Requiem of the Villainess

Chapter Two: Wicked Girl

Chapter Two: Wicked Girl

In Japan, the most popular video game among teenage and young adult girls at this time was undoubtedly the otome game "Song of Walpurgis." A dark fantasy tale set in a realm reminescent of feudal England, with slight notes of German inspiration, the game centered around the bubbly, pink-haired heroine Lilac Ellmeyer, a commoner girl brought into the royal court after being rescued from bandits by the handsome and charming Prince Luther Eckhart. As a commoner among nobles, many hardships were heaped upon her, and in order to prove her dedication to the prince and the Kingdom of Walpurgis, Lilac was challenged to set off on a dangerous quest to retrieve a magical blade known as the Sword of Sealing from the den of a dragon called Fafnir.

Along the way on her journey in the game's story, Lilac was forced to contend with an array of deadly traps in order to get the heroine crushed, cursed, kidnapped, or eaten, all arranged by the game's villainess- Lady Lillian Lancaster, the spiteful and jealous fiance of Prince Luther. Based on the player's choices in the game, Lilac could either defeat or escape from the enemies attempting to entrap her, befriend and romance them as one of the dateable characters, or meet one of many gruesome bad endings. After conquering the traps, slaying the dragon, and retreiving the sword, the heroine could reach her happy ending with the handsome suitor of her choice. The villainess, on the other hand, was convicted for her evil deeds and banished to the home of Count Claude Fleur to become his slave-wife.

Despite such a simple concept, the otome game became the obsession of girls around Japan, and also sparked controversy and backlash among angry parents and more sensitive folks for its heavy subject matter and graphic violence, none of which was censored. Parents called it a travesty that would ruin the pure minds of their children, while the media called it vulgar smut to corrupt young girls, but to one young woman, it was the game she invested her very life into, in more ways than one...

All alone, a raven-haired woman sits upright in a hospital bed, IV tubes tangled around her arms as she shakily clutches the grip of the PS Vita, her dreary, dull eyes focused on the content within the bright, colorful screen.

No family has come to visit her yet. The only friends keeping her company are those she speaks to in real time through her messaging app. They may not be there in person, but they are in spirit, showing their support with encouraging words and sparkling heart emotes.

They all fear for their beloved friend, but they are separated by hundreds or thousands of miles, some even separated by oceans. Their love of otome games was what brought them together, but the bonds they built was what made them stay. The woman is closer to some of these people than she is to her own family members. She spills her deepest, darkest secrets to them in her time of need. She only wishes that somehow, someday, in this life, maybe even in the next life, she would find a way for them to all be together.

Plunging herself into otome games is a way to distract herself from the dire reality of her situation. Because in the end, it is outside of her hands. It is not her fault that her body decided to make an enemy out of itself.

She looks down at the character sprites on screen and smiles. It is Lilac Ellmeyer being cradled in the arms of her beloved Prince Luther. If only she could be held like that, in the arms of someone she loves. A single tear runs from her eye, breaks off, and splashes onto the screen. "Before it all ends," she asks to herself, "can I please have a happy dream?"

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I awoke feeling like utter rubbish, my head pounding as though my brain was about to explode from its skull container. I sat up in a field of dry grass and rubbed my aching temples. I didn't remember walking out here on my own.