Thalia's POV
"Ahhhh!" I burrowed my face in my pillow as I read that intro scene for the hundredth time. "Rebirth of the Vengeful Queen" was a popular web novel about the epic revenge story of Violetta Belleford, a girl who had been betrayed and murdered by her loved ones. After her death, she was reborn to an earlier timeline in her life and exacted her revenge on all her enemies.
The only thing I didn't like was…the villainess had the same name as me! Thalia Rochelieu was the daughter of a marquis, and her cruel and backstabbing nature made her a fitting villainess. I didn't want to be associated with her in any way, shape, or form, but we were both Thalia.
But…I supposed we had nothing in common besides our name. My life was a mess: student debt, ramen noodles, and no contact with my family. Sometimes I wished I could be someone powerful, like Violetta, even if it meant I had a tragic past.
The rebirth genre was a spinoff of the popular isekai genre, and always featured a protagonist who was brutally murdered and reborn to take revenge. The protagonist was always hella overpowered, because they literally had the script in their hands. After Violetta was reborn, Thalia didn't stand a chance.
"Hello! Anyone home?"
Who was knocking on my door? I didn't usually get visitors. I opened the door carefully to see a tall man standing in the doorway.
"It's National Random Act of Kindness Day," he said, smiling. He handed me a small bouquet of flowers. "Hope this will brighten your day!"
"Oh…thanks," I muttered, not knowing how to act.
"Kindness should be shared," the man continued with a big smile. "May I have some water? I've been walking for miles."
"Uh…" I hesitated. Should I really let this strange man in my home? A pitiful home, but it was all I had. "Please wait by the entrance. I'll get you some water." I turned to get some water, but just as I was about to close the door, the man smirked and pushed me down in a headlock.
"Give me all your money," he growled. I heard the hiss of a knife as he pressed something to my throat. "Now."
"Get off of me! Get off!" I frantically tried to fight him, but he was too strong.
"Stop struggling! My knife will slip!" the man said, looking a bit scared now. But I had lost sense of reason. All I could think about right now was how powerless I was. Powerless to do anything.
I didn't want to be powerless.
"Oh shit!" the man cursed as his knife slipped against my neck. He immediately jumped away from my body, and blood pooled on the ground from my wound. I touched my neck with one hand and saw the red liquid staining my hand. Bleeding to death on the cold floor…just like Violetta.
I was murdered…huh, didn't stuff like this only happen on TV? I should be vengeful, but I didn't feel much of anything.
What was it all for?
~~
I opened my eyes to a luxuriously decorated room. The walls, ceiling, and flooring were all made of expensive materials I had never seen before. The bedsheets were made from high-quality pink silk, and the bed itself was bigger than my whole room.
But wait, wasn't I supposed to be dead? Where was I?
"Lady Thalia, please come down! We have trouble!"
A girl's frantic voice sounded from the door, and I heard a series of knocks. The door flew open and a maid plopped to her knees before me.
"Lady Thalia, please forgive me for coming in without your permission. It's Mistress…she wants you downstairs, my lady. I don't know what happened, but she sounds very angry…"
Before I could react, the maid bowed again and scrambled out of my room. What had she she just called me? Lady?
I hurriedly rushed to the large antique mirror in the other side of the room. When I saw my own reflection, I almost fainted.
It was not me I saw, but a girl with long golden hair and blue eyes. She had a small face and very beautiful features. She was dressed in silk sleeping garments that were too expensive for me to even touch, let alone afford. I had imagined her appearance over and over again in my head, so I recognized her instantly.
Thalia Rochelieu, the only daughter of the Rochelieu family.
"No way," I whispered to myself. Had I transmigrated into my favorite novel as the antagonist?
"Thalia!" a loud voice interrupted my thoughts. The door slammed open and a yellow-haired noblewoman stomped into my room with her hands on her hips. I instinctively knew who she was: Gwenllian Rochelieu, the mistress of the house.
"M-Mother," I said.
"You disobedient child! Look what you've done!" She flung a parchment scroll at me, and I clumsily caught it.
'Dear Marquis and Marchioness Rochelieu,
Your daughter, Thalia Rochelieu, will be banned from attending the Royal Academy of Fera (RAF) for all future years due to academic dishonesty at the entrance exam.
Signed,
The RAF Admissions Board'
I stared at the paper for a minute.
"Look what you've done!" Gwenllian cried. "I told you not to cheat on the entrance exam! We can get you in through other ways, but you didn't listen! Now you have the nerve to get caught and banned from the Academy! Ugh, how will we ever show our faces again?" She rubbed her temple in annoyance. "And to think, the one who reported you is none other than your childhood friend, Violetta Belleford! What a snake she is!"
I didn't know how to respond to her torrent of words. My head buzzed for a second, but then I remembered something.
Caught cheating…reported by Violetta…Didn't this scene feel oddly familiar?
Then the realization hit me like a bolt of lightning.
This was one of the beginning scenes of the novel, right after Violetta was reborn. The first thing she did was sabotage her mortal enemy, Thalia, by reporting her academic dishonesty at the entrance exam. Afterwards, Violetta went into full vengeful-queen-beast-mode and ground Thalia's life into dust.
Hah. Hah hah hah.
I was Thalia.
I froze for a moment, not knowing whether it was appropriate to burst into tears right here and now. I had read enough of these "rebirth-revenge" novels to know how overpowered the protagonist was. She had beauty, intelligence, and all the men in the story head over heels for her. This type of protagonist was usually a prodigy in some field, namely medicine or magic. In her past life, she was unable to make use of her skills, but after she was reborn, she was practically a god. This was exactly the type of character Violetta was.
And she was out for my blood.
I was up against someone who literally had the script.