A Match Made in Mana

The Beginning

She tossed and turned in bed with a deadly fever. It was so severe that she was actually unconscious for an entire week. Everyone expected her to die, but somehow Lilienne survived.

And now...

There’s no doubt about it. I can remember everything.

A long time ago, before she’d become Lilienne, she remembered herself living in another world. In that other world, she’d read about Lilienne’s whole life—in detail, from beginning to end—in a novel. Perhaps it was the long hours she’d spent practically in a coma that had unlocked these buried memories, but now, all she could do was take deep breaths and try to keep calm—not that it helped.

Her ears were full of an unpleasant, wailing voice.

“How can a young girl like you be sold into marriage like this?! And to somewhere so far away!” Lilienne’s nanny was hugging her tightly against her chest, making a huge fuss over her. “How can Lord Sedrick do this to you?! Even if you’re only his half-sister... How horrid! It’s as if he were just waiting for your mother and father to die all along.”

Maybe. Lilienne could only smile weakly. She thought that her half-brother deserved praise, actually, for not immediately executing the daughter of his despicable stepmother. Her mother had been the second wife of the Prince-Elector, and from the start of their relationship she had treated her husband’s son with honest emotions—she’d shown him only envy, contempt, and abuse.

“Oh, my poor lady, if only Her Highness were still alive!” the nanny continued.

Lilienne could only shrug in response, feeling no sense of loss over a mother who’d ignored her all her life, just because she hadn’t been a boy. Not to mention, this woman—who was howling and squeezing her tightly in excessive compassion—had been just as bad. This woman hadn’t been her nanny in the beginning. She’d actually been employed as the serving woman for Lilienne’s mother but then had tactfully changed course the moment her lady had died.

“And you’re only twelve years old...!” the nanny moaned.

The woman was trying to blow the whole situation out of proportion, aiming to instill fear in her young charge, ensuring that she would feel the need to remain dependent on her nanny. None of her show was because she actually cared for Lilienne.

Just before she’d fallen ill, Lilienne had depended wholly on this woman, trusted her completely. The woman had doted on her, showering her with pity and attention for losing her parents so recently, and at such a young age, and Lilienne had believed every word out of her mouth.

But not anymore.

With her memories of the original story, she knew that the nanny only wanted to use her as a pawn against her brother, aiming to steal any bit of wealth or prestige that she could. Lilienne knew this was her best chance to get rid of her, so she escaped the woman’s embrace and pulled an item out from under her pillow that she’d prepared just for this.

“Nanny,” she said, holding it out.

“Oh, my word! My lady...!”

It was a stunning necklace, boasting a full string of shimmering diamonds that held up a large, oval-shaped emerald. Lilienne smiled and handed it to her without a word.

She gasped. “Your own mother’s... The princess’s necklace! How... How can you give such a precious item to me?”

Though she was protesting with her words, her face shone with unabashed glee as she eagerly stuffed the necklace into her keepsake.

“My lady, you are ever so kind and generous,” she simpered. “I’ll protect you from everything that’s going to happen. No matter what!”

“There won’t be any need for that,” said Lilienne, still smiling. “You’re fired.”

“Excuse me?”

“That’s your severance,” Lilienne said smoothly.

The woman merely gawked at her, eyes wide and expression frozen. After a second of silence, she switched tactics and began berating Lilienne loudly, saying it was wrong to lie and tease her beloved nanny like that.

However, young Lilienne stood there passively and calmly, looking just like someone who was firmly in control of the situation. Slowly, the nanny began to realize that this wasn’t a joke.

“W-why are you doing this to me, my lady?”

Having been waiting for this, Lilienne said savagely, “I know you’ve been plotting to turn my brother and me against each other. To turn things all to your own advantage.”

The woman’s mouth dropped open, stunned that a twelve-year-old girl had known her exact plans.

“If you don’t leave quietly now, then I’m going to raise the alarm and say you stole that necklace.”

The woman gulped.

“So how would you like this to go?” asked Lilienne, speaking as nonchalantly as if she were asking about the dinner menu.

Lilienne’s nanny had spent more than half her life as a maid serving a spoiled, haughty, imperious woman, and she’d learned very quickly to spot signs of danger. She knew that she had no chance of overpowering this little girl and that if she weren’t careful, she would be kicked out of the castle with nothing more than the clothes on her back. The woman unconsciously clutched the bag that now held the necklace.

Her decision made clear, Lilienne smiled.