Thinking back, it might have been fate all along.

The day I met her—a small child nesting a small dragon in her embrace.

It was a gloomy day unlike any other. Grey clouds shrouded the sun, casting a ghastly hue on the already grim mansion. I was with my mother, and she was with hers.

We were becoming sisters, even though she and I had no blood relation whatsoever.

Ignoring the gigglings of the adults, I stared at her lifeless black pupils. For a moment, it seemed as though only we were left in the world. My heart tightened.

''...Well, standing here in this cold weather is not right. Let us go in.''

The woman—her mother—said with a faint smile as if worrying for us. For some reason, her gaze, which had just fallen on me briefly, seemed unsettling. Nevertheless, she was right. There was nothing to gain by standing outside the mansion.

As I turned to the woman standing beside me, a pair of red eyes identical to mine greeted me. She gently brushed her light blue hair back, the corners of her mouth forming a curve.

''Cecily, my darling. From now on... this will be our new home.''

Just like that, I gained a new home. It wasn't as though we couldn't manage ourselves, but I suppose my... mother felt frustrated at our less-than-luxurious lifestyle.

Passing through numerous maids and a neatly dressed butler, we promptly arrived inside the mansion. Even though there were many people, the atmosphere was... cold. It was near winter right now, though. So maybe it was because of that.

''Oh, I almost forgot.'' The child's mother spoke up again. ''This is Lyra, my daughter. Please take care of her from now on, Cecilia.''

''Ah... yes.''

The child, Lyra, was pushed toward me. At this point, she still seemed lifeless, uncaring, and somewhat pitiful.

''Play with her for a bit, Cecily. Mom will need some time alone with Gloria, alright?''

My mother stroked my head, then headed somewhere with the other woman. I couldn't help but cringe at the sight of my mother's bottom being squeezed by her... ugh, what in the world had I seen?

After a sigh, I turned back to the child. She was still looking at me intently, yet her face exuded no emotion.

''Can we... play another time? I'm a bit tired.'' I slightly crouched down and said.

''Mhm.''

The girl casually nodded.

Swiftly, two maids arrived at the scene as if prepared for this. One of them took Lyra away, and the other one guided me to my room. The latter's eyes weren't too friendly, but I honestly had no complaints.

''Whew...''

As I flopped down the pristine bed, drowsiness invaded.

I was indeed a bit tired from traveling, not to mention my abysmal stamina. Still, I needed to sort out the situation right away.

''...''

What the fuck.

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

I glared at the ceiling for no reason.

First of all, it seemed I had been transported into a game. More specifically, a kinky futanari dating sim that I used to play with one hand. Seriously, pressing the controller with my right hand while thrusting with my left hand was quite awkward at the beginning.

How did I know it was a game?

The child earlier... she was the heroine of the game.

Lyra de Orleans.

Pitch-black hair and eyes, with a black dragon pet. There was no mistaking it.

Growing up in an abusive environment, the shy and reserved Lyra met a number of love interests with their own stories, thus getting healed by them as they got healed by her. It was truly a heartwarming tale...

If not for the fact that it was also unapologetically horny. The harem ending's last cutscene where a foursome took place was... something. Um.

Now, according to the plotline, there was an evil step-sister who took the role of a minor villainess as well. Why? I guess the writer thought Lyra didn't suffer enough because of her psychopathic mother.

And that step-sister was me.

Cecilia de Orleans.

That was my name now.

I died under Lyra's hands only a year or two later, apparently.

Yeah, just fuck me in the ass raw instead of doing this, you sneaky bitch of a god. I'm not even sure if it was a god who did this to me.

''Hah...''

The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to throw myself out the window. And... well... the settings in this game were quite generic.

A slightly more modern Europe with a weird magic system.

That was how I would describe it. Here, instead of cultivating mana like any sane person would, people opted to use magic by relying on Soul Guardians—pets, basically.

They were like a premium version of pets. Each person only had one, and the two would be inseparable from birth.

Lyra's Soul Guardian was that cute black dragon, and mine was...

[You look dead.]

''...I am dead.''

[You're not wrong, heh.]

This strange-looking chibi black lamb. Did female sheeps always have horns? What were they called, anyway?

Ewes?

It sounded like I was spewing gibberish all of a sudden.

In any case, I was determined to survive this world. Dragging myself up, I walk to the full-length mirror near the desk. The one singular advantage of this body, aside from its wonderful death flags, was the outer appearance.

Cecilia, just like her mother, was inhumanely beautiful. She, or rather, I, had inherited my mother's light blue hair, which resembled the vast sky, and exquisite red eyes. Combined with a curvy body and an unnaturally seductive face, hardly anyone could match this woman.

''A-Ah.''

Even her voice dripped like honey. It was... lewd. Somehow.

As I silently admired myself, the lamb sitting on my shoulder snorted.

[I thought you changed for good, but are you seriously staring at the mirror again?]

''...''

It seemed the original Cecilia was a narcissist.

''Too many complaints for a freeloader, Lucy.''

The freeloader, Lucy, shrugged with her cute body.

[Still, what are you going to do from now on?]

''From now on, huh...''

Firstly, there was absolutely no way I would touch Lyra. Going against the heroine? The Heaven's darling? I wasn't that stupid. To reliably navigate through the major crises of the original scenario...

No matter what, raising the heroine to be the strongest would be the most realistic. Now that I wasn't sure if there was someone controlling Lyra from beyond the dimensions, escaping somewhere to then being slapped in the face because the heroine wasn't powerful enough would be a disgrace.

As a(?) wise protagonist(s) used to say, hugging the heroine's thighs was always the best!

Having that steeled in my mind, I firmly took a step...

...toward the bed.

Saving the world or whatever, I needed to sleep first. I was simply too tired.

Drifting into the dreamland, I once again saw my beautiful cat sitting quietly on my game console. She loved that place since it was warm.

Though, I was awoken the next moment by the maid.

''Miss, dinner is ready.''

''...I see.''

I missed you, Charcoal...

Nevertheless, that was quite a nice rest. Following the maid, I arrived at the dining room, where a bountiful meal had been prepared. The House of Orleans, even though it had fallen off a bit, was still a Marquis house, so this is only natural.

''Hm...?''

Noticing a strange detail, I raised my eyebrow. It wasn't that the Marchioness and my mother were openly cuddling, but Lyra was missing.

''May I ask, where is my younger sister?''

''She should be in her room. That child loves solidarity, you see.'' The Marchioness replied.

''She eats alone?''

''Yes.''

''...''

After a bit of contemplation, I grabbed a few sandwiches and excused myself. The same maid had been following me from the beginning—was she my personal maid?

''Hey, um...''

''My name is Mary.''

''Right, Mary. Can you guide me to my sister's room?''

''...Understood.''

If I were to eat... I would choose to do so with my cute little sister instead of suffering while watching that clingy couple. Seriously, this is why normies were...