The prize for the most disgraceful death officially goes to me. I managed to die from an alcohol-induced coma. Even in my wildest thoughts, I never imagined such a fate for myself.
I wasn't hit by a truck. My ex didn't ambush me and stab me behind the door. I just... got drunk. Moreover, it happened right after I was dumped. This was, perhaps, the most ridiculous cause of death of all.
I was grateful that, even as a spirit, I didn't have to attend my own funeral. Otherwise, I would have died of shame a second time... Instead, I was immediately transported here. The next morning, I woke up with a heavy head, like after a long binge.
But my head was splitting not because of alcohol. In a few moments, a huge amount of information flooded into my mind. A bunch of formless memories of the childhood and growing up of a girl unknown to me. I lived a whole life in just a couple of minutes.
I'll be honest, it wasn't the most pleasant experience. But at least afterwards I began to understand what was going on at all.
So, exactly one year has passed since I was reborn in another world. What have I managed to find out? At least that I am now in the body of a character from the novel “Darker than Black”. I found out about this completely by accident, when I casually asked the nurses what this empire was called and who ruled it.
My main suspicions were confirmed.
Yes, you heard right. Nurses. I first came to my senses as a patient at St. Favonius Hospital. It was an elite medical facility for aristocrats. Despite the luxurious decor, the atmosphere here wasn't the best. Most patients were seriously ill or elderly people with dementia, sent here by their children. And in such a place, I ended up. A fragile seventeen-year-old girl.
I took over the body of Camilla de Walte, a faceless character who wasn't even part of the novel's background cast. My name wasn't mentioned in a single chapter. My father, Duke de Walte, was one of the many dukes of the Empire. It was he and my older brother, the contender for the next duke, who sent me here.
Actually, if you're reborn as a member of a noble family in an Asian novel, you can only have two possible paths. The first, the most reliable, is that your family loves you unconditionally. You were literally born with a diamond spoon in your mouth. Your parents dote on you, and your older brother is ready to carry his little sister in his arms.
The second case is the complete opposite. You will be ignored and insulted from childhood. Your father often doesn't care about your existence. And it so happened that out of these two options, I got the latter.
It so happened that among aristocrats, there were few happy families. This was a consequence of marriages of convenience, which were based on mutually beneficial cooperation. In other words, just family business. There could be no question of any love here.
However, until recently, the de Walte family was one of those rare exceptions. The Duke was a fairly wealthy man. He had a wife, the first beauty of the empire. And an eldest son, the heir to the family, a clever and talented boy.
Harmony and prosperity reigned in their home. At least, until I destroyed all this happiness. The Duke and Duchess were eagerly awaiting the arrival of their youngest daughter. But who knew that these very births would take the woman's life.
My mother died from complications during childbirth. Of course, the best and most magnificent woman of three worlds was killed by a child like me. At least, that was the conclusion these two wise guys came to. Because they couldn't think of anything better than to blame the death of their wife and mother on a newborn child!
After the Duchess's death, the head of the family was in a depression for a long time. And my older brother never smiled again. With the departure of the mistress of the estate, everything around seemed to become gloomy and abandoned. And, of course, it was my fault again.
I clearly remembered that these two had hated me all these years. The Duke never called me his daughter. And Yufil simply pretended I didn't exist. They completely ignored my existence. And when I tried to get their attention, I invariably received insults.
Finally, at the age of sixteen, I was sent for treatment to a private hospital for aristocrats. It so happened that I was born with poor health, and in my life I had to undergo several courses of treatment. This was supposed to be the last one. However...
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I could have done it at home too. All that was required was to call a doctor a couple of times a week and get the necessary IVs. But instead, my father was kind enough to send me away for treatment elsewhere. Of course, it was just a pretext to get rid of me for a year.
It was during this period that I transmigrated into this body. I first regained consciousness in a hospital bed. At first, being here was quite strange. Honestly, I wasn't used to staying in the hospital for a long time.
Since this was an establishment for aristocrats, everyone treated me well. I always had the best food and service. However... You'll agree that nothing can make staying in the hospital less depressing?
In any case, everyone wanted to go home as soon as possible. And I was no exception.
On the other hand, I had a whole year to get used to my new life. So now I felt quite at ease in the body of the duke's youngest daughter. Moreover, at that time, this hospital, located on the outskirts of the capital, was one of the safest places in the empire.
Given the chaos that was happening outside...
Walking through the hospital corridors, I would often overhear the conversations of the old people. Since the only entertainment they had left was reading newspapers, they would eagerly discuss all the news among themselves.
“They say the Crown Princess has killed someone again. At this rate, there won't be a single resident left in our empire...!”
“The Dark Army attacks cities and kills civilians,” the second one complained, “Why does the Emperor just turn a blind eye to this?!”
“Even if she is the Crown Princess, how can she commit such crimes with impunity!!!”
Recently, the atrocities of Crown Princess Kaena Hessen de Ronan had increased. The girl was sowing chaos and destruction in her own empire. No one could control her. This explained the residents' discontent about it.
“How long will this lawlessness continue?” the old nobles complained.
“Tell me about it... So many innocent people have suffered in the last year. When will our government finally come to its senses?”
“This crazy woman... Do we really intend to entrust her with ruling the country? When that happens, our empire will finally fall.”
“We can only hope for Her Second Highness!” someone exclaimed, “She must save us all from this disaster!”
Approving shouts rang out.
Ha... As expected. The plot of the original novel was now in full swing. The Crown Princess was rampaging and sowing chaos in the country. Over the past few years, there had already been several internecine wars. The empire was at its limit and tired of constant battles.
Against the backdrop of all this discord, the Second Princess Jerica was like a ray of light in the eyes of the common people. Most of all, people hoped that the title of Crown Princess would pass to her. The girls themselves had been openly at odds for many years.
A couple of months ago, the Emperor sent Kaena to defend the southern border, where the Ruwens Empire had a conflict with a neighboring empire. So now there was a temporary lull here.
In the current situation, a bloody battle between members of the imperial family was becoming inevitable.
It only remained to predict who would win.
People's opinions were divided into two camps. Despite the general support for the Second Princess, few were sure that the Crown Princess would actually be overthrown.
After all, this girl truly was a monster.
I remained the only one who wasn't worried about this at all. Because I already knew what would happen in the end, thanks to the spoilers from the novel. Kaena didn't have long left until she paid for her sins and went to the next world. Upon her return home, certain death awaited her.
I stretched lazily. After the main villainess's death, I would finally be able to live life to the fullest.
There was about a month left until the final part of the novel.
Fortunately, despite the terrible content of the novel I ended up in, I myself wasn't harmed at all. Staying in the hospital played to my advantage in this regard. Now I was going to return home and continue enjoying the luxury.
Today was the long-awaited day of my discharge.
“My Lady, the young master de Walte has arrived for you,” the nurse announced, entering my room.
It seems my dear older brother has arrived. Well, just in time. I remembered how this bastard tormented me in childhood. I wonder if he's changed at all now?
“Okay, I'm coming.”
The nurses accompanied me downstairs with all my things. For the first time in a long time, I wasn't wearing hospital clothes but something else. It was a cute yellow dress with airy frills. The perfect outfit for discharge.
Yufil de Walte was waiting for me on the hospital doorstep. He didn't even bother to come inside.
Our eyes met.
This handsome guy, like a porcelain doll, was four years older than me. A slim, fit figure. Curly blue hair and light brown eyes. Actually, apart from the color of our eyes, we weren't very similar. Probably because Yufil took after his father more, and I took after my mother.
Yes. One year later, the same cold face. “You could at least smile a little when you see your little sister!” The former Camilla, who loved her brother very much despite his bad attitude towards her, would have rushed to hug him. And he would have pushed her away with disgust.
I knew this well from their past relationship, which had always been like that.
But I was no longer that Camilla. I didn't care what this pompous youth thought of me.
Boy, actually, inside, we are the same age. So I saw no need to stand on ceremony.
At the moment, I was interested in something completely different. I was finally “free”. Wow, how long I'd waited for this! What should I do first?
I walked past Yufil indifferently, without even greeting him. He turned around in surprise.