'First of all, let me make something clear to myself.' Aurora thought. I have become the villainess of the novel I was reading last night. It is still a mystery how I got here, but that is for later. The thing I am most worried about is what happened to the original girl who was reincarnated as the villainess first? Did that event change because I reincarnated in her place, or did my soul overpower the villainess's soul and take control of her body? Is her soul still inside me in a deep slumber?'
She rubbed her temples lightly. 'Thinking about this is giving me a headache.' Slowly, she got off the bed and walked around the room.
'There is nothing wrong with my body. I can still move and walk. That is a good thing.' She looked at herself in the mirror again, taking in all of her changes and checking everything over.
A small smile spread across her face. She rubbed both cheeks with her palms, feeling the soft and smooth skin.
"I really did become the villainess in body, even if the soul is another's. I still have not figured out what happened to the girl who was reincarnated as the villainess first.' She sighed in disappointment, her torso slumping forward and her arms hanging limply.
Suddenly her eyes flew open as an idea formed in her mind. 'Oh, right.' She gently punched the palm of her left hand. 'I can check my powers. The original villainess did not have any beasts or monsters she could summon. It was the other girl who tamed them.'
She stepped back several paces and extended her right arm toward the room's window. Closing her eyes, she grabbed her wrist with her left hand. Her hair began to flow around her as if caught in a silent wind.
She opened her eyes, her irises glowing with intense light. A black portal swirled open in the center of her room. She held it there, waiting, but nothing emerged. After a few moments, she let the portal close.
'It looks like I have reincarnated into the villainess instead of the other girl. This means I need to do a lot of things: hone my powers, get stronger. But what if I do something wrong and the entire plot changes, like in every other story where someone is pulled into a book? The whole narrative could unravel. I need to be careful.'
Aurora began to pace around the room in a slow circle. 'But I think the narrative has already changed simply because I got reincarnated into this story instead of her. Or could it be that she still got reincarnated into this world, but not as the villainess? Maybe she became the heroine, someone from the main cast, or just a random bystander.'
She stopped pacing and went to sit on the edge of her bed, letting out a long, weary sigh. It is all just too much to grasp at once.
Growl!
Aurora's stomach rumbled like distant thunder. The sound seemed loud enough to be heard outside her room, though that was likely just her imagination.
'All that thinking made me hungry.' She looked around and picked up the tray of food the maid had brought earlier. She began to eat.
'I cannot even remember the last time I had a proper meal.' She continued eating her breakfast.
As she ate, she thought about the world she was in and her new family. Aurora was the only child of her father, the king of the Kingdom of Heroes, the land where the four heroes who defeated the Demon Lord long ago were born. Her father had trained those four heroes, and his power rivaled theirs, for he possessed the light element, one of the rarest in the entire world. His name was Arthur Znkiel.
Her mother was the queen and possessed summoning magic. She had the power to summon magical spirits, capable of calling upon four high-tier spirits at once.
When Aurora was born, she was found to possess two affinities: summoning magic and null magic, but no one knew about it, even Aurora herself. But when she turned fifteen and her true element was tested, her world shattered. She possessed dark magic, her third affinity, an element no one in her family had ever wielded.
In this world there were many magical affinities like: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Ice, Thunder, Light, Dark, Null, Time, Space, Summoning, Creation and Destruction.
These affinities had classes in which they were placed in.
The Elemental Affinities: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Ice and Thunder, were placed in the element class.
Other Affinities like: Light, Dark, Spirit and Summoning, were placed in the special class and the Time, Space, Creation and Destruction were placed in the Divine class, and the Null affinity was placed in the Unknown class as only one ever awakened it but died right three hours after awakening it so no one knew what it did.
In this world, dark magic was seen as a symbol of destruction. It was believed that anyone who possessed it was cursed and would bring ruin to the world, for the first known wielder of dark magic had been the Demon Lord himself.
When Aurora discovered her affinity, she begged the priest who performed the test to keep it a secret from her parents. She promised him money and anything he desired. The priest, a greedy man, agreed. A year had passed since then, and every month she had given him one hundred gold coins. The date for the next payment was due in five days.
A small, cold smile spread across her face. 'This time, I will change the situation. The previous girl who reincarnated into this body was kind and let that priest go. But I will not allow it.'
Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on the door. She looked toward the sound. "Princess, I have come to collect the dishes if you have finished your meal."
Aurora realized she had eaten everything without noticing. "Come in."
The door opened, and the same maid from before entered. She walked to the bedside and gracefully gathered all the dishes. After collecting them, she said, "Princess, His Highness wishes to see you in the library."
"You may go." Aurora dismissed her.
The maid walked out, closing the door softly behind her.
'What does Father want with me?' she muttered under her breath. 'Wait… Why am I calling a stranger 'Father'? Ugh… Well, he is my father in a way, but he is also a stranger. I do not know what to call him. For now, I will stick with 'Father'.'
She got up from the bed and walked to the door. Pulling it open, she stepped out into the hallway.
A rich red carpet lay beneath her feet, and portraits of her ancestors lined the walls. Even though she had never walked these halls before, she knew the entire mansion intimately. She knew where to go and what lay behind every door.
With these thoughts occupying her mind, she reached the library. She stood before its large door for a moment, then pushed it open, stepped inside, and closed it behind her.
"Why did you call for me, Father?" she asked, looking at the man who stood before her.
Without turning around, he spoke. "Good morning, my dear daughter."