8. Flashback (1)
How did I end up like this?
Lizé leaned against the cold stone wall of the imperial prison, trying to make sense of the situation she still couldn't believe.
She had lived this life over and over again, as Lizé Sinclair, and then as Lizé Ludwig, but never once had she seen the imperial prison. This life was supposed to be the same.
But the dank air she felt now was too creepy to be a dream, and her forearms still tingled from the guards' grasp.
'What did I miss? Why the hell did I end up like this?'
A single tear slid down her cheek and onto her dress.
But Lizé didn't even realize she was crying.
She was just racking her brain, desperately trying to figure out what went wrong.
'Yeah, it's been since that bitch Edith came.'
That same day that had been so exciting and thrilling at the time, but looking back, it was the beginning of all her misfortunes......
Lizé began to recall the events from 'that day'.
***
The majestic strains of the pipe organ spread out in concentric circles.
Edith, Count Riegelhoff's daughter, walked slowly down the center of the wedding hall, as formal and stately as a duke's wedding could be, despite its simplicity.
'It's finally happening.'
Lizé, who had been watching the wedding next to the Duchess, smiled inwardly.
The 13th Edith had finally entered Lizé's narrative.
'How will this one go wild and entertain me again?'
This was the thirteenth time she had made someone else's soul possess Edith, but this moment was always a mixture of nervousness and anticipation.
And every time she felt this thrill, she felt alive.
'This one started out like the others.'
After quickly accepting that she had transmigrated into a Rofan novel, the 13th Edith was moving in the opposite direction from the original story, trying to avoid the evil the original Edith had done.
At the dinner a week earlier, not only did she pretend to be nice and accept Lizé, but she also declared that she would not bring a Riegelhoff maid to the Ludwig mansion.
'But on average, I think she's a little on the bold side. There were some kids who froze in their tracks at the Riegelhoff when they realized Edith's hidden settings.'
Lizé's heart skipped a beat as she realized this wasn't going to be a dull game.
The wedding went off without much fuss.
Killian made no secret of his dislike for Edith, and the reception was over quickly.
'She's holding up pretty well. This one's going to be fun.'
Edith was unfazed by Killian's rudeness, and it was a pleasure to see her fulfill her role as bride with a smile on her face throughout the chilly reception.
It is the funniest thing to see someone so persistent in the midst of a struggle when all that awaits them is destruction.
"Lizé. The reception is drawing to a close, will you please escort Edith to her chamber?"
"Yes, ma'am."
Lizé approached Edith at the Duchess's request.
"Miss Edith. I will escort you to the bridal chamber."
"Oh, God! Thank you, no, I mean, t- thanks, Miss Lizé."
Escorting Edith, who nearly threw off her mask for a moment, to the bridal chamber, Lizé helped her change her dress and then told her a story that would scratch her insides.
"I apologize on behalf of Killian for his rudeness to Miss Edith today, and I hope you don't hate him too much."
This scene, where Lizé looked more like a bride than the real bride and asked the bride to understand Killian's behavior, was a good way to understand Edith's character.
Either Edith was uncomfortable with Lizé, frowning or giving short answers, or Edith was determined to impress Lizé by being too sympathetic.
And this Edith......
"I completely understand. Killian was forced into a marriage he didn't want to be in, and I'm sure he's unhappy about it, but that doesn't mean I hate him; after all, he's my husband."
As expected, she seemed to be trying to break out of her villainous character.
She even complimented Lizé's dress, even though she knew from reading the original story that this was the dress Killian had bought her with 'The Bride' in mind.
Seeing Edith answering with a smile, Lizé smiled again.
'I look forward to the days to come.'
The thought of her wagging her tail excitedly at every word she said was enough to make her chuckle.
But it turns out that was a premature judgment.
Lizé had expected Killian to come out of the bridal chamber early, but his answer was a surprise.
"I had no expectations for tonight, and neither did she. Though it was a bit of a surprise."
"What do you mean? Obviously, a while ago......"
"She was already in the bathtub by herself, dozing off."
"......yes?"
I'd never seen such an Edith before.
'The 13th Edith...... is off to a pretty interesting start, isn't it?'
Although Lizé was a little surprised by that friendly attitude, she quickly regained her composure.
The game was on, and Lizé had to use the new Edith to create a situation where she could make herself look the best, and that's what she does best.
"What's wrong, Lizé?"
"No, well...... after listening to your words, I wonder if Miss Edith was angry with me before......"
"What?"
Lizé arched her eyebrows and bit her lip thoughtfully, her best 'I really didn't want to offend you' expression.
Then she slipped in a comment about Edith complimenting her on her dress, and Killian quickly took offense, thinking Edith was putting her down.
'Yeah. It's just fun, nothing difficult. It's a game I'm going to win in the end.'
Lizé smiled softly as she watched Killian stumble away from her, unsuccessfully trying to kiss her.
And that night, Lizé set the first level exception condition.
It was the same condition that she had set for the last 12 times, for the previous 12 Ediths.
[The first exception condition has been set. The first exception condition: Follow what Edith failed to do in the original story.]
It was a friendly voice, a familiar one.
'Will this Edith make it past level one?'
Lizé eagerly awaited another story in which she would be the main character.
***
As expected, Edith tried to score points with Lizé and the other main characters.
This was evident in her eagerness to pick out the Duchess' and Lizé's dresses, but not her own, and in her behavior at tea with Lizé, Cliff, and Killian.
While it's admirable that she didn't flounder or appear cowardly, there were several Ediths who chose this route.
'She thought she could avoid the misdeeds of the original Edith and avoid death by being a good girl.'
Unfortunately, it wouldn't be that simple.
The "flow of the original story" is the most powerful force that drives this world, and until Edith meets a total of three exceptions, no matter what she does, the story will continue to play out the way it was written.
In particular, this Edith was going in the opposite direction, like someone who was determined not to imitate the original Edith at all.
'At this rate, she'll die without even meeting the first exception.'
But Edith's behavior was far from what she expected. It wasn't until tea time that Lizé realized she wasn't the only one.
That night, Lizé was relaxed until she found Killian on the moonlit balcony looking out.
It was obvious that he was sad about his situation of being pushed aside by Cliff, and Lizé saw it as a way to comfort him and increase his affection for her.
"Killian? What are you doing there?"
"Ah, Lizé......"
"What's wrong?"
Lizé asked anxiously, expecting to see Killian looking at her affectionately.
But she wasn't the one occupying his mind.
"It's not even worth your time."
"Is this about Edith......?" she asked, incredulous, but Killian didn't deny it.
Verbally, Killian was annoyed and disliked Edith, but he was angry at the fact that Edith never talked about him at all.
'I can't believe it's changing already! How did she create the probability?'
Lizé couldn't help but admire Edith.
The strongest force that holds this world together is the 'flow of the original', but as long as the original is not damaged, you can use probabilities to create situations that work in your favor.
I don't know if Edith knew what she was doing, but I think the flow of the original is still unaffected.
'Okay, I guess I'll have to deal with her properly.'
Lizé told Killian that Edith called someone from the boutique, cleverly framing Edith as the villainess.
Not to mention making herself look weak and good.
"She's got a way of putting people down, she is indeed the daughter of that snake man."
As planned, Killian seemed to hate Edith again.
But Lizé didn't know exactly what was happening inside Killian.
She had underestimated the fact that, like it or not, Edith had taken root in Killian's mind.
***
"This is the beginning of the real thing."
Lizé muttered to herself in the mirror and then headed out to help the Duchess with her work.
Today is the day that Edith would get her hands on the 'fake document'.
And this is where Edith's 'villainous saga' really begins.
I wonder how she'll react this time.
Lizé went to the Duchess' office to observe Edith in anticipation.
"Starting today, I need you to organize the documents in there and write up a nice list of what we need to buy, in what quantities, and at what prices."
The Duchess casually handed the documents in question to Edith, and as she flipped through them, Edith smiled with a hint of pride.