Chapter 2 01 - Accepting The Destiny

Milla stretched her body, which felt incredibly sore. She remembered that she had fallen from a height. No wonder that her whole body felt sore and achy.

"Shh..." Milla grimaced. Besides the pain in her body, she also still had to adjust her eyes to the incoming light.

Slowly, the eyes opened. She looked up at the ceiling of her room. Wait! This is not her room!

Is this the hospital?

Milla held her head and arm. It hurt, but strangely there wasn't a single bandage on it. Her hand wasn't infused either. The more she looked, the more she realized. This wasn't a hospital either!

"Then where am I?" she wondered.

Milla tried to get up. She sat up holding her head. This room looked strange. Ancient, but luxurious. Maybe Milla could call it 'classic'. But whatever it was, it looked much better than her usual cramped room.

"Could this be a classic luxury hotel? But, who's going to pay the bills if I sleep here? Ah... damn it! My savings!" Milla was beginning to feel distraught. She clearly remembered that the amount in her account was not much. She wouldn't even be able to afford a single night in a hotel of this class.

When she heard the door open, Milla turned around alertly.

'Praangggg!'

A strangely dressed woman dropped the tray she was carrying while staring in shock at Milla.

'Oh my! Even the chambermaid is wearing a special uniform!' Milla's mind was getting anxious. She couldn't help but think of the many digits that would line up on her bill.

"Our Lady is awake!!! Duke, Duchess, Lady is awake!!!" The chambermaid scurried away. Disappearing into thin air, leaving a confused Milla behind.

But wait a minute! Lady? Duke? Duchess? What does that mean?

Milla looked down. Looking at the clothes she was wearing. Her eyes were perfectly round.

"Does this place also rent ancient royal-style clothes like this? So I'll have to pay the rental fee too? Oh my!" she muttered.

"My daughter!"

"Trisya, are you awake?!" A middle-aged woman rammed herself straight into Milla. Followed by an adult man with a flat expression behind her.

"Aw!" Milla winced. Her bones felt broken as the woman hugged her too tightly.

How could that woman just hug her like that? Even Milla felt like she didn't know her at all.

"Stop if you don't want our beloved daughter killed, my wife!" the man scolded.

"Ah, I'm sorry. I had no intention of hurting you. Are you blind? Call the physician now! My daughter must be examined!" the woman shouted.

The two servants who came with them immediately carried out the mistress's orders.

However, Milla realized one thing.

"Mother? Daughter? But, who are you?" Milla was confused. How could they claim to be Milla's parents, when Milla didn't even know any of them?

The couple looked frozen. Surprised by the simple question that had just come out of Milla's mouth.

"I'd better call the family physician by myself!" broke off the man as he walked away with wide strides.

Milla stared at the man in confusion. Until the sound of crying broke her reverie.

"Wait, Madam! Why are you crying all of a sudden?" Milla was confused. She was afraid people would misunderstand her crying.

"Madam? You even call me Madam? What did I do to you, Dear?" the woman sobbed. She was Duchess Amara De Lovatta.

From her name alone it was clear that she was a noble of the country she lived in.

"Then-"

"What happened here- Trisya? Are you awake?"

"Huh?"

Milla's head felt like it was about to burst. It was the waiter who called her Lady. Then the couple who said Milla was their daughter. And now, what did this man call her? Trisya?

'Trisya? Wait a minute!' Milla felt familiar with the name.

"You mean, Trisya Aurila Lovatta?" Milla asked.

"I knew you would remember your own name. You're still my daughter," Duchess Amara gushed.

Milla's heart felt like it was about to burst. Why did people recognize her as Trisya? Wasn't Trisya the antagonist of her favorite novel, "Lady Rania and the Crown Prince"?

Milla looked around the room. After careful examination, she finally realized that every corner of this room was exactly like the depiction of Trisya Aurila Lovatta's room. The character she hated the most in her favorite novel.

Milla grimaced while holding her head, before she finally lost consciousness.

"Trisya!!!" That was all Milla could hear before she lost consciousness completely.

*

Milla took a walk by a lake. A beautiful lake, exactly what she imagined Crown Prince Terry's favorite place to be in the novel "Lady Rania and the Crown Prince".

"You know, Milla, this is where I first met with Prince Terry."

Milla gasped. She looked back, and found the real Trisya Aurila Lovatta standing behind her.

Milla breathed a sigh of relief. It was true. She was not Trisya. The real Trisya was here now. That means Milla is not Trisya. She is not the evil character that ended tragically.

Trisya chuckled, as if she could read Milla's mind.

"If you're happy because you think you're not me, then it's a shame you have to be disappointed, Milla. In the future, you will take my place. Righting all wrongs until justice is served in this country. And most importantly, my parents and brother. Only you can fix their destiny," Trisya explained.

Milla squealed in incomprehension. "What exactly are you saying?"

"From now on, you must live as Trisya Aurila Lovatta!"

"What? I don't want to. And I never will," Milla refused. Milla remembered exactly how the story ended. A tragic death at the hands of her fiancé? Seriously?!

"There's no way out for you. You must finish this story with a better ending, if you want to return to your world," Trisya said.

"But why-"

"Because you were meant to be Lady Trisya, not me! My soul was thrown away into a time I should never have entered. I had to be born as Trisya because of you. And now, because I failed to get a good ending, therefore you are returned to your true destiny," Trisya cut in with such passion.

Milla was reminded of Trisya's character in the novel. She could intimidate anyone, except Prince Terry. And that's exactly how Milla felt right now.

"Hmm... but- but-"

"Our time is up. Get up! Repair all the damage I've done if you want to return to your home world!"

After that, Milla could feel a strong pull that threw her into a strange portal.

Milla opened her eyes. And again, she was back in the place she had seen earlier with the real Trisya.

"My daughter, you've finally regained consciousness," Duchess Amara gushed.

Milla looked at the people surrounding her one by one. She hesitated, but began to silently say their names one by one.

'Duchess Amara De Lovatta, mother of Trisya,'

'Duke Gerald De Lovatta, Trisya's father,'

'And over there, Darian Larry Lovatta, Trisya's elder brother.'

"What is it, Trisya? Is there something bothering you? You can recognize us, right, son?" asked Duchess Amara worriedly.

Milla swallowed her saliva with difficulty.

'One more. Me - from now, I am Trisya Aurila Lovatta. Yes. I will be Trisya from now on,' Trisya added silently.

Yes. Starting today, Milla must learn to accept her destiny. A new destiny that makes her the evil antagonist in a novel that she used to love so much.

'My task now is to create a new plot so that Trisya doesn't die silly at the hands of the person she loves. The first thing I had to do was to avoid the characters who would cause conflict with Trisya. Especially Prince Terry and Lady Rania. You must have a beautiful ending like in your dream, Milla. You've suffered a lot as Milla. And now it's time for you to be happy as Trisya Aurila Lovatta," she concluded.

*

It has been one week since Milla woke up as Trisya. She began to learn many things about the royal life in this country. Perhaps, in her old world Trisya's brain was fairly mediocre. But here she was admired by her maids and teachers for her intelligence.

"Did you see that? Our lady has changed a lot, huh?" Unintentionally, Trisya could hear the maid'sj words from behind the door that had not yet been completely closed.

"Is my change too obvious? Are they starting to suspect that I'm not their lady?" Trisya muttered as she looked at her reflection in the mirror.

She did not expect Trisya to be this beautiful. As she remembered, in the novel Trisya was just an antagonist who was evil, stupid and always jealous all about Lady Rania. If Trisya is this beautiful, then what about the main character, Lady Rania who will become the empress later?

"Did you say something, Lady?" asked the maid who was doing her hair.

"Ah? No. I just feel something different about my self lately. What do you think, Layla?"

"As long as the change is good, I don't think it's a problem," replied Layla, the number one maid closest to Trisya. At a fairly young age, Layla was already the butler serving Trisya, replacing her aunt who had passed away three years ago.

Trisya looked up. She looked at Layla who was smiling at her. She remembered the original story of Layla and Trisya.

Layla was the daughter of a nobleman with the title of Baron who was abandoned after her father remarried. Later, Amara brought Layla who was stranded on the streets to the Lovatta family residence, at the request of her former butler named Lena who was also the sister of Layla's biological mother. She gave her a place to stay, and assigned her to accompany the lonely little Trisya.

Initially, Trisya was always indifferent to Layla. She also often looked down on Layla who was only the daughter of a Baron, while she was the Duke's daughter. But Layla's tenderness and sincerity slowly began to change her for the better. Moreover, the late Lena also always tried to bring her closer to the young girl.

"Yes. You are a very good person," Trisya said unconsciously.

"Excuse me, Lady?" Layla was confused.

"Ah, that's- that's it. Do you remember how old I am now, Layla?" asked Trisya.

"Did you forget, Lady? Two months ago you just had your seventeenth birthday," Layla replied.

Trisya tried to recall the plot of the novel. As she recalled, the problems started to come when Trisya was about to turn eighteen. She would have a new maid to take Layla's place, named Adriana. Adriana is the cousin of Lady Rania who decided to betray her family. And since then Adriana has been trying to turn Trisya into her weapon in destroying Lady Rania's family.

'Ah I also can't forget Trisya's first meeting with Prince Terry. The meeting that made Trisya crazy about the monster. No! Now this body is in my control. And I won't let you do anything stupid again, Trisya Aurila Lovatta,' Trisya monologued to herself.

Trisya then got up, heading towards her study table to the confusion of Layla.

"What's wrong, Lady? What-"

"It's okay, Layla. You can leave when you're done. I was just taking notes," Trisya interrupted.

Trisya felt that she needed to record the series of events she remembered in the novel. Although she didn't remember many things, but at least it could help her a little to avoid terrible destinies in the future. She also marked the names of people who could potentially get her into trouble.

"I need to be able to create my own path if I want to stay out of trouble. Yes. Let's create your own version of the story as Trisya who is kind and worthy of everyone's love!" Trisya muttered, trying to remain optimistic about her future.

"I have to get out of the plot of Lady Rania's novel. I will create my own story, making Trisya Aurila Lovatta the main character. My life and death are decided here. And I don't want to die tragically again in this lifetime. I'm the daughter of a Duke, the highest nobility in this country after the royal family. So, what can't I do with my family's wealth and power?"

***