I stand in the center of my room, the walls feeling like they are closing in. The silence of the Valerius estate is deafening, and suddenly, I can't take it anymore.
"What is wrong with this world?!" I shout, my voice cracking as it hits the stone. "Is there no system? No guide? Nothing to tell me how to live this life?"
I pace frantically, my hands tangling in my hair. In the stories I've heard about, the protagonist always has a map, a memory of a book they read, or a magical voice in their head. But here? There is nothing. I didn't read about this world in a novel. There is no "typical theme" here. It's just... raw, cold reality.
"What is happening here?" I whisper, looking at my hands—Elanore's hands. "Everything I thought I knew was wrong. I have to figure out every single detail of life from scratch. Why is there no manual for this?"
I stand in the center of the room, my chest heaving. "Where is the system?!" I scream at the ceiling, my voice echoing off the cold, unresponsive stone. "Where are the notifications? Where is the 'system' that tells me my favorability is rising or that I've unlocked a hidden quest?"
I wait, my heart pounding in my ears, but there is nothing. No blue screens floating in the air. No robotic voice giving me hints. Even Elanore's memories—the very things I need the most are unknown to me.
"How am I supposed to go back?!" I shriek, my fingers digging into my arms. I don't realize that my voice is carrying through the heavy doors, vibrating out into the hallway where the servants linger. "Who is supposed to tell me the answers? Am I just meant to rot here in this silk-lined prison?"
I stumble back toward my bed, the room spinning. "This isn't how it's supposed to work!" I whisper, my voice thick with resentment. "In every reincarnation or Isekai story I've ever known, there is a path. The protagonist finds a hidden diary from the body's previous owner, or a system pops up to feed them every bit of information they need. They get the memories, the skills, the 'cheat' codes."
I look around the empty, opulent room. There are no diaries hidden in the drawers. No glowing screens in my vision.
"Why am I so unlucky?" I cry out, my hands trembling. "Why is there nothing to tell me about the state of this world? I have people around me—I have a maid who is kind, but she doesn't understand the depth of what I'm feeling. She doesn't know about these emotions. I need a guide. I need to see Elanore's memories! How can I survive, let alone win over a family, if I don't even know who I am supposed to be?"
The weight of being a storyteller who can't see the next page is crushing. I am an aspiring novelist, and yet I am trapped in a plot with no foreshadowing and no protagonist perks. If no one is going to help me, and if the memories won't come, then I am flying blind in a storm of Valerius' coldness.
"I should not be like this," I whisper to the empty room, wiping the tears from my face with the back of my hand. "I have to be strong. My parents are waiting for me in my world, and I won't let them worry about me anymore. If there is no system to guide me, then I will find my own way back."
I stand up and smooth my dress, I don't need a notification window; I need information.
"Lily!" I call out.
The door opens almost immediately, and Lily steps inside, her expression full of concern.
"You called, Miss Elanore?"
"Lily, I need your help," I say, keeping my voice steady. "I still can't remember anything, and I need to understand this house if I am to survive it. Please, tell me everything you know about me—and about the Duke and Orlando."
Lily fidgets with her apron, looking nervous. I press further, my eyes narrowing. "I can see that the Duke and Orlando have been hurt by something. I think there was an accident or some event in the past... do you know what it was?"
Lily looks down, her voice dropping to a whisper. "I don't know the whole truth, Miss. I have only heard whispers in the servant's quarters. They say the Duke and Lord Orlando used to... they really loved you. But then there was an incident—a terrible event—and that is why they became so cold toward you."
My heart skips a beat. An incident? They used to love me ? This is the missing piece of the puzzle. The "old" Elanore wasn't just a villainess; she was at the center of a family tragedy she couldn't fix.
"Miss," Lily continues, her voice trembling as she checks the door. "They loved you. The Duke and Lord Orlando... they were so proud when you were born. But then, everything changed because of the power."
the power."
"Power?" I repeat, trying to categorize this new information. "What kind of power, Lily? Be specific. I truly remember nothing."
Lily looks at me with wide, sad eyes. "In this Kingdom, magic is everything. Every Noble family is defined by it. The House of Valerius is famous for its Ice Magic—a power so cold it can freeze a battlefield in seconds. Most children show their spark between the ages of five and seven."
She takes a shaky breath. "Lord Orlando showed a terrifying amount of magic early on. He is a prodigy. But you... you reached seven, then ten, and still now. You never showed anything."
"It isn't that you have no magic, Miss," Lily clarifies, her voice dropping to a fearful whisper. "It's that no one knows. During your evaluation when you were eight, something went terribly wrong. You couldn't execute any power, and then... the incident happened."
I lean forward, my Office Brain searching for a logical link. "What incident, Lily? What did I do?"
"No one knows the details," Lily says, shaking her head. "The Duke cleared the room. All we know is that before that day, the Duke was a doting father and Lord Orlando was your best friend. You used to follow him everywhere, begging him to play. But after that day at the evaluation... the warmth vanished. Lord Orlando started giving you the cold shoulder, and the Duke looked at you like you were a stranger. They didn't just become cold; they became afraid."
I sink back into my chair. An incident at eight years old—a trap? A failure of power? Or did the "old" Elanore do something so unforgivable that it broke the family's bond?
I requested to play with him, I think sadly. The old Elanore just wanted her brother back.
I feel a surge of protectiveness for the girl who lived in this body before me. She was a child who lost her family in a single day. I don't know what happened between them, but I know how to handle a cold workplace and a broken team. If they are giving me the cold shoulder because of a mystery from a decade ago, then I will have to be the one to solve it.
Sara now holds the first real piece of the puzzle: a failed evaluation and a family turned to ice. With the Duke gone for two days, will she use this time to dig up the truth of age eight, or will she focus on 'buttering up' her brother Orlando while his guard is down? Or is the secret behind their cold behavior a trap that was set for Elanore a long time ago?Can a modern mind solve a magical mystery?
Stay with us to know how the story unfolds."