Rinia's life couldn't really be called miserable, but it was far from pleasant. Her daily routine felt flat, like waking up, showering, and then going to work. Everything repeated itself like a vicious cycle that she found difficult to break.
After work, she would return to her small rented room in the corner of the city. The real world to her was filled with the sounds of traffic, the faces of strangers passing by, and a boring routine that never changed in the slightest.
However, there was one thing that always made her eyes shine brightly with hope.
That was reading romantic novels.
On the small bookshelf in her room, which was already crammed full, rows of romantic, fantasy, and isekai novels were neatly arranged. The colorful covers were like another world to her, and every time she opened a page, Rinia felt detached from the noise and boredom of the real world.
Today was no different. She finished her afternoon shower with her hair still wet and wearing her worn-out pajamas. Rinia lay down on her thin mattress and turned on her desk lamp. In her hand was a book she had just bought from an online store a week ago. The cover depicted a girl with purple hair and a tattered black dress, standing in front of a palace half-burnt by fire.
The title was quite dramatic. "O Cursed Princess in the Trash"
Rinia pressed her nose against the book, inhaling the distinctive scent of new paper, then smiled happily.
"it's time for a reading marathon!" she muttered.
***
The novel tells the story of a princess named Rullicia Fortellis De Luciana. She was the first princess of the king of the continent of fire. Rullicia was supposed to be the pride of the kingdom, but fate threw her into the most despicable corner.
Her mother, a wise queen of magic who was loved by her people, died from a curse that weakened her shortly after giving birth to Rullicia. At first, the king, who loved his wife dearly, begged her to abort the child. It was all for the sake of the queen's health, who had been struck by a curse. Even though the king cried and begged her, the queen insisted on giving birth to her daughter, no matter what would happen in the future.
When the queen gave birth to her daughter, she smiled weakly and looked happy. The princess she had wanted for so many years was now born into this world in good health.
However, as the palace witch had foretold, the curse's magic activated and began draining the queen's life force as she lay weak and exhausted. At that moment, the king heard the final wishes of his beloved queen: to always protect their only daughter and shower her with as much love as possible.
That smile then faded away, leaving nothing behind. What the king saw now was nothing but a lifeless body; the queen closed her eyes and took her last breath.
The news of the queen's death brought great sorrow to the royal palace, and even the people in the kingdom, who greatly respected and loved the queen, paused their activities for a moment to bow their heads and remember the queen's contributions in helping to build the kingdom in the past.
The king cried as he hugged a baby with purple hair and eyes as red as rubies. The queen's love for him made the king unwilling to accept the fate that had taken away his beloved wife.
At that moment, the king's attitude changed drastically.
"You idiot! It's all your fault!!!"
Rinia grumbled, biting her fingers in frustration. When she reached the part where the king locked Rullicia in the right wing of the palace, which was filthy.
She read it while rolling around on the bed, sometimes patting her pillow in emotion.
"Why is there such a stupid king!? That's your own child! How can you just trust other people and abandon your own daughter like that!?"
The more she read, the more her heart was torn.
From the age of seven to eleven, Rullicia lived in exile with only four loyal servants who were also destitute. The debutante ball, an important moment when a princess is introduced to society, was repeatedly postponed on the grounds that the princess emitted a curse that could harm others. Princess Rullicia was also said to have no magical energy in her body.
And what upset Rinia the most was the arrival of a commoner girl named Anneria Rusabellis with shining eyes and extraordinary magic. In just a short time, she stole the attention of the king, who had not smiled in five years. Rullicia's position was quickly taken away.
"Oh my God..." Rinia covered her face with her palms. "This novel really hurts my heart. I feel like punching Rullicia's father in the face...!"
But even though Rinia was bursting with anger, she couldn't stop reading. The night grew late, the clock on the wall pointed to eleven, but her eyes were still glued to the pages that kept turning.
From the beginning, Rullicia had tried to warn her father, but she died tragically at the hands of Anneria. The real princess was considered a fake, and the fake princess turned out to be an evil witch who succeeded in destroying the kingdom. In the end, the king could only regret his stupidity after it was too late. And in the raging flames, his kingdom was destroyed.
Rinia threw her book onto the bed.
"STUPID! IDIOT KING! IS YOUR FACE THE ONLY THING THAT'S HANDSOME, FOR GOD'S SAKE!? If only he had listened to Rullicia from the beginning, the ending wouldn't have been like this!" she shouted spontaneously.
She then read the sequel to the novel. The novel title now is different, the title is "Alianne and the Exiled King" Her friend said that the sequel had an even better story. It was about a new main character with silver hair who found the king traveling to every corner of other kingdoms.
Looking for a reason to keep living. Even though he had lost his kingdom, which had collapsed and been destroyed after many years. The king then met a silver-haired girl with eyes the same color as his late wife.
The girl was named Alianne, a village girl with magical abilities above average. Seeing Alianne's prowess in controlling various magical elements, the former king wanted to become her magic teacher.
*A few hours later.*
Rinia was now crying with emotion. She was moved by the ending scene of the sequel to her novel. Alianne had been so sincere in protecting the king, who was depressed because he had run away from his responsibilities as king and even burned down his own kingdom. Alianne tried to tell the king that he could reclaim what had been taken from him. The two of them then helped each other to restore the glory of the fallen kingdom.
They faced many obstacles, such as fighting the witch Anneria and her followers, and the king's revenge was successful. He still remembered the death of his child because of his own mistake.
Alianne also gained trusted allies from other kingdoms, all of whom were handsome men with their own unique talents.
When the king succeeded in reclaiming his fallen kingdom and rebuilding it from scratch, he made Alianne his adopted daughter and gave her the titles Forte and Lucianna, so her name is now Alianne Forte De Luciana.
The two of them lived happily in the kingdom that had been restored after its collapse, and Alianne later married one of the men who had been an ally of the kingdom of fire.
***
The next day. Even though she got a satisfying ending in the sequel to the novel, Rinia was still upset thinking about it. It was all because of the king, who chose to exile his own child. If only he had trusted his daughter Rullicia more, the kingdom might not have fallen into ruin.
While walking to the bus stop, Rinia grumbled to herself.
If I were Rullicia, I wouldn't let all that happen. I have a thousand ways to keep my father from being so stupid.
Suddenly, she heard someone scream.
"Help!!! My wallet!"
An elderly woman was trying to chase after a man in a black hoodie who had just snatched her purse. Without thinking twice, Rinia ran towards them.
"Stop, you thief!" she tried to grab the robber's hand.
But... unfortunately, a flash of metal shot out. A small knife pierced her stomach.
Rinia staggered. She began to feel short of breath and felt the pain of the knife stuck in her stomach. Blood flowed, soaking her clothes. The world spun, the sounds of car horns and people's screams grew fainter and fainter.
Her eyes slowly closed, until finally all she felt was a dark world.
Pitch black darkness.
And endless silence.
No sound, no form. As if she were floating into an endless void. Rinia didn't even know if she still had a body. But her consciousness remained, floating in the cold emptiness.
Then suddenly—
A piece of white paper glowed softly as it fell from above, floating aimlessly, but stopping right in front of her.
Golden letters were beautifully engraved on its surface, sparkling as if stars were stringing together each letter.
"Rinia, your soul will be taken to the last thing you thought about. You have the right to bring one ability... so choose."
Rinia froze for a moment.
This... what is this? Did I really enter an isekai?
Her heart, which had stopped due to the knife stab, seemed to beat again, this time not out of fear, but out of crazy enthusiasm.
The corners of her lips lifted. Even though her body seemed dead, her face smiled weakly.
"Then... magic has no limits! I want to be the strongest wizard of all time!"
There was a moment of silence. Then the golden letters changed.
"No. Because you will never be able to use magic."
Rinia fell silent and then laughed softly, a bitter smile clearly visible on her face.
"Oh my god... even in a fantasy world, I'm rejected as the overpower Main Characters? What the hell is this..."
However, she didn't seem to give up. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to think of something else, trying to think as fast as she could.
If not magic, then what?
That was when a sentence she had read before popped into her head.
Knowledge is Power
Rinia took a deep breath and stared straight at the glowing paper.
"Then... what about knowledge? All the knowledge in the world. From the past, present, to the future. Put it all into my brain. Let my mind become an unlimited library. And only I can access it!"
The golden letters paused for a moment... then vibrated violently.
Their light grew stronger, blindingly bright as if agreeing to her wish.
"Request accepted."
In an instant, Rinia's body was enveloped in a dazzling golden white light. It felt like being showered with an endless wave of data. Every fragment of light contained information that entered her mind. Formulas, history, theories, even the secrets of the universe. She almost screamed in pain from the intensity of the flow, but at the same time felt a sense of awe.
My brain... has truly become a living library...
And when she opened her eyes again, the world she stood in had changed drastically. A dull ceiling, dusty walls, and humid air greeted her. Rinia found her small body lying on a rickety bed in a worn dress full of patches.
Her small hands clutched the thin sheets tightly. As she stared at the worn window, she saw a narrow yard, wild grass, and a magnificent building far away from where she was, as if the world divided the distance between honor and abandonment.
The atmosphere in the right wing of the palace in the morning was very different from the magnificent splendor of the main palace. From the outside, the building looked more like an abandoned old warehouse than the residence of a royal princess.
The paint on the walls was peeling, and small chunks fell every time the wind blew strongly. Blackish-green moss crept along the bottom of the walls, a sign of moisture that never completely disappeared.
The yard was overgrown with tall, unkempt weeds. A few wildflowers grew here and there, as if trying to add color to a place that had long been forgotten. But despite the sad state of the palace, Life still goes on. Her four loyal servants, Arin, Melda, Yoran, and Kallia, go about their business with whatever tools they have. Leaky buckets, worn-out brooms, rags full of patches.
They use everything they have to keep the dilapidated palace livable. Sweat beads on their faces even though the morning air is still cold.
In the farthest room. A girl sat leaning against the dusty window. Her name was Rullicia Fortellis De Luciana. She stared at the backyard. The morning air was fresh, but the silence still weighed heavily on her chest.
She took a deep breath, but all she could hear was her stomach growling. She knew her servants felt the same way. They had worked hard all night cleaning the rooms, repairing the leaky roof, and patching the holes in the floor. Food supplies? There were almost none.
Rullicia's gaze finally fell on the old apple tree in the corner of the yard. The tree stood crookedly with thick branches left untamed. Among the leaves were several red apples hanging ripe and ready to be picked.
"If Rulli could get that... Rulli's maid would be happy..." she muttered softly.
Without thinking twice, she immediately ran outside. Her small feet trod on the damp ground, her worn dress getting caught briefly in the wild bushes. She patted it down, then approached the apple tree.
The rough trunk was tall and full of grooves. Seven-year-old Rullicia looked up. Her small hands began to grip the bark, her tiny feet searching for a foothold. Slowly, she climbed the tree.
"Just a little more..." she said, breathing heavily.
Her fingers were almost touching the red fruit.
But just then.
CRACK
The branch she was standing on shook violently. A small crack was heard, and Rullicia fell.
"AAAAAAH!"
THUD!
Her small body hit the ground with a muffled thud. For a moment, the pain spread throughout her body, especially her head, which had hit the ground hard. Her vision blurred, the air was sucked from her lungs, and then... everything was enveloped in darkness.
Silence.
And emptiness again.
In the darkness, something began to shine clearly like a beam of light. Fragments of light appeared like flashes of broken glass floating in the air. And among those flashes, unfamiliar faces appeared, but they did not feel unfamiliar to her.
"If I were Rullicia, I wouldn't be that stupid..."
"Help!!! My wallet!"
A flash of a knife. Warm blood, the sound of a horn. Her small body trembled. That memory... didn't belong to Rullicia Fortellis De Luciana. It belonged to her, Rinia, an office girl from another world.
I... I'm really dead, right? On that road...
Like a huge wave, all the memories of her old life crashed into her head. The small house on the outskirts of town, her commute to work, the pain of being stabbed on the street, her stomach aching, it was hard to tell which was a dream and which was reality.
Then slowly the darkness faded. A faint voice could be heard, growing clearer with time.
"Princess Licia! Wake up! Quickly, everyone, call the palace wizard!"
Her eyelids fluttered. Her blurry vision revealed the face of a young girl, a maid with eyes red from crying.
Arin?
Rullicia's hand reflexively reached up to touch her still throbbing head. Her breathing was still heavy, but her heart was racing not because of pain, but because of a piercing realization.
So it's true... this isn't a dream... I am Rinia... now living inside Rullicia's body.
Amidst Arin's sobs and the panicked screams of the other maids, the corners of her lips trembled. The world seemed to turn upside down. For the first time since waking up in this small body, she knew who she truly was.
When Rullicia opened her eyes again, the dim light of the candle greeted her like the lingering warmth in a tired room. The wooden ceiling above her was dark with soot, and the mossy walls showed traces of rain seepage. She lay on a small bed with coarse sheets that smelled of soap and dust, the pillow so thin that her forehead almost touched the wooden headboard.
Beside her was a servant with tousled blond hair, slightly sunken cheeks, a beautiful face, and red, swollen eyes from crying, clutching her hand tightly to the tips of her fingers. Arin. The maid bowed her head, her voice breaking with each sob.
"Princess! Finally... finally you're awake!" she cried, then collapsed into her embrace, her shoulders shaking violently. Tears streamed down her cheeks, mixed with sweat from a night of cleaning the leaky roof.
Rullicia looked at Arin's face, clearly showing signs of exhaustion, a small scar on her chin from a fall, her lips trembling as she smiled. The sound of her crying was sincere, not an act. The warmth of the embrace pressed against something in her chest that had long felt empty.
The real world she had just left behind, the sound of car horns, the metallic taste in her stomach from the stab wound, the indifferent faces on the street—all felt distant, like a nightmare that had just passed.
Then memories came uninvited. In a flash, the cramped café in the city, the bookshelves in her dorm room, the cover of the novel she had read the night before. Scenes from the novel Rullicia locked up, her father who hated her, blood dripping, alternating like film clips. And in the end, a knife, the heat of the wound in her stomach, the metallic taste in her stomach. Her name. Rinia. The life that had just been cut short.
Suddenly everything made sense. It wasn't a dream. She remembered. She had died. She... was reborn.
Instead of panicking, a small, quick, cynical smile spread across the corners of his lips. Something evil and sweet flowed together; for him, this was a golden opportunity.
"Ah... finally!!!," he muttered to himself, "a golden opportunity. Now I can take revenge on that stupid father."
But she also knew the risks. A hasty reaction, a sudden burst of cleverness, would certainly arouse suspicion among the people around her. She had to act weak at first, like a child who had forgotten everything. The role of amnesia was not just a mask, but this time it was a tool to start her new life plan.
With a deliberately hoarse voice, she called softly,
"You..."
Arin paused, her voice trembling, "Yes, Princess?"
Rullicia closed her eyes slightly, gathering the right tone of fear.
"Who are you? I... who am I?"
Arin's eyes widened, her breath catching in surprise.
"P-Princess? Impossible!? You don't remember me and your own name?" Arin's face turned panicked.
She jumped up, then shouted toward the room, calling three other servants with a voice that was almost broken. Within minutes, the place was abuzz with rumors, confused whispers, and hurried footsteps. Arin again ordered Melda to immediately call the palace wizard again, and then also called the palace doctor.
The bad news spread throughout the dilapidated palace like a small fire meeting the wind. In the following hours, the servants sent messengers, the messengers spoke to other messengers, until the news reached the ears of the ministers in the main palace. Whispers flowed through the corridors of the dilapidated palace.
"The cursed princess has lost her memory."
"Is this a sign that the curse is getting worse?"
"Is that information true?"
"Don't let the king find out about this!"
Rullicia held back a faint smile behind her lips.
Good. This way, I have a reason for my strange behavior, my odd ideas, my deviant actions—all of it can be wrapped up in one magic word from me... amnesia.
Now she could move slowly, forging her own path without being suspected as a threat.
Night fell. After a thorough examination by the palace doctor and the palace wizard, they both said that Rullicia had suffered a severe shock when she fell, and her head might have suffered temporary memory loss.
After that, all the servants felt sorry when they heard the results. They didn't expect that Princess Rullicia had really lost her memory, and blamed themselves for failing to protect the princess from the danger that befell her.
When the servants finally fell asleep on the wooden benches in the front room, Rullicia closed her eyes. Darkness enveloped her small room, and the silence was so thick that she could hear her own heartbeat. Then, behind the darkness in her mind, something appeared.
A giant door, a door made of old wood carved with small glowing letters. Above it, a large word glowed softly, spelling out Library.
Her footsteps felt light as she approached, like someone entering a room of memories. The door opened with a long creak.
Inside, shelf after shelf towered high until they disappeared into a haze of light. The air smelled of old dust, ink, and paper. It felt warm, like a reading room in autumn. Light from an unseen source touched the spines of the books, making the pages glisten like shards of glass.
There were scrolls, leather-bound encyclopedias, machine manuals, astronomy journals, herbal compendiums, and notes written in modern technical symbols that Rullicia herself had never imagined could exist in this world.
Rinia, now Rullicia, stood between the shelves with her mouth slightly agape. Her hands trembled as she reached for the nearest book; she looked like a hungry reader before a meal.
When she touched the leather cover, the pages opened by themselves, revealing simple diagrams of crop rotation, simple drainage techniques, and ways to increase soil productivity.
The illustrations were very clear, showing complementary planting, explanations of how to use organic fertilizer from compost, and even instructions for making simple irrigation systems from water streams.
The information flooded over her, not just words, she felt the ideas like a map unfolding in her head. Principles, cause and effect, basic techniques, step by step, all came in, clear as if a teacher were speaking to her one by one.
A broad smile spread across her face, this time not cynical, but full of satisfaction.
"So... this is the power I carry," she whispered almost inaudibly. "All the knowledge in the world."
She pulled one illustration closer, a simple diagram of a furnace that could conduct heat. Her brain grasped the practical implications of how to increase farmers' yields, how to sterilize water, techniques for extending the shelf life of food, and even a simple formula for making lighters safer and cheaper. Her small hands pressed against the page, feeling the texture of the paper as if it were part of her. Something told her that this was not just a collection of facts, but a living library that she could call upon at any time.
In her heart, a determination hardened, no longer held back by anger or revenge.
"With this," she thought, "I can change everything. The original Rullicia died at the end of the story because she couldn't withstand the destruction. I am Rinia, who knows the ending, and I will not repeat it. I will rewrite this destiny."
Outside, in the palace corridors, whispers about the Princess's amnesia continued to echo. In her small room, under the flickering candlelight, a girl who looked like a child held an unimaginable future. She raised her head, looked at Arin who was still fast asleep, and slowly closed the book in her hands.
Rullicia kept her secret in a faint smile, then placed the book back on the shelf. Outside, the rumors would continue to spread. Inside, the library awaited, filled with secrets she would uncover one by one.