Chapter Text
She awoke after hearing distant voices echoing in her ears. She didn't open her eyes as she still felt groggy, forcing herself to go back to her disrupted slumber. She noticed a strange sensation of a seemingly soft material brushing against her face, preventing her from sleeping. She didn't remember her place being this crowded though. After some thought, she finally gathered her strength and opened her eyes slowly. She blinked as her eyes adjusted from the sudden light exposure.
The first thing she saw was a woman she considered beautiful. The woman had black hair, gray eyes, and features that seemed sculpted by a divine hand. Her nose and lips complemented her looks nicely, and the makeup she wore enhanced her beauty even more. As if she were molded by a god himself. The woman was staring back at her with a confused look. She started to feel conscious, sensing that the woman was judging her whole existence, perhaps even mocking her looks. She couldn't blame her; she wasn't lucky enough to be blessed with great beauty, but she was unfortunate enough to seem to carry all the negativity in the world.
Speaking of which, she was reminded of what happened in the lab where she works. Those good-for-nothing assholes stole her research and credited it as theirs. She had been working tirelessly, and pushed herself to the limit despite the lack of funding. Leaving paycheck to paycheck, she struggles making ends meet, all while her superiors didn't have a bit of interest in the experiment, placing the responsibility on the results of the newbie researcher. Betrayal fueled her anger again and she can't help but to get frustrated. She shouldn't have entered the institution as the assistant of a chief researcher, she should’ve been skeptical when they hired her— a freshly new graduate with no prior on-the-job experience.
She was busy cursing her superiors in her head that she didn't notice someone's trying to get her attention.
"My lady, the preparations are complete." A woman in her forties, attired in a classic maid uniform, stands beside her. Her neatly curled hair resembles something from a vintage film, and with a single glance, it's evident that she carries an air of dignity.
“Huh?” Sera said, The girl who spoke earlier maintains her monotonous expression and tells Sera again.
“we’re finished dressing you up and you're now ready to grace the esteemed guests in the hall my lady”
Sera looks at the peculiar woman who she believes cosplays as a maid. She blinks in puzzlement and she looks at herself, she realizes she's not wearing her nighties anymore, instead she's currently wearing a white tube silk dress adorned with floral details at its top completing the look with a white long gloves.
And it hit her, she stood up from sitting on the chair and quickly scanned the surroundings. About 5 women also dressed as a maid aligned in the corner as if waiting for a command to its master. The place? It's not her fucking room. The place reeks of extravaganza, there are lots of antics with the room filled with complex details. It's definitely giving a vintage vibe in it. This is too maximal for her taste. Where did her library go? Her bed? Her tv?
She quickly looks back at the woman who spoke to her earlier.
“Where am I?” She said with a hint of desperation. She swallows the saliva forming on her throat, she's starting to get conscious of her breathing as negative thoughts enter her mind. Heck who wouldn’t freak out? As long as she can remember, she was just trying to sleep to calm herself after watching the most gut-wrenching and depressing fiction she ever watched, then suddenly she's in a foreign place with strangers! Is someone playing a prank on her? Who would do something to this extent? She almost chuckled at the thought of someone playing games with her when she never had a friend.
The woman scoffed as if she committed a crime but nonetheless she answered her.
“We’re currently in Laroy Hall, which stands as a testament to timeless elegance and sophistication. Over the years, our very own manor has been a host to nobility and esteemed guests from around the globe. Our service is exclusively extended to those of influential stature, ensuring they experience the pinnacle of our top-notch service.” The woman said with full pride as if she owned the entire place. She hinted an indirect mocking underlying her response but it's too subtle for Sera to notice. Sera ignored her remarks. She's more interested in how the heck did she end up in a place like this? and how come she's wearing a fucking gown? And what the fuck is even Laroy hall? She didn't even know it existed until the maid mentioned to her that the place they're staying in is the fucking Laroy hall.
“I don't really know what's going on around but I—” Her sentence cuts off when a man appears in the room. The woman retreats and bowed her head in the presence of the man along with the other five women who've been silent the whole time.
“We’re finished dressing the young lady my Lord” The maid said and the traces of envy are no longer detectable. She snorted mentally. The man dismissed the girls in maid uniforms and they walked out the room gracefully. There's the two of them left in the room, she can't help but to feel awkward about it.
“Are you nervous?” The man spoke to her directly as if he had known her for a long time but it's not the case for Sera. It’s impossible to ignore the beauty of this golden haired guy for her to forget him so she’s sure she didn't meet him before. His gaze softened at her when he didn't get a response.
“I apologize you have to go through this even though you don't like socializing that much” He said and walked closer to her. He touches her shoulders and Sera feels the warmness of her hands against her skin. He smiles at her and somehow it's carrying away her anxieties.
"We each have our designated roles to uphold, my sister. It is our duty to fulfill them in order to sustain peace.” the man felt guilty at his sister's situation but he himself can't do anything about it. They're destined to fulfill a huge responsibility the moment they're born.
Meanwhile Sera doesn't know how to react. A man he didn't know approached her and threw random words all of a sudden. She just wants to know why she's here.
“You must be really anxious. This might help you calm down a little bit” the man removes his hands from her shoulders and he grabs a red velvet rectangle box in the pocket of his gray tuxedo. He opened it In front of her and it revealed a simple silver jewelry set.
“I-is this for me?” Sera asked, drooling over the jewelry. She isn't particularly obsessed with jewelry but the aesthetic of it suits her taste. She immediately brushed off the thoughts of accepting it, she thought this man mistaken her as her sister so it’s not rightful for her to claim it but why? She was an orphan indeed but she swears she's definitely not white nor does she have any western features to be suspected as one. It's no use to conduct ancestral examinations since she looks like an average asian woman a lot so how come this dude didn't realize she's not her relative?
“Is something wrong, do you not like it?” The man asked, feeling her sister’s hesitation. He's a bit worried as she's been silent ever since she entered the room. He concludes his sister seems acting more strangely than usual and he starts to feel worried about it.
“If you're that nervous, we can delay the celebration for an hour,” he said. He feels useless as a brother since he can't protect his only sister from the world, their power, their wealth and influence seems meaningless in this case. A destiny that they can't avoid, they are bound to live this way and this will also continue for the next generations.
Sera gave him a confused look. What celebration is he talking about? Is this why he's wearing an evening gown? Is this body about to get married? She starts to get anxious, nevertheless she began to assess her fucked up situation. She's in a strange place and she doesn't know where the fuck in the world is this, the man standing in front of her seems of a high status basing how the maids reacted to his presence. Although she doesn't have the grasp of the whole situation, she chooses to say nothing despite being clueless. Who knows what he will do to her if she blabbers carelessly. Not judging but she thinks a stereotypical man with a high authority is likely more into some shady business, at least that's what she learns from the several movies she watched and that's what her survival instinct told her. Sera sighed loud enough to be noticed by the man.
“You know we can't cancel tonight’s event right? The valued guests would be upset” the man said. He held her waist gently guiding her to get seated in a cushion seat like it's for a royalty. She once again met the eyes of the beautiful woman earlier but why does it replicate her actions? She blinks and the woman blinks at the same time, she moves her hand and it does the same. She makes a wacky face and it also does. She was taken aback, she just realized she's facing a fucking mirror.
“What the fuck?” She said out of pure shock. She gripped the handle of the chair while staring at her reflection. This is not her body!
“What's wrong? Are you okay?” The man who claims to be her sibling looks out for her. He was busy rinsing the necklace from its box when he heard her sister cursed for the first time. He was quite shocked as it's prohibited to say such disgraceful words as a noble but he let it slide as he’s worried about her.
Sera looks at the man in the reflection and she smiles hoping he didn't find it strange that her sister is acting strange and he might think his sister is possessed by some unknown spirit.
“I-I just step into something” ‘what a dumb excuse’ she said to her mind but she can't think of any that sounds believable as of the moment. She just hoped he would buy it.
“Where? Did it scratch you? You can't transform right now!” He asks. She notices he loses his composure and she finds it odd. And what does he mean by transform?
“Don’t worry about it, it just hit my muscle tissues” Sera tries to assure him as the man looks like he is about to have a panic attack. She let him see her foot, assuring she's not injured. ‘is he worried that the event might get canceled because of a small scratch?’ she thought.
The man sighed and proceeded to wear her the necklace he bought for her.
“I know you're not into these kinds of things but I hope you wear it at all times” the man said and stared at Sera in the reflection of the mirror.
“You look wonderful my sister” The man is holding back her tears as he realizes his only sister is going to be an adult but Sera is too busy to notice it. She stared at the reflection of the dangling necklace with mystical wings as a pendant. It's simple but it fits the neck of the body she possesses. While admiring the jewelry, a sudden striking pain pierced into her brain, she shut her eyes as the pain got intensed. She heard the man calling her but the pain is unbearable, she’s unable to be aware of her surroundings. She feels there's an invisible force forcing its way to her brain core. Sera feels delirious and she has the urge to vomit but in an instant the pain stops.
“Lara! Can you hear me? Are you okay?” Sera opens her eyes and she suddenly recognizes the man in front of her wearing a worried look.
“Older brother” she uttered
“You made me worry so much, does it still have side effects? I should've known you're still not coping well. We shouldn't have rush your social debut”
‘Oh so that's what it's all about’ She wiped her sweats and regained her composure, she stared at the mirror once again. No wonder she felt familiar with the face in the reflection.
The door opens and a butler appears in the VIP room.
“Greetings my Lord Tybur, the precious guests have all arrived. Lady Tybur is to have an appearance in the grand hall as instructed by the coordinator” the butler stated.