I Want to Fall in Love After Getting Reincarnated as the Heroine on the Verge of a Bad Ending, but M

Chapter 2 - My Bias, There's None? (推し、いないんですけど)

"...You're kidding me."

Watching me unconsciously mutter to myself, my brother had the corners of his lips rising into a small smile.

"Hmm? Seems like you really don't remember anything."

"And that's what I've been saying this whole time if you actually paid attention."

"Sorry, sorry."

I soon found myself unable to be bothered by my supposed brother in front of me; he was clearly enjoying this situation. No, never mind. I still couldn't stop looking at that extremely handsome face...

It's really not the time to droll over men, though. I took over the body of someone who jumped off after getting bullied. Hopes and dreams were all gone.

Rather, why would people bully Rene when she was such a cute, wealthy noble lady?

"Um, do you know why I was bullied?"

"Because you're a tactless idiot with magic power below average."

"Idi...?"

"We study at Heartful Academy, a place with a castle system of magic supremacy. It's normal to bully low-ranked students like Rene who don't make any effort."

"H-Heartful Academy...!?"

There were some other words I couldn't overlook like 'idiot' or 'about to get expelled', but they didn't matter for now.  From his shapely lips came the most unexpected words: 'Heartful Academy.'

It was basically impossible to forget Heartful Academy... because it was such a catastrophically tacky name!

If my memory served me right, that should be the name of the academy that appeared in the grinding otome game I played a long time ago. The game was a hot topic due to its lame naming sense and shitty gameplay. And I remembered purchasing it because my curiosity got ahead of me.

I didn't remember the details of the game, but the general idea was it had a ranking and caste system based on grades. Players had to grind the boring magic practices and tests as they interact with the love interests.

Also, the player's initial status was low. It was supposed to be a Cinderella-like story (LOL) where the heroine, who started from the lowest rank, had to suffer bullying because everyone believed she had no talent. But she would eventually rise to the top through hard work and find her fated love.

My love interest was the prince, the visual character of the package. But after getting fed up with the amount of work and the slow progress of romance, I dropped the game as soon as I could. Honestly, I didn't even remember any of the other love interests.

So, of course, there was no character I could consider my bias. God, why did you choose this game? Give me a break.

Out of morbid curiosity, I asked him if he had any thoughts about the name of the academy, but he answered, "Not really?" Apparently, the word 'heartful' didn't have any meaning in this world. That's why everyone could attend this academy without feeling embarrassed.

"Um, by the way, what is my rank...?"

"The lowest F-rank."

"Whoa..."

I expected it. But it wasn't something that deserved bullying, no? Really, give me a break.

When I was thinking about such things, I noticed that my brother was now right in front of me, staring at me from a very close distance. I could feel my eyes going blind at the excessive brightness.

"...W-What is it?"

"Hmm, you act like a completely different person. Memory loss sure is amazing."

Sorry to break it to you, but I really was a completely different person. Though there's no way he would believe me if I told him the truth. I should keep it a secret.

Nonetheless, even after looking at him this close, I couldn't find any complaints about his look. His eyes were gently narrowed into crescents, a smile lighting up his face, and for some reason, he seemed to be in a good mood.

"Ah, no need to be so polite with me. Just call me Julius."

"Right..."

He told me I used to call him that. Yet in spite of that, it didn't feel like we were particularly close.

"Hey, Rene."

"Yes?"

"How about I help you from now on?"

"......?"

We were siblings, so it should be natural to help each other, shouldn't it? It's too common for most heroines to have siblings, hence why I didn't have any memories of him at all. But somehow, the way he acted was a bit too mysterious.

Above all, this man seemed to have a very bad personality. No matter how I looked at it, he was amused by my situation.

"Well, come find me if you're in trouble."

Meanwhile, Rosa came back with an old man dressed like a doctor. And my brother, Julius, waved his hand after saying only those words and left the room.

◇◇◇

The doctor's examination found nothing wrong with my body and diagnosed me with amnesia. His diagnosis wasn't exactly the truth, but let's leave it at that since it was too troublesome to correct them.

After that, Rosa continued to explain various stories to me. But she was actually a newcomer, so she didn't know much.

First of all, I was Reine, fifteen years old. My mother had passed away, and my younger sister, Jenny, was the second wife's stepdaughter. She also went to the same academy as an A-ranked student.

My older brother, Julius, was one year older than me. He had the highest rank; S-rank. That should be why he had such an arrogant attitude.

Among them, Rene alone was an F-rank who was going to be expelled soon. She was shy, quiet, and also gloomy. She always had her face down and most people couldn't understand what she was saying.

That's why it was obvious that I had lost my memory since the current me behaved like a different person.

"Now, what should I do?"

I asked myself as I sprawled out on the soft, wide bed. I seemed to have become the heroine of a shitty game in which I didn't have a bias. What on earth do I want to do in this world?

In my previous life, I grew up in an orphanage after my parents' death. My main goal was always to become independent as soon as possible, to earn money as much as I could. I devoted myself to my studies during my school days and spent all my time working after becoming an adult. Now that I looked back, I died (?) without having almost no real fun memories.

The only thing I looked forward to was playing otome games after returning home late at night until I fell asleep.

Every time I played games in a school setting, I always had regrets deep down in my heart that I should've enjoyed my school days more, that I should've played more.

"...I want to try falling in love."

In fact, I had never been in a relationship in the twenty years of my life. Even if I longed for it more than anyone else.

I received a chance to become a fifteen years old beautiful girl, albeit now subjected to a difficult environment. Maybe, just maybe, this was my chance to start over.

Hanging out with friends, falling in love. I wanted to enjoy my student life to the full.

The only thing I could now do to achieve that was to earnestly raise my status. It was a grinding game anyway. I only had to talk to the love interests, then study and practice magic a lot. My rank would naturally go up that way.

Somehow, I suddenly felt like I could go through this. I'd been through too many unreasonable hardships since I was a child anyway, so I had a pretty strong mentality. I was confident I could withstand student bullying.

As I was thinking about that, I heard the sound of knocking in my room.

"My Lady, how are you feeling? It's time for dinner."

"Ah, I'm okay. I'm coming."

Once I regained my calm, only Julius came to see me, and he only teased me too. How awful. Rene had no place in the school and her own home. How did she feel when she lived here, I wonder?

My heart ached at the thought of her.

Now that it came to this, I should rise to the top rank and bring the people who bullied her to their knees. I vowed so before heading for the dining room.