"What do I do all day?" Anne mumbled to herself as the carriage rattled along the gravelled path. It had been less than a day since she had transmigrated into the body of a light novel villainess, and she was already feeling bored. If her memory served her right, she was currently 'midway' through the plot of the book. Because of her original self's past actions, the hatred others had for her, had already cemented. Would it be a good idea then, to go about improving her image? After all... If she didn't...
"Right. Of course!" Anne straightened herself, her face scrunched up, as more of the original plot returned to her. In the light novel, after a failed attempt of framing Penelope as a traitor, the Crown Prince in his fury, had sentenced Annette to death. Embittered by the undying love Emal had for Penelope, Annette had been consumed by hatred and envy, eventually succumbing to dark magic that transformed her into a massive hydra. She became the final 'boss' that the main characters would defeat through the power of love and friendship.
"It was so cheesy." Anne grumbled. "I never particularly liked the last ditch effort with which the author had introduced magic to the mix. "
The tropes weren't surprising: Penelope had been previously reinstated as the 'Saintess' with light magic able to heal and purify evil. Emal possessed a sword that had been passed on to him as a family heirloom and could be used to slay evil and he could additionally use the element of fire. Emal's younger brother and the second male lead who was also the Knight Captain, Prince Enucd, could control both fire and water.
Then, there was a Mage Master of the Iron Tower (because of course, there was) named Alistair who was the third male lead and could conveniently control almost every element. The fourth male lead, the mercenary leader and Guild Master, Lucas, was a master of illusions and mind reading and had connections to the underbelly of the kingdom. Finally, the last male lead was the sickly but kind Marquis, Maurius, had no magic per say but was the wealthiest in the kingdom and would also shower Penelope with lavish gifts.
Now, one may ask, what magic ability had the author decided the original Annette would possess? She was a carrier vessel for dark magic, who could not use any mana herself but her soul would be easily corrupted enough to become a vile demon.
So, Annette had been doomed to an unfair fate from the start. What would kickstart her transformation though, would be her negative emotions and the despair of being abandoned by everybody.
Anne massaged her forehead, feeling the onslaught of an oncoming, massive headache. Could she really not use cool magic like the rest? What was the point of dying and transmigrating if she couldn't even have fun like others did?
The original Annette had been told her entire life that she couldn't use magic and she, feeling frustrated, had never studied anything about magic.
So I can't even rely on my own memory to see if I can figure something out.
"Lady Annette-"
I really wish I could use magic, that was the only thing I found interesting in the original novel anyway! Anne thought as she stared out the window of the carriage.
"Lady Annette? "
Maybe I could go read up about it in the Library? Didn't Penelope visit Annette's estate to study more about light magic? Hah, that had been a completely annoying-
"Lady Annette!"
"Harrrumph..?!" Anne sat up as she recognised the voice of Mary. She turned to her and only then noticed that the carriage had stopped and Mary was looking up at her concerned, her arm outstretched to help Anne get off.
"Are you okay?" Mary asked.
Anne smiled awkwardly, attempting to re-orient herself. She quickly took Mary's hand as she stood and bumped her head at the top of the carriage. "I'm fine- ow!"
"Miss?!" Mary grew even more concerned and Anne, though wincing, quickly waved it off.
"Yes, yes, ow, I-I'm fine. I'd just zoned out, is all. " She said, alighting from the carriage. Mary practically held on to her as they made their way back to Anne's abode.
"Did something happen, Miss? Did the Prince say something awful again? I've told you so many times that there's no point in-"
"No, no, it's nothing like that." Anne shook her head. "I've just... Been thinking about many things.
" Things such as?" Mary said, her expression portraying confusion laced with curiosity.
"... Whether it would be better to break of my engagement with Emal." Anne said, though her voice lowered at the end of the sentence.
"What?!" Mary's eyes looked as though they were ready to pop out.
"Hush!" Anne said. "Not so loud! I'm... I'm not sure yet, okay?"
"But... Don't you love him?" Mary said.
I forgot about that-
"I-I, ahem, I mean I used to. " Anne smiled at her but she quickly looked dejected. "But... He seems to like Penelope more. What's the point of constantly going after him, if he doesn't even want me? "
Mary gripped her arm. "Don't say that, Miss! You're his fiance, surely he cares about you!"
"I wish" Anne said, her eyelids fluttering as she frowned. She looked deeply unhappy. "But, he always ignores me for her. He was so mean yesterday when I spilled the drink on her dress. It's not like I meant to do so."
Mary hesitated. She mumbled, "Well... You do bully her a lot..."
"I know I do. And I know it's wrong. I'm tired of trying to one-up her. " Anne folded her arms. "The harder I push him, the further he goes away from me. I've come to accept that he doesn't want me after all. So, I'll just focus on myself instead!" With that, she picked up the hem of her gown a little and began to walk with surprising speed. "For now, I'm going to the library to read! I've decided I want to learn more about magic!"
"Miss, don't run-" Mary watched Anne disappear in the direction of the estate library. For the first time, she looked carefree. Mary, felt her chest warm a little at the sight but she still worried for Anne. People don't change overnight, do they? Just yesterday, before the ball, she'd been harping about how she'd make Emal hers and how he'd finally see that he was meant to be with her and not Penelope. But now...
"Did her hitting her head in the carriage reset her brain or something?" Mary mused to herself, before making way towards the library to catch up to her.