This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this book are either the product of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

No part of this Book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author.

CONTENT WARNING⚠️ this book contains strong language, murdering, stealing, and kidnapping Which may be offensive to some readers and/or inappropriate for children. Reader discretion is advised.

The thought, actions, and/or beliefs of characters in this book do not portray the thoughts, actions, and/or beliefs of the author.

Copying any part of the story without permission from the author is punishable by law.

Grammatical Errors ahead.

AUTHOR'S NOTE!

Hi there, dear reader!

First of all, thank you so much for giving this story a chance. This novel is incredibly special to me because it’s my first ever attempt at writing something this big. I’ve always loved stories—whether they came from books, movies, or even random daydreams. One day, I finally found the courage to take one of those ideas and try to turn it into something real.

Since this is my first novel, I want to be honest with you: it won’t be perfect. There may be grammatical errors, awkward wording, or scenes that feel a little rough around the edges. I’m still learning, growing, and figuring out my voice as a writer. I’ve edited this story over and over, but I know there’s always room for improvement.

Also, just a heads-up—I’m still a student, haha! Balancing schoolwork and writing has been a challenge, but it’s been such a rewarding experience. Writing this story became a way for me to escape, express myself, and try something new, even when I was overwhelmed with classes or deadlines.

That said, every word you read here was written with love, effort, and a genuine desire to tell a story that might mean something to someone out there—even just a little. It took a lot of time, patience, and late nights, but it was all worth it because this story means so much to me.

I’m not a professional—just a person who had a dream and decided to go for it, even with all the fear and doubt in the back of my mind. If you’re someone who also dreams of writing, I hope this reminds you that you don’t need to be perfect to start. Just take the first step. Your voice matters, and your story deserves to be told.

To everyone reading this, whether you stumbled upon it by accident or followed it from the start, thank you. Your time, your interest, and your support mean the world to me. I truly hope you enjoy the characters, the plot, the emotions, and everything in between.

This is just the beginning, and I’m excited to keep learning and growing. Thank you for being part of this journey.

With all my heart,

Elise Blanche

“God—that's absolutely disgusting. As far as I know, I came from an orphanage. There's no way that makes me connected to you. You didn’t even adopt me legally. You just stole me from there, didn’t you?”

My eyes widened as a wicked smile crept across my lips. A chill ran down my spine.

This is it. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for—to slap these two with the harshest dose of reality.

“What did you just say?! The audacity! You actually dare talk back?!” shouted my useless excuse of an uncle—well, this body’s uncle—Benjamin. I couldn’t help but laugh at his pathetic display. No manners. No dignity.

“So what? Yelling at me won’t do anything, will it? So why don’t you shut up and keep a shred of dignity, old man?” Sometimes I swear I want to strangle this guy.

He was about to retaliate when his hypocrite of a wife jumped in first.

“This... how could this happen? Eli, we took care of you, didn’t we? How could you treat us this way? Let’s talk, please…” Jeraldine clutched her forehead dramatically, then had the nerve to walk up to me unannounced and grab my hands.

Oh God. My patience… is hanging by a thread.

“Is this really how you’re going to repay everything we’ve done for you, Eli? Please, think it over while you still can,” she said gently.

Yeah, right. I bet they’re planning to squeeze some money out of me. After all, I come from that rich, twisted family.

I cackled internally. This fucking hypocrite. How dare she spew this crap to my face?

“Auntie…” I said sweetly, carefully pulling my hands away from hers. She looked startled, her brow twitching as she stared me down.

“I’m leaving this house,” I said coldly. “And I don’t think that’s going to be a problem, is it? You mongrel.” I couldn’t help but spit the word at her. They treated this girl’s body like a puppet all these years. The nerve.

“Ha—have you gone mad?!” she recoiled instantly, then lashed out and shoved my hand away. What a shameless hag. She deserves a lesson.

“You ungrateful brat! We raised you! You should be thankful someone even took you in! You don’t get to complain! Return the documents you stole from us, or else you’ll regret this for the rest of your life!”

Wow. Just a minute ago she looked all gentle. Now she’s a fire-breathing dragon. Her voice was starting to piss me off.

I fixed my posture, tucked some hair behind my ear, and placed a finger on my chin.

“I really don’t think there’s anything to regret about what I’m doing right now,” I said with an innocent smile. Her jaw clenched, anger clearly rising in her eyes. Fantastic.

“You brat! Someone like you needs to be taught a lesson!”

I barely had time to react. From the corner of my eye, I caught the movement—hands shooting toward my throat.

Goddamn it! My instincts are dulling?!

In a flash, Benjamin’s hands were around my neck, squeezing, his crazed grin twisting his face.

“I should’ve done this a long time ago! Maybe then you’d learn not to disrespect us!”

He reached for my hair, clearly intending to drag me across the floor.

Oh no you don’t.

“You scum of the earth...!” I growled and kicked him square in the groin. “Do you seriously think I’m some kind of joke?”

My fist clenched at the thought. “Still not enough.” I slammed a punch into his gut. He released me with a pained groan, collapsing to the floor.

“AARGH! You little shit!” he cried, writhing in pain. Jeraldine rushed to help him, her voice shrieking in protest.

“No gratitude—yeah, sure! Thanks a lot!” I cut her off, grabbed the glass of water from the nearby table, and dumped it all over them.

“Ahh! What the hell do you think you’re doing?!” Jeraldine screamed, clearly rattled.

“I’m stating a fact,” I said, locking eyes with both of them. “From this day forward, we are strangers. We share no connection. Remember that. Or get assassinated—your choice, Ms. Jeraldine.”

Their eyes widened. They swallowed hard, stunned into silence.

“Hmph.” I rolled my eyes and turned toward the dining table.

I glanced back at them. “I’m taking this pizza. That shouldn’t be a problem, right?” I asked coolly. She only nodded, too shaken to speak.

She must be petrified. Hah.

“Well then. I guess I’ll wish you… bad luck?” I grinned one last time, ignoring the way their faces twisted with the urge to lunge at me. And just like that, I walked out.

“El! Wait—did you really run away from home? For real? Or is this another one of Shin’s pranks?” I paused mid-step at the familiar voice. It was Val, waving and jogging toward me.

“Yup,” I said casually, taking a bite of the pizza.

“See?! I told you!” Shin suddenly popped up from behind Val. “You never believe me! Why don’t you ever believe me?! I hate this world!”

“Can you guys stop crowding El?” Sasha suddenly spoke from behind me. “Look at her face.”

“Yeah. That face,” she pointed dramatically. “She looks totally depressed. Like, the face of someone about to break down. She's so lonely. Poor El,” she added with a sarcastic smile.

I raised a brow at her. Typical Sasha—always dramatic.

Killian arrived just in time to lightly smack her on the head. “What the hell are you saying?! You seriously have no empathy. What if she does cry?! Are you gonna comfort her?!”

I almost choked. She's e’s actually making it worse.

“Quiet. Can’t you see Eli just wants peace of mind? Maybe try being mature for once,” Blanche said seriously, hands in her pockets.

Val smacked Blanche on the back. “Okay, but seriously—where are you all sleeping tonight? You all ran away. I’m literally the only non-homeless one left!”

I stopped chewing. Oh right… where am I even staying tonight? I hadn’t even gotten a single cent out of that damn family.

“…Crap.”

“Mother Father... Why I'm so pretty—kidding!”

“….”

“Shut it,” Blanche muttered, throwing a shoe at Killian.

“I’m serious, guys!” Val said, sounding exasperated.

“Isn’t it obvious?” Sasha replied, raising an eyebrow. We all turned to look at her as she licked her ice cream.

“Of course we're staying at YOUR house,” she said innocently.

“Huh?” Val blinked, processing what she just heard.

I tilted my head. Why not? She’s been bragging about having a house. Let her pay the price for that brag.

“Sorry, Val... don’t worry, we’ll pay you back once we have money,” Blanche assured.

“That’s right! And when I take over our company, you’ll be my most trusted ally!” Sasha chimed in.

“Sorry, Val. You’re the only one we can rely on right now,” Killian added.

“Exactly,” said Shin.

“That's y'all final decision?” Val scratched her head.

“Yeah,” we all said in unison.

“Alright. Fine. I’m in,” Val sighed and nodded.

“We’ll all crash at your place for now,” the five of us chorused.

“Wha—do you think my house is some kind of headquarters?!” Killian stuffed the bread she bought into Val’s mouth.

“It’s fine. The important thing is—you’ve got a gang of goddesses with you now. That’s a win,” she said with a cheeky grin.

We all burst out laughing. Killian’s line had nothing to do with the situation, but it was perfect.

“What am I supposed to tell my dad?!”

“Dad, I brought home a group of goddesses!”

“Whahahaha—Killian’s not wrong, though.”

“Man...”

This is going to be one hell of a journey.

ELISE HART'S POV:

"Have you seen the Princess?!" a soldier frantically asked a servant.

"No. Did she escape again?!" the other replied with hands on her hips.

"Yes. We're totally dead if we don't find her!"

"What?! Just yesterday she threw away the food she was given, and now she's gone?! That Princess is always a pain in the head."

I rolled my eyes. Duh. The food was laced with poison. Like hell I'd just sit there and wait for death to come.

"Just go tell the other maids the news," the first one said.

My brows furrowed at what I heard.

"What a bratty Princess," another chimed in.

I just rolled my eyes again. They kept talking, but I stopped listening and quietly left my hiding spot. Bullshit. They seriously wanted me to die at the hands of that so-called mentor of mine.

"Who's the brat? I'm just doing what’s right. If I didn’t throw that food away, you’d all be at my funeral right now. They didn’t even ask me what happened. Ugh! They really piss me off," I muttered irritably as I headed towards the thick forest. This place calms me down. It's my little stress reliever.

"Ugh! The path is so slippery," I winced. Must be because of the rain?

"Hmn," I stopped for a moment and listened carefully to my surroundings.

"..."

Someone’s here. Aside from me.

"Hup!" I flinched. Shit. An assassin!

"Hnk!" I quickly dodged the shuriken that was about to hit my neck. It embedded itself into the tree in front of me. This bastard...

"Tsk!" I heard him hiss behind me. I grinned wickedly.

"Today’s your lucky day—because you're about to meet death itself." I turned to face him and swiftly threw back the same shuriken, grazing his cheek.

"Shit!" he cursed. I couldn’t see his face because of his mask, but blood dripped from his cheek. I smirked and stepped closer, slowly pulling out the kunai hidden in the back of my dress.

"Chill. Let’s make your death quick and painless, okay?"

"Shit! Shit! I thought this Princess was brainless?!" he tried to run, but I grabbed the hem of his clothes.

"Hey, who's brainless now?" I asked coldly—and slashed his throat clean. He couldn’t even say a word.

"See? That was painless." He slowly dropped to his knees, then collapsed completely—dead.

His blood splattered on my hand. I grimaced.

"Great. Now you ruined my day and my dress!" I snapped.

"Hmph. I need to go! Second period’s about to start. Ugh! That teacher again! That pervert! I seriously need to teach that old man a lesson," I was about to step forward when—

Suddenly, a blade stabbed me in the chest.

"W-What? Ack!" I coughed up blood and dropped to my knees. Shit. I can't breathe! There’s poison in it?!

"Who t-the hell are...you??" I gasped. Damn it. I didn’t sense anything. Shit. He must be a top-tier assassin.

"Would you look at that. How does it feel to be on the edge of death, El?"

I looked up with labored breath. Oh. It’s Giselle—my leech cousin. There was someone else with her too, but I couldn’t see his face. He was fully covered. No doubt, he’s the assassin I couldn’t sense.

"What? You leech. Haha," I sneered. She scowled at me.

"Hey, Viper. Kill her. Now. Make it quick—I don’t care how. Just finish her," she said, turning to me without a smirk or even a grin. I couldn’t read her face. No malice, no anger. Just... blank.

"Don’t take this personally, El." She turned and left.

"Huh? Ack! Hah...!" I was left speechless. What the hell does she mean? Why did I see sorrow in her eyes—even just for a second?

Aren’t we enemies? Competing for the throne? We’ve never stopped fighting. So what the hell is that look?

"I wish you good luck, miss," Viper’s voice snapped me back. Crap! He’s still here!

I tried to stand—but he kicked me hard in the stomach.

"Ugh...?!" I screamed as I fell into a deep pit. I looked up and saw Viper staring down at me. There was something in his eyes I couldn’t quite place. Not rage. Not joy in killing.

"Damn it! Damn it!" I cursed as the darkness swallowed me.

I could feel it now. I was losing consciousness.

"I didn't even... get to see my father one last time," I whispered. I didn’t cry. I didn’t regret much either. Huh. If I had another shot at life, maybe I'd let myself enjoy it more.

"D-Damn. Haha," I laughed one last time.

My consciousness faded.

Until I felt something sharp beneath me, and everything went black.

I guess I really lived one hell of a life, huh?

---

“AHH!” I screamed when I felt cold water pour over my head.

“What?! You’re screaming at me now, huh?!” a hideous woman appeared in front of me.

“Ew, yuck!” I flinched. Her face was way too close. Her breath smelled like rotting food.

“Bitch!” She slapped me hard. My head tilted to the side.

“See?! You shouldn’t talk back to me!” she laughed, holding her chest like she was someone important. Honestly, she just looked like trash.

“That hurt,” I looked up at her, my blood boiling as I took in her whole face. What. She really looks like a walking trash can.

“Oh, really?” I stood up, stretched my arms, and scratched the back of my head. She immediately stepped back, visibly shocked.

I grinned demonically as I slowly walked toward her. Now that I looked around, this seemed like a cubicle.

“A-huh!” My grin widened as another wicked idea popped into my head.

“Hey! Stop! I’ll tell my daddy if you hurt me! I’ll make your school life a living hell!”

I raised an eyebrow. What the hell? That was the cringiest threat I’ve heard in my life. Still, I cornered her.

“Ah!” she screamed when I backed her into the wall. I laughed when I saw the faucet beside her.

“Don’t you dare!” she sat down by the wall, still trying to act tough.

“Yeah? Don’t what again?!” I grabbed her hair and shoved her head into the sink. I turned on the faucet and let it soak her.

“Ahh! Bitch! Let go of me! I will really kill you!” she screamed and thrashed while I kept laughing. As if she could.

“I don’t give a damn,” I said coldly.

I was starting to get bored so I let go of her. She stood up looking like a witch and glared at me with death in her eyes. I just raised an eyebrow. What’s she looking at?

“What? Still not enough? Want me to drown you for real?” I asked icily.

“Bitch! You’ll pay for this! I’ll kill you! Bitch!” she yelled and stormed off, even bumping into my shoulder.

“That's nothing compared to what she looks like right now. She really looks like a witch,” I giggled.

“Uh. Wait a minute. How... the hell am I alive?!” I froze in place when the realization hit me.

Just then, the mirror caught my attention. I frowned.

"This has to be a joke."

“This is insane. Who is this beautiful girl? This is definitely me… but this isn’t my body at all!”

To be continued.