đ.đ: Elysia de Valmont
đ lavish boudoir, the kind that looked like it had jumped straight out of a fantasy novel, lay momentarily still, filled only with the soft sounds of breathing. Sunlight spilled through tall, arched windows, bathing the room in warm gold. A gentle breeze whistled through the velvet curtains, carrying with it the delicate scent of fresh flowers and cool mint.
On the queen-sized bed, a girl stirred beneath silken sheets. She burrowed deeper into the covers, sighing in bliss as the lingering chill was chased away by newfound warmth.
Then, suddenlyâshe jolted upright.
Her chest rose and fell quickly as her eyes darted around the unfamiliar room, wide with a mix of confusion and caution, as if expecting an intruder to emerge from the shadows.
But realistically⊠she was the intruder.
It didn't take long for her brain cells to have their 'Eureka!' moment because before long, her pent up anxiety dissipated like mist.
"Oh my wordâŠ" she whispered, voice breathless with awe. "It wasn't a dreamâŠ"
She blinked. "It wasn't a dream!" she repeated, her tone rising with disbelief as she pinched her arm sharply.
A sting answered her. No illusion. No fantasy.
This was real.
Before she could get to exploring, theorizing, fact-checkingâand everything else her overactive mind had in storeâa red beam of light appeared right in front of her nose, glowing about the size of a clenched fist.
It floated effortlessly in mid-air, delicate wings buzzing like a bee's, unable to stay still for even a second. It bounced from one spot to another, fluttering erratically around her face.
"Hmm⊠a peculiar little thing to be the first thing I see," she murmured, tilting her head. "You must be the system he promised, yes?"
The glowing orb pulsed in response, its reply emitted in a calm, mechanical, yet oddly feminine voice.
[Greetings, Host.]
[You have successfully been reborn as Elysia de Valmont, only daughter of the Aerelion royal family and future bride of the Vampire King.]
She already knew all this. Of course she did.
Still⊠there was something thrilling about hearing it spoken aloud by a floating, glittering orb. It made it official.
[I am the System assigned to guide you. You may name me as you wish, although this step is optionalâ]
"Winfred," she cut in immediately. "You're my companion in this life too. I'll call you Winfred."
The orb glowed a bit brighter in response.
[Choice saved.]
[Host, I am a mission-based reward system. For each task you successfully complete, I shall reward you with items, enhancements, or knowledge that can be used in real-time.]
[Be warned: failure or refusal to complete missions will result in the accumulation of Karma Points.]
"Karma points?" Her brow lifted. "What's that?"
[A variable which controls the direction the story takes.]
[Current Karma: 0/100.]
[The more Karma you accumulate, the more likely the story is to follow its original course⊠which ends with Elysia's death.]
She paused, eyes narrowing slightly. "So, moral of the storyâdon't collect karma points. Got it."
[Precisely, Host.]
Just then, something caught her eyeâa faint glint flickering from the edge of her vision. She turned toward it instinctively.
A mirror.
Her body moved before her mind could fully process it, and she found herself standing before the tall looking-glass, breath catching in her throat.
Her lips parted in an audible gasp.
Staring back at her was a girl both familiar and foreignâa breathtaking vision pulled from the pages of her beloved novel.
Her flawless skin was pale like porcelain kissed by moonlight, yet warm enough to glow beneath the sunlight spilling through the windows. Not a single scar or blemish in sight.
Her hair flowed in smooth waves down her back, a soft platinum blonde so light it almost shimmered white.
But it was her eyes that rooted her in placeâa pristine shade of blue, rimmed with darker lilac tones that faded into a silver halo near the pupils. Wide, luminous, and heavy with unshed emotion, they blinked back at her with the raw disbelief she felt in her chest.
"âŠThis is me?" she breathed, almost afraid to touch the mirror for fear it would shatter the illusion. But her fingertips met cool glass. Solid. Real.
She tilted her head slightly, watching the reflection mimic the motion. Then she reached up, lightly brushing her fingers over her cheek, her nose, the shape of her lipsâsoft and heart-shaped, with a subtle pout that gave her an air of innocence.
Cassie had always been pretty in the ordinary, everyday sort of way. But this? Elysia was ethereal. A living work of art.
And now she was Elysia.
A hundred emotions warred for space in her chestâdisbelief, curiosity, excitement, fear⊠and beneath it all, a strange undercurrent of guilt. She had just inherited someone's life. Someone who, in the original timeline, hadn't been given a happy ending.
Not this time, she thought fiercely. Not if she had anything to say about it.
"I swear," she whispered to her reflection, voice low and resolute. "I won't let your story end in trageâ"
She stopped mid-word the instant her eyes dropped lower.
Her jaw followed suit.
"Bloody hell," she breathed, hands instinctively moving to cup the soft, generous mounds now attached to her chest. "No one told me she was packing this much! These are literal melons! How am I supposed to walk with these things??"
She gave a cautious bounce.
Yup. They bounced back.
Then her gaze swept lower, taking in the rest of her barely-covered formâher new curves snugly outlined beneath the thin, silky nightdress. A slow, stunned thought echoed in her mind: 'I'm no better than a man.'
And honestly? Who could blame her?
She was just about to launch into a very scientific exploration of the situation when a sudden knock rattled the door.
Her heart leapt into her throat.
'A maid?' she thought, cursing under her breath as she lunged for the nearest item of clothingâa shawl draped neatly over the dressing table.
With lightning speed, she flung it around her shoulders and cleared her throat, composing herself.
"Come in," she was about to say when the door burst open.
It wasn't a maid.