olivia. Kyle’s words and attitude had wounded both girls’ pride deeply, however. They’d been raised in privilege and given whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted it, so they weren’t accustomed to—or very pleased by—their current situation.

They’d taken a walk around the ship, hoping to cool their heads, but it hadn’t made a lick of difference.

“We’re not feeling any better about this, so why don’t we go mess with someone else? I want to bully some boys,” said Donna.

Dolly hesitated, unsure whether to play into her friend’s crude inclinations. Her thoughts were interrupted when she heard a familiar voice—the same one that had humiliated her that morning.

“It’s true,” the elf boy said. “They scampered off with their tails between their legs.”

Dolly and Donna had just happened to pass the personal servants’ lounge during their walk. Kyle wasn’t the only one inside; demi-humans had gathered there for their break, and the others showered the young elf with praise.

“Amazing what having the crown prince behind you can do.”

“I guess we should start brownnosing with you now, huh, Kyle?”

“You sure won the lottery getting that mistress, Kyle.”

They spoke comfortably among themselves, assuming that no one—least of all two girls of Dolly and Donna’s status—was eavesdropping. The girls’ eyes widened enough to reveal burst blood vessels as they stood there, waiting for Kyle to say more. 

For his part, he hadn’t sensed their presence at all. “They really need to be more self-aware,” he went on. “They should know better than to mess with my mistress, since she has the crown prince’s favor. It’s time they learned their place.”

Donna’s face was a blank, unreadable mask as she turned to look at Dolly. “There’s no two ways about it. Like, I mean, he’s talking about us, right? What’s he mean, saying that we need to learn our place? I guess I’m just stupid, because I don’t understand,” she said, feigning ignorance in her anger.

Dolly’s expression betrayed no emotion as she answered, “We’ll crush him. I was going to let him off the hook, because I thought it’d be too big a pain to bother with him, but I’ve changed my mind. We’re taking that cocky elf brat and his mistress down a peg.” 

The two girls had only backed down with great reluctance when Kyle wielded Julius’s name against them, but his triumphant bragging pushed them past the limits of their patience. They turned and stomped off. 

Although the girls weren’t listening anymore, the servants’ voices continued to ring through the hall behind them.

“So who were these girls you chased off again?”

“A group of female students who didn’t have a single servant between them. I think one was called Marie.”

***

Olivia awoke that night still feeling sluggish. Her fever had dropped a bit, but she knew she had to take it easy if she wanted to fully recover. Alas, she had little reprieve; Kyle began filling her in on what’d happened as she slept through the day, including how he’d chased off two groups of female students. His actions themselves were quite understandable since Olivia had been sick in bed all day. The issue was how he’d gone about them.

“You used Prince Julius’s name?!” Olivia asked, her voice growing shrill.

Kyle lifted his chin. “Thanks to that, they backed off without any further fuss.” He didn’t look the least bit ashamed of what he’d done.

Olivia, on the other hand, felt heat rush to her head, as if the fever she’d nearly recovered from was returning. “Why would you use his name?” she demanded.

Kyle scowled like a petulant child who didn’t understand why he was being scolded. “Everything I said was true, wasn’t it? The crown prince favors you.” Mentioning Julius was an easy way to get most students off Olivia’s back. 

Olivia understood that, but she didn’t like it. “Never drop the name of the prince or his friends again!” she warned Kyle. “We’re dealing with aristocrats. If you upset them, we’ll be in hot water.”

She recognized how handy name-dropping seemed, but they were trying to handle the upper crust. All traces of the Offrey and Lafan holdings had been completely wiped off the map not long ago. That had been the example Olivia needed to recognize that standing up to someone with their own private military—which most aristocrats possessed—was too dangerous.

It was bad enough that the other students didn’t want her at the academy. Olivia could just imagine the consequences if any found out that Kyle was throwing Julius’s name around. The first face that popped up in the back of her mind was Angelica’s.

Terrifying, Olivia thought. All the aristocrats here are terrifying.

Angelica was Julius’s betrothed, so once she heard what Kyle had said, Olivia couldn’t imagine that she’d sit quietly by. Yet despite the obvious repercussions, Kyle had used Julius’s name without compunction. He really didn’t seem to understand the gravity of the matter.

“You can consult Prince Julius and the other lordlings,” Kyle tried to reason with her. “Tell them these miscreants keep hounding you, and ask for help. That would solve all your problems, so why do you hesitate?”

Olivia could picture that. Going to Julius would only worsen the already messy situation. A shiver ran through her as she said shrilly, “That’s absolutely out of the question!” 

Shocked at her intense reaction, Kyle was left speechless.

“S-sorry,” Olivia said quickly. “Would you mind bringing me some water?”

The elf frowned, obviously still displeased with her stance, but dutifully answered, “Certainly.”

Kyle was perfectly competent at his job and rather clever to boot. His biggest flaws were his bluntness and condescending attitude. Those were partly because he was still young and immature, although he was probably leagues beyond others his age. Nonetheless, Olivia wasn’t sure they could easily resolve his grave mistake.

“Since he used Prince Julius’s name, I’m sure it will get back to Lady Angelica,” she muttered to herself. “At this rate, my hometown will be eradicated.”

Bartfort, a mere baron, had helped wipe out two other houses. If he wielded that much power, how much greater was the power of a duke’s daughter? Olivia couldn’t begin to imagine, but the mere thought of her hometown going up in flames brought tears to her eyes.

“I thought life here would be so much easier if I just had someone to talk to,” she whimpered.

She hadn’t wanted a personal servant. Olivia had felt so isolated at the academy that all she’d hoped for was a friend she could talk to. Instead, Kyle was cross that she wouldn’t take full advantage of her privileged position. However much she tried to explain herself, he couldn’t understand.

“If I’d anticipated this, I’d have felt that I was better off alone.” It was too late to rectify the situation, but she regretted signing Kyle’s contract.

Olivia’s fever had returned in full force. She flopped onto her bed and shut her eyes, sending tears racing down her cheeks. “All I wanted to do was a little studyin’,” she mumbled, slipping back into her hometown accent.

Her books, textbooks, and notebook sat untouched on her desk in the same place as yesterday. She was anxious to get back to them, but her body wouldn’t let her. She was at her mental limit. Even if she tried to read, she knew none of it would stick.

“Mom, Dad, I’m sorry…”

Her door rattled as someone pounded violently on it. 

Olivia was so startled that she leaped up. She realized instantly that it wasn’t Kyle on the other side. Could it be those girls from this morning? 

She grabbed the knob and cracked the door open, her stomach twisting in fear. “Can I help you?”

Dolly and Donna were outside, their faces stoic. Their personal servants stood behind them, silent but strangely intimidating.

Dolly glanced over Olivia’s shoulder into the room. “Looks like that cocky, annoying brat isn’t with you, huh?” she observed. “Well, whatever. How about we go have some fun together?”

Olivia sensed immediately that Dolly’s invitation wasn’t genuine. She averted her gaze. “Sorry. I’m under the weather today, so I’d rather not.” She tried to yank the door shut.

Donna shoved her foot into the gap, forcing the door to remain open. “We’re going out of our way to invite you. Like, I don’t get why you’d refuse. Just come along like a good girl.” 

She grabbed Olivia’s arm and managed to drag her outside. Even if Olivia had wanted to shake Donna off, the fever had drained all her strength.

Dolly pressed her face close to Olivia’s. “This cruise ship has its own casino. We don’t get many opportunities like this, so why don’t I teach you to gamble?” 

She and Donna wore wicked grins, but Olivia was too scared to resist. Her feverish mind couldn’t pull a proper thought together, so she let them drag her along.

What should I do? Somebody save me.