It's quite a romantic term. Especially for a woman.
In novels and dramas, isn't it always the one who becomes the main character of Cinderella's story?
However, reality was different from novels and dramas.
After my mother died, I was tormented almost to death by the two half-brothers who appeared one day.
Ignorance and verbal abuse were commonplace.
It was standard to play nasty tricks on the food I ate and the space I lived in, and they cleverly orchestrated my isolation, making my school life a mess.
Since the second bastard and I were not much apart in age, we attended the same school for a year.
Even after he graduated, my situation at school only got worse, not better.
My father's legitimate wife had passed away from a chronic illness long before I was born.
Yet those madmen treated me as if I were their mother's murderer.
Sometimes I even got confused about how badly they treated me.
I wondered if, while in my father's testicles, I had cursed their mother with her chronic illness.
While living in that house, I felt like a child no one would even bother to feed.
I preferred the times when I lived in a small room with my mother, having nothing.
My weight dropped dramatically, and in its place, the number of scars and wounds on my body gradually increased.
Yet the man who brought me into that house, my father, didn't care at all.
'If you're going to treat me like this, why didn't you just send me to an orphanage?'
Such complaints and appeals were useless to everyone.
Whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, I, who grew up in poverty under a single mother, was quick to resign and give up.
It was futile to seek attention and love from people who didn't even treat me like a pet.
I had no money and nowhere to go if I left that house, so I studied hard until I graduated from school.
I got accepted into a prestigious university.
It wasn't to gain recognition from the bastards and my father; it was to escape that hellish house.
On the day the acceptance results were announced, I ran to my father with a bright smile, the first time since I entered that house.
"Father! Look at this! I got accepted here! I got accepted!"
"So what? Tell me why you came."
Even seeing my face filled with joy, my biological father didn't even offer a simple congratulations.
But it was fine. I didn't come to hear a congratulatory message.
"Please let me live independently! I want to live near the school and work hard at university. You can do this much for me, can't you?"
My father, who seemed surprised by my unexpected request, frowned.
But wasn't this a good thing for him too?
The thorn in his side was leaving on her own!
"Alright. Get ready."
The escape, which seemed impossible, went smoothly.
During this time, my father, who was grooming his eldest bastard as his successor, did something absurd by entrusting my independence preparations to him.
Because of this, I ended up living in a moldy semi-basement, but even that was fine.
After leaving that house, everything was happy.
I forgot the dark times of my middle and high school years and made many friends.
I also discovered games thanks to this.
"Princess's Love Love Project? What is this? It looks completely childish."
It was a mobile game that was incredibly popular among my friends these days.
Just from the corny title and the dazzling illustrations, I could guess what it was about.
I didn't really want to play it, but to at least know the content, I downloaded it.
It was also a day off from my part-time job.
The game was divided into two modes: Normal and Hard.
"Normal."
I clicked on Normal mode without hesitation, planning to play a bit and then go to sleep.
When I turned on the game, a video prologue played, introducing the characters.
[The youngest daughter of a duchy, who lost her family in a childhood accident, finally returns to reclaim her position as a princess.]
The story began with a lively BGM and a pure female protagonist.
Aside from the noticeably beautiful and high-quality illustrations, it didn't seem particularly special or unique.
It was about raising the affection levels of male characters.
During this, you also deal with the villain and build wealth and fame.
The ending was receiving a love confession from the male character with the highest affection level.
"Oh. It's actually quite interesting?"
But the game, despite its childish and flashy name, had a solid story and a well-structured system.
The vivid illustrations, which seemed to be drawn with the artist's full effort, greatly increased my focus.
Moreover, the main content and situations were similar to my own, making it easy to immerse myself.
Among the main male characters, two were the protagonist's brothers.
Since the main setting was a duchy, I often encountered the brothers who didn't welcome the suddenly appearing sister and bullied her.
'Strangely similar to me.'
Of course, the treatment of the protagonist in the game and what I experienced were worlds apart...
But gradually taking down the bastards was enough to give me a thrill.
I got so engrossed in the game, which I started casually, that I lost myself in it.
Even though it was my first time playing a dating game, I found it easy to reach the ending.
It was fun, but the Normal mode was too easy, even for a beginner like me.
From the start, the affection levels of all the male characters were set at 30%.
It was almost as easy as an Easy mode.
I saw the endings with all the male characters in just three hours.
Then a card for a 'Hidden Ending' appeared, which was locked.
"Ten thousand won? Are you kidding? Why is it so expensive?"
To see the hidden ending, you had to pay an absurd amount or complete the Hard mode.
"Damn... It's already morning."
I thought about my morning classes for a moment, but not for long.
"Ah, whatever! Let's break it!"
I was temporarily crazy from the afterglow of the ending. Normally, I would never do such a thing.
My fingers clicked on the Hard mode with excitement.
A grand BGM played, and a different prologue from the Normal mode began.
"Oh. The protagonist has changed?"
Uniquely, the protagonist changed.
This time, it was the fake princess who was the villain in the Normal mode.
The background also changed to before the Normal mode's protagonist appeared, making it feel like a completely different story.
"So this is why it's popular."
The detailed illustration of the Hard mode protagonist, which made my drowsiness disappear, was very interesting.
The unique feature of having a different protagonist and a different story from a common dating game was very intriguing.
Moreover, the villain, who was cruel to the angelic protagonist in the previous mode, now had to win over the impenetrable male characters.
This added an unknown excitement and thrill.
I happily progressed through the Hard mode, full of confidence from easily completing the Normal mode.
I expected the Hard mode to just have more challenging dialogue choices.
But that was a clear misunderstanding.
"Ah! Why! Why did I die again!"
The Hard mode was incredibly difficult.
The protagonist, who was originally the villain, had a very hard time building affection.
Not only that, but the affection built up with great effort could easily crumble like a sandcastle with one wrong choice, leading to a game over.
Not just a game over, but a game over that led to the protagonist's unpleasant death.
"What is so extreme about this?"
The illustrations were also too cruel and realistic.
The sight of the prince's neck being cut by a sword made me frown.
"This crazy game..."
Every time I died despite careful choices, I was at a loss.
What were the creators thinking when they set the difficulty level like this?
After dying too many times, I became determined.
"Please, just let me survive once!"
The original goal of seeing the 'Hidden Ending' had long disappeared.
I wanted to see an ending where this poor villain survived and became happy with anyone.
'Actually, what did the villain do wrong? She only became a villain because the author made her one!'
Moreover, unlike the Normal mode's protagonist, who easily gained everyone's love, the villain, who begged for affection, only received bullying, which overlapped with my own situation.
"I will definitely see the endings of these characters."
I was killed again by the bastards.
My teeth chattered as I clenched them.
I had already died countless times.
My hands, tightly gripping the heated phone, trembled.
I realized I had immersed myself too much, but I couldn't stop pressing the reset button.
I started over from the beginning.
I chose dialogues, gradually built affection, and gathered money and fame to open new routes.
"Aah! Why! Why!"
But I died again.
I was so frustrated that I even thought about using money to buy affection.
If the purpose was to encourage in-game purchases, this game was a huge success.
It made me, who saved money so I wouldn't have to beg the bastards, think about spending money.
In the end, I didn't spend money, but with the determination to see at least one ending, I burned the night away.
Dying, starting over.
Dying again, starting over.
Dying,
Dying,
And dying again.
Endlessly dying, the sky eventually turned light.
But by then, I hadn't broken any of the Hard mode endings.
"Damn... Again..."
Just as I was about to press the reset button again, I couldn't hold on any longer and fell asleep, holding the phone.
And when I opened my eyes.
"Penelope Eckhart."
A man said, with an empty gauge above his head and the words "Affection 0%" flashing.
"For now, I will take away the Eckhart name from you."
I had become the villain in the game that I couldn't break.