“I was told you refuse to attend the Ball that the King of Lemeria hosts,” father asks, frowning. He returned to the estate a couple of days ago after I got stuck in this body, and these were the first words he told me.

The Earl of Lemeria is seated at the head of the table, tall, firmly built and stern, he gives off a retired military officer vibes. On his right-hand side is seated his young wife Rosa — a very dumb, greedy woman, they haven’t been together for long. On the left-hand side from the father is placed Victoria’s step-brother Deckard. A haughty blond young man, the heir of the family and an outstanding student of the Magic Academy. He doesn't appear in the novel a lot. At some point, he flirts with Elisa and the other time he slaps Victoria for arguing with him. And as bad as he can get, at least he is one of the few people who doesn’t try to kill Victoria.

So, I take the seat one chair away from him.

The feeling of being an imposter never leaves me, thinking that magic or some fatherly heart thing will reveal the situation. Though, it seems like everyone couldn’t care less about Victoria in this household. Wherever her face appears, servants frown and try to get away as soon as possible, the brother does everything it takes to ignore his sister, and father does the same. Only Rosa occasionally throws glances from across the table.

Although, nothing to be surprised about because Victoria’s birth was against this world’s law. The Earl of Lemeria has cheated on his beloved wife, and after she found out the woman fell ill from grief, that was the cause of her death.

Before passing, she asked her spouse one last thing — to take care of the illegitimate daughter and to never abandon the innocent child.

The Earl of Lemeria fulfilled the last wish of his dying wife, however, when a five-year-old Victoria entered his property she was faced with contempt and nothing else. Every soul in the household blamed the little girl for the death of the Lady, almost as if she was the cause for the man’s affair. No wonder that Victoria turned bitter and became the antagonist of the novel. Yet, I’m not going to be taking the same route as the poor girl, hence not going to endure the same ending. I’m not going to be responsible for other people’s mistakes.

“The Earl of Lemeria addressed you a question, answer now, would you?!” Rose demands, “How dare you to be so ignorant.”

“Sorry, I was caught up in my head,” I reply politely and immediately am greeted with shocked faces. This is because former Victoria would’ve never tolerated such an attitude towards her, instead she would throw a glass at Rosa that would cause another scandal. Should I do the same? Could these sudden changes in Victoria be considered suspicious?

“I’m not feeling well,” I test the waters.

“You know who is hosting the ball,” father entirely ignores my words.

Does the Earl of Lemeria care about his daughter a single bit? Poor girl, how could she bear this?

The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Of course,” I say, quickly recalling the book in my head. “ This is the Royal Ball. I have been anticipating it for a long time now. Though my health…”

“The invitation has been approved by the Royal Seal. Not showing up is pure disrespect to the King and his guests.”

“You only think about yourself,” Rosa squeals, looking like a lapdog barking from the owner’s arms.

“I have a valid reason not to go,” I speak to Victoria’s father.

“I don’t care about your whines. You aren’t five years old. High-ranking people will be attending the Ball. Even the prince of Ruanda. We’re in a trading relationship with them, so if you want to be called Earl’s daughter, be so kind and do what you are told.” Father’s voice is full of anger.

“Father, enough,” Deckard raises his voice. “She gets it, okay? Do you?” He looks up at me with a frown on his face. I give him a small nod, a lump stuck up my throat. I’ve never been spoken to with so much hatred, if this was my real father, I wouldn't be able to hold back my tears.

Knowing from the book that Victoria has a complex relationship with her father, I never expected it to be this bad. After all, the story was mostly Elisa centred, her life where Victoria only served as pain in the arse.

“The Ball is in two days. Be nice and don’t do anything stupid,” the Earl of Lemeria spits out, getting up from his seat.

‘Does he refer to that ‘roof incident’?’ I think to myself. ‘He thinks Victoria was pretending?’ I watch my named father leaving the dining hall, Rosa following him like a loyal dog she is, Deckard being the last one to leave.

I’m left alone behind a giant table, a few lit candles are placed in the middle of it, I never take my eyes off the flames. ‘Such a big house makes me feel so little and lonely…’ This is how Victoria must have felt in here. I wonder what truly happened to her Mother, there wasn’t much about her in the book.

The flames flicker in a small dance. ‘I have no choice, but to go to the Ball. Even if I hide, the Ball is held every three months, sooner or later, I’ll have to attend it. It looks like it won’t be easy to change the plot of the book. What if the death of Victoria is inevitable? What if, regardless of how hard I try, it all comes down to her?’

The thoughts are messing up with my brain, making my whole body freeze. I grab onto the tablecloth to keep myself grounded. What should I do? I look down at my wrists, there is no Mark there yet, but as soon as I see him it will appear, the same one that the prince carries from birth.

When he sees the Mark, he won’t let me go. Finding the True One among people is significant for Alan’s clan, strong heirs can only be born from True Love, there is a high chance that children will be gifted with a Magic ability. However, love doesn’t come together with Mark… At least in Victoria’s case. Father will hand me over to Alan just to avoid any conflicts, nobody will care what happens after, so would nobody care for my death…

By an impulse, I grab one of the candles and bring it up to my wrist, so it burns the skin, waiting. The flames are burning tender flesh, but I take it all tightly clenching my teeth. And, no, I’m not crazy. Think about it, if the skin is burnt I have an excuse to cover up the place, so no one will have to see my Mark. Besides, even if it does appear, the pattern won’t be recognisable due to the scarring, which means I can easily lie and pretend like I see no match between the prince’s Mark and mine. If the scar is the price to pay for my life, so be it.

I bite my lip to muffle the cries that threaten to slip my mouth and close my eyes. Hell, this hurts. But that's okay, it’s going to be okay, just a bit more.

“What are you doing?!” Suddenly reaches my ears.