Chapter 4

Just as she was remembering who she really was, her ruin was unfolding right in front of her.

There was a sense of panic in her, as she looked down at her beautiful dress, and her perfectly painted nails, and her purple hair as it pooled in her lap. All of it was suddenly so very foreign. She wasn’t like this. She hated dresses. She hated attention. She hated makeup and all things frilly and pretty.

This wasn’t her.

She wasn’t Livia Katrina Valentina.

She was...she was...who was she?

Why can’t I remember!?

She once lived on a planet called Earth. She once lived in modern society. She once played a game that is eerily similar to the world, she was reborn in. She wasn't a complete shut-in, but she rarely left her room.

She knew all of this, but suddenly, she could not remember her own name. Her real name. Her first one.

She frantically searches her memories, but all she feels is a twinge of pain and white blankness.

Maybe I just haven’t recovered all of my memories, yet? There is no way they are just gone, right?

She wasn’t Livia, but at the same time, she was. The memories in her head still clashed with each other. She still felt a sense of distance and a strange coldness in her chest, but at the end of the day, this was her new reality. She had memories of her childhood, of her sister, the Crown Prince, and her own parents to prove it all true. As much as she would love to properly digest everything, to have a moment to panic and just cry a bit, she couldn’t.

She was still in the middle of the event. The voices of the nobles still could be heard as the Crown Prince looked down on her in stony silence.

As everything threatened to overwhelm her, she had little choice but to force it down. The coldness in her heart grew. And an odd calm fell over her.

Plus, there was something that was bothered her greatly.

Amelia only entered the academy two months ago.

The story had barely started.

Why on Earth Ethetia, would she do this to herself? Who strives for their own downfall!?

There had to be something more. Something that she was missing.

“Look, Miss Amelia is waking up!”

The mentioned girl was indeed sitting up in the second prince's arms. Crown Prince Rodale was instantly by her side. He offered her his hand to help her stand up with an expression of great concern.

“Miss Amelia, are you alright?” The second prince asks.

Amelia blinks in a daze and stumbles a bit, right into Crown Prince Rodale's arms which come up to steady her.

“Orin? Rodale? W-what happened?” She asks meekly.

As much as they were praising her earlier, the nobles can’t hide their look of contempt and shock at Amelia using the prince's first name without any honorifics. It was a show of great rudeness and even could be seen as an insult. But neither princes seem to mind.

The crown prince and the second prince were the first targets that you encounter if you enter the House of Light at the academy. The crown prince was a part of the original four targets, while the second prince was not.

What an odd bit of information she abruptly knew. Livia wonders faintly if this was just going to continue to happen. Bits and pieces of her memory revealing themselves to her as if she had always known even though she hadn’t only seconds before. She could do without the twinge of pain the information brought, though. She had a feeling chronic headache will be in her future very soon.

“Milady, it seems you have been dosed with a poison,” Second Prince Orin says.

A very mild one. Honestly, if she wasn’t so scrawny maybe that small dose wouldn’t have toppled her so quickly, Livia thinks, eyeing the three standing a few feet away from her with an odd mix of emotions.

Amelia's eyes go wide in fright, “A poison...?”

“Indeed, Milady. It seems one of your fellow classmates is the culprit,” Prince Orin says with a scowl. He shoots a look of utter disgust at Livia.

Amelia's bright blue eyes follow his gaze, and a look of shock passes over her face. Her small mouth falls open to gape at Livia.

“B-But why?” Amelia asks, very confused.

Because I don’t like you, you stupid girl.

“...” Livia says nothing, but she does return the scowl directed at her.

She never liked the second prince. Even in her first life, he always seemed a bit scummy. He was the type to get close to the female lead even when she obviously chose her mark. Prince Orin would put on a nice friendly face while plotting to make Amelia his behind his own brother's back. Of course, Livia only saw his charming side in her first life, but even then, she couldn’t shake the feeling of distrust. She only conquered him to 100% of the game. Not that it did her well, given all the new content that had been continuously added, making her efforts redundant.

Now she knows first-hand that the warning bells she got from him weren’t wrong. At least with Crown Prince Rodale, he had an excuse for becoming a cold, ruthless bastard, but the second prince did not. He was loved. Cherished. It seems he was simply born a little...off.

The captured targets all had a dark, underline allure to them. The game had a wide audience, though. It could never take things too far, but it certainly wasn’t shy about hinting at more mature themes almost tauntingly. Maybe that is why she became so obsessed with the game. There was always a feeling of something lurking underneath the linear and predictable plot of Aster Academy: The Feuding Houses.

As if the creators had barely restrained themselves.

“The reasoning behind such violent actions does not matter. What does matter is that it has happened and the culprit sits right in front of us,” Orin says harshly.

The second prince turns to the crown prince with his face set in stone, “Brother, we cannot just sit by and do nothing. It is a known fact that Livia has been bullying Miss Amelia since she arrived and now, she has taken it too far! What do you suggest we do with this would-be killer?”

How heroic. After standing by and doing nothing for two months as I constantly bullied Amelia, today is the day that you make a grand reaction when you had looked the other way for days on end.

Livia shook her head in disbelief. See? Scummy.

The same could be said about the crown prince as well. He also had not intervened until now.

“You dare deny it even now?” Orin spat, taking her head shake as a denial, he takes a threatening step closer to her.

Livia's head snaps up. She watches with slightly wide eyes as the second prince's hand falls to the hilt of his sword. She probably looks like she was staring at him in utter fear, but in reality, she was just mildly curious.

He is showing off his true self quite a bit today. I haven’t seen him flash that sweet faker smile once this evening. How odd.

Not exactly the thought she should be having given her impending doom, but there was nothing she could really do about it. She put herself in this situation, and could only watch numbly as it happened. Her emotions and rationality were miles away, off on a deserted island far out of her reach. She knew, distantly, that she was likely going into shock, but it felt like it was happening to someone else. It felt like she was once again back in her old room, cocooned in a blanket as she watched the events play out on the screen of her TV. It wasn’t her, but the original Livia who was once again being condemned.

“Calm yourself, Orin,” Crown Prince Rodale says sternly, putting a firm hand on his brother's wrist, “You are scaring Miss Amelia.”

Prince Orin's expression changes instantly. From harsh, unforgiving lines to smooth softness. He drops his hand from his hilt and turns to Amelia with an apologetic expression.

Amelia had backed up into the crown prince's side when Prince Orin had spoken, her expression was of someone who just witnessed a sweet bunny turn into a growling lion. It was likely the first time she ever saw Prince Orin snap like that. It must have been shocking to see the normally friendly, approachable prince turn on the dime in an instant. And judging by the crown prince's narrowed eyes, he also seemed to have witnessed it for the first time.

Prince Orin wasn’t the least bit fazed. He smiles slowly though it is a little sad.

Ah, and there it is. The Faker smile.

It was the type of smile that you wanted to return automatically, the one that put you at ease in an instant. Long blond lashes look feather soft as the second prince's eyes closed in an upside-down ‘u’, hiding eyes that reminded Livia of the sea. It was a frustratingly warm smile. Deceivingly friendly and open.

“I apologize. I just hate seeing someone I care for getting hurt,” Prince Orin says in a deep, sweet voice. He takes a step forward and takes Amelia’s small hands into his gently, “I did not wish to scare you, Miss Amelia. It truly frightened me when I heard you had suddenly collapsed,” He continues, laying the charm on thick, “I had thought you would never awaken.”

That stupid girl won’t be able to resist.

Amelia all but sways closer to the second prince, “It’s fine, there is no harm. See, look, I’m not frightened at all,” the little girl says, putting on a brave face while blushing a bit.

The second prince laughs, “You are right, you seem to be quite a resilient girl.”

Flowers practically blooms around the two as they stare into each other's eyes. Livia could practically see the bright red +15 over the second Prince's head.

Amazing. Even in the middle of my own death event, Amelia manages to steal the spotlight.

Livia refuses to acknowledge the bitter pang of envy in her chest. She was not at all bothered by the fact that the two princes have all but forgotten that she and the crowd around them existed. At most, she was just a little irritated. Livia had been sitting on the floor for almost ten minutes now and her legs were starting to go numb.

I am about to sit crisscross applesauce, this dress be damned.

As the second prince doted on Amelia and the crown prince glares at him, Livia wonders just how long this would be drawn out. They had long since veered off the original script and were in unknown waters.

As if hearing her inner thoughts, the crown prince's glare turns to her. Amelia and the second prince snap out of their moment and also return their attention to the seated villainess.

Wait...this is familiar...does that mean...?

Crown Prince Rodale straightens to his full height to better stare down his nose at Livia. The second [rince's smile is still firmly in place, but there was not an ounce of warmth in it. Amelia stands between the two of them, her hands delicately clutched to her chest as she stares with worried but determined eyes.

“Livia Katrina Valentina, from this day onward, our engagement is annulled and void,” The crown prince announces to the room in a thunderous voice.

“W-what?” Livia says in stunned horror, “No! Your highness, please, just let me explain!” She begs.

Her pleas are ignored. The crown prince speaks over her as if she hadn’t talked at all, “For the crime of attempted murder, continuous assault, and the threat of harm to your own fellow classmate, Miss Amelia Margaret Reeve, I renounce your noble status and sentenced you to...death! I would do the honor myself...”

The crown prince's hand twitches for his sword, “But I wouldn’t dare stain the Academy with a drop of your putrid blood. Guards, take her away!”

...Unfortunate. Plan B it is then.

A cold chill runs down her spine.

A flash; she is underground and being dragged away. She is nothing but skin and bones. Her legs are too weak, so they drag against the stoned floor. The sunlight stings her eyes, and she sees the sharp glint of metal above her for a second before her neck is forced into a wooden hole. She briefly sees the crown prince and Amelia in the crowd before she hears the sharp whistle of something heavy falling above her.

“NO!” Livia shrieks, shaking her head frantically to dislodge the scene as tears trail down her cheeks, “Please! You can’t do this to me! What proof? What proof do you have?” She shouts. Her desperate eyes turn to Amelia who flinches. Livia starts to smile, even as guards grab her arms harshly, shoving her to her feet.

“Miss Amelia, I didn’t bully you. I was only trying to be your friend! How could you sit by and let a completely innocent person be so unjustly punished?” She accuses the girl harshly, ignoring how her makeup runs down her face as she lunges forward with a mean smile. The guard's steel-like hands don’t let her go far, but a part of her is a little too please with the look of terror that fills Amelia's eyes when she does, and how both prince's hands go to the hilt of their swords.

Amelia cowers behind the towering forms of the two boys who step in front of her to protect her for a good few seconds before she pushes through them with a trembling body but a look of fierce determination.

“No. You are not my friend! You never were! I tried to deny it but I won’t anymore. It was you who sent all those horrible letters, you who pushed me down the stairs and even slapped me for all to see! I can’t believe you hated me so much that you would attempt to kill me! You, Liva Katrina Valentina, are completely guilty!” Amelia sobs, before covering her face with her hand and blindly running into a strong pair of arms.

The crowd chooses that moment to join in, jeering as Livia is roughed up as she strain against the arms that attempt to drag her away, staring with wide disbelieving eyes at the still sobbing Amelia and the two prince's who watch her with nothing but hatred.

Any moment now...

She is almost at the entrance of the ballroom when her sister breaks through the crowd and throws herself at the feet of the crown prince.

“Please don’t do this!” Liliana screams as her small fingers claw into the expensive fabric of the crown prince's pants.

“My sister may be guilty, but she does not deserve death! Please, your highness, have mercy on her! She is my only sister! I can’t live a day longer if she doesn’t! I beg of you, please show my sister mercy, your highness!” Liliana wails. She clings onto the crown prince's leg even as a single guard tries to gently pry her away. Once her grip is loosened, she throws herself back to the ground in a kneel, her forehead hitting the floor with a soft thud as her snow-white hair falls around her head.

“Please, please, please spare my sister, I only have her, please, please, please, please,” Liliana continues to beg pitifully in a wet stream of words broken up only by her choked sobs.

Everyone freeze.

The guards, in the middle of yanking Livia out of the room, come to a stop. The crowd, ridiculing Livia even as she loses everything, falls silent. The two Prince's, standing tall in the face of justice and shielding Amelia from view, break form and stare with disbelief at the small girl at their feet. Amelia, who had been gently crying into a strong chest, looks down, silent, and equally stunned.

Only sweet Liliana's sobs could be heard echoing around in the grand ballroom as she soft pleas for her older sister's life.