I looked around us, at the rows of books that seemed to stretch on to infinity. 

I had spent my whole life reading books about the history, politics, and people of my country. I had practiced combat using every martial art and weapon my father could think up in preparation to lead the military in the event of a crisis. I had studied tactics and diplomacy with the King's advisors and ambassadors. I mastered etiquette and deportment to ensure I didn't embarrass my family in front of society. I had traveled throughout the kingdom, surveying the land and its people. 

All of these actions had been undertaken with a sense of duty, in a detached manner. People called me the “ice cold prince,” but even they could not predict the chill that permeated my mind. It had been developed as a self-defense mechanism. In order to center my focus on my duty, I suppressed all other desires, to the point where I did not know what they were anymore.

Or, consequently, who I really was.

“You finished my route.” I looked across at Asa. “You tell me. What path did I choose?”

Asa chewed her lip. “I’m not sure I should tell you. I’m afraid it will impact your choices.”

I leaned forward. “What’s wrong with that? This life, here and now, is not a game.”

She nodded. “That’s the point. You’re not some puppet being manipulated by a player or a game developer, or even your father. You’re your own person. You make your own story. At least…” her eyes dropped, “that’s the kind of story I would like to see.”

I sighed in frustration.

“Can you at least tell me if it seemed like I could cause destruction in the second playthrough?”

“I mean, I don’t think so…but I didn’t really get that vibe from any of the love interests.”

I tapped a finger on the table.

“You never saw clues about the rebellion in the first playthrough?”

“Well, I wasn't really looking for them. I didn't even know there would be a difference in gameplay if I waited until that black ending screen to start another game. I just kept resetting before that so I could watch the final scene again..."

"What happened when your friend tried it?"

"I don't know. I do know she clicked 'yes' when it asked her to play again. I'm sure she was just going to play Marion’s route again. She was such a Marion simp."

I shook my head. She was using words I didn’t understand again.

"Maybe you triggered the rebellion in either my or Roy's routes."

Asa held up a finger. "There's also Luce to consider. His situation is rather unique."

"You said you could befriend him in the game. Did you?"

She nodded. "Yes! Plus, there's something really nice about his story. If you befriend Luce while following Prince Vel's route, you can patch things up between them. You discover–" she paused, looking at me to gauge reaction. "Wait, maybe this is a spoiler."

"There are no spoilers. This is real life!

"Okay okay, calm down!" She waved her hands as if to dissipate the smoke coming out of my ears. 

"You discover that Luce's party-going side is mostly a ruse. He is actually quite shrewd and has a network of spies and informants spread throughout the realm and uses the knowledge they feed him about lucrative ventures to amass his fortune."

I gaped at her. I had always wondered how Luce funded his massively lavish parties and had so many connections when he was just the illegitimate son of a baron. I had always figured he had just found a way to blackmail my family.

"Anyway, you discover this, and you also discover that for all his wealth and knowledge, Luce is really quite miserable. He feels purposeless and empty inside."

Ah. I had glimpsed that myself in the academy gardens. Maybe my brother and I had more in common than I thought.

"As the heroine, you help him see that he has a place in this world. With his family." She smiled at me. "You two become really close. And he gets appointed Spymaster for the kingdom!"

It figures a game would have such a romanticized happy outcome. "I doubt things would go so smoothly in reality. After all, doesn't Luce resent me?"

Asa wagged her finger in my face. "Au contraire, my friend. He admires you. Why do you think he always tries to get close to you?"

I was disbelieving. "What do you mean? He's hideously rude."

"He's just teasing you." She shrugged. "It's what siblings do."

I scoffed.

"Although…" she tapped a finger to her chin. "If you don't befriend him, he does act as somewhat of a villain alongside Camellia. He helps her pull dangerous pranks on the heroine."

Somehow, I couldn't imagine Camellia pulling a prank. In that case, it was probably mostly Luce.

"He's interested in her after all."

I froze. "What?"

"In Camellia. In fact, if you achieve 100% completion on Prince Vel's route, Luce marries her. There's this cute scene with both couples chatting in the throne room together~ That's what I kept rewatching haha."

That was the perfect ending to my route? It sounded like my own personal hell.

I bit down the bile that was rising in my throat. "You said you could have a romance with him during the second playthrough?"

"Yes! You have to befriend him and finish Prince Vel's route to do that though."

In other words, you could get to my brother through me. This heroine sounded pretty awful.

"Okay, what about Roy?"

"Roy was hard to pin down. If your route was difficult because it was like trying to romance a brick wall-" I glared at her. "- then his was difficult because it was like trying to romance a jellyfish. You had to try some dangerous and risky things to get his attention, and after that it was push-and-pull."

Huh. The Roy I knew was pretty straightforward in his attentions. But then again, like Asa had said, I was different from the heroine of the game.

"If you spend enough time with Roy and his gang of mercenaries, you learn he is a sort of 'Robin Hood' type character."

I stared at her with a blank look. She sighed. "A character that's like a vigilante- a dark hero. He and his gang take down corrupt and wealthy nobles who are exploiting people and return the money to the people they stole it from."

That also didn't sound like Roy. "I'm assuming they take a commission for themselves."

"You betcha." Now the idea was more plausible.

"Anyway, with the help of the heroine he ends up catching a really big fish. The Head Secretary who manages the royal treasury was embezzling funds."

I sat up straighter. "Why didn't you tell me about this sooner?! We need to stop this immediately, since it's probably also happening in this world."

"I was hoping you and Roy might get closer and take care of it together. After all, when that happens in the game, the King ends up rewarding Roy with his own title and lands. Roy gains purpose as a financial advisor, where he can do a lot more good for the people of this kingdom, especially for people like him who grew up suffering in the slums."

I was nonplussed. So Roy ended up with access to the Royal Treasury after all. 

But the Roy in this world wouldn't know his own future possibilities…and he seemed to have allied himself with the rebellion leader.

If he was working with a noble he believed might help the people of this country, it made sense he would support a rebellion.

"Based on what you've told me, Roy and Luce are both pretty good candidates to lead a rebellion. They may even be working together."

"That seal Rixton told you about might also provide more clues. I'll see what I can remember about Marion's route from what my friend told me."

I nodded. "We can investigate the best candidates." 

"Unless it's a reincarnator. Then it could be anyone."

This time, our heads really did hit the table simultaneously.

"Let's just take that option off the table for now," I said exasperatedly, my forehead resting on the wood, "Since reincarnators don't have to play by the game's rules, trying to guess their actions is nearly impossible."

Asa smiled. "Well, whoever they are, they're bound to react to us forming a romantic alliance in public."

I wanted to groan aloud. I was not going to enjoy this. "I'll pay a visit to the Cultivar manor. I have a lot to tell Camellia."