NOVEL NEXT WORLD A Fairy Tales For The Villains
Vol. 1 Chapter 1 - I Became Old Boy?!(1)
1 – I Became Old Boy?!
At first, as for everyone, things were normal. Of course, the standards of normalcy vary depending on the person, either way, at first, I was also just an ordinary child. However, I was luckier compared to other commoner children. It was all thanks to my mother. Dad died before I was born, so I didn’t even knew his face. However, according to my mother, it was from him whom I inherited my dark-ruby eyes from. Anyway, my mother, who gave birth to me and raised me alone, was from the South. She got a letter of recommendation from the Countess she worked for and came to the Capital. She started to work for Duke Serpente, who happened to have a young daughter. As such, I was sort of the Princess’ foster sister. I spent my childhood as a young nanny and a playmate. The Duke and Duchess were very nice people. I didn’t know what the other nobles would be like, but the two treated us, mother and daughter like a real family. That was why I, a mere nanny’s daughter, was able to play freely with the children of high-ranking nobles since I was a toddler. Whenever the second young master, who was always eager to tease me, made me cry, the Duke personally scolded him. It was a happy childhood. Like an endless summer day, filled with warmth and joy. We were all perfectly happy back then, when my mother, the Duke, and the Duchess were still alive.The first time I felt something was wrong was probably from the day my mother passed away. In just a week, a plague came mercilessly, taking the lives of more than 7,000 people across the Empire regardless of their status, and stole my mother, and even Empress Alicia, in a flash. It was all thanks to the Duke and Duchess that I was able to officially hold a funeral for my mother, a mere commoner nanny who died from the plague, instead of being carelessly burned. It was all thanks to them that I, who had nowhere to go and was young, was able to keep living at the Duke’s mansion, just as always.However, in those days, instead of the sadness and despair of losing my mother at the young age of fourteen, I was caught up in an unfamiliar shock and confusion that I had never felt before. It was because, at the same time as my mother’s death, all my memories unfolded like a panoramic view. More precisely, the memories of my previous life, and what exactly this reality was. At first, I thought I was suffering from some sort of delusional mechanism due to the grief, but as time passed I couldn’t escape from the truth facing me:The world I lived in was the world inside a book I read in my previous life.In my previous life, I lived as an orphan and, on a winter day, I froze to death stuck in a broken elevator.‘How could I believe I had such an unpleasant life and ending?’To make matters worse, I didn’t even want to believe that people I’ve seen since I was young would face such a tragic catastrophe in the future. However, the same as I remembered, within a few weeks, the Duchess and the Duke passed away. Terrible anxiety began to eat me up. If the world I lived in was really the world in a book I saw in my previous life, all that laid ahead was a sequence of heartbreaking tragedies. To me and the siblings, Lettis, Venya, and Estelle.According to the novel’s development, which was described from the main character’s point of view, the Serpente’s children, who became orphans at a young age, studied abroad for about two years after their parent’s funeral. The decision was made by the relatives who temporarily took control of the Estate affairs of the family, considering the young age of the heir, Lettis, and the serious situation of the Empire.It was also said that I followed and faithfully supported Estelle there, but no matter how I tried, I couldn’t remember any description of how the siblings spent those years. It only said that Estelle, who had a naturally weak constitution, died in the middle; and that Sasha -I- returned home with the remaining two brothers, Lettis and Venya, and like an evil mastermind guided them to crush and set the Empire into chaos. I was the ultimate evil villainess of the novel, the Queen of snakes, the evil mastermind. A demon in a human mask! And, the villainess who faced a terrible death at the end? Someone could say it was justice after all her evil deeds.‘But I’ve always thought I have a fairly good life!’Even so, even if I had to, how could I reincarnate in such a role? Was I lacking virtue in my past life? But in my previous life, I had no time to accumulate virtue! ‘Oh, did I reincarnate for this…?’Of course, it would have been enough to just avoid doing such things in the future, thus, I wouldn’t have to worry about dying dreadfully. However…! The problem was that what I knew might now have been everything. In other words, the setting was written solely from the main character’s point of view, that is, the public knowledge, wasn’t true at all.Because there was no description nor a clue about Lettis, Venya, Estelle, and I being locked inside a secret place inside the manor, instead of going abroad for study. At least that was what I remembered.‘I’ll never forget that night, never. Even if I become a very, very old granny.’The night after the Duke and Duchess burial ceremony, while Lettis and Venya talked with their relatives, Estelle and I sat in the back garden, silently looking up at the sky. We hugged each other tightly, our hearts beating loudly, but we did not cry nor spoke. Countless stars above our heads seemed to be twinkling meaningfully as if they were going to pour from the sky just for us. The light felt like an illusion, the starlight looked like sparkling tears… I didn’t know why such a common sight felt so significant.Even though I knew what was going to happen, a strange, uncomfortable sense of incompatibility rose in me. A feeling as if my subconscious was sending me a warning. Was it a sign that something was wrong?“Estelle.”I turned my head to the voice that popped in from behind our backs. It was Lettis in black mourning clothes. The desolated sky-blue eyes of a boy who just turned fifteen years old alternately stared blankly at our faces.“Our uncle has something to discuss with all of us.”Poor thing. Seeing that he had to go out in person to do something that was supposed to be a servant’s job, it seemed that the atmosphere was quite uncomfortable. Or maybe he just needed some space to cool off. Unlike how he looked, Lettis was quite shy and clumsy at concealing his emotions. It was a fatal drawback as the successor of a high-ranking noble household.Estelle, who was facing her brother with the same empty eyes, hesitated and looked back at me. She was always anxious if my mother or I weren’t around, and to make things worse, she had now lost her parents too. However, no matter how good a relationship I had with these siblings, I couldn’t join their family meetings. It was utterly ridiculous. So, to make her feel at least a bit more at ease, I clasped our hands together and gave her a reassuring smile, telling her to get going. The two siblings, holding their hands, with water-colored hair shimmering pale under the moonlight, constantly looked back at me as they headed into the mansion. Were they worried about me? I wanted to reassure them by saying that no matter what, we would still be together in the future.If only I had known in advance that there was something else to worry about… I wish I’d known sooner that that night would be the last time we’d be allowed to play in the garden or walk on the grass for the next two years.I wish I had at least picked a wildflower. * * * Anyone would have acted the same, but on the first day, I couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on. As soon as I opened my eyes, an unfamiliar ceiling greeted me. That was the first surprise. The second surprise came when I turned my head to the side, more accurately, when I found my blonde-reddish hair tangled with Estelle’s long, watery hair. I certainly fell asleep in my bedroom -the annex where I lived with my mom,- and we couldn’t have been sleeping in the same bed unless one of us had been sleepwalking. But most of all, the room itself was a problem. It wasn’t my room, neither was Estelle’s.As I stared blankly at her sleeping face in bewilderment, Estelle opened her eyes. Her sleepy sky-colored eyes fluttered and looked around in daze, then, a sullen voice rang.“Did Sasha bring me here?”…Maybe because she was still half asleep. She wouldn’t be asking that sincerely otherwise. ‘But who the hell brought us here anyway?’“… Sasha? Estelle?”“Are you guys there?” Gina’s Corner;About the Title; Yes, it says old boy e_e it’s a reference to a Korean movie (called OldBoy. So good, if you guys didn’t see it, go watch it.) Disclaimer: it’s an R-movie so no minors and no sensitive people, hear momma Gina and be good.
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