The sound of glass shattering reaches my ears.
I blink slowly, staring blankly at the books and toys lining the shelves, the artworks that could only be painted by a child's awkward hand on the walls, then down at the broken pieces of what used to be a framed photograph at my feet.
What? Where...am I?
Still a bit disoriented, I let my eyes roam around the room. A huge canopy bed is placed at the center, complete with pink lace curtains and bedcovers. Numerous shelves stacked with books gathering dust, toys littered in every corner. A huge pink wardrobe near the bed. A velvet couch and a few chairs surrounding a decently-sized table. Magenta drapes covering the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, not letting even a sliver of light into the dark room. The only light source seems to be the lone wick candle placed on the bedside table.
From one glance, you can immediately tell it's a child's bedroom.
The door bursts open, and, almost mechanically, I turn to face a boy. He looks roughly around fourteen, the same age as my younger brother. Flaming red hair, striking azure eyes...he looks like a character from the otome game I've been playing recently...
"What have you done?!"
I freeze, my blood turning cold. The sheer loathing in his words is unmistakable. I stay rooted at my spot as he storms in, his eyes zeroing in on the shattered photograph. The atmosphere in the room drops down several degrees as he bends down, shakes off the shards, and caresses it reverently with his fingers. I barely catch a glimpse of what looks to be an eight years old girl smiling widely at the camera.
"You..." He stands, towering over me, azure eyes blazing in unveiled hatred. The way he looks down at me makes me feel less than a human being. "Get. The. Hell. Out," he says through bared teeth.
I try to swallow back my fear and will my frozen legs to move. In all my twenty four years of life, I have never have had such immense hatred directed to me before. I walk to the door on shaky legs, all while feeling his piercing glare on my back.
I release the breath I didn't know I was holding when I finally made it out of that room and into the hallway.
His aura is incredibly intimidating... But who was he? Why did he look at me with such hatred? It's obviously related to that girl in the photograph, but I have no recollection of ever seeing her before.
But most importantly, where the hell am I?
As I meander aimlessly through the seemingly endless hallway, an absurd thought comes to mind. Is it possible that I've transmigrated into someone's body? It's ridiculous, but this is the only explanation I have right now. Waking up to find oneself in an unfamiliar place, with unfamiliar people... This really seems like the setting for those transmigration light novels that have been all the rage lately. But if my assumption is indeed correct and I have transmigrated...then whose body is this?
Before I can ponder on the matter further, a sudden excruciating pain pounds heavily in my skull, causing my knees to weaken. I clutch my head in pain. Memories – memories that are not obviously mine – flash through my mind's eye, like bits and pieces of a black and white film.
A girl sitting in a corner of an orphanage, watching children her age play. Bullying, fights, getting injured and taking the blame. A matron scolding her while the other children look on in glee. Being forbidden to eat as punishment for three days. Huge purple eyes filled with hope as a few couples arrive in the orphanage, looking for a child to adopt. Watching silently as the children keep being chosen one by one, eagerly waiting for her turn. Sadness and disappointment when all of them went home with their new parents, while she is left alone to wallow in despair. Enduring the harsh scolding of the matron for something she has no control over. Overhearing the matron and another man discussing about sending her off to slave traders. The feeling of utter fear and helplessness. The smell of fire. The sight of the orphanage burning down in flames during one starless night. Running away. Trying to survive by her lonesome in the streets, hunting for food in trash bins and garbage heaps. Getting chased by feral dogs in the alleys. Shivering in the pavement during winter. Resorting to begging for scraps of food. A kind old woman giving her food and taking her in. Happiness at finally having a warm, loving home she desperately longed for. Finding out that that happiness is but a temporary thing, when the old woman dies in a plague three years later.
Tears stream down my cheeks, but the memories keep on coming.
Back in the streets again, fighting with dogs for leftover food. Getting laughed and thrown stones at by children of the nobles. Witnessing a fellow street rat pickpocketing a noble. Resorting to pickpocketing. Getting caught and thrown in jail. Suddenly being released on bail by Duke Valerian's orders. Being fed, bathed, clothed and sent to the Valerian estate. Meeting Duke Valerian, who looks nothing like the warm savior she expected. Alone, in the cold, dark estate with nothing but the terrifying maids for company. Dining with the Duke and the twin Young Masters, the former ignoring her presence and the latter pair casting her nothing but sneers of derision. Finding out from the maids that she was only taken in because she resembles Duke Valerian's daughter who recently died from an illness, and that it was his wife's wish to see her daughter again. Meeting the bedridden Duchess Valerian, who immediately starts sobbing at the sight of her. The Duchess crying out the name 'Devina' repeatedly, which she correctly deduces was the Duchess's deceased daughter's name. Realizing at that moment the Duke's purpose for bringing her into the estate: to become Devina's substitute to console the grieving Duchess.
The girl, having learned about her role to play, is determined to find out more about Devina – her personality, likes and dislikes, hobbies and interests – all that so she can be the perfect replacement for the beloved Devina Her Grace loves so much. She knows that if she fails, she'll be thrown out of the estate.
So, she works hard at becoming Devina– dressing exactly like her (even though the maids laugh in her face at seeing a street rat playing dress up), attending etiquette lessons (even though the etiquette teacher enjoys doling out punishments every time she makes the slightest mistake), and trying her very best to act like the proper Young Mistress of a powerful ducal house (even if she feels like a washed out imitation of the real one).
But despite all that...
"You're disgusting," Young Master Ares spits, obviously repulsed by her entire being. His azure eyes glint in anger as they trail over her dress, similar to the dresses that the real Devina usually wore when she was still alive. "A rat who dresses like a noble? Hilarious, that's what it is. Your stench is overpowering, I can even smell it from where I'm standing. Do you want to pollute the entire estate with your stench?" He sneers. "Anyway, have fun playing noble while you still can. Sooner or later, you'll be back begging like the rat you are in the streets anyway. Nasty little bitch."
"I must set things straight with you," Duke Valerian says, casting her a glacial look. His emotionless eyes chill the girl to the bones. "You may carry my daughter's name, but do not be deluded. You are not my daughter, and never will be. I brought you here as her replacement because I fear for my wife's ailing health, which has become significantly poorer ever since our daughter passed away. However, while she may treat you as her daughter, it is only because you look similar to her. I say this because I rather you not harbor delusions of grandeur; you must always keep in mind what your purpose for being here is. Understand?"
Young Master Eros takes one look at her appearance, scoffs, and says coldly, "No matter how you try to be her, you can never be her."
Their cruel words reverberate loudly in my mind, amplifying my already raging headache. I bite my lip to stop myself from screaming.
"Devina," the girl whispers, alone in the room I found myself in earlier. Her purple eyes stare intently at the photograph of the smiling girl, tracing the glass carefully with her fingers. "What more should I do in order to become you?"
The frame slips from her hands and shatters into pieces on the floor.
The crash seems to trigger something in my subconscious, because the next moment, my legs completely lost their strength. I collapse on my knees in the middle of the hallway, and while such a fall must have bruised my kneecaps, I take no heed of the pain. My mind has blanked out from the shock.
Well, I've gotten my answer. It turns out I transmigrated in the twelve year old body of the villainess and Final Boss of [ Mon Étoile ], Devina Valerian, who is destined to die in every ending.