When the mask falls

With a bright smile and a kind face, that girl entered... It's Victoria.

I know this smile... It's the same smile I saw in my previous life. An innocent smile, but it's just a mask that hides endless malice behind it. Her cunning knows no bounds, and her hatred is deeper than anyone can imagine.

But when I looked her straight in the eyes, an involuntary shiver ran through my body. I felt a slight shiver run down my spine.

I frowned slightly.

What is this? My body reacting automatically? Huh... It's because of the previous Oriana, isn't it? It seems that this body still bears traces of her deep-rooted fear of her. However, I'm not the Oriana you know.

Victoria walked slowly, staring at me with her shining eyes, before saying in a soft, angelic voice:

"My sister, are you okay? I know you didn't mean to! Father, believe me, my sister didn't mean to. It's true that she spilled wine on the princess's dress when we were talking about its beauty, but she didn't do it on purpose... Please, believe me!"

All this, while her shining eyes looked pleadingly, and her voice dripped with false kindness.

Is this how you try to show yourself as an angel?

Do you think that in this way you will make everyone see me as the villain, while you are the innocent girl who forgives and loves everyone?

But before I could open my mouth to respond, the Duke's voice came firmly, interrupting that cheap play coldly:

"Victoria, Oriana and I were talking, and I didn't ask you to say anything. I know that Oriana didn't do anything, so everyone stop talking about this topic."

My eyes widened a little.

Huh? He stopped her so easily?

Victoria trembled slightly, biting her lip as if trying to hold back crocodile tears, before whispering in a trembling voice:

"A-Father... Don't be angry... I didn't-I meant anything..."

But the Duke paid no attention to her, and merely gave a stern order:

"Oriana, rest now. And you, Victoria, go back to your room. Where is the personal maid... Clara?"

My attention was on Victoria trembling because of the Duke's shouting at her.

She really deserved what happened to her!

She was trying to make me look evil, but the Duke stopped her in her tracks! As mentioned in the novel, he is fair to everyone, and does not favor any of his children over the other. He is completely different from my father in my previous life... I loved his personality.

And then the door opened, and a girl with black hair and black eyes appeared, looking about sixteen years old, then she bowed to him respectfully:

"Yes, my Lord Duke."

The Duke said in a stern but calm voice:

"Take care of Oriana, provide her with everything she needs so that she can rest well."

"Yes, Your Honor, the Duke."

As he walked out of the room, he turned and looked at me with a look I couldn't explain.

Huh? Why is he looking at me like that?

Does he still think I'm guilty? Well, I don't care what he thinks either.

Victoria turned to me with a forced smile, but her eyes were burning with suppressed anger:

"Then, I'll leave now, sister. I hope you rest well... Goodbye."

Seeing her struggle to hide her anger made me feel indescribably happy.

Finally! I saw this expression on her face!

This expression... I would never have seen it on my sister's face in my previous life!

I wonder... If I had stopped my previous sister, would she have shown this expression?

But there's no need to think about the past.

I turned to Clara and said in a calm voice:

"Clara, take my sister to her room."

But Victoria quickly replied, trying to pull herself together:

"No need, thank you for your kindness, sister, but I will go alone."

I smiled coldly:

"You shouldn't go alone after my father scolded you. I must do my duty as your older sister."

Victoria's eyes tensed for a moment, but she quickly forced herself to smile:

"W-thank you, sister..."

But the expression of anger on her face was not hidden from me.

She quickly turned around and said:

"Let's go, Clara."

The maid replied with a slight bow:

"Yes, ma'am."

Meanwhile, as the Duke was returning to his office, he thought deeply.

"This is strange... This is the first time Oriana has called me Duke, and this is the first time she has shown such a cold expression. Did something happen at the party? Even if I asked her, she wouldn't answer. I have to know what happened to make her act like this.

He turned to one of his loyal servants, Nicholas, who entered as soon as he was summoned.

Here came a person with black hair and brown eyes.

Nicholas: Yes, Sir Duke. How can I help you?

Duke: I want you to investigate what happened at the party Oriana went to. I want to know everything in detail.

Nicholas: Yes, Sir Duke.

After Victoria left, Oriana was left alone thinking...

"Well, what should I do now?"

"I have to remember what happened in the novel..."

In the original novel - "The Princess and the Burden of the Miracle", the events revolve around Princess Selena Delore, the princess of the Octavia Empire, who has the ability to heal, Which made her a target for the nobles who wanted to exploit her. Because of her kindness and naivety, she always found herself in dangerous situations.

The people who stood by her were:

Adrian Isaac: The son of the Minister of the Minister, and the main protagonist.

Prince Valius Richard: The heir to the Kingdom of Ravinia.

Lucian Julius: The Dark Wizard.

In the novel, Victoria appeared as the main villain but she was hiding her true self behind a mask, while Oriana was considered evil in the eyes of everyone even though she did nothing.

As for Oriana's fate?

She was executed at the age of nineteen after being falsely accused of attempting to kill Princess Celina.

"Well, let's see..."

I looked at my reflection in the mirror, and it seemed that I was seventeen years old. So, I have two years left before I die.

I will enjoy them as much as possible!

"I am the daughter of a duke, which means I am rich! I will enjoy food, clothes, and everything before I die."

"In my previous life, I was the manager of a big company, and I worked day and night without stopping, and I didn't even enjoy the wealth I had. So, I'm going to enjoy this life!"

The first thing I have to do now is take a shower and change this annoying dress. But...

"Where's Clara? She's been late since she went with Victoria..."

Knock... knock...

Clara:

"Madam, you've come."

"Ha! She came right away when I mentioned it!"

I turned to her and said:

"Come in."

Then I asked her directly:

"Did you take Victoria to her room?"

Clara:

"Yes, ma'am."

Oriana:

"Well, prepare the bathroom for me, I want to take a shower. And then, bring me some food... and don't forget the dessert!"

From the beginning of my talk, Clara looked surprised.

"Well, she must be shocked... Oriana was a quiet girl in the novel, but now, I act completely different."

I waited for a while, then I heard her voice from outside.

Clara:

"Miss, the bathroom is ready."

Oriana:

"Well, you can leave."

After I went to take a shower and took off my clothes, I noticed something strange...

"Huh? What is this? Why are there these marks on Oriana's body?"

I don't remember anything about it... Even though I've reincarnated into this body, there are some blurry memories that I can't remember well. I felt a sudden pain in my head, as if something was preventing me from remembering, but... these marks...

"They're burn marks...!"

The more I tried to remember something about it, the more the pain in my head increased, but some memories slowly started to come back to me over time.

"Okay, I won't push myself... I'll let the memories come back over time."

But now, there's something else bothering me...

"Why isn't this water warm?! What the hell is going on?!"

I'm sure I asked the maid to prepare the bath for me, so... why is the water cold?!

"My head... the pain is unbearable. I have no choice but to sleep a little, and then I'll decide how to deal with that maid."

I got out of the bathroom without even being able to take a shower. I felt exhausted and the headache was getting worse, and when I got out, I found Clara standing there.

Clara:

"Madam, are you done taking a shower?"

Oriana:

"No, my head hurts... I'll rest a little, and when I wake up, make it for me again."

I lay down on the soft, comfortable bed, and as soon as I closed my eyes...

Memories started to come back to me.

"Yes... I remembered everything."

Those burns... were the maid's doing.

And the shivering in my body when I first saw Victoria? It wasn't without reason... but because of what she had done to Oriana in the past.

I saw everything... I saw her suffering... I saw the pain she endured silently...!

I woke up to a strange feeling... I found my cheeks wet. Tears? When did I start crying?

But I wasn't crying, was I? I closed my eyes again, trying to process the memories that flooded my mind like a torrent.

"Oriana suffered a lot... from everyone... but despite that, she didn't speak or try to hurt any of them."

But...

Victoria... Your time playing with me is over.

"I'm sorry Oriana, but I won't be like you. I won't let anyone underestimate me in this life again."

But first, there's something I need...

That thing... that I remembered in Oriana's memories.

It was something that the Duchess of Sirius, Lady Camilla de Valentine, gave to Oriana... but she never used it, afraid that something would happen to it because she loved the Duchess so much that she wanted to keep it.

"But I need it now...!"

This thing will help me have evidence against that maid.

It's true that I don't intend to make everyone love me in order to survive death, but I won't let anyone underestimate me again.

I got out of bed and walked to the drawer, opened it slowly, and when I saw what was inside...

"Wonderful... It's still there!"

I held it in my hands, looked at it for a few moments, then smiled coldly.

"Well... I'm not the villain in this story. I'll show everyone what a real villain is."

Don't forget to follow my Instagram account to know all the news @aya.san._1