[A bit later, Caelia walks in the palace halls where the maid is leading her to the palace library. On their way there, Caelia takes in her surroundings of the large palace. The walls are ornate but crumbling. Some wooden panels are warped. A faint draft whistles through some cracks on the wall. As they were walking, Caelia unconsciously kept a mental note of the structural integrity of the palace.]

CAELIA - INNER MONOLOGUE:
How poetic. Even the palace is falling apart.

[Off in the distance at a large staircase, Caelia notices a couple of maids struggling to haul heavy buckets up the stairs- their faces red, hands raw. Watching them struggle caused Caelia to feel bad for them.]

Do they do this everyday? It looks like it’s painful.

CAELIA (curious to the maid):

“Do the maids always have to carry buckets of water upstairs?”

[The maid slightly turns her head around, surprised that Caelia Ardent had asked a question, let alone a question not pertaining to her nor the crown prince.]

MAID (stuttering):

“Y-Yes… The water source at Everhart Palace is at ground level so we have to bring them to the second floor for cleaning… We usually do it earlier but with Prince Theodoric’s departure this morning, our schedule got delayed…”

[Hearing a familiar phrase, Caelia perks up hearing the crown prince’s name.]

CAELIA (probing): 

“Where is the crown prince?”

[Nervous that Caelia would be upset that the crown prince left before she awoke, the maid starts to shake.]

MAID (scared): 

“P-Prince Theodoric just left for his expedition this morning, Lady Caelia.”

CAELIA - INNER MONOLOGUE:

I see now. My suspicions are correct. I’ve been reincarnated as Caelia Ardent, the villainess from the short novel, “The Radiant Rose of Everhart.” Right now, I believe Caelia and the female lead are staying at the Everhart palace. 

We are in the time where male lead, Prince Theodoric Everhart, left the kingdom on a six month quest. Then after that is the coveted crowning ceremony where it will be announced that the king and queen choose the female lead as the next empress. 

And Prince Theodoric announces the execution of Caelia Ardent for her cruel behavior.

I couldn’t at least be reborn as Caelia from the start instead of literally at the worst time?! 

Now I have to reap the major consequences of her actions…

[A sense of relief fills Caelia’s chest now that she has some sort of understanding of the timeline.]

CAELIA (kind):

“Thank you.”

[The maid is in so much shock that she almost stops in place.]

MAID - INNER MONOLOGUE:

What is up with her today…?! This is even more scary than her usual self!

───── ⋆⋅⊹⋅⋆ ─────

[Caelia finds herself alone at the palace library after the maid guided her there. The library is engulfed in books, the walls have books lined from the floor to ceiling. There are also some desks in the library, with stacks of books on them. She leans against a bookshelf, arms crossed, thinking about what she should do, shadows from candlelights flicker across her face.]

CAELIA - INNER MONOLOGUE:
So I’m stuck here. As Caelia. In a story where I’m supposed to die in about 6 months.

Hopefully, there are some books here that can explain something. Magic exists in this universe, right? Maybe? Or am I mistaking it for another story I read…. 

[She frantically skims the bookshelves for any book titles pertaining to anything to do with magic, but to no avail.]

Alright, it seems like there is no magic in this universe… It seems as though my memories of multiple stories are bleeding into one another…

I don’t particularly remember exact details of the timeline as I’m pretty sure the original story is very short…

[Caelia goes deep into her psyche to try and remember the timeline of the original story.]

Right now, Prince Theodoric is on his exhibition and this is the time where Caelia tortures the main female lead the most. But… I don’t really want to involve myself in something like that.

[In defeat, Caelia sits down at one of the chairs in the library. Next to a large window, the sunlight shines bright in her face. She looks up to the ceiling, a common thing she would do in her past life, and starts to think about her past.]

I wouldn’t say my past life was important. Honestly, I might’ve been a waste of precious air.
Why was someone like me given a second chance? 

If I couldn’t survive there — in the modern world,
How the hell am I supposed to survive here?

Should I even try to do anything about it…?

[Caelia exhales and her shoulders sag. Looking over at the window, she stares through the cracks, her reflection in the glass looks fragile. Sunlight casts long shadows across the floor.]

What would the original Caelia do?

[Her face framed by the sunlight, Caelia sits alone in the massive palace library- her face uncertain.]

Let’s try to map out the timeline…

[Feeling obligated to, she takes out a piece of paper and a pencil and starts to draw a timeline.]

₊ . ⊹  ݁ ₊‧ . ‿⊱༻✶༺⊰‿ . ‧₊ ݁ ⊹ . ₊ . ⊹  ݁ ₊‧ . ‿⊱༻✶༺⊰‿ . ‧₊ ݁ ⊹ . ₊

[STORYBOOK FLASHBACK: The Radiant Rose of Everhart]
Once upon a time, in the great empire of Everhart… there bloomed a rose.

Her name was Annalise Herron.
A kind, sweet, and beautiful girl who was beloved by the people of her hometown.

Her striking golden hair and blue eyes caught the attention of Prince Theodoric Everhart.
Though she was a commoner, his heart chose her from the very first time he saw her.

Caelia Ardent, the Princess from the North, a proud, sharp-tongued, noble-born, had been in love with Theodoric since they were young. And due to political benefits, her family was also adamant into wanting her and Theodoric to wed. 

In the kingdom of Everhart, in order to choose the next spouse of a royal candidate, the crown prince chooses prospects to live in his palace for an allotted amount of time. During this time, the king and queen observe the prospects and get to know them better, assessing if they would be fit to lead a nation. Then, at the grand crowning ceremony, the king and queen choose their son’s wife, the next empress. This arrangement is to ensure that the king and queen approve of the next empress while the prince still gets to marry a candidate of whom he wants. 

Prince Theo, in love with Annalise, chose Annalise and Caelia as prospects. This was on purpose as he knew Caelia was a wicked witch that his parents would never approve of, forcing them to choose Annalise which was his ultimate goal. No one knew of his motive, but as he predicted, Caelia despised Annalise with all her heart and showed her cruel side.

Driven by jealousy and entitlement, Caelia plotted to destroy Annalise and her reputation.

First starting with simple tricks like sabotaging her wardrobe…

To then embarrass her at royal balls and tea parties…

To then mentally torment her…
She performed many antics but heroine Annalise would always deal with it with grace. 

But one day, Caelia went too far. 

[Right when Caelia committed her final scheme, Annalise’s body laid on the ground, unresponsive. Caelia stood over it, frozen and in shock.]

The empire would not tolerate cruelty — not even from nobility. 

[In the final act of the short story, Caelia knelt before the prince with her arms behind her back and her neck exposed. He raised his sword above him, preparing to strike. Her face looked back up at him, twisted with rage and fear.]

Her ending was tragic, yet deserved.
Condemned by the prince’s own hand… the villainess met her fate and died by the hands of the only one she ever loved.

₊ . ⊹  ݁ ₊‧ . ‿⊱༻✶༺⊰‿ . ‧₊ ݁ ⊹ . ₊ . ⊹  ݁ ₊‧ . ‿⊱༻✶༺⊰‿ . ‧₊ ݁ ⊹ . ₊

[At the library, Caelia leans over the desk, on top of the paper she wrote on of her faint memory of the timeline.]

CAELIA - INNER MONOLOGUE:
Until the crowning ceremony. That’s all I have before that scene becomes my reality. At this point, the Original Caelia must have done too much to Annalise already but I want to stop that immediately.

[Caelia rubs her temples and groans. She sighs to herself, feeling incompetent.]

No villainess manual. No magic. No cheats.
Just… me.

And a faint memory of a romance novel I barely skimmed on some random night.

[She leans back in the chair, feeling defeated staring at the ceiling. Then her eyes trail to the dusty library windows where they were cracked with weak hinges and poor sealing. Observing this, Caelia then remembers the maids, their hands red and raw from lugging buckets of water up the stairs.]
This palace is actually falling apart- wood is warped, doors don’t shut properly, the maids are hauling gallons of water up three flights of stairs like it’s normal. Their hands must really hurt… Nothing in this palace seems efficient…

[She gets up from sitting and starts pacing around the large library, almost getting lost in the process. Near the large library entryway, she stumbles on a desk that was piled high with grid paper and thick textbooks. Curious, Caelia picks up a textbook, the title: “ENGINEERING AND STRUCTURAL INFRASTRUCTURE FUNDAMENTALS”]

CAELIA - INNER MONOLOGUE:

What…? Engineering exists in this universe??

[Caelia frantically sits down at the desk and flips open the engineering text. She feels a sense of nostalgia as she is flipping through. All the numbers and proofs and sketches give her a sense of familiarity in the foreign world she was put in.]

Man… This reminds me of old times at school…

[She ends up on a page about pulleys that included derivations, full body diagrams with external and internal forces, and practice problems. She smiles to herself.]

It’s been a while since I’ve done practice problems…

Maybe I can practice some problems as a way of coping that this is my life now.

[After thinking for a little bit, Caelia suddenly thought of the maid’s raw and painful hands she saw. Then a lightbulb went off in her head.]

I’m not sure if I could pull it off… But maybe I can try something….

[Caelia sits at the desk with paper in front of her and finds a pencil on the desk. She starts sketching out her ideas on the paper, using the engineering text as a reference.]

───── ⋆⋅⊹⋅⋆ ─────

[Later in the afternoon, sunlight continues to streak across Caelia’s working station, shining on a pile of scrap pieces of parchment. Caelia is working on her pulley system, making sure the math is correct by cross referencing the engineering textbook.]

CAELIA (muttering to herself):
“Buckets up three flights. That’s… what, thirty pounds each? Leverage. Tension. Maybe a crank…?

[She quickly sketches a side profile of a pulley rig, then scratches it out.]

No… wood won’t support that much tension unless it's reinforced. Maybe if I brace it with cross beams? Wait, no. Maybe I can get away with just using wood if I make it thicker…?”

───── ⋆⋅⊹⋅⋆ ─────

[Time passes and the sky grows darker and darker. Caelia is so focused on her problem that she had not left that same spot the entire day. It was a normal thing for Norma to stick on a problem until it was solved. All of a sudden, she hears the doors open. It was a maid.]

MAID (scared):
“Y-Your Grace, supper has been prepared.”

[Caelia does not look up from her paper, still diligently working.]

CAELIA (stern):
“Later. I’m working.”

MAID (surprised):
“A-Are you sure you don’t want supper?”

[Caelia starts scratching her head, confused at the problem. She continues to deliberate about her problem, not taking her eyes off of it.]

CAELIA (frustrated):
“And I’m not leaving until I finish this. Please.”

[The maid quietly bows and exits, closing the library doors.]

───── ⋆⋅⊹⋅⋆ ─────

[A while later, late in the night, the palace became cold and dark. Caelia is still working hard at the library, lit only with the candle at the desk. Once she finishes her sketch, she circles the final math. Accomplished, she holds her sketch up with two hands and smiles.]

CAELIA - INNER MONOLOGUE:

FINALLY! The math lines up! Man, that was really fun! 

[Her smile starts to waver as the dopamine wears off and she slowly lowers the sketch.]

That took me embarrassingly long but… this is only all for fun.

[She closes the huge engineering textbook and stretches her arms out into the void, her body cracking. Deciding that she can’t do anything about her situation, Caelia accepts.]

If I die, so be it. I can’t do anything. I’m just going to let it play out. 

[All of a sudden, the wood floor creaks and the library doors suddenly open. A shadow shifts and stands at the door. Caelia looks up at the shadow sharply.]

CAELIA:
“Who’s there?”

[A tall man steps into the room. Dark brown hair, starry blue eyes, rolled sleeves, confident posture. His bone structure is chiseled and his face is handsome, wearing a mellow demeanor. Looking at him, Caelia unconsciously blushes slightly.]

MAN:
“Didn’t mean to intrude, Lady Ardent. It seems to be very late.”

[Repressing her initial reaction to him, Caelia reverts back to being stoic.]

CAELIA (on edge):
“Who are you?”

MAN (calmly):
“Cassian. New butler. Just getting familiar with the palace.”

CAELIA (suspiciously):
“A butler… who wanders the library unsupervised?

[Caelia looks up and down at Cassian, noticing that he wasn’t wearing a butler uniform and wearing a white long sleeve and pants.]

And also isn’t wearing the same uniform as the other butlers…?”

CASSIAN (smiles slightly):
“It’s my first week. Didn’t realize the library was off-limits. I apologize, Lady Ardent.”

[The two lock eyes, his starry blue eyes look directly into hers. She shifts awkwardly, stands up, and begins to gather her sketches.]

CAELIA:
“W-Well, it is late. Don’t let the head maid catch you.”

CASSIAN:
“Understood, Lady Ardent.”

[Caelia shuffles her papers quickly, accidentally missing one beneath a larger scroll. Carrying them in her arms, she walks towards the open door. Passing him, she gives him one last glance as she leaves the library.]

CAELIA- INNER MONOLOGUE:
I don’t remember anyone named Cassian in “The Radiant Rose of Everhart”.

───── ⋆⋅⊹⋅⋆ ─────

[The library doors click shut and Cassian sighs to himself in relief. He walks slowly to the desk Caelia was working on and spots the single sheet left behind. Intrigued, he picks it up. Once his eyes laid on Caelia’s work, his eyes slightly widened.]

CASSIAN (softly):
“Blueprints? These are… no, this is real work.”

───── ⋆⋅⊹⋅⋆ ─────

[After that encounter, Caelia ends up in her bedroom and immediately lies down on her bed. She replays the encounter she just had in her head.] 

CAELIA - INNER MONOLOGUE:
He didn’t see much… right? Right. Just a new servant.

It would be weird if all of a sudden, a royal was into engineering.

Especially Caelia Ardent who was only known to be cruel and selfish…

I’m pleasantly surprised that engineering exists in this universe. 

At least I can try to find some joy in that before my inevitable death…

[Caelia lies back, staring at the ceiling with empty eyes and accepting her demise.]

Maybe I can go back to the library tomorrow and work on some practice problems for fun again…

₊ . ⊹  ݁ ₊‧ . ‿⊱༻✶༺⊰‿ . ‧₊ ݁ ⊹ . ₊ . ⊹  ݁ ₊‧ . ‿⊱༻✶༺⊰‿ . ‧₊ ݁ ⊹ . ₊

[End of Chapter 1]