Carla was feeling extreme pain in her back, cheeks, and arms. She had clearly been hit.
While she was trying to get her bearings, a cup of freezing water and a rag entered her vision. She could vaguely hear a woman say something about respect and nanny.
"Where am I?" she whispered, before struggling to her feet to look around.
It didn't look like paradise. She was sure she had died mere seconds ago. The phantom pain of broken bones and misplaced organs made her shudder.
She was in what appeared to be a library. Stacks of books piled in every corner, and every shelf was filled to the brim. It was dusty and old. There was an aging sofa with a paper-thin blanket thrown over it, and not much else. Just books and boxes. Still, she found the architecture beautiful.
Her heart was pounding. Carla wondered if she had somehow reincarnated. But shouldn't she be a baby?
She looked out the window and saw a wide alley and a beautiful garden that seemed to stretch beyond her view. It was an oddly familiar sight.
"No way."
She turned and looked around for a reflective surface. The window was too dirty; she could only see outside thanks to a broken corner in the glass.
Her suspicions were confirmed by a broken shard of mirror she found and held in her trembling hands.
"That's not my face," she said in shock.
But it was one she knew. Katrina Elyana Chester.
Light brown skin, a gift from her elven-blooded mother, clear maroon eyes, long curly hair, a small nose, plump lips, freckles. And, one of the most pathetic characters she'd ever read about.
Carla had died moments ago and now found herself in a book she particularly loved. She wanted to pinch herself to make sure it was real, but the headache she felt was proof enough.
It was one of her favorite historical fantasy novels, Nina. The story was told from the perspective of the main character Nina, Katrina's cousin. It was a trilogy she'd cherished, her introduction to the fantasy genre. She'd read it more than five times. Revenge, well-crafted plans, tension between nobility and royalty, wizards, love, adventure. It was an intense read.
In short: Katrina's father, Marquis Praus, hated his older brother and killed him to become the family patriarch. He then poisoned his wife and children and cast them out of the estate. They fell prey to traffickers. Only Nina, the middle child, survived, and swore revenge. She became a professional assassin and a spy for the future Duke Armah, determined to make the Praus family suffer just as she and her brothers had.
In the book, she ruined the marquisate financially and involved Marquis Praus in rebellion schemes that killed Katrina's stepmother and half-sister.
Katrina, protected by her Countess title, was exempt from punishment, but died later from slow, painful poisoning.
The worst part? Nina dies too. She was stabbed by Duke Armah, mere days after completing her revenge and helping him conquer the County.
"What the fuck? Why didn't I reincarnate into a fluffy story with a tsundere male lead finally blushing and stuttering after 75 chapters? Why this? I loved the scheming and manipulation, but not when it's against me!"
She obviously was Katrina now. A character who suffered through more than half the timeline of the series. Katrina was abused by her stepmother, married off at 17 to Count Chester, manipulated by Nina, targeted by the male lead's aunt, divorced, and finally died from cold and poison on her way back to her ruined home.All this happened in the space of ten years.
Her life was truly miserable.
The Praus marquisate was prestigious due to its descent from one of the Allyan Empire's founders — the legendary Magic Swordmaster Praus. Katrina was born with the potential to become a renowned mage or swordmaster, but years of neglect — and Nina — prevented her from developing either talent. It was tragic.
There were illustrations and detailed descriptions of characters in the books that's why the garden looked familiar to Carla.
It seemed to be the beginning of the first volume. Katrina wasn't married yet, and Nina was still the playmate of Sarah, her half-sister.
Katrina must be around fourteen.
Carla looked at the reflection again, taking in the beautiful face. Tears welled up in her eyes. Her life was gone. Truly gone. She hadn't had a large circle of friends, but she'd had two she cherished. There wasn't much to grieve, and yet, it still hurt.
She took a deep breath just as someone burst into the room, loudly placing a tray with soup and a chunk of bread in front of her. A servant.
"Eat, then go accompany the young lady during her lesson. She's such a pure soul to let a stain like you near her. And stop crying! You're even uglier when you do. It's almost theatrical."
Lies. Katrina was objectively beautiful. Even Count Chester, a man of few words who only knew swords, had admitted it the moment her portrait reached his estate.
She glared at the transparent liquid in front of her, as if staring hard enough could turn it into something more edible.
When she read about Katrina's suffering, she empathized deeply. Katrina wasn't evil, just dumb, and a victim of her circumstances. Carla had dreamed of strangling Eloïse, the wicked stepmother.
But now that she was in Katrina's shoes… she was scared. She would have to live through all of it. There was no going back. No body to return to. At least none that she knew of. The pain from the car crash was still engraved in her memory. She hadn't survived.
It's so easy to underestimate abuse when it's summarized in five sentences, isnt it?
She cried again, drank the clear broth, and ate half the round bread, and hid the rest in the folds of her rough, unfamiliar clothes.
You never know.
She would have to brace herself.
Daydreaming about what she would do in Katrina's place was no longer inconsequential. This was real life, and she refused to be dragged along by fate.
"I am Katrina Elyana Chester. I will not die."