Chapter 42

“Az, you can go on ahead.”

At her sudden words, Az widened his eyes in surprise.

“Huh? But…”

“We haven’t seen each other in ages. Come on, let us talk alone for a while!”

My best friend gave Az a firm shove, pushing him around the corner of the school building. Perhaps Az was being considerate too, because he didn’t resist much and reluctantly left.

It had been getting good, too!

Seeing me puff up in disappointment, my old friend chuckled. Then, without warning, she hugged me.

Her heroine-like pale pink hair swayed adorably.

I somehow managed to catch her, but I was surprised.

Since when did she do things like this?

Hadn’t the last time been elementary school?

“What’s wrong?”

“I knew it was you.”

Her pink hair smelled wonderful. I found myself wondering what kind of shampoo she used, which was a completely inappropriate thought for the situation.

Or was it the heroine’s special body scent?

I was jealous.

“I knew you had to be here.”

She said yet another unexpected thing.

Sorry, I hadn’t even considered the possibility for a second.

Still, I was genuinely happy that she was this glad to see me again after so long.

Her way of speaking hadn’t changed at all. Nothing about her had changed, and that was reassuring.

“So the heroine knows things like that too? I never dreamed you would be here.”

“What, you’re so cold even though this is our touching reunion?”

My best friend covered her face with her hands as though pretending to cry, then started adding little “sob, sob” sound effects.

Even the stupid parts of her were exactly the same.

When she realized I wasn’t reacting, she quickly raised her head and complained, “Az would play along with me…”

“But seriously, I can’t believe you got reincarnated as Bertia of all people. What terrible luck.”

“Ugh, seriously. Absolutely.”

“I wasn’t keeping track of the supporting characters at all… I mean, you looked like such a background character, didn’t you?”

She casually insulted me while grinning, as if it were nothing.

I was honestly impressed by the sheer skill.

Her sharp tongue hadn’t changed either.

Seriously, what a rude woman.

“Looks like our frenemy relationship really does continue into the next life.”

My old friend nodded thoughtfully, but I was already starting to think that God had made a terrible choice when deciding who to reincarnate with me.

Then I suddenly realized there was something important I hadn’t asked her.

“What was your name again?”

“What? You’re asking that now? I’m the heroine! The heroine!”

I obviously knew that much.

“No, I know that. It’s just that I played the game by entering my own name, so I don’t remember the default name.”

When I said that while scratching my cheek, she stared blankly for a moment before bursting into laughter.

“Ahaha! You’re just as absent-minded as ever!”

I wanted to tell her that she hadn’t changed one bit either.

She smoothly lowered her waist and performed a proper lady’s curtsy.

Her beautiful hair slipped softly over her neck, while her lowered eyelashes cast delicate shadows across her face.

She was such an unbelievably beautiful girl that I could only sigh.

“My name is Aria Plata. I hope we shall become well acquainted.”

I stared down at Aria as she deliberately put on such a formal greeting.

She really did look like an incredibly adorable heroine when she acted like this.

But how could someone look so completely different just because the person inside was different?

“What a waste…”

“Could you please stop thinking such rude things?”

When I looked at her with pity, Aria twisted her face in displeasure.

Apparently, she had understood exactly what I meant.

In my previous life, she really had been cute.

She had big eyes, brownish hair, and was just an ordinary cute girl.

But perhaps because of her rough personality and coarse way of speaking, the number of people confessing to her seemed to decrease as she got older.

I probably wouldn’t survive if I actually said that to her.

“By the way, Bell.”

“Since when did we become close enough for you to call me by my nickname?”

I was still the young lady of House Tybus, after all.

Even if she was my best friend, I deserved at least a little respect.

The thought passed through my mind, and I realized I was starting to become corrupted by noble society.

This was bad.

At this rate, I might really turn into nothing more than a spoiled villainess.

No, it was fine.

I had common sense.

From now on, I’d reflect on my behavior before going to bed every night.

Despite my cheeky remark, Aria didn’t seem bothered at all. She simply smiled innocently.

“You’ve always been like that. You get weirdly particular about the strangest things.”

“T-that isn’t true.”

I hesitated because half of what she said was painfully accurate.

My family had often told me that I worried about strange little things.

Whenever my siblings said it, I always wanted to tell them, You guys have no right to talk about that.

“Bertia Tybus… No. I’m giving my best friend a warning.”

I was a little surprised when she suddenly called me by my full name.

It had also been a long time since she’d explicitly called me her best friend.

Aria’s expression was so serious that it made me think I should probably stop making pointless remarks too.

It was nostalgic.

Whenever she had something important to say, she used to make this exact expression.

I simply watched as she took a slow breath, her lips tensing slightly.

“You should stay away from Az.”

Aria spoke clearly, separating each word.

For a while, I couldn’t understand what she’d just said at all.

“What?! Why?!”

After a brief pause, I shouted.

Somewhere in the back of my mind, I could almost hear a voice telling me that this was hardly a lady-like reaction and that I should be embarrassed.

But that was the last thing I cared about right now.

Aria glanced at me as I shrieked and let out a sigh.

It was almost as if she’d known I would react this way.

Of course she had.

She knew exactly how deeply I’d been obsessed with Az.

But Aria showed me no mercy.

She fixed me with a sharp, determined gaze, and I reluctantly fell silent.

She rarely changed her mind once she’d decided something.

You could call it having a strong will if you wanted to be nice about it, but she was stubborn and inflexible.

There was no way she’d change her mind just because I made a fuss.

“And another thing. I’m going to pursue Az.”

Then she suddenly dropped another bombshell.

Wait.

What?

That wasn’t how this was supposed to go.

What had everything up until now even been about?

Wasn’t this supposed to be the story where Aria, the heroine, saved the prince?

Then what would happen to the prince?

“W-why…? Didn’t you like the prince, Aria…?”

When I asked in a daze, Aria furrowed her brows apologetically and said she was sorry.

That expression was enough.

We had spent decades together, and we knew each other on a deeper level than either of us probably realized.

She had a foul mouth, said exactly what she thought without filtering herself, and had little sense of consideration for others.

But she wasn’t the kind of person who would deliberately hurt someone for no reason.

“Why?”

I asked quietly.

There had to be a reason.

Surely.

If there was some kind of circumstance behind it, I could at least hear her out.

As I thought that, I was also annoyed with myself for how shallow my own assumptions had been.

Why had I assumed the heroine would choose the prince all this time?

There was the prince, Az, and surely other love interests as well.

How could I possibly know who the heroine would choose?

After all, the protagonist was the player.

And then I suddenly realized.

The world—the game—existed for the sake of the protagonist—the player.

That was the fundamental concept behind a romance simulation game.

And the protagonist had been decided.

It was Aria.

My best friend from my previous life.

My favorite had been the prince.

She had loved the prince more than anyone, and she had been absolutely passionate about him.

So… had I assumed that the heroine would choose the prince simply because she had been the protagonist?

Because the protagonist had been her?

A chill ran down my spine.

It was the same kind of chill I’d felt when the prince had named me as his fiancée.

The moment when I had felt the world’s force compelling things to happen.

And yet, things clearly weren’t going according to the scenario so neatly either.

I had remembered my previous life, and Aria had been my best friend.

From anyone else’s perspective, it could have been called coincidence.

Or even a miracle.

I just happened to have a previous life that turned out like this, so perhaps that was why I was interpreting it as some kind of forced influence.

While I was thinking about all of this, Aria was thinking too.

Her expression kept changing as she seemed to waver over whether she should tell me or keep quiet.

I started to feel sorry for her, so I instinctively threw her a lifeline.

“I’m not blaming you. I like Az and I admire him, but he’s still more like someone I worship from afar than someone I’d actually…”

Aria’s eyes widened at my words, then she narrowed them as though dazzled.

She slowly shook her head.

“No. That’s not it. You see, the prince actually…”

Aria’s words suddenly stopped.

I tilted my head.

What was it?

As I wondered, I sensed the air around us shift.

“What are you two doing there?”

It was a familiar, resonant voice.

His voice had changed after puberty, becoming deeper and more mature.

But the presence behind it was one I knew all too well.

I felt as though something like this had happened when we were children too, and I tried to hide my nervousness as I searched through my memories.

That’s right.

It had been when Schwarz and I were planning the prince’s birthday celebration together.

I had figured it out, but this wasn’t the time to feel relieved about remembering it.

The air around me had become unbearably cold, and a shiver ran down my spine.