Nevertheless, that rule seemed to be broken. I was the first one! With Vivian next to me, we were the two characters who proved to my Prince that our love conquered all impediments! Our feelings and emotions are purer than them, fuller than them, and expend further than their meager hearts could ever withstand. Though it was accurate to say I only heard about the stories he shared with them later in our relationship rather than facing them directly, what I had with my Prince was unique and special. More so than the others could ever achieve.
Overjoy could not possibly describe a fraction of what I was feeling. I wished for my body to develop fully to give him everything I had all over again. Since my Prince used to be faceless, then slowly got his features, I thought my case would be the same. After a while, I would be whole again. Then, we can once more consummate our existences side by side.
We have been given a chance. It was only logical to make the best out of this opportunity.
Yet, the happiness my heart experienced did not last for long.
When joy from being reborn with my memories dissipated, bliss vanished, and logic returned to my head.
Judging by the look of it, we were not where we were supposed to be.
From everything I had seen, it was clear my surroundings were that of our school's corridor. My story did not start like this. My body was not a blob of darkness, either. Speaking of a blob of darkness, the shadow people were more distinctive than in my iteration. They have never before seen features. Arms and legs, even.
"Do you think the world is slightly off, Vivian?" I asked the chunk of dark matter next to me. "Our location, too."
Vivian bowed respectfully: "Yes, Your Highness. I'm not blind."
My story, or in his words, my arc, always began with both me and Vivian standing at the school gate. As the princess of an imaginary country in the game, my debut was always a bit extravagant compared to the rest of the cast. Of course, with the setting of a transfered princess from a faraway land, one grand entrance was a must to show my importance.
Besides the third main heroine, Adora de Bloom, me, and one support heroine, Vivian, there had always been a white limo behind us. Shadow people would be bowing on both sides, and a red carpet somehow manifested underneath our feet, welcoming us into the school. That was the basics of my beginning, the first step to gaining the attention of the protagonist.
According to my Prince, it was also the only way things have progressed in the past. I had to start outside the school, not inside.
"It's eerie. There's just something that I can't quite wrap my finger around."
"I agree, Your Highness." The shadow nodded. "The environment is somehow different yet similar. All we can see right now is what they have always been, just off in a way. I believe this phenomenon fits the description of the uncanny valley but for objects."
"Yes, exactly!" I exclaimed. "It's unsettling because the familiarity is gone after some time. I don't even feel like being in the same school. I have a bad feeling about this. Can't have a peaceful day in this freaking &4jbzi1a...?"
Huh? Why can I not say the word game? I could have sworn the word came out without a hitch?
Vivian instantly grabbed the chance to tease me: "What's wrong, Your Highness? You don't have a mouth to bite your tongue yet."
"Vivian! Try saying xjnxkoizqjpklmd!"
"I don't understand Shadowlish." She giggled.
I did not laugh.
"Something was deliberately tampering with my speech pattern. I couldn't say one word that captured the true nature of this world. Give it a shot." My voice changed into a serious tone.
The shadow immediately straightened herself, noticing the drastic shift in my attitude: "You mean...cpcpaiq8ehd913? Huh? Why can't I?"
"You can't do it, too."
"I-I cannot! What is happening?!" She exclaimed. "This is creepy. How can we not speak properly when the words are there?! When the letters are ready to come out of our mouths..."
"I don't know if this is good or bad. Regardless, we should go for clues ASAP."
Weird stuff might have been the common theme in our fictional world. People were killed and disposed of in many different ways all the time. The confrontations were diverse and ever-changing due to the choices everyone made. Still, there was a limit to the degree of occurrences. And messing up our voices was obviously not among the conventional things in my book.
With everything that had happened, from our initial appearance inside the school instead of out to the uncanny valley effect of the environment and the conditional speech impairment, there was an implication happening in this current run. A serious one.
"As you wish, Your Highness!" Grabbing an invisible maid dress, Vivian once again bowed.
"Let's go find out where we are exactly," I whispered to the maid. "And when we are."
Chronologically speaking, my event happened way after the bookworm and that crazy Han worshipper. And the fact that everything was off the rail told me I should be looking at the timeline, too. It might be a baseless assumption, but I would rather have it confirmed than regret it later.
"Please don't forget to find out why. We were lucky not to have our minds erased. No one can be sure about the next time. And, like always, Your Highness handles the thinking. I'll handle the rest." The maid added.
"Sure! Although your current state is really not good for combat." I said, then started moving forward with Vivian next to me. "Let's get going."
"Oh, Your Highness, one more thing!" Vivian held out her black arm, signaling me to stop. "What will we do if we see Master? What about the other girls and their conquest of...the psklmapojvijap?"
Probably, she was trying to say 'protagonist'. The context was not that hard to deduce. So, there were more censored words than we thought. It should not stop at two. I wondered what the reasons were.
"Z04#0fpkajp."
I tried to say reset. It did not go through.
"&81ocpaopao."
I tried to say system. It did not go through.
"A188c70aq. Pooadxaiwj."
Sim dating. Eroge. None worked.
"Your Highness? Are you having a stroke?"
"I'm not!"
"Phew. That's a relief. I don't know where I'll get my salary if you become a vegetable." The shadow person patted her chest. "Then, are you trying to give me a stroke?"
"..."
Looking at Vivian, I held the urge to kick her stomach: "Looks like if the topic is related to that matter, then our words will come out as absolute gibberish. As for your question earlier, we don't do anything. Blend in. Use this shadow person state to infiltrate them and find as much information as possible about what they're trying to do. My sixth sense tells me there is a hidden layer to our sudden appearance and memories."
"Understood, Your Highness." The maid replied calmly. "Doing infiltration work is easy for me. But are you sure you won't lose it when he approaches someone else? We both know absolutely clear how much of a caretaker Master is."
"I...uh..."
The thought of seeing him made my chest feel tighter all of a sudden. For a quick second, my mind went blank from thinking about him. Of course, as one of the main heroines of this world, I had a possessive trait that he called yandere. It would not feel good to me at all if I were to witness my Prince helping any of those girls just for him to get hurt again. If anything, I would lock him up and keep him in a castle somewhere so that we could enjoy our lives together. I wanted to monopolize him so much that it hurt. Sadly, that was never the case.
"I'll...try my best..." A few words escaped. Unfortunately, it was not convincing even from my end.
"Sigh..." Vivian shrugged her shoulders. "This is why I never let you go on a mission. You're too impulsive. Too emotional. Like a brat that needs correction all the time."
"Ugh..." I covered my face and started walking ahead of the rude maid. "I'm going to the classroom..."
"Certainly, Your Highness. You're surely not trying to find a way to hide from me." That maid's giggled right next to my body.
"Ahem!" Clearing my throat from awkwardness, I started making up a new topic. "So this is the perspective of the other girls. You know what, Vivian. I think it's actually quite refreshing to spawn in like this. It makes me feel like I'm ordinary like the rest of them. You know? Like an ordinary girl!"
Vivian sighed tiredly: "Your Highness, usually it's me making you mad, not vice versa. You are in no way normal. In addition, do you really think that you can hide the nature of a spoiled brat?"
"I'm not!" I protested vehemently.
Then, the maid brought shame back upon my head: "Who, on the day of cposkdpfjpwojcv, asked Master to stroke her head and called her a good girl?"
I guessed that the censored word was...apocalypse...
"W-what are you talking about?! I m-m-made sure you weren't there!"
"It was a small space. Where was I supposed to go but to look at you love birds?"
"D-don't act like you're innocent! You're the one who forced breast-feed him with your lewd chest!" I pointed at Vivian, shaking. I had no idea if it was embarrassment or something else, maybe jealousy.
"And I did it with pride." Vivian lifted her chin.
"No! You were just a sex fiend!"
"Certainly, Your Highness. Anyway, please focus on what you're supposed to be doing."
"You're the one who... ARGH! Forget it!"