I was in the middle of my lesson at Magayon Palace when Father and my two eldest brothers barged in together. I wanted to greet them, but I didn't get a chance because they seemed to be in a hurry when Father demanded Hara Licentia's presence. The four of them talked quietly in one corner; the newly arrived men did not even spare me a glance. After a few moments, the Queen dismissed me. Despite not greeting me verbally, Father placed his large hand on the top of my head as I walked out the door.
So now I'm back at home, and I'm extremely bored. Everyone is preoccupied with their tasks. Nanny and Jenna are also nowhere to be found. I've already finished observing Seigel and managed to convince him to join me. I decided not to look for Ash because we're still mad with each other for reasons I can't remember. Stuck inside my room with nothing to do, I decided to pick up the quill and jot down notes on the novel's possible future events. There's no need to delve deeper into my childhood and teenage memories because everything I did and imagined during those times has already occurred here.
I was a panster and a three-day monk; I never finished anything. Some days, I would start writing a novel and writing three chapters before abandoning it because another idea came to mind. That was the type of author I was. I started writing stories when I was nine, but I didn't start publishing Vendetta online until I was eleven. After weeks of being at the top of the charts, I became bored and stopped writing. However, when I turned sixteen, I resumed writing and returned to finish Vendetta.
The book was about a female protagonist's struggle in a patriarchal society. She was oppressed and had had enough, so she began fighting for herself until other women joined her in her quest for equality. People dismissed their cause because they were women with no power or influence. As events progressed, the women were labeled as witches and practitioners of dark magic one by one. They were apprehended, their families slaughtered, and their livelihoods destroyed. The female lead cursed the kingdom while tied to the stake and ready to be burned.
Rubbish as the book was, it received attention two years after I finished it. I was twenty years old when a local publishing house offered to print my work, which became a huge success. Then I decided to write a sequel, which I titled Inamorata.
Zinnia Acantha Emilich, the only daughter of Duke Emilich and the second woman born into Damaris nobility after the princess broke the curse with her birth, was the focus of Inamorata. She would be known as the Flower of Society, and she would have the typical female lead characteristics: lovely, intelligent, and beautiful, capturing men's attention and love without being the stereotypical damsel-in-distress.
"When will Inamorata start?" I ask Mariana as I scribble on a piece of paper, and I hear her voice ring in my head.
"Zinnia's debutante ball serves as the setting for Inamorata's prologue. However, because the book contains a lot of flashbacks, it's safe to say that Inamorata will formally begin on the day the main character is born."
"Are we still in the prequel? How many more years do I have to wait for the story to start?"
"Why are you waiting for Zinnia's story to start, anyway? It won't even affect you that much personally; you're not even a side character in her story."
She's right. The novel's princess was introduced in the fifteenth chapter, but she was not the focus of that chapter, or any chapter for that matter.
"The princess' platinum hair with a tint of pink and violet radiates as the sun shines through it. Her blue eyes, almost the color of the sea and sky, are always forward-looking and never waver. She'll never be seen without the hostage prince by her side. It is said that she has been bewitched by the said prince — I believe that to be true."
The princess was described only once in the entire book. She's practically a blank slate, which allows me to carve my own fate and choose my own path, unlike Lady Zinnia, whose life story has already been written from birth to death.
Although the novel was not finished, already bullet-pointed important events that would occur in the story. I also wrote some character descriptions and backstories, though I couldn't recall most of them. I feel bad for those people now that I know their fates are already sealed and there's nothing I can do to change them. Of course, there's a good chance I'll be able to change their fates if I do something big enough, but I won't be able to change everyone's fate.
"I remember writing Zinnia's character as one of the most talented people of her generation. Will she inherit your power? Or will she get more than one element? She's an Elementalist."
She doesn't give me a straight answer to my question. "No two gods have ever allowed a single person to borrow both of their powers at the same time. Elementalists are bound to only one element, and no mortal can give or take the god's powers by themselves; doing so results in Divine Punishment for all involved."
Before returning to Cylian Paradise, Mariana's home, the gods left a portion of their power inside the Holy Portal, in the dimension between mortal and immortal realms, and entrusted its guarding to the Keepers. And because Mariana lacks a vessel in this world to contain her power, she cannot connect to mortals like the other gods. Mariana's only connection to the mortal realm is through the High Oracle.
During a child's First Evaluation, if a god takes interest in a child, they will let everyone know by marking the child in a form of bracelet. Over time, the god and the child will bond, and the god will lend them a portion of his or her power, which will be returned to the god when the child dies. The amount of power a person can borrow is determined by their bond with the god from whom they are borrowing power. As a result, people go to great lengths to please the gods, and the temple thrives because of this.
"Why say something that's not even the answer? If you don't want to answer my question, just say so," I say as I lean back in my chair and massage my numb hand from all the writing. "If she'll only have one element, how can she be one of the most revered Inheritors of her generation? I clearly remember typing the phrase: 'She was graceful and intelligent, the Flower of Society, the most powerful woman Inheritor of this generation in the Amari Kingdom.'"
"And she will be," Mariana states. "Everything you've written and typed will come to fruition. Her destiny has already been written for her, and she will become one of the most powerful Inheritors."
"How will that happen? I can contact you directly; that in itself is powerful already. Who's gonna contact her? God? Zeus? Ra? ... Is he a god?"
I can almost feel her roll her eyes at me. "Yes. He is a god. The sun god of ancient Egypt. The only reason you can contact me is because you created me. No one can no longer inherit my powers directly, not even the original princess in Inamorata."
"Directly?"
"The five gods are my Children. They're the only ones who inherited my powers directly. The powers you all have are ones that my Children inherited from me. Technically speaking, they're still mine, though."
I massage my temples as exhaustion sets in. If I had known I was going to be reincarnated here, I would have done more research and made more preparations.
"Fuck you, Mariana."
"What? Why? What did I do this time?"
"Nothing. Your mere existence makes me want to curse." I resume writing but pause again to ask her to elaborate on something. "Who was the first princess?" I waited for her response, but there was none. I puff out air, and my hair flies as a result. "Hey, bitch!"
"What? I nodded for you to continue— nevermind. I forgot you can't see me. What about her?"
"Where is she now? Where's her soul? On Earth? Is there some kind of soul switch or something? And, you can see me? Where are you?" I bombard her with questions after questions.
"Yes, I can hear you; no, I am not in the mortal world, manifesting there is an act of interfering with the world's natural flow, and thus against the Universal Law. And to answer your questions: there is no original princess— I mean there is, was, but her soul never formed. You took over even before her soul formed, so you don't have to worry about a soul fighting for dominance or something like that."
I didn't answer her; instead, I focused on writing my plans using Greek to keep people from being able to read it in case they ever find the papers. Hopefully, any nosy reader will just see these as scribbles of a four-year-old.
"By the way, in case you forgot, I just wanted to let you know that you were right about last time."
"Good. Don't disturb me. I need to finish this."
Aside from what I remember will happen in the novel, I'm making a life plan for myself. I don't plan on staying here. Well, if my life here turns out to be good, I'll probably stay, but what if I get targeted once the fight of succession starts? Imma yeet the moment my life is threatened, and I need to lay out everything I need for the perfect laid-back life I want. I think it's already an appropriate time to start planning, I've already started a business and my plans are already taking form.
"It's a good thing that everything's starting to form now. I have a business and you've confirmed what I told Mariana. Good, good," I say to myself, and Mariana adds her two cents.
"Maybe because the female lead will be born a year from now, that's why—"
As if she were in the same room as me, I raised my hand to silence her. "How many years from now?"
"A year with no S. A year from now on."
"Why didn't you tell me?! You should have told me!" I yell out loud without realizing, my blood boiling with rage. I panicked and covered my mouth with my hands, fearing that someone had heard me, but there's no commotion outside, so perhaps no one heard me. I pull on my hair in frustration as I grunt to reprimand her. "Fuck you," I curse at her in my head.
"I'm sorry about that, but I clearly recall someone telling me not to contact them or do anything at all," she sarcastically says, seizing the opportunity to retaliate.
"I know, I know, but still," I say, then stop again. "Wait. You heard what I said. You could hear me even when I wasn't speaking in my head; you can hear me even if I don't speak directly to you," I observe, and I am correct, as she gives me another approval hum.
"You're literally directly talking to me. You know what, that Ash was right. You can't focus on a single thing, can you?"
"Shut up. Anyway, a year?"
"Less than, actually, that's probably the reason why your father was in a hurry earlier. He might have found out the gender of Duke Emilich's child using that Peculiar's augur," she answers, referring to Gwendohlf.
"The one who looks like Gandalf?" I ask and she hums again. "So that's why. He must have asked him to find out which noble will have a daughter. If the Duchess gives birth to a daughter, then..."
Sadness washes over me as it dawns on me that if that happens, it means I've done my purpose — breaking the curse. If that's that, then what am I to do? Will I be thrown out? Will these people no longer love and care for me? Will they finally show their true colors? Will he still protect me even after I've done my part? Will I still be safe?
As if a bucket full of cold ice water has been dumped on me, I start to shake. I don't know why either, but I feel like I understand now. Maybe I'm not a blank slate, and all I'm ever worth is breaking the curse; that's why maybe it seems to be blank, because I only have that one purpose.
"I should really start planning for my life…"
I've gotten used to what I have — the lifestyle, the family, everything. I've never starved or worked myself to exhaustion even in my previous life. I'm used to bossing people around, to having them bend to my will and be at my beck and call. I don't know how to do anything else. A part of me wants to cry for the unfairness of it all, but I can't bring myself to. Is it really?
I walk to my bed and lie down on my side, hugging my knees to my chest, feeling tears trickle down my cheeks. "I'm about to become useless…" It's becoming harder to breathe. I roll onto my back and close my eyes. "I'm useless."
I feel something land on my chest. It's warm. I push it away without even opening my eyes. It lands again, harder, with a sniffing sound. This time I open my eyes to find a small, soft head nudging my cheek. I turn to look at it and am surprised to find a puppy looking back at me with its tongue hanging loose and tail wagging. It's long and lean, with shiny black fur and an unmistakable mark on its head. It turns to lick my cheek with its stubby little paws, whimpering quietly. I pick it up and start to stroke its back and its tiny front paws, the same way a mother would.
"Hey," I say softly. "What brought you here? Who's your owner?"
It leaps from my embrace and rolls onto its back, exposing its belly and wagging its tail.
"You should give it a name," Ash says by the door. He walks inside the room closing the door behind him and I sit up. "It's a gift. From me."
"What for?"
"For your… business."
"... Thanks."
"Thank you for the sulfur. The blemishes on my face are gone."
"Don't. I just realized, I think it's bad to use it on the face. I think. Don't know."
He smiles. "Shall I use your products then? Are you talking me into being your first customer?"
"Maybe. Maybe not," I joke. "Chubchub. The dog's name, I'll call it Chubchub."
"That's… a cute name."
"You hate it."
"No, I don't," he says with a shake of his head.
"Yes, you do. You hate the name. It doesn't match him."
"It does, it does."
"Do you even know what chubchub means? It's chubby."
"Well… now it doesn't. It's not chubby at all."
"I know."
We stare down each other and he ask after a string of silence, "You are still going to call it Chubchub?"
Chubchub was the name of the first dog I bought, but died of parvo. Never owned a dog after that. Or any other pet. Not because my parents forbade it, but because I was undeserving.
"Hey, is something wrong?" Ash's voice is tinged with concern.
"Nothing."
"You're crying."
"What? No. No. I'm not. Nothing's wrong." I wipe away the tears that I hadn't realized were falling down my cheeks, but they just keep coming. "I'm gonna love Chubchub. So much. I'll make him the happiest dog to ever live. I'll give him everything he wants, the best food, the softest bed, the warmest room, the widest field to run. Everything… I'll give him everything."
I'm going to do everything in my power to make him the happiest dog in the world. I will begin with the beauty industry and will not stop there. I'm going to rule the business world. I'll do what all reincarnators do: take advantage of my knowledge. Introduce things from Earth to this world, build things, improve technology, and everything I can think of. I will become the hand that will move the people of this world.