The moment Min Hwan's eyes opened, he knew he would regret it somehow.
There was nothing like what a setup of the hospital would look like. No white walls, no white sheets, no nurse around. Instead, the walls were colored a pastel hue of yellow, and a huge chandelier hung in the middle of the room.
This was absolutely no way a hospital would look like.
Instead of nurses, there were ladies in maid dresses, as if serving royalty. The room was much larger than Min Hwan ever could see. And the first thought was, was he in heaven?
"My lady! You are finally awake!!" One of the maids yelled as Min Hwan tried to sit up, a throbbing headache shooting right in his head to address he was the 'My lady' being addressed here.
"My head hurts..." He spoke up before a pause followed. Since when did his voice get so soft? He had a nice deep voice always, never so soft.
And somehow things started crashing up on him.
Standing up, he rushed to the mirror before his jaw dropped at the appearance.
He was no more looking like what he looked before. What stood in front of him was a rather petite appearance, with silky blonde hair flowing down to his waist, big eyes with red hues staring at the mirror, and a white silk robe hiding the pale body underneath, which matched the pale appearance.
Most importantly, his chest felt bigger.
He turned to the side to see if it was true, and the chest was indeed bigger and perky. He looked down more and immediately knew what is going on.
"I-I'M A WOMAN?!"
"Of course, you are, my lady. I am confused on what sort of question this is.." One of the maids replied, looking at the girl in front in worry.
"Wha-what happened to me.." Min Hwan, in the girl's body, slumped down on the chair in defeat.
"My lady, you fell in a pond after being pushed by Sir Lucas, but do not scold him!! He is your twin and the heir to Duke Merino, he perhaps needs to be shown a better pathway by you." The maid explained and knelt down beside her, looking at the lady in front who was rubbing her head in confusion.
Lucas...Duke Merino... threw to the pond.
He instantly shot up from the seat to look in the mirror.
"What sort of shitty transmigration prank is this?!" The girl yelled as the maids kept looking at each other before one ran out, perhaps to call someone.
Meanwhile, Min Hwan was having a whole crisis. He was in the body of a character he read in a novel.
Luna Merino. A blonde-haired noble lady who was considered worst than a "witch" in the novel "The Princess's Dilemma". She becomes the first wife of the protagonist and then is killed because of throwing him down the cliff-
"Wait. How old am I?"
"Um— the banquet of your 17th birthday is soon, my lady. Did you hurt your head? Perhaps, memory loss?"
Oh, so the banquet happens before her marriage to Alexis. The party is also the moment when Duke gets to know about Alexis.
Perhaps he was getting a better idea of what is happening.
"Sister! Are you alright!!" Min Hwan— or Luna, now, turned to look at the similar face to what she had right now. With blonde hair and red eyes, he looked like an exact copy of Luna.
Just a little, more masculine built. Lord, puberty hit him darn well.
"I-I'm fine, Lucas,," The response was a sheer instinct. If he was in Luna's body, he might as well act one until he gets answers. He had a reputation too!!
"I just, think I need to head outside for a moment."
--
Min Hwan, now in Luna's body, had no darn idea the mansion would be so big.
He almost mistook it for a palace. But obviously, it wasn't a palace. Just the Duke's grand mansion. Although he gained quite the looks for looking so lost when Luna was supposed to know throughout about the mansion, he could not help it.
Answers! They come first!
Luna walked around the mansion, lost before stumbling into a room. Large wooden shelves adorned the huge room while piles of books lay neat on the ground, ready to be placed on the shelves.
Perhaps he hit the jackpot. This was the library.
He walked happily inside the room before looking around, there were many books of different genres, and perhaps one of them could help him in extracting the answers. So he jumped in the pile and started searching desperately.
"Finding answers?"
"Yes-who?" Luna looked around, rather surprised. The library looked completely empty.
Unless a book started flying and she screamed.
"WHO ARE YOU- A GHOST?" She kept yelling before running and hiding in a curtain. A burst of laughter followed as Luna looked in suspicion.
"Chill, it's just me, the original novel. I know you have certain questions, and I have certain answers."
There was silence on the other hand, as the flying-talking book flew near the curtain and rested on the floor.
"Basically, Kim Min Hwan died in a road accident on April 15, 2022. He was hit by a truck. Now, the body is made of fragments of the soul, and it is just Kim Min Hwan's part of the soul got inside the body of Luna Merino, for which she is alive. Luna Merino was supposed to die, but well, her soul died. Hence you are here."
There was still utter silence. Perhaps he did not get a single gist of what happened. Luna could hear the book sighing.
"Border point, you are Luna Merino now. No idea how you have memories left but, you do. You could use them though! Perhaps to bring development to this plot and do changes to this story. I hate what the author made me too."
Now, the curtain was lifted, as Luna stared at the book, which started flying again in excitement and she flinched.
"My question is. couldn't I get a really nice lead? Like, For Alexis De Mevius? He is so strong and cool! Why Luna, out of all people?"
"Now, beggars can't be choosers, huh? It was either Luna, who was coincidentally dying alongside you, or just you never seeing the world again. It was a tough process to do, and Luna could not die just like that!"
"But she's fated to die like that?! It is written she would be killed by Alexis isn't she?"
"That is right, she is fated to die!" The happy tone of the book made Luna even more gloomy. The book saw and panicked at the sight.
"But hey! You have read the book, are you sure you cannot do anything which could end up Luna to be not dead?!"
"How do I know that? YOU ARE THE NOVEL YOU SHOULD-" She immediately stopped, gulping. What if someone heard?
"Oh-fun fact, no one can hear what you and I converse. These are my special original novel privileges." She could hear the pride this book had in its powers, now rubbing her head.
"So, I need to do things which end up changing the course of the novel and end Luna not dead...hm...what could be possibly done?" She was walking around the library, thinking about the next method of action.
"Well, I have an idea- what if you end up trapping the main lead into love-"
"That sounds like the worst idea ever. Why would I want to make a grave for myself when the male lead and female lead are destined to love as the main plot? How ridiculous." She rolled her eyes and placed a finger on her chin, thinking, while the book audibly sighed in defeat.
"Perhaps befriending the male lead or the female lead doesn't seem like a bad option though. If somehow I could avert the mistreatment of the male lead, his personality felt like he would be very grateful for that, which could help Luna get off the risk of dying. By befriending the female lead, I can easily pass off the radar during the big destruction as well, all in all keeping myself safe. This is it!" As if a light bulb popped up visibly on her head, she looked at the book who gave a hum of satisfaction.
"It is your story now, do whatever you want to."
"...Are you sure I cannot change my forms to a dude or get in the male's body-"
"No chance."
"Ugh, fine." Stomping out of the library, she was angry but came back to take the book with her. It was important to keep it for important things.
"Another question, are girls on girls legal here because wouldn't me liking a dude later would be gay-"
"I am so sure your survival is a higher priority."
"Fine, Fine. I want to be written as the noble who gets the most girls then." With a light laugh, she moved ahead in the garden. It was evening time, the sun was setting down, reflecting a light orange hue across the garden. Luna was no exception, as the pink gown was bathed in the orange tint as well.
Until she heard someone stumbling down.
A boy in his teens, face bruised up and the armor of a knight came through the bushes. It was as if he was beaten up brutally. He had rather young features, yet still a handsome face, if not bruised up. Luna could see how tall he was, as Min Hwan was almost jealous of the height.
Her head could only reach his shoulder barely. Still, it did not matter.
Because the dark locks of curly hair and violet eyes were a clear indication of who it was.
"...Alexis?"