I awoke in an unfamiliar room on an unfamiliar bed, my body aching and my throat dry. There was a vertical mirror in one corner of the room, and I was stumbling towards it before I knew what I was doing.
Dizzy and weak, I collapsed in front of the mirror. As I caught my breath and senses, I looked at my reflection.
Pink, long hair tumbling down in waves. Dark pupils surrounded by golden irises. A sturdy face and chin that emanated a child of nobility.
My reflection was that of Airee Valguard.
I touched my face, my reflection doing the same.
It wasn't a dream… I had been reincarnated into a game—into this world—as the short-lived villainess!
A quiet knock snapped me out of my panic, and a boy with golden hair entered followed by a maid. He was carrying a bowl that soon dropped to the floor, spilling its contents, when he caught sight of me.
"FATHER!! SHE'S AWAKE!!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, sprinting out of the room.
The maid helped me back into bed and gave me something cool to drink. Soon after, I was face-to-face with Baron Clafford, lord of the facility I was currently staying in on his estate.
After checking my vitals, Lord Clafford explained that Claire and I had been transferred to his facility so he and his team of doctors could make us healthy again.
"You're doing a lot better than you were when you arrived," he informed me kindly. "We'll have to wait and see, but I reckon you'll recover in a few days."
I sighed with relief, but it didn't last long.
"What about my sister?" I asked, already fearing his answer.
Lord Clafford's expression froze before he smiled reassuringly. "My best doctors are looking after her. Be assured we will do everything we can to help her."
In other words, she hadn't recovered like I had.
I clenched at the blanket covering me.
"Do you know what's wrong with us?" I asked quietly.
"…No," he answered truthfully.
…It was as I expected.
In the game, it had taken Lord Clafford and his doctors five years to know what was causing Claire's ailment and how to treat it. By then, however, many people died from the same ailment…Lord Clafford included.
I racked my brain, trying to remember if the game had given any details on what the cause was…but no. Since Lady Claire had such a minor role, the game just briefly touched upon that part of her backstory.
"However, now that you're awake, I was hoping you'd help us," Lord Clafford said, pulling me back from my thoughts. "The Duchess informs me you both were playing in the woods before it all happened. Is that correct?"
The memory of that day flashed into my mind, and I nodded in confirmation.
On that day, Claire and I had gone towards her favorite stream, one of many running through the woods. Claire was obviously excited to finally play with me, while I had been excited to…bully her. And bully her I did, going so far as to push her down into the waters of her favorite stream.
I flushed with embarrassment as I recounted this event to Lord Clafford even though a dark part of me pleaded for me not to.
[If I don't tell him, Claire will not get better], I told that dark part of me.
[So?] It whined. [Our dignity will be ruined if you continue telling him what we did to Claire.]
Memories of me pushing Claire, pulling on her hair, and calling her names behind our parents' backs flashed through my mind, making me ashamed. Yet, they were contrasted by memories of my previous life, of my own older sister patting my back, tying my hair for me, and consoling me when our parents berated me for bad grades.
I suddenly felt glad I regained my memories.
[Claire is our little sister], I snarled at that darkness inside me. [She's precious, and we'll treat her as such from now on!!]
The darkness shrank back as I mentally glared at it.
"Do you remember where the stream is?" Lord Clafford was asking.
I nodded and told him its location down to every detail I remembered.
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I was finally left alone for a couple of minutes before there was a sudden knock on the door.
I propped myself up against my pillows, wondering if Lord Clafford forgot to ask something. The door swept open, and I was surprised to find an entourage of servants and guards standing there.
And standing before them, at the center was—
[Prince Lilith], my mind whispered with dread.