Hikari groaned. This was too crazy to be true.

She felt so overwhelmed, it didn’t make any sense! Yet, as she looked into the mirror, familiar features greeted her, and she knew she had to face facts. Somehow, one way or another, Nezumi Hikari had transmigrated inside the body of a minor character of her favorite manga series. It was inside the body of Renetia Carmichael, Duke Carmichael’s only daughter and sole heir of his fortune. She was angry about that too, but she didn’t want to dwell on that right now. The case of her sudden transmigration was much more pressing.

Why did it happen? How did it happen?

And, most importantly, why her?!

The manga she was currently inside, titled “Lovely Poisonous Palace”, was a barely known Otome Horror manga that was over 40 years old. It was created during mysterious circumstances; survived not getting axed for longer than anybody expected, and its contents were strange even for the genre. The author was memorable for her ability to inflict generous amounts of human suffering onto her characters. It was an interesting story, in which the beautiful mansions and gorgeous ceilings concealed the characters’ horrible intentions. A place where romance, aspirations, hope and kindness battled against the power of money, arrogance and savageness of the powerful and famous. Where one girl’s beautiful heart and kindness made a difference to any she met.

Fortunately for Hikari, she was not that girl, but simply a side character barely worth mentioning.

If all those things weren’t omnious enough, the fact that the work was never succesfully finished sealed the coffin. With no ending, the fate of the main characters was never set in stone; the protagonist’s romantic end was never realized, and young Hikari resented the author for it. It was only due Hikari’s immense love for the book that she kept returning as a reader (despite being very embarrassed about it).

Her mother hated her books. Her father didn’t get it. And her older sister thought the book series was too ridiculous to properly listen through her ramblings. In this way, her family only slightly knew about her obsession with this book. Hikari realized now that they were right. She should’ve never have bothered with reading this creepy story. Had she done that, she may have been spared from being trapped inside this complicated nightmare.

Don’t get Hikari wrong - as a reader, this story was enticingly written, even to the point that a young child was mesmerized by its complexity and tendency for dramatics. Yet, Hikari realized now that there was a giant difference between reading a story and living inside the story. Usually when that’s the case, you would jump for joy right?

Wrong!

One, this place is the place of her nightmares. It’s too crazy - or, if she had to be more specific, it is the people who lack common sense. In this world, there’s a pretty good rule of thumb, that being that if you are rich or of nobility, you don’t have a moral compass. Most of the characters in the original series were nobles - and they were the most depraved and attention-starved people.

But the butler were none of those things. Hikari could tell the way he looked at her, full of concern and remorse, was due to his respect for this body’s owner. He went to those extremes to protect her. He likely had a deep connection with the former Renetia, due to his long servitude to her house. Considering that her father was nowhere to be found, Hikari assumed she was right. This butler was probably the only father Renetia had ever known.

The butler’s concerned face gnawed at her conscious. He was scary, sure, but he had no idea that Hikari was actually there instead of his Mistress. He was only doing his job - and he did try his best to protect her.

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Hikari didn’t know if Renetia was dead or not. Though she would normally not put too much thought into this, she felt terrible knowing that she was taking the place of someone this poor butler loved so deeply.

She had to say something.

“Thank you for taking care of them. I am in your debt.” she led, hoping this would assauge his worries.

If anything, that made him sadder. “My Lady, I did what I had to do. Frankly, it pains my heart to hear that you think you have to thank me for a matter so small!”

Hikari thought about this. She thought it was strange, but chalked it up to him simply being very devoted to his job. This just made her feel worse. On one hand, Renetia was his employer and he was the employee - on the other, he was an old man begging for forgiveness in front of a spoiled teenager. It hurt her spirit.

“Please, rise. It is no matter to me. In fact, could you cease doing such things in the future? Excessive politeness is too much. I know your heart to be true. That is all that matters.” she said, gaining confidence through it and ending with a bright smile.

There! That should ease his worries, she thought.

Instead, everything grinded to a halt. The butler lost his jovial smile, his eyes gaining a hard glint.

“Who are you.”

Hikari’s heart stopped inside her chest. “W-what do you mean,” she said. “I’m Renetia Carmichael, who else?” she finished.

Was Hikari wrong? Were Renetia and the Butler on bad terms after all?

A tense silenced formed. “My mistress Renetia has never been this polite to any servant ever,” he began. “We thought it was due to our impure blood, as we hail from lowly commoners, but we received letters of warning detailing the Mistress’ gross use of language from elsewhere too.”

Hikari couldn’t stop her mouth from speaking.

“And this was from where?”

“The Royal Academy.”

“Ah, is that so.”

The jig was up, in a manner of speaking. Sweat pooled down in her hands. Yet Hikari, knowing that her life depended on this, held up her final ace. She would use the last few clues she had to create a cover for herself. The butler was observant, but he was not the only one who had listened.

“I was afraid of relaying this to you, but I have to be truthful. The truth is, the experiment from earlier caused me to have amnesia.”

The butler’s eyes widened. “Amnesia!”

Hikari continued. “Yes, amnesia. The fact of the matter is, I don’t remember you anymore. This house no longer holds any memories for me. That is why I have decided to confess to my family in order to atone for my mistake.”

“What? That is unthinkable!”

He looked at her in disbelief and shock. Hikari donned her best ashamed look, and secretly hoped he would bite the bait.

This has to work, thought Hikari. This might seem like she had blown her cover, but the reality is far from it. You see, Hikari had listened, even as she went through her panic earlier. One thing that stood out from the responses - the mention of an ‘experiment’.

That did not seem like something the daughter of a nobleman would spend her time doing. It sounded strange and omnious, yet fit right into the horror genre of the book. Even stranger was the fact that the butler seemed used to it.

That could mean one of two things; the butler helped Renetia with her “experiment”, or he found out by accident and let her do as she pleased without telling her what he knew. Either way, Hikari had now framed the narrative in a way that made her seem innocent and remorseful. She didn’t want the butler to relay the news; that would end badly. No, she wanted him to realize that his future was also at stake.

If he didn’t help her regain her abilities as a noble young lady. In other words, the Butler and Hikari’s fates were now irrevocably entertwined. Hikari felt bad about it, but she had to do it to survive.

The butler turned, and Hikari directed her attention towards him once again.

“Lady Renetia, I do not think that is the right call. While I commend your wish to be truthful, your father will not. He would quite possibly grow angry at the thought. You may be the sole heir, but there are several branch families vying the attention and kindness of the Duke. And, for the right moment to strike.”

Hikari’s face remained neutral, but her stomach dropped.

‘Branch families? I have to worry about that kind of thing too?’

Seeing he had her attention, he continued. “Your 5th cousin, Alistair Cotton, is especially righteous in his deeds and has impressed many. You should know, your father cares very deeply for the reputation of this esteemed house. “

The butler’s words rang inside her ears. He reached the door, turning the knob before muttering: “The two of you share ties of blood, but know that there is not one noble in this world who would deny immense riches - even if it meant crushing you,” he looked at her in pity.

“I bid you goodnight, Mistress.”

Hikari was left alone, in this unfamiliar house, to stew on her uncertain (and potentially scary) future. Only at the end did she realize he never accepted her silent offer to train her.

Did he notice? Shame and regret pooled in her stomach, but this was better than nothing.

It was a strange time to be fourteen.

‘...I wish I could have been dropped inside a cute fluffy story instead...’ she thought before she slumbered into restless sleep.