Blink.

Neon lights.

Blink.

Darkness.

Blink blink.

A piece of broken glass is inching to a man's eye, about to pierce–

Wait.

I blink once again, finding the scene remaining as it is. A man, who looks a bit roughed up, looks up at me with his bright blue eyes on the verge of tears.. His dress looks like one of those period drama butler, though the look is definitely completed by his western-looking face and blond hair, it doesn't really help me pin the scene that I find myself into so suddenly.

What the fuck.

The man is silent, still despite his trembling and shivering breath, though I can't be sure if it's because he's afraid moving will make the glass go stab or because his face is being held in place by a hand.. my hand??

Again, what the fuck??

"I.."

Now at this point, I'm pretty sure that voice that came out of my mouth is not my own voice. I'm self-aware enough that I know I don't sound that good, okay?? Nor do my fingers and nails that long… Ow, why does my head hurt so much??

Once again, for the third time because I'm really taken aback, what. the. fuck.

Anyway, when in doubt, manipulate!

"I'm tired of this farce," I whisper to the man, the hand that holds the glass shakes a little but I keep it controlled lest my hand slips and I end up injuring myself. Stable makes the race safe! "This family, this house, I.. I'm tired of it all."

My mouth went ahead and just said whatever!! I don't even know the language but I hope to all fucks that it makes sense! Turning around so I don't give out my confusion, I raise my voice into somewhat of a commanding tone and focus on the intention. "Leave. Or not.. Do what you want."

Another moment pass in silence. Seconds tick by as I wonder in my head about this situation and if I've chosen the correct behavior. Is that man really a servant? Could he be a disguised assassin? Why else a lady in her nightgown (oh my god I'm wearing a nightgown!) hold a piece of broken glass in a messed up room, to.. intimidate?? Warn??? 

I do not have the full picture, but looking at the state of this room, and the fact that I had just shown my back to a potential enemy, I don't really think that I'd be surprised if what comes next is a blade to my neck.

Rustle, movement of clothes, and shifting of glass panes on the ground fill the room with a loud echo. I keep myself as still as possible while looking at the pretty moons outside.. There are two moons!! That's crazy! And the man finally speaks.

"Then.. I'll take my leave, miss."

Not long after, there's the sound of a door opening and closing. Waiting until another minute passes, until I can't hear any footsteps echoing from outside.

When the room descends into a full silence, I finally let myself sigh out all the fear and panic.

"What the fuck was that-- Ow!"

Just now, I remember that I'm still gripping a piece of broken glass. My right hand, of course, is still bleeding because of it. Fuck!

I threw the glass to the ground and inspects my hand. Please, please please don't cut any arteries! I don't know if there's any surgeon in this era yet!

Blood looks flowing, but minimal, possibly about to start clotting. I look around and see a familiar-looking bottle of alcohol. The golden brown liquid left inside is about half, and I take a sniff to make sure it's indeed one and had to hold in a coughing spell from the harsh vapor. "Huk! Huk..! This should do it."

Now, I remember the advice said that no one should pour alcohol into an open wound willy-nilly. Not all of them have enough proof to actually help. 

But! I'm not about to go outside when I can't figure out the situation at hand!! It's scary enough to find yourself somewhere other than your supposed workplace, and now, I also got wounded! At least I hope glass can't give you tetanus, otherwise, I'm super doomed.

"Hiss!"

I hold the scream and tears that are about to escape while pouring the alcohol onto my palm. It washed away most of the clinging blood, allowing me to see the extent of the wound to be a shallow one (a w is a w), and kept going slowly until it seems that I've encouraged clotting? My eyes spot a handkerchief remaining on the ruined dressing table, looking at least clean enough to use for a makeshift bandage, so I use it while actively recalling 

Looking around in this ruined bedroom, I see that aside from the broken mirror on the ground and a couple of what looks to be vases in pieces, there's not much else that litters the floor aside from a horsewhip…

. . .

"I don't think I can get any more surprised but here I am." I dryly look at the offending object on the ground and decide to let it lie there. There's enough shit to figure out besides a wounded hand and the apparent transmigration.

"..Yeah, that's right, isn't it? I got transmigrated."

I finally admit to myself. I've had my fair share of horror dreams, but they never inflict pain. My right hand is still throbbing in pain, still bleeding however slightly, shaking from the nerves relaxing out of whatever adrenaline-inducing activity that this body had gone through before I arrived.

The question now becomes, "Where am I?"

I look at myself and the event that had just transpired. While the mirror is undoubtedly broken, some pieces are larger than others like the one that I was just holding and so, I manage to find another one where if I hold it (carefully) out a little further away, I can see most of my face by moving the piece around.

Long, dark purple hair, with a pair of bright red eyes to boot. The natural-bitch-face look and a smile that make me want to throw the mirror shard a second time due to how creepy it looks.

This is, 100% without a doubt, a definite face of a villainess.

First, let's give the most obvious option a try.

"System?"

I call out to the empty room. Waiting, and waiting.. Until a good 5 minutes has passed and nothing appears in front of my eyes. That idea is shelved for now.

"..Alright, let's narrow it down from the books I've just read." I make my way to the bed, finding it surprisingly untouched by the carnage surrounding it, and take a seat. "It can't be Red Witch's Tears, Cockroach Survival In Space Operatic Industry, or Listen to Bafumei or Else You're Seeking Death! since the first is a fanfic of an ancient Chinese-setting novel, and the other two take place in sci-fi and modern-day, respectively."

My brain starts churning titles and short synopses at a fast speed. "I left some comments for Pink Diamond but.." I check my wrist, nape, and sternum. "No gemstones, so it can't be that."

One by one I single out the books and comics I've read, excluding those with actual isekai plots. Sure, I read a lot of them considering it's within my vested interest to read something when I have the time or else my brain goes stir crazy, but I have enough faith to think that whatever transported me here won't use a works that already has a transmigration theme into it. Transformative works are fine and all, but I think the copyright office will draw the line on soul-snatching RPF!

Most of the comics have been discarded due to the lack of physical similarities (I mean, I'd remember if a character gets depicted with dark purple hair and red eyes, I think), and after striking out nearly 20 novels that I recently read due to not having any dark-haired villainess since the current trend is making their hair in the spectrum of pinks, I'm finally waving the white flags. 

It's either an original universe, unrelated to any kind of novel, or it's buried deep in my DNF list. 

"Ugh, my head aches…" I cradle my head in both hands as the thud reverberates within my skull. "All the plots are jumbled together at this point. I should've just looked for a diary or something…"

I say, but remain on the bed, dropping myself against the soft, bouncy surface. It's one thing to look for a person's diary to confirm a suspicion, but I can't even be sure if this girl even keep one! And considering what kind of world this is, who knows if there's magic to conceal its whereabouts?

"… Anyway, I'm going to sleep. Let's look for a diary tomorrow when it's brighter and, if I'm lucky, I might get away with pretending sickness or something."

And thus, the nightly misadventures of a woman brought to another world ends here. She fell asleep not knowing that the alcohol had been poisoned and thus, left her second life for good! Oh, what a tragedy!