Amanda: A story of a Villain

One day, I saw myself standing in front of the mirror as the daughter of the famous Duke Dylan. Living in the land I personally created, which is the story that I wrote. At first I thought I was just dreaming, but I am NOT! This is real! The story behind how this started is still mysterious to me. Except, seeing my old self totally drunk and with a whoosh!. I woke up in this body. Other than that, I cannot hardly remember any of it. AMANDA MARTINEZ That was the name of the villain that is soon to meet her doom in this story. I am staying here for almost a week now. I realized that I should live longer. In short, I have to keep myself fully alive in this world. Who knows? Maybe I am already dead in my true world and have been reincarnated in this body. Since God gave me another chance to live again, I should make sure that my life will be more productive than I used to be. Even so, the idea is still funny to be accepted. Reincarnating into your own story, I never heard such weird stories like that before. It takes me the whole week to fully adjust and make myself feel comfortable. Living inside of my story is a crazy thing to happen. That is why I am not planning to tell anybody about it and keep everything a secret. Reasons? No one will believe me or worse, they will label me as the 'Crazy daughter of the Duke'. I do not like that to happen, never!. I figured out that Amanda is at the age of 18 right now. A year after, she will be meeting the Crown Prince, who is perhaps the reason why she died in the story. Well, it was terrible to be reincarnated as the villain. Plus, knowing the fact that the character you are reincarnated into will eventually die. “Lady Amanda, The Duke has arrived. He is expecting you at the dining table, immediately.” said my personal servant, Michelle. I am nervous and it's giving me chills right through my bones. This is my first time meeting the Duke, who is, of course, my father. According to Michelle, the Duke went to the North for a war and has just returned now. Looking at the diary that Amanda wrote. The Duke and she are not close to each other. It is hardly for me to think how I am going to approach him once I meet him. The treatment between Amanda and Duke Dylan according to how I described it in my story is unknown. Yes, unknown, I never give any glimpse of what kind of family Amanda has. She was known for having a villainous personality that she acquired to the 'Demon of War' which is her Father. Other than that, it was literally a blank. Gladly, yesterday I found her diary underneath her pillow. I stayed up late last night reading it and found out how distant their relationship was with her father. This information is out of bounds. I am afraid I will get lost in my own story. “F-father..” I muttered, almost losing my breath after I arrived at the dining hall. He was sitting at the center end of the table. Three servants are standing behind on his left side, all of their heads are facing the floor. An old looking man is sitting with the duke in front of a festive-like table. He immediately stood up after seeing my arrival in the hall. “Greetings, Lady Amanda.” he said and bowed to me. Courtesy is what higher officials always do. It is the most important thing that every lady and gentleman must be aware of or else you will end up a disgrace to the family for being quoted as uneducated. “Greetings.” I smiled widely after greeting him back with such composure. I keep my head as low as I can, seeing the badge on his chest, he must be one of the high officials of the country that I must not mess up with. This is one of the facts that I created. Aside from the Crown Prince, Amanda also died because of the betrayal of some of the famous families in this kingdom. Each of them are unpleasant to be with because they all only care about is position and become greedy when it comes to power. “You haven't mentioned to me, Dylan, that your one and only daughter is this beautiful. It seems like yesterday she was playing with my Philip down in the hall. She also got Dianna's features!” he exclaimed. Looking at the surprised face of the Duke. I cannot figure out what exactly he is thinking at all. “You never asked, blame yourself Acosta”. The Duke said jokingly. Seeing how they conversed with each other, they seemed close. Maybe I should lower my guard slightly. Meeting new faces here makes me feel tired just thinking of how I should approach each of them. Who knows? I might be meeting people that will soon be the reason of my downfall. I must stop Amanda from dying. I'm planning to change Amanda's personality by starting with this and I must do everything I can. “I think it was my fault. I rarely attend banquets. Maybe that is the reason why no one knows about me.” I said after sitting in my seat, specifically on the right side of my father, Duke Dylan, clearing his throat, a sign for the atmosphere to be this awkward. I guess I hit the wrong turn. What should I do? “Uh-N-no! Do not think like that, Lady Amanda. It was beyond your control.” Marquis Acosta said, making sure that this awkwardness at the table would be at ease. I was wondering about how silent the Duke was. Is he mad that much at Amanda that makes this little conversation so awkward already? I hope not. Conversation between the Duke and the Marquis continues as they keep talking about the battlefield, conquerers, lands and, of course, the Imperial palace. I keep my silence and mind my own plate. I almost lost my sanity when the Duke changed the topic, which I am thankful for. “What brings you here, Acosta? Haven't you said yesterday you on be BUSY today?” based from his tone he was being sarcastic. I wiped the corner of my mouth with the napkin. I just finished my food. It was delicious. I have never eaten food like this before. All I had was a cup of instant noodles that I always bought at the cheapest price and digging it alone inside of my dark room. “Glad you mentioned it, Dylan!. I almost forgot the reason why I came here. I was thinking of inviting Lady Amanda to a tea party that my daughter Eunice held this coming Saturday.” He said while flushing his biggest smile in his face towards me. The Duke slightly chuckles because of the thought Marquis Dylan is the one who's inviting me to a tea party. For me, it's nothing, but by 'standards', it was. However, based on the diary as well as on my own knowledge as the author of this story, Amanda doesn't have a single friend here. It is because she always thought all ladies were just barriers to her plans. In a simple description, they are Amanda's enemies to her beloved prince. “I did not know you would lower yourself to invite Amanda to your daughter's first tea party. I bet your wife is behind on all of this.” The Duke said while shaking his head in disbelief. The Marquis slightly scratches his head and sees himself agreeing with the Duke. He said that his daughter Eunice hasn't got any friends at all either, which is the same in my current situation. However, the difference between me and Eunice is that. I was born to have no one but her. She is not. She has got parents and siblings to rely on. “So, what do you think, Lady Amanda? Will you join her first tea party? I won't force you if you are not comfortable. But if you agree, you can bring along your personal servant for you to feel at ease. My daughter will be delighted to see you there.” Tea parties are common events for Aristocrats. It is not a simple tea party but more of a 'show off' of what you got. It was screaming for power and the fanciest things you possessed inside of your wardrobe. Ladies who are soon the face of each family are gathered in a single room talking about politics and royal stuff. I am not sure how long I will last, but from the other perspective, will I be fit in there? For someone like me, I mean Amanda who's an introvert type of person? “I bet Amanda will be joining your daughter this Saturday, Acosta. Maybe it's time for her to roam around and make friends”. The Duke answered in my place. Amanda did not mention in her diary how the Duke managed to make decisions for her. I guess I don't have any obligation to oppose him since he is the Duke. Both of them are staring at me, maybe,waiting for my response. As a return, I just nod my head as a sign that I agree with their decisions. “Okay, it is settled then”, Marquis Acosta exclaimed. After that phrase, their conversation is back again on the battlefield. Before I drowned myself from boredom, I managed to excuse myself from them and head straight to my room. This time I can feel the fresh air tickling my hair. The garden is beautiful at night, I can see it right here in the hall and decided to walk slowly to fully feel every minute that I spent outside of my bedroom. I never felt this tired before. It was just a simple dinner with the Duke and Marquis, but it feels like I was sitting there for about half of my life. This is just the beginning. Why are you so tired Amanda?. You will be meeting the crown prince sooner or later. You must be prepared for bigger events that will soon happen inside the Palace. I didn't notice that I had already reached the door to my room. When I was about to enter, I heard a voice calling my name from behind that made me stop from walking inside. I saw the Duke walking towards my direction. “F-father-.. is Marquis Acosta already leaving the house?” I asked and he just nodded his head. I wonder what the Duke brought here? I can sense that he ran just to follow me here. I can still hear his heavy breathing. Maybe he will say something important or maybe because of what I have said earlier at the dining table. However, I was a bit surprised seeing him in front of my door. That's very unusual of him. “Amanda, if you need something for the preparation just ask me anything. I am willing to help”. Is he referring to the tea party? Anyways, it's rare for the Duke to lend a helping hand to Amanda. Is he sick or not feeling alright? Well, it is because Amanda grew up focusing on her own and more likely forgot about her father who also did the same thing to her. I am battling with myself about what to say when he starts to mutter something again. “About earlier. There's something odd happened to you? Well, I am saying that you changed a lot. If there is something bad happens when I am away. Tell me, I am willing to help” he asked me with his confused face. There was! I got reincarnated in your daughter's body a week ago. That was a huge change that even I can't believe at all, until now. “What do you mean father?” I asked nervously. Despite being the writer of this story, it was difficult to imitate my villain's personality. I must be careful, my act may make them feel terrified. Well, honestly, my personal servant Michelle reacted the same way as the Duke. But later she seemed to adjust to it. In the Duke's case, I don't know any more. Maybe my act does not look good. “Oh it was nothing. Hurry up and go to sleep.” He smiled at me and faced his back and started to walk. “F-father?” I muttered. It seems he heard it and he faced me again. “t-thank you” I said, swallowing my embarrassment. I can feel my cheeks slowly turning red. Good thing it was dark. Before I fully closed the door of my room, I heard him say “you are most welcome my beloved daughter, Amanda”. Because of that, I saw myself grinning in front of the mirror. The father-daughter relationship between Amanda and the Duke is slowly building. The only thing I must do is to break the ice between us. So that I will be able to live in peace in this world.