The Novel's Lackey

Chapter 1

It's been a week since I recalled my memories from my past life. There's only one huge problem... My past self's wish to be unnoticed by many will unfortunately not come true in this life since I'm Penelope, one of the villain's lackeys from a novel.

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Chapter 1: Tangled Red Strings (Edited)

What made the day a lot more radiant and lively than usual are the lack of clouds sitting in the sky. The vibrant and vast cloudless sky reveals the scorchingly blinding Sun which envelops warmth throughout my body like a blanket heating me up in the middle of a cold night.

People walking in their own paths, heading towards their destination to fulfill their goal for this day. Some jogs in the gravel path, some riding public vehicles, and some drives to their destination.

I, on the other hand, somehow lost track to my destination. This world, isn't where I should be wandering around aimlessly.

"Seems like the skies are in a good mood while I'm being overwhelmed here by this phoney situation," I mumbled as my brows twitched in annoyance.

BAM!

I shut the windows close and stomped my way over to my bathroom mirror to compare how I look right now and from my past life's face.

Hmm let's see... In this life, I used to tie ponytails tightly to each side in this bright crimson hair, but starting from today, I'll simply leave my hair loose and untouched to let it breathe since it's starting to look like Jojo Siwa's hair.

"Why'd I even used to wear my hair in pigtails? It was suffocating wearing tight pigtails everyday," I muttered under my breath. I guess it was since I wasn't conscious back then knowing that I'm inside a silly shoujo novel.

When I attempted to tie my hair into pigtails one last time while eyeing my face in the mirror, I looked like a typical looking lackey in a cliché romance novel. Crimson blood hair, bright lively golden eyes, dashing outdated fashion style, and a rotten personality befitting for a villain's lackey.

"Penelope," I said my own name given to me in this life by my parents. Everything in this world was determined from the start, my name was destined to be Penelope too. My death, my looks, my life, my future, my birth, and the main characters' life too. All of us living here have determined fates.

How so?

Since we're living inside the world from a novel I had completed reading in my past life. I recently just retrieved my memories from my past life 1 week ago. If I told anyone this, surely they would pay no heed and wouldn't believe my atrocious statements.

In my past life, it seems almost everyone living in that world was born with bland hair colors and dull clothing, I was one of them when I was living as Thalia.

Thalia was a stressed woman in her 30's who loves reading novels after work. An appearance which blends in with everybody else, common long black hair and dark brown eyes.

I had a number 1 favourite novel among all of the thousands I had read back then as Thalia. I strode out of the bathroom murmuring, "Red Strings Of Hate."

A shoujo fantasy novel which takes place at Sunfalm Academy. Lilianne Guzman—the female lead—discovered her potential in magic while encountering danger at the age of 8, she excels at swords in which she had summoned one while dealing with thugs at the early age of eight.

Unlike the wealthy with the privileges of protection and affordable needs, Lilianne struggled to achieve success due to being born in a poor family. She couldn't even afford to pay basic needs let alone to ask her parents.

Therefore, she fought to survive in a messed up world where the wealthy with connections and the talented rich individuals have easy access to success. She would always find ways to survive even by any means, that was her life barely the age of ten.

If the commoners could watch as the nobles reach peak, the slaves couldn't either way. This logic also applies to Lilianne's world. The average could only watch the wealthy from afar gain popularity, high ranks and positive audiences, whether they may be corrupted or not.

But people below average couldn't watch nor dream of getting into the most prestigious school which provides advanced teaching of magic and defenses, Sunfalm High School.

Before turning nine, Lilianne's life turned upside down when the head teacher, Lilianne's soon to be adviser, noticed Lilianne's power while he was roaming around Nally Town. He saw her taking on thugs alone easily. She was the first person to gain her talent early and in fact, it was a rare one too.

Well the story starts like that and the following scenes were obvious; head teacher reports the talented individual he saw at Nally Town, different schools went on an uproar fighting over to get Lilianne enrolled in their own school, Lilianne got a scholarship offer from the most prestigious school, she was offered with lots of benefits for her family, she accepted the offer, she faced obstacles and jealousy from other students, she met her frenemy, they developed feelings for each other and happily ever after.

It was a simple plain novel I bought just to pass time after working. A cliché predictable novel. My memories in Thalia's life were foggy, I don't exactly remember the precise details of this "Red Strings of Hate." But it's just as what the title is referring to, two frenemies tied together by love and fate, they overcome challenges in Sunfalm Academy.

You see, the obstacles I mentioned that Lilianne faced... They're Ellart's gang. They made Lilianne suffer through their bullying. The leader, the antagonist, the school's third best, Ellart. If there are heroes in a book, there'd definitely be villains too. Yet I believe no one is a villain for they are heroes of their own story.

I clothe myself, pulled my skirt up, "Obviously, no villain works on their own," I stated. Ellart has her own minions who let them do all the dirty work for her. Well, one of her minions is gravely dedicated to her.

I pulled my sock up and shoved my foot in the shoe. The door shut as my right foot took a step forward to a gravel path. Each step is joined with harmonies of chirps and gusts of fresh wind as a surge of thoughts filled my mind about my past life.

That underling dies through execution after taking all the accusations against Ellart for attempted murder to Lilianne. I've always thought she was a poor underling, why would she go through such lengths and take the blame for Ellart? So why am I reincarnated into that foolish lackey?

Exactly, I am Penelope, the fool who will take all the blame for Ellart and die through execution. It would've been at least better if I was Ellart instead! Now I have to go through the trouble of dressing up to go to where my number 1 worst death flag would happen, the Sunfalm Academy. The beginning of my execution event!

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Chapter 2: Plot Armor

(Showing up on the next chapter.)

—End
1200+ words