June 28th, early morning. Laval House, Allen’s bedroom.
Allen stared blankly at the familiar ceiling, his mind wiped clean as if it had just been formatted.
He could clearly remember the dream he’d just had—so vivid, it almost felt real.
In the dream, he found that bizarre, inexplicable door hidden deep within Livia’s subconscious.
Then, the moment he recklessly pushed it open… a torrent of information surged in like a breached dam, nearly bursting his mind on the spot!
If his subconscious hadn’t triggered an emergency protection protocol at the very last second, forcefully erasing all the information and yanking him awake, he’d probably be drooling and vegetative right now, unable to take care of himself.
“Livia… what the heck are you hiding in your dreams… or should I say, in the depths of your subconscious?!” Allen muttered, still in shock, cold sweat seeping down his forehead.
At this moment, he had an acute realization—that door from the original story, which only appeared in the first route and always seemed so inexplicable, really was directly connected to those indescribable beings!
What was the 《Starlit Romance》 development team thinking?! Just how many terrifying secrets are buried behind this damned game?!
Allen even began to suspect that the otome game itself might be just one piece in some grand conspiracy of the evil gods.
How long have these evil gods even existed…? Was humanity already under their watch when I was still on Earth grinding for limited cards?
This worldview is way too damn bleak! Damn it, does this mean transmigrators never really left their homeland? Bastards!
He took some time to compose his chaotic thoughts and lingering anxiety, mentally preparing himself for his official meeting with Livia later today.
But before that, there was a little “mystery” he had to solve.
He silently lifted a corner of the blanket, and the truth immediately revealed itself: a black-haired girl in silk pajamas had taken over his bed, sleeping there in utter confidence.
Allen Holmes de Laval began his deduction.
Premise: The window, locked from the inside. The door, secured with an extra lock. Conclusion: a perfect locked room.
Evidence: A “sleeping beauty” appeared in this locked room.
Solution: (A face flashed through Allen’s mind as the only suspect)…
No need to deduce! Marianne—ever since she acquired the Brand of Shadow and could slip freely through shadows, she’s become more unruly by the day! There’s not a locked room in this world that can keep her out!
Damn it! When will the Church’s Black Sword finally arrive?! He desperately needed that thing to keep this little rogue maid in check!
“Marianne, seriously…” Allen sighed, “Last time you at least wore your maid outfit for show, but now you’re not even pretending—you just start a pajama party in my bed? What do you plan to wear next time, hmm?”
Seeing the little maid’s eyes shut tightly, lashes quivering, playing the “I’m sleeping so I can’t see or hear you” act, Allen couldn’t help but reach out and poke her smooth, delicate cheek.
Only then did Marianne seem to “wake up,” blinking in confusion and speaking in a soft, sleepy voice, “Morning, Young Master…”
“Are you supposed to be here?!” Allen smacked her lightly on the forehead, not too hard, not too soft.
Well, to be honest, having a beautiful girl to warm the bed is certainly nice both visually and mentally. But… it’s almost July!
It’s hot! Seriously hot! Especially since he’d turned this room into a locked chamber, the ventilation was awful!
“Mm… shouldn’t the young master feel happy?” Marianne rubbed her unhurt forehead, her eyes sparkling slyly. “Having a beautiful maid like me sleep beside you—this is the decadent luxury only Nobles get to enjoy.”
“Setting aside where you get the confidence to call yourself a beauty, just hearing ‘Noble decadence’ coming out of your mouth makes me want to smack you.” Allen retorted, “I’m supposed to be the one who destroys the old order…”
He paused, then watched Marianne’s expression carefully before suddenly asking, “Is it because Livia’s coming today that you’re feeling uneasy?”
Allen instantly saw through the real reason Marianne had crawled into his bed.
Having her thoughts exposed, Marianne no longer feigned ignorance.
She softly replied, “I… don’t know how to face her. I’m scared… scared that she’s really forgotten me, or that she doesn’t consider me a friend anymore.”
“Weren’t you two just chatting happily in the dream?” Allen reminded her.
“Eh? That dream was real?”
Even now, Marianne found it hard to believe she’d shared such a vivid “linked dream.”
“Of course it was real.” Allen confirmed, then shifted his tone, a little gossipy. “By the way, what did you think of Livia in her academy uniform in the dream?”
Marianne recalled the image and gave a serious assessment, “She was super cute.”
“Right?” Allen nodded with deep approval, “So different from her usual knightly aura—she was more like a shy, gentle schoolgirl. Isn’t that great? It’s…”
“So if I wore that uniform, would I be cute too?” Marianne asked expectantly.
“It’s fine, in theory, a Noble’s servant can also attend school, though it’d be the Special Admissions Class—you wouldn’t take classes with the Noble students. If you want to go, I can write you a recommendation letter; there’s still time.” Allen replied offhandedly.
“Eh?” Marianne blinked in surprise.
She’d mentioned wearing the school uniform mostly to fish for Allen’s reaction, wanting him to imagine her in it.
She hadn’t expected Allen to seriously consider sending her to school.
Go to the academy…
Once the thought took root, it was like a seed planted in her heart. When people start looking forward to the future, it’s hard to go back to living aimlessly.
Marianne hesitated, “But… I’ve never had proper schooling. Most of what I know is what you taught me.”
Allen declared confidently, “Don’t worry! After so many loops, I can recite every single test question from three years of Saint Nora Academy’s culture courses backwards and forwards! And you’re smart enough—scoring full marks on the Special Admissions test won’t be a problem!”
Allen knew perfectly well that going to the academy was an unavoidable rite of passage for Nobles’ children in the Capital.
Before the official term started on September 1st, he had to make sure every arrangement and plan was set.
Marianne had to go to school with him. As a commoner, she could come and go more freely (since the academy feared that constant mingling between commoners and Nobles would lead to bullying incidents), whereas Allen, as a Noble, needed to apply for permission just to leave campus.
Marianne would become his vital link to the outside world. He couldn’t afford to let any of his hard-laid plans fall apart.
“Thank you, Young Master.” Marianne sincerely thanked him, then immediately caught his real motive. “You need me to do something for you, don’t you?”
“Of course!” Allen didn’t hide it. “You’re far too useful—I’d be crazy to let you go to waste!”
“You just like me, admit it~” Marianne teased, “Young Master, you’re such a tsundere—always using these weird lines to cover up your true love for me.”
“Yeah, yeah, I love you so much, Marianne.” Allen replied in an exaggerated tone as he roughly mussed the little maid’s hair. “So… if Livia really does become my fiancée, you’d better keep your distance. A yuri protagonist entangled with a man is absolute taboo in a yuri story!”
“Boo hoo… Young Master is abandoning me for someone new…” Marianne pretended to sob, “I knew it—you like Livia better.”
“Please, don’t say I like her…” Allen grimaced as if his stomach hurt, “Just hearing that makes my stomach cramp.”
He sighed and lay back down, his eyes wandering vacantly toward the ceiling, as if trying to see through it to the morning light beyond the window.
His voice became calm. “If you don’t know how to face Livia, that’s normal. After all, you’ve both taken very different paths now.”
Marianne could feel that, at this moment, Allen had set aside his usual sarcasm and become unusually gentle.
So she quietly lay beside him, putting away her usual act, reverting to the lost and anxious little maid she’d once been.
“I understand, Young Master.” Marianne answered softly, “Actually, after talking so happily with Livia in the dream, I feel even more pained now.”
“Do you still like her?” Allen suddenly asked.
“I like you and Livia, both.” Marianne replied slyly.
She knew Allen too well—if she admitted she liked Livia, this guy would instantly go into “Yuri Hero” mode, working overtime to keep her and himself apart.
Like she’d let him win!
“Damn it! How’d you know this was a trap?” Allen feigned frustration at his failed plan.
“Silly Young Master, it’s written all over your face—‘Yuri’ in big letters.” Marianne laughed softly.
“Tch, you being too clever isn’t always a good thing.” Allen muttered.
Ever since realizing that Livia’s subconscious had been implanted with an “evil god’s backdoor,” he too felt a little down.
“Marianne, if I can’t save her in the end, I might have to kill her—or she might kill me. So please, forgive me.”
“No, this isn’t your fault.” Marianne’s voice was firm. “Livia is a kind person. If she found out she’d been used by an evil god… she’d only suffer more, and… maybe she’d choose to end it herself.”
“Yeah… that’s the kind of person she is.” Allen said softly.
He recalled the Magic King Route ending in the game, where, upon learning the truth, Livia had ended her own life without hesitation.
To be honest, no matter how many times Allen had died, he’d never chosen suicide.
It wasn’t fear of death—ending your own life required much more courage than just living on.
“Marianne,” Allen suddenly said, “tell me about your past with her. I want to know… what the real, original Livia was like.”
“Okay.” Marianne replied gently, beginning to slowly recount that long-buried story.
The story’s beginning was actually quite ordinary. It was just an ordinary, poor village girl—Marianne—who one day discovered that new neighbors had moved in next door—
A girl so beautiful it seemed unreal, with platinum-blonde hair and cornflower-blue eyes, along with a mother who was just as lovely but carried an air of melancholy.
The girl’s hair color was especially unique—not the usual gold, but a paler, rarer platinum, matching perfectly with her nearly translucent fair skin.
She looked about eight or nine, her cheeks still soft with baby fat, as delicate as a porcelain doll, her eyes far too calm and distant for her age.
She often sat alone by the window, like a Golden Canary gazing at the outside world from her cage.
Marianne was drawn to this uniquely charming girl at first sight.
But most of the time, they stayed indoors, and only the girl’s mother occasionally went out for supplies.
Gossip spread in the village, claiming the mother and daughter were the mistress and illegitimate child of some great lord.
Privately, Marianne found this believable, since the girl carried a pride and distance none of the local girls possessed—a natural, untouchable dignity.
Sometimes, Marianne saw her secretly opening the window, quietly observing the world outside, a hint of longing and sadness in her eyes—just like a caged bird.
One day, Marianne’s father—a craftsman—brought home some fresh venison. That kind of game was usually reserved for the lord.
He said a hunter, unable to pay for his tools, offered the venison—originally meant for the lord—as payment. It was a rare treat for the family, so her mother decided to make a feast.
Marianne’s mother was frail and couldn’t do heavy work, but she was a wonderful cook, able to turn the simplest ingredients into delicious dishes. Even bitter wild herbs became tasty meals that filled their bellies.
When the pot of rich, fragrant venison stew was finally ready, her mother sent Marianne to invite their new neighbors to share the meal.
Marianne worked up her courage and knocked on the door. It was the “Golden Canary” girl who answered.
She seemed surprised to see Marianne. Marianne stammered out her invitation, but the girl looked confused.
It was the girl’s beautiful mother who stepped in to help.
As it turned out, the girl was from the Empire and only spoke the Imperial language—she didn’t understand the local Lorin Language.
They kept to themselves because they were afraid exposure would bring trouble.
This area, on the Kingdom–Empire border, was a mix of peoples with deep-seated tensions. Kingdom folk and Empire folk lived as neighbors, but often as enemies.
Friction over differences was constant; war between the Kingdom and the Empire often reached these lands, and village massacres were not just distant rumors.
For this mother and daughter, safety depended on the protection of someone powerful. The village chief had sternly warned everyone: if anything happened to them, the whole village would suffer.
In the end, the mother and daughter accepted the invitation and shared the meal. It was the first time Marianne learned the girl’s name—Livia.
This chance meal became the start of a deep friendship.
Marianne’s kindness and warmth awakened Livia’s longing for friendship, and Livia began to study the Lorin Language with all her might.
When Marianne discovered her practicing in secret, she volunteered to be her friend and teach her.
Livia nodded emphatically. And so, this lonely girl finally gained her very first true friend—besides her dolls and the Stellar Sigil.
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