Chapter 2

Today is my, Mystia Arlen’s, tenth birthday.

Even though it’s my birthday, the night is drawing to a close, and the day is almost over. All that’s left is to go to bed. I turn my head towards the sound of the ticking second hand and see the shadow of a large clock. At the top of the clock is the rose emblem of the Arlen family. But right now, I can’t see that detail because I’ve turned off the lights in the room to sleep.

Every time I see that coat of arms in the mansion, or rather the rose, my parents repeatedly stress to me that my family is of noble birth.

My mother tells me that my ancestors not only existed as noblemen, but also served the royal family as knights and continued to achieve military success, and at one point my father was a priest, he would constantly say. My grandfather and grandmother were also similar. And so, on a regular basis, my father and mother treat me as “a special child”. But after all, I’m not a royal knight or a priestess myself. I’m just an ordinary child with no ability to excel in any way above others.

I’m an ordinary girl who happens to be born into the traditional Arlen family. That’s me, Mystia Arlen. Today, my 10th birthday party was held in inverse proportion to my own mediocrity. It truly was.

A lot of sumptuous dishes with not only meat but also fresh fish dishes appeared in spite of the location being far from the sea. The guests couldn’t comprehend the beauty of the decorations scattered with gemstones just by looking at them.

Flashy. The glitz and glamour. The scale of the extravagant party is such that it makes me feel deflated as I’m being celebrated. Maybe that’s why I can’t sleep well, because of the afterglow.

It’s nice to be celebrating my birthday. It’s a day when people are happy that I’m just alive. That’s a normal birthday.

But I think that’s just for the Arlen family. Although they throw me a big party every year, every single year, I’m not the only one who has a family member, or a close friend, who usually works at the mansion to make me happy. I like to have a party where I can sit around a desk with the people who are there and eat cake.

The lavish food and decorations and the majority of guests are also appreciated, but if you ask me if it’s not necessary.

But I shouldn’t say this. If I say it, if I tell it, it tramples on the feelings of my father and mother.

Last week, when my parents asked me for the 259th time this month what I wanted, I said, “I want my mom and dad to stay healthy.” I just made her cry with my tactless response, “If you give me”. I should have taken into account the parental desire to celebrate their only daughter’s birthday more and answered with something specific, but I didn’t.

“No….”

I couldn’t help but roll over in bed. I got up and out of bed and opened the curtains for the window. Although it was spring, the night breeze was cold against my skin. I looked up at the landscape blankly and could see a large moon in the sky. Its light sparkles so brightly that it reminds me of today’s extravagant party. I look at that moon and let out a sigh.

Today, I’m terribly tired from the endlessly repeated greetings of my father’s friends, my mother’s friends, and others in shifts. Sheesh. Tiredness is supposed to make you sleepy, but apparently people can’t sleep past their limit, and they never get any sleepier.

Greeting one person versus 300 is a battle. No wonder I’m tired. Outside the window, I looked over my garden in the moonlight. It’s well-kept and beautiful at any time of the day. The flowers and trees are arranged evenly, like an effect in a game. I looked at the gardens that Forest, the gardener, had arranged all of them, and I suddenly came to myself.

“…effects…game?”

I don’t know what the word means when I say it myself. What exactly are the effects? I’ve been doing this a lot lately. Words that I don’t understand just keep popping out of my mouth.

I’ve never played a board game in the garden, and I have no contact with it.

When I looked away from the window, I noticed something glittering on the window frame. As I get closer, I found my hand mirror on the floor.

That’s right, in the morning when I was checking my appearance, my father called me over and I had placed it down and left the room. As I remembered, I picked up the mirror and looked into it to see if there were any cracks in it.

My face was reflected in it, as it should be. It would be more frightening if it wasn’t reflected, but I can’t shake the inexplicable feeling of unease I had. This face is me, the daughter of the Arlen family. I’m sure it’s Mystia Arlen’s face.

“Yes, Mystia…”

After muttering her name, her headaches, and then, as if the pain was a signal, there were images, sounds It runs through my head like a runner. Everything I’ve seen, heard, and felt, everything I’ve seen, heard, and felt are all so vivid.

Me, dressed in my uniform, going to school and taking classes. Me, at home, talking to my sister. Me, lying in bed and playing games. I see my reflection, Mystia, Mystia Arlen.

In the mirror, I see her face, the one I’ve been looking at all these years.

“I’m Mystia.”

I’m the unmistakable Mystia Arlen. No doubts about it. I’m Mystia, but not Mystia. That’s why I despaired.

“How could I be Mystia…?”

To the reality that this is the world of the otome game.