Aurora loved playing otome games. She liked them more than real life.Because In games, you could choose what to say. You could restart if you messed up. Real life didn't work like that.
She didn't have many friends because she always went home to play. But she wasn't mean. She was actually kind and funny if people talked to her. She just didn't know how to make friends. She also wasn't very pretty. She didn't know how to do her hair properly and makeup always looked weird on her. But she didn't really care.
Her favorite game had a villainess named Sophia von Kneigher.
Sophia was beautiful. Like, unreal beautiful. Long shiny hair, perfect skin, and everyone admired her. But she was also mean and spoiled. And in every single ending…
She died.
Aurora knew all the endings and always wanted to change Sophia's fate, but the game never gave her an option to save her. Sometimes she even wished she could be the heroine instead, because the heroine's life just seemed so perfect and magical.
but then one normal day, after school, while walking home
Everything changed.
She heard a loud horn.
She turned her head.
Bright lights.
And then nothing.
When Aurora opened her eyes, she wasn't in a hospital.
She was in a huge fancy bedroom.
There were maids around her.
"Lady Sophia!" one of them cried.
Sophia?
A beautiful woman rushed to her side. "My daughter, you scared us!"
A tall man stood behind her, looking serious but worried. A boy with similar features crossed his arms.
Don't faint like that again, the boy said. You caused trouble.
Aurora felt cold.
Daughter.
Sister.
Lady Sophia.
Slowly, she looked at her hands.
They were smaller. Softer. Perfect.
She jumped out of bed and ran to the mirror.
The girl staring at her was stunning.
and then she realized it wasn't her.
It was Sophia von Kneigher.
"The villainess… she whispered."
Her heart started beating really fast.
She remembered everything.
Sophia was engaged to the crown prince.
And in the future
He kills her.
I'm going to die… she said quietly.
The maids helped her dress later, and she tried to act normal. But inside she was panicking.
She had a "best friend" in this world.
But Aurora knew the story.
That friend would betray Sophia later.
And the crown prince…
He had golden hair and golden eyes. He was handsome and perfect. And he was supposed to fall in love with the heroine.
Not the villainess.
Definitely not her.
A maid came into her room.
My lady, His Highness wishes to see you tomorrow.
Aurora froze.
"…Tell him I'm sick."
The maid looked shocked. "My lady?"
"I said I'm sick."
After the maid left, Aurora sat on her bed.
"I'm not getting close to him. If I stay away, maybe I won't die."
She lay down and stared at the ceiling.
Then suddenly
She remembered something.
Her friend.
She was there when the truck hit.
Her friend had shouted her name.
Aurora slowly sat up.
"…Wait."
If she was here…
Then what about her friend?
The next day at the academy, everyone stared at her like always. Sophia was the most beautiful girl in the kingdom after all.
Aurora tried to walk confidently like Sophia would.
Then she saw her.
A girl with soft brown hair and kind eyes.
One of the most powerful noble ladies in the kingdom.
Sophia's greatest rival.
Their eyes met.
The girl's expression changed. Shock. Recognition.
She walked over and bowed slightly.
"Lady Sophia," she said.
Aurora stared at her.
"…Do I know you?"
The girl leaned closer and whispered,
"You still cry during sad anime scenes."
Aurora's eyes widened.
Only one person knew that.
"…No way."
The girl smiled nervously.
"Yeah. It's me."
Aurora grabbed her arm and pulled her into an empty classroom.
"You got hit too?!" she whispered loudly.
"Yes! One second we were walking and the next—truck!" she said.
Aurora stared at her.
"Who are you here?"
The girl hesitated.
"…I'm Elise Ardent."
sophia froze.
Elise Ardent.
The second villainess.
The one who always competed with Sophia for influence under the king. The two most powerful noble daughters in the kingdom. In the game, they hated each other, constantly arguing, trying to outshine one another at royal events and in politics. Everyone believed they would destroy each other one day.
And in every route
They both met terrible ends.
Silence.
Aurora slowly covered her face.
"This is actually the worst."
Her friend crossed her arms.
"Relax. We're supposed to hate each other anyway."
"You're literally my rival."
"And you're mine," Elise replied. "Two villainesses fighting for power under the king. That's what the story says."
Aurora looked at her slowly.
"…So we're both doomed?"
Elise gave a small shrug. "Pretty much. Different routes, same bad endings."
sophia let out a shaky breath.
"were not actually going to fight, right?"
Elise rolled her eyes.
"Obviously not. We're changing the story."
Aurora blinked.
"…You'd really help me?"
"Of course. I'm not letting you get killed by some prince. And I'm definitely not dying because of a scripted rivalry."
For the first time since waking up in this world, Aurora felt a little less scared.
Elise glanced around the empty classroom before leaning closer. "We need to be careful. Both of us are engaged, and if anyone finds out we're… working together, it'll cause a scandal."
Aurora nodded. "Yeah… my fiancé is… well, you know."
They lowered their voices, speaking in hushed tones as if the walls had ears.
"This is going to be tricky," Aurora said.
Elise grinned. "Tricky? Sophia, it's perfect. Two villainesses, secretly on the same team, under the king's nose. No one will suspect a thing."
Aurora couldn't help but smile a little. For the first time since waking up, she felt like she might actually survive… and maybe even take control of her own fate.
They shook hands quickly, making a promise. That from now on, they would watch each other's backs… even if they are villainess and are meant to hate each other.
Aurora and Elise stayed in the empty classroom a little longer, whispering and planning.
"You know," Elise said, leaning back against the desk, "if anyone saw us together like this, they'd think we were conspiring against each other. That's why we need to be careful. Both of us are engaged, and both of us have people watching our every move."
Aurora nodded. "My fiancé… he's golden-haired, golden-eyed. Handsome, perfect… but I know he's supposed to be dangerous. I can't trust him at all."
Elise smirked. "Same. My fiancé is smart, charming, and totally underestimated me in the game. He doesn't know it yet, but I'm not going to let him or anyone else take control of my fate."
Aurora looked at her friend and felt a spark of hope. "So… we're really going to do this? Survive together?"
"Of course," Elise said, grinning. "Two villainesses, both supposed to hate each other, both under the king's watchful eye. If we act smart, no one will ever suspect we're actually on the same side. And maybe…" She paused, eyes glinting. "We can even change the endings this time."
Aurora shivered, a mix of excitement and fear. "Change the endings…" she whispered. She thought of all the doom flags, all the betrayals, all the times Sophia had died in the game. "It feels… impossible."
"Impossible?" Elise laughed softly. "That's why it's fun."
They spent hours talking in whispers, making little plans—how to avoid their fiancés, how to survive the academy, how to keep up appearances for the court, how to secretly watch each other's backs.
Aurora realized something surprising: she wasn't scared anymore. Not completely.
Elise glanced at her. "We need a meeting spot. Somewhere no one will find us. Somewhere we can talk freely without pretending to be perfect little nobles all the time."
Aurora's lips curved into a small smile. "I think I know a place…"
It was a little courtyard behind the servants' quarters, almost hidden from the main hallways. Quiet. Safe. Their own secret corner of the kingdom.
From that day on, Aurora and Elise met there whenever they could, planning, whispering, sharing everything they remembered from the game, and slowly figuring out how to survive not just the fiancés, the rival nobles, and the court intrigue but the story itself.
And though the kingdom still expected them to be enemies, the two villainesses began to realize that maybe… just maybe… the story didn't have to end the same way for either of them.