[new world]

[Trust the process] —

Know that you are exactly where you are meant to be even though you may not be where you thought you would.

She died.

And eventually, she woke up.

She was alive, again.

Blinking for a few times, the ache inside her head made her difficult to breathe.  Looking around, the sight around her became blurry.   After calming down her rapid heart, Helena slid down the bed and her eyes only focusing on searching for a mirror in the room.

It was strange.

It was just a simple guess.

Such a ridiculous assumption.

The reflection on the mirror suggested that she was looking at a stranger rather than herself.  The picture of the woman is absolutely beautiful. She has fair skin, gentle blue eyes and long golden blonde hair, that cascaded past her back.

Suddenly, like a lightning struck her, the memories flooded inside her, intermingled with her own memories from the previous life.

"Ugh, it hurts."  She grunted, unconsciously pushing a glass on the desk near her figure. The sound of it shattered into pieces after the hard impact on the floor echoed through the room.

"Miss Helena?!"  The familiar voice broke her daze.  "Miss, are you alright?"  The voice on the other side of the room contained a hint of panic.

"Salin,"  Helena's s eyes widened, feeling shocked at how the name felt so smoothly on her tongue.  "I-I am fine!"  She exclaimed.

It was no doubt that she knows everyone inside this house.  Her new family, her father, and her only sister.  Not to mention the maids that are working in their mansion.

Hearing no reply from the maid, Helena sighed, knowing well what will happen after this.  Her feet took steps toward the red curtain that was hiding the light from the outside world to sneak into her room.

With a breath, Helena opened the curtain and the light from the sun seemed to glare at her.  She had to squint her eyes from the sudden exposure to the bright light.

The heavy knocks on her door broke her out of her amusement.  Running toward the door after hearing the many calls of her name, she turned the knob, opening it hesitantly.

Before any word could come out of her mouth, a tall elderly man entered, quickly engulfing her into a tight, warm hug.

"U-Uhm, father?"  She called out, wanting to make sure whatever word that escaped her mouth was true. 

"I'm glad that you're alright, my daughter."

Her hands that were on her side slowly went to reply to the hug of her old man.  She couldn't help but bite her lower lip, trying not to apologize for making her father shaking in fear of her safety.

After all, she was afraid.

This was not her world. 

A few minutes passed by and the man she called father pushed her an arm away to look at her, analyzing whether she had any injury inflicted on her.  Letting her lips pulled into a thin, straight line, Helena looked at him. 

Her father, Duke Albert, let a heavy sigh and he was about to say something before the door behind his back was opened and knocked him a step forward.

"Sis, are you alright?!"

The woman behind her father named Alyssa, her younger sister in this world.  Having the same color of hair and beauty as hers, only her clumsy and childish personalities that made people knew that both of them were different.

A chuckle escaped her, "I am fine, both of you."  Holding the trembling hands of Alyssa, Helena forced a smile onto her face, "Please give me time.  I want time for myself."

Both of them fell into silence and exchanged a glance.

"O-Okay then.  I will make sure the maids know not to interrupt your time."   After caressing her blonde hair, Duke Albert turned around, taking Alyssa along with him.  "Let's go, Alyssa."

Her younger sister seemed like she wanted to cry out her name, silently pleading her to stay with her.

It was such an awkward interaction, but this is her life for now on.

>>>>>>

Humming her favorite song, Helena took a diary that she — her previous-self in this world had kept in the crammed bookcase.  She hopped into her chair and took a quill pen gently, not wanting the ink to spill anywhere, especially on her fancy clothes.

Closing her eyes, she tried to ponder how she managed to get into this world.

10 February — A beautiful day.

11 February — Found a cute cat

12 February — {empty}

The previous Helena had stopped writing in the diary on 11 February, and she came today which was today, 12 February.  She also has the same name as hers, though her appearances completely different.

Helena never knew she could be this beautiful.

Shaking her head, she pushed the thought away and got on the track once more.

She knew the people that she'd met moments ago.  Not because of the memories of the person that she was sucked into, but because she had seen them somewhere.

But where?

Where?

Oh. Oh!  A loud gasp escaped her mouth as she scribbled every memory in her personal diary with the pen in her hand.  

"Demise."  She wrote the word, "That's the title of the comic!"  

When she went to a library in her previous life, her friend continuously tried to make her read the comic, which she succeeded to do so.  Becoming addicted to the comic, she read it numerous times. 

But it didn't exactly explain why she was suddenly in this world.

The female lead, Alyssa, wasn't supposed to have a sister, and her character shouldn't exist in the first place.  Just thinking about this made her dizzy once more.

Demise —

In the comic, Alyssa was a bright, cheerful girl.  She gained many hearts of people around her, even one of the male leads named Lucas.  Though, after a while, Alyssa met the one that she truly loved with all her heart, who was not Lucas.

​"I'm sorry, Lucas.  I don't love you."​​

This comic is placed in the first place, gaining people's sympathy because the main lead had been through so many tragic events in his life.  Lucas even lost the affection from Alyssa.

After that, Lucas fell into despair, letting the darkness from his past haunted him.  Because of many killings to release the darkness, he eventually was caught and executed in front of many people.  The tragic story of a villain.

In her memories, Alyssa was supposed to meet Lucas at her 17 birthday party, which was eight days away.  That was the day where Lucas fell for Alyssa and she took his fragile heart, crushing it with her own hands.

[Name] looked thoughtful for a moment, letting her gaze fell on the page that was full with her sloppy handwriting.  She had written every plot of the comic that she'd remembered in her previous life.

She hoped it was enough for now.

"Miss Helena?"  The soft knocks on the door woke her from her peaceful slumber.  "Have you awoken?" 

Pushing herself to sit on the edge of the bed, she tried to fight the sleepiness that overwhelmed her.  "Yes, Salin."

"May I come in?"

She nodded, still in a daze.  Then she realized that Salin didn't even hear her silent response, "Salin, just come in."

The maid entered with a grin on her face, her hands were holding a dress that she should be wearing.  "Miss, let's get you ready.  The duke and your dear sister are waiting for your presence."

"Of course, but can I bathe myself?" 

With a blink, Salin gave her a look that she didn't expect her to give.  Shock, bewilderment and a slight hint of happiness.

Forcing a cough out of her throat, Salin took a moment to reply to the request.  "I'm afraid that I can't do that, young miss.  This is one of my duties to serve the Duke and you."

Sighing, Helena pinched the skin between her forehead.  Glancing at the maid, she knew that Salin was totally amused at her sudden request.

"Please.  Only you, Salin!"  

The previous Helena may not embarrassed with the maids scrubbing her body, but she — new [Name] was beyond horrified and shy at the thought.

"If that what you want, then I will obey, Miss Helena!"  Salin grinned.

>>>>>

Wearing the dress, Helena walked down the stairs with careful steps and Salin followed after her.  The dining table was already full with different types of dishes and sweets.

Taking a seat next to her father and across her sister, Helena bowed her head, greeting her father in a formal way.

"I'm glad you are already recovered from your fever, dear Helena."   The Duke smiled.

"I'm sorry for causing you worried."  

"I was worried too, sis!"  Alyssa exclaimed, jealous that her sister pretending not to realize she was there.  "Are you forgetting something?"  She smirked, giving a hint to both of them.

"Hmm,"  Helena pondered, avoiding the eyes of her sister on her face.  "I don't know what you're talking about."

Her father could only laugh when he saw Alyssa pouted.  He wanted to interfere, but after seeing the small smile on [Name]'s lips, he knew she was joking.

"I want to inform both of you that the upcoming event invites more guests to come, which means that you have to behave."  Duke Albert's voice became stern, letting his gaze wandered to both of his daughters.

"It's my birthday, father."  Alyssa bit her lower lip.

"We know, Alyssa."  

"I want a big gift from you, sis!"  She shouted, not be able to contain her excitement. She allowed a bit of a giddy smile to curl up on her lips.

Duke Albert shot her a disapproving look and Alyssa quickly stuffed her mouth like a chipmunk.  This caused [Name] to laugh, somehow happy that she witnessed such a thing.

>>>>>

Wearing a simple dress, Helena let her feet brought her to the garden not too far away from her.  It was a bright day to go outside without the accompany of her maids and sister.

She wanted this freedom for a while.

Picking up a fallen rose, she carefully tried not to touch the thorns on the stem.  A gust of wind caressed her vulnerable skin as her gaze was still fixed on the rose.

"Such a beautiful garden."  The voice that came from behind her startled her, causing her to grip on the stem too hard.  

"Ouch!"  It stung. 

The thorns pricked her palm and a few drops of blood came out of the small wounds.  Gulping her saliva, Helena other hand tried to search for a handkerchief inside her dress's pocket.

Before she could do that, a hand that was larger than hers took her wounded hand gently and covered her palm with a beautiful hand-made handkerchief.  

"I absolutely apologize for the harm that I've done, my lady."  The owner of the voice lulled [Name] to look up, curious of who made her startle so much. 

Her eyes instantly locked with the man's cold eyes. Even though he was smiling, Helena knew it was only an act to live in this world that he thought was cruel.

For a second, she saw a flicker of hatred in his eyes.

She knew she didn't imagine it. 

Because this man is Lucas. The main character and also the villain of the 'Demise' comic.

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