How long was I out for them to transport me to an entire blockbuster-level theatre set?
Horse and carriages, hot air balloons, fantasy Western-style buildings.
From the three moons in the sky to the cobblestone street, this entire production was immaculately realistic.
And disgustingly so.
The fresh air, unpolluted by moto-fumes, was unfamiliar. I heaved, clapping a hand over my mouth as nausea rose.
My head pounded, each pulse felt like a hammer blow; my chest burned with the same fire I felt before blacking out.
"Ugh," I collapsed to the ground not sure if I should be holding my head or chest, everything hurts.
"Lady Elodie!" I could vaguely hear the panic from my delirious state, though shouldn't they be more worried about a collapsed person right now?
I felt hands on me before a particular pair of rough hands picked me up into a warm embrace. "Elodie de Montmorency, stop acting pathetic and get up."
Elodie. Elodie de Montmorency?
And like a curse, the name unlocked memories that seemed to have been locked away. Memories that did not belong to me, but with every frame I recalled, I seemed to have gradually merged with Elodie.
Elodie de Montmorency, the villainess of the R18 novel I read a few months ago.
And with the first stable consciousness I gained when I opened my eyes, I stared into the dark pair of red ones above me, wishing the man didn't react when I said, "Raphael de Valois?"
Without a word, he dropped me onto the cold stone floor of the cathedral. Pain jolted up my spine, it felt like it snapped in half. "Ouch! What was that for?" I glared up at him as he stood.
"It appears you've come back to your senses, Montmorency. Since you're not keen on continuing the ceremony, we'll end it here." That foul personality, he was without a doubt Raphael, the garbage male lead who ends up-
Wait.
I'm the villainess fated to die—and he's the male lead who's supposed to make it happen!
Raphael de Valois. My killer!
My panic, though, seemed to have been misinterpreted as something else by the male lead, who scoffed before turning around and passing through the crowd and out of the main doors of the cathedral followed by his entourage.
Several words of sympathy and concern were thrown my way by the remaining attendees, however, I wasn't able to properly respond as I slowly digested everything.
Was I dead?
Did I die from a heartbreak?
"Are you joking with me?" I ran a hand through my hair, only to catch it on the veil on my head.
Someone has to be playing with me.
I felt like the surroundings blurred in slow motion, many things happened before me, and my body moved on its own while my mind was a mess.
It wasn't until I was lying on the soft bed that evening that I finally regained some senses after being escorted out of the cathedral, riding a horse carriage to a magnificent manor.
The room was silent and dimly lit.
The Valois' maids had tried to wash me earlier, and I had thankfully regained some sense to refuse them. After washing, dressing, and crawling into bed after retiring the maids I was finally left alone, in peace.
What should I do?
Even if the environment and people could be fake, there was no technology that exists that injects false memories into my own head.
I lifted my left arm, and under the dim candle orange hue, were forming purple pinch marks on my arms, I never bruised this easily, nor had my skin ever been this flawless.
I saw my appearance on the bathwater surface earlier, curly red hair and golden eyes. Elodie's appearance was the complete opposite of my black hair and brown eyes.
My forearm covered my eyes, blocking the light.
I shouldn't feel so pathetic.
My life back home wasn't perfect, but I'd fought for it—every deadline, every late shift, every sneer at my office in Seoul's top finance firm.
Climbing the corporate ladder hadn't been easy, I had just been recently promoted as well, and my pay could easily fund a lavish lifestyle.
But after a decade's worth of work, now it was all gone. Like my life before meant nothing.
If everything could disappear so easily like that, and I had no control over it then what's even the point of living on as Elodie? Wouldn't I just die anyway?
Wasn't the plot the same as fate in my world?
Pain prickled in my clenched fists, snapping me back to the present. I released a breath and buried myself under the duvet, sinking into the rose-scented pillows.
Maybe tomorrow will be different.
It's a new world, and my situation is rather comfy until the death flag.
I could run away, but I highly doubt I'd get far from my knowledge as a reader, and since Elodie was raised as a princess in a greenhouse her memories too were useless.
Give it a month and ask for a legal divorce, after all, the male lead is meant to have his first encounter with the female lead in a month's time.
It was love at first sight, and from what was portrayed in the book he had wanted with every fibre of his being to divorce Elodie, but the pressure from both families meant he was unable to.
Yeah let's ask for a divorce after that event.
No need for alimony. No need for drama. No need for a man. And that way I can avoid the death flag.
"Ugh, I'm so tired," I let out a long sign which seemed to relax my body.
The duvet was warm and comfortable, and it didn't take long for sleep to welcome me.