Chapter 1
Prologue: Clouds beyond clouds above me
Yue had become an unwilling bride.
She stared curiously at the unfamiliar reflection on the vanity mirror. An otherworldly beauty in a cloud of white and gold was staring back at her; a long veil was pinned securely on rings of black hair. The ends of this beauty’s lips were tugged downward, the blush on her cheeks so out of place on the tense, almost indifferent expression she wore.
As she couldn’t help herself, she reached out one smooth hand and pinched her new face. The skin beneath her touch was warm and alive. It ached. A flush of crimson bloomed on that area, more vividly than the other side, making her complexion uneven.
Yue decided she liked this new body.
Its beauty was cold and distant, a bit harsh even, much like her own had been. But above all else, it was alive—whole and healthy.
She was aware that her reaction was kind of lackluster. That there is less screaming, panicking, and whatever else that goes with waking up in a stranger’s body. But she could only be thankful that she was no longer underneath the currents, her lungs filled with saltwater. This beauty that looks back at her in the mirror, this warmth in her chest that told her her heart still beats – no matter how harsh her appearance might be, how odd the situation she found herself in, Yue could not find it in herself to panic.
It was better than being dead. It was so much better than floating lifelessly on a raging surface, her cold corpse tossed amongst others.
But still…
Yue tore her eyes away from the mirror and scanned her surroundings. This situation of hers…she could only describe it as strange. Yue had, in fact, no idea where she was now or who this body might have been.
The room she woke up in had architectural elements that were favored at the height of the Baroque. It had high ceilings with dark wooden beams, a large crystal chandelier hanging at the center, and walls fully covered in detailed paintings framed with gold. Red velvet cloth hangs generously from one column to the next, dividing the space. The same material was used on the cushioned furniture, except the large bed that was loudly and brightly snow white.
Unfortunately, it was also in a state of disarray. A chair was shoved back hard, scraping the floor. Small decorative items were knocked out of place on the tables. Nothing is destroyed, not thoroughly, but the careful order of the room is broken.
Fortunately, it told Yue a lot about her current situation.
One, this body she now occupies must have been some rich lord’s daughter. Beside her smooth, pale skin that has never seen the sun, and the jewelry she wore were heavy with real emeralds, this room could only be part of a noble’s castle. It was too gilded, too palacious to belong to anyone lower than a land-owning noble.
Two, in addition to the anger and disappointment she felt when she woke up, Yue was sure that this girl’s marriage must’ve been one of political or economic convenience. She must not have been happy about it, having thrown a tantrum before Yue arrived and kicked her soul out of her body.
“Miss Yesenia?”
Someone knocked gently on the door.
Yue, as if by habit, cleared her throat and asked, “What is it?”
She almost immediately tried to cover her mouth. But it was already too late. Yue could only tear her eyes to the door.
There was silence on the other end. Then, with a tentative tone, the person beyond the mahogany spoke again.
“The groom is here, Miss Yesenia.” Then the voice added, “The High Lord is waiting for you at the temple.”
Yue tilted her head.
Who is the High Lord? Is that an official noble title?
She had been under the assumption that…the setting of this reincarnation of hers must’ve been in Europe, sometime after the Renaissance. But that title…
Yue is—had been—an anthropology professor in a prestigious university prior to this incident. She specialized in European civilizations, primarily because her undergraduate had been on European languages and cultures. Despite her finding them obnoxious, she had written enough dissertations to recognize which honorific is for whom, and when such honorific was in fashion.
For example, Henry VIII was the one who formally established the use of Your Majesty to address the King. Before 1530, it was Your Grace or Your Highness, which reflected the religious aspect of the monarchy and how it derived its power from Gottes Gnade, or divine grace.
High Lord…she wracked her brain if that title had ever been used. But all she came up with was a blank. Nope. Nada. Lord, sure. All nobles could be called that to a certain extent.
But High Lord?
It doesn’t ring a bell at all.
Yue was not nervous when she woke up because the familiar setting had boosted her confidence. Even if she reincarnated, or transmigrated, to a body of a historical figure, as long as it was a figure living in Europe, Yue had researched enough to have the necessary knowledge to survive. Besides, this young miss was rich and beautiful, so Yue might not be entirely uncomfortable in life.
But maybe she should consider that she may not be in the same world anymore.
She fought the urge to massage her temples.
“Miss Ye-“
Keeping her face as indifferent as she could, she opened the door and faced the maid. Yue took note of her extreme reaction before asking, “What time is it?”
Her expression must’ve been severe because the poor child took a step backwards, mouth gaped open at the sight of her mistress annoyed so early in the morning.
“I-It is past the prima hora, Miss Yesenia,”
Yue’s brows were raised.
She recognized the words as being of latin origin. Could she have been reborn in a roman-inspired civilization then? She wouldn’t be entirely averse to the idea; although, she must concede that knowledge on the subject matter would be superficial at best, inadequate at worst.
But, looking down, the clothes she was wearing were not entirely Roman, leaning more towards the clothing convention of a more tropical country. Light and airy, with her wedding dress having been made of structured fabric with elaborate, ethnic sewing patterns.
“My groom,” Yue said in an even voice, “Who did he bring with him?”
The maid shook her head and said she had no idea.
When Yue tapped her finger on the door and demanded for the maid to elaborate on her answer, she was regaled with the story of how Yesenia’s groom had been alone when he brought her betrothal gifts, and thus introduced none of his courtiers.
It was, commonsensically, not entirely against social conventions and common practice, but it was still an odd move that irked Yesenia. The two of them was apparently left in the same room upon arrival, and Yesenia was heard screaming and breaking things before storming out of her own family’s house in anger. As a result, the Lord Ascendant almost rejected the marriage proposal then and there.
Still playing her character, Yue clicked her tongue, ”So he insists on disrespecting me. Have you seen him today?”
The maid nodded.
Good.
It would be weird to ask “Who am I marrying?” so directly. Despite arranged marriages often occurring between people who have never seen each other, they almost always know the title and name of their betrothed at least. Most marriages, after all, were of great importance to maintaining both family’s stability and power. Of course, Yue could not and would not ask such a dumb question directly.
In any case, Yue had always been thin-faced, and could not stomach being ignorant or lacking in any way. As a result, she always hated it when characters who transmigrate do not even attempt to imitate the body they woke up in, and instead act like themselves, standing out like a sore thumb. Now that it happened to her, she decided to play along instead of humiliating herself by acting strange.
Besides, it should not be difficult to act normal.
This young lady, based on the way she looked at the mirror, and the way her room had been meticulously arranged, must’ve been similar to Yue in temperament. Furthermore, the servant flinched from such an innocent question earlier. Yue could only deduce that this young miss from an opulent house might be quite as arrogant and unyielding, with a heavy hand towards her own servants.
Yue can certainly play the part of an arrogant and unyielding mistress—a terror professor from a prestigious university has little to no difference to these personalities, except that they are a bit more educated than. As for the heavy hand, no can do. Professor Yue might be harsh on her criticism but she still believes in fostering a nurturing and safe environment for everyone.
”Come, let’s go down. Tell me, is he properly dressed?” She gathered her sleeves and gestured at the maid, “How well did my groom clean up this time?”
The maid squeaked. She proceeded to describe the groom; she went into great detail how he appeared different from when Yesenia first saw him. Yue took note of that detail while listening to her maid. Apparently, her “ugly” groom now appeared tall and masculine before the Temple, with a well-proportioned physique and a handsome face. The change must’ve been quite noticeable because Yue can hear the awe in the young maid’s face.
At least she’s sure that this world she now occupies could only be fictional. She could count a number of historical figures who were all extremely good looking, not round in the middle, and not vertically short. One, if not all, of the three is always somehow unfulfilled.
“What does handsome mean?” Yue mused out loud.
”Miss will now find that the High Lord is actually very dashing.”
Yue almost snorted.
They managed to reach the grand staircase now, so Yue used one hand to gather her skirts. Her other hand reached for the maid for assistance. To her surprise, her shoes were made of comfortable glass. She almost made a comment on that but decided to keep her crude joke to herself.
Turning to her maid, she chided evenly, “You cannot be this vague.”
”Uh…well.” The maid blushed, “Miss was right when you said his hair does not suit him. Now that he cut it, it barely reaches his shoulders, and made him look more kept. However, it remains a shade of pale silver.”
“Silver?”
The maid thought for a moment, “But don’t worry! He was not as gaunt as he was when you first saw him. There is a bit of life in his eyes now, so the shade of his hair was no longer making him look ill.”
Yue thought about it.
A silver-haired dude, huh?
She internally snickered at that. Wouldn’t it be funny if this was House of the Dragon? She had a crush on Daenerys when she was younger anyway, then on Daemon when she was older. Ha ha ha …could it be?
Yue was so close to laughing out loud when the maid spoke again.
“It’s great too–because the Princess of Velmourn would be in attendance,” The maid’s tone took on a pitying tone, and somehow, Yue’s eyes suddenly widened. Her ears began ringing at those two words that had been carelessly uttered, “It would be shameful for Miss Yesenia if your groom looked as dead as he was when his ex-fiance left him in the altar.”
Yue stopped in the middle of the stairs, the gears of her mind groaning and turning. Whatever humorous idea she had been toying with had suddenly dissipated into a puff of smoke. Her good mood was gone in a snap.
She had half the mind to realize that with this body’s cold beauty, her expression right now could probably be described as harsh and deadly.
But. Yue. Doesn’t. Care.
“What did you just say?” She turned to her maid.
“M-miss?”
“Princess of Velmourn?” Yue echoed, her eyes narrowing. A deep sense of foreboding settling in her gut, the sensation so vapid and unpleasant she felt the color drain from her face.
The maid suddenly fell on the ground, kneeling as she cried.
“I didn’t mean to bring it up, Miss Yesenia. His Lordship probably doesn’t remember her anymore. It had been years! There is no way she would take the spotlight from you, no way the High Lord would look at anyone else except you…”
There is a lot to unpack from that statement, alright.
But Yue could not focus on that at the moment.
Hesitantly, she raised her hand and touched her face. She did not bother to check what was under her hair because she had been so focused on the beautiful face that looked back in the mirror. Her hair had been braided into ringlets anyway, and was covered by a white veil embroidered with gold flowers. A part of her did not want to ruin such a delicate hairstyle.
Her hands traveled down, down to her cheeks, to the curve of her jaw, to her earlobes. Then finally it reached its destination, that soft curve of her ears. Except it was not soft, and it was not curved.
Her pointed ears were decorated with gold earrings.
Yue almost slapped her forehead. Of course. She had assumed that the architectural design of this place had baroque influences. But now that she thought about it…
The design did not reflect vanitas at all. It was much more meticulous and structured in design than even the Neuschwanstein, so beautiful that Yue doubted that only human hands had worked on it. Even during the baroque, no matter how beautiful, how breath-taking a piece of art is, Yue finds that there would always be a trace of the man who laboured towards it. Something distinctly mortal and human.
There was no such trace here.
In this castle.
She blurted out, ”Are they green?”
The maid’s eyes widened at the question.
Yue turned to her, “Lord Ascendant’s eyes. Are they as green as they say?”
