Prologue
On a bright sunny day in the southern dukedom, a young woman slowly open her eyes. Slightly dazzled because of the sun rays that sipped through the curtains, she faintly lift her right hand to cast some shade.
"Oh my god! She's finally awake! Call the Duke and the Duchess!" the young woman heard someone yelling.
'Duke and Duchess? Ain't this a democratic country?' she thought as she examines her surroundings. 'Where am I? This is definitely
not the hospital. Am I in heaven? Or the devil is making think that this is heaven? I'm already dead right?'
As these thoughts run through her head, one of the maids helps her to get up. Seeing the uniform that the maid wears, the young woman is confused even more. 'How come there's a cosplayer here? The f*ck? Is the devil playing with me or something?' she looks at the maid intently with her face that can't be painted.
Seeing her expression, the maid however felt shivers run through her spine and starts bowing repeatedly saying, "Oh my god I have sinned, please forgive me princess". 'what the heck is wrong with this person?' She's about to say something when someone opens the door. The old man looks like some kind of butler you see in movies. Then a middle age couple rushes to her side.
"Oh my god! My baby, you're finally awake." The woman said with tears brimming in her eyes. The man on the other hand tries his best to look tough and said, "I told you to be careful, look at you worrying your mother and me to this extent."
The young woman just stared at the couple and not bothering to utter a single word. She didn't know who they are and where she is. All she knows is that she died. 'Did I transmigrate or something? But I thought that only happens in stories. And usually, they died by getting hit by a truck.'
"Sweetie? Why are you not saying anything? Is there something wrong? Are you still hurt?" The woman said worryingly but the young lady still didn't utter a single word causing the woman to sigh.
"Don't worry hon, the doctors are on their way. " The man said as he tries to calm his wife.
Moments later, doctors finally arrive. They checked the young lady's pulse and ask her a few questions. Most of their questions can be answered with yes or no so the young lady only nods or shakes her head.
"Your daughter is now stable and alright but we still need to monitor her from time to time," the doctor said as he talks to the couple then went back to the young lady's side and ask her one last time.
"Are you sure that nothing hurts? If yes then just lay in bed for the meantime and rest. If there's anything you want to know or want to speak of, you can tell us anything." He said.
A few minutes went by and the young lady still didn't answer. But before the doctors could leave she said, "Who are you, people? What am I doing here?". After that, chaos starts. The couple starts sobbing and the maids gasps. The old butler fainted and the rest just couldn't accept what is happening.
Cora's PoV
"Doctor, why does my child doesn't remember us?" I heard the woman ask.
The doctor only looked at me and said to her, "I think she's suffering from amnesia since she hurt her head when her carriage got into an accident. Thankfully aside from having amnesia, there are no other notable injuries."
"Is there anything we could do? Will she be able to remember us?" The man asked while holding her wife.
"I'm afraid time can only tell, here are some of the medications she should take during mealtime. If there's still anything you need, you can call me anytime. Excuse me." He said then left.
I looked at the couple and they looked at me. Their eyes are filled with worry. Seeing those emotions I couldn't help but feel down. I know that those didn't belong to me. Because I'm not their real daughter. I hung my head down and said, "Can you please leave me alone for the time being? I want to have some alone time for myself."
"Sure sweety," the woman said. "If there's anything you need just ring the bell beside you. Don't worry sweetheart, Mom and Dad will always be by your side." her husband adds. They both left the room and the maids also leave after them, shutting the door close.
I am finally alone. Taking a deep sigh, I then lay on the bed again and look at the ceiling above.
I can't believe it. I am still alive. Should I thank God for giving me another chance? But what about the real owner of this body? Is she alright? I don't think it's right to just assume that this life is now mine.
I decided to once examine my surroundings again. Seems like I travel into some medieval era or something. The maids call the couple earlier Duke and Duchess, they also called me Princess as well. Hmmm, that means they have a monarchial government huh? Nevermind that.
This feels so surreal. Thinking about the Duke and the Duchess, it seems that the owner of this body is loved. If only my parents loved me the way this couple loves their daughter.
Recalling her past Cora only felt sad. On one eventful day, Cora and her family are on vacation. It is the month of November 18th 20XX, and her brother's birthday. They decided to go to a nearby resort to spend the celebration there.
But later that night, no one could predict that something tragic would happen.
"It's all your fault!" Cora's brother yelled at her. They are currently on the balcony of their room.
"Why would this be my fault? It's not like I deliberately made myself sick!" Cora retorted.
A week before her brother's birthday, Cora was rushed to the hospital for hemorrhagic dengue fever. Her platelet count is dangerously low and she's bleeding through her nose and ears.
She spends 4 days in the hospital causing some changes in her brother's birthday plans. They were supposed to go out of town but because the budget is tight, they just celebrate it in the nearby resort.
It wasn't that bad, to be honest. It's still as grand as they wanted it to be. It's just they just celebrate it without going out of town. But her brother is still indignant about things not going according to plans.
"You know what, I wish you should've never been able to go back! I wish you should've bled to death! I wish you died in that hospital!" He yelled.
Hearing those words, Cora felt a pang in her chest. Without thinking she slaps her brother real hard. It just happened that when she slaps her brother, her mother went into their room to call them and saw the moment when she slaps him.
"What the hell Cora?!" Her mother yelled and went to grab her by her wrist.
"I-I didn't mean it! Besides he told me that I should've been dead." Cora said trying to stop her tears from falling.
"Your brother would never say such things! He's too kind for that." Hearing her mother, Cora felt disappointed. It's always like this.
Once a fight starts between Cora and her brother, her mother would always take his brother's side without hearing any context of what just happened.
"Really? You're taking his side again? This has to stop Mom!" Cora finally fed up, yelled.
"YOU, Cora, have to stop. I know your brother and between the two of you, you're the one causing so much trouble. Now Ethan come with me. Your guests are waiting for you." After that, her mother starts walking away with his brother. Before her brother stepped out, he looked at her and raised his middle finger.
Cora was left alone on the balcony with tears. She looked up at the sky and asked why? Why does she have to go through this every day? Why can't her mother look at her the way she did with him?
Cora, feeling so sad, is about to go back inside when suddenly the railings and the flooring of the balcony start to creak and crack. Seeing the crack, she's too nervous to try and move. She was about to yell for help when the whole balcony fell off.
In shock, she couldn't scream. While falling from the 16th floor of the building, everything felt like slow motion. Her gaze landed on the 13th-floor window and saw her family smiling at each other.
"They're happy without me huh?" she mumbled. After that, she felt her head and her back slamming into the roof of one of the cars in the parking lot below.
In her last memories, she could hear yells and shrieking at the sight of her bloody mess.
