Prologue

Victoria Ophelia Caddel was a villainess of a cheap Victorian-esque novel. Ironically enough, she resembled much of the Ophelia from Shakespeare's Hamlet. Both of them are driven mad when their lover kills their father due to a misunderstanding, leading to their inevitable fall into despair and eventual death.

When Shakespeare's tragic Ophelia was told to spy on her former lover, she was still unable to cope with the grief from her father's sudden passing.

Her mother was hinted to be a guiding woman that could have been there to help her, but wasn't present in any of the acts. The passages never specified the woman's status, nor her name, but she likely passed on early.

Though some see Ophelia's death by drowning as an unfortunate accident, others pointed out that it could have been a spiteful suicide; as she was unable to do anything to cease the growing conflict, she decided to throw away the heavy fate laid on her shoulders and killed herself as a protest against everything and everyone.

It was impossible to choose between her own family and the man she loved so much and went to join her father in the peaceful afterlife.

Had her mother been by her side, would she have died in such a miserable way? And did she actually kill herself, or was it an accident?

Whatever the case was, we'll never know.

Meanwhile, Victoria O. Caddell's life was one of much grandeur.

Parties, held in her honor, were brilliantly decorated from head-to-toe. Dresses, every aristocratic lady's best friend, were custom-made just to suit her peculiar tastes.

Before her debut in society, Victoria did not experience much discomfort; she was born with a silver spoon in her mouth. Like Ophelia, she had no mother by her side. Thus, her father was careful to raise her with as much care and love as one could when simultaneously dealing with large stacks of paperwork regarding the duchy.

Maybe most of the kids her age had a maternal figure that was missing in her household, but considering how pampered her upbringing was, Victoria did not need to spare a second worrying about a mother. She was coddled because her father worried she'd grow to be depressed without a maternal parent nurturing her.

Near the beginning of the late Duchess Caddell's third trimester, her health quickly deteriorated after catching a high fever. The affliction ultimately caused a premature delivery, which led to Victoria's sickly state as a child.

The duchess died shortly after her daughter's birth as the entirety of her body's energy was already exhausted and the blood loss was far too severe.

Since she was born a frail child, Victoria was rarely allowed to go outside.

Her constitution was too weak and her father couldn't afford to lose her as well, so she was homeschooled and had no opportunities to meet other kids her age. She grew up to be entitled and felt superior to her peers due to the special treatment she received growing up. Not to mention, she was the only child of the most prosperous ducal house.

Eventually, when she got healthier, Victoria got engaged to the crown prince, Zion Regulus. In this story, Zion would be equivalent to Ophelia's lover, Hamlet—but not in the sense that he loved her madly, no.

The reason why Victoria fell so deeply in love was a puzzle to others, but clearer than glass herself. First of all, Zion was one of the first people she met from outside of the manor, which was the likely contribution to her newfound feelings for him. His boyish introduction left a sweet imprint on her heart. In the young girl's eyes, he was the Prince Charming from the bedtime stories her nanny would read for her.

Undoubtedly, his plan to distract her mind from her dead mother worked.

However, it worked a little too well.

Since she was already engaged, a debut wasn't held. Instead, a large welcoming party was held for her instead, formally introducing the young miss to society. Almost immediately, Victoria was infamous after arriving at the academy. To others, she was a spoiled lady who held stubborn grudges whenever things didn't go her way.

But the power of the Caddell Duchy scared the people her age, so they had no choice but to accept that they were powerless against the young miss and gave into her whims. Landing on the bad side of the powerhouse duchy…

Well, that'd be a death wish.

Victoria Ophelia Caddell, a pretty name rather unbefitting of a villainess like herself. Even so, she had looks that paired up nicely with her elegant name. As shallow and disagreeable as she was, she was also beautiful.

So, when a female transfer student arrived during Victoria's second year of the academy, she didn't bat an eye. Such an insignificant person surely had no relation with the likes of her, right?

Wrong. Her own thought was quickly proven wrong—by none other than herself.

After the new girl, Florence, was rumored to rival Victoria's beauty, she grew furious. To Young Lady Caddell, it was as if someone waltzed in and took something from her. All her life, she'd been given things just because. Thus, she grew to think that in the natural order of things… she was first and foremost. After all, she always got what she wanted.

Sure, Victoria had to put in a little effort sometimes, but it was nothing compared to how most of her classmates had to work their way up from the ground.

At a young age, her perfect future was already laid out for her; the eventual empress of the empire, currently known to be the most beautiful girl her age. Simply put, Victoria was distraught. She felt threatened that her easy first-place throne was being stolen by some new girl.

Unsurprisingly, people were drawn towards Florence. At first, it was only because they pitied her; transferring into the academy midyear and immediately getting ostracized by the school's queen bee and her minions. Essentially, her situation was everyone's worst nightmare.

But as more and more people interacted with the new girl, they began to feel like she was a breath of fresh air when compared to Victoria.

Around this time, Zion heard word that someone else had a birthright to the throne. That meant his title as the crown prince was in jeopardy. With her father growing increasingly busy as the civil unrest went on while Victoria was having her petty rivalry against Florence, the young lady was left to her own devices.

And what exactly did she do?

Harass Florence tirelessly.

Because, not only did the new girl's popularity skyrocket, people started gaining ground against Victoria. She was simply bewildered that some had the audacity to talk back to her. Her anger clouded her judgment and she assumed it was all the doing of Florence. Naturally, Zion took Florence's side as he needed to show that this action of hers was not excusable in his eyes. If he had let his fiancée do whatever she wanted, it would've made his own image look just as bad, if not worse.

As the crown prince, he naturally needed to make a clean-cut portrait of himself. After all, with a potential rival to the throne, he had to be on his best behavior, no matter how pretentious it was.

Over time, as Zion defended Florence from Victoria's antics, the unusual pair grew closer and closer until romance eventually flourished between them. Victoria was already on edge that her fiancé wasn't supporting her cause, and felt embarrassed when he chose to dance with Florence first instead of herself during her coming-of-age ceremony.

Eventually, her father was executed with Zion's very own hands—Duke Caddell was charged with treason and conspiracy against the royal family, as he secretly supported the "other crown prince." He was named a heretic, and the Caddell name slowly fell to ruin as time went on.

With Victoria's own father being gone and her being of age, she was now Duchess Caddell of Pliecia. No longer was she the only child of the late duke, but the house head. Leaving the new duties of the duchy and business transactions to the family butler and head maid, she descended into madness as she continued harassing and threatening Florence, the lady whom her fiancé was enamored with.

As they were no longer engaged to one another, Zion soon convinced his father to let him and Florence marry. Though hesitant to let his son marry the daughter of an earl, he agreed as she seemed like a good fit albeit her humble roots.

When Florence's pregnancy was announced, she unknowingly drank poisoned tea, killing the baby and descending Florence into a fever in response to the toxins.

As a major suspect, Victoria was brought to the palace dungeon to temporarily hold her till the date of questioning. But before that day ever came, she strangled herself to death before she got the chance ever to see the light of day ever again. Or, at least, she was found with bruising marks around her neck. Though it wasn't entirely confirmed that she ended her own life, it was most likely the case.

Victoria's life was of tragedy, and yet, most of it was well-deserved. Harassing an innocent classmate over jealousy and jealousy alone, it was only to be expected that Zion would step between them in a time of tenseness and attempt to put an end to her foolishness.

She didn't treat her servants that well either, as Victoria looked down on them and made sure to make their workplace a living hell just because she possessed the ability to harass them with no repercussions.

Now, it's rather obvious why Ophelia is much like Victoria. It was purely in the cruel sense their fathers were killed by their lovers.

The two were respectively presumed to have killed themselves or to have died in a situation out of their control, and both of their mothers were presented as a deus ex machina that could have led them out of the darkness they were spun to, but as we know, the maternal figures were absent from their lives.

It's cruel and ironic that Victoria's middle name is Ophelia. It's almost as if the author was taunting the readers, foreshadowing her inevitable demise. Be as it may, I cannot bash the author for making such a crude character, because I wrote Victoria's character and the novel she was a part of.

And, it seems, I've transmigrated into her body.