The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

The Chronicles of Azerna—no, scratch that. All games released by Millennium Corp were primarily consumed by one particular audience: otakus.

I was an otaku myself, and the community surrounding that game was absolutely teeming with them.

In subculture circles, the word “heroine” usually referred to the pretty girl characters who ended up with the protagonist. And in that sense, the heroines of The Chronicles of Azerna, regardless of the setting, were all undeniably beautiful characters.

Of course, Lottie was a bit of an outlier when it came to the role of a “heroine.” She wasn’t designed to end up with the main character in the first place.

But that didn’t mean they slacked on her design.

Come on—just because she wasn't part of the main couple didn’t mean she wasn’t part of a couple. And if you half-ass the design of a side couple, people just won’t like them. Writers want the characters they’ve created to be loved, not trashed.

Apparently, when The Chronicles of Azerna was released a bit later in the West, some people complained about Lottie being “too PC” or whatever. But the thing is, that series always had dark-skinned characters.

If the girl’s drawn beautifully, she’s just beautiful—skin color has nothing to do with it. Besides, back in the day, skin tones like that were even considered a kind of moe trait. I guess people don’t use the word “moe” much anymore. Maybe it’s still used in maid cafés?

Anyway, in that sense, Lottie was a beautiful character. The fact that she regularly became the subject of those kinds of doujinshi was proof enough of her popularity.

And of course, the Lottie standing here in this world was just as beautiful.

It’s rare to find someone with such well-defined features that still come together in a way that doesn’t feel unnatural or out of place. Lottie was exactly that kind of beauty.

She usually kept herself humble, spoke in polite language, and wore either a maid outfit or a school uniform... Actually, maybe that’s why she stood out even more? Hmm. I think whenever the boys started talking about her, Jake would show up and steer the conversation away.

Anyway, Lottie now stood in a wedding dress that she’d clearly spent an obscene amount of money on, a bridal veil resting on her head—and she looked absolutely stunning.

The makeup ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) wasn’t heavy, but that only seemed to enhance her pure, innocent charm. I mean, if you apply makeup awkwardly to a “cute girl character,” it just ruins the whole aesthetic.

“Princess.”

“You can just call me by my name in front of others.”

But even then, Lottie could never quite fix the way she spoke. She’d start using my name whenever I asked her to, but she’d always end up reverting to her usual polite tone, and “Princess” would slip out again.

And when I tried to point that out, she’d just apologize, so I figured it made her less uncomfortable if I just let her keep using the title.

Come to think of it, Charlotte, Mia, Sophia, and even Lena still spoke formally to me. At this point, I might as well consider it a quirk and move on.

Maybe it was never my quirk to begin with. I threw it away like a worn-out slipper, after all.

“The nobles up front looked like they had a million questions. I mean, it’s Lindburrow’s wedding, so of course the big shots would show up, but they’re all focused more on the bride than on Jake.”

“...”

“Big sis, Lottie’s already heard that like... five times.”

Oops.

I meant it to ease her nerves, but I guess it was too late.

And if she’s already heard it several times, that means it’s not just idle gossip—it’s something so obvious that everyone’s talking about it.

Lottie never handled being the center of attention well to begin with. I had a feeling she wouldn’t enjoy having the gaze of all those high-ranking nobles drilling into her like that.

“But it can’t be helped,” Charlotte said, already in the room. “Lindburrow’s name is famous even in Belvur. If you count the number of ‘families that absolutely must be invited,’ you’d run out of fingers—and need to borrow someone else’s.”

I guess the saying “guests shouldn’t outshine the bride or groom” was just as valid in this world.

I didn’t like standing out, so I’d kept my outfit simple. And even Charlotte, a royal princess, had dressed modestly.

Though of course, “modest” by this world’s standards was relative—the silver dress she wore had a bare shoulder design that might’ve looked more extravagant than the bride’s in another context. Still, when placed next to a pure white wedding gown, it was the latter that caught the eye.

The nobility here had to think about so much just to get dressed. Honestly, exhausting just to imagine.

“In the end, it’s something you’ll have to overcome,” said Alice, who had chosen a dark green dress instead of the imperial colors of gold and red. Probably for that exact reason. Claire was wearing navy.

For reference, mine was a deep blue—just shy of being black. The skirt wasn’t absurdly wide either, so it wasn’t too attention-grabbing. Each of our dresses had their own flair, sure, but gathered here at this wedding, where nearly every woman wore similar designs, none of us stood out all that much.

They were colorful, sure, but they canceled each other out. In fact, because of all the vivid dresses around, the white bridal gown drew the eye even more.

Wearing white to someone else’s wedding in this world was practically asking for a fight. Which, yeah, fair. No one’s going around in a wedding dress just for fun.

“I-I’m fine! I’m a high-ranking noble too, you know! Not all high-ranking nobles are scary!”

“Mia, that’s really not helping,” Charlotte said with a sigh.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

“It’s your wedding,” Sophia said gently, placing a hand on Lottie’s shoulder. “No one’s going to say anything if you stand a little taller. Because today, you’re the star.”

“Honestly,” I added, “who here would dare say anything? Anyone who tried would get beat down from all sides.”

Lottie looked up at me with wide eyes.

“Do you really think so? I’m just a commoner...”

“And the guy who begged to marry you is the son of a duke,” I said. “It’s not like you threw yourself at him—he fell for you first. Besides, Lindburrow isn’t just some noble family. They’re way more powerful than people realize. Sure, their mansion is in the southern continent, but their northern holdings are massive too—nothing to scoff at. And being in a warmer region, they produce tons of fruit and other crops.”

Alice spoke with her arms crossed.

“And now that you’re marrying in, Duke Lindburrow will do everything he can to protect you. That’s the kind of man he is.”

Of course, that very trait had led to some... unfortunate consequences involving Lottie’s mother. But that wasn’t something to bring up right now.

The fact that Lottie had Lindburrow blood was an open secret. But people still referred to her as “just a commoner with no ties” because, well, the man who was technically her father was under the duke’s protection. Not that anyone expected him to show up at an official event or anything.

“So yeah. You really don’t need to worry so much.”

“Um... I know you’re all trying to say nice things, but... do we really need to bring politics into this on her wedding day?”

Sophia frowned, clearly fed up with the topic after all her time at the academy.

And that brought our conversation to a halt.

I guess we’d all gotten so used to discussing things like that because of who we were. It had just become a habit.

An awkward silence settled in—

Knock knock.

Someone tapped on the door to the bridal room.

Claire quickly moved to open it.

“Lottie!”

The moment the door opened, a girl burst in, shouting Lottie’s name with excitement—

“Huh?!”

—then froze the instant she saw the rest of us.

“Miss Baker,” I said, greeting her with a pleasant smile.

“P-Princess...”

She stiffened.

Looked like she’d come here to escape the high-ranking nobles... only to run into ones even higher up.

I’d told her so many times at the academy to just call me by name, but she could never quite do it.

The wall of the class system really was high...

...Maybe I should introduce her to a properly high-ranking noble family too? Her father, Mr. Baker, seemed to be aiming in that direction.

Not that she’d ever agree to it, of course.