I was staring blankly at them when Rebecca leaned over and whispered in my ear.
“That’s Lady Lillia Diollus and Lord Ricky Diollus — the children of the late Duke, Diollus VII, and the Duchess. They grew up like siblings to you, but technically, they’re your aunt and uncle’s kids. Do you remember them?”
What the hell? I only caught the “do you remember” part and shook my head.
Judging from the vibe, we were something like step-siblings… but the relationship looked terrible. If we’d gotten along, they wouldn’t be here saying this kind of crap to someone who’d almost drowned.
“Wow, so sweet I could die.”
Ricky — sitting there with his legs crossed like he owned the place — grabbed a cookie off the table, popped it in his mouth, then made a gagging sound.
“Seriously, you were eating junk like this right up until you jumped in the pond? No wonder you’re fat.”
“Wait… Rubette, did you jump in because Cedric told you yesterday that you were so ugly he didn’t want to see your face?”
Lillia smirked as if she found it hilarious.
I didn’t know why they hated me so much, but one thing was clear:
This girl must’ve been bullied and mocked her whole life.
And not the mild teasing kind either — from the way they spoke, it had been full-on cruelty. If it were just light teasing, she wouldn’t have been desperate enough to throw herself into a pond.
I was starting to feel a bit sorry for this body’s original owner when Ricky strolled over, snickering.
“Ack!”
He plopped down beside me and suddenly grabbed my stomach, squeezing it hard.
Is this idiot serious right now?
It hurt enough to bring tears to my eyes, but honestly, the disgust was worse than the pain.
I, Juliet Karenina, had never in my life been treated like this. Sure, I’d dealt with jealousy and envy — that came with being perfect — but I’d always brushed it off as part of my glamorous life.
But now? In this body? I couldn’t comfort myself with “it’s because I’m amazing.”
“Ew. My hand feels greasy now. Is this what Cedric was talking about?”
“Hahaha! Oh man, you’re killing me.”
The little devils were laughing and making fun of me right to my face.
Rebecca just bit her lip and watched, clearly unable to step in.
“Hey, where’s your neck? Let’s see if we can find our dear Rubette’s lost neck.”
Ricky reached for my chin, still snickering.
Smack!
Before his hand touched me, I slapped it away. His eyes went wide.
“What the—?”
Not so fast, kid.
Slap!
I swung my hand right across his cheek. His head snapped to the side beautifully.
“Gasp!”
“Y-You crazy—!”
Rebecca covered her mouth in shock, and Lillia froze.
If it had been my slim, delicate hand, maybe it wouldn’t have hurt much. But this meaty hand? Oh, he felt it. And honestly… good.
“You… you…”
Still shaking, Ricky slowly held his cheek and turned to glare at me.
“That was disgusting. Try that again, and I’ll report you for assault.”
“What?”
“Touching a lady without permission — where did you learn manners like that? You don’t look young enough to not know that unwanted contact is a crime.”
His eyes flickered at my words. Then he shot to his feet, trembling with rage, pointing a finger at me.
“You… You put your hands on my face? If my mother finds out—”
Sigh.
I’d thought he looked young, and yep, he was. His big threat was basically “I’m telling my mom!”
The fight in me cooled instantly.
What the hell was I even doing, arguing with these kids?
“Go ahead and tell her. But I don’t care if we’re family or whatever — do that crap again and I won’t go easy on you. I’ll show you life is a full-contact sport.”
“Y-You fat—!”
“Ricky, just leave. The doctor said she might be crazy. Let’s tell Mom as soon as she gets back.”
“Y-Yeah… you’re dead! Just wait!”
Lillia dragged the fuming Ricky out of my room.
Silence fell.
Rebecca was still staring at me, mouth open.
“M-My lady…”
From her reaction, it was clear that slapping Ricky and causing a scene was not something the old Rubette would ever do.
A wave of exhaustion hit me, and I flopped back onto the bed.
“Can you leave? This dream is crap. I need to wake up. I’ll sleep it off.”
Rebecca hesitated, then nodded and left.
I closed my eyes, praying that this would turn out to be just a dream — even though it felt way too real.
Maybe six hours passed.
I looked between the darkened window and the mirror… and sank into despair. I’d slept, but my unfamiliar reflection was still the same.
“I’m gonna lose it…”
The girl in the mirror was plain, slow-looking, and young — no trace of the glamorous Juliet Karenina.
My eyes started to sting with frustration, when suddenly…
Something black and squirmy popped out of my head.
“Kyaa!”
I froze in terror.
It looked like a blob of black goo, but then it completely separated from me and started taking shape.
“Oh God, please…”
Backing away, I honestly wished I’d just faint.
Soon, it was fully formed.
What the hell is that?!
A person? Sort of. But definitely not human.
It had black, sticky-looking skin and a muscular build. No eyeballs, just empty sockets. Its nose was nothing but two holes, and a long white tongue flicked out from a wide, slit mouth.
It looked like some terrifying alien from a movie.
“G-Get away from me!”
“Wait. Calm down, Juliet Karenina.”
The alien caught up to me instantly as I tried to run.
“How can I calm down when you look like that?!”
“Ah.”
It snapped its… finger-like appendage, and then something magical happened.
It changed?
In an instant, the alien shifted into a completely different form — a boy around this body’s age, with brown hair and blue eyes.
“Better? This is the face Rubette likes most — Cedric Reiser.”
“…”
Deep breaths.
At least it looked human now, and my heart finally slowed. After everything I’d been through today, one more alien showing up wouldn’t have surprised me.
“Haa…”
Once I’d calmed down, I said,
“That might be her type, but it’s not mine.”
“What?”
“I like… more mature. Bigger build, stronger. You know.”
“Ah.”
It snapped its fingers again.
This time, it turned into a young man with silver hair and striking golden eyes — older looking, and with a solid, strong build.
“Oh!”
Hot guy!
He was so handsome I forgot the seriousness of the situation and just stared at his face.
He smiled slightly, pleased with my reaction.
“Known as the most handsome man in the empire — Crown Prince Larc von Rashmah Decard.”
“Yeah… this face is definitely my type.”
“Thanks.”
I smiled back, but then stepped closer and grabbed him by the collar.
“Just now, you called me Juliet Karenina — my real name. You know why I’m stuck in this nightmare, don’t you?”
He looked straight at me with that beautiful face, then answered with a strange glint in his eyes:
“…Yeah.”
