Hold Me Tight, For I Am Unlovely

Chapter 2 : How does one run away from consequences?

Last night, when I finally took the time to calm myself and sort my jumbled feeling and memories. There was surprisingly many alarming things that I managed to take note off.

One.

This wasn't the same 27 years old body that I occupied at least that much was obvious, this is— or was it 'was'? the body of the 14 years old villainess in the god forsaken novel that I read before I die. It won't be stretch to say that the last literature that I read before I died would be that shitty (but well loved) novel.

I managed to plan out my entire life, but dying like that was certainly not in the list of the possibilities I imagined.

Maybe trash talking the author of [Doki, doki! I'm starting a mischief deal prince!] had its own karma.

Two.

From the memories I managed to sort out, there was two major things that happened in Leticia's life. It's major now, but if I recalled correctly— in the novel this event was just briefly mentioned in a paragraph or two.

[Leticia, even after 7 years of engagement, the her fiance the second prince, decided to annul the marriage one year before the the daughter of the duke's societal debut. And two years before the his highness' enrollment in the academy.]

Daughter of the duke that was mentioned was rightfully Leticia without a doubt. The only princess of Duke Medicci, the only heir of the Medicci dukedom. And now, she is also the ex-fiance of the second prince.

The event of the prince breaking the engagement with Leticia wasn't described in the novel. But it was certainly described in Leticia's memory.

Even recalling it now made my blood boil.

Not Leticia's, mine.

[Consumed by sadness, and paranoia of the potential threat that maybe the engagement was broken because of a another woman. Leticia isolated herself for several weeks, going as far to spanning months.]

[She then earned the nickname 'The thornless rose.']

The prince didn't even inform the Medicci household of the annulment of the engagement. The Duke heard the talks of his daughter's engagement breaking not from the prince, nor from the king. But from the rumours circulating around noble circle. It was a slap in the face for the duke and his family.

Enraged, the duke set out without an invitation to the central palace. The king, his Majesty, who had bent to his second son's whims could not take back his words when he agreed to break the engagement. Was unable to take back his words.

Taking back his words then would have meant taking back his authority as king— he would have lost his reputation in his own court, and also from his people.

With his actions like this, both the queen and king realized that they have most righteously lost the support of the Medicci dukedom. But they valued their faces more than the benefits of having the Medicci's as in-laws.

There's no bitter medicine for regret though.

The Duke who was far too late in hopes of doing anything, was merely able to do nothing.

In the end, when duchess Medicci came back from the battlefield after defending the southern borders of the kingdom from the hordes that gathered there, and heard what happened to her daughter and husband. She was the only one who managed to do a damage control to both the rumours and to her own household.

But even her own mother and father who treated Leticia very dotingly, could not quell their daughter's broken heart.

In the novel, as the reaction of a typical villainess of a third rate novel. When Leticia finally gathered herself and came out of her own imposed isolation after three months. It was then her mood and whole personality took a turn.

When the prince turned 17 he went to the academy, Leticia who was 16, soon followed, and the novel started there.

And at age 23, Leticia died by being beheaded.

Three.

This one's a kicker. This realization also made me panic quite a bit and left me a sobbing mess soon after because of frustration. No amount of delusion could convince me that I was able to salvage the situation and steer me away from my fate of dying at 23.

It has already been two days since the prince ended the engagement and at the same time, set the irreversible rift of the Bamaltore royal family and the Medicci dukedom. And a it was a day later the duchess arrived to commence damage control.

As the novel had predicted and predetermined.

But there was one thing that the novel hadn't written there before, on these two days, I, a modern person who was from a modern time in a word devoid of all magic, transmigrated into this body and proceeded to become Leticia Monique Val. Medicci, as Natalia Ong.

.
.
.

I rubbed my eyes as I stood in front of the same mirror that told me that I was going to die at 23. The image of me didn't change, the girl who was stunningly beautiful still stared back right at me as my reflection.

"How unrealistic..." my thoughts escaped my head left through my lips. Leticia had a face you would expect of a photoshopped person personified into real life. Even after staring at this face for the last 30 minutes, still couldn't get over it.

I knew inkjabber the author of [Doki, doki! I'm starting a mischief deal prince!] Said in their novel that Leticia was horribly beautiful. But I didn't realize that what they meant by 'horribly beautiful' they would mean this.

Around an hour ago, I woke up after crying myself to sleep. I already sorted out my feelings last night, and although there was (a lot of) grievances and curses on my part, I quickly came to terms with my current situation.

It was better to accept and adapt then to mope and dally in accepting my feelings. Nothing good comes out of worrying. It was better to just accept the situation as it is now, and plan the rest later.

A woman who has already has plans for her future is a terrifying woman.

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[Note: I'm tryna see if I can plan out the release of each chapter.]

-Scarlett