Original Memories

Elara's cold voice echoed through the room as she demanded, "Now tell me what the hell I did to make you common maids look at me with such disdain, and what caused this accident?"

The two maids stiffened at her question, exchanging wary glances. Their young miss had always been arrogant and brash, but this? This was different. There was something unnerving in her tone, an air of dominance that didn't match the weak and useless girl they had always known. It was almost as if… she had forgotten everything.

Was she trying to play dumb?

The bolder of the two, a woman with sharp features and an ever-present sneer, scoffed inwardly before answering, her voice dripping with mockery.

"How laughable. To think that the young miss would suddenly pretend to have lost her memory. Do you really expect us to believe you don't remember what you did?"

Elara remained silent, merely arching a brow, as if urging the maid to continue. Her piercing gaze sent a chill down their spines, making them hesitate. But after a brief pause, the maid pressed on.

"You brought this upon yourself, young miss," she said, barely masking the satisfaction in her voice. "It was your own jealousy and viciousness that led to this situation. Everyone knows that you pushed Second Young Miss Selena into the river at the academy, trying to drown her. Unfortunately for you, you lost your balance and fell in as well. Both of you almost died, if not for the school authorities finding you in time and bringing you home."

Elara's fingers curled into the silk sheets beneath her, gripping them tightly.

Jealousy? Drowning Selena?

The words triggered something deep in her mind. A sudden sharp pain stabbed through her skull, and for a moment, everything blurred. But as the pain ebbed, memories—scattered and fragmented—began to emerge, weaving themselves together like pieces of a broken puzzle.

A face appeared in her mind..... Selena. A delicate, ethereal beauty with innocent doe-like eyes and soft, pink lips that always seemed to quiver in distress. The very image of fragility, of pure-heartedness.

But Elara knew better now.

Underneath that angelic face was a venomous heart.

Memories sharpened.

The past owner of this body—the old Elara—had been a fool. A blind, naive girl who had adored her younger sister with every fiber of her being, only to be betrayed in the worst way. It hadn't been her who pushed Selena. It had been the other way around.

Selena had been the one to suggest a 'sisterly walk' by the academy's seaside cliffs. She had held Elara's hand, smiled sweetly… and then shoved her into the raging waters below.

And why?

Because of a man.

Kael.

The name sent a wave of disgust rolling through her.

He had been her fiancé, or at least, that was what everyone believed. But behind her back, he had been whispering sweet words to Selena, seduced by her soft, pitiful demeanor. While the old Elara had been fighting for his attention, begging for scraps of affection, he had been in love with her sister.

And Selena? She had wanted him all to herself.

So she had tried to get rid of Elara.

The revelation made Elara's blood run cold.

She had died because of betrayal in her past life. And now, in this new life, the very first thing that happened to her was… another betrayal?

How laughable.

She let out a slow, deliberate breath, her lips curling into a sneer.

Selena.

A name dangerously close to the one that haunted her past life.

Serena.

Her so-called best friend. The one who had driven a dagger into her back—both figuratively and literally—in the apocalypse. The one who had smiled as Elara bled out.

Serena and Selena.

Two snakes. Two backstabbers.

And now, Selena would bear the weight of the grudge Elara could never settle with Serena.

The new Elara wouldn't be weak. She wouldn't be blind. And she sure as hell wouldn't let herself be a victim ever again.

As the realization settled within her, a chilling aura spread through the room. The air grew heavy. The temperature seemed to drop.

The maids, who had been watching her with amusement just moments ago, suddenly felt uneasy.

That look in her eyes…

That wasn't the gaze of their stupid, weak young miss.

It was dangerous.

It was predatory.

Elara finally spoke, her voice smooth yet laced with ice.

"Is that so?"

The maid who had been speaking flinched, an inexplicable fear creeping up her spine.

Elara slowly turned her gaze to her, and for the first time, the maid regretted speaking so boldly.

"It's funny," Elara murmured, tilting her head slightly. "How people like you find it so easy to twist the truth. How you so carelessly spit out nonsense as if it were fact."

The room seemed to shrink.

The maids instinctively lowered their heads, a flicker of fear flashing across their faces.

Why… why was this atmosphere so suffocating?

Elara smirked, but before she could say anything more, a sudden wave of dizziness hit her like a crashing storm.

Her vision swayed. A sharp pain stabbed through her skull.

Damn this body.

It was too weak.

Her fever was high. Her head pounded. Every muscle ached as if she had been beaten to the brink of death.

Elara clenched her jaw. If she wanted power, if she wanted to take control of her life in this world, the first step was obvious, she needed to strengthen this body.

But for now… she needed rest.

"Leave," she ordered, her voice laced with quiet authority.

The maids hesitated for a fraction of a second before bowing quickly and scurrying away, too overwhelmed by the change in her demeanor to protest.

Elara leaned back into the soft pillows, her mind racing.

She needed to understand this world.

She needed to train this weak body.

And she needed to figure out if the apocalypse would come to this world as well.

She shut her eyes, preparing to let herself drift into much-needed rest.

But the moment her eyelids closed—

BANG!

The doors to her chamber were kicked open with violent force.

A furious, thunderous male voice roared through the halls.

"WHERE IS THAT CURSED CHILD OF A DAUGHTER?!"

"HOW DARE SHE?!"

Elara's eyes snapped open.

Her lips curled in irritation.

Who the hell was that?!

Her second life had just begun, and it seemed the world was already trying to test her patience.