—Office—
A sudden wave of dizziness hits me in the middle of my shift.
"Err...."
Everything starts to blur.
The sound of keyboards, footsteps, and distant conversations stretches into something muffled and far away.
My fingers loosen.
The cup of coffee slips from my hand.
—clatter—
'I feel like I'm going to pass out.'
. . .
The floor tilts beneath me.
My body follows.
Everything goes dark.
—thud—
When I open my eyes, adjusting, a flash of light burns across my vision.
I blink.
"Where am I?"
I have no words to describe what I am seeing.
The ceiling is high.
Too high.
"What in the world!?!, so grand, everything looks like gold!!"
A massive chandelier hangs above me, glittering with real gemstones that catch the light like stars. Golden decorations crawl across the walls, and the curtains by the window look more expensive than anything I have ever owned in my entire life.
I slowly turn my head, while I look around in shock.
'A huge chandelier with real gems, and a—'
My vision darkens.
—rattles—
—blinks—
The next time I open my eyes, everything has changed.
My body feels sore.
My left eye throbs painfully, and a strange numbness slowly spreads across my limbs.
Something rattles beneath me.
It feels like I am being carried around on a trolley.
—rattles, thud—
Whilst still in pain, I force my right eye open.
"Wait... This isn't gold..."
This is stone.
Cold, damp, dark stone.
The air smells stale, almost like the drainage from streets.
"This is the underground, a cave... a dungeon?" My eyes widen.
"Wait no—... Wait what?"
Panic slowly crawls up my throat.
'Ah...'
—blinks—
—slaps—
A sharp pain explodes across my cheek.
"H-HOW DARE YOU!"
An unfamiliar woman stands before me.
She wears an elegant dress and a crown that gleams beneath the dim light. Her face is beautiful, but her eyes burn with anger.
'A queen?'
As my vision slowly adjusts, I realize something strange.
My right hand is clutching a man's vest.
My left hand is holding a flower.
"What's happening…? Who—?"
"DON'T ACT SO CONFUSED!"
The sting of the slap lingers, burning against my cheek.
Everything begins to blur again.
But this is not a dream.
Because I recognize the flower in my hand.
Nightshade.
Small, bell-shaped flowers hang from thin stems. Their petals are soft purple, darkening at the edges like bruises.
A voice shouts from somewhere nearby.
"VELORA! What have you done?!"
'Velora? The villainess from the book?'
'Are they talking to me..?'
"But I'm not Velora, I'm—"
—
Saki Hanamura, I work as a regular company worker just trying to make ends meet.
I had been working for over two years. My boss was the one who helped me financially when I was younger and struggling to adjust to life in the big city.
—stares—
"Are you interested in this too?"
One of my female co-workers suddenly stares back at me.
Another gasps dramatically.
"Wait, do you read Noble fantasy too?"
I blink.
Only then do I realize I had been staring at them for too long.
I start to feel flustered and bury my face against the keyboard.
They were flaunting about hoping a prince will save them from working too hard and live-in luxury, so they recommended me a book to read hoping they'll have a male friend that would love a Medieval Fantasy story.
Honestly, I thought it was ridiculous.
'Me? A guy would read a girl's book?'
I let out a scoff.
From that point, before I even realize I started liking it.
Eventually picking up a book myself.
That I stumble upon reading a book myself, it's called "The Flowers are actually Fairies".
'Flowers are actually Fairies: The main character always win' is the full title of the story, sounds like a cliché, long girly fantasy romance, that you obviously know how it'll end.
I eventually got hooked.
The story began with a brutal war driven by human greed.
People fought not only to form contracts with fairies, but also to obtain their blood. Fire, destruction, and cruelty spread across the land as humans continued hunting them for power.
That was where the Female Lead entered the story.
She possessed the power to control flowers.
Flowers were the source of fairies, their shelter and strength. Because of that, the Female Lead became known as the one who could protect them.
She could create medical herbs, help the nation's trade, and save fairies from harm.
She has this OP mc buff.
"Pfft."
'Probably the reason why it's called The main character always win.'
Fairies also had different abilities depending on which fairy formed a contract with a person. No one knew what kind of fairy they would receive until the contract was made.
Some fairies healed.
Some protected.
Some destroyed.
Some strengthened elements.
And since the Female Lead could bloom flowers, countless fairies naturally gathered around her.
But as I read through the chapters every night after work, one character caught my attention more than anyone else.
The villainess.
Velora Rosethorne.
She only wanted to be with the Crown Prince after being abandoned by the Grand Duke, clinging desperately to power because no fairy wanted her.
Among all the villains who died near the end of the story, hers was the most tragic.
Velora had a power similar to the Female Lead's.
But unlike the heroine, she could not control it properly.
Every flower she touched turned poisonous.
Worse, every poisonous flower she held doubled in potency.
That was why she was considered a threat to the nation.
As the daughter of the former Duke Ferdinand Rosethorne, Velora was secluded and treated like something dangerous.
All I knew from the story was that she tried to poison the Crown Prince and the Queen using nightshade. She was also seen meeting enemies in secret several times.
In the end, she was beheaded in front of the capital as punishment.
A power she probably never wanted.
A life she probably never chose.
'Only wanting to feel love.'
'Compared to the other villains, who were simply stabbed in the chest or died quickly, Velora's death was humiliating.'
"If I were her, I would've just ran away somewhere and not follow some random man."
—knock, knock, knock—
—blinks—
"A-A dream?"
I slowly rub my eyes as I yawn and stretch my arms.
"I read too much FAF (short for Flowers are actually Fairies) that I actually thought I was the villainess." as I stand up to grab a water, I'm really confused my water dispenser disappeared.
I freeze, as I slowly adjust my vision through my surrounding.
". . .?"
I slowly look down.
I see myself wearing a long, flowing nightgown.
"Huh—"
My hands move to the fabric, soft, cotton-like and white.
I stare at it so hardly that I quickly search for a mirror.
I see an unfamiliar face, a red-haired girl stares back at me. with a delicate milk skin, red eyes.
A small face that looks almost doll-like.
"Isn't this the face of the villainess Velora."
My voice trembles.
As I try to put my hand against the mirror.
I stumble when I realize these delicate hands I'm seeing... are mine.
These thin wrists.
This unfamiliar body.
They are mine.
"I'm sorry but ME? THE VILLAINESS IN THIS FANTASY STORY!?"
I immediately step back.
"Wait no, no, no. This must've been a dream."
I hit my head with a silver plater.
—bonk—
"Ouch!!"
My forehead starts to throb.
"IT'S NOT WORKING!!!"
I begin pacing back and forth in panic.
'IS THIS WHAT THEY MEAN BY BE CAREFUL ON WHAT YOU WISH FOR!?'
"Wait hold up, which part of the story am I in?" I pause myself for a moment.
"Do I really just have to accept the fact that I'm her now?" I stare at 'my?' reflection again.
The beautiful girl in the mirror stares back.
Her ruby eyes so enchanting that I actually forgot something important.
'Wait, aren't I forgetting something...'
I froze.
...
"I'M A DUDE!!!"
—knock, knock, knock—
'Hiik!'
I immediately flinch in panic.
"Lady Velora, someone's looking for you."
An unfamiliar muffled voice comes from the other side of the door.
I pitch my voice as high as possible, like a nervous little chipmunk, hoping whoever is outside thinks this sounds like Velora.
"Yieees I just woke up so I'll come out in a sec..."
Silence.
...
"Lady? Are you oka—"
"Open the door!"
Ruffling sounds come from the other side.
It sounds like another girl is arguing with the first one.
'I messed up...' Cold sweat runs down my face, not knowing what to do.
Suddenly the noise from outside start to get louder that actually startles me.
"What are they doing!?" I mumbled in confusion.
'Should I just pretend to be dead? I don't know if the vision I saw is going to happen later on or whatever part of the chapter I am.'
The doorknob begins to move.
—click—
'Sayonara familia.' I close my eyes as I accept my faith.