Cha Seo-yeong flipped closed the book she was reading. A sigh escaped her parted lips as she sunk slightly in her seat, glancing out the window of the cafe.

Pedestrians milled across the street, some looking lost while others rushed to get to the places they needed to be at.

She slowly got up from her seat, brushing the surface of the book when something suddenly caught her eye. Outside, a child was crossing the street as a car sped towards them without slowing down.

Cha Seo-yeong immediately burst outside, screaming “STOPPP!!!!” as she shoved the child out of harm’s way. Large, glistening eyes stared back at her. Those clear, black eyes were the last thing she saw before a sickening force crashed into her body. She instantly lost consciousness.

· ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

The first thing she saw when she opened her eyes was pink hair. Beside her, a mass of pink hair burrowed onto her bed(?) and sobbed to the point her shoulders were shuddering. A girl dressed in maid clothing was nearby, silently wiping tears away from her eyes.

Cha Seo-yeong tried to move her fingers, groggily whispering, “W-Whe…re…”

The pink-haired mass immediately shot up, grabbing her weak hand, “Elphie! You’re awake, my child. You’re awake!”

But that was short-lived, as Cha Seo-yeong quickly passed out again.

· ─ ·✶· ─ · ·

When Cha Seo-yeong’s eyes fluttered open again, the sunlight filtering through a lace-curtained window felt both warm and foreign. The scent of fresh linens and faint lavender filled the air. Her body ached, but it wasn’t killing her.

Am I… dead? 

Memories as the car rammed into her flashed in her mind, and the excruciating pain made her see black.

Just as she was getting overwhelmed by the memories, a warm hand pulled at hers, drawing her back to shore.

Cha Seo-yeong tilted her head slowly to the side, and a woman came into view. She had her pink hair and makeup done flawlessly, wearing a gorgeous European-style lace gown.

As she held Cha Seo-yeong’s hand in hers, she started to tear up, “Elphie… I thought that I might’ve lost you forever.”

Elphie? Who’s Elphie? Is she referring to me?!

She suddenly jolted as a realization came to her: pink hair, European ambience, Elphie… Wasn’t this the novel she had just been reading?!

The novel followed the main character Ariadne who was the embodiment of “pure goodness”. She helped the poor, treated the sick, and eventually caught the eye of both the Prince and the Duke of the North.

The Northern Duke guarded the border between the country of Archimes and Praetor. He repeatedly thwarted enemy attempts to break in, but as he was stationed in the cold northern region all year long, few down in the southern capital knew of his feats.

Still, the Northern Duke demonstrated tremendous loyalty to the country and its people. However, the royal family’s trust in the Northern Duke’s family waned over the years, and they wished to seize back power from them.

Thus, the Prince, who fancied Ariadne, spread lies about the Northern Duke to her and asked for her help in getting rid of this scourge. Ariadne readily agreed upon learning of all the terrible acts of slaughter the Northern Duke had committed, and they hatched a malicious plot to depose him.

But little did Ariadne know that the Prince actually intended to kill the Duke. When she found out, she immediately ran to her best friend Elphie to plead for help. She didn’t want blood on her hands, nor did she want the Duke to come to her for revenge.

Contrary to what Ariadne wanted, Elphie did not agree to take the blame, instead asking her to see through the Prince’s deception. However, Ariadne did not hear a word she said, focused entirely on her own dilemma. In the end, she directed the fire towards the entire Marquis’ family, and the Northern Duke personally lopped off Elphie’s head in the midst of the burning mansion.

Afterwards, the Northern Duke charged towards the palace with his army and eventually got shot to death by the palace guards. As he died, he proclaimed with a loud laugh that they will come to regret this one day.

Seeing the devastation, Ariadne was heartbroken and turned to the only one she had left to rely on–Prince Troy. They got married and lived happily until the country to the north, Praetor, sent their golden troops down. Without the Northern Duke, there was no defense line and Praetor easily razed south to the capital.

At the end of the story, Ariadne stood on the castle walls with her husband Troy, who eventually used her as a human shield and shoved her down the wall, tumbling her to her death. In her last moments, she suddenly regretted all that she had done, and knew that she herself had erased the last bit of true “goodness” in her heart when she set her best friend up to die in her stead.

Thinking this was karma, she accepted the fate she received in the end. And that, was the end of the novel.

That’s it? That’s the ending? was what she thought at the time. But now, she had transmigrated into that ridiculous book into the character of Elphie, who would be killed by the Northern Duke in fury.

She glanced over at the pink-haired woman beside her, who smiled back kindly without knowing a thing. Everyone would die, including non-main plot characters like Elphie’s family.

No, no, she must change the ending. She wouldn’t let herself and innocents die for ridiculous reasons like the main character.

Slowly, she opened her mouth, “Wha… What happened?”

The pink-haired woman, who was estimated to be Elphie’s mother, gave her a glass of water. She looked worried as she explained, “You fell sick a week ago with a terribly high fever. The doctors all said that they could only leave it up to fate, and they couldn’t do any more to help you…” She wiped her tears away with one hand.

“Thankfully, your fever finally went away after four days, but you didn’t wake up for days after that. Are you feeling better, sweetie?”

Cha Seo-yeong slowly slipped into the role of Elphie, “Yes, Mother. Sorry for worrying you…” It looked like her mother hadn’t left her side for days, guarding by her bedside. Elphie set down the glass and laid back down, closing her eyes, “I think I’m still a bit tired. Can you give me some time to sleep?”

Her mother immediately helped pull up her covers and tucked her in, “Of course, sweetie. Just call if you need anything.”

“Mm, please make sure to rest too, Mother…”

“Yes, thank you. Sleep well.”

Elphie kept her eyes closed as she listened to her mother shuffling out of the room. After the door clicked close, she opened her eyes again and began surveying her surroundings.

A 10-meter high white ceiling with intricate gold leaf embellishments gilding the corners. Sunlight streamed in through the balcony window, and white and gold color schemes decorated the room.

Various wood furniture was spaced throughout the room, with a small lounging area complete with sofas and a glass tabletop.

The room appeared clean and not cluttered, indicative of frequent cleaning and care. Elphie recalled the lady in a maid outfit standing beside her mother when she woke up. She must’ve been either her or her mother’s personal servant.

Elphie carefully rose from her comfortable duvets. She peered towards the door, making sure no one would enter, and shuffled towards the vanity mirror.

She peered into the mirror: long, straight pink hair drifted down her back. Naturally-ruddy lips, a perky nose, and sharp jawlines. Her face was very beautiful, but the highlight was undoubtedly the golden eyes.

Those golden eyes seemed to suck in all the light around it, captivating its viewer. Elphie raised a hand and touched her face. It was a beauty worthy of being cast in a rofan novel.

She turned and walked around the room, familiarizing herself. Since she had no specific memories from Elphie and only had knowledge from the book, she would have to perfect the act if she didn’t want others finding out.

After completing the short tour, she sat back on the bed and lifted a hand. In this novel, 20% of the population was capable of using magic. Most magic users were gathered in the aristocrats, army, mage guilds, or mercenary groups.

Elphie’s family was part of the aristocratic class, and their family’s speciality magic was ice magic. Back during the founding war 160 years ago, Elphie’s ancestors fought alongside the uncrowned king, and were rewarded with a noble title, passed down since then.

Blue light flashed and a chill was cast in the surroundings. Slowly, an ice flower bloomed in the palm of her hand, reflecting crystals of light. Golden eyes calmly reflected the scene from above.

She stopped releasing mana and watched as the ice flower quickly faded away. Using magic for the first time was quite mystifying. It could be used in many situations for effects or to fight–very versatile.

With the basics down, she began turning over the plot details in her head. Her best friend, a saint-like character Ariadne who believes in the good of everyone to an unnatural degree; the man she falls for, the outwardly charming but treacherous crown prince; the Duke she scorns, a cold and impassive man inside and out. These were the main characters the plot revolved around.

They were all intricately linked together in a web of fate, and once one string breaks, the rest would fall apart along with it. In normal villainess transmigration stories, the transmigrator would break the plot by going against the main character, or entangling with a character that’s “outside the script”.

Then, the direction was clear: she needed to first meet with the protagonist of the story, her best friend Ariadne.