We followed Verona to the main hall.
"I'm nervous. I don't know what to expect and I don't know exactly how we are going to do this."
"It's okay, I don't know what will happen either, but we'll be fine within the castle. I hope," Mitsuki says as he tries to cheer me up.
"Now, Princess, Mistuki and I will have to depart from here," Verona says as she watches both our eyes widen.
"It's the rules, Princess. We'll see you again in a bit. Let Adalyn guide you," She says as they both leave.
"Princess, please follow me," Adalyn says.
I feel.. Anxious without Mitsuki by my side. I literally have no idea what I am supposed to do from here. I've never roleplayed a princess before. In all the games I played, I was a hero. I don't understand how I was rolled to play a princess.
Adalyn led me through a small hall towards the ballroom. The walls were built of iridescent glass, laced in frosting patterns. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. There at the top was someone with a familiar hairline and wavy shoulder length hair.
Wait..is that.. Dad? Did Dad start playing Starmates too? Or is he stuck like Mitsuki?
I couldn't listen to anything Dad was saying. I was too distracted and baffled by my dad's appearance in the game. Before I knew it, Adalyn had already left me in front of the audience with my dad.
"Thank you, all, for coming to celebrate my daughter's debut! Now a toast in her name!"
Everyone clinked the nearest person's glass as music began to play.
I didn't know Dad liked rpg games.
"Now, may I have your first dance?" Dad asks me.
I nod and follow his lead. I never knew Dad knew how to dance.
We finished dancing. I itched to talk to my dad in the crowd, but he was swept away.
"Congratulations, Hina," I hear a voice from behind me. It was my brother.
"Haru! I can't believe you're here," I say.
"Of course! I wouldn't dare miss my sister's debut."
"How did you know?"
"What do you mean? Everyone knows today is your special day."
"They do?"
"Yes, as the first born princess, today marks the first debut into high society," Haru says.
"That's right," I hear another voice. Who was she?
"Yumeka, there you are. I was looking for you."
"Wait, Haru you know her?"
"Yes, silly. She's our little sister," he said.
I feel so lost. I think the game is getting to me.
"Please excuse us, your highnesses. I would like to request a dance with the lady of our show," says a familiar voice.
I sigh in relief. Mitsuki bows then reaches out for my hand.
"May I?"
"Yes, you may." I smiled and grabbed his hand.
"Mitsuki?" I ask him.
"This game is like a hyper realistic dream. I see my dad and brother, but I can't tell if they're roleplaying or I suspect that.. Maybe they're like NPCs recreated based on my memories."
"I think your theory might be right. I feel the same because.. I just saw my brother, too."
"Do you think it's our real family members playing the game or NPC generated?"
"I'm not sure. Their personalities are so spot on."
"Well, one thing for sure is, my brother says we have a little sister, but in real life, I don't have a sister."
"Let's keep playing along with them until we know for sure what's going on. For now, it might be possible that we're in the game together."
"It is so strange to see my dad and brother in a game. My dad isn't the type to play games and what time is it? 3PM? I guess it sounds about the right time when my brother should be off of work. But that doesn't explain how he knew about the debut."
"You might need to interact with everyone that you think you might know, but be careful because we don't know who is on our side."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, obviously, in all tropes of historical royal genres, there is always a villain out there to get at the royal family. And since this is a world simulator, we need to build up our reputation and-"
"Why do you know so much about this new game?" I interrupted him.
"Because…the game is based on a book, a book my brother wrote."
"Wait, really?"
"Yes, you never read the Visitoon, 'Stargazers'?"
"No."
"'Starmates' is based on 'Stargazers'."
"That's pretty cool, your brother must be making lots of money."
Mitsuki goes silent but he continues to lead me in our dance.
"What's wrong?"
"You know how you said that guy is your real brother in real life?"
"Yes?" I nod.
"I don't know how it would be possible, but I've been-"
The music softens to a stop and we hear my dad clear his throat. Mitsuki and I stop dancing.
"Ahem, Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to congratulate our upcoming star knight, Mitsuki, the honorary role to serve my daughter. He has shown talents unrivaled for the last two years studying under my son," Dad says as my jaw drops. Mitsuki walks towards dad and kneels before him. Dad knights Mitsuki, shoulder to shoulder with a glass sword.
Yumeka walks closer to me and closes my jaw with the tip of her fan and she laughs a little.
I turned a little pink, embarrassed that someone noticed me.
After Mitsuki is knighted, Dad directs everyone to continue chatting away.
I walk toward the snacks and Mitsuki follows me.
"As I was saying, I don't understand how I would be able to studying swordsmanship under your brother for two years unless your brother also plays this world simulator."
"Or if we follow my theory, then maybe the world simulator stores memory information during the time you're in the game. I think the reason why it was possible for you to study under my brother, is because either he played the game around two years ago or it might have to do with me entering the game once two years ago."
"You mean you started the game but didn't even finish locking into your character?"
"I was in a lot of stress during that time, so yes, I halfheartedly started the game two years ago."
"That explains a lot."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, some of the quests were put on hold because no one knew or saw the crown princess-to-be anywhere for a long time. Your pendant was the only clue we had."
"We have so many theories and little answers. Will we be okay?"
"We're going to have to figure things out from here."