I Get Isekai'd Into an Otome Game

Chapter Two: Why Are All The Men So Handsome?!

I'd had no clue how on earth this had happened. I mean, don't get me wrong, I love otome games and often wished I could be inside one as the heroine, but this didn't match any game that I knew! I didn't even know if it was an existing game on the market!

I thought back to the five men I had met today. Let's see. . .the first one was stoic and seemed pretty rude, so I bet he's a kuudere, just like Dante from Piofiore. Then there was that sweet guy, Gabriel. He kind of reminded me of Goemon from Nightshade. That guy who knocked over the vase, I'm willing to bet he's really a tsundere. Takeru from Collar X Malice is just as rude when you meet him, too. Then there's that flirty duke, Kayden. He seemed like an Impey from Code: Realize wannabe. Lastly, the prince. I bet he's the true route, he reminded me too much of a bunch of the true routes I'd played, like Lupin from Code: Realize.

Laying in my bed in the maid's quarters, I tried to think back on all that had happened. I couldn't believe this was real. I spent many of my recent years watching anime and playing otome games, so I knew how to navigate this stuff. I just didn't understand how it could actually be happening. Did I die when I was hit by that bus? Am I in a coma with an incredibly elaborate dream? Or was I teleported last-second into this world?

One thing was for certain. I knew very little about this world. I'd have to spend much of my free time in the library reading up on it if I wanted to survive, let alone win the game.

And how was I going to play this, anyways? Would it start over after I achieve an 'ending?' Or will I live out the end of my days in this world? Prince Victor is obviously the true route, so can I even go after him first?

I sat straight up in bed, realizing something. I hadn't finished Shiraishi's route in Collar X Malice!! No! Now I'd never be able to do Yanagi's route and find out who Zero is! I let out a whine, upset at my predicament. I wanted to finish that game!

. . .I really needed to go to sleep. Amelia said I'd be working with Rachel in the kitchens tomorrow and we'd have to get up extra early in order to start. My mind was racing, though. I just couldn't calm down. This was both a dream come true and an absolute nightmare. The worst part about it is I'm all alone. No one here can know about where I'm really from, so I'm going to have to blend in. The only problem? I had no clue how.

---

"You just knocked my flour over!" the head chef scolded me. The head chef was a beefy man with pale skin and a serious-looking face. "You're a maid! You're supposed to be cleaning, not making more messes!"

"Chef Liam, please, forgive her," Rachel pleaded. She was cute. Too bad she wasn't a love interest, just a background character. There was a ring on her left ring finger anyways, so I couldn't get involved with her even if I had wanted to. "Today's only Isabelle's second day. We'll clean it up quickly!"

"I'm sorry, Chef Liam," I apologized, meaning it. Why did I have to be a maid of all jobs? I was already insanely clumsy, that's why my Switch had a warranty on it! I was so tired from not getting any sleep that I'd knocked a full bag of flour over not long after arriving in the kitchens. "I'll clean it up, I promise."

"Hmph. You better," the chef stated, crossing his arms. "Why Amelia sent you here of all places, I'll never know. Just get it cleaned up before we finish breakfast."

"Yes, Sir," I replied, bowing.

Rachel and I started cleaning the flour. "You don't look too good, Isabelle. Did you get any sleep last night?"

"No," I admitted. "I had too much on my mind."

"Nerves?" Rachel asked.

I shrugged. She was right, but I doubt she could guess what those nerves were about. The bags under my eyes were prominent, giving away that I was exhausted.