ISTV 02

The boy seemed flustered by my response.

“…What did you say?”

“Mr. Philip’s homework is supposed to be done on your own.”

“You said you’d do it for me!”

“Well, that’s because you…”

More detailed memories began to surface.

To sum it up, they were mostly memories of me being a pushover.

‘Wait a second.’

Why are these memories getting clearer? As if they’re actually mine?

“Are you seriously trying to pin the blame on me?”

“…”

“You offered to help, so I didn’t worry about it. That makes it your fault, doesn’t it? Right?”

I stayed silent for a moment.

These kinds of memories were quite frequent.

Waves of painful memories crashed over me.

It seemed I had always tried hard to please my family since childhood.

I made constant efforts to treat everyone kindly, taking on unpleasant tasks for others.

I tried not to be a burden, always volunteered first, and worked hard.

“How are you going to make it up to me?”

Normally, in this kind of situation, I would’ve said, “I’ll stay up all night if I have to. I’m sorry for letting you down, brother.”

‘But this… this is totally Sayla d’Vernon’s childhood story, isn’t it?’

A chill ran down my spine.

I remembered the voice I’d heard earlier.

「“You try living it. Save me.”」

Did the game’s villainess, Sayla, just turn me into her?

No way. That’s ridiculous. This has to be a dream. It has to be.

I clenched my toes hard, trying to wake up, but it was useless.

In the meantime, Garen shouted,

“How are you going to take responsibility?!”

— Oh, shut up. My head hurts.

“I’ll think about it. Just give me a moment.”

Because my language kept getting refined, my true intentions weren’t coming through properly.

Then let’s try this.

“Please close your mouth and maintain silence. You smell like the miso crafted by a master.”

Oh, that came out nicely. So it works as long as I keep it classy?

“What, what did you say? Did you just insult me?!”

— Yep. Just your imagination.

“I don’t use vulgar or undignified language.”

I instinctively started walking.

From behind, Garen shouted, “It better be done by tomorrow! Stay up all night if you have to! If I get scolded, it’s all your fault! Got it?!”

But I didn’t have the energy to respond.

I ignored his voice and walked away.

‘Why won’t I wake up?!’

I arrived at the end of the third-floor hallway and opened a familiar door.

Creak— The door opened with a squeak.

An old desk and bed. A single wardrobe.

And a full-length mirror standing beside them.

‘Huh…’

As if possessed, I stood in front of the mirror.

The moment I saw my reflection, it felt like I’d been hit over the head.

‘No way…’

Sayla d’Vernon was standing there.

She grinned and spoke from inside the mirror.

「“Live. With everything you’ve got.”」

No way. This can’t be happening. I must’ve gone crazy from overwork.

Aha-ha! How thrilling, right?

This is the world of Her and Her, the game I’d been obsessed with? Amazing, woohoo.

Once I stopped resisting, I actually felt more at ease.

Oh! Actually, this is great.

I decided I’d enjoy this while it lasted. Until I woke up.

This is a dream! A dream!

“Wow, she really is pretty.”

The illustration I had poured my money, soul, and time into—Sayla d’Vernon.

One of the top 10 most captivating villains in the world, her face was reflected in the mirror.

Sayla, who had been grinning, was gone now.

“See? I knew I must’ve imagined it.”

Feeling confident again, I reached my hand toward the mirror.

The sensation of touching it was so vivid it gave me chills.

The reflection moved exactly as I did.

I cheerfully tried saying something.

— Is this for real?

“I can’t believe it.”

A pleasant breeze blew in through the window.

I brushed aside the bangs tickling my cheeks and tucked them behind my ears.

The red hair that reached my shoulders shimmered like soft waves.

Everything I felt was real.

Even though I felt panicked and about to lose my mind, Sayla’s beauty was undeniable.

— Damn, she’s stunning.

“Her appearance is most exquisitely beautiful.”

I wondered if cursing was even possible, so I gave it a try.

— You bastard! You son of a—!

“…”

— Worst of all, you daddy’s boy!

“…”

Not a single swear word would come out of my mouth.

I think I understood why my body was reacting like this.

“Sigh.”

‘This must be because of Sayla’s character trait, [Elegance].’

— Aaargh!

I couldn’t even scream. It was too undignified.

‘Okay, fine. Let’s accept that.’

So I can’t curse? Can’t snap at people?

That’s all trivial.

There was a much bigger problem.

‘If the [Elegance] trait is functioning properly… that means the other traits are in effect too.’

Sayla had several character traits.

Among them, the most defining were [Constant Threat of Death] and [Right to Die Beautifully].

‘Holy crap…’

I mentally grabbed hold of myself again.

No matter how I looked at it, this was real.

‘This can’t be happening.’

I dropped onto the bed.

Even that—thanks to [Elegance]—I did with ridiculous grace.

‘So, I’ve transmigrated?’

I was honestly in mental collapse.

It took me quite a while to finally accept reality.

It seemed I had possessed the most captivating villainess, fated to die.

‘Aaaaah!’

I tried to yank out my hair, but my dainty white hands only brushed it aside and touched my temple gracefully.

Like a tragic heroine full of sorrow.

Why does a 13-year-old radiate this much melancholy?

After a chaotic day, morning finally came.

As soon as the sun rose, that daddy’s boy’s voice echoed through the house.

“Sayla. You finished my homework, right?”

His confident tone made it obvious—he completely expected me to have stayed up all night finishing it.

— Ugh. I’m furious first thing in the morning.

“What a noisy morning.”

Despite just waking up, the girl in the mirror had no signs of puffiness or fatigue. She was the very definition of elegance.

Sayla was born under misfortune.

A devil’s child who took her mother’s life at birth.

In Her and Her’s world, where medical science wasn’t advanced like Earth’s, it wasn’t uncommon for mothers to die during childbirth. And such children were seen as cursed.

Until just a few decades ago, it was routine to toss those babies into the sewers as soon as they were born.

Young Sayla was very aware of how people saw her.

‘I have to be a useful child.’

So she tried hard to be a good kid and avoid causing trouble.

She avoided relying on maids or servants, choosing instead to do things herself.

If anyone around her seemed troubled, she would rush to help.

When her older brother Garen looked worried as a child, Sayla had approached him first.

‘Brother, is something wrong?’

‘They say I need to get hyacinth herbs myself. But they grow at the top of the mountain! How am I supposed to do that?’

‘I’ll help you, brother!’

The d’Vernon family was known for its traditional magic.

To practice magic, one needed various materials—and young mages were trained to gather them on their own.

‘Here. I got it.’

‘Oh. You’re amazing!’

That’s how it started.

Sayla tried to prove her worth and did her best to help everyone.

But as time passed, the family began to take her for granted.

‘It’s fine. Just say it’s Lady Sayla’s. Nothing will happen even if we get caught.’

Some staff secretly diverted her allotted budget.

‘This premium lamb meat? I’ll take some home for my kid. They’ve been looking weak lately.’

Others stole the meat meant for Sayla and took it home.

‘How about a little tea party later?’

‘During work hours? Is that okay?’

‘It’s Sayla. It’s fine.’

‘Sayla’s a pushover.’

The servants meant to assist her during duty hours began to slack off and do as they pleased.

Even her brother Garen began treating errands as naturally Sayla’s job.

‘Hey. I told you to send that letter to Wizard Jean in town.’

‘Sorry. It rained so much yesterday I couldn’t go.’

‘You climb mountains to gather herbs, and you’re saying rain stopped you? Do you hear yourself?’

‘Sorry. I wasn’t feeling well.’

Sayla had had a severe cold the day before. But she didn’t tell anyone—she didn’t want to be a burden.

‘Don’t make excuses. Why are you so weak? You’re supposed to be strong.’

‘…Sorry.’

‘What now? Jean’s probably left town by now. We’ll have to wait days again. How are you going to fix this?’

These kinds of memories were all too frequent.

She thought a little unfairness was something she had to endure.

Because she had no real talent for magic.

In the d’Vernon family, lacking magical ability was a curse. A mark of incompetence.

Aside from being healthy and pretty, she had nothing special going for her.

She believed that in order to survive in this house, she had to be obedient and well-behaved.

Memories like this surfaced again and again.

‘This is all just game lore, right?’

It was meant to give Sayla a tragic backstory so she would shine more later on.

‘These can’t be my real memories… can they?’

It felt like something sharp and hot was stabbing me in the chest.

The more I remembered, the more choked up I became, and my eyes filled with tears.

And that’s when I realized—

‘From Sayla’s perspective, I really was someone she’d want to kill.’

Now, as Lee Sohyun living as Sayla, I bit my lip lightly.

‘I’m sorry, Sayla.’

Who would’ve thought I’d end up apologizing to a 2D game character?

It was unthinkable—but my feelings for Sayla were real.

‘I’ll try to save you.’

Sayla’s resentful voice echoed in my ear again, telling me to experience it myself.

At first, it scared me—but thinking back on it, I felt sorry for her.

She must’ve been so desperate.

I truly decided to live this life with everything I had.

‘If Sayla’s heart and will are inside me now… if she’s watching from somewhere…’

Then I had to show her.

No, I wanted to show her.

‘I’ll save you. Watch me, Sayla.’

…Just as I made that vow, a voice rang out again.

“Sayla. You finished my homework, right?”

He was completely confident that she would’ve stayed up all night to do it.

Sayla walked over to Garen with a touch of irritation—yet with flawless grace.

Nice to see you again, you daddy’s boy bastard.

“Welcome, dear brother.”