Crimson-red eyes stared back at Amina from the mirror. This was the first time she had taken a long pause to look, though not at herself, but at the body of Amina Blackthorne.
Long hair, as dark as the night sky, framed her slightly pale face. Crimson-red eyes that burned with intensity and a tiny mole resting beneath her right eye like a delicate mark.
I see why she described them like blood. Amina lightly touched the corner of her eye, caressing the tiny mole. The female lead had once shared with the crown prince that she was scared of the villainess' eyes because they reminded her of blood.
The hair will get in the way.
Amina eyed the long black hair, strands already falling over her eyes for a moment before she searched for something to tie up the hair into a bun. Luckily, she found different hair accessories in one of drawers and picked a plain band to tie up her hair.
Even as a zookeeper, she usually tied up her hair despite the short length. Having long hair was going to be a hassle for her in this new life. Amina immediately wished to shorten the length, but this wasn't her body after all. She had no choice but to adjust to her new hair.
This should be all.
Amina looked at her reflection in the mirror one last time before turning away and walked out of the wardrobe. Her eyes swept over the bedroom for a moment and noticed that Orion had taken care of her luggage. Seeing that, Amina decided it was time to set off and stepped out of the bedroom.
''The Master has sent a message, Young miss.'' Orion met up with her a moment later as her shoes clicked against the marble floor of the long hallway.
''He did?'' Amina suddenly remembered the other existence of the Blackthorne family.
The father of Amina Blackthorne, and the head of the Blackthorne family.
Oh...
Amina's steps slowed as her mind drifted to the broken engagement.
''Orion.'' She raised her gaze to the silver butler robot in uniform by her side. ''Do I need to report that I have broken my engagement with the Crown Prince?''
The engagement with the Crown Prince was no small matter, since he was the future Emperor. For the villainess to have gotten engaged, her father should have been aware. Was it right to break the engagement without his consent? Amina wasn't sure.
The novel hadn't written much about the father of the villainess The female lead had only mentioned him as the villainess's father and a powerful man in the Western Beast Empire.
''Not at all, Young miss.'' Orion cranked his faceless robotic head down at her. ''The Master is already aware of the Crown Prince's visit.''
He's aware…
Then, was that the same as having his consent to break the engagement? Amina still didn't fully understand.
As if sensing her confusion, Orion added. ''If you require more clarification, Young miss, the engagement was one-sided from the imperial family.''
One-sided?
Suddenly, everything clicked.
The imperial family had pushed for the engagement, and not the Blackthorne family.
The family hadn't wanted the engagement in the first place.
Perhaps this was the reason the female lead had gotten engaged to the Crown Prince without any resistance from the Blackthorne family in the novel. Her colleague had, after all, complained how the villainess and her family had been too calm about the broken engagement.
''Thank you, Orion.''
''You're most welcome, Young miss.'' Orion replied and gave a reminder. ''Please do not forget to view the Master's message.''
''Hm.'' Amina hummed in reply, and her shoes returned to clicking against the marble floor of the long hallway. Her fingers brushed against the Beastcom; a sleek band around her wrist that glimmered with a soft neon-blue light and projected a small floating screen before her gaze.
If the BeastNet was similar to the internet, then Beastcom was similar to the phones of her previous life.
Amina had spent quite sometime navigating through the Beastcom. The villainess's memories had also supported her to adjust to the advanced technology that came with the new life.
Amina tapped the chat icon on the floating screen and found the message the villainess's father had sent.
Good luck.
She stared at the simple message for a moment and then replied with a simple 'thank you' of her own before exiting the chat. The absence of a red dot on the message icon now indicated that she had no unread messages.
That should be enough.
The relationship between the villainess and her father hadn't been described since the novel was from the female lead's point of view.
However, the relationship between the father and daughter was estranged according to the memories in her head.
I'll have to meet him someday.
Amina didn't want to dwell on the villainess's father and focused on attending her first day at the Western Beast Academy.
With that in mind, her steps quickened a bit until she was outside the mansion. Waiting ahead of her was the Nitro, one of the transportation in Animyth, with the appearance of a dark and glossy sports car.
Amina left the butler robot behind and headed towards the Nitro, its rear door sliding open as though anticipating her arrival.
The moment she sat on the leather backseat, the rear door slid shut beside her, and two seat belts automatically crossed over her body.
''Destination: Western Beast Academy. Seat belt verification confirmed…Safety protocols active…departing now.'' Orion's voice announced as the Nitro gradually hummed to life.
Really advanced.
Amina wordlessly remarked as she observed the holographic projection of Orion's head hovering above the center console, and translucent neon blue controls illuminating the dashboard ahead.
Her eyes then drifted to the scenery beyond the tinted window, observing the new world with her own eyes and not from the villainess's memories.
Skyscrapers piercing the clouds, vehicles zipping through the air, the road and the rails, Beastmasters and their Beasts walking side by side on the streets….it was truly a different world.
The novel hadn't really described Animyth. The sight of the new world was completely different from what Amina had read in the novel.
Asides the appearance of butler robots and Beasts that had shocked the female lead at first, there wasn't much detail about Animyth asides its name.
I really can't depend on the novel. Amina pulled her gaze away from the scenery, having seen the outside world through her own eyes. She realized that she couldn't depend on the novel for understanding Animyth since the content was mostly from the female lead's point of view. It was better to use the villainess's memories and also experience Animyth by herself.
However, now wasn't the time to examine the new world and judge the novel, but to prepare for her academy life.
As if on cue, Orion's voice filled the Nitro. ''Approaching the Western Beast Academy. Estimated arrival: two minutes.''
Almost there. Amina could already see students in golden embroidered white uniforms, the same as hers, walking along the pathway to the academy.
''Destination: Western Beast Academy….Arrival confirmed…Disembarkation permitted.'' The Nitro powered down as Orion's mechanical voice declared their arrival a moment later.
''We have arrived, Young miss.''
''Thank you, Orion.'' Amina observed as the two seat belts retracted from her chest with a soft click.
''My pleasure, Young miss.'' Amina glanced at the holographic butler robot as the rear door opened before she stepped out of the Nitro.
A sleek humanoid robot, exactly like Orion, wheeled towards her the moment the rear door slid shut behind her. Amina immediately noticed the emblem of the Western Beast Empire; a golden lion embossed on its chest.
''Welcome to the Western Beast Academy.'' The robot greeted her in a mechanical voice. ''Kindly proceed to the checkpoint and verify your identity as a new student.''
The robot didn't wait for her reply before zooming past her in a blur. Amina followed the trails of the robot and observed as it welcomed another student. She also noticed different robots approaching students in the arrival zone.
Let's verify first
Amina shifted her gaze forward to the sight of students lining up at three checkpoints that appeared like a central gateway to the academy. She strode forward to the shortest line as the last student before another student joined behind her.
''What department did you pick at the entrance exam?''
''I chose the Beast Combat department.''
''Same here.''
''The Beast Medicine department isn't bad either.''
''I want to be an official Beastmaster, not a Healer.''
''Pfftt…who in the academy doesn't want to be an official Beastmaster?"
Amina observed the students murmuring among themselves, as well as other students verifying their identities. She was also able to pick up some conversations on the academy's departments and their instructors, along with the robotic voices ahead. Some students had even identified their preferred instructors of their chosen department.
As if on cue, someone tapped Amina on her shoulder. ''Hey, what department did you pick at the entrance exam?''
She turned around halfway to find a female student waiting expectantly for her reply.
''….I have no idea.'' Amina replied after a moment. The villainess hadn't written the entrance exam since she already had a spot reserved as a student thanks to her family name.
''What?'' The female student frowned at her response. ''If you don't want to tell, just say so.'' She snorted lightly and turned away, clearly displeased by her words.
''…..'' Amina, hoping to use the opportunity to ask some questions about the department, didn't understand where she had gone wrong.
She simply told the truth, didn't she? Even the female lead hadn't known about the villainess's department in the novel.
Amina calmly turned back as though nothing had happened between her and the female student. However, no student came to ask her questions again, and she didn't bother to go up to anyone.
Someone like her preferred to be alone. Besides, she was already at the Western Beast Academy, where she could learn about the departments and other information by herself.
Amina quickly forgot about the female student and listened to the murmurs of other students to pass away time before it was her turn to verify her identity.
Like other students, she raised her Beastcom for scanning and a mechanical voice instantly confirmed her identity.
''Identity verified. Amina Blackthorne. Welcome to the Western Beast Academy, New Student.''
The student's murmurs sank into silence as a door slid open for her to step inside.