A Second Chance
1148 Words
Chapter 3
Eliana's eyes snapped open.
She shot upright in bed.
Pain immediately exploded through her head.
"Ah!"
She clutched her temples as dizziness washed over her.
Her entire body felt unbearably hot.
The pounding headache was even worse than the one she'd suffered before her death.
Death.
The thought made her freeze.
Before she could process anything, several startled screams erupted around the room.
"Young Miss woke up!"
"She's awake!"
"Call the doctor!"
"Hurry!"
Maids rushed in every direction like startled birds.
One nearly tripped over her own skirt in her panic.
Eliana blinked.
Then blinked again.
What...
What was happening?
The room was enormous.
Silk curtains draped around a luxurious canopy bed.
Sunlight streamed through crystal windows.
Gold decorations covered the walls.
Everything looked like it belonged in a historical drama.
Her headache worsened.
The room spun.
Before she could gather her thoughts, the doors burst open.
A beautiful woman rushed inside.
Behind her followed a handsome middle-aged man dressed in noble attire.
A doctor hurried after them.
"Eliana!"
The woman immediately threw her arms around her.
Tears streamed down her face.
"Oh, thank the Goddess!"
The man wasn't much better.
His normally composed expression completely shattered.
"You finally woke up."
His voice trembled.
"You scared us half to death."
Eliana froze.
Nobody had ever hugged her like this before.
Nobody.
Not in years.
The warmth felt strange.
Comfortable.
Dangerously comforting.
The doctor stepped forward.
"Please allow me to examine Young Miss."
For the next several minutes, Eliana sat in a daze while the elderly physician checked her pulse and asked questions.
Fortunately, she had inherited some memories from the body's owner.
Enough to answer basic things.
When the examination ended, the doctor smiled.
"The fever has completely broken."
The room visibly relaxed.
"The young lady should recover fully."
The beautiful woman nearly started crying again.
The man sighed in relief.
"Thank the heavens."
The doctor eventually departed.
After fussing over her for another half hour, her parents reluctantly left to allow her rest.
The moment the door closed...
Silence filled the room.
Eliana slowly looked around.
Then down at her hands.
Tiny hands.
Child-sized hands.
She stared.
Then she pinched herself.
"Ouch."
She pinched harder.
"Ow!"
Her eyes widened.
"No way."
She jumped from the bed.
Then immediately stumbled because her legs were much shorter than she expected.
Catching herself against a chair, she rushed toward the nearest mirror.
A small girl stared back.
Long blonde hair.
Red eyes.
Soft delicate features.
She looked no older than ten.
Eliana touched her face.
The reflection copied her.
Her mouth slowly opened.
Then—
"Holy crap."
She was alive.
Alive.
Not only alive. Young and healthy.
And absolutely adorable.
A grin stretched across her face.
Until she was practically bouncing.
"I transmigrated!"
Her excited whisper echoed through the room.
Emma had read enough novels to recognize the situation.
Truck-kun.
Death.
Waking up in another world.
It was practically a standard procedure at this point.
The only shocking thing was that it had actually happened.
"I died and got isekai'd!"
She threw both fists into the air.
A maid outside the room heard the excited yell and became deeply concerned about her young mistress's mental state.
Inside the room, however, Eliana was having the time of her life.
She laughed.
Then laughed again.
Then spun around.
The excitement was impossible to contain.
A second life.
A second chance.
No more disrespectful students.
No more endless grading.
No more surviving on coffee and frustration.
No more crying over her salary.
This was amazing.
She rushed back to the mirror.
"So I'm Eliana now."
According to the memories she'd inherited, her full name was Eliana Collin.
Daughter of Duke Collin.
One of the most influential nobles in the kingdom.
Eliana covered her mouth.
"Oh my God."
She was rich.Actually rich.
The kind of rich that had servants.
The kind of rich that owned multiple estates.
The kind of rich that never worried about bills.
Tears almost came to her eyes.
She wanted to kiss whoever had arranged this.
"Thank you, mysterious cosmic being."
She clasped her hands together.
"You're the best."
A knock interrupted her celebration.
"Come in."
The door opened.
The beautiful blonde woman from earlier entered carrying an envelope.
Eliana's mother.
Even now, Eliana couldn't stop staring.
Her mother looked like she had stepped out of a painting.
Golden hair flowed over her shoulders.
Her smile was warm and elegant.
The woman approached the bed.
"You seem energetic."
Eliana flashed a bright smile.
"I feel wonderful."
Her mother paused.
The smile.The energy.
The enthusiasm.
Before the fever, Eliana had been a rash child with a temper but now she was joyful.
It was strange.
Yet after nearly losing her daughter, she chose not to question it.
Perhaps surviving such an illness had changed her.
The Duchess sat beside her.
"I brought something."
She handed over the envelope.
Eliana opened it curiously.
Her eyes widened.
"A birthday invitation?"
"That's right."
Her mother smiled.
"The Crown Princess is celebrating her eleventh birthday."
Eliana's excitement immediately doubled.
"A princess?"
"Yes."
"You mean an actual princess?"
The Duchess laughed softly.
"Of course."
Eliana almost screamed.
This was incredible.
A noble.
A princess.
A fantasy world.
This was everything she'd ever dreamed about.
She immediately started imagining beautiful palaces and fancy dresses.
Her mother watched in amusement.
"You seem excited."
"I am!"
Very excited.
She was a Duke's daughter.
A freaking Duke's daughter.
No more working herself to death.
No more students throwing paper airplanes at her.
No more miserable life.
This world was clearly superior.
Her mother chuckled.
"I'll have the seamstresses prepare a dress."
"Thank you, Mother!"
The Duchess froze.
Eliana rarely called her that so affectionately.
Her heart melted instantly.
The woman hugged her daughter.
Eliana awkwardly returned the embrace.
For a brief moment, emotion swelled inside her chest.
In her previous life...
Nobody had waited for her to wake up.
Nobody had cried for her.
Nobody had fussed over her.
Yet here...
She had parents.
A family.
People who genuinely loved her.
The realization made her eyes sting.
Perhaps dying hadn't been such a terrible thing after all.
After her mother left, Eliana collapsed onto the bed.
She reread the invitation.
Crown Princess.
Kingdom.
Royal Family.
The names felt oddly familiar.
Very familiar.
But her excitement drowned out the warning bells in her mind.
She failed to notice the pieces fitting together.
Failed to recognize the danger hidden behind those familiar titles.
Instead, she hugged a pillow and laughed happily.
Tomorrow would be the beginning of her new life.
A wonderful life.
A life full of adventure.
A life free from heartbreak.
Completely unaware...
That she had already stepped into the very story she once cursed.
And that somewhere within this kingdom lived a lonely boy named Asher Liam.
A boy whose tragic fate was already waiting for him.
- Writer
