〈 Chapter 3 - Primal Fear 〉

Thin streams of smoke rose up in the air. The strong smell of burning oil incense sticks filled the room. Fresh flowers were placed around the room in vases and pots. Fragrant herbs and flower petals were arranged in glass jars capped with cork atop the counter and along the wall. Sweet-scented concoctions, citrus extracts, perfumed oils, powders, and aromatic mints were stored on shelves. Lye and tallow soaps and clean towels lined the nearby cabinet.

Garnet stood in front of a metal basin filled with clean scented water and leaned against the edge of the countertop it rested on. With her face so close to a polished brass mirror that her breath fogged the surface she studied her own facial features and eyes. Peering deep into her own crimson irises she studied the red spokes and black pupils as they stared back. Framing her face was long black wavy hair styled with curled ringlet ends. It was clear why this girl was named Garnet Noire Valeria. Just like the deep red gemstone her eyes sparkled and her hair was a midnight black.

She touched her soft pink lips and smooth face with a thin manicured hand. Trailing her hand down her face and neck she thought to herself how incredibly creepy it was not being able to recognize herself. Her own identity was now a permanent mask rooted to her flesh and bone. Even the blood flowing through her was a foreign substance.

Her limbs, which had rebelled against her, were being tamed. Slowly improving her coordination through constant practice enabled her to walk while supported. Resting one hand against the hallway wall while her other side was supported by the Clumsy Brunette, now known as Mira, allowed her the illusion of normal mobility. It was ironic though that the girl who could barely balance and stay standing had constantly thought of her maid as the clumsy one. She pushed away the self-contemptuous scornful humour entering her mind as she looked back at the carved stone chamber pot chair behind her.

It was painfully clear that the interior contents of this beautiful veneer were a major drag. Despite that Garnet thought of herself as one of the most supremely fortunate human beings in existence. After all, she was still a human wasn't she?

If something as nonsensical as transmigration was clearly possible then wasn't it also possible that she could have become an insect? A dog? A filthy sub-human creature of some sort that crawled on the ground and ate slop? Surely if she had become something so foul she would have committed suicide due to insufferable psychological distress. Even finding herself dead in hell was no longer outside the realm of possibility.

*But instead I'm beautiful."

She could only imagine the envious eyes of others falling on her.

*Filthy rich.*

She delicately lifted up a necklace set with gemstones and let it fall back down to her chest.

*Powerful.*

The way the servants obeyed and trembled showed her so.

Garnet thought that it simply wouldn't do to complain so much. One way or another, even these things were as good as treasure to her considering the worst case scenarios that could have played out, and the greatest benefit came down to lifespan. In the face of the primal fear and great equalizer, death, what do people have if not life? She was young again, not that she had been old before, but the possibly of adding more than a decade to her lifespan was something irreplaceable.

"... but death ..."

She whispered those words to herself recalling the events of the past few days. The mirror showcased a girl without a trace of good humour.

She had come to the conclusion that Garnet's life in this world was a sick joke. Her life was now a sick joke.

She was a duke's daughter engaged to the crown prince, Roland Ulric, of the Kingdom of Erudotti, and was currently attending the Royal Magic Academy of Eru with a cast of overly hot men happening to be the same age. She also appeared to be the queen bee leading a group of high maintenance, high profile girls, also known as her "friends", which were engaged to the formerly mentioned overly hot men. This was clearly an otome game setting, and with her elegant, flower of evil, villainess face she inwardly broke out in a cold sweat.

An otome game, otoge for short, (乙女ゲーム literally translated as "maiden game" from Japanese to English) is a role playing video game targeted primarily at a female audience. The player takes the role of a heroine whose main goal is to develop a romantic relationship with one or more "capturable" male targets. Most often rival villainess characters appear in otome games to antagonize the heroine's romantic ambitions. Depending on the player's decisions throughout the story there are often multiple different romantic routes and endings. These endings can generally be split into 2 different types, bad ends and good ends. In good ends the heroine can expect a "happily ever after" conclusion to their life. In bad ends everything from trivial grievances to catastrophic death can occur to the heroine.

However, for Garnet the more troubling part of otome games was the role that villainess characters played. And if her head was on straight then she, Garnet Noire Valeria Queen of Bitches, was the primary villainess.

In most good ends for the heroine the rival villainess characters often experience their bad end. A bad end for a villainess character is often far more harsh and brutal than a bad end for a heroine. Financial ruin, social exile, criminal charges, imprisonment, death, torture, complete loss of social status, slavery, a maimed or mutilated body, broken engagements, rape, and many more bizarre bad ends are typical. Sometimes the punishment is well deserved due to the villainess' corruption and misdeeds, while other times the punishment is disproportionately large. Despite all that, the punishment is rarely if ever paltry. She was forced into the role of a pyre about to be set ablaze in a flamboyant spectacle for all to jeer at.

*Tch. A shit genre for lonely failures who have nothing else in their empty lives to fulfill them. Who would make this crap?*

No wonder all the servants acted so strangely and fearfully around her. She hadn't made any effort to be polite to them, and had surely been quite direct and straightforward while talking to the point of being brash and rude, but still they seemed surprised at her every action.

*Of course they would. Garnet, standing at the pinnacle of all bitches, suddenly calmed down.*

She didn't have the ability nor the desire to emulate such a severely detestable girl, but at the very least she tried to keep up appearances. Garnet wondered what would turn a girl into such a repugnant irascible gorgon. After all, it takes talent to foster an unsavoury character of that level.

"Hpmf. None of it matters. I refuse to meet such a shameful end."

Saying those words to comfort her own shaken heart was like depending on the reassurance of a dubious charm, but she didn't want to bow down to misfortune. She had to deny her bad end, lest it be ingrained in her mind and haunt her. She thought that her face was only capable of scorn and arrogance, but the last reflection she saw leaving the room was filled with uncertainty and a tinge of fear.

〈 Author's Note 〉

Yes, another chapter for this week. I'm very happy with this chapter as it progresses the story while developing a character. I'm currently thinking about how I can manage to raise the other characters who will be introduced in future chapters to the same level of complexity and uniqueness. Hard to say, but I will try, ohohoho. My goal for characters in this story is that none of them should be stupid. Each and every one should have a motivation that drives them. We'll see how successfully I can pull it off.

My professor once told me, "One who understands human fear understands human behaviour."

Being the author of this story makes me feel like everything I do is solely to amplify the suffering each and every character experiences. It's like I'm actually a villain who can only think about using others' fear and desire against them or misleading everyone so that they have to struggle if they want to survive. I'm doing my best to make people fight and clash with one another as well. I want to tempt the dark side of each character or bring their worst qualities to the forefront ... oh dear.