Transmigrator

After being dismissed Lisa went back to the servants quarters.

'That was too close,' Lisa thought, slumping against the wall of her chambers. 

Her hands were still shaking from breakfast. 

She'd known serving the Blackwood family would be dangerous, but Cassius's calculating gaze had caught her off guard.

Everything about him felt wrong. The way he moved, how he watched her, that cold intelligence behind his eyes. None of it matched what she read about him. 

'I have to be more careful,' she thought, touching the brown dye in her hair. One mistake and all her plans would crumble. She couldn't fail, not when she knew what was at stake. 

She pulled out a half-empty vial from her pocket, frowning at its contents. The explosive reaction had been too strong. She never meant to hurt the poor Cerberus. She'd have to adjust the formula next time, maybe reduce the concentration of methane…

A knock interrupted her thoughts. "Lina!" Another maid called. "Lord Cassius requires your presence in his study."

Lisa quickly tucked the vial away, straightening her uniform. Her fingers trembled slightly as she adjusted her collar. How many more hours would she have to maintain this act?

It wasn't just pretending to be a maid, that part was almost easy compared to watching Cassius. Every time she looked at him, she had to fight the urge to say something, to warn him. But she couldn't. Not without revealing how much she knew.

And she couldn't risk that. Not when she was finally close enough to change things. The hard part would be figuring out where to start, nothing was quite like she'd read.

"Lina!" The voice came again, more insistent.

"Coming!" she called back, checking her appearance one last time in the small mirror. Brown eyes stared back at her. Not Winter blue, and certainly not her original…

She shook her head. No time for those thoughts now. She had a role to play.

"What took you so long?" She arrived at the study where Cassius was sitting by the desk, sharpening his sword. 

"Apologies, young master." She bowed deeply. 

"Stand up," Cassius said, a smirk playing on his lips. "No need for apologies... Lisa." He paused deliberately. "Or should I say… Lady Lyra Winter?"

'How did he know?' Lyra thought, keeping her composure. 'And why does he keep calling me Lisa when the name I put on the servants' application was Lina?'

There was only one explanation. 

Cassius was definitely Casian.

. 'But why did he choose a name so similar to his original?' She couldn't help but chuckle at the irony.

"Is something funny?" Cassius asked, his eyes narrowing slightly.

" I merely recalled something amusing."

"Oh?" Cassius smiled. "I could use a good laugh."

"It's really nothing." She smiled. For now, she decided she wasn't going to confront him.

"I see." Cassius continued. "Then care to enlighten me what Lady Lyra Winter is doing as my maid?'

 "I don't understand what you mean, young master," she kept her voice steady, but her mind raced. Had she made too many mistakes at breakfast? Was it the way she'd reacted to the Duke's words?

Or perhaps…Did he have her investigated?

"Come now," Cassius leaned back in his chair. "Did you really think I wouldn't have my new maid investigated? The Blackwood family takes its security very seriously."

'He's lying,' Lyra realized. Something about his tone...

"Though I must admit," he continued smoothly, "the disguise was well done. The brown hair, the commoner's act. You even fooled the head butler."

'He's bluffing,' Lyra thought. 'But why pretend to have known all along? And why confront me now?'

"Though I am curious," he continued, watching her reflection in his blade, "what made you choose to become my maid, of all things?"

'Because I want to live.' she thought. But she couldn't say that. Instead, she kept her eyes lowered, playing for time while she thought of a believable excuse.

'He wasn't supposed to awaken as a swordsman.' Lyra thought, 'Things have changed from the book. I need to be careful. '

"I needed somewhere to hide," she said carefully. The best lies contained elements of truth. "As you heard at breakfast, my father arranged an engagement."

"And becoming my maid seemed the logical solution?" Cassius raised an eyebrow, his tone skeptical.

"Who would look for the Winter heir serving the Blackwood family?" Lyra met his gaze steadily. "Our families have never been close. It's the last place anyone would expect."

'And the perfect position to watch you,' she added silently. But something in his expression made her pause. He wasn't entirely convinced.

"A noble becoming a maid to escape marriage." Cassius's lips curved into a cold smile. "How... romantic. Though I wonder why you chose me specifically. Duke Blackwood has three sons and a daughter, after all."

The question was too pointed. He was fishing for something.

"Andrei is too close to my father," Lyra replied carefully. "And the twins..." she let distaste color her voice. 

"So I was simply the safest choice?"

"The most convenient," she corrected. Let him think she'd chosen him because he was the least significant son. It was better than the truth.

Cassius studied her for a long moment. "And what exactly do you expect me to do with this information, Lady Winter?"

"What do you mean?" Lyra asked, though she already knew. Being discovered put her completely at his mercy.

"Well," Cassius leaned forward, resting his chin on his hand. "I could inform your father of your whereabouts. I'm sure the Winter family would be... grateful for the information."

Her hands clenched in her skirts. "Or?"

"Or we could come to an arrangement." His smile didn't reach his eyes. "You seem quite determined to stay here. I'm curious as to why."

'Because you'll die in the abyss if I don't, and your death will spark a war that no one will survive.' she thought. But instead she said, "What kind of arrangement?"

"You'll continue your role as my maid. And in exchange for my silence, you'll tell me exactly what you're planning."

Lyra forced her shoulders to relax. This could work in her favor, he thought he had the upper hand, but as long as he didn't know her true purpose...

"Planning?" She kept her voice carefully neutral. "I told you, I'm just hiding from my engagement."

"No," Cassius said softly. "I don't think that's all. You're watching me too closely, Lady Winter. Almost as if you're waiting for something."

A chill ran down her spine. She hadn't realized he'd noticed that.

"Tell me," he continued, that cold smile still playing on his lips, "what's so interesting about the Blackwood family's youngest son?"

'Everything,' she thought. 'Your future, your death, what becomes after your death.' 

"It's not..." Lyra hesitated, then changed tactics. Sometimes a partial truth worked better than a lie. "Your father mentioned your sudden progress in swordsmanship."

"Ah." His smile widened slightly. "So that's what caught your attention."

'Let him think that's all it is,' she thought.

"I can't help but be interested," she said. "And your awakening was... unusual."

Something flickered in his eyes. Had she said too much?

"Unusual," he repeated softly. "What an interesting choice of words."

****

After going back to her chambers, her fingers brushed against the small notebook hidden in her skirt. Inside, carefully coded to look like a maid's duty roster, were all the events she remembered from the novel. But things weren't matching up. Cassius wasn't supposed to be this perceptive, nor was he supposed to awaken.

'The author got so much wrong,' she thought. Or maybe this world was already deviating from the story she'd read so many times in her previous life because of her. 

Lyra pulled out the hidden notebook, flipping through pages of disguised notes. According to "The Blackwood Legacy," Cassius should have failed his awakening ceremony, becoming bitter and withdrawn before eventually running away. Years later, he would return as a weak F-rank hunter, only to be betrayed and killed by his brother during The Trial.

'Just how much has changed?' she wondered, scanning her notes. 'And how will it affect what's coming?'

'Hmm…Everything that changed is related to Cassius Blackwood. Could it be that he's also a transmigrator?'

Damn it. If only that truck hadn't hit her. Then none of this would have happened.