The Bad Ending of an Otome

The parallels between Ophelia and Elodie…

A bizarre look that appeared to be from another planet. 

And the adoration they receive from a large number of people?

In terms of rank, personality, and family ties, the two were diametrically opposed. 

That was pretty much all they had in common. 

Even though Elodie could infiltrate high society due to Ophelia’s shadow readily…

I blinked my eyes shut. 

To think about it, what type of life would Elodie have had if Ophelia hadn’t existed?

There would have been no unconditional protection from the Marquis’s house, but thanks to her gentle demeanor and attractiveness, she wouldn’t have been in a difficult situation either…

I mean, in the first game, no matter how I thought about it, Emilia would have ended up walking the streets at a young age and dying of hunger or something equally terrible. 

If Ophelia hadn’t been unwell, Emilia and Ophelia would never have crossed paths.

“You’re firm. Do you think you’ll befriend Lady Elodie too?”

“I don’t believe it will happen. We committed.”

“What promise?”

“That I wouldn’t make a better friend than her.”

For a brief while, Countess McGinty remained silent. 

Her quiet made sense to me. 

It was almost awkward to say this as grownups rather than adolescent females. 

People would laugh at you if you stated this in a social setting right now, saying that it’s not even child’s play, and how can you be proud to say such infantile things?

“Because I was her only friend, I wanted to keep her as my best friend too.”

“…You were close with the deceased young lady.”

“She gave in, so I should at least listen to her.”

“That’s giving in?”

Countess McGinty’s face was filled with surprise.

“For her, that’s a huge concession.”

I responded honestly. 

That was a very generous condition for her. 

Given her personality, it wouldn’t have been out of character for her to say, ‘How dare you sleep with your arms and legs stretched out when I’m dead?’ 

‘I won’t let you go if you make new friends and smile!’

‘Don’t make lifelong friends and live indifferently like a nun!’ 

Where does that not hold? 

She, too, was envious of me. 

Even if I consoled a wounded dog, she would throw a temper tantrum and ask if I preferred her or that stray dog.

I was the only person she could monopolize, and she couldn’t tolerate the thought of me focusing on someone else. 

She was envious, possessive, and occasionally inappropriate, but she was always on my side. 

Such a person will not be found in my previous or current life.

I could understand stories in which the protagonist abandons their love because the person they love secretly loves their family or best friend. 

The only great love conquers all by sacrificing one’s life and self. 

Giving up does not imply that all of those feelings are meaningless. 

It just signifies that there is something more valuable for which they behaved.

“…So the character of Lady Windrose was as the rumors said?”

“No matter what rumors you heard, she was beyond that.”

My assertion took aback Countess McGinty. 

She must have thought it odd that I called her my ‘best friend’ and then claimed she was a jerk.

“When we talk about the deceased Lady Windrose, Miss Emilia seems to change a bit…”

“Really?”

Cassio mentioned something similar the previous time we met. 

I gave her a blank stare.

“It’s a virtue for Miss Emilia to be always calm, but it’s not just that……”

The Countess murmured and tilted her head slightly.

“…She becomes shameless.”

I cocked my head slightly, unsure what she meant. 

My smile was as brilliant as ever. 

So when Ophelia was mentioned, I was indeed happier than normal. 

I couldn’t talk about it anyplace else, and there was no risk of rumors spreading.

It seemed pleasantly liberated to be open and honest about my inner feelings to someone not a member of the Marquis’s family. 

It was almost incredible to believe that I had hidden my emotions deep inside for over two years while pretending to be an everyday commoner, preparing coffee, and living my life.

…Did my eyes shine too brightly?

Did it appear that I relished criticizing Ophelia? 

She had her evil ways, but the cute things she did were the highlights.

I suddenly felt betrayed. 

Of course, she was terrible, but she was also attractive and skilled at mischief. 

That was the whole objective. 

Could there have been a mistake, believing it weird that a close friend could gladly discuss the shortcomings of someone who has died?

“Understand me. Ophelia is one of my favorite characters. I even admire her bad temper…”

Was that also a mistake? 

The expression on Countess McGinty’s face changed dramatically. 

To put it simply… Even if it was gorgeous, it was like a mother hedgehog cuddling her baby hedgehog.

“No, I don’t just mean that I like her! …I just thought it was lovely that she would die for me with her personality… Countess, did I say something incorrectly?”

“No, no.”

Countess McGinty responded far too swiftly.

“Emilia didn’t get along well with the deceased Marquis’s suitors.”

“That is correct. Cassio and I were not on good terms at the time. I was also at odds with Edmund.”

“That’s natural…”

“Yes?”

“Nothing at all. It must be uncomfortable to discuss Ophelia before the Marchioness openly.”

I felt a jolt in my chest as I wondered if she had learned of my meeting with Marchioness Windrose in the lounge. 

The words that the Marchioness had cried and spewed that day had accumulated like sediment in the depths of my heart.

‘How could you be so cruel?’

My heart aches every time I think of those words.

“I guess I resemble Ophelia in that way.”

My answer would be a lie if there was no personal interest involved. 

I had no sensation of betrayal, unlike the Marquis, who had maintained a calculated distance from the start as if to indicate one should extend their legs according to the blanket.

Somewhere in my heart, the me that despised Ophelia so much that it gave me goosebumps when I was five to eight years old still exists. 

The me who idolized the Marquis’s family and subconsciously projected the sweet and gentle Marchioness as an ideal mother remains. 

It would not have been a problem if I had said wonderful things even after leaving everything behind, rejoining, and pretending not to know. 

But the youthful me couldn’t overcome the juvenile urge to hurt as much as I had been wounded back then.

Ophelia was unkind to both the Marchioness and the Marquis. 

Her original parents were also not a haven for her. 

That fact, unfortunately, provided me some relief while also making me envious of her. 

I envied her ease in dismissing even her most loving parents as if she were surrounded by iron thorns that were sharp in every way. 

I took comfort in the knowledge that I was the only person on whom she relied.

I could stay with the Marquis’s family as long as she valued me. 

But I was still envious of her position, where she could act out and never be abandoned.

Would my useless parents have sold me for money if I had been as lovely as Ophelia? 

They could have planned to raise me for a higher price, but they wouldn’t have been able to witness it. 

It was absurd for me to strike a nail into the Marchioness’s heart when I wasn’t even Ophelia, having been sold to the Marquis’s household by those trashy biological parents. 

That I am aware of.

If it had been Ophelia, she would have been tougher. 

I’m familiar with her. 

Even with such self-comfort, the truth remains the same. 

Knowing that made facing the Marchioness difficult.

I was sorry, and the broken Marchioness looked to be falling for me with just a few gentle words. 

If she had been as tough as Countess McGinty, who could stand firm and declare, ’No matter how kind and gentle you act, I can’t make you the enemy of the Marquis’s family,’ I may have pretended not to know and turned a blind eye.

What’s the harm in living that way? 

Nobody could fault you.

I could occasionally hear the voice. 

I covered my ears, closed my eyes, and held my breath in stillness when I heard it.

Just like family members who used to fight to the death begin to miss each other when they are separated.

 It’s just like that. You desire something you cannot have… 

You’re not as sweet as Ophelia or as beautiful as she is. 

You overcame the Marquis’s family’s pressures thanks to Ophelia, who was completely on your side. 

What else could you rely on besides other people’s erroneous sense of debt? 

It would be the end of the world if you were abandoned. 

You know that no one in this world is entirely on your side.

I had mentally prepared myself to leave at any time, but the Marquis’s family occupied most of my life’s memories. 

The enormous tree’s shade, where I sat and drank a beverage under the scorching July sun. 

In the fall, I like to run on a swing, and in the winter, I like to relax around the fireplace and play board games. 

There were priceless, beautiful, and pleasant memories among the terrible and regretful ones.

“But I am not her family.”

I was someone who was inextricably linked to a family. 

I hoped I wouldn’t be pushed out like Emilia in the game, but I wasn’t sure. 

It was a different world, one in which I was not the protagonist. 

As a result, I shouldn’t be greedy. I felt suffocated every time I thought that. 

Reality pierced my eyes like thorns whenever I opened and closed my eyelids. 

Isn’t it true that there are those beautiful and shining people? 

So don’t be conceited.

“If one of Ophelia or I were a man, I would have already registered our marriage and left my name on her tombstone by now.”

“…”

When I responded, ‘I am not her family,’ the Countess of McGinty’s pity-filled expression went gloomy.

Of course, if I had been a man, she would never have befriended me. 

Despite the presence of Raretis, Ophelia preferred me. 

Apart from my sentiments for Raretis, I felt pleased with myself. 

Ophelia would have found a method to nullify the engagement that wasn’t legally binding.

Countess McGinty muttered something to herself.

“I think I can understand why Edmund Gloucester slapped her…”

“What?”

“Don’t worry about it. I can tell you two had an extremely good friendship.”

That was correct. 

I simply nodded. It felt like the word ‘extremely’ was accented, but that was just my imagination. 

Although Cassio’s bait this time shook my pride in knowing her best, if there was such a thing as Ophelia studies, I would be the only professor in that subject.

“Yes, Mr. Cassio Brahamdorff also didn’t like me being around Ophelia in the past.”

“…What has my good-for-nothing nephew been saying lately?”

“He said he would do his best for my well-being.”

I shouldn’t bring up the contract issue intertwined with Ophelia’s letter. 

First and foremost, we are contract partners. 

I can’t discuss it directly. 

I tried to narrate calmly while watching Countess McGinty’s reaction. 

Countess McGinty appeared to have much to say, but she looked uncertain as if she couldn’t. 

What could it possibly be?

“Cassio and I developed a good friendship back then, and he has been a tremendous help this season. I understand your fears. However, please know that Mr. Cassio and I are colleagues.”

“Colleagues…”

“We are partners who want to have a successful social season. As I previously stated, Mr. Brahamdorff is astute. Therefore, he will not make a decision that leaves him perplexed.”

“…Do you think my nephew is unattractive? Despite his outward appearance, he’s pretty eloquent and not bad at escorting.”

Is she attempting to see if I’ll fall for Cassio? 

I purposefully smiled brightly.

“You don’t have to be concerned. I have no plans to date or get married right now! I don’t think I’d ever sully Sir Cassio’s name by circulating stories about him being involved with someone else. I’m confident Countess McGinty will handle it sensibly, but if you’re looking for a suitable niece-in-law, I can also assist.”

I tried my best to convince Countess McGinty that I was not a spy from a former Marquis’s family aiming to penetrate Brahamdorff’s interests. 

Still, her complexion seemed to worsen as my comments grew longer.