Chapter 71

For Lilianne, the happiest moment was being reborn into the world of the game she loved. And the most unfortunate thing for her was that the world she was reborn into was a sequel to the game she loved.

Lilianne recalled her past life's memories on the very day she entered Elesiana Academy, when she got lost on the school grounds. In this scene, which was akin to the game's opening animation, she remembered everything and felt both joy and regret.

It was too late. By this time, her beloved person was already married to the protagonist of the previous game.

Patrick Dice.

The main hero of the previous game and the character with the highest popularity throughout the series.

In her past life, Lilianne was infatuated with him. She was obsessed with him. No, she might even have loved him. She had played through his route dozens of times, memorizing every choice and line. She had bought all the merchandise, and she couldn't even remember how many blue bracelets she had. She bought the sequel because she heard Patrick would appear in it.

She loved him that much. She loved only him. This kind of love was so intense that even her parents and friends in her past life were worried. Most of all, she was so engrossed in a different dimension of love that she didn't even realize it.

That's why she was so frustrated that she wasn't Alicia but Lilianne. The only reason she could muster the strength to move forward was that Patrick Dice would appear, even if only briefly, in this sequel. At the very end, in a scene added by the developers as a bonus, she decided to pursue the reverse harem route, hoping to meet him.

Maybe he would turn around and notice her, since she was the protagonist...

What encouraged her in this endeavor was, ironically, the existence of Mary Albert.

The villainess from the previous game, who was supposed to be exiled to the northern land in any route, had come to Elesiana Academy as a transfer student from the Albert family, which had deep ties to the royal family.

This only fueled Lilianne's "maybe" and urged her to act.

She had to meet Patrick before he married the protagonist of the previous game. To do so, she had to skip unnecessary events and quickly progress through the reverse harem route.

Fortunately or unfortunately, Lilianne loved only Patrick, so she didn't care about the other characters. She could objectively compare the current situation and the story and proceed accordingly.

She didn't consider the risk of making enemies because she thought, "It's just a game world," or perhaps she was so blinded by her love for Patrick.

In any case, the reverse harem route, which she had played dozens of times, was the one she knew best. The female characters who were supposed to develop friendships were merely elements to be skipped.

Moreover, anyone in the same world as "him" was a source of jealousy, and Lilianne in her past life was even jealous of Lilianne.

--Some fans, who are intensely devoted to a specific character, become jealous of those around the character, especially of the opposite sex, and become aggressive. Lilianne in her past life was exactly this type, while Karina was more friendly to all the characters. Mary, on the other hand, couldn't even remember who she was playing the game for and would try to recall, "It must be Adi," to the point of altering her memory--

In any case, Lilianne pursued the reverse harem route in this state.

She gambled on the possibility of "maybe" and couldn't give up on a lost love, clinging to her memories of her past life...

What she ended up with, however, was not a happy ending with Patrick, but the place where the villainess Mary was supposed to be exiled.

The northern land, a boarding school located there.

The sturdy construction, perhaps for warmth, felt oppressive, and looking up made her feel suffocated. It was naturally quiet during class, but the strange silence made her feel as if she was being rejected, making her feet heavy.

Anxiety and regret filled her chest, and tears welled up in her eyes. The coldness of the empty, chilly air increased her unease, and the heavy bag full of belongings hurt her arms.

She had only tried so hard to meet the one she loved.

She had struggled with a lost love without regard for the consequences.

No matter what she was told or who she offended, it would be worth it if he smiled at her.

And yet, what remained for Lilianne was the cold gaze of Patrick, who protected Mary Albert, and the memory of a year of pretending to be happy.

In her past life, she had wished so much to be in his world, but if this was the ending, she couldn't understand why her memories of her past life had resurfaced. More than anything, it was because she had relied on those memories that she ended up in this land.

Suffering and struggling, and then this ending...

"If only I hadn't remembered..."

Muttering these words, Lilianne passed through the gate.

The gate, which was much less grand than Elesiana Academy's, had only a guard, which only increased her sense of loneliness, making her vision blur with tears.

Still, she had to go. Considering what she had done, it was a relief to have a place to go, no matter where it was.

Thinking this, Lilianne dragged her heavy feet...

"Lost again? That's the back gate, you know."

Hearing this voice, she turned around in a panic and stared at the person who shouldn't have been there.

Dark brown hair, deep green eyes. A sweet and mature appearance, a slender build, and a deep, resonant voice...

"Cain..."

Lilianne called his name, but he didn't respond. Instead, he walked up to her and lightly tapped her head.

"Teacher, that is."

"...Huh?"

"Call me teacher."

At these words, which seemed to scold her, Lilianne took a small breath and averted her gaze.

She had heard these words before. ...No, she had actually heard the opposite.

It was a line from his route, "Call me by my name, not teacher," which marked the transition from being treated like a child to being treated as a woman. But the words she just heard were the opposite. If the line from the route indicated a closer relationship, these words suggested a distance.

"Teacher... um, I..."

"I've heard everything."

"...Everything?"

"I know it's hard to believe, but I heard everything from Mary and Karina about the game and your memories."

"Is that so..."

Staring at her, Lilianne couldn't help but look down, feeling uncomfortable.

If he knew about the game, was he here to blame her...? The more she thought about it, the more she felt ashamed.

She couldn't look up to see his expression. Even though she knew she was being selfish, she couldn't bear another rejection.

Still, the silence was suffocating, so she looked down and asked, almost in a whisper,

"...T-Teacher, why are you here...?"

"To keep an eye on you."

"On me?"

"I can't let a troublemaker like you transfer alone. If you cause trouble here, it will tarnish Elesiana Academy's reputation."

"So, you're...?"

"Yes, I'll be working as a teacher here from today."

Lilianne looked up at this unexpected answer.

His face, which had been soft and smiling, now looked stern, and his brown eyes were fixed on her.

Despite the stern gaze of a teacher watching over a troublemaker, tears still fell from Lilianne's eyes.

"...Teacher, are you... here too?"

"Yes, to watch over you."

"I'm not alone...?"

The anxiety and loneliness that had weighed on her chest lifted slightly, and a sense of relief appeared.

At the same time, she felt a sense of inadequacy for not noticing his charm and for desperately trying to win over men, and deep gratitude for him not abandoning her even in this situation.

She should have looked at this world properly and taken his hand instead of struggling with a lost love based on her memories of her past life. Thinking this, more tears welled up in her eyes, and she let out a deep breath as they rolled down her cheeks.

"Teacher... I'm sorry..."

As soon as she said these words, large tears began to fall like a dam had burst.

Unlike a cute and weak girl's crying face, she sniffled and wiped her eyes roughly, which made Cain smile wryly.

He slowly reached out, but instead of caressing her cheek, he took out a scarf and offered it to her. If they were the protagonist and a target character, he might have caressed her cheek, wiped away her tears, and hugged her, but they were a teacher and a student.

Lilianne, understanding this, took the scarf with a pitiful, tearful voice, saying, "Thank you."

"Lilianne, if you want to call me 'Cain' again, you have to work hard without relying on your memories of your past life."

"...Can I call you again?"

"It's up to you."

Cain shrugged with a troubled smile, and Lilianne's tears overflowed even more.

"Yes... Teacher... I'll work hard. This time, I'll really try..."

Wiping her eyes and nose, Lilianne sniffled, and Cain smiled wryly as he took her heavy bag to guide her to the grand front gate, considering her poor sense of direction.

Whether he would hold her hand and guide her was up to Lilianne.

A few months later, Mary was lying on the bed in Adi's room, reading a letter addressed to her.

The letter from the northern land was written in neat, adult handwriting and in a slightly quirky, feminine script, each describing the events at the distant school.

After arranging Lilianne's transfer to the northern land, Mary had promised to protect her in exchange for regular updates. She also asked the teacher who volunteered to watch over her to report back.

Of course, this was out of a sense of responsibility for proposing Lilianne's punishment and to prevent another reverse harem scandal in the territory managed by her relatives.

But from the contents of the letters, it seemed that her worries were unnecessary. In fact, the reports of her school life became increasingly cheerful and even sweet, making her smile wryly.

"So, the northern land isn't a bad place, as I've been saying all along."

Mary smiled wryly, as if talking to Lilianne through the letter.

Karina and Lilianne must have thought the northern land was a negative place where losers were sent. In reality