The class had just ended. Olivia was putting her books inside her bag when she was approached by one of her classmates.
"Hey, Livia! Are you free after this?"
"Yes, I have some free time before my appointment with Senpai comes," Olivia answered after she finished putting her books. "Is there something you need, Bridget?"
Bridget was one of Clarice's followers. After she and Leon were introduced to them by Clarice, Bridget started to interact with her outside of being Clarice's followers.
Maybe they were friends?! Olivia wasn't sure.
"Let's go to the cafeteria! They have this new parfait that has become the girls' talk!"
One of the things she liked about Bridget was that she did not mind Olivia's status as a commoner when they interacted. Although, it sometimes led to a similar situation to this one.
"Umm, I'm sorry, Bridget. But I don't really have the money..."
"It's fine, it's fine. It's my treat."
Another thing was that Bridget did not hesitate to throw her meager allowance (in comparison to other nobles) for her friends. It wasn't the first time Olivia was treated by Bridget, and her other friend in the followers' circle had been treated by her too. It sounded counterproductive when your allowance was low to use it to treat her friends, but it surprisingly bore fruit because Bridget had so many friends, especially in the followers' circle.
Olivia personally thought Bridget was the de facto leader of the first-year girls in Clarice's followers' circle, not that the girl realized herself.
"Sure! I'd love to!"
The last thing that made her like Bridget was that Bridget had never bullied her. Clarice's mention of her followers being all good people was confirmed now that Olivia had been in their circle for more than a week.
As they walked, the sight of Olivia and Bridget walking side by side still caught the other students' attention. After all, while Bridget was not famous, she was still known as the girl under Clarice. Olivia being with her blatantly like this also showed them that she was under Clarice's protection by proxy.
They arrived at the cafeteria a few minutes later with two glasses of parfait in front of them.
"Mmmm~ It's delicious as I thought!" Bridget did not wait for anyone to taste test the thing that had been hot topics for the girls. "Try it, Livia!"
Olivia nodded and tasted it herself. "Mmmm~ The sweetness is overflowing~," Olivia remarked, grasping her cheeks.
"Isn't that right?!"
They continued their talk until it was time for Olivia to meet Clarice.
"I'm sorry, Bridget. But it's about time for me..."
"Oh, right. Lady Clarice did have an appointment with you. Man, I'm a little jealous that you get to spend time with her."
"I-It wasn't something to be jealous over, ...I think?" Olivia winced. It was true that both she and Clarice had gotten closer recently, but that was because they were Princess Precures. She couldn't tell them the truth, and she imagined Clarice couldn't either.
"What are you going to do, anyway?"
"Oh, Senpai is going to teach me a musical instrument. But I still can't decide..."
Bridget's eyes turned into stars. "Why didn't you say so?!"
She immediately grabbed Olivia's arms and put her back on the seat. "I love playing the piano! If only you had said this earlier, I could postpone the celebration with my other friends!"
Right, Bridget did invite Olivia yesterday, but since she and Clarice chose to learn an instrument, they declined the invitation from Bridget.
"R-Right, sorry. More importantly, Bridget. You can play the piano?"
Bridget nodded in excitement. "My father asked me to, and I didn't want to disappoint him. I ended up loving it! Maybe I can teach you piano later?"
"Sure! ...But I'm still not sure what I want to play. Maybe Senpai or Leon can help me." Olivia sighed. Why was choosing an instrument so hard?
"Why do you want to play, anyway?" Bridget asked in curiosity. "We actually have a music club. In fact, I'm a member."
"A-Ah," Olivia crossed her arms. "It's not like that! I have no interest in joining the music club. I just..." She looked down at her feet.
"Just?" Bridget leaned on the table, trying to look Olivia in the eyes.
"I just want to look princess-y, you know?" Olivia ended up whispering the last part to Bridget with a red face.
Bridget suddenly laughed. "Fufufufufu! My my, Livia! To think that you want to learn an instrument because of that..."
"Bridget!" Olivia pouted, still embarrassed. After being regaled the tale of Haruka Haruno, she, too, wanted to play an instrument. Clarice agreed with her, citing that she could play the piano. It lit up the desire in her heart to play an instrument even more. That was the reason why she wanted to play an instrument. She wanted to become closer to the title of 'Grand Princess.'
"Sorry, sorry, Livia. You're just, so fun to tease."
Still pouting, Olivia stood back up. "I'm going."
"Give my regards to Lady Clarice, okay?"
"Okay."
And so Olivia left and went to the music club room. If what Clarice said to her was correct, then the music club did not have meetings today, and they were free to visit it. It made sense how Bridget was doing something else instead of practicing or doing whatever, although she only knew Bridget was a member just now.
"Excuse me," she opened the door to see Clarice surrounded by strangers, to her at least. "Senpai!"
"Ah, Livia!" She greeted back from her seated place in front of a piano. "Do you want to hear me play?"
"Please do!" Olivia nodded with a smile. Seeing Clarice play... would be amazing!
And so Clarice lost herself in the music. She gracefully pressed each key in succession to form a harmonious melody that touched Olivia's heart. When she was finished, everyone clapped at her.
"That's amazing, Senpai!" Olivia wasted no time complimenting her fellow Princess Precure. For some reason, her heart felt like it was about to burst hearing Clarice's play.
"Yeah, it's true!"
"Please join the music club, Lady Clarice!"
"Amazing!"
More of the praise came from the other music club members there. It seemed that while they didn't have practice, some of them still came here to practice on their own.
"Thank you," Clarice curtsied. She then left the piano and came to her side. "Livia, still can't choose an instrument?"
Olivia nodded. "Yeah... you were amazing, Senpai! Like a princess!"
"'Like a princess,' huh? Hmm..." Clarice thought for a second. "I have an idea. What if you tried playing the violin or harps?"
"Why those two?"
"Well, when you said I was like a princess, my mind immediately went to an instrument that would look princess-y. It's either piano, violin, or harp. And since I know how to play the piano, I'm sure you want to try something else, knowing you."
Olivia laughed sheepishly. "Caught me."
After seeing Clarice play the piano so well, Olivia wanted to avoid learning the piano. It was not because she was feeling inferior to Clarice. It was the opposite. She wanted to play something that could be played alongside Clarice.
"So, violin or harp?"
Olivia thought for a second. Violin and harp were the most princess-y instrument in Clarice's mind. Her mind went back to the Princess and the Key of Dreams. Haruka played violin, didn't she? Then...
"Violin, please."
"Right," Clarice nodded. "Excuse me. Is there a spare violin? Livia here wanted to learn. Incidentally, can anyone here teach her?"
The music club members looked at each other before shrugging. "I'm sorry, Lady Clarice. This year the only violin player in our club is a third year, and he's been focusing on taking on the dungeon, so he rarely visits. We do have a spare violin for Miss Livia here, though."
One of the members fetched the violin and brought it to Olivia.
"Hmmm," Clarice frowned. "Well, thank you, anyway. Do you have any books for beginner violin players?"
"I believe the library has that," another member answered.
"Right. The library. Well, thank you for your help," Clarice voiced her gratefulness. "Since we don't want to bother you when Olivia makes beginner mistakes, I think we shall find an empty spot somewhere."
The music club members tried to convince Clarice to stay, but she politely refused them.
"Let's go, Livia."
And so Olivia found herself sitting on a bench. The area was devoid of people jaywalking, so Olivia thought it would be perfect for her to play there. Clarice was fetching her the guide for playing violin books from the library, so she was alone.
Failing to contain her curiosity, Olivia opened the violin case and looked inside. Inside the case was a pair of a violin and its bow. Letting out a hum of amazement, Olivia took them out and put the violin in her left arm. She had seen people playing the violin, so at least she knew how to hold one. Slowly, she drew the bow on the strings, producing sounds that, unfortunately, couldn't be called a song.
"Ehehe... should I wait for Senpai, I wonder? Oh well..."
In the end, Olivia kept trying and failed to produce a melodious sound. It was all just guesswork on Olivia's part.
Because she was lost in the fun of experimenting, she did not realize that her play was heard by someone else who entered the vicinity.
"Good afternoon, Olivia."
"Hyah!" She was startled by the voice that greeted her. Looking at the source, Olivia saw the figure of Angelica rapha Redgrave, the duke's daughter. She was an even higher-ranked noble than even Clarice. While Olivia was courageous enough to say they had a civil relationship after she gave the noble a gift in good spirits. So what was she doing here greeting Olivia?
"I see that you're trying to play the violin," Angelica gave a look to her that conveyed her disappointment.
"Y-Yes, Lady Redgrave. Although I don't know anything about playing the violin, Clarice is fetching me a book from the library so I can learn."
She saw Angelica raising her eyebrow. "I see... You know that playing the violin isn't easy, right? Do you still want to spend your time learning it?"
Olivia nodded, "Yes. I know it won't be easy, but I'm determined to play it. I want to perform with Clarice someday, playing something for Leon."
Angelica sighed. Coming closer to Olivia, she opened her arms. "May I borrow the violin?"
Olivia gave them without much fuss. Angelica asking for the violin implied that she knew how to play it. Olivia wanted to see how a real violin player did it. And maybe... if it wasn't too presumptuous, she hoped to ask Angelica to teach her too.
Angelica then began playing it. Her left fingers skilfully pressed the strings to form tunes as she drew the bow. The result was an amazing melody that touched Olivia's heart. Without even realizing it, Olivia wiped the tears that fell down her cheeks.
"Eh?" Olivia muttered when she realized she was crying.
Angelica finished her song with a breath and looked at her. "Thank you, Olivia."
Olivia clapped in response. "You're really amazing, Lady Redgrave! What was that song? This is the first time I heard it."
"It's a classical piece called 'Eternal Melody.' I'm not surprised you've never heard about it since it does not originate from Holfort," Angelica replied. "I heard the song when I was little and fell in love with it. The song actually has two parts and-"
"I want to learn that song!" Olivia declared to a bewildered Angelica. "Can you teach me that song, Lady Redgrave?"
Angelica gave back the violin to Olivia, who received them. "Before you learn a song, learn the basics. Now, come on, stand up. I'll help you learn how to play."
"Yes!"
Olivia stood up from the bench and tried to mimic Angelica's posture when playing the violin.
"Your back is too hunched. Straighten it," came the first of many pointers from Angelica.
"Yes!"
"Remember the finger placements."
"Pay attention to the bow's position as you slide it."
Olivia absorbed all of them enthusiastically.
This was the sight that greeted Clarice when she came back to Olivia. She had just finished borrowing the guide to learn violin from the library, thus was a little surprised to see Angelica rapha Redgrave giving pointers to Olivia, and even correcting her hands directly. With a smile, Clarice decided to observe from behind rather than join them. Angelica was kind enough to teach Olivia. Angelica might think her help was no longer needed if Clarice came with the book.
And besides... Clarice's smile turned into a frown. She heard the rumors about Angelica's recent frosty relationship with the crown prince. That Lafan girl really had no shame, ensnaring Jilk and now the crown prince too. But she was moving on, so there was no use in thinking about Jilk anymore. Still, she knew how Angelica felt. Rather than intruding, it would be better to leave Angelica to Olivia.
After all, if Olivia had helped her before, then she could also help Angelica. She was very sure about it.
Marie fou Lafan hid her frown behind a cute expression as she nodded at Greg. She was doing Greg's solo event to capture him. After this, she would head to the library to trigger Brad's event. The life of a reincarnated mob character trying to usurp the protagonist was harsh; she wasn't gonna lie. However...
Be patient, Marie. It's all for their wealth.
That was right. Marie was not doing this out of love for them or anything. She just wanted their wealth. The five capture targets' combined wealth was surely enough for her to live a life of luxury for the rest of her life. As for their feelings? While she didn't care enough to love them back, she knew how to treat them well. She was a former hostess in her previous life, after all. You wouldn't get far without some skills in appealing to men. That was enough, right?
She was about to reply to Greg's question when Jilk barged in, breathing hard.
"Marie! That creepy guy appeared again! Let's go and see me put him in his place for scaring you, my dear Marie!"
...what? That creepy guy who made a monster out of Jilk? Why would she want to come near that guy at all? Jilk, what the hell? He made a monster out of you. There was no way in hell you could defeat him!
However, Marie did not voice her thought.
"What are you saying, Jilk?" Greg interjected. Good, slap some sense into this one, would you? "The only one who will win Marie's heart by defeating that guy would be me!"
Why are you as stupid as him?! Marie retorted inside her mind. Outwardly, though, she kept her smile in order to not raise suspicions.
"No, it will be me!"
"No, me!"
And now they made it a competition to defeat the creepy guy that frightened her, never minding the fact that he frightened her because he made a monster out of Jilk. Who was to say he couldn't make any more monsters out of them again? Were they crazy? Seriously...
"Now, come on, Marie. Be the judge in our competition!"
She was dragged by Jilk and Greg toward wherever the monster was. They recruited Brad, Chris, and Julius on their way, and then the five went toward the monster.
I can't believe they're this stupid... Marie wanted to cry. Her thought did not reflect her action at all. "Good luck," she gave them encouragement even though she knew they would all probably lose. Though, she hoped they won't lose their life because she did not want to lose her ticket to luxury life.
"You evil guy! Prepare to lose, for we are here!" Julius declared to the floating guy, ignoring the rampaging monster on the ground. And yet the guy ignored them in favor of the monster. "Hey! You evil guy! Coward! Face us!"
Speaking of the monster, Marie turned her attention to the monster. It was a weird monster, alright. Somehow its shape was a piano with a pair of arms and three legs. It had a singular eye in the shape of a lock on the lid, and under the lid signified its mouth as it let out a weird sound of 'Zetsuborg.'
All those shouts from the five capture targets did not reach the floating guy at all. Instead, the monster turned its attention towards the five and let out a "Zetsu..."
"Tch. What a coward!"
The monster is coming for you, idiot!
Again, Marie did not voice it because it was too crass to say. Because of that, she failed to warn them when the monster shot musical notes at the five.
"Booooorg!"
"Ah... everyone!"
Idiots, all of them, she screamed internally as the five were sent away flying by the exploding musical notes. Holy hell, whatever that monster was eating, Marie would stay away from them.
"Guh! You despicable man. To send your monster instead of facing us one on one... Just how low can you be?"
No, really. If Marie were the one commanding the monster and the five came demanding a duel, she, too, would send the monster to take care of them.
Half of them were unconscious from the explosion, leaving only Julius and Jilk to stand up against the monster attack. "Ugh, for everyone else to lose their consciousness... how could this be?"
"Stand up, Jilk," Julius responded. "We have to avenge them!"
"Right!"
Whatever their plan was, it was rendered futile with another exploding musical note.
"Gah!"
Now all of them were unconscious. Damn it! After this, Marie would never want to deal with any musical instruments again! Not even as leisure!
Having no more target, the monster shifted its attention to something else. Marie.
Shit! Did I tip off my position? It was possible, considering Marie kept kicking the earth in frustration at the five capture targets' idiocy. However, Marie was hidden behind the cover of trees, so she wasn't in its direct line of sight.
"Zetsu..."
But Marie forgot one thing.
"Booooorg!"
It did not need a direct line of sight.
Another musical note was sent in her general direction, and Marie wasted no time trying to scamper away from her hiding place. She had to run before it exploded.
BOOM
It was too late. The musical note exploded near Marie and sent her flying.
Damn it. Is this how it ends?
Bracing herself for the inevitable pain, she was surprised when she felt the warm embrace of someone else's arms. With an uncertain feeling, Marie opened her eyes to see she was being held in the air by a beautiful blonde figure.
"Thank goodness you're still conscious," the blonde smiled beatifically at her before gravity took hold of them and pulled them back to the ground.
"Kyaaa!" Marie couldn't help but scream when her body registered the sensation of falling down.
"Don't panic. I won't let you go."
Strangely enough, her savior's voice was familiar to Marie. She couldn't place where she had heard of it, though. And besides, there were more important things to consider, like the fact that she was falling down!
"Hup," with a clack, the blonde and Marie arrived on the ground safely. She crouched and put Marie down. "Can you stand, Miss?"
Marie shook her head. Her legs were numb, and she couldn't feel them. It was not from wounds or anything. She was still shocked that she had escaped the attack safely.
"Hold on, I'll bring you somewhere else."
Without waiting for confirmation, the blonde girl in a frilly dress took her arms and jumped somewhere.
"Aaaaaaahhhhh!" Marie shouted, releasing the tension in her body. What the hell, what the hell, what the hell?! What the hell is happening?! She didn't remember anything like this happening in the game!
"We've arrived. Miss, please wait here and follow Leon's instructions, yeah? Leon, would you help her settle? I think she's in shock."
Marie looked to see a nondescript man holding a cat in the direction the blonde girl pointed. She assumed this was the Leon she meant.
"Well yeah, no shit, you're literally jumping high. Anyone would feel scared, sheesh." Leon clicked his tongue at the other girl. "Still, good job, Flora."
"Thank you, Leon," the blonde called Flora smiled at him. She then jumped away to face the monster, leaving Marie with this Leon.
"Are you okay? Take a deep breath and then release it."
Marie followed Leon's instructions and was finally able to calm herself down. Once the gravity of the situation settled in her mind, Marie's body collapsed.
"Oi!" Leon quickly caught her in his arms. "Don't faint!"
Marie opened her eyes, but everything was a blur. She faintly heard the shout of worry from someone. This warmth... the voice full of concern... Why did it feel so familiar to her? Ah, right. It reminded her of the good times in her previous life. The time before her brother died.
"Onii-chan..." she mumbled unconsciously.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" The voice retorted. And then Marie couldn't hold it anymore. She lost consciousness.
Leon looked at the unconscious girl in his arms. She was so petite he wondered if she was admitted early into the school. Still... Leon thought to himself. As expected, this was Marie fou Lafan. The girl who usurped Olivia's status as the otome game protagonist, and as he also expected, a reincarnated person like him. Her knowledge about the capture targets was too specific for it to be a coincidence.
He managed to throw off any suspicions by acting as if he did not understand her mutterings which were clearly in Japanese. But now he had to keep an eye on this girl too. Damn it. He hoped this girl wouldn't do anything drastic to alter the plot.
"You've arrived, Princess Precure."
Flora and Mermaid looked up to Steal. The cage beside him hosted one of the people Flora and Mermaid knew.
"Bridget!"
"Hmph. How dare you trample on Bridget's dream and use it for your own convenience," Mermaid remarked angrily, staring at the Piano Zetsuborg.
"Hmph, it was pathetic and shallow," Steal remarked from above. "She dreamed of-"
"So what if it's pathetic and shallow?!" Flora cut Steal off before he finished talking. "Who are you to judge someone's dream? I'm sure Bridget's dream is wonderful! After all, isn't it exactly because it's wonderful that you're trying to deprive her of it?"
Flora glared at the Dysdark follower.
Steal did not reply, but Flora felt the gaze on her. "Hmph, don't flatter yourself. She was just conveniently on my way, so I took hers. There's nothing wonderful about it."
"Fine then, if you won't admit it, we'll save Bridget. O dream entrapped within the frozen cage, I shall reclaim you now! Do prepare yourself!" Flora pointed toward the Zetsuborg elegantly.
"Let's go save Bridget!" Both Mermaid and Flora leaped at the Zetsuborg and landed two kicks that shattered its balance. Falling back first, the Zetsuborg let out a shout before it landed with a loud thud.
"Zetsuborg!" It jumped and stood back, sending multiple exploding musical notes all over the area. Flora displayed her agility by dodging every explosion, while Mermaid used each explosion as a propeller to come closer to the Zetsuborg.
"Haaaaa!" When she was close, Mermaid launched an uppercut to send the Zetsuborg flying. "Now! Flora!"
"Yes! Exchange! Mode Elegant!"
Flora put her Dress Up Key into the Princess Perfume and waited until the perfume was filled. Once it did, she gathered flower petals from around her and aimed them toward the Zetsuborg in the air.
"Dance, O flowers! Precure, Floral Tourbillon!"
"Zetsuborg!" The Zetsuborg did not give up. It shot more musical notes at the incoming tornado of flower petals, but even when they exploded, the swirling flower petals couldn't be stopped.
"Dreaming..."
"Farewell," Flora curtsied as the Zetsuborg was purified and turned back into the essence of dreams.
"I'll remember this, Princess Precure," Steal gave his last line before entering a portal back to wherever he came.
"Mermaid! Please open the cage quickly!" Flora quickly called toward Mermaid, who was closer to the cage than her. She did not want Bridget to suffer more.
"Right. Open! door to the dreams!" Using her Dress Up Key, Mermaid wasted no time opening the cage.
They were inside a big opera house full of spectators. All of their attention was pointed towards the stage, where a single piano was highlighted. Behind the piano sat Bridget, wearing an elaborate dress that accentuated her figure. She smiled at the spectators before she played the piano elegantly.
Once the performance was finished, Bridget stood up and bowed, getting loud applause from everyone. "Thank you. It's an honor to perform for all of my fans here."
Slowly, the clappings became louder and louder, and her surroundings shone and blinded her.
"E-Eh? What am I...?" When she opened her eyes next, Bridget found two mysterious figures in pink and blue smiling at her before they jumped away. "Those are..."
She blinked, trying to convince herself that what she saw was true. "Oh, I have to tell everyone! I bet most won't believe it! Ahahahaha!"
I swear this chapter is supposed to finish the story, but noooo it has to elude me and go away. Alright, fellow Precure fans, I've given enough hints for you to dechiper what I'm trying to build. Olivia wants to learn a princess-y instrument and her sight landed on the violin, and considering she wanted to follow Haruka... meanwhile, Clarice can play the piano, so Olivia wanted them to play together. It was just a coincidence that Angelica was walking around the place, I swear! Meanwhile, the five idiots chased Steal but can't even face the Zetsuborg properly. Since I've established that normal magic is useless in the first chapter, this is just me shitting on them without bashing them. They're idiots so they're likely to do this, which means I'm still writing them in character! Yay for idiot characters. The purpose of the last part is to confirm Leon's suspicions about Marie but it grew into its own part, and since Bridget is introduced in the chapter, why not close it with her dream? Fitting, no?
I swear guys I'll try finishing the story next chapter, but I can't guarantee with how my muse are randomly giving me inspirations. I'm trying to make the story as compact as possible without having too many important scenes off-screen, but it ends up being like this.