Cosette weakly opened her eyes, shielding her eyes at the warm sunlight hitting her face. A moan slipped past her lips, letting her mind buffer for another day she was thankful to have. When she had enough blinks, her brows furrowed at the unfamiliarity of the window.
'Huh?' she looked around, only to get more baffled at the entire princess-like room. Her mind momentarily went blank as she tried to recall what happened before she slept.
Nothing.
After reading the long-awaited side stories of the Devil's Den, she fell asleep because of too much crying. Wait, she thought, pushing herself to sit up, scratching her temple to think. The last memory she had was cursing the author of her favorite novel for making her cry.
She couldn't remember she had a change of room. She looked around once again and was baffled at everything. There was no medical equipment or anything of the sort to keep her company. Instead, this room looked like a rich daughter's room.
"Am I dreaming?" she wondered, pinching her cheek just to wince in pain. "What the…?"
Noticing her hand, her eyes dilated at her blemish-free hand and her healthy skin. But what shocked her the most was that her hands were small and delicate; there was no sign of protruding vein nor there was a trace of IV on the back of her hand.
It was as if… she wasn't sick at all!
The young lady with natural hazel hair and a pair of olive eyes stretched her arms. Her body felt light; a feeling almost unrecognizable to her who spent the last five years of her life suffering from leukemia.
"Huh?" as she moved, she finally noticed the color of her tousled hair. She gazed down, lifting the sheet away to see that she had no difficulty in moving her legs.
"Am I really dreaming? Or is this heaven?" she wondered before she chuckled to get that silly thought out of her mind. But just a second later, her expression died down.
'No… did I… really die? And is this really Heaven?'
A sudden sense of dread finally crept up her spine, wide-eyed. On instinct, her eyes landed on the vanity mirror and without a second hesitation, she jumped out of the queen-sized bed towards it.
"No way…" Standing in front of the vanity mirror, she touched her face while staring ghastly at the person looking back at her.
Hazel hair that matched the color of her olive eyes. Skin that was white and pinkish, narrow nose, plump lips, and a lean face. A peerless beauty that was almost out of this world. Although she appeared to be around sixteen, her beauty was something that would catch everyone's attention.
"Who…" Cosette trailed off as these facial features reminded her of someone she read in her favorite novel. Although she pictured the character 'Cosette Blac' differently, staring at this young lady exceeded the face she had of the woman in question.
"Wait… is this really real?" she wondered, pinching herself again until her cheeks grew red. "It hurts…"
She rubbed her cheek, taking a careful step forward to study her face. Myriads of questions hovered over her head such as she was already in Heaven or was this the Afterlife. Even transmigration crossed her mind, no matter how silly the idea was for her.
But one question stood out in her head.
"What happened to me?" she asked curiously, flinching when she heard a knock from the door.
"Miss, are you awake now?" a woman's soft voice came from outside the door, but she didn't open it.
"Miss?" Cossette tilted her head to the side, staring at the door vigilantly. "What is going on here?"
After her puzzlement at these phenomena, nervousness soon came right after. She had no idea who she was, what was going on, and everything!
"Gosh…!" she ground her teeth, gazing at the shut door when the woman knocked once again. "Calm down, calm down. Act normal."
She patted her chest lightly, sitting down on the chair in front of the vanity mirror. After taking deep breaths, she looked at herself in the mirror with determination. She had no idea what was her name, but panicking wouldn't resolve that for her.
'You can do this,' she cheered herself, thinking that this could also be a dream she would wake up from. A strange dream that felt so vivid, but… that's where the fun was. At least, even in a dream, she could live a life that was the complete opposite of her reality.
"Young Miss?"
"I'm awake," Cosette finally answered as she grabbed the comb to brush her soft hair. "Come in."
The door carefully opened, surprised to see a woman in her 40s in a maid uniform. Did I become a rich lady? She wondered in horror but managed to keep her calm exterior. She studied the maid through the mirror in silence, watching her stand from a distance while bowing her head.
"Young Miss." The old nanny slightly raised her head and smiled apologetically. "Are you still angry at the master? He is waiting for you to join him for breakfast."
'What? I don't even know who I am, so how would I get angry? Oh, gosh! Just what the hell is going on?!' was what Cosette wanted to say, but cleared her throat and said nothing. 'The less I talk, the less mistake I will make.'
"Young Miss…"
"Do you know who I am?" she asked in a cold tone, turning her head back to the maid. Although she only put on the bare minimum of acting, she still looked intimidating with her unsmiling face.
Cosette had this sudden thought in mind. If this maid showed so much concern about whatever dispute the owner of this body had, that means her personality wasn't that simple. So this question might rather appear intimidating.
The maid revealed a pained expression as she hung her head low. "You are the only child and the sole heiress of the Blac Family, Cosette Blac, Young Miss."
"So, I see you know your place…" Cosette trailed off as her eyes dilated extra-wide, almost popping out of their sockets. "… wait, what? Cosette, who?"