Have you ever run into an offer that was way too good to be true, but you just couldn’t stop yourself?

For example, imagine reincarnating as a fox and spending each day scurrying around, scrounging the forest for scraps… until finding a giant metal fence with paradise on the other side!

A fox-sized hole left uncovered? For me? Don’t mind if I do! That mansion over there is probably abandoned anyway!

Blueberries, blackberries, raspberries, elderberries… it’s like the Garden of Eden! There are bushes everywhere practically bursting with juicy berries, all ripe for the picking! Sweet heavenly goodness, even as a fox, I think I can die happy now—

“GOT YOU!”

Two hands clamped down on my sides. I could barely yelp before I felt my small fox body lifted up in the air.

When I wriggled around to see the culprit, I stared eye-to-eye with a young, scowling girl—a noble girl by the looks of her beautiful brunette hair and frilly dress. She had the face of an angel… and the ice-blue eyes of a villainess.

“Thief!” the girl cried. “Who gave you the right to enter my garden uninvited?!”

I felt like I’d seen her somewhere. From her features to her ‘off with their heads!’ demeanor, it was too familiar…

Wait.

No, not her! Anyone but her!

I should have known this wasn’t Earth. No, I’d been reincarnated into the world of my least favorite light novel ever… and now I was stuck in the clutches of literally the worst character: the tragic villainess, Angelina Dourwood.

A dozen squealing maids quickly surrounded us.

“Lady Angelina, be careful! You’ll get your dress soiled!”

“You’ll get bitten!”

“You’ll get—”

“Quiet!” Angelina snapped. “I’m not done. This just isn’t fair! What do you have to say for yourself, fox?”

Oh, no… Even if I managed to break free, there were too many angry maids guarding my escape route! I’d barely lived one year as a fox—I’m too young to die again! I never even got to finish my heavenly lunch!

That gave me an idea. If my fate was sealed with this villainess anyway, then I’d stain her pride with my ultimate attack…!

I licked her face.

For a moment, Angelina looked like she would soil her dress. When the shock faded, she reached a shaky hand to touch the thin layer of ‘jam’ on her cheek.

“Berries…”

I watched the first glimmer of tears begin gathering in her eyes. Her face showed too many different emotions, and I felt her grip loosen around me. Just when I tried to escape, her expression suddenly lightened… until she burst out laughing.

“Oh, you silly little fox!” she said through a fit of giggles, hugging me with both arms. “You could have just said you were hungry! Here, do you need some more?”

…Huh?

---

 

In my previous life, I had always dreamed about being a queen. I wanted to enjoy all the luxuries of living a noble life as I please—without any of those icky noble responsibilities, of course.

In the weirdest way possible, it felt like my dream came true.

“Sophia, look how much Ange just picked for you! Now say ahh~!”

Ahh! Free berries forever… this is the life!

Reborn as a fox in a fantasy world, I did get to keep one thing: my name. Ange couldn’t decide on what to call her new favorite girl, so she rattled off names until reaching ‘Sophia’ and I spoke up. She couldn’t exactly understand my excited foxy barks, but we made it work.

After a month, it still felt like a dream. Somehow, I ended up living in the mansion with a light novel character I thought I knew… and despised. But even though Angelina Dourwood was only twelve now and years away from her ‘real’ villainess debut, she had a sweet and gentle side I never would have imagined, and not just because she loved animals.

I couldn’t help liking her a little more every day.

Across both lifetimes, I was a whole year older than her… but I was a fox. It was intimidating at first, walking across plush carpets on all fours with suspicious maids towering above, watching my every step. And the stairs, why were there so many stairs?!

Ange stood up for me. When the maids protested how I was allowed to roam free indoors and jump on her canopy bed, she protested harder until they relented. Somehow, the lord of the estate never seemed to mind—so long as Ange fulfilled her duties.

Every day she endured maids fussing to fit her with dresses she didn’t want, and practiced her etiquette, and took lessons with a dizzying amount of tutors.

As a fox, I never had to bother with any of that! My soft fur gave me a comfy blanket wherever I lay, a fluffy tail to wrap around me for the perfect pillow, tons of warm cuddles with Ange, and a whole mansion to explore whenever I wanted!

In a way, it felt like I was the one who really got to enjoy the noble life, and Ange noticed.

One evening, I lay curled up in her lap while she brushed my hair. Ange hummed a gentle tune as she always did… until stopping all at once.

“Oh Sophia, it’s not fair!” she huffed. “Can’t we switch, just for a day? I wish I could run away and have an adventure whenever I wanted!”

Ange… It’s like I thought. When she caught me in the garden that day, she was just… envious?

Not long ago, I would have laughed at a noble girl who envied a fox. But now? I understood her too well.

The lone maid in her bedroom shifted on her feet—Ange’s favorite, Katia. I wasn’t sure if she liked Katia because she easily bent to Ange’s whims, or because the young maid was unique with two feline ears overhead and a dark cat’s tail behind.

“Lady Angelina, I-I think it is an honor to call House Dourwood my home!” she said.

Ange sighed, ignoring the attempted comfort. “Katia, tell me another story! You know—about the Mother of Death!”

The maid trembled on the spot. “M-my lady, that’s… It isn’t proper for a human noble to indulge in beastkin f-folktales!”

“Come on! Pleeeease?”

Katia’s tail twitched back and forth before she glanced around as if to check no one else was listening. Satisfied, she leaned forward with a conspiratorial smile.

“Well, just one more…”

Even with my past-life knowledge, it was news me. In this world, many believed in a supernatural entity called the Mother of Death, often a sympathetic death goddess, a benevolent trickster… or like the Grim Reaper. Legends told of her protecting the innocent, meting out justice to the wicked, and guiding the recently departed to the next life right where they were needed.

Suddenly, Ange hugged me a little tighter. “Do you hear that, Sophia? She could be watching over us right now!”

For all her excitement, I couldn’t help finding it ironic at first. As a ‘goddess of the common folk,’ the Mother of Death sounded like the kind of deity who would rather send a future villainess to the afterlife than save her!

But I know Ange now! I know what she’s really like!

‘Till Death Do Us Part.’ It was an infamously tragic light novel I’d read in my previous life, a Cinderella-like story about a heroine overcoming hardship to win her true love—the heir to the throne who… was actually engaged to the villainess:

Angelina Dourwood.

Ange’s noble family had fallen on hard times even before her birth. Her father died mysteriously when she was too little to remember. Her mother passed of illness soon after, leaving the young Ange with nothing but her old violin and musical talent that no one else noticed.

Ange was taken in by her aunt and uncle of House Dourwood where she lived now. But they only wanted to use her for their own political gain and groom her for an arranged marriage.

She never asked for that! I see why should would want some death goddess to save her! What else could we do?

After Ange tucked herself in that night, I gave her fluffy head rubs until I saw her smile again.

“It’s okay Sophia, I love you the most. Good night!”

Good night, Ange… but now I’m not tired anymore!

The Mother of Death? I don’t believe in anything like that! We’ll figure something out. Somehow…

It only seemed like a made-up legend to me—until the dreams began. I woke up in the night, back in a girl’s body instead of a fox. Weirder still was the ominous presence I felt looming outside.

I shrugged it off at first and went back to sleep. Then it happened again, and again.

Eventually, I worked up the courage to head outside and investigate. I didn’t have to go far; a dark silhouette stood in the estate’s gardens, suspiciously close to that hole under the fence.

I approached one cautious step at a time. When I finally got close enough, I spotted someone wearing pitch-black robes, just curvy enough to reveal a feminine figure. A big, round hood covered her face, but she didn’t react to my presence at all. She only seemed to stare toward the mansion…

Right where Ange lay.

“Creepy much?” I scoffed.

No response.

“I get it. You’re mad because you think I cheated death in this garden, so now you want to take Ange instead!”

I’d been afraid that was her fate.

In the novel, Ange had everything taken from her. All that remained was a reluctant engagement to the crown prince… and the heroine ended up taking that, too.

Not long after she turned eighteen, they all gathered for the queen’s ball at the palace. That was supposed to be the opening to her marriage celebrations. It all went wrong when Ange was rejected in front of the whole court instead.

And then… and then…!

Well, they didn’t call it ‘tragedy’ for nothing.

But that was just fiction. None of that had to happen! We could write a new story together. We could reach our own happy ending!

I turned to the robed figure again, confident now. “Guess what? I don’t care what you want—you can’t have her! Ange is mine! For as long as I live, I’ll be the one to protect her. That’s a promise!”

I never had that dream again.

---

 

There wasn’t a day to waste. After an exhausted Ange finished her lessons that evening and retired to her room, I got to work.

I knew where she kept the old violin case. I just had to bite the handle to carry it over.

“Ange, play!”

She couldn’t understand my fox ‘speech,’ but her eyes went wide at my delivery. “Sophia, that’s not a toy!” she said, hugging the case. “That’s… the only thing my mother left me.”

“I want to hear you play!”

She bit her lip for a silent moment, deciding. “I… I remember a song she used to teach me.”

With a look of practiced grace, Ange held the violin to her chin and slid the bow across its strings. She played a slow, enchanting song, almost as if she were sharing a bittersweet memory and bringing me along for the ride. Her ice-blue eyes began melting with tears, trickling down her cheeks until she stopped.

“I-it’s out of tune…” She sniffled, adjusting her grip with a shaky hand. But she never finished. “Sophia, I can’t.”

I gave her another fluffy head rub. “You can do it.”

Before, Ange only seemed to regard me as her dearest pet fox. Now, she saw me as something more. “Alright,” she smiled. “I’ll play for you.”

She began practicing her violin with me every day. I wasn’t much of a tutor, but Lord Dourwood forbade her a formal instructor, and my presence was enough. Besides, I knew Ange had the talent to become the incredible musician she wanted to be—just like her mother.

Ange shouldn’t be anyone’s political pawn! We can make this work!

One year passed into the next, and I spent my ‘teenage years’ growing alongside her. I quickly became a full-grown fox, while Ange blossomed into the charming figure of a lady. It was hard to not envy her now, but the free berries and fluffy cuddles were always worth it.

Something kept Ange busier late one evening. I only discovered she’d had a visitor until I heard the horse-drawn carriage departing.

She dropped onto her bed’s edge, frowning. “Sophia, can you believe it? The crown prince suddenly showed up and asked for my hand in marriage!”

No, it’s here! Her first doom flag! She—

“I turned him down on the spot, naturally. We hardly spoke when we were kids, and he still never apologized for all those things he said! No; not now, not ever. I don’t care how much my uncle staked on this, either!”

She rejected it? That means…!

Ange turned and gently stroked my hair. “You’re the only one who understands me, Sophia. I love you.”

My heart skipped a beat. My tail wagged a little faster.

I love you more…

“But what now?” I asked, my ‘voice’ coming out like a whimper.

She picked me up and held me in her arms. “It’s alright. I’ll take care of you, no matter what happens.”

Ange, I wanted to be a queen before. But now, I only want to be the one holding you in my arms…

We had to leave. Lord Dourwood was most displeased with Ange, to put it lightly. All we had left was a trunk of her clothing and several coins—just enough for humble lodgings in the capital city.

A beastkin landlady took us in. Ange had grown skilled with her violin to make any audience stop and stare in awe, but her casual performances weren’t enough.

I spent most days curled up in our tiny room, tired and weary and doubting everything… like a sickness I couldn’t shake. Ange applied to everyone who would listen, but no one—noble or not—wanted to accept us.

Her reputation preceded her. Somehow, Ange became known as the villainess who rejected the throne… nevermind those rumors involving her pet fox. Hmph!

Still, we stayed together through it all, practicing… and dreaming… and waiting for a miracle.

But we ran out of time.

Ange’s eighteenth birthday came and went in a flash. I only realized it after she returned one fateful evening, holding me tighter than ever.

“Sophia, this might be our chance. It’s silly politics, a rival of my uncle, but… The queen is hosting a ball at the palace. And I’ve been invited—”

“No, you can’t!”

Her lip quivered at my reaction. “I’m sorry, Sophia. We’re out of money. I have to go, and I can’t bring you with me this time.”

“Wait! Something bad will happen, anything but that! Let’s run away. Let’s have that adventure you… always wanted to…”

She touched her forehead to mine. “I’ll see you soon.” Ange put on her fanciest dress, grabbed her violin case, and walked out the door.

No, no… We worked so hard. This isn’t supposed to happen! That’s where she dies! Or—

Any icy chill cut into my bones, shrouding my vision in darkness. My body felt impossibly heavy. I tried to stand up, but my legs crumpled to the floor.

These are the longest hours of my life! What’s happening? This isn’t like when I’ve gotten sick before. After all these years, why…

Years? Oh, that’s right… Foxes don’t live very long.

I…

I’m going to…

When the door flew open, the whole room trembled. “We did it, Sophia! They loved my performance—‘the finest violin in the land!’ I couldn’t have done it without you! Everything will be alright now, we can… Sophia?”

I got to see her again, one last time. Even when the world had turned so cold and dark, I was happy. I couldn’t make out the words she wailed or the tears streaming down her face, but I could still feel the warmth in her arms.

You don’t have to apologize, Ange. We won. But…

It’s not fair…

At the corner of my fading vision, I spotted something. A hooded figure in pitch-black robes stood watching us, someone I’d seen in a dream long, long ago.

You can’t have her…

Slowly, she pulled back her hood to reveal a gentle smile—and two fox ears over her head.

“You kept your promise.”

---

 

In my previous life, I had always dreamed about being a queen. No, that was two lifetimes ago.

I woke up in that same tiny room where I died, but not as a fox. The mirror on the wall showed me a reflection of the lady I always would have been—well, with an extra pair of fox ears, a fluffy tail behind me, and a beautiful brunette crying on my lap. She had the face of an angel… and the tear-stained eyes of the villainess I love.

When I finally got to hold Ange in my arms, I thought I’d never let her go.

A month passed, and it was our last day before moving out. We went for an ‘adventure’ in the forest I’d known once upon a time, blushing and smiling hand-in-hand the whole way.

But Ange had more than picking berries on her mind. “Sophia, you were always special to me. More than anyone else. But now… I really mean it when I say I love you!”

I always wanted to see this side of her—and do all the things we couldn’t before. “Then show me.”

Our first kiss tasted sweeter than anything in the world.

I don’t know where we’ll end up next, but wherever it is, we’ll always go there together.