Chapter 3 - Malia

Maya stopped crying when Lily started knocking on the door, "Miss, I'm here to clear out the dishes." Lily was standing on the other side of the door.

"Give me a second", she started wiping her tears. She stood up and wiped her tears using the hems of her dress. She then proceeded to open the door and let Lily in.

"Lily, I don't think I want to eat dinner later. I'm going to rest for the entire day. Please don't let anyone disturb my rest.", Maya said with a hoarse voice. She's also trying to clear her throat and sniff slightly in between words.

Lily looked at her for a moment, then nodded "… I understand Miss.".

She quickly cleaned the table on the balcony. She also left some cookies just in case the lady wants to nibble something in the afternoon. She also replaced the flowers on the vanity table as she knows that her lady likes new flowers every three days.

Maya was watching Lily work around emptying her trolley tray that contained desserts and flowers.

When Lily finished everything, she bid goodbye and closed the door behind her. Maya then locked the doors before stripping off all her clothes, leaving only a white tunic dress, then she climbed onto the bed.

She placed her mask on the bedside table, then she just kept staring at the ceiling for hours, thinking and hugging herself. She would cry every now and then when she thought of the fond memories with her family. She would also casually scan Malia's diary and would try to understand how Malia deals with her everyday life. She just stayed that way repeatedly for hours until she fell asleep.

***

Maya woke up with a tired body and a stuffy nose.

The sky outside was blueish in color or light blue. She looked at the clock on the vanity table and the time was 5:48. She was a little disoriented and thought hard about if it was 5:48 of the same day or if it was an entirely new day.

After a few minutes, she noticed the sky turned lighter, which signaled that it was a brand-new day. "HA! HA! HA!", She shouted while punching the air; trying to energize her mind and body. Yesterday was her day to let go of everything and accept things as they are.

She acknowledges the fact that she needs to move on and live this new life to the fullest. 'I have already wasted one life; I won't let it happen again'.

Maya slowly dragged herself out of bed. She took a sluggish pace directly to the door on her left and, much to her surprise, she was greeted with a spacious and magnificent bathroom.

The bathroom looked really fancy. She was intimidated to step on the marble floor. "Is this real gold?", she touched the faucets with symbols that she thinks were for the temperature. On the white walls, she glanced at glass containers with labels for shampoo and shower cream, and gels. She also noticed lavender bath oils. 'Ugh, they're all lavenders.' She actually dislikes very flowery scents.

'Malia seems to be obsessed with flowers.' Maya doesn't hate real flowers but using them as perfume or shampoo really irks her nose.

"No, I'm now Malia. I'm no longer Maya. I'm Malia. I'm Malia. I'm Malia…". She repeated, she needed to get used to the idea that she was no longer Maya.

She also decided last night that she would live a different life from Malia and her old self as well. She discovered through the diary that they aren't that different from each other, in fact, they are somehow similar in some ways.

They're both aloof. Malia also played piano but that's the only instrument she's familiar with. Maya, however, knows how to use or play most musical instruments due to her degree and as part of her hobby. She's not a genius but they are required to learn most instruments and her grades were good, except for the guitar, which she loves the most and would get excellent grades for it.

Maya filled the tub with warm water, and she started removing her tunic and undergarments.

'Huh, weird, I thought they wouldn't have bras and panties in a historical type of romance story.'

She then remembered that she was in a second-rate novel where the kingdom building was not properly established. She might encounter more historical inaccuracies along the way, but she doesn't mind. It's an entirely new world after all. She already expected that it would be nothing like earth. There are also sword auras and a little magic in this world, just like how weird her mask was. She'll try to remember as much later, but for now, she just wants to enjoy her warm bath.

Maya, or now Malia, spent half an hour enjoying the luxurious feel of her bathroom. She loved it a lot.

She took the neatly folded robe from the door and left the bathroom. She also took another small towel to dry and wrap her damp hair. She walked happily towards the vanity table. She looked in the mirror and she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"HOLY CRABS!", she couldn't help but express her shock. She looked and stared at the girl in front of the mirror. "No way!". She took another 10 minutes, inspecting her face, or to be exact, Malia's face.

"How could someone not like this face?? And here I thought Malia was unattractive for Cedric to cancel their engagement. This is like an insult to the entire human race! This beauty is like a goddess who descended to bless human eyes." she said in disbelief while she moved closer and her entire face was only an inch away from the mirror.

'… Haha… well, that sounded a little narcissistic coming from me. Coz I now own this face', she said, blushing as she was embarrassed to remember her words.

"Not gonna lie, but with this face, I could become a little conceited", she said. From looking average to suddenly looking heavenly, she really can't stop her mouth from forming a smile.

Hair voluminous raven-back hair, shining dark-brown eyes that have a hint of amber in a different light, a nose with a pronounced bridge and a small, rounded tip, lips slightly pouty with a shade of pink, and smooth white skin. She suddenly stopped and was taken aback, '...Huh? Wait…this look is quite familiar.'

She tried to concentrate and upon further examination, she finally recalled someone. This look was slightly similar to Jang Won Young! Except for the fact that Malia only had a beauty mark on her right cheekbone but there was none beside her mouth. "WOW! I cannot believe it", she exclaimed.

The author seemed to pity Malia as her life was only used as a conflict and she was not a bad person to be deserving of death. She might have given this look to compensate for the bad things Malia experienced.

'How funny. Her face wasn't mentioned or revealed even after death. She was stuck with that mask inside her flowery casket'.

"Anyway, thank you Author-nim! I'll consider this face as a gift in this lifetime." She said, looking so delighted.

'Ugh! Right! I'm also stuck wearing that mask!', she doesn't know if Malia has already reached 17 or not, but since Malia has already received an invitation to the Academy, then she's either 15 years old, turning 16 or 16, turning 17. She would just investigate further or ask Lily in a roundabout way.

All she knows is that it's now July 7th, Thursday year 596 - she got that information from the diary.

Today, she decided to write down everything she can remember about the book and about the flow of the story.

When she was done appreciating her new face and combing her hair, she checked the cabinet and it was filled with beautiful dresses, some looked heavy and like a set, and some had simple designs, but their texture and quality were divine.

'Thank God she doesn't own any dress full of ribbons or anything that would look childish to wear. She then took out a simple powder blue high-waisted dress that had puff sleeves. 'Malia is so darn cuuuuute ... I mean… I… I... look cute?', she was ashamed of praising her overall appearance, but she couldn't stop smiling cheerfully.

After dressing up, Malia took a small piece of tape with a floral design that was in her drawers and wrapped it around her index finger. She needs to wear it to remind herself how important it is to wear the mask all the time. She can't forget about that or else she'll tarnish her own reputation.

She then contemplated whether she should use the bell to call Lily or just go to the kitchen. She settled to do the latter. She was too shy to give orders so early in the morning, so she decided to explore the place outside her room.

The house was spectacular, it was huge, and it was like a Victorian-style mansion with some hints of modern-day aesthetics. It didn't have a lot of carpets, as she was expecting, but she could see in the spacious hall a long red carpet that seemed to lead outside. She observed many carved wooden pieces everywhere, beautiful furniture, mirror frames, and picture frames. 'Dang, they're loaded. Everything looks expensive.'

She really took her time entertaining herself with the splendid view. She also looked closely at the family pictures that were in large frames.

The third one from the right was a picture of a beautiful lady with black hair and brown eyes. She was hugged from behind by a tall man her age that had gray hair and deep blue eyes. They were both smiling, they looked so in love. Below them were two teens, both have gray hair but the taller one has blue eyes and the other has brown eyes. The next photo seemed like the taller teen in the previous photo, but maybe in his 30s. He was sitting across from a lady with blonde hair and green eyes; standing behind them was a serious-looking young man with gray hair and green eyes.

She then looked over the last photo in the hallway. 'This must be my new family.'

The photo was of the young man earlier with gray hair and green eyes, looking head-over-heels with the woman beside him. The woman had white, blonde hair, and blue eyes, and her nose was like Malia's. 'Such good-looking people!'.

She then saw two teens below them; one handsome smiling man with gray hair and blue eyes that was very much like the photo earlier. 'So, this one is Matthew.' Beside him was an expressionless lady with shiny black hair wearing a cream-white mask that covered her brown eyes. 'Oh? So, Matthew and Malia got their looks from their great-grandfather and great-grandmother. Cool.'

She touched the photo and noticed something. "Weird, this doesn't feel like paint.". Her eyes grew bigger when a realization hit her, "Don't tell me this one is printed?!".

Before she could think further, her stomach started growling. "I totally forgot the purpose of going out of my room". Once again, she decided to set aside the thought for later and started looking for people that could point her to the kitchen.

--- end of chapter 3 ---