Reborn as the Duke's Daughter

02 A New World, A New Life

"Thank the Gods that you are okay now. I don't know what I'd do if you passed out again, my strawberry cupcake," my dad sniffs as he's perched on the seat next to my bed, all the while holding my hand tightly.

It's not painful but...geez, when you see how tightly he's holding it, you might think that I might jump out of bed and run away.

As if I could. I think I can barely lift my head on the pillow because of the headache I had from remembering my memories from my past life. How can I possibly run away in this state?

Besides, where would a pampered and sheltered eight-year-old go?

Come to think of it, I can't recall leaving our estate here in Opponia II since I was born. As a result, I know nothing of the world outside the gates of our estate.

In addition, it's not like this is the same country I was living in on Earth. Therefore, it's not a place where I know each and every corner like the back of my hand.

Nope, this place is a different place entirely.

And before any confusion sets in, let me fully explain my new life and the world I am currently living in.

Granted this might be a boring explanation, however, I'd prefer it if no one gets confused over my situation.

First and foremost, this is not Earth and it will never be like Earth.

This place is called Asturias.

If Earth had skyscrapers, cities, the usual animals, presidents, and technology, Asturias has castles, villages, monsters, empires, and magic.

Monsters and magic! I mean, how cool is that?

Sure, there is no electricity here or refrigerators or elevators. The Empire and monarchy thing is very old school and I doubt Democracy will be a thing any time soon. And it looks like I've been living in the Victorian era with all the stuffy and layers upon layers of clothes that I have to wear.

However, I find that the past eight years of my life here in Asturias is one of the best experiences I've ever had.

There's magic, I live a pampered and rich life as a noble daughter of the Duke, and I have a loving family here.

In my humble opinion, even with the backward way of living here, isn't this a great upgrade from my orphaned life?

I don't have to work to the bone anymore and I don't have to starve myself just so I can pay my rent.

Because of that, who cares if they are all using swords here and have no guns? Why use a boring and ugly-looking gun when you can shoot fireballs or lightning sparks from your fingers?

And what's more, people don't die easily here from those.

I'm not sure if it's from the world itself or the people have some kind of immunity to magic, but a direct hit from fire magic can only knock you unconscious at most.

As a result, murders aren't a big problem here compared to Earth. I mean, one can still commit murder here but not through magic.

Anyway, moving on from such a dark topic...

Secondly, I'd like to elaborate on what I said about being reincarnated in a game.

I mentioned that while I was living my life as a corporate slave, my only source of fun and happiness are playing my games and readings mangas.

Mangas and games that pertain to reincarnation and transmigration, which I like to call Isekai.

Thanks to years of binge-reading and non-stop playing, I know every trope regarding Isekai like the back of my hand. And who would have thought that knowledge would be useful to me?

According to my stored knowledge, there are two common types of Isekai.

One is where the person's soul replaces the body of someone else.

Either the one who got Isekaid opened their eyes and they're mysteriously inside someone else's body or they talked with the body's owner and did an exchange.

Whatever the reason, the new soul will have to depend on whatever source they got the new world from in order to navigate the unfamiliar place they are in. Like from a novel, a manga, or a game.

The second type is reincarnation.

This is where not one soul gets kicked out of their own bodies, due to some mysterious reasons, only to be replaced by someone else's soul nor there were no exchanges made.

Reincarnation is a more natural and more humane--at least, in my opinion--way to be Isekaid.

It's just the cycle of life where one dies and they probably did their time on Heaven or Purgatory or wherever. After they did their time, they get the chance to live again as a new person, leaving the memories and experiences of their past life behind.

And if you ask me, I strongly believe that I am a product of a reincarnation.

I remember my birth and I have memories of when I was a baby. This life is definitely mine and mine alone.

At least that's one less problem for me to worry about. Otherwise, I'd feel bad if I suddenly just possessed someone else's body without justification as to why I'm in such a predicament.

However, I wonder why I remember my past life, though. I'm supposed to be a blank slate right now.

Oh, correction.

I WAS a blank slate. That was until I got an accident and remembered my past from waking up in my room.

Looking back, it was embarrassing for me to freak out. And that's because I thought I checked into a fancy hotel when I can barely feed myself.

Anyway, I trust that there's a reason for everything.

I watch the people around me and I begin to wonder, slowly fitting the puzzle between my past life and the now.

Could it be? The reason why I remembered my past probably lies in my knowledge about this world.

Was it because I know that I'm an expert on the game I played that is so alike with the world I'm living in?

"Hmm..."

I hum to myself, tapping my chin with a finger from my free hand. I'm so deep in thought, I can barely hear the conversation going on around me. Barely.

"Cupcake? Are you okay? Is your head still hurting? Are you thirsty? Hungry?"

"Father, maybe you shouldn't disturb her like that. Your attention and affection can be suffocating at times."

"Big brother is right, Dad. You should just let Raffy be for a moment."

"It seems the Young Miss is deep in thought. She's probably thinking of something important."

"In that case, all that thinking might make her hungry and thirsty. I'll just go get some water and sweets for her just in case."

"Let me escort you, Caroline. With the Master and Young Masters present, I'm sure the Young Miss is in capable hands."

"What do you mean my attention and affection is suffocating, you brat?!"

"Here they go again. On second thought, let me accompany you two."

"There's a reason why I never let you near me when I was growing up, Father."

"He has a point, Dad."

"You ungrateful little..."

Yes, well, I tune out the rest of that particular conversation. Back to my ponderings.

The game I was playing and addicted to in my past life was Asturias: The Romance.

This is a Visual Novel Dating Simulation game. The player, we'll call her the Heroine, will be interacting with three romantic interests.

We have the Prince from the Empire of Kyte, Kiel, and the two brothers from the Dukedom of Opponia, Wolfsbane, and Nerium.

Yes, again, I did not misspeak.

I did mention that the last two romantic partners are from the Dukedom of Opponia. The Dukedom where I'm from and yes, they're my two older brothers.

The romance game will start in the Academy where the three love interests and the Heroine will all meet.

The game will function as your normal average, everyday dating sim.

You interact with the love interests. You choose the correct answers to their questions(which is basically picking answers that is obviously what THEY'RE interested in and not yours) to appeal to them. You also raise their affection by giving them gifts and spending time with them, like a date.

Once you had their affections maxed out, one might think that you'll end up with the love interest that you were flirting and dating with.

WRONG!!!

Why do I think that? Well, that's because no matter who the player chooses, the ending of the game will always be the same.

The Heroine will always end up with Prince Kiel.

If the player interacts with one or both of my brothers only to end up with the Prince, then it's a recipe for disaster for the Opponia household.

A household where I'm currently living now.

Asturias: The Romance is actually a scam! The storyline is garbage.

Why add the two love interest when the player only gets the Prince in the end? And why do I keep playing it when I am aware of what trash it is?

The only reason I keep on playing the game is because of the handsome-looking spirits the player can get through gachas, which is called Summoning, in the game.

Save for the shitty story and the unfairness of the romance for my poor brothers, the game has great RPG battles where you use the spirits to gain experience and money for quests. Quests that, of course, connect to your goal to appeal to the love interests.

Once I played all routes(which is useless cause the ending will always be the same), I spent my time and effort ignoring the main story and racking up an army of handsome spirits, level, and money.

There's also this cute character in the background whenever you use the gacha. I don't know his name and he's not in the story at all, but he was totally my type.

So, yeah, other than the handsome spirits you can summon, I'm also staying in the game because of that cute guy.

I can't seem to recall what he looked like now, though.

Anyway...

Outside of that, the main story is garbage and beyond redemption.

And maybe...just maybe, that's the reason why I'm here as Rafflesia.

I'm here on a mission to save the Opponia household from doom!