Chapter 4: Chapter 4: Family Day, And Falling Apart

What is happening to me? What is happening to my life? I have never laughed like that before. Okay, I'm sure somewhere in my backstory I have, but never in this game. In any playthrough. Should I be happy? I feel kinda happy, but... this is all wrong. Another glitch? Things have been off from the very start. Ever since I saw her wear a different hairpin. She still wears it, every day. I've just gotten so used to it that I only rarely remember it's supposed to be a sunflower.

And the oddities have just kept piling up since. Every event seems to happen differently from how it's supposed to. I'm now convinced I was correct about Emma's test results in the first round not being quite right.

The cleaning event is so far the only mandatory one that played out exactly as normal. The player picked the second most popular option. You can't call that abnormal. And nothing that happened was unprecedented. Everything happened just as it has happened several times before. But I keep going over it in my mind, just in case I've missed something.

The race was a pretty big shock. I have absolutely no count of how many times I've been through this game, but the results of that race have always been exactly the same. I was supposed to end up in fourth place. And... I think Emma tried to reach out to me afterwards... I almost wish I had reached back... her smile was as beautiful as it was shy... but instead I panicked. What if I was truly free to do what I wanted in that moment? I may never know...

And the practical exam... I'm just glad Emma wasn't hurt. It shouldn't have happened. It really shouldn't have. And I did things that shouldn't have been possible.

At least all non-event related scenarios, and optional scenes have played out as they're supposed to. We've overall been following a normal route. I just need to be wary of the major events, in case any more glitches occur. Let's see... the next one should be...

Oh, there's Emma. With Arthur. They're talking about something. I'm too far away to be able to hear what they're saying, but I think I recognise this encounter. I'm on my own, so if it's what I think it is... yes. They part ways, he walks away from me, and she walks towards me. This is a simple one.

She notices me, and pauses for just a step before altering her course to go around me. I keep walking nonchalantly until she's just about to pass me, and then I slam my hand into the wall in front of her. She lets out an audible squeak.

"L-Lady Francine?" She nervously looks at me.

I lean in, and she backs up against the wall. "You shouldn't be talking to Lord Arthur. He doesn't have time for someone like you. Know your place." It's right next to me.

This close up I can clearly see the discomfort in her eyes. Maybe even fear. It makes me feel uncomfortable, so I back off, and pull my hand away. It shouldn't be too long until she regains her fire, but for now...

"I hope you get it, Grenier," I say, and walk away. She doesn't respond.

Even though that played out as it was supposed to, I don't feel particularly happy about it. I had hoped that doing something normal again would make me feel better, but instead I just feel like a piece of shit. Well, I am a piece of shit. That's how I was written. How I was created. I'm meant to be someone the player can hate. Someone Emma can hate. I had accepted that as fate. Something I couldn't do anything about.

Argh! All these glitches are messing up my mind. Messing up everything. Even if the next save file returns to being normal, and everything happens according to the script again, am I going to feel okay about that? Or will I be too changed? Maybe that is what they meant by becoming corrupted. If I'm lucky I won't remember any of it.

Wait... was I supposed to lean in over Emma like that? Wasn't I supposed to just block her way? Oh no... is it spreading to side-events too?

* * *

It is time for another event, and this one I have actually been looking forward to a lot. It's one of my favourites. Possibly the favourite.

It's family day. No classes today, instead everyone's families are coming to visit. Well, not everyone at once. Today is for the first-years. Then the second-years have theirs next week, and the third-years the week after that.

It's an old tradition. Initially started as certain parents wanted to come, and check on the conditions of their children. Eventually it turned into an official event. This is an isolated area, we all live in dorms, and there are only so many holidays, so we don't get to see a lot of our families while we're attending the academy. It's even worse for those whose families live far away. Everyone tries to be brave of course, but homesickness is not uncommon.

I do mostly okay, but I know Emma has some issues with it. In part because of the hard time I give her. She has friends, and her love interests, but it's still tough sometimes. Her previous school was a local one, where she still lived at home, and rode a broom to school every day. Sounds very... quaint.

So family day is for the benefit of both the students, and their visiting families. There are tours around the academy and the grounds, they get to see the dorms, talk to the professors, and see how well the students have settled in. It's open to parents, siblings, guardians, and any other close relations.

For instance for Otto it's hard for his father and mother to make it, as it's hardly the sort of excuse a ruler can take just to visit their son for a day. Instead his brother, the second prince Fredrik, has come to visit, along with the nanny who basically raised Otto. Fredrik looks very different from his brother, with a more brownish orange to his hair, and grey eyes that look like they can see your soul. He carries himself differently too. Definitely more regal. Though it's clear he's fond of Otto.

Arthur has his mother, and younger brother Victor come to visit. It's pretty astounding how closely the two brothers resemble each other. Victor looks exactly like a smaller version of Arthur. If they ever grew up to be the same height, you might believe they were twins.

Gabriel has both his parents, and his older sister Camille come to visit. She's an elegant beauty with long, dark hair. I think it's also supposed to be green, but just like Gabriel's eyes it's so dark that it looks nearly black. I hate to admit it, but I think she's prettier than me. Though she's older too. If I got to grow up, maybe I'd also become beautiful like that. But I'm stuck in the loop of this game's story.

Valleroy is an only child, but both of his parents could make it. He's like a copy of his father, except with his mother's hair. They seem to adore their son, and they both know Emma well, of course.

Speaking of, Emma has both parents, her little brother Emile, and her little sister Claire visiting. They seem like a very close family, with all of them giving Emma hugs. Especially her mother seems reluctant to let her go. I'm a little jealous. My mother hasn't hugged me since I was little. It's just not a thing in our family for parents to behave that way towards their children once they've reached a certain age. I wonder if I would have turned out differently if we were more like Emma's family.

"Fran-fran!"

Ah, here comes the reason this is possibly my favourite event in the whole game. A girl 10 years of age is running towards me. My darling little sister.

"Louise!"

She leaps at me, I catch her, and twirl her around in the air.

"Ahaha, my little Lou, how I've missed you!"

Her giggling is enchanting. "I'm not little any more, Fran-fran!" she declares proudly.

"Oh dear, my mistake. You've grown so much, haven't you?"

"Uh-huh!"

"Now come here." I hug her close, and smooch her cheek.

"Eee, stop it, Fran-fran!"

"Never!"

It might not be proper for our parents to be too affectionate with us, but I will spoil my little Lou as much as I'm able. It's the only good I am able to do.

"Francine."

I look at the woman who just spoke my name. "Hello, mother," I say, and smile calmly at her. I take after my mother a lot, though I am slightly taller than her, and have my father's eyes. Meanwhile Louise has our mother's gentle green eyes. It's otherwise a little early to tell which parent she takes after the most. I would say she's more of a mix than I am.

"I hope you are well," mother says.

I put Louise down, and compose myself in a manner more befitting a lady of my status. "Naturally. And even better now that you two are here."

Please do not mistake my earlier words. I love my mother, and hold no ill will against her. Though it's only natural to wonder sometimes, right? My father wasn't able to make it. He couldn't get away from business, but so long as I get to see Louise, that's the important part. It's a shame this is her only appearance in the game. So it's all the more precious, and important to savour.

Also part of this event is Emma getting to talk to the families of the boys. To learn more about them from a different point of view, I suppose. And she tells her own family about how she's been. Nothing about the bullying though. At least... she's not supposed to, but with all the glitches... what if she suddenly does? It's not like they could really do anything about it... except pull her from the academy, or maybe try to talk to the professors... no, it will do me no good to worry about it.

I look over towards them. Emma is actually looking my way. Is that a smile on her lips? It's hard to tell at this distance, but it kinda looks like it. I suppose I don't seem so scary like this, but... why do I feel so self-conscious about it?

"Are you okay, Fran-fran?"

"Huh?" I completely spaced out there. Not good. I look down at Louise. "Of course, little Lou. I'm fine."

She furrows her brow. "Are you sure? You look funny."

"I look 'funny'? Isn't that a rude thing to say to your big sister?"

"Nuh-uh!" She starts running in circles around me. "Funny, funny, funny Fran-fran!"

"Why, you..." I grab her. "I'll teach you." She squeals with delight.

"Now now, calm down, you two," my mother says. "You shouldn't be making a scene."

We both look up at her. She's right, of course, but I really needed this boost to my spirits after all the weirdness lately. It's possible I got too carried away.

"So... who's that?" Louise suddenly asks.

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"Hm?" I see she's pointing towards Emma, and her family. "Oh... that's just one of my classmates," I say as casually as I can.

"A lowborn?" my mother asks. She's probably guessing based on the look of her family.

"Yes." Not much more I can say. My family doesn't really fraternise much with families outside of our social rank. Unless someone petitions us for something, but that's not quite the same thing.

"That girl looks about my age," Louise says. She would be right, as I believe Claire is one year older. "Can I go talk to her?"

"I..." I'm not sure that's a good idea, but I understand why she wants to. She doesn't meet a lot of children that are around her own age. I look towards mother, who is also hesitating. Neither of us like denying Louise anything, but neither of us are fond of the idea, even if we have different reasons for feeling that way. "I need to properly show you around first. Maybe later," I say sweetly, and pat Louise on the head.

"Mm... okay!"

The first tour is about to start. Hopefully Louise will forget about it before long.

Though there are two things that niggle at me. I'm not sure if this conversation was supposed to play out as it did. And I have this feeling that there's something I'm supposed to do, or to have done, but... I can't remember. I think I'm happy just focusing on my little Lou today.

* * *

I've not been feeling great since Louise went back home. I'm certain that day was supposed to have played out differently, but whatever it was meant to be I'm not able to bring it to mind. I enjoyed just focusing on her, and not worrying about anything else. Now I feel sad that I won't get to see her again until the next time I go through a new game, and she won't remember any of it. It's not the first time I've thought about it, but I can't remember it ever hitting me this hard before.

It's all these glitches' fault. They've messed me up. Made me think about a bunch of things I shouldn't have. Completely unnecessary thoughts. I bet I'm corrupted. While I don't remember those playthroughs, I have read about corrupted save data complaints in the text that sometimes comes to me, and I wouldn't be surprised if that's what's happening.

"Are you alright, Lady Francine?"

It takes me a moment to realise who's talking to me. Bella and Eloise are walking with me, and Bella spoke up.

"I... I'm fine, thank you." An absolute lie.

I can feel the heavy pause before she speaks again. "It's just... you seem a bit down."

"I said, I'm fine."

"O-of course. I'm sorry, Lady Francine."

That was too curt of me. I know. Followers or not, they don't deserve me snapping at them when they only express concern. They are still friends, right? So why can't I bring myself to apologise?

Hm? There's some commotion up ahead. Oh. This one. Three girls have surrounded Emma in the hallway, and are picking on her. Her back is against the wall, and she can't get away. She could probably take them all easy if she wanted to. Her magic far exceeds theirs, and so does her physical strength, but she's a good girl. And she'd definitely get expelled. One of them notices me, and they get louder.

This is a result of my ostracising actually working. The girls are from another class, and are harassing Emma to try to gain favour with me. Old me counted this as a moment of triumph. Current me does not. I lost my stomach for this scenario many playthroughs ago.

There's just no class to these girls. No effort put into their bullying. No plan. No elegance. No ingenuity. It's just harassment. Okay, technically what I do is also harassment, but there's a difference. I actually put care, and thought into what I do. I don't just... trap someone in such an ugly way. Do I?

I don't even want to look. I've already not had a good day... a good week, even, and this is just galling. I know one of the boys is going to show up to save her shortly. Whomever she has the most favour with. Yes, even if it's Gabriel. He manages to find his voice and courage to stand up for Emma. I should just hurry past.

... She's crying.

"Hey! Stop it!" How dare they? "Only I am allowed to bully E- Grenier!" The three girls jump, and look at me with wide eyes. "Get! Out! Of! Here!" I growl. The three girls briefly look at each other, and then run away. I really wanted to grab them by their skinny little necks, and shake them until they got sick.

"L-Lady Francine?"

I look to the side, and see Eloise looking very shocked. On my other side Bella has pretty much the same expression. Why are they looking at me like that?

Wait... what did I just... that wasn't supposed to happen... but that's... what I've wanted to say, for so many runs of this game. Maybe not those exact words, but... I've never been able to. Another glitch? It felt... cathartic. And kinda scary. I nearly said her first name.

"I..." I don't know how I was able to do that. It shouldn't be possible.

"U-um... Lady Francine?"

My eyes snap forward again. Emma is standing right in front of me, looking very timid. I can tell she's tried to wipe her tears, but she's still a mess.

"Th-thank you... for saving me," she says.

I don't know how to respond to her gratitude. She shouldn't be grateful to me. I don't deserve to be thanked. I... I only did it for selfish reasons. I'm not even sure how I did it. This is all wrong.

I want so badly to hug her close like I would hold Louise. I can't stand seeing her like this. There's nothing cute about this. Just a scared little girl, thanking the one who caused all this to begin with. But I can't comfort her. It's not my place. One of the boys will come along, and... take care of it... it can't be me.

"Y-you..." You're welcome. It would be so easy to say it. "I didn't do it for you. Hmph." I step around her, and walk away at a brisk pace. I don't even bother to check whether Bella and Eloise are following, or not. I just need to get away.

I don't understand what's happening any longer. Why is this all wrong? What is wrong with me? I didn't feel like I was really in control, yet I did what I actually wanted to do. Are my impulses taking over? Am I acting on my own? That might be the most terrifying possibility of all.

* * *

The second round of exams arrives before I know it, and just as sudden it's time to see the results.

It's pretty much the same idea as last time, except it counts more. It doesn't seem likely for this player, considering what I've seen so far, but it's possible to get low enough scores that it negatively affects their playthrough. The boys' rankings have not changed much, and it's still the same subjects that are important for them. Diplomacy and social studies for Arthur. Nature and animal studies for Gabriel. Sciences for Valleroy. And magic theory for Otto.

But this time Emma can actually rank first in one subject. It takes a bit of dedication, but a skilled player will likely have managed to set it up by this point in the game. While we're still not quite at the point of no return, whichever she ranks first in will be a pretty safe indicator of which route she's going down.

If we discount all the glitches, the event results based on skill checks have been pretty good so far, so I feel like Emma will probably get there this time. There's no way to glitch this one. Just simple skill checks, like the basic tests in practical magic. It was only the more complicated part afterwards that went wrong. No complicated parts here.

So why do I feel so anxious as I look up at the board?

Let's see... she got third in sciences. Sixth in magic theory. Eighth in diplomacy and social studies. And... second in nature and animal studies? No first rank? And two of them were kinda low. Has the player been neglecting their studying? Maybe I've misjudged this run, and they're not as skilled as I thought they were. There's a lot I don't get to see until after the end. They probably still have a good chance with Gabriel, and Valleroy.

While it would be surprising, it is possible this is a failed run. There are plenty of those. Sometimes what the player messes up is so early on that by the time they realise they can't get out of the mess, it's almost better to start over. There are plenty of abandoned saves, as well. As I am still here, this is not abandoned yet. My memories only exist for as long as the game is being played, and if the player abandons their game, my memories of that run stop there. It's not like corrupted saves where I forget everything. So I have seen the earlier parts of the game more than the later ones. But since I'm still here, the player hasn't given up yet.

Well- "WHAT?!" Everyone turns to look at me due to my sudden outburst, but I don't really care right now. Emma is first... in history. She beat me. Wha-

No. No no no. Nooo no no no. This can't be happening. I'm not a route! You can't go down me! ... I wish she would go down me... no, stop it, Francine! This isn't happening. I rub my eyes, and check again.

Exam results: History. 1) Emma Grenier. 2) Francine Lataille. 3) Arthur Merillat.

It's real. But it's not possible. But it's real. But... why? How could this...

Wait. Could there have been a patch? Did they install an update to the game that added... me? I've heard of such things happening to other games, but this game has never gotten any added content. Has that changed? Is that what all the glitches have been about? Why would they do this to me? Why now? After all this time?

I mean, what sort of creator would add such a thing to their game anyway? Who would want this? I'm a terrible, awful person. People don't want terrible things. Do they? There is just no good reason for such a thing to be!

Ugh... but isn't this what I've wanted for so long? A chance to... no. No, this doesn't have to mean anything. I... I shouldn't jump to conclusions. It doesn't have to be a patch. It's another glitch. Corruption. We're going to crash any moment now, and it will all be over.

I can't allow myself to entertain the idea that this is real. I can't allow myself to... hope.