My Wish, Mom’s Suggestion

Amy told her mother all about how, based on the memories of her past life, this was the world of an otome game, and her suspicion that she might be the villainess of said game. Her mother used to read web novels together with her, so she quickly accepted this information.

　

Her mother nodded along as she listened to Amy. She put her index finger on her lips and tilted her head to the side.

“Hmmm? So you’re saying we transmigrated into an otome game… I see. Well, what do you want to do?”

“Huh? What do you mean?”

　

Amy didn’t want to get engaged, but she didn’t like the idea of breaking it off either. She hated the idea of her family being dispersed even more. It looked like she had no choice in the story.

“Ah I remember we used to read a lot of novels with this premise, right? So, you’re saying the Third Prince and Haru resemble the characters that appear in this game. But it’s okay. Even if there was a world where this kind of setting existed, this is the reality now.”

“But, what if there’s a compelling force or something…”

That’s right. It was a common pattern in novels that no matter how much you tried to avoid the bad ending, you couldn’t escape it. The ‘compelling force’ of the game would still lead to the same predestined result. 

“There’s no such thing, Amy.”

“There isn’t?”

“I’m saying there isn’t, so there isn’t.”

Amy’s memory suddenly became clearer when she saw the fearless smile on her mother’s face. In both her previous life, and this one, whenever her mother showed this expression you couldn’t say anything to refute her. To do so would only be a waste of time. 

Amy had just recently gotten the memories of her past life, but even then she knew her mother wouldn’t say something like this without the conviction to back it up. She had understood that much from her mother’s earlier words.  

“Ah, sure… if you say so*.”

“Hahaha, Amy, speak politely.”

“Ah, y-yes, mom*.”

(TN: Amy basically said “yes” but in less polite Japanese, and then later corrected it to polite Japanese at her mom’s reminder. There is no direct translation for the degrees of politeness so I just wrote ‘if you say so’ for the less polite one.)

Her mom reached over and poked Amy’s pouting cheek with her finger. It immediately fixed her mood and they both ended up laughing together. Her heart settled down as her worry abated.

Amy’s mother continued, sitting close enough to Amy for their sides to be touching.

Her parents were certainly not very aristocratic. They insisted on raising their children by themselves unlike other nobles. Amy had already picked up on this from a young age, and now it all made sense.

Sensing her distraction, her mother once again poked her cheek. Amy lifted her face and met the same golden eyes as her own. Her mother peeked into her eyes and, after confirming that she had calmed down, began speaking once again.

“For now, let’s put aside the fact that this is a game world, ok? I will ask you once again, Amy, what do you want to do? Your brother is fully enjoying hunting in real life, and both your father and I are also doing as we please. We’ve been given a second chance at life, so isn’t there something you want to do? Something you’ve always wanted?”

Listening to that, one thing did come to her mind. But was it alright to say it?

Amy looked at her mother’s expectant face, and seeing the excitement there gave her the confidence to speak up. If it was her past life she would have been turned down immediately, but maybe this time…

“…… I want a cat.”

“I knew you’d say that!”

Her mother clapped her hands together excitedly, as if she’d gotten a right answer on a quiz.

Amy loved animals, and had always wanted to keep a dog or a cat. But her father, and Amy herself, had sensitive constitutions, and were allergic to animals. So her dream had never been fulfilled.

She had spent her days watching videos of cats and dogs on the internet, and sighing to herself. But no matter how many videos she watched, it wasn’t enough.

“There are no cedar or cypress trees here, so there’s no hay fever either. So dad doesn’t have an allergy anymore, right?”

The Northland family had a smaller number of employees compared to other estates of the same size. But they were more than enough for cleaning and other chores; the house was always dust free. This was to be expected of her dad who was sensitive even to house dust. 

“I want a cat and a bird and a dog. A ferret or a rabbit is also good.”

“I knew you’d want them someday. I was waiting for you to say so.”

Amy smiled widely at her mother. She had wanted a pet from a young age, even in this world, but she’d never been able to ask for one… maybe she was influenced by the memories of her past life, even if she didn’t remember them.

Her mother launched into a speech saying they should look for one quickly. Amy nodded enthusiastically when her mother asked if she wanted to adopt a shelter cat, or an abandoned dog, instead of buying one from a breeder. As expected of her mother, she even remembered this from her past life. Amy hugged her and thanked her with tears in her eyes.

“Ah, but what should we do about that other issue. I don’t want to get engaged right now…”

Even if her mother insisted this wasn’t the same world as the game from her past life, Amy couldn’t help but find it scary when she thought of the picture she had seen on the screen in her memory. If it was possible, she wanted to avoid him as much as she could.

“That’s easy. There are other candidates as well, so you don’t have to be chosen.”

“Mom, it can’t be that simple.”

Amy’s face was quite beautiful, from an objective point of view. She had a magical background on top of that, and her mother’s family had a strong influence on shipping and trade as the feudal lord of the areas on the border. 

Compared to other candidates, such as a certain Marquis family who is always fighting for succession, or a certain young Count’s daughter (8 years old) who has a reputation as a selfish princess, with the process of elimination, it was easy to predict that Amy would end up as one of the final candidates. 

　

But her mother confidently said that there was no problem.

“…… Wait! Could it be, the Third Prince is…”

Gay? She quickly swallowed the last word, but it seemed like her impudent thoughts had leaked out. Her mother pinched her forehead in admonishment.   

“Hohoho, Amy? It’s a bit concerning that you’re thinking about that at your age!”

“I-it hurts, mom…. I’m sorrryyy.” 

She withdrew her hand and jumped off the bed with a face full of pride and confidence. She came to stand directly in front of Amy with one hand on her waist, and her chest puffed up with pride, looking the perfect image of a noble Countess. 

Amy looked up at her expectantly, wondering what kind of solution she would come up with. However, her mother let out a very unexpected phrase.

“Just eat.”

“…… What?”

“You should get fat.”

Amy felt a wave of dizziness as her mother chuckled to herself proudly with her chest puffed out. This person… what the hell was she saying!

“You’re my daughter so you’ll still be cute even if you become chubby! So don’t worry, eat a lot and get fat! Yeah, become fat until your dress is about to burst!”

“Wai… eh?”

Who in the world would voluntarily want to be fat!? After all, the standards of beauty in this world were the same as her previous world. Although it also depended on individual preferences, and facial features, a slender body type was generally considered more beautiful. 

Amy was a girl, after all. What’s more, she was a girl whose beauty could not be doubted. On top of that, she had just recalled her past life’s memories, so her mental age was that of a fashion-conscious high school girl. Why should she have to go out of her way to make herself fat… her thoughts trailed off as she suddenly thought of something.

Beauty was always praised extravagantly in both this kingdom, and foreign kingdoms.

The Royal Family had to maintain their image in front of other kingdoms, hence ‘beauty’ was one of the important conditions for being part of Royalty. 

Naturally, appearance also played a huge role in choosing the spouse for the Princes. For as long as she could remember, there has never been a member of the Royal Family who was obese.

…… this might actually be a good idea?

Her mother grinned at Amy whose expression finally turned into that of understanding. 

Her mother could always read her mind, Amy thought as she closed her eyes and lifted the corners of her mouth into a small smile. A sense of security fell over her as nostalgic memories from her past flowed into her heart.  

“Besides, you’re not very good with men, right? So gaining some weight can help you find a kind man who doesn’t care about your appearance and likes you for you.”

That’s right, in her past life, Amy wasn’t very good at interacting with guys the same age as her. She had even chosen to go to an all-girls high school because of this.

Gaining a few pounds and finding a person who would look at her personality instead of her looks, and then raising lots of animals together……  

“……. Isn’t that wonderful! Nice idea, mom!”

The mother daughter high fived and decided to put the plan into action. And so, the number of dishes for Count Northland’s daughter increased immediately, starting from that day’s dinner.