"...rine... Lady Katherine!"
Adria stirred at the sound of somebody calling her.
'Who's this person? Why is she dressed like a maid? Lady Katherine? Who's that?'
Still groggy, Adria struggled to understand what was going on.
"...Who are you?" she muttered, her whole body feeling heavy as if she had just come back from a triathlon.
"What do you mean, who am I? Don't make such jokes, my lady."
'Is this some sort of prank from Judy? She was truly elaborate with her disguise this time. I'll let her have it for now.' Adria inwardly giggled at that thought.
"Well, my lady, shall I bring your breakfast here?"
'She's actually becoming a better actress. The best I can do is go along with her.'
"Sure. You can do that," Adria said, stifling a laugh. "Thank you for your service."
"It is my pleasure, my lady." The maid bowed as she quietly left the room.
Adria turned her head toward the ceiling, her hands pressed on her chest.
'When did she get a brown wig and green contacts? I don't think I've seen those before.'
'Her face also looked... different. Did she get that good at applying makeup already?'
But the more she stared at the ceiling, the more the weirdness of her environment began to sink in.
'What's... going on here? Why is the ceiling that high? And why are there chandeliers on it? Am I dreaming right now?'
Adria's heavy eyes quickly came to life as she observed the room and its surroundings.
The bed was much bigger than the one she was used to, but in comparison to the room it was in, it was minuscule.
The tall windows on her left were downright intimidating, and the scent of expensive perfumes engulfed the whole room like a thick blanket.
Everything about this felt excessive.
Standing up slightly from the bed, Adria pushed away the three layers of blankets that were stuck to her skin.
On the wall across her, a wardrobe stretched from one corner to the other.
'Who could possibly need such a huge wardrobe?'
Adria tried to get out of bed, but her body didn't want to cooperate, and no matter how hard she tried, it felt like there was an invisible force keeping her stuck.
'Ugh, fuck. Why are my legs throbbing so much?'
For the first time in her life, Adria had no control over her body.
'My tournament finals are today. Am I going to miss it just because of my legs?'
For as long as she could remember, her biggest fear was weakness. Body, mind, and spirit; all trained until perfection to prevent that very same fear from coming true. But at this moment, she was disoriented. The pain she felt didn't give her any time to think straight.
'Is my mind trying to punish me for working too hard right now? Damn it. If I knew that this would've happened, I would've worked harder!'
She tried to shake her legs, slap them, scold them, but they still wouldn't budge.
'You are my mind. Why are you making me have such a bad dream right now?'
Almost as if feeling sorry for her, the pain in her legs vanished into thin air. Seizing the opportunity she was given, she walked with her trembling legs towards the full-body mirror —every step she took felt like a thousand knives stabbing her on her foot.
When she finally reached the mirror and stared into its reflective surface, her breath stopped for a moment. A barrage of questions flooded her mind as she gazed at the reflection of the girl, her appearance feeling alien to her.
Long, straight, light purple hair ran down her back; A length that Adria would've never allowed it to get to. A fragile, delicate body that looked like it had never picked up a sword. At this moment, she looked like a character from a fantasy world.
"What the hell...?" Adria muttered as she observed the image being shown in the mirror.
She raised her hand towards her face, the reflection in the mirror mimicking the motion.
The sensation she felt as her slender finger touched her face was foreign, almost as if she were touching a body that wasn't hers.
'It doesn't look like it's a dye. Did my mind make me have natural purple hair? That's such a fantasy novel thing.' Adria thought as she slowly paced around the room in an attempt to ignore how much her legs were hurting.
'The pain I've been feeling in my legs feels way too real for it to be a dream. But if I am not dreaming, then what's going on?'
Her footsteps halted, and she tried one last-ditch attempt and said, "Fine, brain, I give up. Just let me out of this drea-"
In the middle of her sentence, random unconnected images flashed through her mind.
Katherine de Aurielle...bedridden for much of her life ...A heavy smell of pills and medicine...
Born on the 15th of Edis, 1393...Daughter of Baron Pierre de Auririelle and Baroness Clare de Aurielle... gold mines...richest barony
...oldest brother, Charles de Aurielle... second-oldest brother, Armand...
Images of Katherine's life ran on through Adria's mind like an endless film tape, and all of a sudden, they stopped as if they were spliced. Adria fell to her knees, breathless after getting a general idea of what had happened.
"No way. Was I transmigrated here? This body looks exactly like the Katherine I saw in those flashes." Adria muttered to herself as she walked back to the mirror, her body shivering from head to toe.
She touched her face, Katherine's face, in disbelief as she faced the mirror.
'Ah fuck. Was I really transmigrated? That doesn't even make sense. And why did it have to be today of all days?'
Adria's confusion was overwhelmed by her anger at the current situation. Anger because the victory she expected, the victory that she felt was rightfully hers, was snuffed from her. Anger because all of the hard work that she put herself through ended up being for naught.
But this anger, too, quickly died, and desperation took its place. Adria fell on her knees. All three pillars she worked so hard to perfect were now completely broken.
'What will happen to my family now that I'm here?'
For the first time in her life, Adria felt completely powerless.