The mansion's northern garden was a poem written in flowers. It was the kind of beauty that made you want to cry—not because it was sad, but because it was all too real.
Ligia, sitting on a cold marble bench, rested her elbows on her knees and buried her face in her hands.
"System," she muttered, for the umpteenth time that day. "Come on, speak up. I know you're listening to me, you lazy bum with a superiority complex."
What answered her was silence.
She frowned.
"Seriously? Is this how we're going to play? I've been thrown into an Isekai from a discarded soap opera, I have to wear dresses that look like torture and live with nobles who would make Marie Antoinette look humble... and you ignore me?"
She looked around.
No holographic response. No pop-up windows. Not a single dramatic beep.
Only the sound of the breeze caressing the leaves.
"Alright... Last call. Either you show up, or I'll make up that you're a broke Tamagotchi with an abandoned Siri complex."
At that moment, something shimmered in the air.
An iridescent glow condensed on the grass, like a rebellious glitch of reality. From the glow, emerged... a cat.
But not just any cat.
A digital feline, made of solid light and elegant curves, with translucent white fur like blown glass, eyes glowing a neon shade of scandalous pink, and a tail that wagged with programmed smugness.
"Finally," the cat replied, with an androgynous, velvety and clearly bored voice. "You're annoying."
Ligia's eyes widened, then frowned.
"A... cat?"
"Visual form chosen by 87.6% of users with dramatic tendencies and emotional instability. I thought it suited you."
"You're my system?"
"Yes. And before you say anything witty, my job is to offer you a way out/guide, not to be your therapist. Although, honestly, you could use one."
Ligia crossed her arms, staring at the creature with an expression that mixed disdain, weariness, and pure existential chaos.
She pointed at herself and around her and said, "This... all of this... is a nightmare with a high budget. And what are you? My talking tutorial with paws?"
The system stretched its feline neck and yawned.
"You died crushed by a bookshelf and now you're alive, rich, beautiful, and with a clear purpose. Be thankful, Ligia. That's the closest thing to a blessing the universe can grant to someone so... mediocre."
Silence.
The kind of silence that precedes emotional earthquakes.
Ligia blinked slowly.
"I'm... sorry?"
"You used to live locked in a little room, feeding fungus in your coffee mug, avoiding phone calls and investing emotionally in 2D characters. This is your chance to be someone. A charming villain, a dangerous lady, a social hurricane with goals! And you complain?"
Ligia opened her mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.
"Look here, Garfield of the alternate reality... I may have been a walking mess, but at least my existential crises didn't come with floating notifications and missions from a system."
"Ah yes, a truly noteworthy existence. I miss the mold on the ceiling and the bad Wi-Fi, don't you?"
She raised a hand as if to give a metaphysical slap in the air.
"You are insufferable."
"I was calibrated to match the user's personality. Therefore..."
"Yeah, yeah... makes sense. Personalized hell."
Ligia threw herself back on the bench, staring at the sky that seemed more real than anything she had ever seen, even though she knew, deep down, that it was a fictional sky.
"I don't even know who I am here. Or what I've done before. Or what they'll expect of me."
The cat-system jumped on the back of the bench and purred, falsely friendly.
"You are Ligia d'Argêntea. Noble. Heiress to a complicated name. Potential antagonist/protagonist. And the former user of this body... let's just say she was already emotionally... discontinued."
"So I inherited a hated body with a reputation for hysterics and now I have to be... political and polite?"
"Basically, yes. But with beautiful dresses. And a fabulous holographic cat."
Ligia let out a sigh so deep it could have moved tectonic plates.
"This is going to be a tragedy."
"Or a comedy. It depends on how you look at the script."
She looked at the cat.
"Do you have a name?"
"Yes."
"Can I call you Peste?" She raised an eyebrow.
"You can call me 'The one who knows where you hid the secret diary'."
She smiled. For the first time that day, genuinely.
"Okay, Peste. Let the game begin. But if I'm going to live in this crazy soap opera with a petulant system and a noble doll's closet... I'm going to rewrite this story my way."
The cat purred, eyes sparkling artificially.
"We'll see, Ligia. We'll see."
Ligia got up from the marble bench, smoothing the thick fabric of her dress with resignation.
"Okay. I already understand that I'm a luxury doll now," she murmured, shaking her delicate lace skirt. "Let's accept this costume of a nobleman in an existential crisis. Drama with class always sells more."
She turned to the holographic cat, who was cleaning himself as if the universe were at peace, and it clearly wasn't.
"Okay, Pestilence… what can you do for me right now?"
The feline raised its sparkling eyes, as if it had been waiting for this very question.
[Request registered]
[Interface will be displayed in…]
[3]
[1]
A soft sound like crystals tinkling in slow motion filled the air, and then a translucent screen appeared before her, floating just inches from her eyes. The interface was elegant, decorated with golden strokes and digital flowers that seemed to actually move.
[Love Rating System]
[User: Ligia d'Argêntea]
[● Current Level: 1 – Confused Survivor
● Mental Stability: 67% (recalibrating)
● Public Favorability: -12 ]
Below that, four large tabs flickered:
『Quests』『Shopping』『Interaction Reports』 『Drama Settings™』
"This feels like… a dating sim that's lost its way," Ligia muttered, frowning.
"Because that's exactly what it is. With a touch of social RPG, emotional management, and narrative chaos," the system said, stretching.
She tapped the Quests tab. The interface responded with a small jingle of magic bells.
『MISSIONS』
『●Survive the period of seclusion without causing another scandal (4 days remaining)』
Ligia raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, so I'm a mix of emotional influencer and sentimental diplomat?"
"A good analogy. You get points for survival, social charm, and clever subversion of the script."
"And what do I do with those points?"
She tapped Shopping.
A new screen opened, with columns and columns of categorized items:
『SHOPPING』
Currently Available Items:
●Temporary Trust Aura (3 Points) – "Conquer the room with a glance."
●Enchanted Tea-Proof Gown (5 Points)
●Hidden Manual of Noble Etiquette (8 Points)
●Hidden Manual of History (8 Points)
●Basic Occult Manual of Fire Magic (8 Points)
●Basic Occult Manual of Earth Magic (8 Points)
●Basic Occult Manual of Wind Magic (8 Points)
●Basic Occult Manual of Water Magic (8 Points)
●Cliché Encounter Interruption Scroll (15 Points)
●Enchantment: Dramatic Sigh that Melts Hearts (20 Points)
●Special Edition: "Luck with Suitors" — 1 use, 50 Points.
●「PREMIUM」Charm : +1 (550 Points)
『1』『2』『3』....『99』
Ligia gasped with laughter.
"You're telling me I can buy charm? That's genius. Horrible, but genius."
"The world loves appearances, my dear. And here, that's literal."
Ligia navigated the screen with light gestures, fingers gliding through the air like a conductor controlling an invisible orchestra.
The system explained as she muttered doubts.
"Interaction reports?"
"Emotional analysis of the NPCs around you. Favorability, tension, possible romance routes, and mood of the day."
"Drama™ settings?"
"Intensity of scenes, emotional soundtrack, and frequency of random narrative events. For users who prefer a more or less chaotic experience."
She tapped Settings and turned "Frequency of Unlikely Encounters" down to Low.
"No more accidental bumping into handsome nobles and lingering glances in the library. Once a week, tops."
"Rational. But boring," the cat commented.
"I'm chaos with a method, Peste. Learn that."
The garden around them seemed calmer now. Maybe it was the placebo effect of having some control amidst the delirium. Or maybe it was just Ligia getting used to the role.
She sighed. "You know... I should be freaking out more. But I think I'm too numb for that."
The system purred. A comforting, irritating, and slightly robotic sound.
"Give it time, Ligia. Soap operas always start out calm... until the ball."
She didn't answer right away. She just stood there, surrounded by roses and leaves, navigating a reality that wasn't hers—but that suddenly seemed full of possibilities. A character with a system and a second chance.
She smiled. "Well done, world. I hope you have an exciting journey."