Shift! The Side-Character Heroine

No matter how her sister tried to persuade her, Cirilla decided to take responsibility. She would never shirk from her due punishments.

In reality, Cirilla did not think that her sister did anything wrong, as she was the first one to suggest the race, and she was the one who had indirectly caused the accident.

The one who should take the punishment was none other than her, and not her sister Olivia.

Although it was all her fault, Olivia had to clean up after her such as bandaging Hjalmer. If it weren’t for Olivia, Hjalmer could be in an even worse state compared to how he was now.

Either way, Hjalmer was like a cockroach. Cockroaches do not die easily.

Either way, Hjalmer woke up in no time at all,just in time to witness Olivia owning up, followed by Cirilla who quickly cut in, denying her sister’s hand in this and that she was fully responsible. She even backed it up by saying that Hjalmer might have been dead, if it weren’t for her sister.

As Olivia and Cirilla took turns covering up for each other, Hjalmer broke the silence by saying “Father, it was neither of their faults. If I was a better skater, this situation would not have occurred.”

Hjalmer’s words brought up another round of silence, but to the people from the isle, his words were that of a true Skelligian.

Being victim of an accident, and then pushing the fault to someone else would be cowardice. A true Skelligian would always own up.

With a dazed look, Olivia looked on, as “The Boar of the Ocean” Crach looked at his child with pride. If anything, Hjalmer had proven himself as Crach’s son. Instead, if Hjalmer were to sob and whine to his father about how a girl had made a fool out of him, Crach would have been truly angry.

And that was how Olivia learned that the guys on Skellige were just that simple, or was this a kind of charm of theirs?

In the end, neither Olivia nor Cirilla received any scolding. Hjalmer received some scathing insults from his sister Cerys, who thought that her brother was an embarrassment for losing against a girl – even needing to be rescued by them.

Hjalmer wholehearted agreed. He did not think that Cirilla had done anything wrong. He had not been good enough. He lacked the skill, and had been careless enough to fall into Cirilla’s trap.

Olivia observed Hjalmer for a bit before determining that he truly held nothing against them – before she finally let it slip. If he were to be consumed by animosity, she would not take it sitting down. She would protect her sister, no matter the cost.

Olivia was a good kid. Even though Hjalmer held nothing against either one of them, she still visited him every day to tend to his wounds, while even telling him stories or chatting with him.

Of course, most importantly, tending to Hjalmer could help her complete her mission which would help her gain skill points. To the Olivia who had an OCD towards completing missions, she wanted to keep her quest list as clear as possible, at all times.

Olivia never expected her daily visits to actually trigger something in Hjamler’s heart. The kind and caring princess was like an angel in Hjalmer’s eyes when compared to his biological sister Cerys who could not care less about him.

At first, Hjalmer thought that among his 3 sisters, the smallest was the cutest. Currently, Cerys was no longer worth mentioning, as neither her personality nor looks were cute.

Cirilla was too wild and boyish, which threw him off. Also, they fought way too often.

Olivia may seem fragile, but he thought that it suited her, and he would be more than happy to protect such a delicate flower.

Men of Skellige were very straightforward when it came to courtship.

The human cockroach Hjalmer was up and walking again within a fortnight. Of course, the red potions had a large part to play in that. Red potions healed just about anything, other than instant death.

Olivia sat by Hjalmer’s bedside while reading him a book called “Legendary Monster Hunter – Geralt,” written by Dandelion. Her voice was light and sweet. “Evil is evil; there is nothing that would differentiate it. Same goes with ones sin. If I were to make a choice between the two, I would rather not choose…”

In Hjalmer’s eyes, the book reading Olivia was just too pretty. However, as he was not good with words, he was unable to put her beauty into words. He felt smitten.

He let Olivia pause before taking a Dandelion’s book of poetry out and confessing –

“If you wish, my love, at my side to repose…

My heart would inquire of your hands pale and fine, if they’d grasp it gently, to hold like a rose…

Or grasp me elsewhere and leave me satisfied?

If you wish, my love, at my side to repose…

We’d admire our virtues, me yours, and you mine. I could pet your cheeks, you might twiddle my nose…

Or treat it as a morsel upon which to dine?

If our bodies could a song compose…

My heart would inquire of your hands pale and fine, if they’d grasp it gently, to hold like a rose…

Or treat it as a morsel upon which to dine?”

Hjalmer had it tough. He was not a man of books, but had stepped out of his comfort zone to scour for a poem that he thought to be romantic and peaceful. This was the perfect way to confess to the book-loving Olivia.

As Olivia was torn between a frown and a smile that looked more like a lopsided grimace, Hjalmer held her hand and said, “Olivia, may you get engaged with me, and then marry me? I would bring you a lifetime of happiness!”

It was at that moment when Cirilla walked in with a disgusted expression on her face. She had overheard his confession, but surprisingly, it was not the main source of her disgust.

She told Hjalmer some shocking, yet heart-breaking news.

Calanthe had ordered Cirilla to fetch Olivia back to Cintra, so that she could get engaged with Prince Kistrin of Verden.