Childhood And Flowers Of Lakisen

“Cordelia-sama, are you alright!? Someone, someone—please call the doctor!”

Worried by Kana—rather, Cordelia—suddenly screaming and clutching her head, the nanny rushed out to fetch a doctor. Hearing her voice fade away, Cordelia slumped again.

(I know this world… no, it’s beyond just knowing…)

Back when she had still been Kana, she became obsessively hooked on a certain mobile game. It was Flowers of Lakisen, commonly called LakiHana, a fantasy-heavy otome game.

The heroine Elrina one day awakened to the power of a Holy Maiden able to command the sacred beast, guardian god of the Lakisen Kingdom. That power was immense—she even held authority to choose the next king.

The heroes approached or opposed Elrina in various ways while aiming for the throne. At the same time factions sought to eliminate the Holy Maiden, and through it she deepened bonds with the heroes and awakened to love. The tagline was “A story of finding true love.”

With its beautiful visuals and many heroes (constantly added since it was an app), LakiHana captivated not only gamer Kana but even Hina who had never cared for games.

Among them Kana fell in love at first sight with one hero, the water mage Prince Isaac, and poured all her part-time earnings into him.

(Ah, I remember… I bought about a hundred CDs trying to win the life-size Isaac panel in the lottery but didn’t get it… and Hina won with just one entry and bragged… then she said it was bigger than expected and immediately dismantled and threw it away…)

Remembering Isaac’s miserable form faintly visible through the trash bag at the collection site, tears welled up.

She knew lottery luck wasn’t Hina’s fault. Still, the shock made Kana seal away everything related to LakiHana.

(I know it’s silly, but it felt like Hina stole Isaac from me and then tossed him aside…)

Perhaps because she was now a child and couldn’t control her tear ducts, the more she remembered the sadder she became, and Cordelia sniffled.

“…Does it hurt somewhere?”

So when she suddenly heard a boy’s voice she had never heard before, Cordelia jumped in surprise.

Forgetting to cry, she looked toward the voice and saw a boy in aristocratic clothes straight out of LakiHana.

Smooth lapis-blue hair and eyes shining with intelligence far beyond a child. Elegant yet sweet features like an angel from a painting—

(This is Isaac-sama’s childhood version!)

Cordelia widened her eyes sharply, making Isaac flinch.

She could never forget—she had lived on bean sprouts for a month to obtain the still and story of “Prince Isaac—Childhood ver.”

(Ah, meeting seven-year-old Isaac-sama… I’m so moved. Since we’re engaged, did he come to visit? I don’t like being the villainess, but this might be amazing)

The fact she instantly recalled his age proved her feelings hadn’t changed.

—The current Kana, now Cordelia, was the rival villainess in Isaac’s route.

Publicly a haughty tsundere whose love for Isaac was too heavy, she was an extremist who tried to eliminate the Holy Maiden. After twists and turns she learned his feelings and realized she couldn’t beat the Holy Maiden, finally slapping Isaac and disappearing. Yet Kana had never been able to hate this character—instead she sympathized.

“If you had not existed, this kingdom would not have fallen into chaos, Isaac-sama would be king, I his wife, and everyone would have been happy…”

Cordelia’s tearful words had struck her deeply. Indeed, the kingdom fell into turmoil when the Holy Maiden appeared, even threatening the throne.

“…Are you alright?”

“Yes! I’m fine!”

Lost in recollection, Cordelia jumped again at the nearby voice. Isaac had come right beside her and murmured expressionlessly.

“I’m glad you seem well. I heard you fell down the stairs…”

Perhaps due to strict upbringing as a prince or his serious personality, Isaac struggled to show expressions and was always blank-faced, often mistaken for cold though truly kind. Even now he had come to check on Cordelia.

(That’s right… Isaac-sama has always been kind and good)

He should have become king effortlessly, but the Holy Maiden’s appearance took the throne from him and turned it into something any man could compete for—yet he never complained.

Calmly he had said,

“I will only do what I must. If I am not chosen, then I was never fit to be king.”

True to those words, he steadily handled affairs of state for the people and worked tirelessly, looking noble and cool.

Naturally the Holy Maiden fell for him, yet Isaac did not easily abandon Cordelia, his childhood fiancée. Many scenes showed him suffering between his duty to her and feelings for the Holy Maiden.

His troubled still images were so beautiful she once used them as wallpaper… though he ultimately chose the Holy Maiden and annulled the engagement, which made him less popular.

“Oh, Prince Isaac, you were here! My apologies, milady has only just awakened.”

When the nanny returned with a doctor and her parents, Cordelia was immediately fussed over and lost the chance to talk further. Isaac seemed to understand and left after brief greetings.

Watching him reluctantly, Cordelia realized something.

(Wait… if the Holy Maiden doesn’t choose the Isaac route, then my engagement won’t be annulled!?)

There were many heroes—like an idol group of dozens: princes, knights, mages, foreign princes, assassins, gardeners, musicians, artists, even young boys and older gentlemen. The more heroes, the lower the chance Isaac’s route would be chosen.

If another hero were chosen, the royal family would be demoted to a ducal house—but the current royal line itself began the same way, while Cordelia’s Harmonia family had once been the demoted one.

(In other words, if the Holy Maiden doesn’t choose Isaac, I can have a rosy happy ending with him! Please, Holy Maiden-sama—don’t choose Isaac-sama!)

Cordelia clasped her hands and prayed to the unseen Holy Maiden.

—However, the “rosy happy ending” she hoped for would be shattered right at the start of her second life.