School the next day felt like the aftermath of a natural disaster. Rixton was annoyingly overprotective and would not stop apologizing and demanding I execute him for incompetence. I found my limbs were sluggish from a sleepless night and the previous day's excitement, and Camellia was avoiding both Asa and I like the plague.

Ironically, the kidnapping itself was the one positive outcome of this whole mess. Despite the intentions of the kidnapper, it was the largest clue we had received yet to the possible identity of the rebellion's leader.

Without the context Asa had given me about Garden of Dreams and its similarity to our world, I would assume the kidnapping was an isolated incident. However, there was no doubt that if this was the second playthrough of the game, the heroine would be caught up in the major events of the rebellion.

If I had become a target, it was either someone who previously had knowledge of the game and knew the damage the heroine could do to the rebellion's efforts by siding with the "wrong" love interest, or someone who knew 'Prince Vel' and I were always together and sought to harm royalty through the heroine, which meant someone in our immediate sphere.

Well, either way, they had failed.

However, I could not shake the nagging sense of unease that sprouted in my heart.

There was also the matter of my engagement.

I cornered Asa outside of the academy greenhouse, slamming one hand flat against the wall in front of her to bar her path to her next class. The effect was slightly lessened by the fact that the heroine’s body was still relatively small and slender compared to my original body, despite my accelerated workout regime.

"What have you done?"

Asa  was stunned, but quickly recovered. "Gosh, is this the infamous 'kabedon'? What's got the ice prince all hot and bothered?"

I did not have time for her antics. "Camellia tells me my father ordered her father to break our engagement."

"Oh, for–" She muttered some indistinguishable words in another language and grabbed my arm, leading me to a nearby bench. As she sat down, I was somewhat mollified to see that her contorted face was looking apologetic. Asa was always using my facial muscles in interesting ways. "I didn't say anything to King Galath. He heard rumors that the two of us have gotten close lately, and assumed things on his own."

I sank down next to her. "It's true that we do meet up often, out of necessity." I paused. "Wait, if it was his decision, why do you know about it? My father and I rarely talk about such things."

Asa groaned, letting her head drop into her hands. "Sorry, Vel! I think you're going down your own route."

I let my confusion show on my face. "What on earth do you mean?"

"Prince Vel is the main love interest of Garden of Dreams, but he's notoriously difficult to get along with."

I felt my face go hard. I did not appreciate being spoken of that way. Even if it was true.

"There's not really anything you can do or say to win him over, other than spend a lot of time with him. Since you haven't followed the romantic routes of any of the other love interests in the way the game intended, the game mechanics are probably naturally shifting you onto the path of the heroine and Prince Vel ending up together."

It started to sink in. "You…and me?"

She flapped her hands nervously in front of her. "I mean, that's not set in stone! The game is just assuming you've picked 'Prince Vel' and is triggering the other events in that route, including your father breaking off the engagement with Camellia."

The thought was very disturbing. "So you're saying this world is still just a game, after all?"

"If it's a world some higher power modeled after Garden of Dreams, the world itself might still behave in the same way the game would." She shuddered. "This is getting confusing! We need to figure out what to do about this new development."

"Reverse it, now." I pressed closer to her on the bench. "Go to my father immediately and tell him to revoke his request."

"Or…" Asa put a finger to her chin. "We could go along with it."

I scooted back. "Are you saying you…want to be with me?"

Asa's eyes widened and she turned pink, her hands flailing around again. "Not for real, of course! It would feel weird to pursue someone in your own body romantically, right? I just mean that we could play along to bring the secrets out of the shadows."

I was intrigued. "What are you talking about?"

Asa swiveled to face me on the bench. "Think about it. Which love interest is the most likely to prevent a rebellion?" She looked pointedly at me.

"If the person is the rebellion instigator and thinks you and I have joined forces, they will likely become even more active trying to hinder us than if you were with another love interest. That’s especially true if they’re a reincarnator with previous knowledge of the game."

I put a hand to my chin. "So you want me to pretend to date…myself?"

"Unless you've got someone else in mind?" 

I looked at her incredulously, and she laughed.

"I'm only joking. I can tell you only have eyes for Camellia."

Was it that obvious? "Then how do you think this will look to Camellia? I don't want her seeing Prince Vel and Lady Raine cozying up to each other and thinking all her fears have come true. It doesn't exactly bode well for my relationship with her."

"Well, why don't you let her in on it?"

I looked at her in shock. "You mean, tell her I am Prince Vel? Explain the reincarnation, the ‘Otome game,’ the ‘love interests’? She will think I am insane! The only reason I believed you was because I couldn't deny the pure physical evidence."

"If she really cares about you, she's probably already noticed that something is off with her beloved."

Asa was right, she had noticed. Even the miniscule thing with the sandwich had put me under scrutiny. Maybe my reticence had other causes than fear of ridicule.

My hands clenched into fists. As Lady Raine, I had been living a volatile life. I had exposed parts of my personality I kept hidden as Prince Vel.

In some ways, it was enjoyable. I learned things about myself. I was finally able to test my abilities outside of the boundaries of my royal cage. I got to know the sweet and attentive side of my fiancée.

I almost wanted to thank Asa for dislocating my soul into this host, because without this body I might have never experienced any of that. I might have never seen the real Camellia.

And the more I saw, the more I fell in love with her.

Who's to say Camellia would love the real me? I wasn't a true prince, or even one made of ice. I was just a man, who was discovering that he was a lot more selfish than he realized.

Even if she refused me…how could I ever let her go?