Tags: Adventure, Fantasy, Romance, Slice of Life, School Life, Shoujo

Sub-Tags: Video Games, Banishment, Strong Lead, Second Chances

Magical Tornados and Time Loops!

Claire and the Second Otome Game

After defeating time loops and stopping Charlotte, Claire and Vik can finally be happy. With nothing but sweet moments seemingly on the horizon, can anything stop their happiness? Perhaps the appearance of an Otome game sequel.

Attempting to tie up loose ends involving the magic tornado and Charlotte’s escape, The Fallen Daughter of the Duke’s fourth addition finds the series moving to the neighbouring kingdom of Lupty. Meant as a diplomatic visit for Claire to brush up on her magic, her supposedly quiet visit quickly escalates as the wheels on the second Otome game begin to turn, and a familiar face shows up to cause no end of trouble.

Key to the events of the second Otome game this time is Lupty’s, Prince Gilbert. Once thought of as a level-headed man, his memories of a previous life have turned him into quite a mess. Driven by his need to have everything follow the events of the game, his attempts at getting the good end between himself and Claire cause no end of problems.

Whilst this problem could’ve been quickly solved with the presence of Vik, Claire’s mission is a solo one meant to prove her skills as a member of the royal family. As a meeting between nations, to stop Gilbert’s obsession, Claire has to move carefully to avoid a diplomatic incident. As a result, the solution to the problem requires a little more thinking than usual, and it allows characters other than Claire and Vik to come up with a solution – in this case, Lui.

A Redemption Arc

If Prince Gilbert wasn’t enough for Claire and Lui to deal with, someone else has also managed to escape to Lupty – Charlotte. At the start of this volume, Charlotte still hasn’t come to terms with the fact that she’s done wrong and is continuing to trick and scheme in an attempt to find a royal fiancé.

While Charlotte continues to be an annoyance for most of the volume, things begin to change when she’s finally exiled to a convent. Isolated from the events of the game and forced to experience life outside the world of a protagonist proves to work wonders.

Through the perspective of a nun who lives in the convent, readers experience Charlotte’s slow but inevitable change thanks in no small part to an orphan child named Claire. In a well-realised step-by-step approach, we can see Charlotte lose sight of her main character syndrome, turning into a tsundere.

Overall, Fallen Daughter of the Duke’s fourth volume continues the series’ story in a way that feels natural and necessary.

While the fun capers of the Otome Game sequel are enjoyable, the real meat and bones of the volume come from the highlighting of side characters given major roles in the plot and the start of Charlotte’s redemption arc.

Charlotte’s redemption arc, in particular, deserves mentioning since it doesn’t shy away from long-term solutions rather than quick fixes.