Chapter 2: Love Interest #1
IRIS couldn’t believe it.
Of all the characters, I’ve turned into Iris?!
Iris du Chevalier was the daughter of the noble House of Chevalier, Marquisate of the kingdom of Floraison, hailing from a long line of valiant knights. She was also the main villainess of HanaKoro and the rival character competing for the title of Holy Maiden.
In the bad endings, Iris was usually tasked with stabbing the heroine, Camille. But in bringing harm to the Holy Maiden, she provoked the wrath of the gods, casting the kingdom into an era of darkness. Then, to atone for her sins, she was sealed inside a magical artifact that would steadily drain her life force and convert it into holy power. And after she died, another Chevalier was required to take her place, passing down the burden from one generation to the next for the rest of eternity.
Iris clutched her head. Iris was the one who always stabbed the protagonist in the bad endings, no matter what route she was on…and when she played this game during her past life, she got a lot of bad endings. The game didn’t have many female characters—possibly a cost-saving measure to offset the god-tier art—so they gave Iris every villainous trait under the sun. As a result, there were never any happy endings for her. Like the protagonist, she was doomed to either a happy-bad ending or a fully-bad ending.
Why did she keep stabbing Camille, anyway? She was supposed to be a proper lady, so why did she carry a dagger at all?! But then it hit Iris: as the daughter of a knight, she was expected to attend sword training. Of course she would know how to stab someone—she’d spent her whole life practicing! Oh god, and I’m good at it, too! How could you turn your innocent little girl into a murder machine, Father?!
Iris grabbed a pillow and flung it as hard as she could. It hit the window with a WHHMPH as the glass rattled in its frame. Still, she knew throwing a tantrum wouldn’t accomplish anything.
“Iris?”
Just then, a voice rang out from the other side of the window—they must have seen the pillow. Iris hurried to the window, opened it, and peered down at the ground far below. A chilly late-winter breeze rolled in, rustling the curtains. Though her mind was gloomy, the weather outside was bright and sunny.
There stood her brother Nigel, waving up at her. Smiling stiffly, Iris waved back.
“What was that strange sound just now?” he asked.
“Oh, nothing.”
“Are you sure? I’ll come up.” And with that, he raced off.
They were identical twins, except his hair and eyes were darker than hers—a much-needed splash of forest green color amid the drab winter garden. The color of a true hero, as their family liked to say. Evergreen, the color of hope itself.
Wait, but…isn’t he…?
The next thing Iris knew, there came a knock at her bedroom door, and then it opened.
“Iris? Are you feeling better now?”
Sure enough, she recognized his firm, clear voice. Her head slowly turned to face him as she willed her uncooperative body to move.
Standing there was Nigel du Chevalier, Iris’s twin brother…and the love interest in HanaKoro’s “Chains of Love” route. His glossy leaf-green hair framed his face in elegant waves, affording him a more approachable air than Iris’s perfectly coiled ringlets. His large, round eyes glittered like emeralds. Though he looked cute and innocent at first glance, he regularly accompanied their father to the royal palace to practice sword fighting with the young princes. As a result, he was on good terms with the royal family, and his future career as a knight was practically gift-wrapped for him.
To think that in just a few short years, he’ll brand Camille with a tattoo and walk around chained to her! Yikes!
Born to a family of chivalrous warriors, Nigel was given a strict upbringing and taught that a knight must always protect his lady. When Camille entered the picture with all the free-spirited sensibilities of a commoner, she would inevitably catch his eye. The more reckless she behaved, the more he would slowly grow convinced that he was the only man who could keep her safe…and from there, they would fall in love.
But the nature of her duties as Holy Maiden meant Camille would naturally come into contact with plenty of other men. In retaliation, Nigel would tattoo his own personal brand on her skin, then chain her to him. But Camille wanted these shackles. And so, the two would live happily ever after…according to the game, anyway.
All things considered, it was one of the tamer endings. But then there was Iris, the villainess. In Nigel’s bad ending, Iris would declare Camille unfit to be with her brother then stab her. Conversely, during the happy-bad ending, Nigel would become so infuriated with Iris for trying to sabotage his relationship that he’d tie her up in layer after layer of heavy chains, drown her in the fountain, then tell everyone it was a suicide. No funeral. It’d been a miracle this game avoided an M rating.
The CG for that ending was so sexy, too. She could remember Iris’s pallid face, her eyes widened in despair as she sank…
The villainess’s many, varied death scenes was actually one of the big reasons people bought HanaKoro. The art was just so gorgeous! Iris’s death CGs had more detail than half of the CGs with the protagonist! This was actually fairly uncommon for an otome game, and as a result, the game had a sizeable male fanbase, too. Iris shuddered thinking about those stinky nerds swooning over her merch… Never mind the fact that she was totally swooning over it herself at the time…
But now that I’m Iris, I don’t want ANYONE swooning over my death!
Nigel noticed Iris shivering and peered into her eyes. “You still look a bit pale. Don’t overexert yourself, okay?”
Her heart ached as his gemstone eyes gazed at her in concern. The poor kid had no idea what sort of fate this world had in store for him. To think this sweet young boy would grow up to be a sadistic bully… It was heartbreaking.
At the very least, the “happy-bad” ending was still “happy” from the heroine’s perspective. I have nothing against her personally—I wish her all the best—but I don’t want to die. And the “Thousand-Year Slumber” route in particular was an outright massacre.
Wait a minute...I’m the villainess! Isn’t it only natural, then, that I try to hinder the protagonist’s happy endings? If I’m a VILLAINESS, then all I have to do is act like one! To hell with the heroine’s happiness—I reject these happy-bad endings!
And so, Iris made a vow: she would obstruct HanaKoro’s pre-established endings, keep Nigel from going to the dark side…and of course, avoid her own untimely demise. Breathing heavily, she clenched her fist. “Nigel, I’ve made up my mind!”
“Iris? What are you talking about?”
“I reject these happy-bad endings!”
He stared at her in confusion. “What?”
At this, Iris snapped back to her senses. She wasn’t supposed to say that part out loud! “Oh, er… What I mean is, I’m done hiding away in my room!” she corrected herself hastily.
“You mean it? That’s wonderful news!” Beaming from ear to ear, he gave her a big hug. “Oh, Iris, I’ve been ever so bored without you around to spar with me!”
Iris’s smile stiffened. Yes, Iris du Chevalier is a knight-in-training in her own right…but will I be able to handle it?
“G-Go easy on me, okay?”
“Of course, silly! You’re still recovering, after all. Feeling up for a little walk?”
His smile put Iris at ease. “Sure thing,” she replied.
“Okay then, let’s start by walking around the mansion!”
He took Iris by the hand and led her to the door. With each step, her bell jingled. Then, for the first time in several months, Iris left her bedroom.
The chilly hallway air tickled her cheek. She squeezed Nigel’s hand; he glanced over his shoulder at her and squeezed back. She never wanted to see his smile lose its radiance… For the sake of his future happiness, Iris was going to do something about those happy-bad endings!