Prologue

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As if bathing in a pool of fire, as if melting like ice. She trembled in so much heat, and endured the throbbing pain in her head, while some drops of sweat escaped from her skin. Her face reddened yet her hands and feet were cold. She's delirious and no one knows how the daughter of the House of Belfford suddenly went ill on that warm summer night.

The head of the family, Marquis Belfford, called the specialists to look at the condition of his daughter but neither one of them could tell how a person who was in deep slumber could catch a fever this strong. They suspected that maybe a phantom had entered her dream or maybe some sort of dark sorcery had caused this to happen. But all of these will remain a theory if they can't provide enough proof.

With the help of some herbs and elemental medication, the poor girl's body temperature became stable but she remained unconscious. Three days had passed, and she finally opened her eyes. She adjusted her blurry eyesight and stared blankly at an unfamiliar ceiling. Then she heard some voices somewhere inside the room.

"This is the very first time the young lady had gotten severely ill. She's not even a wimpy kid to begin with, rather she's the opposite. She's full of energy and always does nasty things to us."

"But I would be lying if I said I want her to wake up soon. In all honesty, the estate sounds more peaceful and safe only when she's in deep sleep."

She slowly got up not minding the dizziness she felt. Then she saw two females in maid uniforms. They were so busy chitchatting and cleaning the room that they didn't notice her awakening.

"I couldn't agree more. After all the hardships we've gone through her wickedness, she deserves this. Maybe God himself punished her."

"Didn't know her body was that weak that made her sleep for three days."

The two maids bursted into laughter. When one of them absentmindedly glanced at their young lady, its eyes widened and her rather bright complexion went pale. She was shocked upon the sudden realization that the person they were laughing about had already recovered and now silently staring at them.

"Y-young lady, you're awake..."

The other maid also diverted her gaze to the young lady who seemed to be waking up from a temporary death. The room suddenly filled with awkward silence.

She looked at them only for a second then roamed her eyes around the room. It looked spacious and it seemed like the room was intended for one person only. The interior was filled with lavish things, every tiny design was intricately made and screamed grandeur. There was an aesthetic vibe surrounding the room yet somehow, it didn't suit her liking.

Nevertheless, her eyes sparkled as she pressed her hands on the soft mattress of the bed. It was way more comfortable than the cushion she had in reality.

What a dream.

She chuckled at her thoughts. Her sudden reaction made the servants flinch. It was the same, bright expression that their young lady used to show when she was about to do some wickedness. It was as if the young lady came up with another interesting thing to do again least interesting only for her. The only thing they wished at that moment was to disappear from her sight and never want to appear again.

"Forgive us for our insolence, Young Lady. Please spare us some mercy." The maids prostrated themselves before her, begging for forgiveness for their foolish act yet she didn't mind it at all.

This dream was way too absurd, she thought. Although it appeared that they talked bad about her-who seemed to be their young lady at the moment it didn't matter to her. Their words were only part of her playful imagination.

In reality, she never had maids and she had never experienced a luxurious life. She was just a normal college student who unfortunately had to drop out of her studies to focus on working part-time in a convenience store to sustain her daily needs and pay the debts of her deceased father. Her social status in reality is way too far from being a lady of high status to be treated with respect. On top of those, she had the worst family.

Life in this dream will only remain as a dream. Well, good for her. At least for a while, she experienced living like this even if only for a brief moment because any minute from now she will wake up again. But then a sudden chain of memories spiraled like a kaleidoscope froze her to her position. Her eyes widened as she closed her mouth. It's as if she was about to vomit. She remembered that she was hit by a fast-moving vehicle that rainy night. After that, she lost consciousness. She was so sure that it ended her life.

Did I manage to survive somehow? If that is so, what am I doing in a place like this?

She chuckled and pinched herself hard to finally wake up from this fairy tale but to her surprise, nothing happened. This was never a dream. It felt real that the pain she injected herself stung for too long. She decided to examine herself thoroughly now that the situation was getting weird. She was wearing a smooth, high-quality, white fabric which seemed to be a classic pajama. As soon as she raised her hands, she found out that they were something like a child's. The same with her feet and every part of her body.

No way...

"Young Lady Clarish, if you wish so, we will do anything to your heart's content. Just don't kick us out of this estate. We can't afford to leave the House Belford for we had nowhere else to go to," the other maid stuttered, the fear in her voice was obvious.

Clarish... House Belfford... Huh?

Those words sounded like bombs to her ears. She hurriedly jumped out of bed and ran in front of the mirror just to see her surprising reflection. It was a young girl with long, wavy, silver hair. It has fair, porcelain skin which was white as snow. Its cheeks were rosy, and the lips were so soft and thin, while the eyes glimmer like a clear blue sky.

Those were the same descriptions of how a certain fictional character looked from her late best friend's favorite novel.

The wicked Clarish Belfford?

The villainess of the novel Twist of Fate?

She could not believe it.

"What the heck is going on...?" She whispered while her tender legs trembled. She lost her balance and fell to the floor.

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Disclaimer:

The Villainess Doesn't Want To Fall In Love is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this book are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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