Chapter 2
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‘When I opened my eyes one day, I had transmigrated as the character named ㅇㅇ.’
A sentence I was sure I’d seen somewhere floated into my mind.
The situation ‘I’ was experiencing now was exactly that: the unfamiliar-yet-familiar sensation of a different body, the strangely recognizable medieval Western-style interior, and this thing in front of my eyes that looked like a game interface window.
[Status Window]
[Edith of House Moulton, Age 20, Imperial Year 1000]
[??? Affection 0% ▼]
[Her life has always been filled with misfortune. However, this misfortune will also end this year.]
[Help her survive this year and free her from her unhappiness.]
[Failure: Death]
[※Warning: Melancholy Level will have a significant impact.]
Edith of House Moulton…
That name was definitely one that had passed by in a single line of script in the game I—the old ‘me’—played just yesterday.
‘That gloomy young lady in the corner is Miss Edith Moulton…’
Yes, that was it.
The sensation of getting out of bed and walking to the mirror felt both strange and familiar, with no sense of dissonance at all. As if ‘I’ had been Edith all along.
In the mirror, a woman with untidy, dusty blue-black long hair and hazy ash-gray eyes—someone who looked utterly melancholic—stared back at ‘me’.
I examined myself in the mirror, trying to process this bewildering situation.
It was that 19+ reverse harem, dark fantasy game where multiple male leads corrupted the saintly heroine. A game steeped in every cliché imaginable, a B-grade melodrama that wouldn’t have garnered any attention if not for its adult rating.
The original ‘me’ had bought it, swayed by the handsome male lead illustrations, though I usually found these dark games a bit frightening and avoided them.
‘And the 19+ content… Thinking about it now, it was a complete mishmash of kidnapping, confinement, S&M, non-human elements…’
I was infinitely grateful I hadn’t transmigrated as the saintly heroine, the target of all those crimes. But at the same time, I couldn’t understand why I had ended up in this weird side character instead.
“It’s not even a random draw… And if I don’t survive this year, I die? What a weird game.”
While muttering to myself and touching the face in the mirror, a sharp knock and a loud, clanging voice came from outside the door.
Thump thump!
“Young Lady, are you awake? I’m coming in!”
[Maid, Marie, Age 18]
Before I could even answer, the brown-haired maid rudely swung the door open and barged in, carelessly dragging a basin that looked like wash water and a tray holding bread and soup. Above her head, text floated as if introducing a character.
‘So that’s how it gives information. Fascinating, it really is like a game.’
“Young Lady? How long are you going to stand there spacing out? If you want to attend the royal banquet today, starting your preparations now will already make you late!”
“Banquet…?”
“We’re already in the most remote outskirts of the capital—it takes half a day just to get there! There’s just no time!!”
Marie roughly shoved the tray in front of me, plopped down in a chair in the room, and started shrieking hysterically, before grumbling under her breath.
Edith—no, I—was clearly a noble, even if only a viscount’s daughter. I felt irritated by the maid’s presumptuous behavior and wanted to say something. But the moment I thought it, my emotions felt clouded over, as if by dark fog, and I suddenly felt cowed and deflated.
‘It feels like my feelings are being controlled by someone else…?’
I guess I need to progress the story. So, I picked out what seemed like a key keyword from the maid’s rant and asked about the royal party.
“A royal banquet? What kind of…?”
“Huh? Seems you’re not fully awake yet, Young Lady. You’re still speaking nonsense, but I’ll explain anyway.”
I felt an inexplicable sense of déjà vu from the look in her eyes that seemed to say, ‘Unbelievable.’
“Today’s banquet is to commemorate His Highness the Crown Prince’s investiture ceremony. So, for once, please! Don’t embarrass yourself and tarnish the viscountcy’s dignity. Just stay hidden in a corner or something!”
Just as I thought.
I’d wondered if it was just my mood since earlier, but the maid’s tone and actions were clearly intentional. It was blatant disregard.
I had no idea what Edith had been like before to be treated this way. And whenever I wanted to say something back to the maid, why did I feel this strange churning in my stomach and become so dispirited…?
‘Am I assimilating with Edith’s emotions?’
I was wondering if this side character named Edith had some unspoken trauma when the red text on the status window finally caught my eye.
[Status: Melancholy (14%)]
Even though the number was low, the red, blinking text felt threatening, like a warning, seeming to stoke an uneasy feeling within me.
[…Melancholy Level will have a significant impact…]
The warning from the status window came back to me.
Somehow, I naturally felt that the maid sitting before me might be influencing this number.
Edith—no, I—first tried hard to calm my emotions to prevent them from being affected any further.
‘To do that, I have to be obedient and quiet, even if it’s unpleasant.’
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