Chapter 24

Translated by Momo & edited by Mary

“He’s jealous.”

“Is it jealousy…?”

Cecilia hummed while holding her chin.

After a lot of thinking, certainly, there was a possibility.

Gilbert might have felt that his sister was being taken away when he read Leanne’s novel. That might be the reason why he became so sullen. Nevertheless…

“But for him to become that angry about it….”

She didn’t know if Gilbert had anyone he fancied at the moment, but how could he be so jealous of his sister? Even though they’re really close, they’re just siblings.

“Well, that just shows how important you are to him. Hey, if a friend you’ve been the closest to suddenly got along with someone you didn’t like… how would that make you feel?”

“Well…that…”

In fact, she knew that feeling very well.

Cecilia actually didn’t go out a lot since she was crossdressing and she didn’t have a lot of people who could be considered her ‘friends’, but she understood the situation. Especially when she recalled the memories of her previous life.

(I always got a bit moody if Ichika was hanging out with a girl that I didn’t know well…)

Ichika, Hiyono’s best friend, was quite adept in with her social skills. Apart from Hiyono, she had a lot of other friends and acquaintances.

“But Oscar and Gil get along just fine, right?”

“Well, it’s not bad, but it’s not really that good either since he always draws a clear line between us.”

Gilbert always referred to Oscar as 'Your Highness’ and spoke to him with respect. Even when Oscar himself told Gilbert to quit it, it never changed.

One could see it was a bit odd.

(I didn’t imagine he was such a possessive child.)

Gilbert was basically uninterested in anything. There was nothing he would be really enthusiastic about and he has little attachment to things.

For someone like him to show this much yearning towards his sister, it was a bit flustering.

However, since there was no other reasoning why, Cecilia had no choice but to believe it.

(An episode of possessiveness. If she considered Gil’s character in the game, it made sense. There was an event like that…)

Gilbert was supposed to be a truant that had a much darker personality and did not open himself up to anyone. The original game’s Cecilia shunned him off as the Silvy family’s disgrace.

There were people who would gossip behind his back that this self-isolated boy that was considered a failure couldn’t possibly be appointed as a 'knight’.

Only the main character, Leanne, was different.

She would talk through the door to encourage him when he locked himself in his dorm room. Sometimes she would send small gifts and spend a long time together with him. As time passed, he slowly opened up his heart to Leanne.

However, Gilbert’s fragile heart, which only just began to trust Leanne, was overwhelmed by a “disturbance”. And by taking advantage of his desire to monopolize, it attacked other guys that approached her.

It was also Leanne that stopped him.

After getting hurt, she touched the mark of the 'disturbance’ that appeared on Gilbert and begged: “I want you to return to your kind self.” Gilbert, who was released from the 'disturbance’, regretted what he had done, and promised himself that he would never hurt her again and decided to keep protecting her.

(That event, it was really impressive… But …Wait?)

Cecilia realized something there.

And then she got up in a hurry.

“Doesn’t that mean that, if things go on like this, Gil will soon be affected by a 'disturbance’!?”

“…What are you talking about?”

Oscar couldn’t understand the sudden turn in the conversation and looked up at Cecilia with a dumbfounded expression. However, she didn’t have any time to pay attention to him.

(What should I do? I can’t leave him like this…)

Cecilia felt a cold sweat cover her body while thinking about the distress that her cute brother might have to go through. It would be great if someone could be there for him just like when the 'disturbance’ struck him like in the game, but reality doesn’t work like that.

That was something Cecilia had painfully learned in the last few months.

Gilbert is a kind person. If he hurt someone while being afflicted by the 'disturbance’, he would not be able to forgive himself for his whole lifetime. She stood there wondering what she should do.

“Leanne?”

Her face floated up to her mind as if Cecilia just received an epiphany.

Whenever Gilbert’s heart wavered, Leanne was always the one to save him. In the game, Gilbert told Leanne, “It was in love at first sight.” According to the script, the person in Gilbert’s heart right now should be Leanne.

She could probably rescue Gilbert.

Cecilia started to hastily clean up her dishes on the table.

Oscar, still sitting, turned to look at her.

“Are you going somewhere?”

“I need to find Leanne!”

As soon as she replied to him, the school bell rang to announce the end of the lunch break.

◆ ◇ ◆

After classes were over, Cecilia went to the art classroom.

Leanne stood in front of her. Oscar, who also came along, stood next to them.

“So, what do you think about it?”

“Even if you ask me how I feel…”

Puzzled, Leanne looked down at Cecilia, who was almost prostrating on the floor to beg for help.

“So basically, it looks like Gilbert seems to be having some troubles recently, so you want me to listen to him, right?”

“That’s right…”

“Why me?”

That was an obvious question.

Because if you’re talking about your friend, shouldn’t you be the one to listen and comfort them?

Cecilia would be asking herself the same question in this situation.

“Well, if it’s Leanne, I think you have a semblance that makes you easy to talk to when it comes to a lot of things!”

Cecilia made up an excuse trying to patch up the situation. Even though it was sloppy and absurd, Leanne didn’t object, and simply replied: “I’m very honoured you think so highly of me.”

“So regarding Gilbert… I’d really love to cooperate…but…”

“But?”

“Actually, I’m quite busy with a new manuscript.”

She grabbed a thick stack of paper sheets. Of course, the models for the characters will be Oscar and Cecil.

Cecilia’s face twisted into an awkward expression.

“Jade seems to have just bought a large printing shop, and we’ve talked about printing it out and selling it on a bigger scale… so now we want to make something even better.”

Their ambitions were soaring high.

Of course, there was no event like this in the game. If there was something like this, of course, the fans would be launching an official protest over it. What kind of dating simulation game would have the heroine write and publish novels featuring the one she was supposed to capture?

(This girl… is she really the same heroine of the game…?)

There is absolutely no sign that things will go as expected. This girl was really the most irregular existence around.

But she’s the only one that can save Gilbert.

“Well, then I will help you out!!”

“Eeeeh?”

“I’ll help you in writing it! Or collecting materials, finding typographical errors, etc. If it’s something along those lines, I think I can do it! So please, when you’re free, help Gil…”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Well! Well! Well! Is this for real!?”

Leanne grabbed Cecilia’s hand with shining eyes.

Her reaction was so over the top that Cecilia instinctively shrunk away.

“Hmm, yeah…”

“If so, could you help me right now in the form of a prepayment? After that, I’ll try my best to fulfill Cecil’s request!”

“Aah, huh…Sure…”

Cecilia, pressured by Leanne’s enthusiastic drive, vaguely nodded. Oscar, standing by her side, sighed in a low voice, “…Idiot.”