The universe, Raven decided, had a twisted sense of humor. Not only had she failed to escape her fate as someone destined for villainy, but she'd managed to make it worse. At least as a mafia heir, she would have had power, resources, and a fighting chance. Instead, her attempt at transmigration had backfired spectacularly.
"Lady Raven!" A shrill voice pierced through her thoughts. "Your morning tea is ready!"
Raven stared at her reflection. Pink hair, blue eyes. She looked exactly like the antagonist of "The Crown's Thorns," a popular fantasy novel she'd read in her previous life.
'I want a refund,' she thought bitterly. 'I specifically applied for female lead.'
"Coming," she called out. Great. She was really doing this. Playing the role of Lady Raven Blackthorn, the villainess who would try to kill the heroine and end up dead.
The maid, Emma (if she remembered correctly from the novel), curtsied as Raven left her chambers. The girl's hands trembled slightly as she offered the tea tray, nearly causing the delicate porcelain cups to rattle.
"Thank you, Emma," she said softly, taking the cup herself instead of waiting for the maid to serve her. The girl's eyes widened in shock, and Raven had to suppress a smile. If they were surprised by basic courtesy, she could hardly imagine how awful the original Raven must have been.
She took a small sip of the tea and immediately recognized the bitter undertone beneath the floral aroma. Poison. And not just the usual immunity-building dose she was used to from her first life, but enough to kill someone.
"Is something wrong with the tea, my lady?" Emma asked nervously, noticing her thoughtful expression.
"No, it's perfect," Raven replied, taking another sip. Thankfully, the fine print in the transmigration contract said all her physical abilities would transfer over to her new body. "Though, I think I'd like a fresh pot this afternoon. And Emma? You should be more careful about who hands you things in the kitchen."
Emma immediately understood. "My lady- I wouldn't-"
"I know." Raven set down her cup. "Which is why I'm warning you."
She gazed out the window at the vast Blackthorn estate. Somewhere out there, the story's heroine was probably still living peacefully with her family, unaware of her destiny. In a few months, she would catch the crown prince's eye at the Royal Academy, setting off a chain of events that would lead to Raven's downfall.
'Well,' Raven thought, a small smile playing on her lips, 'that's assuming I follow the original script.'
Thank God the transmigration committee said you could change the fate of the character you transmigrated into.
She may not have gotten the role she wanted, but having spent years navigating mafia politics in her previous life, this was nothing. Information was power, and she was the best at gathering it.
*
*
*
Raven jumped over a merchant's cart, scattering apples across the floor. Behind her, she heard the Crown Prince curse as he stumbled over the rolling fruit.
"Stop right there!" he called out.
Not likely. She'd spent three months building her information network in secret. She wasn't about to let her own fiancé catch her spying in a commoner's disguise.
Raven ducked into an alley, yanking off her brown wig as she ran. The convenient thing about being engaged to the Crown Prince was knowing his patrol routes. The inconvenient thing was discovering he'd changed them without telling anyone.
A flash of gold caught her eye. Imperial guards. Of course he'd brought backup.
She pulled a small smoke bomb from her pocket and threw it at their feet. As shouts filled the air, she slipped through a hidden door into one of her network's safehouses.
Inside, Emma, waited for her. "My lady, what..."
"No time." Raven stripped off her plain dress, and put on her noble's gown that she prepared in advance. "Help me with my hair. Our dear prince is being unusually persistent today."
The whole situation was ridiculous. Three months of carefully building her network, of transforming servants and merchants into informants, all while having to play the role of the prince's naive and innocent fiancée.
As Emma's quick fingers arranged her hair into something suitable, Raven mentally revised her plans. She'd gathered some excellent intelligence about the merchants' guild before Caine had spotted her, but now she needed an alibi.
"There." Emma stepped back. "You look like a noble lady again, my lady."
"Perfect." Raven checked her reflection. Lady Raven Blackthorn stared back, every inch the noble fiancée. No trace remained of the spy who'd been running across rooftops ten minutes ago. "Time to go face my fiance."
She stepped out the front door of what appeared to be a modest tea shop, nearly colliding with Caine himself.
"Oh, Prince Caine." She dropped into a perfect curtsy. "What brings you to this part of town?"
His violet eyes narrowed. "I was pursuing a suspicious individual." He glanced at the tea shop. "You're far from your usual place, Lady Blackthorn."
"Oh?" She smiled innocently. "I heard this shop makes exceptional rose tea. I thought it might be nice to serve at our engagement celebration next month."
He studied her immaculate appearance, then looked back at the chaos in the market square. She could practically see him trying to connect the elegant lady before him with the nimble spy he'd been chasing.
"Of course," he said finally. "Though, I'd be curious to know when you arrived. I've been in this square for the past hour and didn't see you come in."
"My dear prince," she said sweetly, "a lady must have some mysteries. Now, would you care to escort me home? I believe we have a garden party to prepare for."
Caine offered his arm, ever the perfect gentleman. "The party you've been so enthusiastically organizing. Tell me, what prompted this sudden interest in social gatherings? As I recall, you once said you'd rather spend the day shopping for imported silks than waste time on lesser nobles' gatherings."
That had been the original Raven not her. The garden party was meant to introduce Helena, the novel's heroine, to society. In the original story, it was where everything started to go wrong for Raven.
"People change," she said lightly. "Besides, isn't it proper for your fiancée to take an interest in high society?"
"Proper." He seemed to find the word amusing. "Like properly investigating merchant guilds while dressed as a commoner?"
Raven kept her smile perfectly in place. "I'm sure I don't know what you mean."
"No?" His grip on her arm tightened slightly. "Then you wouldn't know anything about the mysterious informant who's been feeding information to the city guard about corruption in the guilds?"
In her past life, she'd learned that sometimes the best lie was a different truth. "I heard rumors," she admitted. "Apparently someone's been exposing how certain guild masters have been hoarding grain, driving up prices before winter." She glanced up at him. "But surely the Crown Prince has better sources than marketplace gossip?"
"Indeed." They walked in silence for a moment. "It's strange. This informant's information is always accurate, always detailed. Almost as if..."
"As if?"
"As if someone with access to noble households was gathering intelligence." His violet eyes fixed on her. "Someone who could move freely among both nobility and commoners."
"How fascinating." Raven kept her voice light. "Though I can't imagine why you're telling me this."
"Can't you?" They stopped at a crossroads, noble district to the right, palace to the left. "But then again, the guard I was chasing moved like someone trained in combat."
"Are you accusing me of something, Your Highness?"
"Not at all." His smile didn't reach his eyes. "I'm simply noting that you've changed since our engagement was announced. The question is whether you've changed because you're plotting something, or because you're not who you appear to be."
Raven's heart skipped a beat. Impossible. He couldn't know about the transmigration.
"As enlightening as this conversation has been," she said, "I really must prepare for tomorrow's party. Helena's introduction to society must be perfect."
"Ah yes, the mysterious scholarship student." Now his smile was definitely dangerous. "Another piece that doesn't quite fit. A special summer program created just weeks ago, a commoner girl suddenly elevated to noble circles..."
"Fortune favors the deserving," Raven said smoothly. "Now, if you'll excuse me."
He caught her hand as she turned to leave, pressing a kiss to her knuckles. "Until tomorrow, my lady. I look forward to seeing what other surprises you have planned."
Raven maintained her composure until she reached her chambers. Then she collapsed into her chair, mind racing.
The prince was suspicious. The timeline was wrong. And tomorrow, she'd have to face the girl who was supposed to steal her fiancé and trigger her death sentence.
But that was the thing about being a transmigrator who'd read the novel. She knew exactly how the original story went.
And she had no intention of following the script.