by Terasu Senoo
Table of Contents
Cover
Color Illustrations
Prologue: Erika Aurelia, the Villainess
Chapter 1: The Spring Palace
Chapter 2: The Seafarer’s Ruins
Chapter 3: The Megalith Altar
Chapter 4: The Promised Land
Last Chapter: Claus Hafan’s Letter
Reflections of Eduard Aurelia
Bonus Textless Images
About J-Novel Club
Copyright
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Prologue: Erika Aurelia, the Villainess
“What could this mean...?”
Erika, daughter of Duke Aurelia, froze as stiff as a statue the moment she saw herself in the mirror.
Her hair, a deep honey gold, fell in soft, elegant curls. Her skin was pale as milk, while her cheeks were rose red. Though her features were youthful, a pair of prideful eyebrows loomed over her arrogant-looking, emerald eyes.
That’s... me?! No way! It can’t be!
The color of her hair, her skin, and her eyes... Everything about her was terribly off. Especially the thick, oh-so-familiar ringlets cascading down her back.
Indeed, the form reflected in the mirror was none other than the fantasy otome game Liber Monstrorum: The Winter Maiden and the Phantasmic Beasts’ resident pest of a villainess, Erika Aurelia.
No, wait! Why do I know what an otome game is?!
As the ground seemed to sway beneath her, Erika had to lean against the mirror for support. A sudden fountain of memories sprung forth, and she was assailed by its intoxicating waves.
Does this mean I’ve awakened to memories of a past life or something? Why does this world resemble a game I used to play?
While the idea seemed absurd, the little villainess’ eight years’ worth of memories informed her that this world truly was identical to that of Liber Monstrorum. Consequently, no matter how beautiful the face she saw in the mirror was, Erika could only take it as a sinister omen. It just had to be Erika Aurelia.
As a minor villain in Liber Monstrorum, Erika Aurelia not only berated and bullied the heroine after her enrollment in the Academy of Magic, but she died very early on in the game. Her death was the first of many in a trail of bizarre murders.
Erika could die in a number of ways: transformed into a golden statue, devoured by a beast, drowned... the list went on. If the present Erika were simply to grow up and live her life as normal, all that awaited her was a pitiful death, which would then kick-start the serial murders that heightened the drama between the heroine and her chosen love interest.
That’s the one thing I want to avoid. I refuse to just get killed out of nowhere. Not again.
“Again.” This word sparked another strange sensation for her. As the memories of a harsh past flooded back to her in vivid detail, Erika couldn’t help but close her eyes.
These were the final moments of her last memory. Light reflected in the corner of her eye. The next instant, a sharp impact. When she touched her hand to the heat she felt at her side, it came back soaked in a sticky coating of blood.
She was unable to run away.
Help wouldn’t come, scream as she may.
Unable to deny the knife as it plunged into her again and again, her consciousness slowly slipped away.
I see, so I died back then.
Her murderer had been a colleague from work. She had never really spoken to them, but she remembered hearing the words “You betrayed me” just before she was killed. Surely there was no reason for such an utterance; at most, Erika had lent them a spare umbrella on a rainy day.
The memories of her death triggered recollections of her other unreasonable personal tragedies as well.
In high school, she belonged to the earth science club. She had been the oasis in the desert, so to speak—the only female in the group—but she’d fully intended to enjoy her club activities regardless of the gender disparity.
Unfortunately, they remained mere intentions. Every other club member mistakenly came to believe she had fallen for him and convinced himself they were an item. The rumors spread like wildfire before anyone noticed the contradiction.
What had followed was hell on earth. Paranoia infected the club like an epidemic, and it was effectively shut down. Backstabbing became an everyday occurrence.
She was called the “club crusher,” the “black widow,” and, less eloquently, “a slut.” One night, as she was walking home, one of the club members who took the rumors seriously struck her from behind, and she suffered a serious injury that required a long-term stay in the hospital.
Even after she was discharged, she was unable to clear her name. The scandal had grown simply too large for a timid girl like herself to stand up against.
Hahaha. How harsh.
Erika offered a powerless laugh.
In subsequent years, both in college and during her jobs, the same thing happened again and again on a smaller scale. Each time, she would endeavor to maintain her human relations, but disaster always found its way to her. Eventually, she got to the point where she simply refused to interact with anyone outside of work altogether.
During that period, it was video games that filled the void in her life. No matter how harsh the characters were, fiction couldn’t leave the screen to harm her. Games were far safer than reality, and she had fully immersed herself in her hobby up until the moment she died.
That being the case, the memories of Erika’s past life were little more than disastrous real-life experiences buried by game playthroughs.
Just how one-sided was my life experience?
She sneered. Try as she might to trace the threads of her memories, they only led her to one miserable episode after another. However, one thing she did remember was that she had never detested this particular villainess, Erika Aurelia.
Strong-willed, haughty, and assertive, Erika was so far removed from who she was that the poor soul couldn’t help but admire her. Apart from her malicious tendency to harass people, Erika Aurelia was close to her ideal.
Such a strong, straightforward girl wouldn’t cause ill-natured men to misunderstand her, to stalk her, and then to stab her. Sure, normal men would keep their distance, but that was an irrelevant fact after she had experienced so many of the same incidents.
Maybe, just maybe, I can do my best without giving up this time. Right! I’ve got it! I just have to change this dark romantic fantasy into a laid-back slice-of-life!
Still, she had to ask herself whether or not that was actually possible. At the very least, so long as she didn’t die under mysterious circumstances, she got the feeling she could live far more freely now than in her past life.
Not a bad option, Erika concluded.
Surely the clues to her survival were buried somewhere in her memory. Why did Erika Aurelia have to die? That was because she trampled over the lives of the other characters. As long as she avoided that, perhaps she could find a way out of her fatal predicament.
The dark pasts of each romance option were the death flags Erika raised for herself. In that case, she just had to put her all into breaking down the flags.
But before that, there was one thing she had to confirm. Erika feared the possibility that these new memories were all just a fabrication. If they were not the memories carried over from reincarnation, if she had simply lost her sanity and dived into delusion, what good were they?
How could she verify the authenticity of her memories? Erika pressed her fingers to her temple.
“Are you alright, Erika?” An abrupt voice from behind caused her to raise her head.
The voice belonged to the vi
llainess’ brother, Eduard Aurelia. He was the eldest son of Duke Aurelia and a romance option in the game. Twelve years older than his sister, he shared her blonde hair and green eyes; unlike Erika, however, who gave the impression of a rose with thorns, Eduard had a sweet, gentle countenance.
He must have been worried after seeing Erika groaning in front of the mirror.
Come to think of it, this is my brother’s study, Erika recalled.
This was as good an opportunity as any. If she confirmed several pieces of information that Erika Aurelia had no way of knowing, perhaps she could measure the authenticity of her memories. Her knowledgeable brother was the perfect person for the job.
But what would she ask? As she pondered this in silence, Eduard stooped down to peer into her agonized face.
“You’re not looking too good. Are you okay?”
“I appreciate your concern, my dear brother, but I’ll be fine. I’ve just grown a little weary.”
“I see. You were just reading all sorts of difficult books, after all. Here, have something sweet.” He reached into a small box on the table, picked out a little parcel, and peeled off the wrapper. “Here, say aaah.”
Erika opened her mouth, and her tongue was greeted by a truffle of fine chocolate. Eduard greatly enjoyed spoiling his cute younger sister.
“Is it tasty?”
“It is.”
“Very good. You’re such a good girl, Erika.”
A first-rate smile on his face, Eduard gently passed a hand through her hair.
With a brother like this, can anyone really blame me for growing up a little pampered?
A slight blush bloomed on her cheeks. It was definitely pleasant to be spoiled by her beloved brother, but right now, she needed to focus on gathering intel.
“Hey, Eduard?”
“Hm? What is it? Do you want another chocolate?”
“I’ll get fat if I eat so much before supper.”
“Oh, that’s fair.”
“It’s not about the chocolate; there’s something I would like to ask you.”
“What is it? Please, do keep your questions to things I might know.”
Elated to be relied on by his adorable sister, Eduard rapturously smiled from ear to ear. It pained Erika’s heart somewhat. The questions she needed to ask would cast a cloud over his enthusiasm. Regardless, she couldn’t avoid bringing up the topic that served as the basis for the developments in Liber Monstrorum.
“I was just thinking that I’d like to make friends with other girls.”
“Yes, of course! That sounds wonderful.”
“As I recall, Duke Lucanlandt has a daughter my age. Do you think I could become friends with her?”
While Eduard kept his smile, he seemed hard-pressed to answer. Erika could sense both confusion and sorrow in his expression. He was clearly mulling over how he was supposed to explain this to a young girl.
It seemed she’d hit the mark right off the bat. While Eduard’s expression left a prickling pain in her chest, it was the one she had expected. That reaction was evidence that the incident that would later be called the “Lycan Massacre” had already occurred.
“I’m sorry. That girl has gone somewhere far, far away, so she can’t be your friend.”
“Is that true? A shame. Where has she gone?”
“I’ll tell you when you’re a little older, Erika,” Eduard said, softly patting her on the head.
The sad look on his face filled her with the urge to apologize, but now one thing was clear: Chloe, the daughter of Duke Lucanlandt and protagonist of Liber Monstrorum, was currently missing, and no one had any hopes she would return alive. Eduard’s reaction matched up with her prior knowledge.
Erika ignored the heavy air and threw out her next question.
“Then... Duke Hafan has a girl one year younger than me, doesn’t he?”
This time, Eduard nodded with relief. “That’s right. Truth be told, you’ll be meeting her soon. House Hafan will be paying us a visit tomorrow.”
“Is that true? Oh, I simply can’t wait!” Erika replied, beaming.
She now had two pieces of evidence in hand. She was certain that during House Hafan’s visit, Erika was fated to become the trigger for an outrageous incident.
It hadn’t happened yet, so she should be able to avoid it. While she had to curse her ill fortune since she only had one day to go, she also knew to count her blessings, as she had made it in the nick of time.
Erika escaped the study using supper as an excuse. She walked down the corridor alone, slowly allowing the fact that this was the world of Liber Monstrorum to sink in. At the same time, she steeled her resolve.
The world she now lived in was one crossed by many a monster, lycanthrope, and vampyre—a world of phantasmic beasts.
Chapter 1: The Spring Palace
1
As the name implied, the Spring Palace was where House Aurelia took up residence in springtime.
“Lady Erika! Where are you, Lady Erika?”
The voices of maids searching for Erika echoed throughout the spacious white and gold halls. It was the day House Hafan, one of the nation’s most influential noble houses, was due to visit. As the eldest daughter of House Aurelia, Erika would have to attend the welcoming banquet.
On this terribly important day, Erika was stifling her breath as she hid away in the study.
Real sorry... I need to prepare just a little more. Sorry, everyone!
Safely out of sight, Erika continued her research. At the moment, she wanted to know more about this world’s prominent nobles, Duke Hafan included. She needed to cram in all the necessary information before her time was up.
Once she felt the maids’ voices had grown distant enough, Erika spread a map and some books across the carpet.
☆
Lucanlandt was a country of harsh winters. It lay on the northern edge of the Ichthyes continent and was also called the “Land of Ice and Snow.”
Erika knew of the tragedy that had taken place in these lands; she had seen it in a past playthrough.
A member of House Lucanlandt had gone insane and murdered the entire household; not even the servants were spared. According to rumors, it wasn’t insanity but lycanthropy which had consumed them.
Truth be told, there had been a single survivor of the Lycan Massacre: Chloe Lucanlandt, who would later become the heroine of Liber Monstrorum.
After the incident, Chloe was taken in by an affluent merchant, and her name became Chloe Cloacina. Seven years from now, in the fall of her fourteenth year, she would enroll in the Academy of Magic in the city of Lindis and get swept up in yet another bizarre event.
There were seven possible love interests. Each hero had his own individual storyline, but only one was available from the start. It was the sort of game where a new route would unlock every time the previous one was cleared.
In her past life, Erika had only been partway through the game; she had just finished the first two routes and started the third. Her tragic stabbing had occurred only three days after the game’s release, putting a permanent halt to her progress.
Hahaha, how harsh.
Erika heaved a sigh and decided to focus on compiling what little knowledge she had. She spread out the large sheet of parchment and peered at the world map.
The continent of Ichthyes was primarily divided into four regions: Lucanlandt in the north, Hafan in the east, Ignitia in the south, and Aurelia—the territory of Erika’s father—in the west. The regions all retained the names they’d had as sovereign nations. At present, Ignitia had brought them together into a united kingdom, with the former royal lineages of Lucanlandt, Hafan, and Aurelia falling to the status of retainers despite maintaining control of their lands.
Lucanlandt was the oldest and the first to be inhabited by humans. The cold, harsh climate had forged a brave and sincere temperament in its people. This region was home to an abundance of daring swordsmen and skilled medics. As the magic of this world did not branch
into healing, the treatment of heavy injuries was often based on medicinal practices with roots in Lucanlandt.
Hafan had been developed by the second wave of people to migrate to Ichthyes. A majority of it was covered in dense woodland, while the rest was composed of grassy plains and grain fields. Hafan was known for turning out talented magicians in great numbers.
In Ignitia, knights rode dragons rather than horses. The people of Ignitia had come up from a continent in the south during a time when the wicked nation of Casquetia ruled over Ichthyes with an iron fist. Ignitia destroyed Casquetia with the immense power of their dragon knights and gained total control of all the nations. They were proud conquerors indeed.
Aurelia had been the last to emerge. It was a country of alchemists formed by the Seafaring Tribe. While it was not yet possible to turn base metals into gold, ever since they’d stumbled upon a large, natural gold vein, they had become the continent’s most affluent region.
The current ruler, Duke Ernst Aurelia, was Erika’s father. The Duchess had died before Erika turned three, and Ernst remained a widower, never remarrying.
Whatever memories Erika had of her mother were terribly vague. The warmth when she held Erika in her arms, her gentle singing voice, the soft and loving sensation of her fingers when they traced her daughter’s face... Erika could only recall such fragmentary snippets. She attributed this to the difficulty for memories to take root in such tender years, but it still saddened her that they were few and far between.
“Lady Erika! Are you there, Lady Erika?”
Once again, the voices of the maids searching for her echoed from beyond the door. Erika had nearly drifted off to a realm of reminiscence, but she shook off such thoughts, knowing now wasn’t the time.
I don’t have time to get emotional.
Very soon, an event would take place that would raise her death flag.
She continued making her way through the books, bolstering her knowledge as she gathered information on Aurelia and Hafan. As she was fishing through a pile of documents, she heard the sound of the door opening behind her.
“Oh, there you are. You shouldn’t trouble the maids too much, Erika. What’s wrong?”
