2 - Drama Queen

The next three days, Eve she woke up disappointedly. She is still in her nightgown, eyes puffed, hair frizzy. No matter how she closes and opens her eyes, she is still met with the same white ceiling. The food on her desk has grown cold since she skipped meals. No matter how hard she thinks, how could this possibly happen?

She decided to rise from the bed and stared directly at the mirror. The girl she possessed is beautiful, indeed. But it has a mean vibe on her that she cannot explain. Her stance was naturally arms crossed, eyebrows raised, and an evil grin similar to her bully in high school.

"This girl is odious but pretty, I must say." She nodded. They have a similar name as well, Eve. Evelyn. Evelyn Cadwyn. She recited.

"At least I'm not dirt poor from the looks of this mansion." She consoled herself. She saw the cold food on her table. Her stomach grumbled.

"I must eat to survive this whatever place this is." She sighed in resignation, slowly accepting her soon fate in this new world.

After a few minutes, she heard a knock. She stood from her seat, went to the enormous door, and had difficulty opening it.

"Hello, good morning." She awkwardly greeted the servant. The greeting dumbfounded the servant. Eve saw the shock on her face, so she cleared her throat and repeated the greeting.

"Ehem." The servant is still stupefied but returns to reality. She remembered the woman she was facing was notorious for yelling at servants.

"Oh...Young– Young lady. The Count, your father, has requested you to join him for dinner. " She nervously said. The young lady's mood turned sour. Her nose scrunched, and her eyes menacing. She did not like the news. Dinner with the Count when she just arrived from this whatever-the-heck is this. The servant witnessed her sour mood. Thus, she hurriedly delivered the second news to lift her.

"The crown prince has also sent you an invitation." The servant expressed her excitement.

So it's a monarchy thing, huh? She said to herself. She let the servant in and opened the letter with an intricate seal.

"Cool, nice handwriting, very classy." She said enough for the servant to hear. Yet she remained her eyes locked to the floor despite her confusion of her master's actions and words.

She heard a loud drop of the knife. Instead of jumping with glee, the young lady seems to be annoyed. Did the crown prince turn down the engagement? Did he eventually get tired of her evil deeds?

"May I ask for your name again?" Eve nonchalantly asked the servant while still holding the knife. The servant thought, one wrong move, and I'll say goodbye in this world.

"Linda, my lady."

"Ah yes, Linda. Are you going to deliver this letter? If yes, kindly tell the crown prince or whoever that is that I will be there. That's all– and also, where can I find my clothes? I'd like to take a bath."

"As you wish, my lady. " slowly exited.

Eve, while still holding the opened letter, remembered the contents of the letter.

-

The thought of someone taking her bath is weird for Eve, but she has no choice but to let the three female servants do the job not to raise anyone's suspicion. Although she knows she is already acting weird ever since the day she got transported.

After a series of ruminations, she decided to copy how villains in novels act. That is not a challenging job. Grandiose manor, chaise, dresses, and most importantly, wealth without working are the things Eve could only dream of back in her world. However, whether a fever dream or reality, one must make a sound choice on how to proceed.

"Evelyn, my dear. What was the uproar all about?" Arnold, in his firm tone, asks. He was taken aback by the news he received after he arrived from the Royal Accounting. According to his assistant, the lady ran off almost naked, alarmed the Order and cried pitifully. It was a sight, according to the witnesses. The lady never wept. She was the one making people lament.

"Yes, you came running with your undergarments." Everett sneered as he chewed the last piece of meat on his plate.

"Everett, this is not the place for your uncalled remarks." Arnold reprimanded the youngest child.

"Oh, I was just mimicking a theatrical play." Eve nonchalantly replied.

"A play you said?" Henrietta asked. The two men in the dining hall paused.

"Yes, it is a popular play nowadays among the townsfolks so I am trying to reenact the best scene. Seems like it worked since everyone was fooled." She flashes her rehearsed lines and grins. Her maroon dress perfectly matched her jet-black hair. Henrietta, the Countess, sighed in resignation to her daughter's shenanigans.

Phew. Her breathing slightly relaxed. She was nervous the whole dinner. Hands are sweating. After the servants took her bath and adorned her with dress and jewellery, she told everyone to get out.

On the left corner of the snow-themed room lies an ordinary wall. As she was exploring the space herself, she accidentally hit it, causing a tingling sensation in the ulnar nerve of the elbow. The division moved slightly.

She touched the wall and slowly applied a stronger force until the wall turned, revealing a room she never expected.

A personal library with a circling staircase. The library is well-maintained. A book was left open.

Atlas of Human Physiology. She read the title and was shocked.

The villainess Evelyn is a bibliophile. Not only that, she is studying medicine on her own. She concludes that she spends most of her time in the library reading and goes out to torment people.

She is so bad at rapport. She thought.

"What do you think of me? And be honest." She asked. The three maids stopped by combing her hair and fixing the bed.

Rebeka, the one who spent most of Evelyn growing up, replied, "You are indeed beautiful, my lady. But your countenance is nowhere near your beauty."

She did not feel hurt about what her closest aid said; instead, she made a mental note. Asking the villain Evelyn's way of life is her current goal.

"The young lady hates inefficiency and tardiness and punishes people for doing so." The other maid replied but instantly regretted what she just said.

"What about my relationships with other people? This is a quiz so answer correctly." She warned.

"You are engaged last year to the crown prince, the next in line to the throne, you have no interpersonal skills and only go out when the crown prince summoned you. "

"The young lady likes reading and painting the most!" The youngest servant poured an empty teacup. Due to her glee response, some of the tea splashed, making Rebeka frown. She knows Eve hates uncleanliness. But Eve paid no mind.

After gathering information, she devised a plan on how to survive.

Money is not a problem anymore. Looking at the accounts in the library, the county was stable.

Despite people viewing her as a villain, the original body is better than she seems.

She probably has a Cluster C obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, she surmised from the brief lecture in Psychology. And since no condition exists, she was viewed as the clean-freak manipulative villain.

She spent the next two days reading this world's history and current events. She warned everyone not to bother her reading time and deliver food as quietly as a mouse.

She is back to her usual self again. Rebeka thought.

If she were to face the crown prince of this empire tomorrow, better be prepared since I do not know Evelyn. She needs to find out where Evelyn's soul is. And her own body. She deduced that it might be switched or Evelyn died.

There are plenty of things yet to unravel. The thought makes Eve's head hurt. She looked at the time.

Quarter to three in the morning. She massages her temple from the strain. She decided to sleep and left her worries for tomorrow.