her breath was laboured and ragged, count vestia and his son, declan, were in worry.
declan loved his little sister, when he was a naughty kid at the age of seven, his little sister had consoled him after a scolding from the count because he fought with the marquess abello's son. at thirteen, she was the one who stayed strong when the doctors said that their mother would not be able to move for her whole life, much less walk again.
was camellia suffering so much that she tried to take her own life ?
the thought made his heart hurt, his precious little sister who he cherished so much.
after the accident with the countess, he had known how transient a human life was, he knew better than to take his loved ones for granted, knowing everything was momentary.
yet, camellia was laying unconscious in her bed, her pale face looked so peaceful as if she were just in a light slumber.
" young master , please get some sleep. i will inform you once the miss wakes up. "
after much reluctance and words from the head butler, declan went into his room and slept, falling asleep almost immediately from fatigue.
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she opened her eyes to a empty room and her maid beside her.
" young miss, oh my god, i'm so glad you are fine ! i thought i would never see you again. everyone loves you, so please never do something like that again ! " mary spoke with tears threatening to spill from her eyes. though there was a terrible headache, she felt happy to see someone worried for her, she just smiled as if to reassure the crying maid.
her lips were parched and like the brilliant maid she is, mary immediately brought her warm water to drink. in the meantime, the butler and brother dylan had also come to visit her.
as soon as the door opened, declan enveloped her frail hands with his bigger ones as he sighed and smiled at her. " i'm so relieved you are okay, lia. don't make us worry like that ever again, yes ? "
she nodded weakly with a small smile. she was famished and wanted to have a warm meal as soon as possible. the memories of the previous camillia had come crashing down as soon as she had opened her eyes and gained consciousness. still trying to process the memories of the past sixteen years of her life, she asked mary to bring her a meal as the butler and dylan excused themselves as they had some business to attend to.
" i will come visit you tommorow, okay ? take care of lia, mary. "
camillia looked up at the ceiling of her room, wondering how life has turned out this way. how peculiar life was, she had been put in the shoes of a stranger and had to become a new person overnight.
fate, often times, is extremely cruel.
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time passed like flowing water, and it had already been six months since the jumping in the pond accident. she was slowly adapting to the life here, many unfamiliar faces had become friends and close ones. the count forbid her from the majority of the garden as if he was afraid that some similar accident would ensue.
to spend time by reading books and eating good food, she couldn't have been happier. at first she was worried that the body's originally slender and elegant figure would turn out to be bloated and chubby but there was no change, on the contrary, she seemed to be getting more beautiful as she grew up.
was this the pros of being a fictional character ? she visited her brother and father some days and even her sick mother, who was lying in her bed since the past few years, in a coma unable to move.
this particular autumn day, she carefully went to the count's office, knocking on the door softly.
" father? " her soft voice was recognised by the count immediately and she walked into his room. the count seemed to be dealing with some paperwork and as much as camillia felt guilty for being a nuisance, she spoke carefully, " father, may i go outside for a while? i promise i won't make trouble. "
hearing her request, the count lifted his eyes up and almost immediately disagreed only to be met with lovely doe eyes of his beloved camillia.
" you may, but take two knights with you. i know you won't create any trouble but i am concerned for your safety. "
with a victorious smile, she hugged her father and whispered, " thank you father, i promise i will come back safely ! i will get going now, please don't mind me and continue to your work. "
after excusing herself, she happily went up to mary who was confused to see camillia in such high spirits.
" i'm going out to the public library, mary. please get me a suitable dress. " mary was a little surprised to hear that camillia, who had been cooped up in the mansion all her life, was suddenly going out, to the library at that but she quickly prepared her a dress and some accessories nonetheless.
camillia vestia was truly a beautiful girl, with a slender body and smooth skin with long brown hair, a common colour and big doe eyes with irises of a rare gray. having inherited her rare eye colour from her father, she thought her eyes were quite beautiful. plump lips and a cute nose, if she looked this pretty, then camillia thought that the female lead must be a goddess. she was quite short so she understood why everyone was treating her like a fragile lady, because she was a petit noble lady who had never struggled in her life.
if she tripped, she was scared her legs would break off. with such eerie similarity to a doll, she sighed. camillia didn't consider this body as her own, she felt like she was staring at a stranger when she looked in the mirror. it would take a while to fix this problem, she thought.
this world was a novel she had read in her past life she was sure of it. but she didn't know the title or even the main characters, and why would she care ? she was a mere extra, a character who never stood out once. it was better to keep things that way and live life peacefully, camillia had concluded on the night she transmigated.
she didn't care whatever the main characters would do, and she wouldn't even meet them because they all belonged to the higher aristocracy.
with firmness and determination to live happily in this world, she set out with mary and two knights to the big public library and perhaps, meet a peculiar person who she will remember.