I'm The Wrong Guy In The Wrong World : It's An Otome Game?

– Bernicia's POV –

The morning breeze brushed gently against my face as the window curtains swayed softly.

I often wonder… how did everything change so quickly?

I used to be the daughter of a minor noble family—third-tier nobility. Not powerful, but comfortable enough. My father was a knight, my mother a gentle woman who loved music. But all of that disappeared when my uncle seized control… and cast us aside. Mother died from illness not long after. Father… never returned from the border.

And me?

I was expelled from my home—from my life. Cast out, until I eventually found work as a maid for House Lucien.

That place was never easy. Many of the other servants saw me as the remnant of a failed noble house. They treated me like trash—like I deserved to be forgotten. No one truly welcomed me… except for one person.

Rey Lucien.

He was… different. Behind those tired eyes and his reckless attitude, he was the only one who actually cared.

But all of that changed with time.

Rey lacked talent as a knight. He failed to master aura, failed to meet expectations. And that failure—it ate away at him from the inside. I saw it… little by little.

His inferiority turned into bitterness. His concern became a sneer. And in the end… he turned into a complete bastard.

I still remember that day…

He pulled me into his room while drunk. His eyes… empty, filled with deep wounds. He tried… to touch me. But in the end, I pushed him away and ran.

Back then, I fled. I kept my distance. I never tried to understand why he had become like that.

And now… he's back.

I don't know what it is, but he feels different. His face is still the same, but his eyes—his eyes are not.

I'm not sure if this is regret… or just remnants of misplaced sympathy.

But one thing I can't hide from myself is…

I regret it a little.

Not because I was almost hurt…

But because I never tried to see the pain behind the monster he had become.

– MC's POV –

The entire carriage ride back home felt… awkward.

Sitting directly across from Bernicia made everything feel even more uncomfortable. Her occasional glances, which she would quickly avert, and the way she nervously clenched her skirt—it was all just… distracting.

To avoid drowning in the silence, I decided to busy myself.

I pulled out the Basic Magic Principles book I had bought from that dusty old shop, and began reading slowly.

The content… was surprisingly interesting.

It explained that all humans inherently possessed mana, but not everyone could sense it. The ability to access and control it depended on bodily sensitivity and… practice.

So it wasn't entirely about "talent" or "no talent"—it was more about who was stubborn enough to keep trying.

The next part made me raise an eyebrow.

The four elemental principles: Fire, Water, Wind, and Earth.

Simple. Too simple.

I slowly closed the book, leaning back and staring at the ceiling in silence.

My head began filling with absurd thoughts.

"Four basic elements… Seriously? Are they all followers of Empedocles, that ancient Greek philosopher from Earth?"

I sighed internally.

"Blah blah blah… elements form life… energy flows… balance of the world…"

—-

Later that night, after dinner.

I returned to my room.

The magical crystal lamp on the ceiling glowed softly with a bluish hue—just enough to read or… meditate.

I sat cross-legged on the bed, back straight. The magic book lay open beside me, turned to the page explaining the basic technique of "feeling the mana flow within the body."

"Take a deep breath… clear your mind… feel the energy flowing from your heart throughout your body…"

I closed my eyes. In the silence, I tried to feel something. A vibration. A flow. Anything.

This body had been modified by Gaia, and according to her, Rey Lucien had latent mana. I should be able to sense it by now.

And then—

I cracked one eye open and glanced at the ceiling. "Apolo…"

"I'm trying to focus," I sighed.

I couldn't help but smirk. "Damn… I actually missed your sarcasm."

I closed my eyes again. This time, truly focusing.

Silence. And slowly… there it was.

Faint. Like a gentle stream of water.

Not blood flow. Not synthetic electric signals. But… something. Flowing from the core of my body and spreading lightly to the edges of my muscles.

"…Interesting," I muttered.

"And I bet you'll be narrating the footnotes of every chapter."

Fair enough.

After grasping the basic mana flow in my body, the next chapter in the book discussed magic circles.

This is where things began to feel like a real RPG world with a semi-scientific magic system.

It's not enough to just channel mana and shout a spell's name. Not that easy.

"To use magic, the caster must form a magic circle, recite the incantation, and comprehend the essence of the element being controlled."

I stared at the page, one eyebrow raised.

Comprehend the essence?

"So I can't just shout 'fireball' and expect it to pop out? I have to… understand fire?"

"…Ha." I leaned back in my chair, exhaling deeply. "Alright, let's think. What is fire?"

One paragraph even said:

"Fire is not just heat and light, but the will to burn and transform."

Dramatic. Philosophical.

But oddly intriguing.

"Understanding the element, huh…"

I exhaled. "Okay, let's skip the romantic nonsense and get scientific."

What is fire?

Fire is a result of a chemical reaction—a combustion reaction, to be precise. When a substance rapidly reacts with oxygen, it produces heat, light, carbon dioxide… and occasionally, chaos.

"So essentially: enough heat + fuel + oxygen = boom, fire."

I looked at my palm. "So it's not about 'feeling the poetry of fire,' but understanding combustion and instinctively manipulating the right conditions."

With that in mind, I returned to the book and focused on the fire rune symbol.

One curved line with three small triangles—it resembled a flickering flame… or maybe a symbol of energy transfer?

"If I want to create fire… I need to realize that what I'm forming isn't a normal flame, but the result of energy manipulation through mana as a medium."

Just like lasers in my old tech. Except here, I am the device.

As I was just about to try generating a spark at my fingertip, Gaia's voice suddenly came through via transmission.

> [Good evening, Creator. Your request has been completed. The Earth-like ecosystem has been successfully established inside the Stargazer. Resource analysis of the Lucien region has also been completed.]

"Great, Gaia. Excellent work." I nodded, feeling satisfied—until my expression shifted.

"Wait a second. Doesn't building an ecosystem like that take quite a while? Especially for genetically modified plants… Don't tell me—you've already released them?"

> […Umm…]

I shot up from the bed.

"Apolo, open the teleport gate. We're returning to the Stargazer. Now."

And so, my long night was spent cleaning up the little mess Gaia had left inside the Stargazer.

—-

The Next Morning – Lucien Estate

Dawn broke. Morning sunlight crept slowly through the curtains, marking the start of a new day.

Noise from the front courtyard stirred me awake.

I blinked slowly and walked toward the balcony. From up here, I saw several men dressed neatly in black and silver formal cloaks—clearly envoys from the noble banking guild.

Standing before them was Ossana, wearing her usual calm expression, though I could feel the pressure in her voice. Beside her stood Alric, fists clenched, visibly trying to suppress his anger.

"Can't you offer us even a little leniency?" Ossana asked in a diplomatic tone.

One of the collectors—a burly man with a thick mustache—slapped a contract against his hand.

"It took a full week to reach this backwater territory, Madam. And we were harassed by bandits along the way! Don't blame us if our voices are raised!"

He glared at her before continuing,

"This debt of 5,000 gold coins has been overdue for two months. We've been patient—but now, we've run out of time. If it isn't paid within the month, we'll escalate the matter to the Royal Court."

I narrowed my eyes from the balcony, scanning them one by one.

Five thousand gold coins… that's equivalent to two years' worth of Lucien's territory tax.

So this was the root of the recent tension.

Ossana was still trying to negotiate, but clearly, they had no intention of backing down.

I took a deep breath.

Well then… time for me to step in.