Hope woke up the next day, still exhausted from the overwhelming realization that she had become Evelina. Her mind, clouded with disbelief, prompted her to punch her own face, as if testing if this was a dream.

"I can't believe this is real..." she muttered, wincing at the slight sting.

Her body, still foreign to her, felt unfamiliar and sluggish. She tried to move, but the elegance that Evelina’s body seemed accustomed to was beyond her grasp. It was like being trapped in a stranger's skin.

A knock interrupted her thoughts.

“Come in,” Hope responded reflexively, her voice laced with an unintentional authority that belonged to Evelina, not her.

The door creaked open, revealing Shiri, Evelina’s personal maid. She entered with a soft smile, bowing slightly as she greeted Hope.

From that moment, Hope realized just how vastly different this world was. Every task, no matter how small, was taken care of by the maids. She didn’t lift a finger. The maids even bathed her, styling her hair and dressing her up like a delicate doll.

As she looked into the mirror afterward, Hope couldn’t help but chuckle.

"Rich and beautiful... I guess I could get used to this," she mused aloud, then quickly shook her head. "No, no, I shouldn’t think like that. Knowing my luck, it’ll all get jinxed."

Shiri approached quietly. “Miss, about breakfast…”

Hope composed herself and responded, “Bring it to my room. If anyone asks about me, just say I’m still recovering.”

The words felt bitter. “Evelina—that is, me—woke up from a  illness yesterday, and not one family member has come to check on her. Not a single one,” Hope muttered under her breath once Shiri left the room*. “I guess it’s for the best. I wouldn’t even know how to act around them right now. Avoiding them seems like the safest option for now."*

As Shiri disappeared to fetch breakfast, the other maids silently moved about, cleaning and tidying the room with mechanical precision. Hope sat at a reading desk, gathering her thoughts. She needed to understand her situation—what had happened to Evelina and where she was in the timeline of the novel.

She grabbed a quill and began jotting down everything she remembered about the world she was now trapped in.

The novel’s setting came rushing back: a world where supernatural beasts and monsters existed alongside humans. Humans, suffering from unfair disadvantages, were eventually blessed by the gods with special abilities, and from those blessings, the *Bloomers* were born.

Bloomers—humans who possessed extraordinary abilities through the use of an energy source called ‘Mana.’ The strongest of them were deemed fit to rule, and so, for generations, the empire's emperors had all been powerful Bloomers.

Nobles, with their ancient bloodlines, typically inherited the most potent forms of Mana, and thus, they served directly under the emperor. Even commoners, if born with this gift, could rise to serve the empire.

The current emperor had five sons, with the Crown Prince, his second son, being the strongest. Crown Prince Caelum was a fire-type user, and as the novel's male lead, he was immensely popular among the common people. On one of his missions, he met the female lead—Evelina’s younger sister, Selene Greystone.

Selene was a special Bloomer from the prestigious Duke Greystone’s family, whereas Evelina, who hadn’t yet "bloomed," was seen as a failure. Consumed by jealousy over her younger sister’s abilities, Evelina began her descent into villainy.

As Hope recalled, Evelina’s downfall was both tragic and swift. After a series of cruel acts against her sister, she was eventually married off to a tyrant prince from a neighboring country, her father having grown tired of her behavior. That was where Evelina’s role in the story ended—discarded and forgotten.

Hope leaned her head on the desk, sighing heavily. “How do I survive this? I need to know which part of the novel I’m in. There was never any mention of Evelina being ill for a month. My brain’s melting.”

Her thoughts were interrupted by the soft knock of Shiri returning from the kitchen, confirming what Hope had already suspected.

“Miss,” Shiri began, her voice hesitant, “no one has asked about your recovery.”

Hope smiled wryly. "Just as I thought... No one cares about Evelina waking up."