Her face burned. "It—it was not my—I had already—You know what? I am not going to argue semantics with a floating screen! What the hell is happening? Where am I?"
[Host is now inhabiting the body of Aya Lunaire, Luna of the Lulu Pack Nation]
"Lulu?" Ivy flinched, dumbfounded by what she had just heard. It sounded just like a popular brand back home. "Lulu melon?"
[Welcome to your new life as the Luna of powerful nation of werewolves! ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و ♡]
She blinked. Read the text again. Then a third time.
"Werewolves?" she said slowly. "Like... Thrilight?"
The screen seemed to pause, as if the system itself was taking a moment to process her stupidity.
[...Host is referring to 'Thrilight,' presumably?]
[The vampire romance series?]
[That is not even the correct supernatural creature]
[༎ຶ‿༎ຶ]
[This system is deeply concerned about Host's intelligence level.]
"Excuse me?!" Ivy shot up to her feet. "Werewolves are in that series too! You are the stupid one here!"
[Of all options, you had to pick one that focused on vampires]
"I meant werewolves in general!" Ivy snapped. "I know the difference between vampires and—wait. Werewolves?" She blinked, as if suddenly aware of her situation. "Actual werewolves? You are telling me I am in a world with werewolves?"
[Yes. Werewolves. Wolf shifters. Lycanthropes]
[This system can provide seventeen additional synonyms if Host requires further clarification?]
"That is not necessary," Ivy grumbled, frowning.
She was irritated at the way the system was regarding her like an idiot when she wasn't.
It still didn't fully make sense to her as she stared at the screen. How could werewolves be real? And she was truly in another body?
She cast a side-long glance at the mirror and flinched.
Even though she had already seen it before, it was jarring to see that same figure again, as if grounding her in the realisation that she was truly in a completely different world now.
The floor she was standing on felt solid and real. The light streaming through the windows was warm on her skin. And the screen, the annoyingly sarcastic screen, floated patiently in front of her, waiting.
"Okay," she said finally, lowering her hands. "Okay. Let's say I believe you. Let's say I am really in a werewolf world now. What is a Luna? You said I am a Luna. What does that even mean? I have never seen that anywhere."
[Luna: The highest-ranking female in a pack]
[Equivalent to a queen. Commands all pack members below her station]
[Possesses unique abilities]
[Essentially, you are royalty. Congratulations!]
"What? Royalty?" Ivy repeated numbly, stunned at what she was hearing.
She was royalty now?
A queen?
[Yes. But instead of a pack, you rule a nation consisting of multiple packs]
[You rule the Lulu pack nation]
[One of the largest and most powerful packs in this world]
[You have five husbands, all Alphas from different packs]
[And you command thousands!]
[You are, theoretically, incredibly powerful and influential]
"Wait what?" Ivy's brain snapped at attention.
What did the system just say?
Five husbands? Five?
"Five… husbands?"
Wasn't that overkill?
[Tch!]
[( •̀ ᴖ •́ )]
[I should have known that would be the only thing to catch your attention]
Ivy's brain stuttered over that detail, trying to process it.
[Degenerate host truly lives up to her name]
Ivy snapped her head up, glaring at the system. "I am not a—"
But before she could finish defending herself, a knock at the door made her jump.
"Luna Aya?" a young female voice called from the other side. "We are coming in to prepare your bath."
Ivy stared at the door, then at the screen, then back at the door.
"Uh…"
Before she had even formed her response, the door opened, and two young women entered.
Ivy immediately felt something was wrong. Couldn't they have waited for her to first tell them to come in?
They couldn't look any older than twenty. Both of them wore simple soft blue dresses with their hair pulled back in neat buns. They crossed the room to a sliding door Ivy hadn't noticed before. It was situated at the end of the wall where the bed's headboard was against.
"Good morning, Luna," the first one said, her tone perfectly polite and utterly flat as they stopped after sliding open the door that likely led to the bathroom.
"Morning," Ivy managed as a slow frown took over her face.
Neither of them looked at her. They had just walked into the room without waiting for her confirmation, had not greeted her even as they crossed the room, and only one of them had opened their mouth to talk as if they were deciding when and how to greet her.
And she was their queen?
Ivy immediately felt insulted and wondered why she had responded to the idiot.
They went in and she heard water beginning to run.
"Your bath will be ready shortly, Luna," one of the girls said, peeking her head out of the bathroom to stare dead-on at Ivy. "Is there anything else you require?"
Ivy didn't answer this time and something flickered across the girl's face. Whether it was amusement of disdain, it was gone before Ivy could be sure.
As the girl popped her head back into the bathroom, Ivy caught the tiniest smirk on her lips.
How fast she had noticed it flashed across Ivy's mind, but that was not her concern now.
"Hold it right there," Ivy called out to the girl and said, standing up. The nightgown fell to her ankles, too long for this body that wasn't quite hers. "Did I say something funny?"
The girl returned, a faint look of surprise on her face. "No, Luna. Of course not."
"You were smirking," Ivy pointed out.
"Ah…" She touched her cheek. "I apologize if my face displeased you, Luna," she said, her tone so even it had to be deliberate. "It won't happen again."
Ivy stared at her, stunned.
The girl wasn't apologizing. She was placating Ivy like one would placate a child throwing a tantrum. Ivy opened her mouth to call her on it, but the girl had already turned away, disappearing into the bathroom to join the other servant.
A moment later, they emerged, both curtsying towards Ivy for the first time, but with that same barely-concealed mockery.
Something inside Ivy snapped.