Reborn as the Doomed Luna.

The Heroine Appears

Every time I closed my eyes, the story replayed itself inside my head.

The execution.

The Black Moon.

Malakai standing above Seraphina while blood stained the snow beneath her knees.

But now those memories felt wrong somehow.

Not false.

Just incomplete.

Because the man who sat beside my bed last night didn’t feel like the same person from the novel.

That thought alone was dangerous.

By morning, my shoulder still hurt badly enough to remind me every time I moved, but the fever was gone.

Which meant I no longer had an excuse.

Tonight was the second night of the Moon Festival.

And according to the original story—

This was when Isabella truly entered Seraphina’s life.

Sheryl helped me dress slowly while I sat near the vanity in silence.

This time, she placed another dark gown beside me automatically.

Black silk.

Silver threading.

Elegant enough to look untouchable.

I stared at it for a long moment before quietly pushing it aside.

“Not this one.”

Sheryl blinked. “My lady?”

“I don’t want to look like I’m attending my own funeral.”

The words slipped out before I could stop them.

Sheryl looked startled.

Then unexpectedly—

She smiled.

Small.

Quick.

Gone almost instantly.

But real.

Something about that softened the tightness in my chest slightly.

In the end, I chose a softer red gown again.

Not because it suited Seraphina.

Because it didn’t.

Because for one night, I wanted to feel separate from the villainess everyone expected me to become.

By the time we arrived at the palace gardens, the festival was already glowing beneath the night sky.

Lanterns floated above the pathways like fallen stars. Music echoed softly across marble fountains while nobles danced beneath silver trees wrapped in moonlit ribbons.

Beautiful.

And terrifying.

Because somewhere in this crowd—

The story was waiting for me.

My fingers tightened slightly around my fan as I stepped carefully through the garden beside Malakai.

The moment we appeared, conversations quieted almost instantly.

I felt it immediately.

The staring.

The whispers.

The curiosity.

Seraphina was not loved here.

Malakai seemed completely unaffected by it.

“You’re nervous,” he observed quietly beside me.

I forced myself to keep walking. “Am I?”

“Yes.”

His answer came too easily.

I looked away before he could read too much from my face.

Because nervous wasn’t the right word.

I felt like someone standing in the exact place lightning was about to strike.

And then—

The crowd shifted.

Soft murmurs spread through the garden entrance ahead.

I froze before I even saw her.

Blonde hair.

White dress.

A face beautiful enough to make an entire room turn toward her.

Isabella.

For a second, the world felt strangely still.

The heroine of the novel.

The woman everyone adored.

The woman who unknowingly became the center of Seraphina’s destruction.

She looked exactly how the story described her.

Elegant.

Gentle.

Untouchable.

And suddenly I remembered every comment readers wrote beneath the chapters.

Seraphina could never compare to Isabella.

Now standing here in Seraphina’s body—

I wondered if anyone had ever asked whether she was trying to compete at all.

Isabella’s gaze moved through the crowd politely before landing on Malakai.

Then—

On me.

Her expression shifted almost too subtly to notice.

Surprise first.

Then something quieter.

Something calculating.

Gone within seconds.

She smiled beautifully afterward, lowering into a graceful bow.

“Alpha Malakai,” she greeted softly.

Then her eyes returned to me.

“And Lady Seraphina.”