Chapter 108: The Heroine Knows (VI).
Trigger Warning: This content includes themes of suicide and may be distressing to some readers. A blank space stretched endlessly around the heroine. It was that she could see what a peculiar space to be in.
"Hello?" The Japanese streamer sees a flickering light in the distance. In this world full of darkness, she couldn't help but walk over like a moth to a flame. "Hello?! Is anyone there?! I don't remember getting in this dark place."
With every step she took, the light grew stronger. What had once been a faint flicker now burned- sharp, relentless.
She raised an arm to shield her eyes.
"Ngh-!"
It hurt. Not just bright, but piercing, like the light was pushing its way through her vision, filling everything. The darkness behind her dissolved, swallowed whole. There was no turning back- only white.
For a moment, she saw nothing at all.
Then-
Shapes.
"Where…"
Blurry at first, like colors bleeding into each other. Green… gold… movement. The harsh glare softened, breaking apart into fragments of light that filtered through something above her.
"Leaves?"
She blinked hard. Once. Twice.
The pain faded into a dull sting, and her sight slowly returned-
"Wow…" A wide garden stretched before her, vibrant and impossibly lush, like a forest caught in eternal spring. Sunlight poured gently through a canopy of trees, scattering into warm, dancing patterns across the grass. The air itself felt different- alive, breathing.
And then she noticed them.
Two girls, not far from where she stood.
One moved with a lightness that almost didn't seem human- long ears peeking through her hair, laughter soft and melodic.
"An elf?"
The other, unmistakably human, chased after her with a carefree grin, their voices blending together in playful harmony.
They ran, laughed, and circled each other like the world beyond them didn't exist.
As if…
They had always belonged here.
Seeing the two she thought she could ask them where she was.
"Excuse me! D-Do you know where I am? I'm supposed to be streaming in my house… this is not my house." The Japanese streamer paused her words, those memories were from a distant past. "No… I'm supposed to be… with Lady Evelyn. The festival! It's still not over, right?!"
The two girls looked at her and then disappeared.
"Wait!"
The Japanese Streamer reaches her hand towards them but it was all for naught.
"Leapolina…"
A voice calls out, hands reaching onto an elven woman who was looking at the distance in a pitch black void. She was like the light, that familiar silver hair and robes as if the same woman was from an ancient past.
"I'm sorry."
A dream, this could only be a dream.
"I'm sorry I couldn't live as long as you. I promise, I'll return and hope that we can be together again."
Whose voice is this?
The silver haired woman turned to face Analissa, she couldn't clearly see her face. It was… blurry but somehow the regal warmth of her figure fills her with calmness that she can't explain.
She walks over, takes her hand and smiles. "Zohariel, you will always be the woman my heart belongs to."
The Japanese streamer removes her hands from the unknown elven woman in a frenzy, for some unknown reason her heart becomes heavy. "Zohariel? No, my name is not- it's… I'm sorry but I'm not Zohariel I don't understand! Where am I?"
"You're here with me, that's all that matters."
"No, as I said I'm not-!"
A mirror suddenly appears, there a woman who was brunette and had golden eyes stares at her in confusion. "Zohariel, your duty as the first saintess… forget all about it and run away with me."
"The first saintess-! What… that's something… I haven't… huh?" Her head suddenly became so heavy, the air around them shifted and now something appeared in her hand. A noose, her body moves forward as she notices the unkempt and chaotic display of what seemed to be a room.
"Wait-! What's my body doing?!" The Japanese streamer fears the nightmare that was beyond her control, her body moves as if someone is forcing her to. "No, no, no!"
She takes the chair that was on the side of the table and ties the rope on top of a wooden bar before staring at the floor.
The Japanese realized what her body was forcing her to do.
Suicide.
"I can't- I don't! Please stop! I still want to live! You can't make me kill myself like this!"
"You can't run away forever… even in this life, Zohariel."
Even in this life… the curse of the light still lingers.
…
===
Academy Infirmary: 3 Days of Unconciousness
===
"I told you-! I'm not Zohariel!" (Analissa) woke up in a cold sweat. She looked around the room, inspecting it. A clean room, soft sheets and what seemed to be like the infirmary. She sighed a breath of relief. "Hah… Ha… I… It was just… It was just a dream."
The heroine couldn't help but look at the ceiling, the images of the elven woman with silver hair, her face was already fleeting.
"The first saintesss- I… I have heard of her from the books around here but why would I have a dream about her?" The heroine was confused. In the end a dream is just a dream. There shouldn't be any other hidden meaning, dreams are meant to be forgotten. "Ugh… that was a horrible dream."
Even so, the Japanese Streamer might not forget a nightmare.
Step, step, step.
"Miss Analissa Blanchet are you awake?"
"...!"
Analissa didn't know why but her body moved to act like she was sleeping and closed her eyes. She heard an unknown voice and her instincts kicked in.
The nurse who was holding the expensive cookies that were given as a gift, took a bite and observed the sleeping girl that was on the infirmary bed. Honestly, she was given cookies everyday to appease and be bribed so the Alarie gang of maids can easily get in without miuch issue.
"Goodmorning?" She walks over and sees that she was still sleeping soundly. The nurse shrugs and thinks that she must've been hearing the wind or something.
For three days, the blonde girl hasn't moved one muscle. "Must've been my imagination. Evelyn Alarie and her maids should be back soon from their chores. In the meantime I'll eat these scrumptious cookies that they gave me."
Analissa who was hearing this made a 'gikuri' sound, swallowing the jealousy forming in her throat and cried inside.
'What in the world happened while I was asleep?'
Growl…
'And I want to eat some cookies too.' Once the nurse was gone she quietly opened her eyes and observed the information she got out of the nurse's ramblings. 'On a good note, from the nurse's words Lady Evelyn is safe from harm, that's a relief.'
The heroine needed to think straight, she needed to know if everything in the game world is… stable.
'First, my wand and book. I left it at the care of Lord Ein before I fainted. Knowing him, he's doing a good job keeping it safe for me. He promised it after all.' (Analissa) is very trusting of the reformed Masochist, so there shouldn't be a problem. 'Ah right, I hope he gets me money for those crystals we got at the cave. We risked our lives for those.'
She thought of using the earned money to buy a few things that could help her achieve a peaceful ending other than that the only remaining concern is…
'Lady Evelyn on the other hand is safe… I don't know if I can face her right now. How long has it been before I woke up?'
Analissa Blanchet didn't know how long she had been asleep.
All she knew was that her body felt heavy, her limbs ached, and her mana had barely recovered. The spell she had used on the villainess had drained almost everything from her. Even now, the faint pulse of magic inside her core felt weak, like a candle struggling against the wind.
But it was worth it.
She had done it.
She had saved the villainess.
That incident was only one of the many tragedies that were supposed to come. The future was already shifting because of the heroine's meddling, and some of the original plots were no longer following the game's path. From here on, navigating the story would not be easy.
But as long as this former Japanese streamer followed her instincts, then maybe...
Just maybe...
She could reach some kind of happy ending with the villainess.
"..."
A happy ending with the villainess.
Analissa stared blankly at the ceiling.
The original game never had that.
Every route that involved Evelyn Alarie ended in ruin. Betrayal. Madness. Execution. Death. No matter what the player chose, the villainess was never allowed to be happy.
So could Analissa really create an ending where she and Evelyn would both survive?
Where Evelyn would smile, not as the villainess, but as herself?
Where the two of them could...
Analissa's face slowly turned red.
'Wait. No. Stop. Don't think that far.' Her thoughts immediately crashed into the one thing she had been avoiding.
Lady Evelyn's confession and her feelings that's beyond friends.
It all made sense back at the festival… that day on the wedding booth!
The way the villainess looked at her. The way her voice had trembled. The way her usually proud and terrifying expression softened into something painfully honest when she made her speech at the altar!
She only took that silly booth as some practice Lady Evelyn might have wanted for her future wedding with her true love once she escapes her red flags but-!
Analissa pulled the blanket over half of her face.
'What should I even tell her?'
She began forming excuses in her head, now she's confirmed her suspicions were true… the villainess loving the heroine… it's all a mess in her head and not only that- the villainess might ask her a lot of questions that she can't answer truthfully just yet.
'I'm sorry, I got lost somewhere in the academy.'
No. Terrible.
'I left for five hours because I was looking for a bathroom.'
Even worse.
'My male fans suddenly chased me and had to escape.'
Somehow, that sounded more believable than the bathroom excuse.
Analissa groaned and grabbed her own head.
'No, no, no. Lady Evelyn will know. She always knows. She's the villainess, after all. She can smell lies like a bloodhound in heels.' She rolled to the side, then immediately regretted it when pain shot through her body. 'Maybe I should jump out the nearest window and run away.'
There was a pause.
'No. That's too cowardly.' Her three remaining braincells worked desperately to keep their owner from losing what little sanity she had left.
'I know you like me… um… thank you for liking me?' (Analissa) buried her face into the pillow. 'That sounds awful. That sounds like I'm replying to a nice comment on a livestream.'
She squeezed her eyes shut.
'How do you even accept a confession when you're not sure about your own feelings?'
She loved Evelyn Alarie.
Of course she did.
But at first, that love had been the love of a player for a beautifully written character. A tragic villainess. A complicated girl who suffered, broke, and fell apart because the story never gave her a chance.
Analissa had admired her. Pitied her.
She wanted to save her.
But now?
Now Lady Evelyn was not just a character.
She was real.
She was kind beneath all her sharp edges. Sweet in the moments when no one else was watching. Caring in ways she tried to hide. Lonely in ways that made Analissa's chest hurt.
And that made everything more complicated.
'I'm someone borrowing another character's body. I should be responsible. I should gently refuse her. A player should never be with a character.'
Her fingers tightened around the blanket.
'But she isn't just a character anymore.' (Analissa) sat up slowly, her blonde hair falling messily around her face.
She thought about what to do, over and over again.
Until-
"I got it! The only choice is to face her head on without telling the truth."
Click.
The curtain beside her bed suddenly slid open.
Analissa froze.
"Ufufu… so the blonde cockroach has finally awakened?"
A familiar maid stood there, one hand still gripping the fabric. Her uniform was perfect, her posture elegant, and her smile looked far too pleased for someone entering a patient's private space.
Liara.
Evelyn Alarie's personal maid. And also the one person in the entire academy infirmary who somehow managed to look graceful while calling people insects.
"Ah-"
Analissa immediately pulled the blanket up to her chin.
"Um… no. I'm… actually, you know what? I might go back to sleep." Her voice grew smaller with every word. "I still feel tired, so please don't tell anyone I'm awake."
Then, without shame, Analissa ducked beneath the blanket and curled herself into a suspiciously human-shaped lump.
A second later, exaggerated snoring came from under the sheets.
"Zzz… zzz…"
Liara stared at the lump on the bed. Her smile did not move.
"Oh my," she said sweetly. "After all the worrying you gave our lady, do you truly think you can simply go back to sleep?"
The snoring stopped. A pair of nervous blue eyes peeked out from the blanket.
"L-Liara, you know, um…" (Analissa) slowly lowered the blanket just enough to show her face. "I'm sorry I was awake the whole time."
"She was worried about you, Miss Blanchet." Liara's voice was calm, but something underneath it was sharper than usual.
Analissa went quiet.
Liara stepped closer to the bed, the silver tray balanced perfectly in her hands. Her expression remained graceful, but her eyes did not carry their usual teasing light.
"Our lady cares about you very much, it pained her to see you hurt."
Analissa's fingers tightened around the blanket.
"She almost refused to attend class because she wanted to stay here and take care of you," (Liara) continued. "After some convincing, she managed to go back to her duties."
Analissa lowered her gaze.
"...I'm sorry."
For a moment, the infirmary became quiet.
The soft sunlight passed through the white curtains, falling gently over Analissa's pale face and messy blonde hair. She looked smaller than usual like that, swallowed by the blanket, her usual awkward energy dimmed by guilt.
Liara looked at her. Really looked at her.
Then her grip on the tray softened.
"Miss Blanchet, we heard everything that happened at the festival," she said quietly. "What you did for Lady Alarie."
Analissa looked up.
Liara's smile returned, but this time it was not mocking. It was softer. Almost grateful.
"Thank you for saving our Lady Alarie, Miss Blanchet."
Analissa blinked, caught off guard.
Liara lowered her head slightly. "We owe you a great debt. Not only as servants of House Alarie, but as people who care for her."
Analissa's lips parted, but no words came out.
Liara straightened again and placed the tray on the small table beside the bed. "Lady Evelyn may be difficult, prideful, terrifying, and utterly incapable of asking for help properly."
Analissa could only laugh awkwardly seeing how the villainess' personal maid managed to hit every nail on her personality, "That's… a lot of words."
"They are all accurate." (Liara) said insistingly.
"But she is precious to us, we are fortunate to have a young lady as our master." The maid's voice softened. "And lately, she has changed. She smiles more often. She eats more. She seems to be more relaxed when she returns from the academy."
Analissa stared at her.
Liara gently adjusted the cup of tea on the tray, avoiding Analissa's eyes. "And all of that began after she met you."
A strange warmth filled Analissa's chest.
But it did not last long.
The moment she remembered everything that had happened, that warmth twisted into something heavier. Guilt settled inside her heart, cold and suffocating.
She looked down at her hands beneath the blanket.
"I think…" Her voice came out quieter than she expected. "It might be better if I… leave Lady Evelyn's side for a while."