Chapter Text
After dying on earth I was reincarnated into a world of magic, as an infant, I was given a name by my new parents. My name is now Blanca Ann Lefèvre, and I am the daughter and heiress of the dukedom. And for some reason after hanging around the imperial palace during my childhood I was given the title of the crown princess.
That's not all, I've gained the title of Prophecy Child. Are they all blind I am clearly not the child of prophecy! It clearly states in the first sentence: The child with hair as black as ink shall, descend on the Holy Land and bring prosperity blah blah blah... I have white hair, I repeat white hair! What a joke, they are basically setting me up for tragedy.
As I mentioned earlier I am reincarnated from another world, and this body originally belonged to 1-year-old Blanca Ann Lefèvre. Well, this body is mine now, finders keepers. And don't go thinking that I had it horrible in my previous life and God or whatever took pity on me and granted me this lovely second chance, no no no, in fact, my life before was quite peaceful. A kind family, normal childhood, the uh, very embarrassing teenage/puberty thing that I never want to experience again, and a long and happy life with my wife. Yes, you heard correctly my wife.
But now in this life, I have responsibilities. It's the worst, I have my family's dumb reputation, my lessons, the bridal training, and don't even mention my future political marriage, blegh kill me now. Ugh, maybe my previous life was too good and Fate was like yeah, let's play a game of do-fate-even-exist?
I was perfectly fine dying peacefully next to my beloved, but now I am to soon be married off to some guy with status galore, for more money than I'll ever figure out how to use in two lifetimes.
That aside my fiancé is this idiotic crown prince, Francis too-long-of-a-name. He sure is annoying and this is probably the third time I heard this confession. When I was young, it was an obligation to join him for noble gatherings because he is my husband to be, and he was a brat. No manners whatsoever, and later on I guess puberty hit him and like a pesky parasite, he just won't leave me alone. All of his servants are fed up with his shenanigans and just left him for me to clean up, do your damn jobs! What are you even getting paid for? To follow him? His paparazzi can do that for free.
While I was having a great time monologuing to myself on my royal queen size bed, draped in the finest silk imported from an exotic country someplace somewhere, when a person interrupted my thoughts with a firm knock on my door, I decided to just ignore the noise, because this is my precious alone time.
"Blanca, open this door right now it's time to get up!" yelled from the other side of the door. "Don't make this difficult on Claire and the others and get your lazy self to the dining room and eat with the rest of the family." This person is Scylla, my precious little sister.
"Whatever happened to listening to your elder sister. I'm the oldest, that means I have authority over you two." I cried, fake tears as my very angry sister stormed her way in and with an iron grip, dragged me off the bed. "No, not away from the love of my life." Completely ignoring me and proceeds to drag me out of the room like a ragdoll. 'Damn, just how strong is my sister'
In this world there is common elemental magic such as fire and water, only a select few possess light related magic. Those who possess light magic are considered rare talents and are carefully nurtured, later becoming the core protectors of the Celestial Empire.
Even rarer than light magic is healing magic also known as holy/divine powers, gifted by the gods themselves, becoming Saints of the Holy Church. Since so few of them exist, just looking at them is a once in a lifetime opportunity.
Centuries ago, my family was once an enemy of the Celestial empire because we possess the opposing elements to the country's light specialists. But after a few peace treaties and relations through marriage, we are now the protectors of this 'ever so wonderful' country. In each generation, the Lefèvre House consistently produced wielders of dark magic. Due to this, our magic is significantly different from the rest of the noble household.
There are many misconceptions about wielding this magic, just because it is called 'Dark' doesn't mean we are doing witchcraft or summoning the devil, that specific category is reserved for Curse/Forbidden magic. Perhaps this is the reason why the church hates us so much.
Because of this, my family is shunned by the masses causing much fear, hate, and mistrust. Even though we are considered a ducal house, our family reputation hit rock bottom.
Dark magic is just a type of magic that specializes in defense, which is perfect for protecting the empire and the knighthood organized by us. However every generation the Lefèvre bloodline will produce a genius who can manipulate the shadows to do their bidding. This genius will become the next heir and make the family soar to new heights.
I am of course that genius. A genius that is currently dragged around my own house like a rag doll. My dear loving sister stopped in front of the dining hall and entered with a greeting towards my equally dear parents, for some 'quality family time'. Now I can see both my parents' disapproving faces as they look at each other sighing right in front of me. Lovely aren't they.
"So it looks like someone decided to join us for breakfast...Albeit 10 minutes late...again," Mother sighs. "Why can't you arrive earlier... learn from your younger sister she is the prime example of a proper lady, you have a reputation to hold as this empire's crown princess, Blanca"
"Right a lady who wields a sword and drags her elder sister around." I rolled my eyes.
"You were bothering the maids, I had no choice but to resort to those tactics." My sister smiles.
"Mother~" I complained.
"Blanca Ann Leférve! A lady does not whine and most definitely arrives on time," warned my mother. "No slouching."
"Sweetheart, please don't get angry with Blanca, I am sure she'll put all of this to heart and she is still just a child" as my father so desperately tried to coax my mother but to no avail
"A child?! Frederick! Blanca will soon turn 16, the coronation is only a few months away. She's old enough to understand her place! She's not a child dear besides the only reason she acts like this is that you spoiled her rotten!" My mother yelled as my father winces.
Yep, this is our typical family get together. My mother, named Selene, forever disappointed with me, and my doting father always ending up protecting me at all costs... and yes my mother wears the pants in this relationship.
Wait! My debutante is only a few months away!?! Not good, not good. That's when the heroine will appear.
In my previous life, my wife really enjoyed this particular book when we were still dating in high school. What was it called again? Enchantment? Anyways, this book is now an extremely essential knowledge to me in this life, unfortunately, I never liked this book because she would always gush about how romantic and handsome all the male characters are. What! No, I am not jealous!
Once the heroine appears, everything in Blanca's life goes downhill from there. C'mon brain think with me, my debut then the heroine and the crown prince will get together, then something something... the villainess (me) because of her unrequited love for the crown prince bully the heroine; not important... come on I just need something to keep everything in my already crazy life less dramatic!
"Oh, dear...Blanca's mind is on the clouds again, Mother!" Scylla decided to snitch.
"Blanca!!!!!!!" Mother yelled.
By the sound of the demons, I mean my mother's lovely voice I snapped out of my daydream. Oh and I fell off the chair, and very gracefully I might add.
It is at this time that my adoptive brother Victor enters the dining hall and takes his seat at the dining table. No remorse for being late whatsoever. And they complain that I was late, saying something along the lines of 'being on time is very ladylike.'
"Sorry, I had some business that needed my attention" Victor conveniently 'lied', I mean state.
After becoming my adopted brother for so long I have a very good grasp on his personality. The reason I paid attention to these small details is because of the huge contrast he has from the original novel.
In the novel, Victor is also one of the captured characters. In my previous life my wife would for an extended period of time before ultimately falling for the crown prince, she would gush over how amazing it would be to have such a stoic and cool looking brother figure.
But from what I can tell, he is just a coward who is too afraid to show his true nature, that cool and stoic mask he puts on is just to hide his insecurity of not being a legitimate heir, having to be adopted into the main family.
"Oh so he can come in an hour late and not get yelled at by Mother but I come into the room 10 minutes late and get scolded?" I scoffed annoyingly.
"Blanca...your brother is the oldest of the family, he has responsibilities to uphold and that means that he can't just drop everything," Mother sighs while pinching the bridge of her nose. "...He's not like you who has all the time in the world."
"Mother he's younger than me and that shouldn't excuse his behavior either! Besides I possess the trait of the family heir," I scoffed then got up from the table. "I don't feel too well so I'll spend the rest of today in my room. Now if you'll excuse me. Good day."
*************
"This is so boring." I sighed with contempt, lying on my bed. "Why aren't there any decent storybooks in this world."
In my previous life, I would pass the time idly reading light novels, from mystery to thriller, fantasy, and science fiction. And my absolute guilty pleasure stories on the romance between two girls. Sadly that kind of stuff does not exist in this world. Trust me I scoured across the kingdom for years but to no avail.
Then an idea popped in my head, "Hey! If it doesn't exist why don't I just write one myself I'll just use Victor's name as my pen name so I won't get caught. This will also give me the chance to get my brother in trouble for once if any of my parents or the servants find out this book besides he doesn't read storybooks anyways" I exclaimed. "Not to mention if my novel is the only genre to exist in this I could totally rake in the money! That's killing three birds with one stone! I don't give myself enough credit I truly am a one of kind genius"
Then I heard a knock on my door and heard Claire, the Head Maid calling out "Milady, may I come in?"
Claire is the maid I most trust. She was an orphan when I offered her the job of a maid, now she is 25 and has worked for me for nearly ten years.
"Oh, Claire! Yes, enter!"
"You seem to be in a fairly good mood for someone who just got scolded by the duchess," Claire asked as she came in with a tray of food. "I know you didn't eat well this morning so I came prepared.
"You're the best" I squeal at the sight of food, "By the way Claire could you prepare plenty of papers, some quill, and ink?"
"I don't know what you're planning to do but I'll get the materials you request M'lady" Claire replied as she prepared to leave my room "oh and one more thing, do eat all of your lunch this time"
"Even the vegetables?" I asked, scrunching up my face.
"Even the vegetables" Claire states sternly."And don't do that unless you wish for permanent wrinkles.
*************
After eating all the food on my tray and I do mean all, I started working on my novel until I heard another knock on my door.
"Can't a lady have more time to herself without being so rudely interrupted every 5 minutes," I thought, annoyed by each and every knock I've ever heard during my entire existence in this world. "what is it that you want from me?!" I shouted to the door
"Forgive me, Lady Blanca," a timid voice replied back, "I have a letter from a messenger...they said it's from the crown prince"
"Hand it over" I sternly stated, opening the door to retrieve the letter. "Now let's see what that a-hole has to write this time...god I hope it isn't another love letter again" opening the letter to see the contents.
"Dear My Beautiful Blanca, (ughhhh...)blah blah blah I'd like to escort to you to your debutante personally, yadda yadda yadda there's a lot of stuff I'm sure we can both do...(ew), I'll be here to pick you up by then, see you soon...Sincerely, Prince Francis" I muttered mentally vomiting this disgusting piece of trash called writing.
"Please burn this. Do it twice, just to be safe." I told the maid.
"Are you sure?" The timid maid asked.
"Yes this may look like a heartfelt letter but this is actually a curse meant to harm the family." I calmly stated the blatant lie.
"But it's from the crown prince."
"Anyone can impersonate the crown prince and spout flowery words but I can see through these petty tricks," I said. "Don't accept any more letters from the crown prince in the future. They are all curses. Actually, the task of disposing of this cursed item is too dangerous for you. Claire! Dispose of this wretched thing immediately."
"Right away m'lady." Claire walked in to retrieve the letter.
I can always trust Claire with these kinds of situations. Honestly, that eyesore is just too much, just how is his so-called 'perfect model of the imperial bloodline' still intact. But I suppose it is fun making him wait for me in unpleasant situations for hours upon hours, and no it is not because I am jealous that he took the attention away from my one true love.
*************
"Is everything prepared?! Do you remember everything I've taught you?! Where's your escort?!" My mother frantically reminds, "don't tell me you left him at our manor again, sweetheart." She begrudgingly called me.
"Yes, yes and of course not Mother, whatever would make you think that I'd never make my darling escort wait in front of our manor upon hours on end, he's just running a bit late, Mother~," I told my mother, batting my eyes ever so innocently. "This is a performance totally worthy of an Oscar award, I would know, after all, I got plenty of awards(in my dreams) in my past life," I thought to myself.
"Ugh...this child," my mother whispered in defeat, closing her eyes to relieve any stress that I so graciously gifted upon her.
With these words creeping into my ears I could not help the mischievous part of me. I straightened myself and smiled at my mother with the voice of an innocent child, "Ewww mother, you love me~. I love you too mother~"
"Don't push your luck, child" my mother sternly reminded me.
"We've arrived at the destination madame, young miss" Klein said from the driver's seat, "I'll be here to pick you up at midnight"
"Thank you, Klein" my mother simply states after getting out of the carriage turning to me saying, "and Blanca...be on your best behavior, am I clear?"
"Crystal," I replied.
As my mother went off to greet the other nobles, I silently slipped away for some peace and quiet.
"I finally have some time to myself for once! The carriage was way too stuffy," I exclaimed excitedly in my heart.
"Blanny!!!"
Do you guys hear anything? I sure don't.
Those sounds must've been a figment of my imagination, right just an illusion. A hallucination... I should take better care of myse-
"Blanny!!" Iris screamed again with excitement, crushing me with a bear hug.
"How many times have I told you, no nicknames, refer to me as Lady Blanca," I playfully pushed her off of me. How in the world did I obtain a friend like her, oh wait I remember it was because she was cute.
The first time I met this girl was at a tea party hosted by Iris's parents, I was 8 at the time so the adults wouldn't let me in on their conversations, which was rude because from what I can tell almost half the guests have the mental age of 5. The party was boring anyway so I just left and took a stroll through the gardens and that was when I saw her. A young girl, around my age with beautifully rich deep blue hair and same colored eye, bawling her eyes out under a tree of golden leaves. She was so cute back then, shy and reserved now she is a mischievous and scheming troublemaker. What happened? Oh, wait, probably me.
"Whatever you say, my fair lady" Iris jokingly replies, bending down on one knee playing the role of my missing dog *cough* escort.
"Very funny, Iris" I sigh rolling my eyes, "and it's good to see you all, Ladies. How are you all this fine afternoon?"
"Just like any other boring party." They replied giggling.
"How can you say that!" Blanca gasped dramatically." today is our debut, well, my debut really, fufu."
*************
Oh, and are you wondering where my 'escort' is? Well, he should be making a scene any minute now.
"My dearest Blanca!" Screamed my very annoying husband to be (Ugh), "how could you do this to me, I waited three hours for you in front of your manor and to think you're here! I thought you were still preparing!!!"
"Did Claire tell you that?" I laughed, staring down at him.
"The teachings of the imperial tutors sure are profound," I said in a sarcastic tone. His posture is that of a beggar and his manners are trash. Instead, his appearance makes him look like a broke pervert pretending to be a noble. If I was your educator I would commit suicide due to the shame of having someone like you as my student.
Francis followed my gaze and his face immediately flush in humiliation, he quickly excused himself to go tend to his nonexistent ego.
"Blanca?" I immediately flinched knowing full well who this voice belongs to. Turning around I quickly thought up at least 300 excuses to evade my mother's wrath.
"What is going on?" My mother asked, after witnessing what just happened. "What did you do to your fiancé?"
"My fiance has gone senile. Please call the doctor, hurry his conditions might be permanent." I answered worryingly with a handkerchief dabbing on my fake tears.
"Is that so?" My mother replied with a 'you better explain about this later' face, "You must go to the ballroom, dear, don't stay out here too long, you'll catch a cold."
"I will, Mother," I replied as I watched her figure disappear into the crowd. Phew dodged a bullet there.
*************
It was obligatory for me to dance at least once on an occasion such as my debutante. It would ideal if it was the first dance as I am the 'crown princess', but I generously gave that opportunity to my fellow duchess/friend Lily to dance with her fiance.
But I still have to dance, the problem is who do I choose as my partner, if I don't choose a proper gentleman then I'll never hear the end of it from the other noble ladies.
I absolutely refuse to have my first debut dance to be with Francis, I don't care if he's my fiance. I can just have Claire spread a rumor that my fiance had food poisoning or some other excuse that will put the blame on him.
"I see you don't have a partner for the evening," A figure spoke in front of me.
I glanced up at the person who is daring enough to speak to me, the current heiress of the Lefèvre family infamous for our history.
The person is Emil Vis Solace, the second prince of the Celestial Empire. He is the illegitimate son of the current Emperor and the younger half brother of Francis. With the imperial blood running through his veins Emil possesses many of the royal traits. From their unmistakably bright golden hair and regal appearance to displaying immense magical and physical talent.
This honestly baffles me why the idiot that I am stuck with, the first prince of the empire, a legitimate direct descendant of the imperial bloodline, lacks every single one of these traits. Sure Francis has golden hair with a decent face but that's all wasted on him if you consider his trash talent for everything except chasing skirts.
Prince Emil has a good grasp on politics and his talent in magic and swordsmanship is off the charts however because of his lack of legitimacy he doesn't have the means to fight for the throne. If only Prince Emil was a legitimate child then his reputation wouldn't be dragged through the mud. In my opinion, Prince Emil is far more capable than Francis and should be the successor of the throne.
"A flower such as yourself should be at the center of the ball showing off their beauty." Prince Emil said.
"Well someone has to decorate the wall," I replied with a smile.
He laughed at my answer before offering his hand. "Then may I have the honor of having your first dance as an adult?"
I glanced at his hands before graciously accepted it. "Sure."
Our dance caused quite a bit of attention, after all, dancing with your fiance's brother is never a good look. But do I care? a little.
"What are you insane? Asking me for a dance, what if people get suspicious." I angrily whispered to him, I made sure to keep up my emotionless facade.
"Be careful, if others heard what you just said they might misunderstand. Little Sister." He spoke in a low teasing voice. This causes me to just roll my eyes because of our position, others won't be able to eavesdrop on our conversation.
"Then refrain from interacting with me in the future," I replied.
Prince Emil tilted his head a bit as if in deep thought, then shook his head. "Nah I don't think I will."
I responded to his answer by mercilessly stepping on his foot with my heels, but he managed to dodge. All it did was cause me to break off the heels on my shoe. Frowning a bit before continuing as if nothing happened.
"You have good dancing etiquette, and strength," He continued to tease me.
"I thank the second prince, but flattery words will get you nowhere with me." I gave him a noble smile.
The music ended and they ended their dance by bowing towards each other.
"Be careful," I warned him. "There are many supporters of Francis here."
He nodded before kissing the back of my hand. "As my greatest supporter, you need not worry about such tedious tasks."
***************
After dancing with a bunch of people (which was one), I decided 'hey let's take a 3-hour break!' So I was of course listening to my conscious and taking that short break for 3 hours until a group noticed that something is obviously different about the sky.
"Look, look, there's a beacon of light shooting down onto the middle of that lake!!!" A random mob character stated as he pointed to the direction of the light.
"Did they say a beacon of light? Oh no." I thought as I raced out to the balcony looking in horror and disbelief as the protagonist of the novel started fluttering down like a dove descending from the heavens, and towards the center of the lake. Graceful and elegant like a dream, the heroine walked on the lake towards the palace.
"...Shit"