Three: I just kissed a knight

It had been three days since everything changed. In that short span of time, Lana had begun to slowly accept the unthinkable that she was no longer in her world. The truth settled over her like dust, impossible to ignore, no matter how much she tried to brush it away.

Now, she sat quietly in the grand estate's library, the silence thick around her, broken only by the soft sound of pages turning beneath her fingertips. A thick leather-bound history book lay open in her lap, one her father had given her 'to help jog her memory'

"So… my father is Henry Fontaine," she murmured under her breath, brow furrowing. "The first son of the late Count and my mother, Clara, was a merchant... and I have a brother?"

She paused, her fingers idly trailing the edge of the page. "So he is in the academy, that is why I have never seen him around"

The words felt foreign in her mouth like reading the backstory of someone else's life because that's exactly what it was. She sighed, letting the book fall slightly closed as she leaned back against the velvet cushions of the reading chair. She wasn't sure if any of this information would help her survive in this unfamiliar world but she figured it was better to know than not. After all, these people were her family now, atleast while she was trapped in Elena's body. They couldn't remain nameless faces if she wanted to play the part right.

Since the incident, the Countess had visited her regularly, sitting beside her with gentle hands and tearful eyes, always trying and carefully to help Lana "remember." Even the Count, when his duties allowed, would visit her chamber. Their interactions were still a little stiff, like strangers fumbling through a memory they hadn't actually shared but their affection for their daughter was unmistakable that stirred something inside Lana. A slow, unfamiliar warmth.

They really love her...I wish I had that kind of love in my old life.

Here, everything was so different, so peaceful. The quiet was calming in a way she had never experienced before. No classes to rush to, no double shifts and especially, no lingering anxiety about whether she had eaten enough or gotten enough sleep.

And the food? God, the food.

Flaky pastries, creamy soups, fresh fruits arranged like art. It was the kind of indulgence that made her forget for a moment just how dangerous her situation really was. Ofcourse, she still not let herself relax completely.

In this world, for all its beauty was still terrifying. A place where people believed in curses, omens and possession. One wrong word, one wrong slip and they might not see her as a confused young noblewoman anymore. They might see her as something unnatural, something evil.

If anyone discovered she wasn't the real Elena Fortaine, there would be no mercy, no second chances. Execution will be swift and brutal.

So she played her role.

She spoke gently, moved gracefully. Nodded at the right times and smiled when expected. Survival here meant: Strategy, Patience, Perfect performance.

So, Lana made herself a quiet promise: If she wanted to survive here, if she truly wanted to live long enough to figure out how or if she could ever go back then she had to avoid all the characters in this damn story.

Every single one of them, That, of course, presented a massive problem because she only remembered two characters. Just two, Julien and Amelia. Both were childhood friends of Elena, close enough to be tangled into every part of her story.

Julien, the male lead. A noble with sharp eyes and sharper ambitions. He had been Elena's secret lover once, back when they were still young and the world hadn't yet demanded sacrifices but Julien... he believed in power more than love. Even though he loved Elena deeply, he still chose ambition, he chose Amelia.

And Amelia, the daughter of a Duke. Elegant, poised and everything Elena was not supposed to be. She was Julien's political match, his fiancée now but according to what Lana remembered, just bits and pieces Nina had gushed about late at night, that In the end, Julien realized something Elena had known all along: only she could make him happy. Not the power, not the titles, not Amelia.

Just Elena and so they ran away together.

It was supposed to be romantic. A story about love that triumphed over duty. At least, that's how Nina always told it, with starry eyes and a trembling voice as if the ending was a miracle.

But Lana? Lana thought it was tragic, It wasn't beautiful rather it was heartbreaking. A woman forgiving the man who once abandoned her, a woman who had to lose everything just to be chosen in the end. That wasn't a love story, that was a wound wearing a ribbon.

And now...Lana was her. Elena Fortaine. The perfect heroine, the soft-hearted girl who forgave easily and loved harder.

Hell no.

There was no way she will let herself be dragged into that kind of story. She wasn't going to fall in love, she wasn't going to forgive betrayal with teary eyes and open arms.

She wasn't Elena.

She was Lana.

Closing the heavy book with a quiet snap, Lana rose to her feet. She held the book close, intending to return it to its place on the shelf. Her footsteps were soft against the polished floor, the only sound in the vast, book-lined room but then

"Lana."

She stopped in her tracks. The voice drifted through the silence like a thread of smoke, faint and familiar that cold enough to raise the hairs on the back of her neck.

Her fingers tightened around the book. She knew that voice, it was the same one she had heard days ago, she was certain of it now. The voice had returned but this time, it hadn't called her Elena, it had called her by her real name.

Her breath hitched but she didn't step back. Instead, she narrowed her eyes, heart thudding, her grip tightening around the book pressed to her chest. The fear was still there, crawling beneath her skin but something stronger rose to meet it.

She had been thrown into this world without warning, forced to wear a name that wasn't hers but now someone or something knew who she really was.

Her voice rang through the still air, sharp and steady.

"Who are you?!" she shouted into the empty room, her voice sharp, demanding, cracking through the stillness like a whip. She stood there, waiting, heart racing, breath held, listening for even the faintest sound.

She couldn't see them but she felt it, the weight of invisible eyes pressing against her skin as if the air itself was alive and studying her in silence.

Then, finally, the voice returned. "I know you have many questions…" It echoed faintly, not from any one direction but everywhere at once. "but I won't answer any of them."

Lana's mouth dropped open. "What the hell?!" she exploded, her voice rising into something wild, desperate. "You bitch! Why the fuck did you put me here?!"

Her voice echoed against the marble and bookshelves. She probably looked insane, shouting into a room where no one stood, her chest heaving, eyes wide and furious. The voice returned, calm and infuriatingly unbothered.

"Mind your language"

"No!" she shouted again. "Answer me! What did I ever do to deserve this?! Who gave you the right?!"

There was a silence sharper than any scream then the voice darkened. "Will you listen or shall I leave?"

That wasn't a suggestion, it was a threat. Lana froze, her heart pounded violently in her chest as she gritted her teeth, swallowing every curse still bubbling on her tongue. Her whole body trembled with restrained rage, chose to closed her mouth now. The voice seemed to take her silence as an answer

"Now listen carefully." The voice dropped lower, firmer a d sharp with command. "I don't want interruptions and objections. What I'm about to tell you is the only part that matters."

Lana inhaled deeply, steadying the tremble in her limbs. Her thoughts were a whirlwind but she pushed them aside as she straightened her spine, eyes fixed ahead and ready to heard what the voice about to say

"To return to your world, you must cross paths with the four male leads written into this story, only one holds the key but it will not be given through force or deceit. It must be earned… through love, true love. The kind that cannot be faked. Only the one who loves you completely will unlock the gate home. Choose wrong… and you may never leave this world"

Lana blinked as her brain felt like it was short-circuited, desperately trying to process what she just heard.

Four male leads?..Fall in love..

Her mind stalled, trying to grasp it, but the more she thought about it, the more it sounded like a bad joke. She stared at nothing, jaw slightly slack.

"You got to be kidding me," she whispered.

She let out a humorless laugh, short and sharp, echoing awkwardly in the quiet room. "So that is the plan? Make one of them fall head over heels and pray he is the right one?"

She ran a hand through her hair, pacing a few steps before stopping again. "What is this, some discount reverse harem fantasy?"

The voice was gone as the silence that answered her wasn't kind. It wasn't gentle, it was more like final. The weight of it began to settle, no one was coming to rescue her. No cheat code, no narrator to bend the story in her favor. Just four strangers written into a world she barely knew and one impossible condition.

She swallowed hard, her throat dry.

Love was the key.

Just when she have started to find a little peace in this strange new life, this had to come crashing down? After she just promised herself to avoid all the characters? After she just carefully stayed away from every familiar name and face, hoping to live quietly in the background like an NPC?

Of course, it was almost poetic.

"Maleficent must have cursed me at birth," she muttered bitterly, dragging a hand down her face. "There is no other explanation."

Because clearly, the universe had decided that a peaceful life wasn't part of her script. Overwhelmed by frustration, Lana snapped, with a growl of anger, she hurled the book across the room, the thick spine hitting the wall with a sharp thud that echoed like a gunshot. For a second, she imagined it striking the voice itself, whoever or whatever had dumped her into this nightmare.

"Is this funny to you?!" she shouted at the empty space, chest rising and falling with each breath then the door flew open without the warning

"Lady Elena!"

Lana whirled around, eyes blazing, her body tense like a coiled spring. A man stood in the doorway, breathless and alarmed. He looked young but carried himself with the polished composure of someone used to responsibility as he was wearing a knight uniform. His eyes found hers instantly, full of concern.

He rushed forward without waiting for permission. "I heard a loud noise from here, are you alright, milady?" he asked, voice laced with panic.

Lana's gaze didn't soften, if anything, it sharpened. She was still burning with everything that had just been thrown at her.

Her stare cut through him. "Do I look alright to you?" she snapped before she could stop herself

The man stopped, startled by her tone but not enough to back away. His gaze swept over her with anxious urgency like he could not look, his brows furrowed.

"I heard a crash," he said, breathless. He stepped forward and he reached toward her instinctively, forgetting boundaries, forgetting his place. His hand hovered near her shoulder as if ready to steady her. Lana stiffened but for a moment, her fury flickered overtaken by something else entirely. He was close now, too close and the sight of him stole her breath for a second.

Dark skin kissed by gold, warm honey-colored eyes, a sharp jaw, and lips carved with maddening precision. He looked like he'd walked straight out of a fanart, no… straight out of a novel as if they are not already in a novel

Lana's eyes widened, her breath caught like a snare tightening in her chest. Something in her shifted, recognition blooming like ice along her spine.

His face was too symmetrical, too effortlessly beautiful. The kind of face that artists tried and failed to capture. Golden-brown skin, warm amber eyes, lips with a shape so precise they looked almost drawn.

No way he is just a background character.

Her thoughts snapped together in a single, horrifying word: male lead. Her muscles tensed.

No no no—this isn't supposed to happen yet!

Before she could stop herself, she shoved him hard, he staggered a step back, his expression stunned. Her glare flared to life, burning hot to mask her rising panic. "How dare you touch me!" she shouted, voice sharp with forced authority. "Did I give you permission?!"

She sounded like a real noblewoman now. Cold and untouchable. The knight's face shifted with realization. He stepped back at once, bowing his head deeply.

"My deepest apologies, my lady," he said quickly, voice low with remorse. "I… I thought you were in danger. I didn't mean to disrespect you."

As the knight bowed, head lowered in sincere apology, Lana's breath caught. Regret hit her like a wave.

Wait—what am I doing?!

If he really was one of the male leads, the key to going home then pushing him away, yelling at him like some arrogant noblewoman was the worst possible move. Her heart pounded as panic crawled up her throat.

He probably hates me now. I ruined everything! What if he is the one with the key?!

The weight of it all, the pressure, the fear of being stuck here, the terrifying chance she had already failed, pressed in from all sides. Her mind scream to fix the situation so, without warning, she moved as she grabbed the collar of his coat, her fingers bunching the fabric and before she could stop herself, she pulled him in and kissed him.

It was clumsy, unplanned, a spark struck from panic rather than passion. Her lips met his in a rush of heat and desperation, her heart thudding in her ears louder than anything else. The knight stiffened, caught completely off guard and Lana pulled away as fast as she had acted, breath ragged, eyes wide.

Her hands dropped from his coat. Silence hung heavy between them, the echo of her mistake rang louder than the kiss itself.

I did not just do that, she thought, horrified. Oh god, I actually did!

She stared at him, unsure if she had just salvaged her chances…or destroyed them entirely. Lana didn't wait for him to speak, she couldn't as the moment his stunned eyes met hers, something inside her cracked.

The shame hit harder than any slap.

Without another word, she turned on her heel and ran. She fled the library, her skirt swishing violently around her legs as she pushed past the heavy doors, heart hammering against her ribs like it wanted out.

The knight didn't call after her. Maybe he was too shocked or maybe he thought she lost her mind but she didn't care, all she could think was: Hide. Anywhere. Far.

She didn't stop running until she found an empty hallway tucked behind one of the great staircases. There, Lana pressed herself against the cold stone wall, her chest rising and falling in shallow, panicked breaths.

I just kissed a knight...

She slid down to the floor, covered her burning face with both hands and let out a strangled groan. Oblivious to the knight's reaction, Lana was already gone, vanished from the library like a storm had carried her off but he remained frozen in place, standing amidst the silence she left behind.

His face was flushed, deep red from the tips of his ears down to his collar. One hand lingered over his lips, as if unsure whether to cover them or hold onto the ghost of what just happened.

A dazed smile crept across his mouth, slow and stunned like it had a mind of its own and lower down...something stirred with inconvenient awareness, pressing against his pants.