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Chapter 02
Reincarnated into a Novel World
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(—Could this… really be the world of a novel?)
I, Lilibelle, gazed absentmindedly at the ceiling and understood it like a sudden revelation.
I was on my bed in my room, burning with a fever that seemed to have no end.
“Hah… okay, let’s try to sort this out…”
My mind was a complete mess. Dizzy and disoriented, I closed my eyes.
(Right, my name is Lilibelle Ilse Gutenberg… wasn’t it?)
I am the first princess of this country, with wavy pink hair and blue eyes, fifteen years old.
The youngest of three siblings, I have two stunningly handsome elder brothers.
The first prince, Luke, is the perfect golden-haired, blue-eyed prince.
The second prince, Roland, who has a different mother, has gorgeous red hair and excels in combat as a knight.
And me… I am a pawn of a political marriage, abandoned in a remote palace, without any talent or charm. It’s sad to admit it aloud.
My father, the king, barely acknowledges my existence, and my mother has long since passed away.
So far, this all matches my memories as Lilibelle—nothing unusual.
What’s different is another memory.
Blinking, I tried to make sense of the strange, sudden influx of information that had appeared in my mind—memories completely unlike this world.
Perhaps because I had hovered between life and death, my memories of a previous life had awakened.
And naturally, it threw me into complete confusion. My head was a jumbled mess of events.
I had once been Japanese.
Less than a year after entering the workforce, I collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. From there, I spent the rest of my short life battling illness—and eventually, I died.
I still had so many things I wanted to do. I wanted to make my parents proud. I wanted to travel with my earnings.
I still wanted to read all the novels I loved… and then, while burning with fever, it hit me.
In my previous life, I knew this world.
This world was none other than the light novel I had read—a slightly mature, women-oriented story titled “I Was an Oppressed Young Lady, but I’m Now Pampered by Two Princes and It’s a Problem.”
And the “two princes” mentioned were, without a doubt, my two older brothers.
The story followed Adelina, a viscount’s daughter, oppressed by her stepfamily, who meets two princes at a masked ball and ends up being doted upon—a Cinderella story I had loved with all my heart.
Up to this point, it sounds perfect!
(…But Lilibelle’s role in the novel… is just a minor character who disappears quickly. I’m doomed.)
My fevered brain recalled my position in the novel and sank.
Lilibelle is introduced in the prologue as a dazzling princess of the royal family (illustrated!) but by the middle of the story, it is revealed that she has already passed away—briefly, matter-of-factly, in narration.
It’s as if a character in a historical drama died off-screen, and the narration casually mentions it.
It’s what they call a “narrative death.”
(And that’s depressing enough… but somehow I already feel like I’m destined for misfortune.)
This wasn’t mentioned in the novel itself.
The early chapters of “Oppressed but Pampered” are packed with Adelina’s suffering at the hands of her family, which made my chest ache while reading.
The two princes only attend the masked ball because a friend, seeing their mourning over the princess’s death, takes them outside…
In other words, my death becomes a key point for the heroes’ emotional depth. A juicy part! I love that kind of thing.
But…
(I can’t be the one who dies, can I…!?)
I have always loved stories and had wished to be inside one, though I never aimed to become the heroine.
I just wanted to watch their flirtatious romance unfold, as a wallflower. That would have been fine.
“Ugh… this is too much!”
I couldn’t believe it. This was real. Fully awake now, I slowly lifted my body. My throat was incredibly dry.
Thinking too much must have taken its toll; my throat burned like fire.
I reached out dully to the water jug beside my pillow. But when I picked it up, it was so light that I realized immediately it was empty—just a decorative object.
(…Ah, right. That’s how I’ve been treated.)
In my fevered haze, I recalled my life as Lilibelle.
Though a princess, I was confined to a remote palace, and only minimal care was given. It was not unusual for the maids to neglect certain duties.
Even now, burning with fever, I had no attendants.
If I called a maid now, she might not come right away.
(…Actually, it’s doubtful she would come at all…)
With my body immobilized, I couldn’t protest. Because I didn’t protest, the maids treated me even more negligently.
As I pondered in a daze, clutching the water jug, something came to mind.
(…Right, I can use water magic!)
In this world, there are people who can use magic.
Magic is the art of channeling mana into the world’s elements to temporarily bend the laws of nature—at least, that’s what the novel said.
Fire, water, wind, earth, and light and darkness.
The type of magic a person can use differs, affected by their mana capacity, constitution, and natural talent. Mana also often correlates with social status.
Even a princess like Lilibelle has a baseline amount of magic, no matter how secluded she has been.
I focused my trembling fingers on the cup and concentrated.
(Please… give me water…)
I didn’t know any spells, so all I could do was will it strongly.
Then, at the bottom of the dry cup, a small droplet appeared with a soft plop. Another droplet. And another… until enough water accumulated to take a sip.
I brought it to my lips.
“Delicious…”
It wasn’t enough to quench my thirst, but it calmed me just a little.
It seems my magic reserves are small.
Perhaps due to the fever, but even producing a little water drained me completely.
Maybe this is part of the reason I’ve been treated so coldly.
Dizzy, I collapsed back onto the bed.
