Avoiding Death in an Otome Game

Chapter 62: Chapter - 62: Hina and Lucian

[Extra Chapter]

Hina’s POV:-

The moment I heard that Lucian had been injured, I left the teacher’s office without even bothering to explain myself properly, rushing through the academy corridors while trying to keep my breathing steady and forcing myself not to think about all the possibilities that were already running through my mind.

I had known this would happen. That was what made the situation so difficult to accept.

According to the events I remembered from the game, Lucian would be attacked tomorrow.

I had spent the last several days preparing for it, carefully arranging everything I could without making my actions seem suspicious, because I knew that simply telling everyone about an attack that had not happened yet would raise far more questions than it would solve.

I knew approximately where the attack would occur. I knew when it was supposed to happen. I even knew the general nature of the enemies who would appear.

But Tomorrow.

It was supposed to happen tomorrow.

Yet the moment I heard that Lucian had been attacked, I immediately understood that something had already gone wrong.

”Please be all right...”

I whispered the words while turning another corner, nearly running into a group of students who quickly moved aside after seeing my expression.

My mind kept returning to the same question.

Why today?

Nothing about this was supposed to happen today.

I had been in the teacher’s office when the attack occurred, helping one of the teachers organize several documents and prepare materials for the following day’s lessons.

It had been an ordinary task, and although I had initially considered leaving because I wanted to stay close to Lucian, I had decided that there was no reason to worry when I already knew the attack would happen the next day.

That decision now felt incredibly careless. If I had stayed with him, I might have noticed something earlier. I might have been able to protect him. I might have prevented him from being injured at all.

But I had not been there. And that was something I could not change.

I pushed open the door leading toward the medical room, my steps slowing slightly as I approached the entrance.

Several students were gathered outside, speaking quietly among themselves, while a few teachers stood nearby with serious expressions.

The sight immediately confirmed that the situation had been more serious than I had initially hoped.

”Where is Prince Lucian?”

My voice came out more urgently than I intended. One of the students looked at me in surprise before pointing toward the medical room.

”His highness is inside. The healers are treating him.”

I nodded and entered without another word.

The familiar scent of medicinal herbs and healing magic immediately reached me, and I saw several beds arranged along the room while academy healers moved between them.

Lucian was lying on one of the beds, he was conscious.

That alone allowed some of the tension in my chest to loosen, although the bandages wrapped around his arm and shoulder immediately reminded me that being conscious did not mean he was unharmed.

I approached his bed quickly. ”Luc- I mean your highness” I quickly corrected my words as the sight of the people watching us registered in my mind.

Lucian’s eyes shifted toward me ”Hina?”

There was a faint smile on his face, as though he was more surprised by my presence than concerned about his own injuries.

”You came.”

”Of course I came.”

Gathering my fleeting thoughts I finally made my mind. Since everyone already knows about us, there is no need to pretend otherwise.

I sat beside Lucian’s bed, looking over him carefully before asking, ”How bad is it?”

”It’s not that bad.”

”You are covered in bandages.”

He glanced down at himself, ”That does make it look bad.”

I could not help sighing. Even now, he was trying to make the situation sound less serious.

That was just like him.

But while I listened to his explanation of what had happened, I became increasingly aware that there was something even more important than Lucian’s injuries.

The attack itself had changed.

Not only had it happened earlier than it was supposed to, but there had also been someone there who should not have existed. An unknown enemy.

Someone powerful enough to interfere with the situation despite the academy’s security.

Someone who had never appeared in the game. I lowered my eyes for a moment.

The game had given me an advantage because I knew what was supposed to happen.

I knew the major incidents.

I knew the people involved.

I knew which dangers would appear and approximately when they would appear.

But that advantage depended entirely on one assumption. That the world would continue following the same path.

And that assumption had just been proven wrong.

I had already seen smaller changes since coming here, but I had always been able to explain them as consequences of my own actions.

This was different. I had not caused this.

At least, I did not think I had.

The attack had simply moved forward by an entire day, and an unknown powerful enemy had appeared alongside it.

I rested my hands on my lap and quietly considered everything I knew. Perhaps some events would happen earlier while others would happen later.

Perhaps some would never happen at all.

And if someone powerful enough to remain completely outside the original story had entered the picture, then relying blindly on my memories could become dangerous.

I had spent so much time thinking about how to prevent the incidents I remembered.

Now I have to consider something much more difficult. What if the future I remembered does not exist at all?

”Hina?” Lucian’s voice brought me back to the present. He asked me ”Are you all right?”

I hesitated before giving him a small smile.

”I’m fine.”

He studied my expression for a moment before accepting the answer.

I looked back at him quietly, I was glad he was alive. I was glad his injuries were not as severe as they could have been. But I could not ignore what had happened.

Tomorrow was no longer something I could prepare for.

And for the first time since I had awakened in this world, I realized that knowing the story might not be enough to protect the people around me.

I would have to start watching the present instead of simply waiting for the future I remembered.