Chapter 45 - Volume 3 (1/2)

Character Tidbits & Afterwords

I got the ideas for the names of the main character of this story from poisonous plants.

LYCORIS RADIATABoth her given name and surname is the technical name of cluster amaryllis. I hear 「Lycoris」 is also the name of a Greek mythology sea goddess.

Though the other names for cluster amaryllis like corpse flower, hell flower, ghost flower, razor flower are pretty wretched, I think it’s an incredibly beautiful flower. There are a lot of different colors for it, but I like the red amaryllis by far.

By the way, in flower language it means things like 「enthusiasm, independence, reunion, resignation, and “only thinking of you”」. It sort of fits her but it also sort of doesn’t.

For her outward appearance, she has a mole under her eye, but may I know whether everyone remembers it? Depicting the appearance of the main character using first-person style is difficult, isn’t it? I was supposed to be writing her with the assumption that she’s a relatively glamorous beauty, but it didn’t turn out the way I planned.

WOLFGANG EISENHUTEisenhut is about wolfsbane.* Wolf’s bluish-purple eyes come from this color.

Wolfsbane seems to be also called 「stepmother’s poison」. In ancient times, this is often used to kill the husband’s children from previous marriages in Rome or something like that. Scary. The episode, in which poison was served by the (aspiring) stepmother, came from there.

A yandere. But, at a level widely received, if at all possible, as the hero. I say, my trouble was that he’d been a difficult character. And truthfully, I think this person comes to help Lycoris way too much at the best timing (LOL), he probably always pays attention to everyone around Lycoris, huh?

SHADEBelladona’s English name originated from 「deadly nightshade」. The name itself has a meaning of「shadow」.

Although a ripe belladona’s content contains poison, it is said to be sweet. This is how the concept of the character of a man who does this and that after inviting girls with sweet words, came to be. He’s a womanizer, you know? May I know whether everyone remembers this setting? (Second time asking this)

Midway, I had an inkling that Shade faded away to simply becoming a siscon, but, his character was received quite favorably. He’d been very easy for me to write.

LILIAM VALLEYNickname: LilyI wonder how many times I made the mistake because I questionably interchanged her name with Lycoris. Thank you very muchhh for all those who pointed out the mistakes. Though I remember feeling the burn of shame as I continued to make the same mistakes without learning from experience… Even though I’ve reread it, I still never notice that trap. The characters’ names didn’t resemble each other at all, I learned.

The “Lilium” in Lily’s name is about Yuri(2), but Lily of the Valley = Valley of Yuris = “Suzuran”(3) is her image. Speaking of which, the lily of the valley is an incredible cute flower, but its poison packs a strong wallop.

Actually, I initially planned Lily to shake off Lycoris’s hands until they were at the basement where Gift was— that is to say, until the last moment. Lily’s character was only supposed to change a little when Lycoris started to investigate Lily and Gift further, but in the end, her personality settled down to this.

It seems she became actively stronger at the end of this volume.

ARUTADO BRUGMANSIANickname: ArtBrugmansia came from the scientific name of angel’s trumpet. Arutad is Datura read in reverse. The meaning of Angel Trumpet in flower language are things like 「charming and deceitful charm」.

He might be a natural character to hate, but he’s rather fun to write.

Since he’s a character in the game, there’s also a route where Art and Lily fell in love. Which means there’s a happy ending with him that’s not yandere.

Seriously worried about it, I thought 「 it would be a blessing (at least for Lily) if he’s tamed by brainwashing him with hypnosis. As expected, it felt cruel, so I didn’t allude to it in the story.