Chapter 1
If you found yourself reincarnated as the heroine in a doomed romance simulation game, how far should you prepare your mind?
Lucy Adelstein reflected on all the crises she had faced so far.
Was it when, barely attending a social party, her “Disaster Mouth” skill activated and turned her into a human durian?
Or when she earned the title of “Legendary Angler” and garnered the attention of middle-aged fishermen instead of the male leads?
No.
None of that mattered.
In fact, those incidents only strengthened her determination.
Lucy realized that this moment—right now—was when she truly wanted to throw in the towel and surrender.
She carefully surveyed the scene before her.
At the center stood Bartholomew Faraday.
A minor character whose name wasn’t even mentioned in the game.
At Bartholomew’s feet lay a man, collapsed.
“…Bartholomew?”
Lucy called out faintly.
Bartholomew lightly brushed the blood off his sword and sheathed it.
His actions were calm and composed, without a trace of excitement or anger.
Finally, after removing his gloves, he swept his hair back and looked at Lucy.
Facing his full expression, Lucy’s eyes widened.
Bartholomew was smiling.
The gloom that had always lingered in his blue eyes had vanished.
A satisfied smile tugged at his usually stiff lips.
“Lucy.”
His smile deepened.
Beep—!
A warning sound rang, and a system window appeared.
[Error Detected!]
[A critical error has occurred in the existing scenario.]
While Lucy stared at the system window in confusion, Bartholomew stepped forward.
As he approached, Lucy instinctively took a step back.
Bartholomew tilted his head slightly, as if he couldn’t understand her reaction.
Lucy stumbled and fell after continuing to step back.
“Lucy?”
Bartholomew immediately knelt before her.
“You okay?”
Lucy cautiously lifted her gaze from the floor.
Bartholomew was genuinely concerned, without a trace of pretense.
‘He seems just like usual when seen this way,’ Lucy thought.
As her guard began to lower, a sharp warning beep sounded again.
[The existing scenario cannot proceed.]
[System instability detected.]
The system window flickered and began to distort.
Lucy tried to focus on Bartholomew as she asked,
“Bartholomew. Did you do this?”
He did not answer. Growing anxious, Lucy asked again,
“No, right? This must be some kind of misunderstanding?”
Beep—!
[To stabilize the game system, the scenario will be modified.]
[Application rate: 10%]
What on earth was happening?
Then it happened.
Bartholomew reached out, and Lucy flinched reflexively.
[Application rate: 32%]
His hand paused briefly in midair before moving again.
His hand reached toward Lucy’s hair.
He brushed the falling strands behind her ear.
[Application rate: 56%]
His touch was extremely gentle.
Yet, the faint scent of blood emanating from him made it feel dreamlike to Lucy.
Bartholomew slid his hand slowly along her hair.
[Application rate: 74%]
He lightly entwined the tips of her hair around his fingers and pressed his lips to them.
With eyes closed and lips placed gently, it looked like a knight swearing loyalty by kissing a king’s feet.
“I did it.”
[Application rate: 88%]
Bartholomew’s eyelids slowly opened.
“I am now the master of the Faraday family.”
[Application rate: 97%]
“So…”
His vivid blue eyes stared directly at Lucy.
“Try to tempt me, Lucy.”
Ding!
[Game scenario modification complete.]
‘No way.’
[“Bartholomew Faraday” has become the new male lead.]
[“Bartholomew Faraday” has been added as a target for your pursuit.]
Lucy moved her lips.
‘I’m screwed.’
A minor character who had been nothing more than an NPC had stolen the lead role.
In hindsight, Lucy realized she should have paid closer attention to the system window when it first appeared.
Had she, she could have mentally prepared herself for how grueling her life in this doomed game would be.
Ding!
[Welcome! Welcome to “Heartbeat Love in Akane♡”! You will play as Lucy, the second daughter of the Adelstein royal family and the game’s heroine.]
Lucy frowned.
The system window filled her entire vision, leaving her overwhelmed.
Ding!
[The hardships ahead may trouble you, but the gameplay will be all the more enjoyable and varied!]
Ding!
[Forge your own destiny and claim a beautiful love♡]
The cheerful notification sounds only added to Lucy’s confusion.
“Ugh.”
As she blinked in dismay, an unfamiliar voice spoke.
“Are you awake?”
Lucy shifted her gaze toward the voice.
A man stood beside her bed, looking down at her.
The first thing she noticed was his snow-white hair.
Below his straight brows were pale gray eyes.
A cold gaze, a rigid expression, and his arms firmly crossed.
Overall, he exuded a cold, handsome aura.
‘He seems familiar. Who is he?’
As if reading her thoughts, a status window appeared next to him.
[Name: ?? Age: ??
Features: ??
Affection: ??]
All question marks—useless.
“Princess Lucy, are you awake?”
The man repeated the question.
Impatience tinged his voice as if he were growing annoyed.
Lucy struggled to recall the name of the oddly familiar man.
Her blank stare caused a furrow to form between his brows.
At the same time, Lucy’s eyes widened.
She remembered.
‘Cecil Auden.’
Rendered in full 3D from the crude 2D art, she hadn’t recognized him immediately. This was one of the male leads in the game she had played.
As Lucy recalled his name, the status window updated.
[Name: Cecil Auden Age: 18
Features: The youngest to hold the empire’s top healer position.]
Affection: ??]
Yet the affection remained unknown.
‘Why?’
While Lucy wondered, Cecil spoke again.
“Lucy Adelstein.”
Cecil leaned forward, narrowing the distance between them.
He stared intently at Lucy with slightly narrowed eyes.
“This is my final question.”
“…….”
“Are you awake?”
His cold voice sounded less like a question and more like a warning.
Lucy tried to speak but found her throat constricted.
It felt as though an unknown force was preventing her from answering.
Ding!
[Cecil Auden has asked you the same question multiple times.]
[Failing to answer before his patience runs out may negatively affect his affection.]
The system warned Lucy and displayed a choice window.
[- Yes. I’m okay now.]
[- Who are you?]
‘Do I have to pick from these to answer?’
The window flickered rapidly as if urging her.
Feeling pressured, Lucy selected the first option.
Beep—!
[Warning! Event cannot proceed!]
‘What? Why?’
[Intelligence too low to answer.]
‘Intelligence…?’
Lucy noticed her own small status window in the corner.
[Name: Lucy Adelstein Age: 16
Features: The ugly duckling of the Adelstein royal family]
Reading slowly, Lucy could hardly believe her eyes.
[Intelligence: -50 (Insight impaired)]
[Stamina: -50 (Health impaired)]
[Reputation: -100 (Charm impaired)]
What…?
A total stat of minus 200…
