Now let's get one thing straight. I adore Rael as a character and I would do anything to protect him. However, that did not mean that I wanted to be him. I had hoped that I'd been reborn into a fantasy world where there were hot people everywhere and I was a part of the plot. And while this was true, there was also a dangerous threat looming over this world.

DKQ, also known as Dance with Kings and Queens is a popular otome game that I used to play. It follows the main lead, Ophelia Phorest, and uses romance and magic to entice the player. The game is in a league of its own. It allows the player to freely choose what to do or say, so there were tens of routes that you could end up with, whether good or bad. There were four known love interests. I had only played three of the four routes. 

There was Heath Vandergarden, Oden Turner, Weiss Reiss and Ru Hasselt. I had played all of them except for Weiss' route. The love interest differed in difficulty, with Ru being the hardest out of all of them. 

The game is set in a world that's known peace for thousands of years. Magic and artifacts are tools used daily and horrifying monsters are not a threat to the strongest of mages. However, it merely looks peaceful. Lurking behind the shadows is the awakening of a primordial evil that will bring an end to the world. And whose task is to kill that horrifying evil? Ophelia Phorest.

I continued to scream into my pillow.

This would be impossible. I didn't trust Ophelia Phorest, especially since I can't even control her, so we were all doomed. I couldn't even move away because this affected the whole world. And the worst of it all? I couldn't remember anything of the game past act 3. That meant that whatever happened in year 5 would all be a surprise to me. I won't remember how this 'ancient evil' would be released until it's too late. 

And that wasn't the end of my troubles. I had Ru Hasselt looming over me. Considering how he'd killed Rael from growing too close to Ophelia, I had to go against him. 

I also had the question of which game mode I was currently 'living' in. If I was in normal mode, I could make it. I'd played all three routes in normal mode and while it was still difficult, I got all the good endings. If this was the hard mode? I'd be sending prayers in advance. 

The hard mode was the game adding another love interest into the mix. Except, unlike the other four, he was destructive. I wanted to cry. What was this horrible fate? I had so many death flags that it wasn't even funny. I also had to help Ophelia because that was Rael's role in the game. 

He was the buddy character. You'd ask him for advice and he'd give hints or vague answers to lead you on the right tracks. Except I didn't know shit. So she wouldn't progress nor grow as a protagonist. 

I raised my head and shook my head. No! I couldn't give up before I'd even started! I had to make plans. If I remember correctly, the boy in the garden had to be Wei Vandergarden, my older brother, by a year. And if he looked that young... I still had a few years to prepare!

I rose to get out of bed when I heard a knock. The person didn't wait for my response before opening the door. He looked blankly around before focusing on me. "There you are. I thought you went to the bathroom?"

"Um, yes but I wanted to grab something here first." He didn't seem to believe me as he crossed his arms. "Father told me to keep an eye on you considering how you like to trouble others, so you better watch it." I gulped. "I wasn't planning anything. Was it anything you wanted?" I tried smiling. If I was going to survive this world, I had to be kind and sweet. Leave a good impression rather than a bad one. Wei frowned. "Did you forget?"

"Forget what...?"

"You're supposed to go to your dance practice. With me." I stopped. Dance practice? Why would I need to—

Oh no. I knew exactly where in the story I'd begun. This had to be before Rael's debut. That debut had solidified Rael as a pathetic excuse for a prince. And I had to somehow change his fate. 

"Right! Silly me for forgetting. When is my debut now again?" I tried to make it sound like a joke but Wei looked at me like I was stupid. "It's tomorrow. I hope you've improved or you'll humiliate yourself in front of hundreds of people." My smile froze. A day? I had a single day to improve Rael's atrocious dancing? You might as well say 'GAME OVER' now, this was a near-impossible feat. 

I tried thinking of my previous life skills and found that my memory of my previous life was... gone. It had vanished, as though it never existed, to begin with. With my heart beating loudly in my chest, I decided to put my lost memory on hold.

I forced a smile.

"Well? Let's get going."

——

"Ow!"

"Sorry, sorry!"

"This is the fourth time, get into the rhythm!"

"But it's too hard!"

"And you think being stepped on isn't?"

"..."

I was currently trying to dance with Wei. We had been going on for a few minutes and he'd already grown tired of me. I couldn't believe how horrible Rael was at dancing. The dancing wasn't even that difficult, but having become Rael, I couldn't quite right wrap my head around it.

"Don't I have an actual teacher for this?" I stopped when Wei shot me a spiteful look. We took a break when Wei couldn't feel his toes anymore. I wanted to feel guilty, but he was being so rude about it, so I laughed quietly at his misery.

"A teacher? After what you did?"

I paused while sipping my water. "What did he—I do?"

"Did you forget? You caused at least four teachers to quit on the spot, one to injure themselves so badly that they had to be taken away to a healer and the other two neglected their work and lied about it." I was speechless. Rael was that bad at dancing? 

"Is that why you're helping me? Because you care?" I gave him a small smile. Maybe he isn't so bad after all. I watched Wei snort his drink out and began laughing loudly. "Hell no! I couldn't care less, in fact, I'd be delighted if you failed in front of hundreds. But father said it'd reflect badly on the royal family and forced me to babysit and train you."

"Babysit? You're barely a year older than me."

"At least I can dance without gravely injuring someone." Touché.

I rubbed my legs and focused on the issue at hand. Dancing was one of the reasons for Rael's horrible reputation. There were already rumors brewing about him and when he, at his debut, not only failed to dance properly but caused his and his partner to fall, he was mocked by all. No one could respect a royal who couldn't even dance. Dancing was the very essence of an aristocrat. And the fact that I was an illegitimate child of the king served to prove their point. Rael Vandergarden is a commoner who's dressed in prince's clothes. 

Being an illegitimate child was the downfall for Rael. So I had to prove everyone wrong. Show them that illegitimate children were just like them. And the first step was... dancing. 

I groaned. I had to get through this. One step at a time. I stood up and saw Wei scoot back. "I'm not ready to dance—"

"Just tell me how to move and I'll do this by myself." Wei raised an eyebrow but complied. I stood up and stared at the wide mirror that covered the entire wall of the room. This was the room where everyone was taught how to dance. I raised my hand and bowed, this was a must before you began dancing.

I lowered both my arms and pretended a partner was standing in front of me, putting my arms around their invisible waist. 

"First, sway from side to side, listen to the music as you do." Wei started the music again, and instrumental sounds began playing from the crystal he was holding. I complied and started swaying. It was awkward without anyone there, but this was the best way to practice without any casualties. 

"Follow the rhythm. No, don't start speeding up, go slower. Right, like that." Wei was quick to point out any faults. I began tensing up from the pressure. "Don't dance like a doll, relax, or your dancing will look stiff and boring." I tried relaxing while remembering all his rules. So far, it wasn't going too badly! My eyes lit up as I began grasping it.