Code Realize Playthrough - Fran’s Route - Chapter 13: A Princess’s Knight (Happy Ending)
Code Realize Playthrough - Fran’s Route - Chapter 13: A Princess’s Knight (Happy Ending)Warning: Spoilers. Image heavy post.It’s the last day of 2019, and finally, I’ve managed to finish the last chapter of Fran’s route in my Code Realize’s playthrough~! The CGs for this chapter were all great, that I’ve trouble deciding which to use as a chapter header XD I’ve been wanting to see the above CG ever since I saw it on their official website, so I’m thrilled to finally see the scene for it~ <3Beware there might be countless fangirling over Fran in this chapter, here we go~!Time counts down to the last 30 minutes. Fran and Cardia ran down the long corridor, trying their best to catch up to Victoria. Cardia could feel that her condition was getting worse and worse, even as she tried to keep up with Fran’s pace. Fran realised that, and hugged her close to him, saying that he wished to switch places with her so she doesn’t have to suffer anymore. (Is it me or is Fran’s face seems bigger than usual >/////<)Cardia thought that there’s just too little time remaining to save her, and felt that to protect Fran and the others, she had to stop Victoria, and before she became a monster that, she would have to kill herself, touching the dagger that she had taken from the twilight soldiers from earlier on. However, Fran noticed her action and affirmed her that he would not let her do that, telling her that he would not be happy if Cardia died and left him surviving instead. (Doesn’t want to leave Fran alone in this world like this after he said that seriously T/////T)After listening to Fran’s words, Cardia wanted to believe his words, wanting to catch onto the hope that both of them could survive and live a bright future together. But whenever she thought about that, her past memories will sneak up on her, reminding her of the time that someone had died in her place when she tried to live. She revealed her past to Fran, letting out that she’s scared and didn’t want such a thing to happen again, as even imaging that Fran would die because of her poison was too painful for her. She remembered how much her heart has ached when Fran had disappeared for a long time after she had decided to stay at the mansion, so if Fran were to die, it pains her heart that she would never see him again…But Fran simply smiled and assured Cardia that he isn’t going to die. He felt that Cardia and he were the same where they both felt guilty that their poison had killed people, as Fran felt responsible for creating it. They had both seen people dying of the poison right before their eyes, and thus Fran felt that he was no different than Cardia, and in fact, his guilt may be even greater than hers. He continued on that perhaps his guilt was part of why he can’t bear to leave Cardia alone, though he isn’t looking for redemption nor forgiveness with his action for helping her. Seeing Cardia suffering the same pain as he does, he just… wanted to save her. (Fran’s smile is the best <3)As much as he’s determined to drive away Cardia’s fears and doubts, he wanted her to promise him that she won’t give up and trust him until the very last moment.(Who would not want to promise him at this time! ><”)Fran’s words made Cardia’s feelings that she had tried to hide at the bottom of her heart rise up again, as she revealed her inner thoughts that she actually didn’t want to give up either as she wanted to live with Fran too. He smiled, took off his gloves and reached out to Cardia’s cheeks. Cardia tried to hide away from his attempts, but Fran forcefully pulled her towards him and placed both of his hands on her cheeks. Cardia panicked, worrying that she would end up burning Fran’s hands, but his hands don’t smell nor melt and was confused about how he was able to touch her. Fran explained he had known that the poison would disappear from Zicterium at times, especially now that it was transforming, which Cardia remembered that her poison was unable to melt the rope from earlier on. He was glad that he was finally able to touch Cardia, while Cardia was immersed in her first sensation of the human touch, with Fran whispering to her that he doesn’t want to let her go… (Awww~)Fran told Cardia that he understood her fear and suffering, and knew that both of them can’t run away from the sins they had committed. But what he could do now was to stay with Cardia, and both of them could carry that weight together. He remembered that Cardia had told him that she doesn’t care he’s a criminal, and now, he wanted to tell her that he too, doesn’t care that she’s a criminal too. He confessed his love for Cardia and told her that even if she had abandoned all hope she has, he would never ever abandon her…(I have to say I sort of teared up after reading this part. I’ll be really touched if someone told me this seriously >/////<)After listening to Fran’s words, Cardia started wishing for a future with Fran desperately, a future that she doesn’t even dare to dream of in the past. And in order to make that future becomes a reality, she’s prepared to fight to the end of the earth for it.As much as they would want to continue to immerse in this romantic mood, time was running out and they had to move on. Fran had noticed that Cardia looked disappointed, and remarked that her disappointed face was adorable. They held hands together and started running off again, with Cardia knowing that all she had to do now, was to trust Fran and keep going forward.Time counts down to 20 minutes. Fran and Cardia were shocked to see a huge tree in a room at the end of the corridor, and wondered whether that was the diffusion device. Nevertheless, they need to put a stop to Victoria’s plan, she had spotted them arriving, and asked them whether they had decided to accept her suggestion from earlier on.Fran was stern as he told her that they’re not here to obey to her, since their motive here was to stop her plan. But Victoria simply smirked, telling them that they won’t be able to stop the device now that it is already working unless they destroy it. Fran declared determinedly that he would destroy the machine since he had gained some knowledge under the care of Isaac last time, he knew how to destroy it. But before Fran could take another step towards the machine, Leonhardt stepped forward and stopped him, saying that he would not allow anyone to interfere with Queen Victoria’s plans. Leonhardt knew that Fran was not good at combat battling since he’s not a soldier, but even then, he would not show any mercy towards him, being determined to stop Fran at all cost.However, rather than battling Leonhardt, Fran put down the test tubes in his hands instead, which made Victoria wondered whether he was surrendering to them. But Fran replied that he’s not surrendering and instead this was how he battles. Even if Fran was not attacking him, Leonhardt was determined to fight him nevertheless, and charged towards him, shouting at Fran to pick up his weapon and fight him. However, Fran shook his head, even stopping Cardia to come to his aid, firmly stating that this was his fight. He turned to Leonhardt, telling him that his action was to rule the world with power, he doesn’t want to be like Leonhardt and declared that he would fight in his own way. Leonhardt swung his sword on Fran, who silently endured all of his blows when these attacks were powerful enough to break his bones. Leonhardt had been using the other side of his sword to fight Fran, urging him to pick up his weapon and fight him once again since if he turned his blade this time round, Fran would definitely get killed by him. But Fran shook his head, saying that it doesn’t matter to him to give up here to prevent getting killed by Leonhardt since they would all end up dying anyway if they decided to join Victoria’s plan. Seeing that Fran refused to back down, Leonhardt dealt more blows on him, and with a terrible sound of something breaking, Fran was forced to fall down onto the floor. (Yikes, sound like his bone had broken at some part of his body TWT)Cardia wanted to rush over to Fran’s side to help him, but he told her to stay away using his eyes. Finally, Victoria spoke, reminding them that they’re running out of time, and with a sad smile, declared that today was her last day as the Queen.(This sad smile of Queen Victoria was heartbreaking after I’ve known her back story later on…)However, Fran declared that he shall not let things end, with a gaze so strong and intense that it even made Leonhardt took a step back. Leonhardt tried to persuade Fran to back down and obey them since if he agreed, Cardia would be safe. But Fran knew that they would all end up dying (other than Cardia maybe) if they had all proceed along on Victoria’s plans, and he didn’t want to lose his life just to save the ones he had cared about. Fran had always seen himself as a cowardly man, but even so, Cardia had chosen to love him. That’s why he didn’t want to die and end up leaving Cardia surviving alone! Fran’s way of “fighting” was to stand in Leonhardt’s way to convince him that fighting with violence was not the way to solve things in this situation. Initially, Leonhardt was unwavering in his decision to heed to Queen Victoria’s plans, but after hearing Fran’s words that the plan would not minimise the damage to the world but instead what they’re doing now was just murder, spreading fear, and using power force the rest of the world to accept their views, Leonhardt started to doubt himself. He thrust his sword forward to try to break free of his doubts, and… ended up stabbing one of Fran’s legs. (Ouch, Fran… TWT)But even so, Fran gritted his teeth and grab onto Leonhardt when he tried to pull the blade out, and let out his regret that he had not fight back back then when he had the chance to. Leonhardt replied that whatever he had thought about the plans may not matter, since his role as a knight was to support Queen Victoria and protect her. Fran yelled back in protest that Leonhardt was not doing his role in protecting her at all since the Queen was heading down a path of no return at this rate.(I remember hearing this line in Code Realize’s PV and had been wondering for a long time in what circumstances would Fran say this, and here is it~)Leonhardt pulled out his blade from Fran and that made him collapsed to the ground. Victoria coldly demanded Leonhardt to kill Fran but when Leonhardt was about to do that, Cardia could not bear it any longer and dashed between him and Fran, shielding Fran. Fran didn’t want her to do that, but Cardia declared that she didn’t want to move aside and this was her battle too. Victoria did not see Cardia as an obstacle to stop her at this moment, and demanded Leonhardt to kill her too, which made Leonhardt realised how wrong the Queen’s order was finally since there’s no way he could murder a helpless woman that was just trying to protect her friend. (But… I don’t think they’re just friends now >////<)As Leonhardt and Victoria ended up in a confrontation with each other, Fran looked up to Cardia and smiled. thanking her for protecting him again. His face turned serious as he decided that this was his chance to try to stop the machine. Though this may be the wrong path for Queen Victoria, she said that she can’t stop her plan now, and seeing that Leonhardt was unwilling to help her stop Fran, she decided to do it herself then. But Leonhardt stopped her, which pissed her off and shouted at Leonhardt for trying to stop her plans too, even after he had known how much she had sacrificed for this plan. (Which Cardia noticed that this was the first time she had seen the Queen lost her cool and calm posture.)The device began to rumble, but Fran was not giving up, and as Cardia was praying, suddenly everything came to a still and became silent, with Fran proudly declaring that he had managed to deactivate it and had even activated it to self-destruct after a while, so Victoria can never make use of it again. Thus, Victoria had lost.Seeing Victoria dumbfounded face as she looked up, Cardia realised that she looked like an abandoned child, which is drastically different from the strong and confident woman she had seen before. But after a brief moment, she was back to her usual self and declared that even if they had stopped the device, the plan she had in mind was still in motion. She planned to make use of Cardia when she had turned into a monster since she doesn’t believe that Fan has the time nor strength remaining in him anymore to save her. Leonhardt tried to get Victoria to go off with him to somewhere safer since this place was going to self-destruct soon, but Victoria simply laughed and said that everything was going to end, and by then… she would finally be saved. (It was at this time that I realised that Victoria wanted to end her life and sees her life ending as being “saved”.)As Leonhardt grabbed Victoria’s hand and prepared to run off, without warning, she stabbed the dagger she had been hiding into his back. But Leonhardt did not show any signs of pain, and instead smiled peacefully. He told Victoria that he had always respected Queen Victoria and apologised for being disrespectful to her, by punching her in the stomach to knock her out. Though he was still bleeding badly from his wound, he carried Victoria in his arms and told Cardia and Fran that he was going to bring the Queen to a safe place, and asked them to take care of the rest of the matter.Fran looked over to Cardia, smiling as he told her that now all that’s left was to save her. Scene changes to Victoria’s point of view. While she was unconscious, she dreamt of her past. Victoria used to be a really gentle and kind person when she was young and tried to advise countless times to her father, the king, to end the war, but, that instead made her dad felt displeased about her. She had also gone to one of the colonies and had seen how the locals had hated her as they were being treated as slaves by the royalty, and decided that she shall steer this country herself before it gets destroyed by other countries due to all these hatred and anger. As Victoria worked towards her goal and gained more and more political power, even her father had started to see her as a threat and planned to have her assassinated. Thus, Victoria decided to counter-attack, by poisoning her father to kill him, then overtaking his throne and taking care of whatever mess he had left behind. Soon, Victoria found her hands were stained with more and more blood, and eventually, she even stopped shedding tears for any sacrifices she had made. Guilty of all the sins she had committed as the Queen, Victoria realised that finally, everything would come to an end, and she would be relieved of her burden as the Queen…But, when Victoria opened her eyes, she saw that she’s being carried by Leonhardt as he walked down the corridor. She remembered that Leonhardt had saved her when she was almost been assassinated. He had always been so loyal to her, even now when she had stabbed him. She mummered out the plan had failed, and everything she had prepared had all gone to waste. Leonhardt replied that he was prepared to accept any punishment that would be put on him and that he would never betray her. Victoria noticed that Leonhardt’s blood was dripping down and leaving a trail as he walked, and began to worry whether he was going to die. But Leonhardt simply smiled and answered that he would never die and leave her alone. Victoria ordered Leonhardt to kill her if Cardia does not become a true monster, as part of the responsibility of her failed plan. But, Leonhardt refused, and that made Victoria to furiously beg him to save her by killing her so that she could be free of her duties.(I can’t help but shed tears at this part actually since Victoria’s story made me felt that she had felt so tired of her burden and so guilty that she really didn’t want to live anymore.)Leonhardt was stern as he told Victoria that he needed her to stay alive as Britain still needs her to lead them, and praised that without her leadership and strength, Britain would have been gone a long time ago. He felt that death is not the way for her to take responsibility, and thus he wanted her to continue to live so that she could continue to save Britain. Leonhardt had remembered how the Queen had been so generous with him to help him and his sister, and even if Victoria said that she was just doing that to appeal to the public, to get the people to be on her side, for Leonhardt, it doesn’t change the fact that she had helped him and his family. He revealed that he had noticed her closely, and knew that she was saddened whenever sacrifices to be made, and even now when Victoria had blood on her hands, she was even willing to face her crimes head-on. Claiming loyalty for Queen Victoria, Leonhardt smiled and told her that together, they could endure the pain, even willing to accompany her to hell. Seeing that Leonhardt refused to kill her, Victoria replied that he was the cruellest person she had ever seen, yet he was also the kindest person too and shed the very first tear she had shed ever since she had killed her father.Back to Cardia’s point of view, she realised that the room was soon to be destroyed, and she would not be herself anymore, but Fran was calmed as he explained to her that he was going to extract the Zicterium and introduce it into her body to save her, though the extraction might take some time. There are only less than five minutes for Cardia before she got turned into a monster, but it would require around seven minutes for Fran to fully extract the Zicterium out.Though Fran was being all assuring, Cardia noticed that he was avoiding to answer the very doubt she had in her mind - what would happen to Fran during this moment, when he was being so close to Cardia when she was about to transform into a monster. She asked Fran that, and he smiled at her gently, telling her not to worry since he would take care of it, which was still not answering to Cardia’s question. Fran asked Cardia whether she still remembered of the time when they were caught up in the poison gas of Zicterium. He guessed that perhaps her Horologium had stopped transforming for a while, which means that, rather than less than five minutes as shown by the clock, they might have more time than expected. Cardia still felt worried after listening to Fran’s words, she didn’t want him to risk his life but before she could do anything, she lost control of her body and collapsed onto the floor. She knew that she can’t even choose her own death now, and felt sorry that she would end up being the cause of Fran’s death as well. But Fran told her to trust him and started extracting the poison in liquid form to be injected into her body. Cardia started saying her goodbyes, telling Fran how happy she was to have met and loved him, begging Fran to kill her at this moment before it becomes too late.(Of course, Fran refused to give up T/////T)Cardia thought about how someone she had loved was going to die again because of her, as her Horologium started heating up through her entire body, with even light emitting from her chest. Poison started oozing out from her body, as she could feel that her body was about to change into something else…(I never thought an option screen would pop up at this moment. Though I failed the last time I choose to believe in Fran, let’s choose to believe him one last time!!!)Knowing that she would definitely end up killing that one person she loved if she transformed into a monster, Cardia noticed herself reaching out for the dagger, and stopped herself with her other hand from taking it. She remembered what Fran had told her to keep believing in him, and vowed to herself that she would not give up. Hazily, she saw Fran rushing towards her with the Zicterium in liquid form, asking her to drink it. But she no longer has any control over her body, and even as Fran poured the liquid into her mouth, it simply spilt away onto her chin. Thus, at such an emergency moment…(I know this may be considered an overused story trope, I love it~ <3)Cardia could feel Fran’s lips against hers, as the sweet liquid flew down her throat. Since Zicterium was such a dangerous matter, she doesn’t feel that it would be safe for Fran to feed her Zicterium by mouth. But, Fran smiled and hugged her warmly, as Cardia thought about all her adventures that she had been with Fran ever since they had met. (I’ll just leave the rest of Cardia’s thought here since I like them~ Kind of embarrassing to type them myself anyway >////<)When Cardia regained her consciousness, she can’t help but feel that Fran was being reckless doing all these for her. Fran gave a weak smile and explained to her that the effects of Zicterium changed drastically when it was being changed from liquid to gaseous form to be used as a weapon. Even though Zicterium might not be harmless in liquid form, it’s not instantly fatal, and thus he was able to make use of it to cure Cardia.(Awww Fran~)Time fast forward to the near future. Cardia thought back to how the two of them had met up with the rest of the group soon after and managed to make out of the facility alive before it exploded. Overwhelmed with exhaustion, they both fell into a deep sleep.Just then, Fran came to find her at her room to bid her good morning. The group had a farewell party the night before, as the rest of the group began to part their ways as they continued on to achieve their respective goals. Fran teased her that Cardia was so lonely knowing that everyone was leaving at the farewell party yesterday that she held onto Fran and asked him to stay with her >/////
#code realize#fran route#otome game#playthrough#crplaythrough