The One Who Was Left Behind

I had spent the next few days holed up in the apartment finishing up the reading list The Voice had prepared for me. The Voice on its own part told me that it would be busy investigating the Judecca Militia and how it connected with the warehouse and the Hero. With no interruptions from The Voice and no sudden crisis situations, I made good progress with reading up on the life stories of the remaining two heroines. I would probably be done with the files in another day or two at this rate.

So lets talk about Rose Von Amsterg, the heroine behind door number 2. Beautiful, curvaceous, wealthy and flamboyant, she is a woman who already has everything, except the thing she wants the most, the only object that can fill the yawning void in her heart.

That thing, of course, being the Hero, or at least his little brother, as far as I see it. You see, Rose von Amsterg is what most people in my world would refer to as a brocon. Except not the gross kind who fancies their actual brother. She hungers for the little brother of her pretend brother you see, and that makes it all better.

Also she hates her actual brother. Don't ask me. I was not the one who set all this shit up.

Gustav had two children, an elder son named Nicholas von Amsterg and a younger daughter who was Rose obviously. Both were brought up in the style to be expected of the scions of a ruling house. In this environment, Nicholas and Rose wanted for nothing and were surrounded by servants and arranged playmates that would grant their every whim. However one day, a new playmate joined them, the son of dear departed Uncle Abe, the Hero.

Nicholas immediately disliked the Hero, seeing him as competition for the inheritance that he saw as his birthright. Apparently after Abe died, Gustav's family was salivating over the prospect of a united House von Amsterg and Nicholas had been fed the line that he would be the so-called great unifier. Tensei's sudden appearance and Gustav's acknowledgment of him as Abe's lawful heir put that dream in danger. As Gustav began to treat Tensei as a distant but official member of the family, Nicholas' fear of the inheritance slipping through his fingers became increasingly strident. Dislike soured into hostility.

Rose on the other hand, having no dog in the succession war, simply saw Tensei as yet another suck up hired by her father to keep her entertained and out of trouble. The Hero, having seen the treatment dished out against his mother by the von Amstergs as well as experiencing first hand the hostility from Gustav's family, was in no mood to humor Rose. Tensei's refusal to be an obedient playmate intrigued Rose and she began looking deeper into the background of this new family member.

Rose quickly found out the truth about Tensei and decided to use him as replacement for Nicholas. You see, since Nicholas was likely to be named the designated heir, the only political value Rose had was as a marriage partner to another noble house. While Nicholas loves Rose as a sister, he also views her getting married as part of her duty to the family. Rose through her marriage was to add to the strength of the von Amstergs.

Rose naturally saw things differently, and came to resent Nicholas for attempting to force this role on her. This drew Rose even closer to Tensei, as Tensei did not have any such expectation of her. Furthermore, Rose realized that as Tensei was the only legal heir of Abe, when he came into his inheritance, Tensei would have the standing to shield her from Nicholas' demands. To Rose, Tensei represented the one thing her family could not give her. Her freedom.

Rose made it her business to protect and nurture Tensei during the time he lived with the von Amstergs. It was during this time of extended interaction with the Hero that she began to regard him as the brother she never had. Drawn by the gravity of the Hero's density and starved of affection from a cold father, a calculating brother and a generally politically driven family, Rose was ready to give her heart to the Hero, in exchange for the priceless treasure she wanted the most. Love.

Seriously Voice? You're really big on melodrama huh? I suppose its better than being into hentai. Small mercies I suppose. Alright, back to the story.

But one day, without warning, the Hero disappeared.

Rose was heartbroken. Her dreams of love and freedom cruelly dashed, she set off to fight for the freedom she so badly craved. The first thing she did was to start working on her magic. If she could prove that she was stronger than Nick, a case could be made to Gustav for a reevaluation of who his heir should be.

Nicholas, as the elder son, had expected to inherit from Gustav in due course. He was schooled extensively in magic and statecraft, acheiving modest success in both, but from The Voice's analysis, it was the von Amsterg name and blood that had carried him most of the way. Nick also easily took to the life of a wealthy heir, generally spending money like water and amassing a large fleet of super cars and beauty queens to entertain himself with.

Gustav was annoyed by his son's antics, but generally turned a blind eye. That changed when Rose began showing massive improvement in her studies and magic. The enhancements The Voice had provided her with were kicking in. Gustav began to make noises, saying that he had no need for a useless heir.

Nick was surprised by Rose's sudden improvement but there was no way he could match her. Not with the boost that she had gotten from The Voice. So he did the next best thing. He began talking up Rose's value as a bride. A powerful, accomplished woman would attract the heir of an equally powerful House into a union with the von Amstergs.

Rose realized the danger Nick's plot posed to her and quickly applied to continue her studies at the Academy, hoping that geographical distance would put a damper on that plan. Gustav also saw through his son's scheme and purchased an estate for Rose's use in The City, signalling his support for her. Nick nevertheless retains support from the other members of the family, who sees him as someone more pliable and putting it more bluntly, impressionable, than Rose. The fight between the siblings had only just begun.

It was at Academy that Rose met the Hero again. Caught between love and anger, Rose was initially confused as to how to proceed. But after the Hero explained what had happened, she understood that Naiberg had taken her place at his side. Not only would Rose have to fight for her freedom, she would also have to fight for her love.

Work hard Heroine von Amsterg. I look forward to witnessing your struggle, I think to myself as I raise a bottle of drinking water in toast.