LILIVIENNE

I died at eighteen years old. It was the day I graduated high school. Nobody cared to attend as I’ve been treated as a nuisance for the past eighteen years of my life. I was the useless daughter who couldn’t be like her perfect older sister, the failure of the family who couldn’t do anything right, yet every time I did something right, no one would bat an eye. I did my best at school to achieve their praise, but according to my mom, no matter what I did, I could never beat my sister’s achievements when she was my age. Regardless, the belittling words I received from my own parents didn’t make me lose hope. I still tried harder until someday they can treat me how a daughter shall be treated by her own parents. Because they are my only family.

I was happy to finish an essential milestone in my life. Despite the bullying I received for being a loner, and an otaku, I still graduated with honors. The only people I saw on the stage who were clapping at me proudly were my teachers, and that was enough for me to feel that I mattered. It was a shame that I couldn’t go to university after this due to our financial problems. My sister just switched her majors because she wasn’t interested in it anymore, so the consequences fell on me. I will have to find a higher-paying job than my part-time job as soon as possible to help at home. I want to be a businesswoman, but that dream would have to wait for now.

I was walking home with two bags of take-out I bought with my savings when I heard a loud honk from a distance. Before I could process anything, I was sent flying through the gutters. Loud screamings rang in my ear. There was blood everywhere, yet I felt numb.

“M-My noodles…” I tried to reach for the bag of my take-out that my eyes could see. It spilled a few meters away from me. Wasted. I wanted to cry. It was quite a bit pricier than what I would usually have. I’ve been planning to have them with my family after my graduation ceremony. But now I will get scolded if they learn what just happened. My mom is going to be disappointed again. 

Many people have gathered around me. My eyes were starting to get blurry, but I could still see the pity in their eyes. I heard someone mention an “ambulance.” Is this it? Is this how I’m going to die?

I see. I closed my eyes. I’m tired anyway. Maybe this is my fate. To die at a young age. No more dreaming of a happy life, no more expectations to be loved, no more suffering. I’m still going to miss my family, even if they don’t love me. Also, my sister, my teachers, how I still want to taste the stir-fried noodles I bought, my favorite soda, and that new Gacha game I just started because I finished my favorite one last week. 

Ah, it all doesn’t matter now. Maybe it’s better this way. 

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

“My lady! You’re awake!” My eyes were greeted with unfamiliar faces. They all looked… foreign. I sat up and felt that I was lying on a very soft cushion. I looked around everybody once again. Why are they wearing such fancy clothes? Am I in a period drama?

“This isn’t the hospital, right?” The girl wearing a period maid outfit looked at me weirdly. The tall middle-aged man in a fancy blue suit sighed in relief, while the good-looking man beside him in a white cape shut his eyes.

“I-I’m afraid not, my lady. You’re in your chambers.” The girl answered.

“Now that the lady is awake, I guess my job here is done. Drink this antidote for the next few days and the lady shall be back to her feet in no time. If you have any more questions, come see me at the temple.” That’s when I noticed a woman wearing a veil on the other side of the bed. She handed a tiny bottle to the girl in the maid outfit before exiting the room.

“W-Who was that?”

“A cleric from the temple, my lady.”

Then the middle-aged man behind her coughed to show his presence. “Lilivienne, if you want your debutante ball to be a success, you better follow the cleric’s instructions. Elise, pay extra attention to her.”

“Will do, Your Grace.”

Wait, what? What did he just call me? Seriously, what is going on?

“Lilivienne, if you need anything, I’ll be at my office.”

“Then I’ll be back on my duty too. Lilivienne, take your time to rest.” Says the good-looking man departing after the other. I can only nod at their farewells.

“What do you want for dinner, my lady?” It was only me and the girl who was left.

“E-Elise, isn’t it? What is going on?”

Based on what I observed from what happened, these people weren’t joking. If they are, then this is a high-end prank. But why would foreigners prank a loser like me? Am I on a variety show right now? Where are the cameras?

“I guess you couldn’t remember what happened, my lady. But you were in a three-day coma after attending Lady Ayana’s tea party.”

Who?

“It was said that you consumed a poisonous berry while strolling in their garden. But the family doctor said it couldn't possibly have put you in a coma, so Sir Alasdair brought a cleric from the temple in case it was more than that. She didn’t detect any black magic in your body though, so this was seen as purely accidental.”

I still have no idea who these people are, yet another name was mentioned. I looked around the fancy room instead. The walls are pink with floral decorations, the large chandeliers hanging the dome ceiling are elegant and shimmering, and the furniture is vintage yet polished well.

“Are you perhaps looking for the mirror, my lady?” Elise pulled off the white fabric covering a body mirror from the corner. When I saw my reflection, I couldn’t believe my eyes.

I began touching my face and hair. This isn’t me, who is this?!

“A-Are you okay, my lady? You don’t look so well. Do you need to rest?”

“Yes!” Elise was startled by my loud response. I immediately took it back. “I mean, yes, Elise. I’ll call for you when I need you, o-okay?”

“As you wish, my lady.” She bowed her head and there she left.

I stood up from the bed but was surprised when my legs collapsed. So I crawled on the carpeted floor to see the mirror closely.

I look like a foreigner like those people. With long, silky, soft pink hair, large turquoise eyes and smooth, porcelain skin. Far from what I used to look like. I can see a little resemblance to the good-looking man who left a while ago, though his hair was blonde.

From what I remember, I died at eighteen. I was hit by a truck after my graduation day. Then I woke up here, as a girl they call “Lilivienne.”

Lilivienne… where did I hear that name?

I stared at my reflection as I tried to recall where I heard that familiar name. I didn’t know anyone around me who had such a unique name, so I probably heard it from the internet or…

“Oh, god…”

This can’t be… No way!

With my minimal strength, I forced my body to stand on my shaky legs. I walked towards the large windows and saw the streets which I knew very well. That’s it!

But then it means…

“Did I just get reincarnated as Lilivienne Rose Van der Horst?!”

My legs eventually gave up and my body slowly slid on the floor. I just got reincarnated as an NPC who died in the Gacha game I finished last week. Out of all the characters, why someone who was meant to die?!