After sending a servant to instruct the coachmen about taking Mira to school the next morning, Blythe’s parents reminded her to send a VocAvis to Magnus so he wouldn’t come by with his carriage.

  “I’m sure he’ll be thrilled that you’re being so considerate,” Tatiana gushed, still marveling at how sweet her daughter was.

  Mira responded with a stilted smile.

  When they were done with dinner, and Mira’s tastebuds had been wholly satiated by the delicious fare set out on the table, she and Reuben bid their parents good night and left the palace. She could see why Blythe would have preferred to stay at home; food at the Ridge estate was even better than what she’d eaten at Novalbus.

  After she and Reuben arrived at their own palace by the same carriage ride, he waved at her and left for another section of the building. When she was finally back in Blythe’s room, she dismissed Suzy to allow her some time alone. Suzy retreated to be on standby outside her room door.

  Mira sat on her chair, unfurling the scroll and staring hesitantly down at the beautiful parrot painted on it. She rehearsed in her mind what would be best to say several times and then vigorously shook her head.

  No matter how carefully she crafted her message, there was always a chance he would take it the wrong way, especially given how suspicious he was of her. At least he wasn’t here to glare at her.

  She just had to do it. She still remembered how Jessica had composed her verbal letter to her father earlier in the day, signing off with a simple command.

  “Hi, Magnus,“ she said, scrunching her eyes shut as she spoke at the bird. “Sorry for the late notice, but I wanted to let you know that you don’t have to come over for breakfast or give me a ride tomorrow. I’ll be taking the family carriage from now on. I thought you might appreciate having more time to yourself in the morning. I hope you’re resting well. Good night. VocAvis to Magnus Spencer.”

  She opened her eyes just in time to see the galah cockatoo fly out of the parchment and leave the room through the open window.

  With that, she set the scroll back onto the desk and pulled Blythe’s journal back out from the drawer. It was time to learn more about what Blythe had done before Mira transmigrated into her life.

  She started from the first page.

  Unfortunately, Blythe’s entire summer basically revolved around Magnus. She visited the imperial palace whenever Magnus was available to meet up with her, and she invited Magnus to her palace for tea all the time. Magnus was busy with swordsmanship practice and lessons with private tutors, so she didn’t get to see him every day.

  Apart from embroidery, spending time with Magnus was her favorite pastime. On the days she couldn’t meet him, she would throw garden tea parties and invite Jessica and Sophie over. Most of their conversations, as recorded in her diary, were about what interactions Blythe had had with Magnus or how obnoxious Daisy was as a person. Occasionally, Blythe noted some of things Jessica and Sophie had to say, such as Sophie’s aspiration to become a professional botanist.

  Mira was so engrossed in reading Blythe’s journal entries that she jumped at the sudden flash of notification.

  She scowled at it.

  Looks like he got my message.

  She went back to reading the journal entries.

  Blythe went on a bit of a tangent when writing about Sophie’s career goal. One of Sophie’s older brothers went down the career path of being a botanist, and Sophie greatly admired him for it. Apparently, Blythe couldn’t see the appeal in striving to make it as a botanist when she could simply marry the son of a nobleman and live the good life that way. But she didn’t say anything to Sophie, noting that her friend was sensitive and that she didn’t want to waste time comforting her.

  Mira grimaced at the page.

  Blythe was cold.

  The only other people she seemed to write warmly about was her family members, although she complained a lot about Reuben being annoying when she was trying to set up her tea parties during the summer. Blythe very much enjoyed being in her parents’ presence, soaking up their attention and making requests for the things she wanted. She’d gotten them to instruct the gardener to plant some beautiful pink rosebushes in the front yard, allowing Blythe to admire them as much as she wanted. Reuben had made fun of her for only liking pink, for which Blythe had responded with an insult that he was like a jock with how much he loved swordsmanship.

  Mira filed that knowledge away for future use.

  The galah cockatoo returned, trotting across the study desk to get to the still-unfurled scroll.

  “Oh, you’re back,” she said, looking up from the diary.

  It didn’t react to her words, instead walking right into the parchment and becoming a still painting once more. She ran her fingers over it, feeling the texture of the paint.

  You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

  Minutes later, an eagle swooped into her room and landed on her desk.

  When it opened its beak, Magnus’ voice came out from it. “I hope you’re not up to something.”

  “You’re the one who’s already decided I have something up my sleeve,” she muttered to herself, watching the eagle fly back out the window.

  Later, Suzy knocked on the door and asked if she wanted assistance changing into her nightwear and getting ready for bed. Mira turned her down. It was a great opportunity for her to check out Blythe’s walk-in closet alone. Mira wasn’t exactly a fashionista back in her own world, dressing mostly to stay inconspicuous among the crowd, but the idea of having access to all kinds of clothes as a duke’s daughter sounded fun.

  She explored the huge room that was Blythe’s closet, delighting in the soft, comfortable material most of Blythe’s pajamas were made of. She had numerous pretty dresses and other types of outfits, all organized by season and color. There were also all kinds of shoes, bags and accessories.

  As she crawled into bed wearing a comfortable set of cotton pajamas softer than her bedsheets back home, Mira was doused with a cold dose of reality.

  If she fell asleep tonight and woke up in this bed the next day, she would have to accept that she would be living as Blythe for the foreseeable future. There would no longer be high school classes waiting for her to attend, or her cozy home with her caring parents to return to, or her otome games and web novels to read after a long day of being ignored by everyone but Riley. That life would truly be gone.

  Alasdair and Tatiana were nice enough, if a little too doting, but they weren’t the parents who’d raised her from birth. She thought of her parents’ loving smiles and their daily affectionate nagging about her preferred diet of junk food. Their nagging had always been something of a nuisance, but now that she might not get to hear it again, something in her gut twisted painfully.

  She drifted off into a fitful sleep, being constantly woken up by disjointed dreams about her parents and the game characters.

  ???

  The next morning, a knocking sound tugged her out of slumber.

  “Good morning, Lady Blythe.”

  She opened her eyes to the same high ceiling she’d seen last night.

  A grim smile spread across her face.

  Guess I really am Blythe now.

  Mira—no, it was ‘Blythe’ now; she needed to change her mindset—sat up in bed, her body protesting as it left the comfort of the luxurious mattress and soft sheets. The room looked exactly the same as it did the night before. Nothing had changed. She hadn’t been teleported back to her own world sometime in the night.

  Another knock came from the door, followed by Suzy’s verbal request for permission to enter.

  Blythe answered, and Suzy came in holding a tray with a teapot and a teacup, just like yesterday. It was still chamomile tea. It was probably the original Blythe’s favorite. She wondered if she could ask for a different tea the next time.

  After Suzy helped her to get ready, they left for the dining hall together. Blythe ate breakfast alone, feeling the eyes of all the servants on her. The only sounds in the large room were of her cutlery against the plate as she ate.

  Halfway through her huge plate of food, Reuben strode into the dining room, his footsteps heavy against the marble floor. He looked dressed for work with a large blazer over his clothes, carrying a briefcase in one hand.

  “What, so you really did ask Prince Magnus not to come by for breakfast today!” he exclaimed cheerily, sitting down next to her. “I thought about skipping breakfast to get more sleep just now, but then I thought I’d come see if you really did what you said you were going to do. I didn’t think you were being serious!”

  A servant hastily brought an empty plate for him to fill.

  In spite of Blythe’s glare, his jovial attitude made it hard for her to be actually mad.

  “Why would I have said that if I wasn’t planning to do it?”

  “Good question.” He scrunched his eyebrows together in concentration as he heaped a scoop of scrambled eggs onto his plate. “I suppose I thought you might change your mind. It’s difficult to picture you willingly giving up time with him.”

  “I have a life, you know,” she said, the words coming out sharper than intended. “And I’m sure he appreciates having some space too. We’re all growing up.”

  Maybe the original Blythe didn’t quite have one, but the one she was reinventing did.

  Reuben gaped at her in the middle of scooping up a few cherry tomatoes. “Since when did you become so mature?!”

  She huffed and turned her face away, playing up the haughty act. “I told you I’d done some self-reflection.”

  “Well done,” he said, sounding impressed. “I’m curious to see how long this will last.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  They bickered again as they ate. With Reuben there, the atmosphere in the dining hall had become rowdier and cozier, improving Blythe’s appetite and allowing her to eat with gusto.

  After they had their breakfast, they left for the front door together. There were two separate carriages waiting for them. Reuben took the first one, waving goodbye to Blythe as he deftly stepped up into it.

  Blythe got onto the other carriage with the help of Micah, one of the coachmen.

  It was so much more peaceful enjoying a quiet ride without someone glowering at her from the opposite side.

  She enjoyed the scenery around them as they passed by the main estate where her parents lived.

  The courtyard at Novalbus was bustling with students when she arrived. Micah and Julian wished her a nice day before turning the carriage around and departing. It was handy to be able to pull up people’s profiles whenever needed.

  People who walked past her either smiled or bowed with their heads, wishing her a good morning. When Blythe did the same, nearly all of them jolted and stared in shock before hurrying away.

  Blythe noticed a couple of students strolling around with an animal by their side—one had a squirrel perched on her shoulder, and the other had a koala clinging to his arm. Nobody else seemed fazed by the presence of these animals on them. She remembered Professor Fulbright and Professor Newton with their respective animals in class as well.

  She had a dim recollection of having read about something like this in Waiting for Fireflies, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. It more than likely had only been a small part of the game.

  Since there was no Magnus to breathe down her neck this morning, Blythe went to the school garden. It would be nice to breathe in the fresh, sweet air of plants and flowers while checking her class schedule. There were too many people around in the courtyard.

  Upon finding a nice bench under the shade of the huge tree that held the round clock she’d seen the other day, she sat down. The weather was beautiful, and birds chirped from various parts of the garden.

  She was looking through the classes she had for the day when she heard two sets of footsteps on the cobblestone path winding through the garden. Voices accompanied them, chatting about their group project in a class.

  She turned around, peering around the tree trunk to see a guy and girl near the wall of the classroom building.

  She stared. That guy was Cole.

  They hadn’t noticed her, likely because she was well-hidden behind the tree trunk. From the expression on the girl’s face, she was smitten with Cole even though they were simply talking about school work.

  Blythe refocused on her class schedule.

  Still, their voices traveled over to her ear as they spoke.

  “I did some research at the library last night,” the girl was saying. “I found this reference book, which I think would be really useful. What do you think?”

  “You’re incredible, Juniper.” There was some rustling of pages. “We can definitely use this. You’re both beautiful and intelligent. I’m so glad we got paired up for this project.”

  There he went again with the casual flirting. Blythe shook her head, rolling her eyes. Many of the girls in school fell for him because of his good looks and generosity with compliments. Daisy, of course, had not been impressed with it at their first encounter.

  Blythe shot up in her seat, eyes wide.

  Hold up … Why did those words sound so familiar?

  Then a large crash, along with a yelp, came from behind.