Averielle's POV
I never expected to die alone. Not this way, not betrayed. Not with the knife that had been my closest companion sliding from my hand as someone I had trusted plunged their own into me.
Pain, anger, and cold crashed over me all at once.
The world was sharp and red and impossible to hold onto. Every thought felt heavy, like I was trying to move through water thick with regret.
My vision blurred, not just from blood, but from the realization of how fleeting everything had been.
All I could think of were the missions, the endless nights crawling through shadows, the kills I'd carried out with precision, and the screams I'd silenced without flinching. The blood on my hands, my conscience, my soul...it all felt like it had been poured into a void.
All the sacrifices, every single one, and for what? For causes I barely understood, for people who would toss me aside the moment it suited them. For a life I never chose for myself.
I should have lived for me. I should have chosen warmth over duty, laughter over obedience, freedom over control. But I hadn't. I had spent every day sharpening knives, surviving, obeying. And now… it was too late.
The betrayal burned hotter than the wound in my chest. I had trusted someone.
As an orphan, I trusted that I could belong somewhere, be needed, maybe even… cared for.
And yet, they had thrown me away like I was nothing. My last thought before darkness claimed me was bitter and simple.
That I had died alone, and no one would even come looking for me.
But when I thought I'd be gone forever, swallowed by darkness, I suddenly opened my eyes.
I gasped and jolted upright, clawing at the sheets. My heart hammered in my chest. My lungs screamed.
Women in soft, frilly dresses froze around me, staring wide-eyed, with their hands clasped in horror.
What the hell? Am I dead again? Or is this… torture?
I blinked, taking in the ornate ceiling that looked too bright. And the bed was so soft I almost wanted to scream in frustration.
Why is everything here so… stupidly comfortable?
But then my eyes landed on the mirror.
And my stomach dropped.
Long, chestnut hair framed a face that wasn't mine. Pale, soft skin. Big, delicate eyes. I raised my hands and shook them like waving off some terrible hallucination.
[WIFEY SYSTEM ACTIVATED! HOST, YOU HAVE DIED AND SUCCESSFULLY REINCARNATED AND OCCUPIED SERAPHYNE VAELMONT'S BODY.]
I froze.
"Who the hell said that?!" I yelled, my voice cracking and echoing far too loud in the pristine room. "Who's playing with me?!"
The women gasped, recoiling as if I'd grown horns. They practically melted to the floor, hands clasped, curtsying nervously.
"Miss Seraphyne, what is wrong? Do you not feel well?" one whispered, her voice trembling.
"Huh?! What are you talking about?!" I snapped, waving my hands like that would somehow fix everything. My words sounded weird in my own ears. My voice sounded refined, clipped, polite even when I meant chaos.
Why do I sound like I swallowed a library?
Before anyone could answer, the massive double doors of the bedroom burst open with a dramatic slam. The hinges groaned in protest, echoing across the high-ceilinged room.
A man appeared in the doorway, late fifties, broad-shouldered, with furrowed brows that could crush buildings. He moved with authority that demanded fear and obedience, and every step toward me made the floorboards groan under the weight of his anger.
I barely had time to blink before his hand shot out, sharp as a whip, connecting with my cheek. The sting was immediate.
I stumbled back, my head spinning, the world suddenly blurry. Pain radiated across my face and for a moment I could only feel numbness and disbelief.
"Do you really wish to provoke me, Seraphyne?! Why is it so hard for you to obey me?! I am your father!" The man's voice thundered, reverberating in my skull.
Every word hammered at me like a war drum, and I stumbled backward, desperately trying to understand what the hell was happening.
That's when it hit me. A sudden storm of images slammed into my mind. Memories that weren't mine, yet… they were. Faces, places, conversations I'd never lived, yet somehow felt intimately familiar. Scenes of a household where I was the ignored fifth daughter, a girl who had always been rejected, overlooked, unloved.
And then, among those images, I saw the reflection I saw in the mirror, my reflection, but not entirely mine. It was soft, pale, delicate, wide-eyed… a girl I didn't recognize, in a room I did recognize.
The truth hit me like a fist to the gut. I wasn't me anymore. I was someone else.
I sank to the floor, sliding against the bedpost, my mind racing faster than I could process. I died, and I… woke up. This isn't my life. This isn't my body. And somehow, apparently, my father is trying to slap me back into submission.
Everything made sense and nothing did all at once.
[HOST, YOUR NEW LIFE HAS BEGUN. COMPLETE OBJECTIVES TO SURVIVE.]
I flinched, blinking at the glowing text hovering in the air like some uninvited guest.
[ACTIVATION REASON: HOST, YOU DIED WITH UNFULFILLED REGRETS. YOUR LIFE ENDED WITHOUT EXPERIENCING PERSONAL HAPPINESS OR WARMTH. THE WIFEY SYSTEM WILL GUIDE YOU TO A FULFILLING LIFE IN THIS NEW BODY AND WORLD.]
Did it just… lecture me?
[OBJECTIVES: COMPLETE ASSIGNED MISSIONS TO DEVELOP PERSONAL SKILLS, HOUSEHOLD COMPETENCE, AND SOCIAL CONNECTIONS. FAILURE WILL RESULT IN PUNISHMENT.]
I opened my mouth, wanting to shout, to argue, maybe even punch the floating system for showing up mid-panic, but the words never came out.
[HOST, COMPLIANCE IS RECOMMENDED. SUCCESS WILL INCREASE QUALITY OF LIFE AND SOCIAL STANDING. YOU MUST LEARN TO LIVE THIS LIFE FOR YOURSELF.]
I groaned, sinking onto my own world. So that was it. I had died in regret, and the universe, or this floating bureaucratic nightmare, decided to give me a second chance. A chance to live a life I actually… wanted.
A life where maybe, just maybe, I wouldn't be alone at the end.
Wait...isn't this great?
[NOTE: SYSTEM WILL PROVIDE GUIDANCE AND MISSIONS. WIFEY TASKS ARE MEANT TO TEACH HOUSEHOLD, SOCIAL, AND PERSONAL SKILLS.]
Huh?! Household what?!
[HERE IS YOUR FIRST MISSION: MEET WITH ALL THE FAMILY MEMBERS.
PROGRESS: 1/6]
[REMINDER: SUCCESS INCREASES CHARM AND SOCIAL SKILL. FAILURE MAY RESULT IN PUNISHMENT.]
Oh fantastic. I am already regretting dying.