After Marry left the room, Leeka finally found herself truly alone. For the first time since waking up in this strange world, silence wrapped around her like a heavy blanket. She collapsed backward onto the bed with a long, exhausted sigh.
"How… how did I ended up like this?" She muttered to herself.
Transmigrated— inside her favourite novel, of all things. And not just anywhere, but as the sister of the second male lead, her favourite character.
"Unbelievable…" she sighed, staring at the canopy above her.
"I have read about this in so many novel but to happening this to me in real life is another thing"
She sat back up. slapped her cheeks lightly, and whispered:
"This is NOT the time to be idle. If I'm inside the 'Flower That Blooms in Darkness'... then I actually have a great chance. A real opportunity... to give Theodore a happy ending."
Her eyes sparkled with sudden determination. She could change his tragic fate. Make the second male lead finally have a happy ending. Rewrite everything.
Then the sparkle dimmed.
"…But I'm his sister."
She flopped back down.
"It's fine. Even if I'm not the female lead, I'm still close! Sisters have more access than heroines, right?"
She tried to encourage herself. She hopped off the bed, fired up with determination.
"Yes! I can do this! I know everything about this novel- I know the characters, the plot, the-"
She froze mid-sentence. Her face slowly turned pale.
"…Do I? Wait—who the hell is Garnette?"
She blinked. Twice, then whispered, horror creeping up her spine, "Shit."
Because in the novel… that name had never appeared.
"Oh no… oh no no no…"
She dug through her memory like a panicked librarian.
Theodore had a sister, yes. But she was never named. She was never described.
Leeka's face turned completely white.
"NO WAY."
She stopped breathing. A rush of cold dread stabbed into her stomach.
"Am I THAT sister? The one who dies at the very beginning?!"
Leeka sat down so fast the mattress bounced.
"Wait—wait—WAIT. I'M THAT SISTER?! The one who dies before the plot even starts?! The one whose funeral brings Theodore and the female lead together?!"
She stared blankly at her hands.
"So… I'm supposed to be dead already?"
She let out a dead laugh.
"My chapter ends before it even starts… incredible. Truly incredible. And here I was, planning to save Theodore."
She raised her hand slowly, studying the pale, delicate fingers. But then she remembered—
She didn't die this time because she transmigrated into Garnette's body right after the death event.
Her expression flipped instantly.
"Oh no . If Garnette didn't die- then the funeral won't happen. And if the funeral doesn't happen, Theodore won't meet the FL!"
Panic shot through her. She started pacing like a hamster who lost its wheel.
"What do I do?? What do I do?? How am I supposed to fix the plot?
My life?
Theodore's fate?
EVERYTHING?!"
She glanced at the window—third floor, cold wind, darkness.
Silence.
"Should I just... kill myself?" She whispered, her voice was tiny.
"That way the timeline-"
She stopped, horrified. She immediately shook her head urgently.
"No! If I do that, the story will repeat itself and poor Theodore will STILL suffer! Absolutely not!"
She stopped pacing and clutched her heart.
"I need a plan, a smart and genius one!"
But thinking was impossible. Because her stomach suddenly growled like a wild, starving beast.
"...Okay, maybe not that fast," she whispered, defeated.
She tiptoed to the door, cracked it open, peeked left and right, and whispered Marry's name so quietly that only a ghost could've heard it.
No response.
So she did what, any responsible, newly transmigrated noble lady would do...
She snuck out for food like a burglar. Never in her life had she imagined creeping through a nobleman's mansion in the middle of the night, hunting for food like some lost cat. The mansion at night was basically a maze dipped in darkness. Every corridor looked the same. Every turn led her to another door that was absolutely NOT the kitchen.
"Where is the FOOD in this giant palace...?!"
After what felt like an eternity, she finally pushed open a large brown wooden door—
And there it is, like a holy shrine. Breads in a basket. Glowing like a heavenly treasure.
She rushed in, grabbed the bread, and devoured it with the desperation of someone who hadn't eaten in her past lifetime.
"For a midnight snack, I would prefer ramen... but beggars can't be choosers."
she mumbled through a mouthful. She found juice on the counter and chugged it like a warrior after a long battle. Finally, stuffed and revived, she let out a tiny burp and wiped her mouth.
"Now I'll be able to think. Because thinking on an empty stomach is impossible. Even an scientist go mad for food.
She stepped back into the hallway, humming tone proudly.
"Now.. how do I get back to my room?"
She stared at the corridor.
Left?
Right?
Up?
Down?
Teleport?
Of course she had no idea. She had come here guided only by hunger instinct. She was still trying to trace her steps when a deep voice cut through the silence behind her:
"What are you doing here at this hour?"
The tone was stern. Cold. Like she'd been caught committing treason. Garnette jumped so hard she nearly hit the ceiling.
Slowly, very slowly, she turned around.
"I- I was hungry so-"
Her words faded.
Even in the dim light, she recognised the white hair that gleamed like pearl, the golden eyes sharp as sunlight on crystal. His tall figure draped in ivory silk. The silver embroidery tracing the crest of House Whitepearl. The pearl cufflinks. The ruffled collar.
The looks of a man who stepped straight out of a fantasy illustration.
There is no room for doubt.
He is Theodore Whitepearl, her favourite character.
To be continue ~