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

Chapter 3 - Me and My Brother (私と兄)

When I stepped into the dining room guided by Rosa, everyone except me seemed to have gathered.

By the way, Rosa gave me a light scolding that I shouldn't use honorifics like "Mister" and "Miss" when referring to the servants. I should be more conscious of my behavior as a noble daughter.

Everyone's gazes turned towards us at once. Their beautiful faces had an intensity that intimidated me for some reason. The man - my supposed father - opened his mouth once I quietly sat down in the seat instructed to me.

"I heard you have lost your memory. Are you okay?"

"There's no problem with my body, but I can't remember anything at all... I'll have to rely on every one from now on."

"I see. You're really like a different person now. If you have any questions, ask Jenny or the servants."

"Okay."

Eh, just that? I wondered, replying with a smile. Everyone gave me a simple, yet curt self-introduction.

When I moved my gaze to the beautiful blonde girl sitting next to me, she offered me a smile like a blooming flower.

"Big Sister, please don't hesitate and ask me anything."

"T-Thank you..."

Jenny was so cute that I couldn't find words to describe her. Rene was quite a pretty girl too, but Jenny exuded a kind of aura, a type of grace. She was also an A-rank. I could imagine the two girls getting compared a lot, especially since they were in the same age.

Also, this wasn't a very cozy dining table. Even the few conversations exchanged here were mainly about Jenny. On the other hand, I was relieved that the manners I had been worried about seemed to be ingrained in this body.

Let's finish eating quickly and return to my room so I can come up with another plan for tomorrow. I thought, reaching for the bread, and I noticed that the jam was a little bit too far from my reach.

"Julius, hand me the jam over there."

"Do you want me to help you spread it for you?"

"No, thanks."

"Really? Too bad."

"......"

As I couldn't grasp Julius' intention at all, Jenny dropped her fork on the floor next to me.

The maid immediately handed her a new one. But she was staring at me with a look of disbelief.

"Are you okay? But I understand Jenny's reaction. Julius, Rene. Where did you both become that close?"

"......?"

"I've never seen you two talking before."

"Eh!?"

Hearing my stepmother's words, I turned my attention back to Julius, confused. And he was laughing in amusement. I knew it, it was strange to call him by his name. He definitely lied!

Even so, we siblings never talking with each other before was also quite a feat. Just what was going on?

"...Big Brother."

"I don't like it. Just call me Julius."

These were written in bold at that face: My life is on easy mode! He must be the type of guy who's allowed to do anything. I couldn't handle them the most.

"I'll look after Rene's studies since she's too stupid, so ask me anything you don't understand. It's surely everything, though."

"Ah?"

"Oh, you're really getting along well now, I see."

"Not at all!"

After that, I was so focused on finishing my meal to leave the room that I didn't notice that Jenny was glaring at me.

"Big Sister. Wait."

"Yeah?"

Before long, Jenny called me out on my way back to my room after dinner. Even her voice was unbelievably cute.

"Just so you know, I will never hand over Brother Julius."

"Yeah...?"

I tilted my head to the side, unsure of the meaning of the words she had just said. Then she scowled, her shapely blond eyebrows frowning.

"I'm saying that I will definitely marry Big Brother."

"Oh... Sure."

Right, she was the stepdaughter of the second wife. Unlike me, she wasn't related to Julius by blood. It would be possible for them to get married.

With such a good-looking guy by her side, it was no wonder she fell in love with him. From what I saw, Julius's attitude towards Jenny was also mild.

Judging by the brother's behavior, I definitely didn't have a brother complex in the past, and I wouldn't in the future. Really, definitely.

"I think both of you will make a beautiful couple, it's a good match. Go for it."

"...I see. I don't know about your amnesia or whatnot, but just stay out of my way."

The smile from earlier disappeared without a trace, switching into a cold gaze. Apparently, I was hated even by Jenny.

This family is kind of exhausting, I sighed as I stared at her back walking briskly.

◇◇◇

Next morning. Rosa was worried, telling me I shouldn't go to school yet since I'd just recovered, but I reassured her with a smile and put on my uniform. It was a cute uniform, almost like a cosplay.

I had my long, fluffy chestnut hair braided on one side and tied with a pretty ribbon. My pure white skin with no acne was embellished with a bit of color with makeup.

"This... this is me...!?"

"Yes, My Lady. You are very beautiful."

"Ah, sorry... Thanks..."

I was complimented even though I carelessly blurted that out. But honestly, I really was cute. It's such a shame that the previous Rene was indifferent to her own appearance.

But when I saw the color of the bright red brooch on my chest in the mirror, I couldn't stop myself from sighing. This color seemed to be the proof of an F-rank. Why did they choose such a flashy color? It's like signaling to have people bully me.

...Last night, the butler who was familiar with Heartful Academy told me that the rank was judged by three things: the amount of magic power, knowledge, and skill. It was currently May, and the next rank test would be in June. My goal was to raise my rank to E in one month.

As a result of tracing back my memory with pure desperation, I remembered that the heroine's magic power would increase with favorability, and her skill would improve by practicing with other people. For the knowledge, I should probably just study as usual.

Having the shy Rene raise her status that way was definitely tough for her.

"...There's a prince among my classmates, right?"

"Yes. That'll be His Highness Theodore."

Anyway, I had to raise the favorability of the love interests to raise my rank. The only character I remembered before dipping halfway through was the prince. There should be at least one more among his followers, but I couldn't be certain.

For now, I had no choice but to talk to Prince Theodore.

A few otome games with grinding system would force players to go through hundreds of dialogues with the love interest. Sometimes they even repeated the exact same conversation. But exciting events and happy endings were waiting after overcoming that pain.

That being said, I didn't intend to go that far with the prince. I should just rise his favorability and make him like me as a friend and increase my magic power. I should do my best.

"Okay, I'm off."

"Have a nice day."

Once I fired up myself and left the room, I bumped into Julius. He was still unbelievably handsome today; him walking was stunning enough to be a painting. I wanted to call it 'Walking CG'.

"Good morning."

"Good morning. Wow, I never thought I'll actually have Rene greet me in the morning. I've also just finished my preparation, let's go."

"Sure...?"

I followed him obediently, left the front door, and got on the carriage. The carriage started to move as soon as we sat facing each other.

"Huh? Jenny's not here yet."

"She's not coming."

"Eh? But..."

"We all originally went to the academy in different carriages."

"......"

"You're so stupid that it's cute."

I was tricked again. Julius was acting like this was the usual, and it was so convincing that I also thought that this was normal.

In the first place, going to the academy separately even though we were all heading to the same destination was strange. I could imagine Jenny getting mad at me later.

And what did Julius, who had his chin rested on his palm in a good mood, want to achieve? It didn't seem like he wanted to reconcile with his young sister he didn't get along with. At all. He was totally playing with me.

"...Why weren't we on good terms?"

"Who knows?"

Realizing that it would be useless to ask this amused man, I let out a deep sigh and turned my eyes out the window.