Chapter 88: Everyone with Their Own Schemes

After that, the three of them lived happily ever after.

With the Narrator’s final words, the stage play came to an end.

“Ah? T-That’s it!?”

“What about the Stepmother? The King? Wasn’t the whole point about hiding a cross-dressing identity for political reasons? What happens next?”

“Come on, it’s just a play, no need to nitpick the details. As long as the ending is good, it’s fine.”

Capital

Just like that, the stage play ended abruptly, causing a stir among the audience below. But for Liyakade and the others, it no longer mattered.

After all, they had already performed according to Sistem’s script, so the audience’s reactions and opinions could be left for Sistem to handle.

“Whew, it’s finally over.”

Arriving backstage, Liyakade let out a relieved sigh.

She had to admit, the script Sistem came up with was really something. When the two confessed to her on stage, Liyakade’s toes almost dug a three-bedroom apartment into the floor.

Just thinking about her last line made it hard to keep a straight face, but luckily she’d practiced a few times before, so she was mentally prepared.

“Phew~”

Of course, Liyakade wasn’t the only one feeling awkward—the two who confessed to her weren’t doing any better. But for them, it was probably more embarrassment than awkwardness.

“I was so nervous…”

Alice still had a blush on her face, not having recovered yet.

“W-Weren’t you all calm when you sneaked off earlier? Why can’t you handle it now?”

Field teased Alice, trying to hide her own embarrassment.

“That’s different! This time the lines were so formal, and it was on stage! How can you compare it to before!”

Alice retorted, face red.

“And besides, Princess Field was the same!”

“I-I wasn’t! That was all acting!”

“As if! Then why does Princess Field still look like that?”

“I just got too into the role! It’s called an actor’s professionalism, okay!”

The two of them bickered fiercely to the side. To put it simply, neither was any better than the other, yet both insisted on winning.

“Not bad, not bad.”

At that moment, Sistem walked over, clapped lightly, and smiled in admiration.

“Everyone acted very well… almost too well to be called acting.”

“W-What do you mean, ‘too well to be acting’!? It was clearly all acting! Whatever… Let’s take it as praise for our acting skills!”

Field hurriedly denied it.

“Sigh… acting.”

Sistem sighed helplessly and changed the subject.

“Anyway, the audience’s response seemed pretty good.”

“This kind of plot can actually get a good response…”

Liyakade’s mouth twitched.

It seemed people in this world were quite accepting of yuri after all.

“Don’t underestimate my taste.”

Sistem showed strong confidence in her script.

“Alright, the performance is over. Go get some rest.”

It was finally over.

Liyakade and the others changed out of their costumes in the dressing room and prepared to rest.

Along the way, they could hear many people discussing the play.

Although this year’s Cultural Festival stage play was different from usual—breaking tradition, adding many innovative elements, even including yuri and a love triangle—many people liked this bold breakthrough.

So, the play received mixed reviews.

Half felt Sistem, as the Second Princess, was too rebellious and didn’t fit mainstream romance values, that the plot was just for attention, a gimmick to draw eyes.

The other half thought it was a masterpiece—Sistem was a rare genius with unimaginable talent, able to boldly break through traditional constraints, believing love didn’t have to be between a man and a woman, that it could also be between two women, and that feelings should be expressed without caring about societal norms.

Just as the Fairy in the play said, as long as there’s love, miracles can happen.

Of course, what people talked about most was the acting of Liyakade and the others—how perfectly and realistically they portrayed the delicacy and beauty of love between girls.

In short, the play caused a sensation at the Cultural Festival.

“Why do I feel like people are staring at us…”

Walking down the road, Liyakade felt like she was attracting more attention than usual.

“Since we just performed a play, it’s normal for others to notice…”

Field said shyly.

Though she was a Princess and used to being in the spotlight, this time it was clearly the play that drew more attention.

Just thinking about her confession on stage made Field’s face turn red.

“Yeah…”

Alice also felt for the first time what it was like to be so eye-catching.

Fortunately, the Dormitory wasn’t far.

Once they got back, the three felt much more at ease.

“It’s all her fault! So many people stared at us on the way back!”

Field flopped onto the bed, then sat up and started complaining about her sister.

“In the end, it’s all because her script was so weird. If it had been a bit more normal, things would’ve been fine.”

“Really? I thought Princess Field seemed to be enjoying it.”

Alice shot back.

“Tch…”

Field found herself unable to refute.

She’d been complaining about Sistem’s script, mostly because their relationship wasn’t great.

But if she was being honest, she’d been happy.

Feelings she couldn’t express in real life could be conveyed to Liyakade through the lines and performance of the play.

Just as Sistem said, it didn’t feel like acting.

Though Field insisted otherwise, when she confessed as the Prince, her heart was pounding.

For a moment, she even wished the play could become reality and the story could continue with them living happily together.

But in reality, it was impossible.

First of all, Field didn’t have the courage to express her feelings, nor did she know if Liyakade would accept them like in the story.

She knew Alice had also shown feelings toward Liyakade in real life, but Liyakade had never clearly responded, making Field even less willing to confess.

What’s more, as the Kingdom’s Third Princess, Field was bound by the rules to marry a male noble, or be sent to another nation for a political marriage.

On stage, it could all be skipped over with a line from the Narrator.

But in real life, if Field truly wanted to be with Liyakade, it would be more difficult than reaching the heavens. Not only public opinion across the Kingdom, but even her own father might not support her.

Sometimes Field envied Alice.

As a commoner, she didn’t have so many responsibilities.

Even if Alice and Liyakade, both girls, had a forbidden relationship, few would blame them.

Therefore, although Field often complained about Sistem’s script, deep down, she was actually grateful to her sister, and her long-held resentment lessened.

“Anyway, it’s different!”

Field couldn’t think of a rebuttal, but stubbornly refused to admit it.

“Miss Liakade, what do you think? Was acting in the play fun?”

Alice turned to Liyakade.

“Well, I think it was fun.”

Though the original Cinderella story had been altered beyond recognition, Liyakade actually found it interesting.

“T-Then… how did you feel about that…?”

Alice asked shyly.

“Th-That? Which one?”

Liyakade scratched her face, eyes dodging as she pretended not to understand.

How could she not know what Alice meant by ‘that’?

If Alice had never shown any strange feelings toward her before, it might have been different, but Alice had clearly expressed herself before.

The ‘that’ she spoke of was obviously the final kiss in the play.

If Liyakade pretended not to notice, she’d be far too dense.

Liyakade was sure Alice’s confession contained more than just acting.

There was a bit of real emotion mixed in.

When those soft lips lightly touched her cheek, Liyakade’s mind almost went blank.

As for Field, while Liyakade didn’t know if Field’s feelings for her were the same as Alice’s, the performance at that moment also felt genuine.

Still, faced with Alice’s question, Liyakade chose to play dumb, since she wasn’t ready and hadn’t figured out her own feelings.

“Miss Liakade is playing dumb again! Hmph!”

Alice pouted.

“Cough, cough…”

Liyakade coughed a few times and awkwardly changed the subject, turning to Field.

“Field, you acted in a scene with Her Highness Sistem today. It seems your relationship isn’t that bad after all.”

“Tch, it just looks that way. We haven’t talked in ages, and I don’t even know why she suddenly wanted me for the play.”

Field still had no respect for Sistem.

“Hmm… do you think it’s possible Her Highness Sistem wanted to get along with you?”

Liyakade thought for a moment and decided to voice her guess.

Although Sistem had never explained her intentions, Liyakade already knew.

Not because Sistem was careless or had let something slip, but because Liyakade had played the original work before transmigrating.

So she knew the real reason Sistem had been hiding all along.

“Hah? Don’t joke. She obviously wanted to mess with me by making me act in such a weird script.”

Field couldn’t believe Liyakade’s theory.

In an ordinary person’s eyes, the script was obviously meant to be a prank.

And Sistem had insisted on making Field play the main role in such a play—if it wasn’t to mess with her, what was it for?

“Hmm… that’s true.”

Liyakade thought about it.

If Sistem wanted to reconcile, wouldn’t it make more sense to write a normal script and let Field be the lead and shine?

Why use such a strange play? Did Sistem have some other motive?

But in the original story, Sistem just wanted to make up with Field.

While Liyakade was lost in thought, Field suddenly froze.

She realized a terrifying possibility.

Before Sistem approached her, the script was already written.

The roles for Alice and Liyakade had been set, with only the Prince’s part left uncast.

Now it seemed that spot had been reserved for her.

But why did it have to be a yuri plot?

Could it be… Sistem had already seen through her feelings for Liyakade?