Alya never imagined her second chance at life would begin with a very undignified thud.
Not a gentle awakening.
Not a romantic soft glow.
Just—bam. Face-first onto marble flooring cold enough to freeze her soul.
She groaned. "Ow. Why does reincarnation feel like falling out of a moving bus?"
Great, she thought, pushing herself up. Did I seriously die just to respawn like a badly coded game character?
But when she lifted her head, she froze.
This wasn't her tiny bedroom back on Earth.
This wasn't even Earth.
This was a grand hall draped in silvery banners embroidered with a crest she knew far too well—two crescent moons crossing over a sword.
Her stomach dropped.
"Oh no. Oh no-no-no. No way."
Because she recognized that crest from a late-night binge-reading session of her favorite novel:
"Stellar: The Villain Trying to Live a Peaceful Life."
A fantasy drama full of magic, betrayal, political tension…
And also three male leads who collectively hated one girl more than taxes.
That hated girl?
Stellaria Vaelion.
The adopted daughter of Duke Vaelion.
Resentful. Jealous. Magicless. Petty. Evil.
The villainess who—tragically and stupidly—ruined her entire life with her own actions.
And Alya had just been reincarnated as—
"Lady Stellaria?" a servant whispered behind her.
Alya's head snapped up so fast she almost sprained her new neck.
"NO— I mean— yes— wait— maybe— uh— someone call a doctor, I think I'm glitching."
The servant stared at her like she'd restarted her brain mid-sentence.
Calm down, she told herself. You've literally trained for this moment by reading 200 villainess-transmigration manhwas. You got this.
Then she remembered the other problem.
The original Stellaria had no magic in a world where babies used mana stones as teething toys.
Alya inhaled.
Yep. She could already feel the chaos loading.
A Very Dramatic Entrance for Someone Who Just Got Here
The doors slammed open with enough force to rattle her bones.
In strode Duke Vaelion—the man who, in the novel, adopted Stellaria "for appearances" but treated her like a ghost. Tall, intimidating, silver hair flowing like a shampoo commercial, and a stare sharp enough to slice bread.
Behind him walked her.
The sister.
The star of the novel.
The beloved magic prodigy.
Lunessa Vaelion.
Pretty. Graceful. Powerful. Everyone's favorite.
Alya internally wilted like a dying fern.
Wow, her inner boyish voice muttered. She's gorgeous. Great, and here I am looking like a confused potato.
"Stellaria," Duke Vaelion said coldly, "how dare you cause a scene during the morning assembly?"
"Scene?" Alya blinked. "Me? I just… existed."
Which—okay—fair. Stellaria did cause scenes in the novel, but Alya had literally been alive for five minutes.
"Forgive her, Father," Lunessa said sweetly. "I'm sure she didn't mean to… fall like that."
Bruh, Alya's inner voice whispered. Did she just politely call me clumsy?
"Yes," Alya blurted out, desperate. "Gravity attacked me."
The Duke blinked. "…Gravity attacked you."
"Yes, Father," Lunessa said kindly. "She seems… different today."
That was the understatement of the century.
The World Wants a Villainess. Alya Wants a Bed.
Once the Duke dismissed her (more like shooed her away), Alya was escorted to Stellaria's personal chambers.
The moment the door shut, she flopped onto the enormous bed like a malfunctioning robot.
"Okay," she exhaled. "Let's do this logically. Step one: Don't die. Step two: Don't become a villainess. Step three: Survive three male leads who already hate this body. Step four: …eat snacks?"
Her stomach growled.
"Yep. Snacks."
She needed a plan. A peaceful plan. A nobody-please-ignore-me plan.
But the universe was allergic to her peace.
Because the moment she closed her eyes, a sudden flash of light exploded from her right hand.
Alya screamed.
Not a cute scream.
A full-on battle cry scream.
"What—WHAT IS HAPPENING?!"
Her palm glowed with swirling gold light.
Magic.
Pure magic.
The one thing Stellaria was supposed to never have.
Alya stared at her glowing hand, panicking.
"Oh heck no. The plot is broken. I just got here, why am I glitching the storyline?!"
She jumped around her room like a startled cat, waving her sparkling hand.
"STOP. TURN OFF. EXTINGUISH. SLEEP MODE!"
Nothing.
In fact, the glow got brighter.
Amazing, her inner voice groaned. I've reincarnated as the 'magicless' villainess and immediately gotten magic. I am building the fastest route to becoming a suspicious character. Speedrun any%.
Then—
BANG!
A knock loud enough to wake a dragon.
"Lady Stellaria, is everything alright?" a maid called through the door.
Alya froze.
Then shoved her glowing hand under her blanket like a guilty child hiding stolen sweets.
"YES! EVERYTHING IS FINE! TOTALLY NORMAL! I'M JUST PRACTICING… BREATHING!"
"…Breathing, my lady?"
"It's harder than it looks!"
The Inciting Incident Alya Did NOT Want
At lunch, Alya forced herself to act normal.
Well—attempted.
She sat with the Duke and Lunessa in a dining hall so fancy it had chandeliers the size of her old apartment.
The Duke drank tea.
Lunessa smiled.
Alya tried not to explode with magical chaos.
"Stellaria," the Duke said suddenly, "I've arranged for your evaluation at the Royal Academy."
Alya choked on her soup.
"THE WHAT?!"
The Duke raised a brow. "The academy. You are of age. It's time for your magic assessment."
Oh, perfect.
Alya internally facepalmed.
The real Stellaria had no magic. I have magic I can't control. If I go there, they'll discover I'm a walking glitch.
"I respectfully refuse," she said dramatically.
The Duke narrowed his eyes. "Refuse?"
Abort. Backtrack.
"Uh—I mean—respectfully procrastinate?"
"You will attend," he said firmly.
Lunessa touched Alya's hand. "I'll be there too. Don't worry, Sister."
Alya nearly burst into tears.
Not from comfort.
From stress.
Because she remembered something important from the novel:
All three male leads attend the Royal Academy.
And all three despise Stellaria:
Cyril Ravenshade — cold, genius mage.
Accused Stellaria of bullying Lunessa.
Prince Damon — crown prince.
Thought Stellaria was manipulative.
Elias Stormhart — knight prodigy.
Witnessed Stellaria sabotaging Lunessa's tests.
Alya wanted to evaporate.
That night, Alya lay on her bed, hugging a pillow like it owed her money.
"Why me?" she groaned.
"I just wanted a peaceful second chance. A boring life. Maybe plant tomatoes. Why do I have to go to a school where all my potential enemies are?!"
Her inner monologue scoffed.
Girl, your fantasy life is harder than your real life. How is that fair?
She glared at the ceiling.
"If the universe is listening—STOP."
But her hand glowed faintly again.
She groaned louder.
"This is the opposite of stopping!"
Just as she was about to bury her head under a pillow forever, her door rattled.
"Lady Stellaria!" a guard called urgently. "You're needed in the eastern wing!"
Alya sat up. "Why?!"
"There appears to be… a magical disturbance!"
Alya froze.
Slowly…
She lifted her still faintly glowing hand.
"Oh," she whispered.
"…you've got to be kidding me."
Her inner boy-voice sighed deeply.
Congratulations, Alya. One day into reincarnation and you've already started your villainess career accidentally.
Alya groaned one last time, rolled off the bed, and stormed toward the door.
"Fine! I'll fix it! But after this, I'm officially going into peaceful-retirement-mode!"
Because if the universe refused to let her chill…
She would at least refuse to be the villain it expected.