Once again lost in my thoughts, I made the following conclusions:

I am Velloa Imitheos, child of the Ogygia Kingdom's Spymaster and one of its best Royal Researchers. I also have an older brother of five years, Virgil Imitheos, who is one of the game's love targets. But so far there are already quite a few deviations from the game's original plot-line in my previous life's memories. One was the fact that Velloa (me) is a person of dual elemental affinity, second, that Vain (a 'love target') was dead and third - that I was in control of Vain's body.

...What the hell?! Why do I have to take on two major characters?! Now I have to be careful of not only avoiding my villainess bad end but also of the incoming harem and typical air-headed MC that this world of an otome game has!

With a sigh, I moved onto a different, but related, train of thought:

In the end, when both my friend and I had realized that Vain was not a capturable character, even though we were the players, we got played. Vain wasn't meant to be a love target... We were deceived by his bishounen looks and by the game-makers. What his motivations were for inciting a disastrous demon attack onto the Ogygia Kingdom's capital city, we never got much of a clear answer. While he did more or less say that he wanted to fight Ariana (the MC), such a motivation was too small a reason to launch a largescale attack on a Kingdom's capital with a demon army.

"How is your body feeling, Vain?" Father suddenly asked.

Snapping back to reality, I looked up and replied. "It's... not bad, I think."

Chuckling, he opened the large doors which lead into the room that held Gaea's Embrace. I had seen my Father as Mako (his second body) quite a number of times. Whilst Mako was of a larger build, older looking and had short platinum blonde hair (as opposed to his original long, raven black hair), there's that weird ability which children have that could just 'tell' or 'recognize' their parent, and when I had first seen Mako, I just... knew. In any case, he had told me that Mako was only known by the family and the most trustworthy of people, like the current ruler of Ogygia, Korumak Regieren. As a result, I had to keep both our bodies a secret.

That is quite a big secret that you're asking a six-year-old to keep...

Past the glowing runes and curtains, we were greeted by the sight of the capsules which held our bodies. The Gaea's Embrace capsules looked eerie as they glowed a bright orangey-red. Mother emerged from somewhere behind and greeted us. She had once told me that she kept her youthful look through cryogenic freezing. Apparently, she had gotten that idea when Father used to use that method to preserve his bodies. I know this explains why father looks so young, but for Mother to go to that extent for her beauty... I internally shuddered.

"Go ahead Vain, you can go back to being Velloa." Mother urged.

Letting go of Father's hand, I approached the capsule holding Velloa's body – only to stop right in front of it. Turning to look Mother in the eye, I took a gamble. "Mother, this body... and the darkness magic. I want to know more."

Almost immediately, I saw sadness cross her sky-blue eyes.

An uncomfortable silence ensued for a few seconds. However, just as I was about to dismiss my question, Father spoke. "Ahkua, we should at least explain the 'Encroachment'." Mother's expression turned even more despondent, but she nodded.

Bending down to my eye level, she places a hand on my cheek. "I can't tell you about this body, not yet anyway. But, my child, the darkness magic is quite a strong thing and sadly -out of all the elements- there is a consequence to the magic user's body. It is called the 'Encroachment', we don't know when exactly it will begin, except that not too soon after the first use of darkness magic, the user's heart will be gripped by death. It is possible to survive, but all darkness attribute users suffer greatly from it and many have not survived." She then brings me into a hug. "So please, unless your Father and I say so, do not use any darkness magic."

I don't know what I was expecting, but it was most definitely not that. There was no mention of such a thing in the game or anime...

"Yes, Mother." Came my quiet reply.

After having successfully switched back, I was sent to my room for the night. My maid, Ana, had finally left after lighting a single scented candle; it smelt sweet, perhaps it was vanilla. Velloa's room itself really showed the noble status that her family had. Its size was large enough to be a decent apartment based on my previous life's memories. The game and anime had a Victorian style setting, but not quite like the era. However, the architecture of the Imitheos family's palace (yes, palace) was Roman with the signature high columns and ceilings. Maybe because I've only ever seen the setting of the game, Yohso Academy, I may have been wrong in assuming that the entire world of Gaea was of the same aesthetic...

Whilst shifting myself into a comfy position, I couldn't help but let out a sigh. Sadly, I couldn't quite remember essential details about my previous life's identity. Anything specific about my identity such as my name was almost seemingly wiped out. I couldn't remember the names of people who were around me, but I could recall their faces. Weirdly, the names and faces of fictional people seem to have stayed within those memories.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Neither the 'Hera: Captured Hearts' game nor anime said much about the goings on in the world outside of the romance plot other than the simple facts like magic and demons existed. Luckily, I remember that precious friend of mine telling me about the noble system of the Kingdom of Ogygia. Unlike the traditional noble system in my past life world's history, the noble titles aren't hereditary, instead it is a meritocracy system. Other than the royal family who passes their title, the only thing related to their noble title that can be passed down by a noble is their last name, but only their children can inherit that – their grandchildren cannot unless the children themselves gain a noble title. While it is indeed true that a family which has a forbidden art is recognized as a noble, it is usually due to the fact that the noble -who has inherited the art- would work for the royal family and therefore the Kingdom. Basically, a noble's child is only known as 'the child of a noble' unless they do something for the Kingdom that is deserving of a title.

In the Kingdom of Ogygia there is one sole sovereign known as the 'Imperare' and currently, that person is Korumak Regieren – Kai Regieren's (the fire elementalist love target) Father. Children of the Imperare are called the 'Infante', but the game and anime seem to regard it as a more 'collective' title for all the children of the Imperare since people usually called Kai Regieren "Prince Kai". The title 'Vis-Imperare' is given to the Imperare's partner, however, they can only use that power in case something were to happen to the Imperare and that the Crown-Infante would not yet be capable enough to inherit the title of sole sovereign. That person is currently Dahlia Fermittler, Kai's mother, an earth user and the general of this country's army. Outside of the royal titles, the highest title -in which my father has- is 'Grande' (equivalent to Duke). The next ones are 'Landgrave' and then 'Graf'; the difference between the two is the amount of land that they govern, in which a Landgrave governs more of a city whilst a Graf governs more of a town. Finally, there is the title of 'Beorn' (equivalent to Baron) which is an honorary title given to people such as royal knights and researchers (like Mother), although they are mostly referred to by either 'Royal Knight' or 'Royal Researcher'. While Mother was offered a unique last name, she decided to take Father's instead.

As I was contemplating the world that I was 'born' in, my little six-year-old body insisted that I should give in to sleep... And so, I let my concerns drift away for now and allowed sleep to take over.

After all, there's no need to rush these things...

"AAAAAAAAAHHH!"

Startled, I opened my eyes to the sound of a woman screaming - only to be greeted with the sight of the said woman lying on a bed. I was confused at first, but once I had a better look at the woman screaming in pain, I recognized her. Isn't that Mother?! And after another second of realization... She's giving birth?!

I willed myself to move forward, but I found that I couldn't. In fact, after examining myself, I could see through myself! What?! What's happening?!

Another one of mother's screams interrupted my panic.

A person spoke above Mother's screams, encouraging her. "Madam, you are nearly there! One last push!" It was my maid Ana, she was assisting Mother.

Trying to keep calm, I looked around. At Mother's side, Father was sitting down and holding her hand with a supportive smile. Maids were bustling about, trying to make sure nothing on their end could go wrong. With her beautiful face scrunched up and sweaty, I watched as Mother gave a final push.

Not even a moment later, I heard a wail.

Holding the new-born child, she made an announcement. "It's a girl!" Ana glanced at the child's body once more. "And she bears the mark of the family!".

But before anyone of the other maids nor my parents could sigh in relief, Mother let out another scream. Quickly, Ana handed the new-born to one of the maids. After checking Mother, her face paled and she looked at her masters. "There's another child!" For a moment, everything in the room stilled.

"...A twin?" Father said in a tone filled with dread. Ana nods.

In between heavy breaths, Mother managed to speak out. "I don't care about a curse! Just please help me deliver this child!"

Hearing Mother's words, Ana's face turns resolute. "Everyone, quickly back to work! We must ensure that both the children and the madam are to be in good condition!"

I continued to observe silently; I had no other choice, really. Rather than saying that I was 'like' a ghost, I 'was' a ghost in this situation. No matter how hard or much I tried, I was glued to this spot with no ability to speak or move whatsoever. People even went right through me!

Eventually, the twin was born, but when Ana looked at and held the child, her face turned ashen. It only took one look for Mother to realize what had happened. Before Ana had even said anything, Mother had burst into tears.

"I am so sorry, but the child is dead."

Suddenly, the world around me faded away into blackness and I was falling. I flailed about helplessly; my stomach churned at the sensation of me free falling. Urgh... I died young in my previous life so please don't let me die even younger in this life. As if hearing my thoughts, a few moments later, my fall was abruptly interrupted as I seemingly landed in a body of water.

After having seemingly shaken off the impact of hitting the water, I opened my eyes slowly. Before me, the liquid gave an unusual glow. I willed my heart to calm down. If I didn't, I was afraid that it would have burst in my chest due to sheer fright. Strangely, I didn't feel the need to breathe. As I was counting numbers to calm myself, my sight adjusted, and I recognised the figure of a person floating right in front of me.

"Vain?" [https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/241165621495070730/346544805788254208/4plot.jpg] 

...Vain?

It was the grown-up Vain that I had seen in the game and anime. His eyes were closed, but gradually, he opened them to reveal his glowing electric blue eyes. Noticing my presence, he floated towards me. Once we were at eye level, neither of us moved, instead, we simply observed each other. Our hair and clothes that were floating in the water were the only things in motion. As I stared deep into his eyes, I found that despite his emotionless expression, unlike the body that I was in control of, this Vain in front of me seemed... alive.

I watched as he reached out and placed a hand on my cheek. And then, he said one word which caused me to feel all sense of confusion...

"Sister."

----------CHAPTER END----------