Chapter 01

A magnificent, grand performance echoed across the cathedral ceiling. Sunlight poured through the stained glass windows, casting brilliant shadows across the floor.

Caliton gently clasped my hand. He looked at me with affectionate eyes, then turned his gaze toward the Pope.

At Caliton’s look—one that seemed to say he was ready—the gray-haired Pope opened his mouth.

“Crown Prince Caliton Grailheart, are you prepared to take Lady Aisha Ambervier as your bride?”

“I am.”

The Pope turned his gaze to me.

“Lady Aisha Ambervier, are you prepared to take His Highness Crown Prince Caliton Grailheart as your groom?”

“Yes.”

I answered without hesitation. There was no need to say how long I had waited for this moment.

Soon after, the priests brought forward goblets filled with wine.

“Bride and groom, please drink the wine.”

At the Pope’s words, Caliton and I linked arms and drained our glasses in a love shot.

“With this, I formally declare that His Highness Caliton Grailheart and Lady Aisha Ambervier are now the Crown Prince and Princess of the Belcadia Empire—”

“Cough!”

At that moment, Caliton spat up blood.

“Ai… sha…”

The hand holding mine went limp and fell into empty air.

What… is this?

I stared blankly as Caliton collapsed like a sandcastle crumbling away.

The moment he fell, screams erupted.

“Eek!”

“Guards! Where are the guards?!”

“The Crown Prince has collapsed!”

“Your Highness, are you all right?!”

“Prince Caliton!”

Chaos broke out. The guards began sealing the temple entrances, while panicked nobles screamed in confusion.

A royal physician rushed to Caliton’s side and placed his fingers beneath his nose.

“H-His Highness the Crown Prince has been poisoned!”

At the same moment as the physician’s shout, a familiar system window appeared before my eyes.

[GAME OVER]

Staring blankly at the system window, I muttered a curse under my breath.

“Damn it…”

I irritably hit the power button and threw the console I’d been holding.

“What kind of trash game is this?”

This game, Starlight Chronicle, was a dating simulation where the protagonist—a trainee mage—courted five male characters.

But maybe it was the curse of being a lifelong single, or maybe just the game’s brutal difficulty.

Every time I played, the male characters didn’t even show interest in me, let alone fall for me.

‘How does it make sense that I couldn’t clear even one route in a whole month?’

At this point, it was less a dating sim and more a test of patience.

Driven into a corner, I finally made a cheat. I maxed out the protagonist’s Charm stat.

After that, the male leads who had stubbornly resisted no matter how hard I tried started falling for me one after another.

It was frustrating to realize it had always been this easy after all my suffering—but I didn’t care.

At least, not until I saw the endings.

When I romanced the holy knight, the temple burned him at the stake for violating their doctrine forbidding romantic love.

My fiancé from the Imperial Knights developed severe jealousy, murdered every man who spoke to me, and was eventually executed.

And that wasn’t all.

The court mage killed me and preserved my body, claiming he wanted to keep me forever.

I was murdered after catching the eye of a villainess obsessed with the Northern Duke.

The game didn’t just kill the male leads—it killed the player character too.

Among the five romance options, only Crown Prince Caliton was the last hope for seeing an ending.

And he had just died.

“Argh! What the hell is this?! Is it mocking me or something?!”

I had poured three whole months into this game!

Fine, I admit it—I used cheats.

But if I still couldn’t clear even one route out of five, wasn’t that basically telling me not to play?

Fuming, I sent an email to the game developer.

You seriously call this a game? I could make something better with my feet.

(Content omitted)

As someone in the same industry, it wasn’t something I should’ve done—but if I didn’t, all those months of effort would feel completely meaningless.

Feeling a bit better, I lay down on my bed and closed my eyes.

Maybe tomorrow I’d try courting Duke Jerome of the North again?

If I just avoided the villainess, I could survive and see the ending…

I could see the ending…

Darkness swallowed my fading consciousness.

When I opened my eyes, I was standing in an unfamiliar place.

“Where… am I?”

This wasn’t my room.

A high ceiling, white walls, luxurious decor in purple and gold. Neatly arranged magical tools and books.

Looking around what felt like a fantasy set, a strange sense of déjà vu washed over me.

“I’ve seen this somewhere before. This is just like…”

I picked up the nameplate on the desk. Strange foreign letters were engraved on it.

For some reason, I could read them.

“Lowell Cyprian?”

Lowell Cyprian was one of the romanceable characters in Starlight Chronicle. This place, too, was exactly like Lowell’s study from the game.

Had I been kidnapped?

Could it be that the developers, offended by my hate mail, had built a set and imprisoned me?

But there was no way a company would go to such lengths for a single angry player.

More importantly…

I could read an unfamiliar language.

Countless thoughts raced through my head.

After a moment of hesitation, I squeezed my eyes shut and shouted,

“Status window!”

Nothing happened.

“……”

Of course not… wait, then where exactly am I?

Half disappointed, half panicked, I hurriedly looked around again.

Ding!

Along with a familiar notification sound, a status window appeared before my eyes.

========================
Basic Information

Name: Aisha
Gender: Female
Age: 22
Race: Human
Occupation: None

Stats
Strength: LV.1
Stamina: LV.1
Mana: LV.1

Charm: LV.999

Skills
Allure: LV.999

Affection
??? : 0
??? : 0
??? : 0
??? : 0
??? : 0

My jaw dropped.

‘This… is a real status window?’

Everything felt too vivid to be a dream.

Did I really transmigrate? Did the developer curse me or something?

More importantly… how do I get back to reality? Do I need to see the ending? That’s usually how it works in transmigration novels.

Wait.

‘I’ve never seen an ending.’

When I played the game, either all the romance targets died, or the protagonist did.

Which meant—I had no idea how to actually reach the ending.

‘What happens if I fail while I’m inside the game?’

Don’t tell me… I die for real?

A chill ran down my spine, and I shook my head hard.

No. I’ll get a proper ending this time!

Trying to stay positive, I mentally reviewed each romance candidate.

I didn’t want to be preserved forever, so the corpse-loving mage was out.

I didn’t want to watch someone burn alive, so the holy knight was out.

The jealous fiancé who murdered people was out too.

That left two options: the Crown Prince who was assassinated at his wedding, and the Northern Duke with a dangerously obsessive villainess attached to him.

The former meant dealing with political forces. The latter meant dealing with one person.

Facing an unknown organization was too much. Dealing with a single villainess gave me better odds.

Alright. I’ll go for the Northern Duke.

Just as I made up my mind, the study door opened.

A slender, handsome elf walked in.

‘Lowell Cyprian.’

He was the first person the protagonist met in the game—and her future magic mentor.

Seeing his beautiful face, mysterious violet eyes, and elegantly long lashes in person made admiration spill out naturally.

I stared at him, spellbound—then slapped myself mentally.

Lowell Cyprian was a twisted man who preserved people like specimens. I couldn’t be fooled by a pretty face.

Just then, Lowell finished reading a letter and spoke in a gentle voice.

“This is indeed my disciple Brion’s handwriting.”

There was loneliness in his voice.

“A human lifespan is truly fleeting.”

Lowell lifted his gaze from the letter.

“Your name is—”

The moment our eyes met, he stopped speaking.

At the same time, a system window appeared.

[Lowell Cyprian’s affection has increased by 15.]
[Lowell Cyprian’s affection: 15]

He was the only character whose affection started this high.

Love at first sight? Was that the setting?

Whatever. I had zero intention of romancing a preservation fanatic, so he’d better not get ahead of himself.

“Your name is Aisha. According to the letter, Brion took you in after finding you—an orphan from the countryside. Is that correct?”

“Yes.”

“He requested that I take you as my disciple.”

Lowell set the letter down.

“Before that, I will conduct a test.”

He brought over a flowerpot containing a red bud dotted with small blue spots.

“This flower only blooms when mana is infused into it.”

With a snap of his fingers, the blue spots began to glow faintly.

“Use mana and make the flower bloom.”

He added an explanation while pulling out an hourglass.

“If you fail to bloom the flower before the sand runs out, it will explode.”

Since all progress in the game began with becoming Lowell’s disciple, this trial was unavoidable.

I placed my palm over the flower bud and tried to pour mana into it.

Nothing happened.

Of course.

‘My mana is only LV.1.’

I had poured all my points into Charm and never bothered raising anything else.