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Main Characters
Bertia Ibil Noches
Bertia “Tia” Ibil Noches
Villainess with an F in Villainy
”Prince Cecil, I’m actually a villainess! It’s my duty to attempt to tear you and the heroine apart, only to be soundly beaten and have our engagement annulled!”
The firstborn child and only daughter of the Main House of Noches. She is Prince Cecil’s fiancée. Upon realizing that she has been reincarnated into an otome game as the villain at very young age, she aims to become the greatest villainess, a "pure flower of evil" as she calls it. She spends the majority of the series attempting to get the Heroine together with Cecil, but things aren’t going her way when everyone around her is more villainous than she will ever be...
- Accidental Hero: When trying to do 'villainous acts' Bertia deliberately breaks a teacup in front of a new maid while complaining about the quality of the tea, and is pleased when said maid cries. Bertia specifically chose a chipped teacup to shatter, the same expensive teacup the maid had accidentally damaged and was afraid of being punished for. The maid's tears were in relief and gratitude because she believed that Bertia's tantrum was an act to protect the maid from the consequences. There are several other examples where misunderstandings and coincidences result in Bertia's attempts at villainy being beneficial without her realizing it.
- Achievements in Ignorance: There are quite a few examples, considering Bertia's obliviousness:
- Made a contract with a dark spirit without realizing it, though in her defense, she never knew that magic or spirits existed when she played the game back in her previous life.
- Cecil points out when she's fretting over her lack of cheat skills that as the crown princess, she's been asked and paid by many foreign princesses to arrange their weddings, so she's established a good foothold for foreign relations from her unusual wedding alone.
- All-Loving Hero: She doesn't hate anyone and tries to get along with everyone. She also doesn't want anyone to get in trouble for bullying her even if her silence does more harm than good.
- Beware the Nice Ones: While a very sweet self-proclaimed villainess, when she witnesses Nelt yell at Silica over her mothering to where the latter is left in tears, she's quick to furiously lash back at Nelt about how ungrateful he was acting for everything Silica does for him because she cares.
- Big Bad Wannabe: Bertia desperately wants to become a villainess like her character was in the original game. Unfortunately, due to her being an All-Loving Heroine, it was never going to work out:
- She claims she wants to be a villainess who drives Cecil to be with her "true love". She's just too naive and pure-of-heart to be any good at it. Even aside from that, she says she's genuinely doing all this for his sake and the world's sake.
- She grows increasingly more horrified in the sequel when Cecil outlines an actual villainous scheme to get the third member of a Love Triangle out of the way, rejecting it as being "unclassy". She comes up with her own scheme instead, helping Lisolna avoid her bad ending by trying to bully June. However, she manages to actually endear herself to June and even helps her befriend Lisolina in the process instead, as everyone aside from her notices.
- Cecil actually makes a point in the sequel to say that Bertia's ideals of being a villainess clash fantastically with the kind of person she really is.
- Dark and Troubled Past: Little is known about Bertia's past life, though bits and pieces have been dropped here and there: she wasn't very popular, she had at least one friend who tried to hook her up with a male friend of hers, and Cecil was her "one and only joy when [she] was living in a shell", which is the Freudian Excuse for her behavior. Cecil's certain she was just as dense in her previous incarnation as she is now (Oblivious to Love, specifically) but nothing is confirmed.
- Dark Is Not Evil: When Bertia is informed that she has contracted with a dark spirit, she initially remarks that it sounds quite befitting for a villainess. However, once Cecil explains that dark spirits specialize in defensive magic, she remarks that that doesn't sound villainous at all.
- Decoy Protagonist: Downplayed. She serves as one of the two main characters, but isn't the main focus; her fiancée is the main point of view.
- The Defroster: In the sequel, Tia manages to defrost Princess Lisolina unintentionally just by hanging out with her. Cecil is concerned they became friends too fast and that Tia wouldn't be able to see through Lisolina if she were up to something. But when he gets to meet Lisolina again, the change in her personality utterly confuses him. Zeno observes that compared to fixing Cecil, Lisolina must have been a walk in the park for Tia. Although Cecil appreciates his point, putting it in those terms ticks him off.
- Didn't Think This Through: Bertia comes up with a plan to get Lisolina and Airath closer together by wearing a pair of extremely high heels, which will let her pretend to fall over and push Lisolina into Airath's arms. Unfortunately, she forgot they'd be having a seated tea party together, where said heels are pretty much useless. She does fall over eventually - but she ends up falling on Cecil instead, who's very much appreciative of the opportunity to have his wife in his lap.
- Evil Redhead: Subverted: she has long, curled red hair which she inherited from her mother and tries to be villainous, but her pure-hearted and innocent nature makes her worst actions cases of Poke the Poodle.
- Formerly Fat: This version of Bertia was a chubby little girl at the start of the story. She slimmed down via dieting and exercising after her first meeting with Cecil in order to become a "proper" villainess. Her "original" self remained fat throughout her life, as seen in the dreamworld Cecil experiences thanks to Pi.
- Genki Girl: Bertia is a very energetic Cloudcuckoolander and Cute Clumsy Girl, which suited the king's needs as he wanted someone who would bring color into Cecil's life. She even manages to turn a Screaming Birth hilarious with her energy, shouting the entire time with her family considering her energy even while giving birth to be a good sign.
- Good Luck Charm: Bertia is a living good luck charm. In her previous life she was often mistaken for a parlour spirit and in her current life her noble peers believe that if they give her sweets they will get luck in love and courtship and a Perfectly Arranged Marriage.
- Hidden Depths: At one point, she makes a "How to be a Villain" guidebook for her father, which he notes is both well-put together, includes illustrations, and is easy to read. Cecil notes its quality and both he and her father think she could better use these evident talents in publishing to make tourist guidebooks instead. Bertia does later publish a wedding magazine after marrying Cecil, which goes on to be popular and successful.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Albeit it pains her heart to no end, she thoroughly believes that Cecil cannot be happy without Heronia. Problem is, Cecil won't let her go, and is more than aware that Tia loves him.
- Ignorant of Their Own Ignorance: Come the sequel, she's convinced she's a veteran villainess who'll have no trouble playing the part, entirely unaware that she's terrible at even pretending to be evil.
- Innocent Blue Eyes: In the light novel, according to Cecil, she has ‘lapis eyes’. Averted in the manga, where she has amber-colored eyes instead.
- Innocently Insensitive: Tia playing matchmaker for her friends has the unintended side-effect of sometimes overstepping their personal boundaries, particularly Silica's. While calling out Nert for hurting Silica's feelings, Tia in the middle of defending her also starts blurting out all of Silica's embarrassing feelings.
- Insecure Love Interest: In the sequel series, the genuine villainess manages to stun and upset Tia by claiming that Cecil wouldn't tolerate her selfishness. Cecil internally urges her to not fall for it but it doesn't work and he has to intervene in true Tranquil Fury, Eviler than Thou fashion, concluding by declaring he finds Tia's selfishness exceptionally adorable, helping to relieve her worries.
- Ironic Name: Ibil sounds rather like “evil”, which she very much isn’t and can't even fake convincingly.
- Lethal Chef: Averted; while nowhere near Silica's level, her cookies are at least passable and edible, unlike Joanna's which somehow became gaseous.
- The Matchmaker: Bertia tries to pair off all the prince's future advisors so that they can't end up in the harem ending with Heronia. As far as Charles and Silica (and later Lisolina in the sequel) are concerned, however, it somewhat veers into Unwanted Assistance because of her exuberance, even if her efforts worked out. Cecil has to hold her back after the Silica-Nelt incident and make her watch future romantic developments from the sidelines.
- Minion with an F in Evil: Her absolutely pathetic attempts at villainy start off with her declaring her intent to invoke the worst ending for herself so Cecil can be happy, and she gets worse at evil from there.
- Nice Girl: Bertia's attempts to be a villainess fail because she is just too endearing, clumsy and friendly to most people. Her group of friends point out that she exudes a soothing feeling just due to how genuine she is.
- Non-Idle Rich: Right out of school, she starts publishing a successful bridal magazine.
- Ojou: She is a duke's daughter and her father is a proper Papa Wolf even if he gets annoyed at her attempts to make him as evil as she claimed he was in the game.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Has this with Cecil. She is willing to sacrifice everything in order for him to have a happy ending and he loves her with all of his heart.
- Poke the Poodle: All "villainous acts" Bertia has ever committed are considered by others as merely this.
- Regal Ringlets: She wears her hair in this style since she believes it will make her look more like a villainess.
- Shrinking Violet: How the original Bertia was before her mother’s death in the game. The new Bertia is the complete opposite, excluding whenever Cecil embarrasses her with his flirting.
- Smarter Than You Look: While she is no doubt The Ditz, The Klutz and has an F in evil, Tia knows more than she lets out. The “How to be a Villain” guidebook she wrote for her father has pretty accurate data and Cecil and her father note by the guide's overall qualities that Bertia could create successful tourism guides if she applied herself. She eventually starts a popular wedding magazine using the same format.
- Stronger Than They Look: Bertia does weight training and is a shockingly fast runner even in a dress. Not to mention her wedding dress is noted to require three maids to carry, but Bertia is able to lift and twirl it on her own.
- Sweet Tooth: She loves sweets even though she slimmed down by following a strict fitness regime during her childhood.
- Technology Uplift: Subverted. She plans to use modern technology from her former life to improve the country after becoming the crown princess, but realizes to her dismay that she doesn't know how that technology works well enough to apply it.
- Then Let Me Be Evil: Bertia's plight. Bertia does her best to follow the game's plot and be the best villainess there can ever be, but she's a gentle, kind soul who couldn't hurt a fly. As such, it's her cues that have led Cecil to avoid the markedly malicious and chaotic events that Tia unwittingly discloses with him.
- Tomboy with a Girly Streak: Played with. Bertia is tremendously girly, all while being athletic and fit to an astounding level. Her tomboyishness stems more from her stubbornness and lack of awareness, rather than from "boyish" behavior.
- Unintentionally Karmic: Bertia tries to help Heronia have a clear path to Cecil by fixing the problems between the other capture targets and the rival girls, thus eliminating them as romantic paths for Heronia. This however causes more trouble for Heronia, as now she has no other options for when Cecil starts rebuffing her advances.
- Weight Woe: After declaring that she aims to be a ‘pure flower of evil’, she consistently exercised and dieted in order to slim down. As such, getting fatter becomes Serious Business when Cecil's graduation looms close.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: While she loves Cecil more than anyone, she constantly tries to hook Cecil and Heronia together because she believes that's the only way Cecil can be happy. It turns out another reason she was so determined to pair them together is because a war will break out if Cecil doesn't get together with the heroine; depending on the route taken, he ends up either a Blood Knight, a recluse, disappears or assassinated in all routes outside his own.
- You Can't Fight Fate: Her main flaw. Despite having already sent the game's plot Off the Rails, she still full-heartedly believes Cecil and the kingdom can only be safe with her downfall and Heronia at his side, no matter how many times Cecil spells it out that she already defied fate.
Cecil Glo Alphasta
Cecil Glo Alphasta
The Prince who is actually the Big Bad
Click here to see him in the light novel
"You’re interesting."
The first and crown prince of Alphasta, he is engaged to Bertia, and the point-of-view character. In his first time meeting with his fiancée, her spouting about an "otome game" and seemingly predicting the future interests him, so he decided to keep track of her for "further amusement". Before he realized it, he started to care more about Bertia than he originally thought he would.
- The Ace: Finding out the cure for a deadly plague by manipulating a scholar into realizing it? Check. Figuring out the recipe for otherworldly foods from mere description? Check. Defeating his swordplay teacher enough to the point making him sulky? Check. Creating weapons from crystal for fun? Check. Deconstructed as this contributed to his detachment to people, and is also revealed to be the result of a genetic curse which would have caused him to either become a Blood Knight, a recluse, disappear or get assassinated in any route that isn't his.
- Affectionate Nickname: He forced Tia to call him “Cil” as a pet name. She really doesn't, but he loves calling her "Tia".
- Astonishingly Appropriate Appearance: His golden hair and blue eyes are fitting for the stereotypical fairytale prince image he sets himself up to be.
- Berserk Button: While he's subdued about it, insulting or hurting Bertia in any fashion is a very quick way to get on Cecil's bad side.
- Birds of a Feather: With Joana. They’re both the "smile outside but deadly inside" type and are pursuing their cheerful, innocent spouse (Bertia and Shaun). They cancelled their engagement because they realized they were too alike and wouldn't be truly happy as a couple.
- Covert Pervert: Despite his stoic, calm demeanor he is really looking forward to his marriage with Bertia, at one point suggesting they go somewhere more intimate during a date, with a tone that implied he had something very intimate in mind. He also pointedly looks at Bertia's chest with interest after she confesses to him that she has been gaining weight, though he denies that he looked.
- Crazy Jealous Guy: After they get married, Cecil becomes jealous at even the slightest suggestion Bertia might have been interested in someone else, whether they're real or fictional, and expressly forbids her from attempting a seduction.
- Dude, Where's My Respect?: Cecil has noted more than a few times that some people around him (such as Zeno and Marquis Noches) tend to ignore the fact that he's the crown prince of the kingdom. He doesn't mind if it's Bertia though.
- Emotionless Boy: Originally, Cecil grew up without caring for anyone, couldn’t understand why his father was grieving after he was forced to refuse Douglas the medicine that would save his best friend's wife, and stayed apathetic towards the death of Bertia’s mother, much like an “emotionless doll“. Thankfully, current Bertia changed him for the better, so while still rather stoic, he's far more conscious of other people's feelings than his original counterpart. Even the present Cecil witnessing what he would have been like had the world remained as the original collapses in self-loathing, and hearing about how he ends up in the game's routes outside his own unsettles him.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: Subverted. Cecil has blonde hair and blue eyes and looks like a perfect fairytale prince, but his true personality is rather aloof, with a real capability for viciousness when angered. Others note that his demeanor doesn't match his innocent appearance at all, in contrast to Shaun.
- Insistent Terminology: Or lack thereof. Cecil is adamant on not allowing Kulgan to refer to Tia by any familial nickname despite Kulgan's kindred affection towards her. Their association and friendship are otherwise okay, but this is a freedom that Cecil is not willing to allow to any man.
- It Amused Me: He initially goes along with Bertia's stories about being reincarnated simply because it's one of the few things he's ever found interesting.
- Not So Stoic: Being the Straight Man in a comedy-filled manga? Seems you won’t have a good day, Your Highness.
- A non-comedic example is when Cecil gets angry at Bertia for reasons: she doesn’t need his help despite being bullied, she ignores his feelings for her and tries to hook him up with the heroine who he doesn’t like a bit, etc... By the time of the graduation ceremony, he realizes he hates how Bertia continues to act the role of a villainess even at the expense of her own happiness.
- During the graduation ceremony wherein Pi shows him what happened in the original game and how disgustingly emotionless he would be, he collapses in self-loathing.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Bertia is the perfect wife for him. She is so bright, cheerful and unpredictable that she ensures that the coldblooded Cecil becomes interested in something and slowly becomes a functional human being.
- Perpetual Smiler: The calm, know-it-all smile on his face rarely, if ever, shuts down. When it does shut down, you know nothing good is coming, but he's capable of maintaining it even when threatening someone with harm or ruin, making his threats all the more terrifying.
- The Power of Love: Cecil's love for Bertia allows him to realize that he is in an illusion cast by Heronia's light spirit by recognizing that the villainous Bertia he is in the middle of denouncing isn't his Bertia due to their differences in behavior. He then breaks free of Pi's control by embracing Bertia and recalling his love for her.
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Cecil is mature, manipulative and knows how to use his words, but also surprisingly childish when it comes to his love for Bertia. Shaun at the time is more innocent, childish and cheerful than his actual age while in truth being more precocious about ‘love’ than his brother.
- Tranquil Fury: When he's angry at someone who isn't Bertia (in which case he will raise his voice in a very out-of-character fashion), he will talk evenly and politely even as he's threatening to utterly ruin them.
- Victory Is Boring: Cecil begins the story feeling that life is too dull because he is able to do anything when he wants to do it. Bertia coming forth with future knowledge of a plague and the ingredient which can cure it gives him his first real challenge in a long time.
Heronia Inderon
Heronia Inderon
The daughter of Baron Inderon and a wielder of Light Spirit. Also the original heroine of the “otome game” Bertia played in the past.
Despite how far the story has strayed from the script, Heronia still believes in her destiny as the “fated maiden“ who would make Prince Cecil happy and acts like she’s actually playing a game. Through the help of the Light Spirit, she has attracted many men, but not the person she aimed for.
- All of the Other Reindeer: Like in the game, her classmates ignore her at best and scorn and belittle her at worst. Unlike in the game, however, most of the scorn is rightfully deserved, as she spreads rumors about Bertia and the other rival girls and throws public tantrums when things don’t go her way.
- Ambition Is Evil: She sets out to hook up with a harem and become the future queen despite being unwilling to do any work to get there beyond acting out the game events. In contrast, one of the ways the original Heronia intrigued Cecil was by using her favor from him to ask for study help instead of social advancement.
- The Atoner: When given the choice to spend her exile in a comfortable monastery close to the capitol or in a distant one in the harsh northern territory, Cecil makes the point that the one in the north has a strong connection to the Holy Light, with the implication that if Heronia chooses the more difficult path, she could find a way to revive Pi. She agrees to go that route in order to redeem herself by bringing back her only friend after Cecil makes her understand that Pi sacrificed themself for her happiness.
- Butt-Monkey: Nothing she tries ever goes right. Her first appearance makes Cecil think she's a crazed loon high on drugs, her first attempt at a flag event results in him flat-out ignoring her as she gets increasingly loud and desperate, and when Bertia manipulates him into getting locked in the same room as Heronia he takes the first moment he gets to jump out the window, while Cecil observes she doesn't seem to pay attention to reality note . Bertia tries to help her by playing The Matchmaker to the other love interests but that only results in Heronia ending up with no backup romantic options (or being denied the harem route).
- Crocodile Tears: She has a habit of bursting into tears and claiming to be bullied whenever criticized.
- Cute and Psycho: Let’s be honest, while Heronia is pretty plain compared to other characters, she does look cute. However throughout the course of the story, her mindset seems to be... unstable. Especially in the Graduation Ceremony arc, where she yells her insults in Cecil’s face like a maniac and her face shifts into a deformed expression, with Slasher Smile to boot.
- Deliver Us from Evil: Played with, as her pregnancy with a reincarnated Pi is a result of ceasing to be evil rather than the cause.
- Entitled to Have You: Being a reincarnator, she believes she is entitled to have Cecil like in the game. This becomes the source of her undoing, owing to her not realizing the canon has changed, as well as not doing anything her game counterpart does to win Cecil's heart.
- Fatal Flaw: Selfishness and denial. As the heroine, she feels she's entitled to everything that role indicates, which includes the affections of the love interests, especially Cecil. Heronia sees the people in the world as just game characters rather than as real people with their own thoughts and feelings. In the process, she ignores how things have changed from the original story, making it impossible for things to play out exactly as the original story. She refuses to improve herself like the original Heronia or the current Bertia, being completely without proper manners or etiquette when she should already know such. Cecil notes to Pi that Heronia still could have found happiness distinct from the original story had she not been so caught up in a destiny she thought she was entitled to.
- Foil: It's clear she's this to Bertia. Both go about trying to act in the script of the original story in the roles they were designated for. However, that's where they diverge; Bertia tries to be the villainess, but her kind nature makes her unable to do anything worse than Poke the Poodle moments, and she draws people easily to her. Meanwhile, Heronia firmly believes herself the heroine, but she shows herself to be both delusional and incredibly self-serving, only having attention because of her light spirit's magic.
- Hate Sink: In-universe, she is so annoying that even the calm, passive Nert and the sweet, innocent Nice Guy Prince Shaun can't stand her.
- Heel Realization: She has one at the very end, due to Pi's death trying to help her.
- I Reject Your Reality: The world might have gone Off the Rails, but she continues to march stubbornly along the train tracks. Heronia still tries to follow her original destiny as the "fated maiden" and believes that only she can make Cecil happy, despite the mounting evidence the world is far different from the original otome game. She becomes increasingly unstable as the world continues to not go in her favor. It's one reason people can't stand her.
- In-Series Nickname: “Heroine”, started by Bertia. While Tia calls her as such because she’s aware of her role, other people use it as a shortened form of her name ([Hero]nia [In]deron).
- Ironic Name: Heronia is close enough to "heroine" and indeed, both she and Bertia believe she fulfills that role. However, this is not her story and she is merely an obstacle in the way of POV character Cecil because she can't accept she isn't the heroine (main character) or "heroine" (the love interest). And since the story still needs a villainess, Heronia steps up to the role perfectly.
- It's All About Me: Even after she's proven innocent of pushing Bertia down the stairs, she loses any sympathy she got from being framed by acting like she deserves more comfort than the injured and literally bedridden girl.
- Karmic Butt-Monkey: Despite her trying and following the game events, all her "capture targets" see her as a fool at best and with disdain at worst rather than the undying love in the game. This is partly due, however, to her attitude towards the targets and the rival girls, as it is her entitlement to the instant affection of the targets and trying to ruin their relationships with the rivals that earn their scorn and alienate her from the other students.
- Light Is Not Good: Heronia's light spirit, taking the form of a small bird, can invoke feelings of euphoria in its targets. Removal from its effect can cause addiction, something which Cecil likens to brainwashing.
- Manic Pixie Dream Girl: Invoked, as she tries to mimic the earnest, unconventional behavior that caused the original Heronia to draw Cecil's attention but just comes off as affected and boorish.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Has this reaction and a Heel Realization when she learns that her selfishness caused Pi's death.
- Rose-Haired Sweetie: Has signature strawberry blonde hair, but is not much of a sweetie.
- Steven Ulysses Perhero: [Hero]nia [In]deron
- Wrong Genre Savvy: Heronia believes that simply following the game's script and triggering the game's event flags will cause events to play out as in the game. Cecil points out this has made her ignore that the Heronia of the original game original didn't fit into noble society and worked to improve herself, but the reincarnated Heronia didn't make the same effort, instead relying on her knowledge of the game and now lacks the skills that the game Heronia had.
Capture Targets
Bard Nokins
Bard Nokins
He lacks etiquette in exchange for strength
The eldest son of the Head of the Knights.
His engagement with Cynthia would have worked out if she didn’t fall to the same epidemic that took the life of Bertia’s mother. Her weakened condition bothered him and the youthful heroine stepped in. Due to how the epidemic was stopped before it could become deadly in the story however, Bard and Cynthia soon become besties in outdoor activities and love springs between them.
- Cassandra Truth: Charles doesn’t believe him when he says Bertia has been exercising well. Cecil mentally confirms his assessments.
- Cloudcuckoolander: He even forgets that his fiancée will attend in the same academy with him and was surprised seeing her amongst the new students. Which, in the world of nobility, is not a good thing to do.
- The Ditz: Perhaps more than Bertia. He lacks awareness in social situations and even once forced Cynthia to shut him up by elbowing him hard in the ribs.
- Everyone Has Standards: Bertia reveals to Cecil that in the route where Heronia ended up with Bard, Bard was horrified by the Blood Knight that Cecil became and his callous disregard for the lives of the soldiers under his command. Bertia states that this was the first point in his life where Bard had ever doubted Cecil.
- Heroic Build: The novel depicts him as “well-built”, he does sports, and is a Nice Guy.
- Lovable Jock: As Cecil observes, he is the one to find when you need battling tips, but when talking about the etiquette of nobility or things that require brains, he is hopeless.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: Bard and Cynthia are already engaged prior to the story by their families' agreement. Thanks to Bertia changing the plot and preventing the illness that would have left Cynthia in a weakened state, they end up as a perfectly matched couple who share a passion for athletics and adventure, and they happily pursue a relationship without any further pushing from Bertia's end.
Charles Leonel
Charles Leonel
The Casanova, but is nothing compared to his brother
Second son of the Leonel Ducal House. While being The Casanova of the advisors, he is actually in love with his brother’s fiancée - Anne - and feels ashamed by that, so he approaches other girls in attempts to forget her.
In the original game, Anne went on the engagement with his brother, then the heroine appeared and successfully charmed his vulnerable, broken heart. However, before that could happen in the story, Bertia storms in and tells Anne all about his feelings, which leads to Charles confessing to her and deciding to work hard to become an aide.
- The Casanova: Acts as this. However, it's really because he wants to distance himself from Anne since she's set to become his older brother's fiancée. His older brother plays this straight though.
- I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: He feels ashamed about his crush on his older brother's fiancée, and has been holding off on confessing his feelings because he felt that she would be better off with his brother's prestige and higher standing, despite the fact he's a notorious womanizer. However, Bertia's meddling before Anne makes said decision makes him finally act on them.
- Ladykiller in Love: Inverted. The reason he dates many girls is to try to forget about his first love, Anne.
- Right Behind Me: After Bertia blurts out the truth of Charles's feelings for Anne, he runs to Cecil in a panic and begs him to do something about Bertia's behavior before tearfully confessing that she was telling the truth. Cecil notes that Charles was being so emotional, he couldn't get a word in edgewise to tell him that Bertia and Anne followed him and have been standing in the doorway, hearing the whole thing.
Nert Gram
Nert Gram
Books are easier than people for him.
Eldest son of the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He is Childhood Friends with Silica, but since she was caring for him too much, he started to feel uncomfortable. In the story, the heroine jumped in, but at present Bertia is the one resolves the problem and they reconcile.
- Bookworm: He always carries around a book and would rather spend his time paying attention to it than to other people.
- Meaningful Name: He's a nerd called "Nert."
- No Social Skills: To sum it up, he is not good with people, prefers being alone, and is anxious when being the center of attention. It's implied in the original game's events without Bertia's meddling that he ultimately ended up pushing Silica away from him due to this.
- Picky Eater: By Silica's comments, he hates eating vegetables, resulting in her making a recipe for vegetable cookies.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Him snapping at Silica when all she wants is to help him, despite somewhat justified considering the situation: his father sent him a scolding letter, the weather is hot as hell (even disregarding those thick-ass clothes), he hasn’t sleep well, then someone just starts to complain right in his ear... Later, in return, he receives a lecture from Bertia who accuses him of being an Ungrateful Bastard who never looked after himself unless Silica stepped in.
Shaun Turquoise Alphasta
Shaun Turquoise Alphasta
The angel who has the innocence his brother doesn't.
Cecil’s younger brother, the second prince of Alphasta. He has an engagement with Joana, his brother’s former fiancée, but was intimidated by her too proper and confident presentation, so he actively runs from her.
- Attractive Bent-Gender: Discussed. Bertia mentions he'd make a cute girl when proposing a drag show for the cultural festival, and Joanna swoons over the mental image before Anne brings her to her senses.
- Big Brother Worship: Subtle, but when Cecil asks him why he doesn’t arrange his own tea party, he gives out an angelic smile while saying that he wants to meet his big brother first before his tea party starts.
- Cheerful Child: He's almost always smiling and Cecil recalls how people regard Shaun's smiles as genuine and warm while the same remarks are not given to his.
- Innocently Insensitive: He constantly runs from Joana, which Cecil comments to be very rude, and straight up tells Joana her cookies taste bad.
- Older Than They Look: Downplayed, but who thinks he’s a secondary student with such a petite body?
- Sibling Yin-Yang: Cecil is mature, manipulative and knows how to use his words, but also surprisingly childish when it comes to his love for Bertia. Shaun, by contrast, is more innocent, childish and cheerful than his actual age while in truth being more precocious about ‘love’ than his brother.
- Spoiled Sweet: He got all the doting indulgence that the young Cecil turned away, so he's childish and sometimes rude but still earnest and good-hearted.
Kulgan Deres Noches
Kulgan Deres Uradil (formerly Kulgan Deres Noches, originally Kulgan Deres Mardan)
The big bro no one deserves
A member in a branch of the Noches family. In the original story, he was adopted into the main Noches family and Forced into Evil by Bertia's father. However, the birth of Bertia's younger brother because of her mother surviving made this not happen. To appease Bertia, Cecil has Kulgan adopted by a different noble family to spy on them.
- Big Brother Instinct: He wants Bertia to call him her big brother. Cecil...doesn't.
- Forced into Evil: In the original script, upon being adopted into the Noches family, Douglas forced him to take part in his crimes. In the current world, Kulgan lets himself be adopted into a different house involved in dubious activities to be a mole.
- Impoverished Patrician: He's from a very minor branch of the family and working in an office when the wealthier characters are still in school.
- Long-Haired Pretty Boy: Kulgan is noted by others to be quite good-looking, with longer hair than the other male students, long eyelashes, and pretty eyes.
- The Mole: Cecil arranges for him to be adopted into a count family to spy on them for evidence.
- Ship Tease: With Bertia's maid Milma. Between his ability to instantly spot her despite her hard-to-notice nature and her blushing in his presence, both Bertia and Cecil become Shippers on Deck for them.
- Stoic Spectacles: He rarely shows any emotion, perhaps with the exception of his adoption into Bertia's family.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: He is taciturn to mostly everyone, but treats his sister-of-sorts Bertia very well.
The Rivals
Anne Kogares
Anne Kogares
The girliest of the villainesses
- Arranged Marriage: She's set to become Charles' older brother's fiancée, despite the fact he's a notorious womanizer. In the original game, she ultimately goes through with it, leading to the heartbroken Charles being charmed by the heroine. But Bertia's meddling leads to Anne choosing to break it off to be with Charles instead.
- Hime Cut: She's the most proper and ladylike of the rivals and sports a traditional long, straight haircut with blunt bangs.
- The One That Got Away: In the original game, she was this to Charles when she ultimately chooses to go through with her engagement with Charles' older brother for duty's sake. Averted in the story where Bertia meddling leads to her choosing to not go through with it to be with Charles.
- Proper Lady: Kind, demure, and by far can be considered the most ladylike of the rivals.
Silica Runea
Sicilia Runea
Don’t be fooled. She can verbally traumatize you.
The daughter of Earl Runea.
- Childhood Friend: With Nert. She protected him when other kids didn’t want to let him join them and has been taking care of him ever since.
- The Dreaded: Played for laughs. Ever since Silica told Bertia off at length for her meddling in her affairs with Nert (good-intentioned as it was), Bertia panicks whenever she realises that she's giving unwarranted relationship advice and thinks that Silica is nearby to give her another lecture.
- Supreme Chef: Up to now, she’s the best cook that ever shows off in the story. The vegetable cookies were created by her in attempts to make Nert eat vegetables.
- Team Mom: To Bertia and even Nert. She joins the Bertia Fanclub to protect Bertia’s innocence, and takes care of Nert for his every need.Bertia (upon hearing Silica’s reason): “Why do you sound like my mother?”
- Unstoppable Rage: Nothing can stop her once she's angered. She does acknowledge that Bertia staying meek and letting her finish her lecture helped her let go of her anger, though.
Cynthia Soneris
Cynthia Soneris
If she wasn’t sick in the game, she would punch the heroine in the face
The daughter of a frontier general. In the original game, she was a frail girl from the deadly epidemic that originally killed Bertia's mother. However, Bertia's actions prevented the epidemic from happening, and Cynthia instead became a spirited Passionate Sports Girl.
- Delicate and Sickly: In the original game, she suffered the aftereffects of the deadly epidemic, which weakened her body. Averted in the story because Bertia's desire to save her own mother from the same epidemic indirectly prevented Cynthia from being infected.
- Girly Girl with a Tomboy Streak: She keeps her hair long, likes reading books, takes part in tea parties and wears Pimped-Out Dresses like any other ladies, but she also likes horse-riding and martial arts.
- Passionate Sports Girl: She is very spirited in her friendly contests with her fiance, and mentions how she loves to ride in her territory on her favorite horse.
- Perfectly Arranged Marriage: She's already in an arranged engagement to Bard prior to the start of the story, and they end up perfectly meshing with their shared passion for sports and outdoorsmanship, thanks to Bertia and Cecil preventing the epidemic that would have otherwise left Cynthia chronically weak and sickly. They don't need any extra outside help to pursue a relationship once they bond.
- Spirited Young Lady: At least in contrast to the original game as she is friendly, loves reading and is also adventurous enough to do horse riding and martial arts.
Joana Celtswarren
Another Big Bad, except she was already a villainess
The daughter of the Celtswarren Ducal House, the second cousin of Shaun and Cecil.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Joana becomes friends with Bertia, and even starts a fanclub for her, after Bertia had defended her from a suitor who was not taking the hint that she was not interested in him.
- Berserk Button: Joana always wears a smile on her face until Cecil pokes at her over her troubled relationship with Shaun. Her mask very quickly falls through so she can yell at him.
- Cuteness Proximity: When it comes to Tia or Shaun, she tosses her regal image aside and gushes over them like a true fangirl.
- Eyes Always Shut: As part of her ever-present ladylike smile. She only opens them when she's genuinely upset.
- It's All My Fault: When she knows the culprit who pushed Bertia down the staircase was a target on her blacklist, she doesn’t react well.
- Kissing Cousins: She is the fiancée of Shaun, and formerly Cecil. They’re also second cousins.
- Lethal Chef: The one time she tries to bake some cookies, the results somehow resemble 3 stages of water: solid (hard as rock), liquid (melted), and gaseous (the cookies literally disappear). The flavor is rocking as well, but at least it can be consumed without food poisoning. It's these imperfections which finally allow her and Shaun to open up to each other and progress as a couple.
- Proper Lady: Comes from one of the most prestigious households, Joana has trained herself to the top of perfection, and her watchful attitude leaves no weak spot...except Shaun or Bertia.
- Regal Ringlets: At the end of her hair, and some nice Ojou Ringlets.
- Sitcom Arch-Nemesis: Towards Cecil. Because of their similar personalities, conversations between the two tend to quickly devolve into Snark-to-Snark Combat. It's part of the reason why they mutually decided to not get engaged to each other.
- Stalker with a Crush: Towards Shaun, who gets the wrong idea because she tends to look like she's scheming. It's really because she's trying to figure out how to approach him and this fades once Shaun becomes more willing to approach her.
- Too Much Alike: With Cecil. Cecil and Joana both realized that they both are too similar in personality and wouldn't be a good political match. This led to Joana later being engaged to Cecil's brother Shaun.
Spirits
Zeno
Being a powerful spirit never means you wouldn’t be the Butt-Monkey
Cecil's butler and his contracted spirit.
- Almighty Janitor: Downplayed, but Zeno is a butler that also happens to have the blood of the Spirit King and is therefore able to use all elements outside his main ones at a decent level, meaning he's actually a rather powerful spirit despite his position.
- Battle Butler: Well, for a butler who gets snarked at and mistreated by his master, he is a ridiculously powerful spirit.
- Butt-Monkey: If anyone needs to suffer for hilarity aside from Heronia, it must be him.
- Elemental Powers: His two main elements are Wind and Water. Since he's inherited the blood of the Spirit King, he can use any other element at a decent level.
- Mistaken for Pedophile: A large reason Cecil warns Zeno to be careful about publicly pursuing Kuro as a love interest, because he doesn't want rumors spreading about his butler laying hands on a "little girl". This is despite Cecil being aware she's a fully mature spirit with a proper adult form and only takes on a child's appearance in daylight for practical reasons.
- Servile Snarker: Cecil can sense Zeno's running commentary on Cecil's abnormal behavior even when he's not in the room.
- Telepathy: The inner exchanges between him and Cecil that look like telepathy are actually telepathy.
Kuro
- Barrier Maiden: As a Dark spirit, she’s very powerful at defensive magics and creates nearly indestructible barriers to protect her master. She also creates the earrings Bertia gives to her friends that ward off light magic influence.
- Cat Girl: Has fox tail and ears in her human form.
- Dark Is Not Evil: Her powers allow her to protect everything in her vicinity from manipulative light magic. This prevents Heronia's light spirit from entrancing the main characters and couples.
- Ninja Maid: She wears a maid's outfit when attending Bertia at school. She isn't so good at the ninja part though, as seen when she made herself visible while Bertia was watching Cecil and Heronia.
- Older Than They Look: Because of how spirits' ages work, Kuro is actually a fully mature being; she only takes on a child's appearance during the day to save energy when serving her mistress under the sunlight where she's naturally weaker. Once night falls and she needs to expend less energy, she can look like a proper adult. Which is why Cecil ended up having no objections to Zeno and Kuro pursuing a relationship despite warning the former not to lay hands on a "child".
- Sleep-Mode Size: Kuro appears as a young girl throughout the story because as a darkness spirit, she is much weaker during the day. She can take on an adult appearance at night, which Bertia has never seen due to being an early riser and sleeper.
- Trademark Favorite Food: She loves inarizushi and Cecil at one point convinces her to get Zeno to find a spirit that can grow rice because it would mean she can have tastier inarizushi.
- The Voiceless: She never speaks, at least that Cecil can hear.
Pi
Heronia's Light spirit, who takes the form of a little bird she saved in her childhood.
- Light Is Not Good: Its Light power is used to brainwash people. Though arguably, the means of no-good belongs to the master who demands it, not the spirit itself, since it acts trying to make Heronia happy.
- Lotus-Eater Machine: Pi attempts this on Cecil in a last ditch effort to get Cecil to love Heronia by showing him a world based on the original otome game.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Pi breaks down when Cecil tells it its usage of its magic trying to make Heronia happy instead of guiding her only served to leave her completely alone with an uncertain future.
- My Master, Right or Wrong: When Heronia’s situation turns completely hopeless in the graduation ceremony, Pi comes out of nowhere, attacking Cecil and brings him into a realm where it shows him how the story went in the original script. All for the sake of its master, believing it's the only way for her to be happy. Cecil tells Pi before it vanishes all it ended up accomplishing blindly following her wishes was leaving Heronia completely alone because her brainwashed followers will leave her and her parents will disown her.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: His last attempt at making Cecil love Heronia by showing him a world based on the otome game not only makes him decide that the current world is better, but allow him to realize how emotionless he was and believe Bertia's words about his fate on the other routes.
- Older Than They Look: Pi's human form resembles a small child, although Cecil notes it's likely far older than him.
- Raise Him Right This Time: It is implied in the epilogue that Heronia, now a nun, is pregnant with Pi's reincarnated spirit, which gives them both a chance for repentance for their past evil deeds.
- Undying Loyalty: It does anything Heronia wishes for, from over-exhausting itself trying to lure more men or even risking its life.
