#crplaythrough

Code Realize ~Wintertide Miracles~ Playthrough - Alternate Story - First Christmas Fran -

Warning: Spoilers. Image heavy post.

Please read Fran’s route on the original Code Realize’s playthrough before procceeding.

Sorry that this was yet another blog post that took a long time to be completed ><” Was planning on finishing this sooner but work and health problems recently made me tired and reluctant to write for a long time D: But my love for Fran had finally made me pull through, so enjoy!

In this alternate timeline, the story started off summarizing abit on the terrorist plan that was created by Isaac, Cardia’s father, and after the group had managed to stop the plan, Fran decided to leave the government and become a doctor. Cardia had managed to save her brother, Finis, and now both of them stayed at Wales, in this beautiful mansion.

The story changed over to Fran’s point of view, where he had opened a clinic for a few months already, and with his reputation growing, he gradually gets more and more patients every day. The patient he’s seeing today was a mafia boss, Darius, who may look tough on the outside but was suffering a backache. (His expression here is quite funny XD)

Shirley, his daughter asked him to take it easy, alongside with her bodyguard, Passy. (Though it’s definitely not a good thing to diss that your boss is getting on age, Passy =w=“)

Darius was the head of the Gordon family, and with the family selling affordable medicine to Van, he was able to keep his rates low for his customers and that was a big help to the residents since most of them were usually too poor to visit a doctor. Darius wondered why Van had decided to open a clinic in such a neighbourhood rather than heading back to Royal Society, but even though he could help the country by creating new medicine and saving those that suffer from incurable diseases, Van felt that it will be important for him to understand the things that he creates will bring upon the people in the end.

Shirley asked Fran on Cardia’s situation, to which Fran replied that Cardia was doing well, and Finis and her would come over for checkups from time to time. 

(It’s great that Cardia had actually made a female friend here on this alternate storyline ^^ Shirley looks pretty cute~)

(These characters are pretty interesting, I think more information regarding them are found on Finis’s Route in Code Realize ~Future Blessings~? Shall play that next time to figure it out~)

When the Gordon Family had left, Fran wondered what the rest of the gang was doing now. Lupin and Impey had left for France to look for someone, Van and Dora-chan had went off to search for other surviving vampires, and Saint would appear unexpectedly at times, with Fran only knew that he was affiliated with a secret society and was quite busy. Cardia and Finis had reunited and were now living peacefully in Wales. Thinking about them made Fran felt lonely as Cardia filled his mind again. (Awww~)

Even after the clinic had closed, Fran still needed to check his supplies, prepare his medicine for tomorrow’s examinations and working on his research for new medicine. When all his tasks were finally done, he sat down and looked through his mail and found a letter addressed to him from his mother. 

Fran initially lived in Switzerland but had left several years ago in order to follow his path on alchemy. But when he ended up being on the wanted list and was on the run, he wasn’t able to write to his parents and guessed that his circumstances back then. His mother had told Fran to think about settling down now that he’s a grown man, and Fran was thinking about writing his usual response when he wondered if it’s okay if he wrote about Cardia in his letter, and started writing. When he was done, he flustered as he realised that he was pretty much bragging about Cardia in his letter, but ultimately still decided to send it out since what he had written was true and Cardia was indeed important to him. 

(I do like Fran’s indoor outfit here, he looks even cuter when he blushed >/////<)

Later on, Fran found himself dreaming, a dream where he and Cardia had their last walk in London before Cardia heads back to Wales. He wondered whether Cardia and he would have a different future if he had said something different back then… But ultimately, he still encouraged her to be happy with Finis now that they are normal siblings, and that they should live together to make up for their lost time. 

(Cardia looked so adorable here and Fran was so dependable as always~ ^^)

Fran had noticed that Cardia had shown a lonely face, he assured her that she can always come back for checkups frequently so it’s not like they can’t see each other again. Cardia continued to look at Fran intensely as if she had wanted to say something, however, in the end, she decided not to say anything, and left for Wales. Actually, at that time, Fran had another desire in his heart, but he had pushed it away since he knew that it’s best for Cardia to be with her family. He pondered what if he did something different back then, and had the courage to ask her to stay, will things be different between then now…?

When Fran awoke, he found himself in Watson’s house. Apparently, Fran had decided to stay at Watson’s house the night before. Fran and Watson had met when Fran was helping the victims injured by the Nautilus bombings, and from then the two had became great colleagues and friends. Watson was worried about Fran’s health, telling him that it would be bad if the doctor himself had fainted with exhaustion while consulting a patient.

Even though Fran had felt fulfilled being a doctor and treating patients, he still experiences loneliness, to the point that he kept dreaming the above heartbreaking dream every night. (Wow… that sounds like Fran really misses Cardia very much ><”) Watson mentioned that he had heard Fran’s sleeptalk and he was repeating a single name multiple times, which led to Fran blurting out about Cardia. In the end, Fran had no choice but to let Watson know about his feelings about Cardia. He had regretted about missing the opportunity to speak openly before they parted ways, and wondered if a new path may appear before him if he had chose to say his thoughts back then. Watson suggested Fran go and meet Cardia instead rather than waiting for her to come back to London, which somehow seems to convince Fran.

When Fran was heading home later on, he met Leonhardt, who praised him that he’s like a real doctor now, and tried to convince him to come back to the Royal Alchemy. But Fran refused Leonhardt once again, saying that his mind was set on that he wanted to help people’s lives directly by treating them in the clinic, rather than staying in the lab. Leonhardt was satisfied with Fran’s answer and told him that he would be rooting for him ^^ He also told Fran that the government had managed to locate the Zicterium from the document they had retrieved from Twilight, and Queen Victoria had decided to seal it to prevent it being used as a weapon again. In the end, Fran asked for a small sample for Cardia, and requested for the rest of them to be destroyed.

(This is the first time I see Fran in such an outfit~ He really looks quite different in terms of aura when compared to his original outfit~ >////<)

On the way home, Fran came across the Tower Bridge, he remembered the day he had gone on his last walk with Cardia, and wondered what Cardia had tried to tell him on that day. He also wondered what happens if he had said the below to Cardia, but thought that he might have troubled her instead…

When Fran finally reached, he found a letter from his mother again, surprised to see a reply so soon. Turned out that Fran’s parents were glad to hear about Cardia, and had mistaken that Fran was dating her. They wanted to meet Cardia, and decided to come over to London during Christmas, asking Fran to plan accordingly. (Yikes! Here comes trouble~!)

The story then continued on in Cardia’s point of view. Fran had written to her and she was surprised that he was coming to visit them rather than them going over to London this time. Cardia’s impression of Fran was that he was the one who had helped her more than the others, since he was the only one who could examine her and Finis. Cardia remembered that Fran had reassured her countless times that she’s a normal girl, giving her strength with his words. She realised that Fran was an important person to her that even now, just thinking about him makes her heart throb. She thought about her last walk in London with Fran, and was actually expecting Fran to tell her to stay with him at that time. (Awww~ >////<) She had suspected the words were there, just waiting to come out on that day, and had thought that Fran had thought of her in a very special way too. But she also wondered what would happen, if she was the one who had told Fran that she didn’t want to leave on that day… would things be different now?

Now that Fran was arriving soon, Cardia made sure that she was dressed up and even wanted to put on the lipstick she had bought with Shirley last time. But Finis spotted her actions and started dissing her that she was smiling creepily at the mirror ^^; He had baked some cookies, ready to serve them together with some tea to Fran when he arrived. Cardia smiled, noticing that Finis’s attitude towards Fran was much better than the other guys since he was ready to chase the others like Saint or Impey when they come visiting. 

(Finis’s words of approval of Fran~ He’s indeed the most acceptable, or say, least craziest among the group XD)

(Finis looked quite cute now with his two buns on the head XDD)

Fran soon arrived and started looking around Cardia’s room, remarking that it’s cute and that it’s charmingly feminine, and his compliments made Cardia embarrassed. Fran noticed that Cardia was blushing, and wanted to take a look at her if she’s not feeling well. Cardia explained that she was just feeling restless and nervous since this was the first time she was showing Fran her room here and her reaction ended up making Fran felt abit restless too and started blushing.

(These two are both blushing which makes the situation awkwardly adorable~ >////<)

Realising the situation was too awkward at the moment, Cardia decided to leave the room, offering to call Finis. But Fran grabbed her arm to stop from heading out, since he wanted to talk to Cardia alone.

There was something important that Fran had wanted to tell Cardia that he needed to tell her in person, even though he felt that it might be really embarrassing. Asking Cardia to listen to him carefully, Fran asked her to become his significant other. (Fran finally confessed~! Yeah~~)

These words were what Cardia had been waiting for, though she wondered whether she is enough for him. However, Fran’s words later on crushed her fantasy, telling her that she doesn’t have to be his “real” significant other. She’s confused, wondered what had he meant by that. (Excuse me, Fran?!)

Fran noticed that Cardia looked confused and tried to explain in a hurry. Long story short, he needed Cardia to pretend to be his significant other. Cardia’s mood turned sour, demanding Fran to stay in the room while she left to get some tea. 

(Cardia was indeed quite pissed off if she had such thought OWO”)

When Cardia returned, Fran decided to give her a proper explanation, saying that he had written to his parents about her being a girl that he was interested in, but his parents had mistaken and thought that they were engaged, and had planned to come over during Christmas to visit. Thus, Fran needed Cardia’s help during Christmas to act as a couple together. Cardia still felt upset, but realised that she was upset about herself misunderstanding the situation from earlier on. TWT Though she knew that Fran was very troubled, she actually felt exremely opposed to it, and thus wanted a reason to reject this proposal.

(Yikes, I didn’t know which option I should choose honestly, so I just chose a random one seriously D:)

Cardia answered that she won’t be a very good actor and suggested getting Finis or Lupin to disguise and act as her instead, but Fran opposed to it frantically. He blushed as he admitted that he had written alot of details regarding her to his parents, like how adorable she was, the places they had been through together and…

(Seriously, that’s wayyyyy too much information out there, Fran =////=“)

(I know how embarrassing it is, Cardia XD)

With Fran begging like this, Cardia can’t bear to reject him in the end, though she had a special condition for accepting this proposal…

(I just love this part where Cardia played a joke on Fran, pretending to reject him to make him panic for a moment XD Look at Fran’s face of doom XDD)

The story changed to Fran’s point of view as it continues. Cardia had accepted his request, so all he had to do now was to make sure his clinic’s matter was well organised and explain the current situation to the rest of the gang, since Lupin and the others will be coming over to London to celebrate Christmas together. However, rather than Cardia arriving on the morning of Christmas, Finis and her had arrived at the train station, whom Fran had went to fetch.

(Cardia’s and Finis’s winter outfit are so beautiful and cute~ >////<)

Suddenly, a man appeared mysteriously before them, whom Finis identified him from Idea. The man reintroduced him as Hansel, asking Finis to remember his name since they’re friends. Hansel explained that he’s here to check up on them since “mother” was worried, but assured them everything’s fine. 

Finis was shocked when Hansel suddenly grabbed him, whining to put him down. Hansel reminded Finis that the latter had wanted to go somewhere in the south since the weather was cold here, though Finis had said that casually and didn’t really mean it. Hansel still wanted to keep his promise though and forcefully brought Finis away, leaving just Cardia and Fran to themselves.

(Both of them looks compatible here in the winter outfit~ ^^)

Fran proposed that they head back to the clinic to put away their luggage, and as he was about to head away, Cardia held onto his sleeve, reminding him to fulfil his condition. What follows was a short flashback to Cardia proposing her two conditions on helping Fran - (1) Fran was to act as her significant other and cares for her as well,  (2) Cardia wanted as much practice as possible with Fran before she met his parents, and came to London a few days earlier than Christmas for that. 

Since Fran had to fulfil his condition, he had to start their practice, by putting his arm around Cardia. The two of them head off, with Cardia being amazed to see snow for the first time in her life. 

(At this moment I actually get an option screen, when I’m in Fran’s POV?! This feels like I’m getting Cardia’s affection up rather than Fran, in an otome game =w=“)

Fran accidentally revealed his true thoughts, which made both Cardia and him blushed like crazy XDDD But Cardia thought he was acting when he said that actually. Fran wanted to tell Cardia that he didn’t want to act (since he wanted to be an actual significant other), but missed the chance to do so, since he was afraid of destroying Cardia’s happiness. (*disappointed TWT*)

Anyway, they’ve completed their first mission of walking in London together as a couple. Their next mission on the next day was to tell their friends that they’re a couple~!

Turns out that Fran was the one who’s all embarrassed to tell them, but Cardia encouraged him, saying that if he can’t even tell his friends this, it’s going to be harder when facing his parents later on. 

When Cardia and Fran entered the mansion where the gang used to gather, they’re first greeted by Impey, who was glad to see his angel. But he made a weird face when he noticed something…

Fran had wanted to announce that Cardia and him were a couple as soon as they stepped in initially, but the others soon turned out and everyone was caught up in greetings and catching up… until Impey finally pointed out that Cardia and Fran were linking arms together XD

(Feels abit bad for Impey that his angel Cardia was snatched away~~~)

Now that Impey had brought it up, Fran finally had the chance to announce Cardia as his~ 

(I love this line of his so much XDDD)

The rest of the gang didn’t seems shocked and accept it easily, much to the dismay of Impey (I bet he wanted others to object to Fran and Cardia dating, but oh well….). Van remarked that it seems natural and normal to him that Fran and Cardia are together~ (Van gave his thumb of approval? XD) 

Fran and Cardia decided to explain everything in the end when the commotion had settled. Realising that Fran’s parents would be visiting on 24th December which was the same day the gang was having their party, Lupin “demanded” Fran to spend the entire day with his parents, and they would postpone the party to another day, even encouraging Cardia and Fran to have more “practice” and leave the preparations for the party to the rest of the gang. 

(Impey was glad that all of this was an act though he was crying about it earlier on ^^; You definitely thought that was real just now XD)

(I just realised this now and reading this made me a little sad…)

Even though both Fran and Cardia wanted to spend as much time as possible practising to be a couple and going on dates, Fran still had to run his clinic, and Cardia decided to help him out. The patient had noticed her and teased Fran, remarking that he’s married. 

(Fran’s explanation is so cute and definitely doesn’t stop the patient from continuing on teasing him XD)

They closed the clinic after the morning on December 23, and decided to spend the afternoon walking around the town as a couple. Along the way, they stopped by a cafe for a tea break, but the couple menu offered to them was full of dishes’ names that were embarrassing for one to say it out loud ^^;

(What follows was pretty much the humiliation of Fran X3, since you can select from three different dishes for him to order >/////< Yep, I’ve selected all of them just to listen to him saying it XD)

Cardia felt embarrassed to the point that she looked away from him, to which he complained that he’s the one who felt more embarrassed since he was the one who ordered it XD Cardia wondered if they looked like a real couple seeing that the waiter offered them the couple’s menu when they entered the cafe, to which Fran mummered whether it would be wrong if they’re a real couple. (Sounds like he wanted them to be an actual couple rather than for act, same like Cardia, but no one is taking another step in confirming their relationship TWT) 

Fran later proposed that they shall try to do everything couples do, and brought her to this beautiful place…

There was an ice rink available there, and thus Fran decided to teach Cardia how to ice skate. Cardia can’t help but feel abit pissed on how good Fran at ice-skating since she had thought of him as one who isn’t so athletic. Fran smiled and answered that since he had been skating pretty much his entire life in his hometown, he’s proud of his skating skills when compared to Lupin or Van. 

(It’s refreshing to see that Fran had his childish / boyish side as well~ ^////^)

Just then, Fran pulled Cardia away from the fence that she was holding on, making her all flustered and holding tightly to his hand, while being aware of the close distance between them. When Fran suggested whether he should let go of her arm so she could try to skate on her own, Cardia told him not to let go of her, and he replied that he won’t let go of her anymore. (In a different sense, but awww~ this part is sweet~ >////<)

Even though Cardia cherished these moments she had with Fran, she can’t help but think that Fran was doing all these with her as part of their practices and them being a couple was just temporary. Finally, on December 24, Christmas Eve, it was planned that they would welcome Fran’s parents who would arrive by train in the evening. Cardia felt that it would be hard to let go of Fran when the act comes to an end, wondering whether she would be able to refrain herself from making any sad expressions. 

They went for a walk together, talking about how they’ve felt these few days that they’ve been through together. Cardia had noticed that Fran seems to let himself free to the point that she felt that he wasn’t even acting when he looked at her with such gentle expression, leading her to be deceived that they were really a couple. 

When they arrived at the train station, Fran asked Cardia to come closer to him since he’s afraid that she would get a cold, and wrapped his arms around her. Even though Cardia tried to create a conversation with him, she found herself unable to do so and end up crying instead. 

(This part was so heart-breaking at that moment T////T) 

In reply to Fran, Cardia finally decided to let out her true feelings, she had fun for the past few days, but felt painful too, knowing that all of this would come to an end, and revealed that she didn’t want them being a couple to be a lie. She told Fran that she would keep a good act until the very end even though she’s sad, to which Fran replied that she’s very strong, even stronger than him. He told Cardia that he didn’t want both of them to be liars, nor he wanted to live with any more regrets in his life, and thus proposed a way for them to turn their lie into the truth.

(I’ve been waiting for this moment since the start of the route T////T You guys took way too long to get together! T////T )

Seeing that Cardia might now believe his words and thought that he was saying all this as part of their act, he decided to turn his feelings into actions… by kissing Cardia on the lips.

With that, Cardia believed him and both of them became a couple at last~ ^////^ Cardia was interested to know what Fran’s parents were like, since they could be her family one day. (Wow, the pace is moving towards marriage now?! O////O) Fran laughed and replied that they’re very normal, and that they loved Fran very much. (Sounds like Fran really did grew up in a loving family ^^)

When Fran’s parents arrived, Fran greeted them warmly and introduced Cardia to them, which they were curious to know since Fran had written so much about her in the letter XD

(Cardia’s reply when Fran’s parents asked her to take good care of him is just too adorable >/////<)

What Cardia and Fran would have to worry will be to explain their relationship status to their friends later on, and she looked forward to the near future where Fran’s family will become part of her family too, with Fran vowing that he will cherish every moment that they spend together, and their future was just beginning.

Final Thoughts / Ramblings:

And~ it’s the end~ Welp, I actually felt this was short (it seems even shorter than the last FD) since it feels like their sweet moments were about to start but it ended T////T Fran’s route sure likes to feed me bitter and sweet moments T/////T Overall I still enjoyed them very much since it’s “Fran”, but a part of me sure do craves for more sweet moments with him since even after two fan discs of Fran’s moment, I didn’t felt it was enough >/////< Fran is really such a great character for me that he seriously jumped up to my top favourites of guys after so many years of otome-gaming ^/////^

I realised that there was still the triangle date but I shall not play that part yet until I’m done with another character’s route~ You guys might know whose route I’m going for next in the main game seeing how I’ve put up the banner on the blog, so see you guys on the next route~!

Code Realize ~Future Blessings~ Playthrough - After Story White Rose - side Fran -

Warning: Spoilers. Image heavy post.

Please read Fran’s route on the original Code Realize’s playthrough before procceeding.

Finally~! Sorry if this was a long wait, but I decided to summarize the entire route into a post rather than splitting it up since I wanted to do a shorter playthrough than my usual ones as I find myself getting too long-winded ^^; Nevertheless, I end up adding alot of thoughts and the route was still pretty long to write so there you have it~ Enjoy the Fran and Cardia moments below ^^

Before the story starts, there was some flashback to the earlier game in regards to what had happened. (I personally like how it was basically a monologue of Fran’s thoughts, especially the part where he explained that he initially wanted to help Cardia in order to get rid of his guilt, deluding himself that by doing so, he might be able to erase his sins.)

Now, onto the future after the main game!

Fran and Cardia were still staying together at the huge mansion that Saint had left in their care. Fran had his day job as the royal alchemist at the palace, and the scene started with Cardia reminding Fran not to forget anything before he left for work. (Apparently, Fran was a little clumsy to have forgotten his stethoscope the day before, had his shoes worn on the opposite feet the week before, and had even accidentally brought Sisi to work XD)

(Fran’s explanation sounds like he didn’t have a good night sleep due to something Cardia did the night before… >////<)

Cardia noticed that Fran had a cowlick poking up on his head and was about to touch his hair to flatten when she realised what she was about to do and immediately stepped back. She isn’t wearing her gloves now, and she had been taking medicine to control her condition, but she was still afraid of her accidentally harming Fran. 

Fran took her hand and put it on his cheeks, assuring her that it’s fine and she did not need to be afraid. There’s no scent of melting, rotten flesh, and instead, she felt the warmth of her lover. It felt that only a little time had passed since Cardia had managed to touch things, so Fran tried to help her to feel comfortable about her sense of touch, which Cardia really appreciated.

Fran encouraged her not to rush, and that she’s just a regular girl now. (He even calls her his princess, awww~ >/////< When did Fran become such a sweet-talker~)

But, it’s not the time to endless indulge in touching each other’s cheeks now since Fran was going to be late. Cardia rushed Fran off to work, though she knew that she would have kept holding onto him if he didn’t have to work. Just as she lingered for Fran (when he just left ^^;), Fran came back again, claiming that he had forgotten something.

(Yep, this was what he had forgotten - to tell Cardia that he loves her, aww~ ^///^ Too bad he didn’t manage to stay for her answer.)

The story then went onto explain what other stuff had happened after the main game. Victoria had changed herself and now planned to aim for peace with progression and development for the country. Fran had rejoined the Royal Society once again as an alchemist.

In the day when Fran was working, Cardia would be cleaning and tidying up the mansion, the place where it held many memories of her and her friends. Now, only Fran, Sisi and she were the ones remaining in the mansion, with Saint, the original owner, signing the property over to them, and departed for France. (Wow, Saint just gave them a free house just like that… OWO) Cardia had decided that she shall take care and keep the mansion in top condition so that when her friends returned, the mansion would be just like how they’ve remembered it. 

(In case anyone was interested, Lupin and Impey were still travelling together, seeking of something of great import, whereas Van and Dora-chan were working together to protect the remaining surviving vampires.)

Remembering about her friends and realising the Fran wasn’t around in the house either made Cardia felt quite lonely, but Sisi nestled close to her feet to remind her that he’s still there. (So cute~) Suddenly, Sisi noticed something and ran off, thus Cardia chased after him to the dining room, and realised that there was a parcel on the floor… which was actually Fran’s lunchbox (Why is it lying there on the floor o.O?) Realising that this was perhaps an excuse for her to see Fran, Cardia decided to send the lunch box to him and set off with Sisi.

However, Fran wasn’t at his workplace when Cardia reached there, as he was attending a meeting at the palace with the Queen instead. Cardia could have left Fran’s lunchbox there actually, but she decided to head all the way to the palace instead. (Cardia must really want to see Fran badly XD) The guards were there when she arrived, and since she can’t just go through them, Cardia wondered whether she should just stay and wait until the meeting is over. 

A voice called out to her just then, and to her surprise, it’s Van~! (Van’s face when he realised that Cardia had come all the way to the palace just to give Fran his lunch~ XD)

Van decided to lend Cardia a hand in getting her into the palace by following him. Turned out that Van was here as a bodyguard for Dora-chan and this other person called Marquis Renfield, who was a supporter in Dora-chan’s aim to establish a vampire-governed zone, and their seminar for today was the one that Fran was attending. 

When Cardia spotted Fran, he was apologising to Dora-chan, revealing to him that he was the one had droved his vampire clan almost to extinction, since the poisonous Zicterium gas used to kill the vampires was ultimately invented by him. Though Fran knew that no apologies would be enough for him to atone his sins, he wanted to find someone who had survived, which in this case, Dora-chan, and attempt an apology. 

Dora-chan calmly told Fran that if he had not told him what he had done, Dora-chan himself would have never known about his sins, and thus not even have to apologise for it. But that won’t do for Fran since the guilt pained him every time they shared a conversation, and he knew that if he had continued on keeping this a secret, he would never be able to share a genuine moment with him. Dora-chan simply smiled and said that he knew what kind of a person Fran was and knew that he won’t be someone who would create a murder weapon of his own wish. He told Fran to stop taking responsibility for his creation and asked him to stop hating his own self because of that. (Now that Dora-chan had forgiven him and asked him to forgive himself, it seems that everything was much better now~ ^^)

When Van and Cardia approached them, Dora-chan blushed when he realised that they were eavesdropping on them, and also because Van had praised him that he was like his father XD Cardia told Fran that she was happy for him, now that he had finally dealt a thing that had been plaguing him for a long time.

Fran was curious why Cardia was here though, thus Cardia showed him the lunch he had forgotten to bring along with him. Dora-chan got curious and peeked into the basket Cardia had brought, then started asking whether this was a lunch packed with love and adoration, which made Fran started to blush furiously XD

(Cardia, you are not helping the situation by admitting to it XD)

(This scene is seriously too adorable <3)

Too bad that Fran had yet another talk after lunch, and thus wasn’t able to take the time to walk Cardia back to the mansion. Cardia decided to head home back herself, bidding goodbye to Van and Dora-chan, who promised that they would call on them when they passed by London again.

Before Cardia could leave though, she met Leonhardt, who told her that the Queen would like to see her. Even though Cardia was worried, Fran assured her with a smile that it would be alright. 

Queen Victoria smiled when she saw Cardia, explaining that she just wanted to have a chat with her and was even alright with Cardia calling her by her name. There had been major changes since the last time they had met, with Victoria reducing the military pressure on neighbouring European countries, and shifting towards a policy of peace. Victoria revealed that she had personally walked down the ruined street of the Lower Town of London, and saw it for herself how her actions had caused grief and misery to that part of the city. But she realised the people living there had not given up, continuing to rebuild their home, and found ways to survive and move forward. It was then she knew that the Britains themselves and Great Britain was not weak. 

(The Queen smiles here which I found it a beautiful sight <3)

Victoria decided that she shall now oversee the country’s progress rather than acting as a direct protector, claiming that she shall lay down the groundworks for future Britain. In fact, she had been so busy recently that she doesn’t even have the time to complain, which Cardia offered to listen to her whenever she’s free or even both of enjoying a teatime together.

Suddenly, Victoria motioned to Cardia to get closer, and wanted to know how things were proceeding with Cardia and Fran. Cardia smiled and answered Fran was always being very kind to her, even telling her that he loves her every day, (Aww, Fran does dotes on Cardia very much >////<) The Queen was glad to hear that and mentioned that it’s lovely to find someone that she can share her innermost self with, even remarking that she wanted to give marriage a try.

(Poor Leonhardt did not take to this well though XD)

Victoria assured Leonhardt it would still be in the distant future that she will get married since stabilizing the country was her priority now. Even Cardia noticed that Leonhardt’s smile when he’s relieved seems more personal… (Hmm~? O////O) Cardia was glad to have the chance to share a pleasant afternoon chat with the Queen nevertheless.

As she walked home with Sisi though, she saw an elderly couple and wondered whether she and Fran would be like that someday, perfectly serene. She tried to imagine that, but couldn’t in the end…

When they were having a late teatime together after Fran came back from work, he noticed that Cardia seems abit distracted, and wondered whether she’s feeling unwell. 

(Cardia being unwell could be a good excuse to visit Fran, now that he had said that XD)

(It’s so adorable how Fran just straight up gave Cardia a peck on the cheeks with this confession~ >////< Guess what Cardia had said about Fran telling her that he loves her every day was true after all~)

However, their lovey-dovey time was soon stopped by a guest, who was none other than Saint, after coming back from France for some “business”. Saint was serious as he met them, telling them that there’s someone he wanted them to meet, or say, confront. And thus, three of them set off into the night and ended up on tower bridge.

Fran soon realised that something was amiss when he got on the bridge, remarking that it was weirdly quiet around here when usually there should still be traffic around here at this time.

The first person to appear before them was… someone in armour which Cardia remarked that she had seen before. A voice came from within the armour, explaining that they had been observing her ever since she had come in contact with Saint. An old woman in a wheelchair soon appeared next, and noticing Fran’s and Cardia’s confused faces, guessed that Saint had not told them anything at all. 

The old woman introduced herself as Omnibus, and that she governed an organisation known as Idea, where others had referred to them as “agents of destiny” or “guides of history”. Their mission was to ensure that history unfolds justly and to coax humanity away from grievous error. Turned out that Saint was a member of the organisation, an apostle as well as the woman in armour - Guinevere. 

Fran questioned their motive for meeting them here, to which Omnibus replied that she’s here to give them a warning, as well as offering a proposal for Fran. Apparently, Idea was impressed by Fran’s intelligence but was worried that he might cross into the realm of taboo like Isaac in creating what that was not supposed to, which was Cardia. They wished that Fran would consider things carefully before creating something, which Fran promised that he would take responsibility for what he had created, considering how he knew that the Zicterium he had created had caused countless of death. 

But the warning was just the beginning of what Idea had wanted to talk to Fran about. Their main aim was regarding Cardia, as even though her Horologium was currently rendered to be completely inert, there was still a possibility that it would awake someday, and that the dangerous poison would come back again. Fran was angry as he countered that this was impossible since he had used different methods available to check that the Horologium was stable, and thus the possibility of it reactivating was zero. 

However, what Idea was worried was not the Horologium reactivating in recent years, but instead, hundreds and hundreds of years later, since Cardia was still considered inhuman even if her body was not poisonous anymore, and might have a longer lifespan than one had thought of. 

(All this talk about Cardia was torture to herself, I feel bad for her D:)

And thus, since Idea was greatly fond of Fran’s talents, they wanted to offer him to become a member of the organisation, an apostle just like what Saint had become. 

Fran was shocked and wondered if this was an order, to which Idea informed him that if Fran was to choose to join them, he would be granted immortality, and he would get eternal life with Cardia this way. Obviously, this offer was very attractive to Fran, but Saint quickly stepped in and asked Omnibus to warn him about the consequences if he were to choose to become an apostle. 

In exchange for Fran’s immortality, he would have to dedicate his entire existence to Idea and carried out their orders, which was usually to kill others to remove their humanity to bring peace and prevent disasters from happening. Fran now had two choices, to accept Idea’s offer and be able to spend eternity with Cardia or to keep on living as a human and die one day, leaving Cardia alone in the world. Fran was suspicious about Idea’s purging of whoever that might bring harm to the world, since if Cardia was deemed as someone harmful, she was also considered a target by them as well. Initially, Saint was ordered to remove Cardia’s existence but Saint had pleaded with them to spare Cardia’s life, and now that Fran had managed to suppress Cardia’ poison, they decided to let her continue with her life for now. But if the Horologium was to create poison again in the future, Idea would spare no mercy in killing her. (Damn, Idea just seems really bent on on “purging” Cardia this entire conversation actually, and they kept calling her the cursed daughter D:)

Fran asked for time to think about the offer and was ultimately given three days to make his decision. When Omnibus and Guinevere were gone, Saint apologised as he had wanted to help to shield them from Idea, so that they can continue to live happily and peacefully together. Turned out that rather than going to France which he claimed to, Saint had actually gone to plead with Omnibus all these while, asking for Idea not interfere with their lives. Cardia was glad that Saint had helped them to ask for this chance though, as both Fran and Cardia knew that they would have to face with this problem regarding Cardia’s immortality eventually.

(Yes, these two had gotten so strong after what had happened in the first game T////T)

The two returned back to the mansion, but Cardia found herself unable to sleep, thinking that even though the poison was gone from her, she only looked like a normal girl and was ultimately still….a monster. Fran joined her at the garden, later on, remarking that he was unable to sleep too, and looking at his smile, Cardia wondered why can he still smile at a time like this. 

(Fran’s smile looks painful though T////T)

Fran admitted that he was worried, but he touched Cardia’s cheeks as always, assuring her that everything would be alright, but rather than worrying alone, he decided to stay by Cardia’s side instead. Cardia knew that Fran must be feeling more worried than her, but he was still so caring and warm towards her, which broke her mental defence and poured out to him that she was very frustrated and scared regarding this entire thing. She’s scared that she would end up destroying Fran’s future, her poison might come back someday and also losing Fran. Cardia realised that she had become weaker since, in the past, she was alright in spending nights alone by herself and being called a monster, but now… she could hardly bear the thought of landing herself in such a situation again. 

Fran was serious as he assured her once again that everything will be fine, and that he would never ever let her be turned back into a monster, even after hundreds and thousands of years. But in midst of his words, Cardia could sense a little amount of uncertainty in his voice, but all she could do was to break into a sob in his arms, knowing that Fran had never even mentioned what would happen to him at all. As Fran comforted her and got her back to bed, Cardia wondered what Fran was thinking about actually, and what will he decided on in answering Omnibus… Fran could only tell Cardia that he was still thinking about it, promising her that when he came to a decision, he would inform her first before anyone else. 

(I do like Fran’s determination here though, even though he had absolutely no idea what he should do at this point in time…)

The story continues on in Fran’s point of view. Two days had passed since Idea had offered the proposal to Fran, but what he had done till now was just comforting Cardia, and that was all he could do. Fran wondered what he was supposed to do, anxious to come to a conclusion before tomorrow evening. But he knew that there would be regrets regardless of whichever path he chose.

Just then, Saint appeared before him, noticing that Fran seems tired and sympathize his circumstances. Saint was considered a friend yet an enemy to Fran, since he had been acting secretly on behalf of Idea when he was with them, with orders to eliminate the Horologium, yet he did not. He told Saint that it was difficult to understand Idea’s prerogatives and he could not even forgive Omnibus for calling Cardia a “cursed” being. But, Fran was the most frustrated with himself, knowing that after all his efforts, he was still unable to mend Cardia. Saint encouraged Fran that he had actually done alot for her, by suppressing her poison, and teaching her about human warmth and learning to love others. 

Fran had initially thought that as long as he could suppress Cardia’s poison, they would be able to move on with their lives happily, but they indeed have to think about Cardia’s lifespan. Though it might be like an average person’s lifespan, there was also a possibility of her living on for hundreds and thousands of years just like what Omnibus had deduced. But regardless the length, Fran was firm in his goal in never letting Cardia becoming a monster, and will do anything in order to make her happy. 

He was about to come to a decision to join the Idea with Saint when the latter asked him whether Cardia was just a justification for him to reach a decision. Saint said that Cardia was a gentle and kind-hearted girl, which Fran should know better than others and wondered whether Fran was willing to spend an eternity bound to killing others for the sake of their future, and asked Fran whether doing that will make Cardia truly happy. 

(Off-topic but I do love this huge close up of Fran’s face here >////<)

Fran was at a lost and claimed loudly what on earth should he do. Though Fran will make sure that everything will be fine as long as the two of them are together, he worried about what will happen when he dies, thinking about how Cardia will be left alone forever and ever without him, living in terror and wondering when her poison was going to come back and turn her back into a monster… Therefore, in order to prevent that from happening, Fran saw it as a must that he had to continue living, in order to make Cardia happy.

But Saint’s words soon brought Fran back to reality. What he had said was his own vision of happiness, as Fran had no idea whether what he had thought of was Cardia’s happiness. If Fran were to pass away in the future, Saint would offer to watch over Cardia as part of his job of surveilling, but honestly, Saint wondered what would Cardia’s idea of happiness be with Fran. 

Even though Saint had tried to sound calm when he talked, Fran noticed a tint of anger in his voice. Saint warned Fran that eternity was far too long to be spent alone, making Fran wondered how long did Saint had lived, or how many missions he had done for Idea. Saint remarked that how he would be seeing them passing away one by one in the future, and when that time arrives, he would occasionally remember the days that they’ve spent happily together, and continue to live on with that. That would be the pain that Fran would have to bear if he chooses to go on this path, and Saint continued on that perhaps it was a blessing that he himself does not know of love, and thus he won’t have to bear this type of pain. (I feel abit bad for Saint when he said he doesn’t know love though TWT) Saint’s wish was that both Fran and Cardia would be able to remain as they are, and said that though a human’s life may be short when compared to the apostles of Idea, it would still be longer than what Fran had thought to be, claiming that the decades Fran had ahead of him would be enough for him to struggle through.

Thanks to Saint’s insight, Fran’s troubles seem to have cleared as he thanked him for his help. To that, Saint simply smiled and disappeared. Fran knew that Saint initially have no intention on talking about himself or his past, but he decided to, in the end, seeing that he trusted Fran enough, and had viewed him as a friend. The two paths Fran had in front of him, he decided that it was all too early for him to choose either path yet. 

Back on Cardia’s side, everything was as per normal, though she realised that she wasn’t feeling hungry and came to a revelation once again that she’s inhuman as she doesn’t need to eat to survive. She worried about herself becoming a monster once Fran was gone, though she knew that Fran swore that he would never let her become a monster and promised that she would never be alone too again. She wondered how Fran was going to carry out these promises, and knowing that she would be robbing Fran of a natural future, she’s not happy about it. Cardia could not bear the thought of sweet and kind Fran becoming an apostle and killing people an eternity. 

In the end, Cardia decided to go on a walk with Sisi to clear her head, and along the way, she noticed many royal guards and met up with Leonhardt, who explained that the Queen will be at the Royal Society today. Seems like Victoria likes to roam the city more nowadays since she felt that going out will aid her to gain more wisdom rather than staying cooped up in the palace.

Suddenly, Leonhardt apologised to her, especially for his actions against them as the Zicterium facility where they had confronted the Queen. Cardia forgave him, saying that they have very opposing beliefs at that time, but Leonhardt still felt bad about pulling his blade against her and hoped that she will accept his apology… as well as gratitude, since Cardia and Fran had helped prevent the Queen and Leonhardt himself from making a drastic mistake, smiling as he claimed that their actions had helped in creating the future of Britain. 

(Leonhardt’s smile was just too dazzling here~ +W+)

Leonhardt’s smile as he showed his confidence in the future made Cardia turned away as she found herself unable to face him, muttering that she found him amazing to be so positive about the future without any proof, and had, in fact, felt jealous about it. I really like Leonhardt’s answer towards Cardia so I’ll just let him say it below:

Leonhardt’s words reminded Cardia of the times when Fran had strived to save her life, even at the cost of his own life, and that because she had trusted and believed in him, they were all able to live today. Cardia decided that she shall be the one to help Fran and told him what he had told her before when he was suffering alone now, rather than relying on him to comfort her. And off she went to find Fran immediately, with Leonhardt chasing after her to stop her as Fran and the Queen were still in the middle of an important conference.

At that moment, Fran and Queen were discussing in the conference, which Victoria felt reassured that things would be able to proceed even more smoothly now that Fran had come back to the Royal Society. She noticed that he lacked confidence, and wondered what were his troubles about. 

However, before Fran could reply, Cardia rushed into the room and ended pushing Fran to the floor, asking him what was he going to do about Idea. Since Fran had said before that Cardia could find him at work, Cardia decided to do that since she can’t wait even a moment longer to hear Fran’s answer. Cardia revealed her wish to Fran -  she didn’t want him to join Idea and kill people just to secure her future, even if she does want a future together with him.

(Awww~ I just love this point of view from Cardia <3 Even Fran’s glasses got knocked off by the impact XD)

It was then Fran realised that his thoughts were different on what Cardia had wanted for her happiness since he had wanted to become an apostle at Idea if that was what it takes to prevent Cardia from weeping in agony and desperate for him when he wasn’t around anymore. In the end, if the future isn’t one that they would smile together, Fran guessed that it isn’t even one that they should consider. Cardia told Fran that she wanted to be the one to help Fran this time, by helping him to find the answer if he had yet to make up his mind, by finding a third path if either of those options will make either of them miserable.

(I know this was a joke by Fran, but erm… it would be scary if it’s true~)

(Confession time again~! >/////<)

Fran got up and complimented that Cardia was indeed a strong yet kind-hearted girl, and that was why he loves her, as he embraced her. He revealed that he just wanted to have a normal life with her, and doesn’t really care about maintaining the order in world history, and had made his final decision, which Cardia doesn’t have to worry about. 

Victoria interrupted them at this moment since she found it boring to be on the sidelines, though she’s glad to have witnessed this interesting scenario of Cardia pushing Fran to the floor. 

(Haha, Victoria’s teasing ended up making Fran blushed XD)

However, since Queen Victoria had heard about them talking about Idea, she was interested and wanted to know more about it, especially since she heard that they were involved in maintaining world history, though she also offered them help if they required it against Idea. Fran decided to reveal what they had learned about Idea (with some omissions though), and while they were grateful for Victoria’s offer to help them, they decided to face this problem by themselves, making a promise to report to her when this fiesta was over. 

It’s finally the night that Fran had to give his answer to Omnibus, though until the last hours, they’ve yet to prepare their best response. Fran had an idea though and asked Cardia to trust him, even though what he was proposing was going to be abit of a gamble. 

Saint met up with them later on and brought them to the same bridge again. Fran was worried about what will happen to Saint since his actions already proved to Idea that he’s biased to them, which Saint replied that he would be fine since he would have been eliminated long ago if it had been that bad. Saint wondered what was the odds of winning in Fran’s “gamble”, which Fran answered he had no idea, but he isn’t going to give up on this possibility. 

Sensing that Cardia seems nervous and afraid, Fran could only hold onto her hand, but that was already more reassuring that any words in Cardia’s heart ^////^

Omnibus and Guinevere soon appeared, asking for the decision to be made. Cardia could sense that the atmosphere had changed, with Fran motioning her to stand behind him while glaring at Omnibus, and even Saint’s intent to kill was exuding even though he had yet to draw his blade. 

Fran told Omnibus that the offer of being grant immortality was very appealing, and Omnibus urged him to accept it, even offering to grant him a wish of staying alongside with Cardia if he chooses to join Idea. But, even though Fran wishes to stay with Cardia and live with her, what he meant was the opposite of what Omnibus had expected. He had decided not to join Idea and just wanted to live his life with her since Cardia doesn’t wish for Fran to take the lives of others for the sake of their future together. The options for Fran were to either cease his humanity to gain an eternity with Cardia, or to erase Cardia’s existence since Idea still sees her as a threat, but both options were not what Fran had wanted, and thus he’s going to aim for another future that they had wished for.

Omnibus warned Fran again about Cardia having the possibility of reverting to a monster, which Fran promised that it would not happen as long as he was still living, swearing to protect her at all costs. Since the offer was being rejected, Idea might have to attack Fran and Cardia, but Saint warned Guinevere from getting any closer, as Fran had yet to make his offer to Omnibus.

Since Omnibus had praised Fran of his talents, Fran wondered perhaps he would be able to fully understand the Horologium within his lifespan, as he had already been able to suppress the Horologium’s production of poison completely within a year. Thus, he pleaded for Omnibus to give him time, until his death to fully analyze Horologium, though it was not to completely removing the poison from Cardia but instead ensuring that her lifespan would be similar of a human, with Cardia agreeing on shortening her lifespan voluntarily. This was after the discussion Cardia had with Fran - rather than him sacrificing his humanity to be with her, she wanted to be changed into a complete human being instead. If Fran had failed in his research to shorten Cardia’s lifespan, she asked for Idea to come and take her life away when Fran had passed away. Fran had made this proposal as a test for himself so that he could test his own potential in alchemy. He vowed to search for a way to make Cardia a human so that she will never become a monster again. 

However, Omnibus remarked that she could not see such a future working out for them, and the proposal does not guarantee peace for the world, and thus she could not accept it. With that said, Idea still viewed Cardia as a target and decided to eliminate her…

Omnibus even asked for Cardia to give up her life for the sake of peace, but Cardia just wanted to live with Fran and rejected her order. (Seriously who would actually do that =w=“)

Idea started to summon other apostles to fight against Saint, Fran and Cardia, up to eight of them which surprised Saint since he had never seen an incident which requires that many Apostles. (But that’s just how serious Idea had viewed this situation D:)

Though they were outnumbered, Saint isn’t willing to bow down without a fight, and even Cardia offered to help too, though she won’t be able to use her poison as an advantage anymore. However, suddenly there was the sound of gunshots in the air, and guess who’s here to save the day?!

Yep, it’s the rest of the gang! Saint revealed that he had actually called for them beforehand and brought them here so that they could come and give Fran and Cardia a hand when the situation calls for it. Cardia felt relieved and reassured since the appearance of her friends made the atmosphere much lighter.

(Saint was indeed in a difficult position, but I admire his courage to create a different path for his friends, even if it meant defying Idea’s orders though he isn’t planning on betraying them.)

Lupin’s gang doesn’t really believe much in helping the world in getting on the right path, all they cared now was to grant Cardia’s and Fran’s happiness since the two of them had worked so hard trying to attain them.

(I can’t help to fangirl abit over Lupin here. That was so cool coming from him! >////<)

(Woah Woah, Fran’s outburst of confession may be abit too hard for me to handle >////<)

Omnibus turned to Cardia, telling her that she foresees her future to be a path full of endless suffering, but asked even if that was the case, would she wish the happiness of being a human to herself. Of course, Cardia wanted that, saying that she will be happy, as long as she was with Fran, and she believed that Fran would do what he had promised. 

(I just love this part where Cardia tell the old lady off~ No one can decide on one’s future other than themselves! Sounds like Impey fell in love with Cardia all over again ^^;)

In the end, Omnibus decided to give up and gave Fran and Cardia a chance in paving for the future they wanted for, telling them that they shall put their current plan on hold and see how things will turn out. Cardia was glad that Idea had decided to give them a chance and believing in them.

(After pretty much being cold to Cardia the entire story, the old lady finally called her by her name and even smiled… Whew!)

As Idea left, the sun shined and it was another brand new day. Seems like they were saved (for now), and now Cardia and Fran can be together forever~ ^////^ The rest of the group pounced onto them, hugging and congratulating them. (Awww~)Cardia was thankful for the group showing up since, without them, the results of Fran’s proposal might end up differently. 

(I love the scenery of the morning sun, especially with Fran’s close up face in it~ ^//////^)

After some sweet talk between the couple, they kissed in front of their friends, with Van automatically covering Dora-chan’s eyes so he didn’t get to see them. (I guess this was still too early for Dora-chan XD) (And poor Impey feeling his jealousy fuming when he saw Fran kissing Cardia XD)

A week later, things were back to normal, with the rest of the group soon left to fulfil their life goals, and Cardia doing her housework at home with Sisi, waiting for Fran to return every day. 

Fran had reported to Queen Victoria about Idea as promised, and she was relieved to see both of them were safe and sound after the confrontation. Fran requested for an assistant to help him with the lab work since now he had yet another task (analyzing the Horologium) other than his daily duties as an alchemist. The Queen smiled and agreed, asking for the “new” assistant to make an appearance, and that person was none other than Cardia~! That really surprised Fran as Victoria explained that it was actually Cardia who had suggested it since she wanted to be of use to Fran, and… since Fran’s research would revolve around the Horologium now, she felt she should be around, though the real reason was because she wanted to be close to Fran too XD Fran thanked them while Victoria replied that she’s glad that her subjects had found happiness. Cardia wanted Victoria to find her own happiness as well, and her words took Victoria by surprise that she guessed that she shall search for her own happiness when things were more settled.

(I feel that Victoria was hinting something at Leonhardt here, but too bad the guy didn’t get it =w=“)

Fran and Cardia left the palace together after that, with Fran still feeling surprised as he had never dreamt that they would be able to work together, with Cardia being his assistant. Cardia felt that she still lacks in knowledge, but she was determined to study more to help Fran as much as possible, and Fran smiled as he told her that she will be a great assistant.

With Fran leading the way, they ended up in front of a church. (It’s a beautiful church~) Fran told Cardia that he had something he wanted to tell her today, and taught her that a church is a place for taking vows of love. He wanted to swear an oath of love to her and vowed that they shall live their lives as a couple and find happiness together. 

(I love Fran’s words here, regardless of what had happened in the past, we should always try to accept it and move on…)

(Cardia’s smile here is so adorable, I’m so glad that she found her own happiness here finally in the end ~ T/////T)

In the end, they exchanged vows as a couple and kisses at the church, with Fran promising Cardia that he shall love her with his all, forever and ever. The end~

Final Thoughts / Ramblings:

I’m so happy and touched to finish this route on the fan disc, so glad that everything turns out to be alright in the end T////T A part of me still wanted some more lovey-dovey moments though since most of the route was like bitter and sad moments D: I love Fran even more after this, he’s not a strong character, but he really works hard and tried his very best to give Cardia happiness the most he can. Most of the time I’m already touched by Fran’s feelings and motivation, rather than what he had actually done, guess it’s the thoughts that count? Fran is seriously like an angel, how can a guy be so kind seriously~ T/////T

PS: Felt that Saint was such a great pal to be, seriously without him, there may not be a happy ending for Fran and Cardia, so thank you so much, Saint~

Code Realize Playthrough - Fran’s Route - Extra Story

Warning: Spoilers. Image heavy post.

After competing Fran’s route, I’ve unlocked Fran’s part in the Extras, and choosing it will lead us to this short extra story below, enjoy!

This happened at an earlier part of the story where the group were all staying at the mansion peacefully. 

Unexpectedly, the group ended up having a free day, and thus everyone was spending it to do their own stuff around the mansion. Even though Cardia was told she could spend the day freely, she didn’t know what she should do, since she had spent her free days from before in training or learning information. 

She walked to the garden and met Fran there, who was planning on cleaning the garden today since he wanted to return a favour to Saint who had kindly taken care of them here at his mansion. Cardia decided that she shall lend a hand too, as other than returning her gratitude to the count, she wanted to talk with Fran more too. 

(Any quality time with Fran is greatly welcomed by me~ >/////<)

But, even though Cardia was determined to help out as much as she can, she wasn’t able to achieve as good of a result as she had wanted since it was hard to pull out these stubborn weeds. She sneaked a peek at Fran and noticed he had managed to pull out the weeds skillfully, and asked him for some tips.

(Mr Fran’s gardening lesson 1 - How to pull out weeds~)

Cardia was amazed that she managed to pull out the weeds easily after following Fran’s advice, and that sparked something in her and she started enjoying pulling out weeds one after another. 

(Side Infomation about Fran: Turned out that Fran was good at gardening since he does grow some plants for his experiment when he was practising alchemy~)

Seeing how good Fran was good at gardening made Cardia felt sad since rather than planting plants, she’s the type that makes plants wilt instead (because of her poison). Fran encouraged her to try planting some flowers, assuring her that she would do fine and the flowers will definitely bloom beautifully~

(Somehow it seems like only when Fran said that he would help her and they could plant flowers together that will get Cardia’s heartbeat race a little ^/////^)

Soon, both of them managed to clear all of the weeds in the garden. Suddenly, Fran started yelling frantically, standing up and flapping his lab coat and vest about. He screamed that a worm had fallen onto him and he thought that it had gotten into his clothes, as he frantically trying to shake it out. But nothing fell out so he started to get worried whether it had gotten inside the clothes for sure.

Cardia wondered whether Fran was afraid of the worm after seeing him being so upset, which he answered that though he wasn’t afraid of them, he’s worried that the caterpillar might be poisonous and explained how a sting from them could end up causing a rash. (I honestly wonder if it’s the translation or there’s really a caterpillar that can sting others - pardon for my lack of knowledge D:)

It was then Cardia decided that she shall give a hand to Fran, by pulling up his shirt and flapping it. Her action made Fran very flustered, as he tried to convince Cardia that he’s fine and he can look for the caterpillar himself. But Cardia felt that this was an emergency that she should try to resolve as soon as possible, and refused to step down. She even started to tug onto Fran’s pants as well, wondering whether the caterpillar had gotten inside it. Apparently, her actions made Fran even more flustered than ever XD

(I think Cardia just lacks delicacy in “that” area at that moment of time ^^;)

In the end, Fran’s scream can be heard loudly, asking for Cardia to please stop~~~ Cardia reported that they never managed to find the caterpillar after that, but thank goodness Fran did not develop any rash nor illness since there’s no sign of him being stung at all. But he looked miserable for a long time afterwards, which Cardia thought that was just him really disliking caterpillar. (No Cardia, I think Fran might have suffered a trauma from your action OWO”) She even vowed to help him look for the caterpillar if one had gotten onto him the next time. (Feels bad for Fran if such an incident is going to happen a second time, though this was a funny incident XD)

Next up will be my playthrough for the first fan disc of Code Realize - Future Blessings~! It would take a while before I finish Fran’s route on that, but hopefully, I’ll be able to finish playing it this month and get it written next month, stay tuned~!

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~ <3

Beware 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 >/////<

It seems like the rest of the group had already left the mansion by the time Cardia had wake up, which disappointed her since she had wanted to send them off. Lupin and Impey had set off together on their original goal of finding something, while Van had gone off with Dora-chan, as Van had said that he wanted to help the vampires as a part of atoning for his past. Saint, the owner of the mansion, told Fran and Cardia that he had some business that he had to take care of and force them to take ownership of the mansion before leaving.

Cardia felt bad that she ended up being the one falling asleep soundly when she was the one who had asked Fran to accompany her. Fran doesn’t mind though, since he got to look at Cardia while she slept, complimenting her that she’s adorable to the point that he could not take his eyes off her. (Oh~ When did Fran gets so good at such flirting already? O////O) Apparently, such a comment was too much for Cardia, that she got too embarrassed and hid behind the sheets.

(Fran was indeed not holding back his praises when he found Cardia really adorable ^/////^)

Suddenly, Fran blushed and admitted that he’s really happy that Cardia had wanted him to stay with her since he enjoyed being relied on by the girl he loves and even called her a princess. 

(These blushing expressions are adorable~~! Fran is the adorable one instead to me >/////<)

He started fidgetting and wondered whether he should continue on saying what he had in mind. After debating silently, he seriously asked Cardia whether they should start sleeping in the same bed now that they’re staying together. (Is it me or it suddenly just went onto fast mode for their relationship when they’ve just been a couple recently? That was fast, Fran OWO)

(I have to say you’re being abit too honest there XDDD)

(But seriously… how can you say “No” to such a cute face here >/////<)

(Yep, no way I could ever reject Fran after this >/////<)

Cardia nodded silently but then thought that she might end up hurting Fran since she wasn’t sure whether her Horologium would continue to be in a stable condition. She worried that her poisonous body won’t change, and there would be no happy ending for her in the future. Fran smiled and assured her that he had promised her since the first time they had met that he would definitely cure her of her poison no matter. He revealed that he had gotten some Zicterium samples and asked Cardia to drink it, promising that drinking it would make both of them happy. After Cardia drank it though, Fran decided to give it a try…

by kissing Cardia on the lips~

Cardia panicked as she tried to push Fran away, but he forcefully held her down with his hands. She had thought that she might end up melting Fran’s face, but thank goodness there was no smell of burning flesh nor his skin melting on her. Surprised, she looked up at Fran and asked him what was going on when the kiss had ended. 

Fran answered that the liquid he had just given her to drink was a medicine that could suppress her poison, though she would need to take it regularly. Now that her poison was suppressed, she could now freely touch Fran and kiss him. This was like a miracle for Cardia, which Fran said all of this was possible because both of them had fought hard for what they wanted and didn’t give up. It felt like their bright future was just about to start now and he promised that he would make Cardia happy. 

And that’s the end of Fran’s route in Code Realize~! I took such a long time in finishing this route so thank you all for accompanying in reading my playthrough~ There’s still an extra story I’ve unlocked after finishing his route, so I’ll be sharing that tomorrow in the new year~!