The Obsessive Villainess Vol. 1 ✔

2. An abandoned cat with a collar

Talk about shitty luck. I mean, I always knew I hadn't the best luck; after all, I did die by drowning at the tender age of 21, but really now? I am destined to die again! And this time, before I even make it to 21! No sir, that is not happening. For our survival, let's come up with a plan. Recap all the information we know.

Aurelia, the heroine is the commoner girl who enrols into the Academy of Elementals due to her extraordinary powers (because she's just special) and there she meets the four male leads; two of which are Cassian Arcturus and his younger brother Caeles Arcturus.

People Eleanora has known since childhood and the boy she's loved for most of her life.

Honestly, that's pretty shitty for Eleonora but while reading the book I never really thought of why she loved him so much... after all, I was too busy cursing her character for always interfering.

But it's different now. I've become Nora and I know.

It's because Cassian was her only salvation in her stupid, sad little life.

I heaved a huge sigh as I dramatically stared outside the window from my seat by the tea table in this huge, empty room. The maid walked in with a light knock and without saying a word, roughly set down a tray with tea and biscuits. In truth, she spoke plenty with the sound the cutlery made. I watched her silently with pursed lips and she walked out without sparing me a glance. I thought my life was sad in my world, but then Nora's is downright pathetic.

"Hey, do you think she's bullied by the other maids? Is that why her mood is always so terrible?" a small, sweet voice made its way to me and I placed my eyes on the little potted yellow carnations.

Disdain, disappointment, rejection.

The usual flowers sent to Nora by Cassian. Their meanings echoed around my head, fanning the flames of my annoyance at this situation.

"Isn't the one being bullied here me? Didn't you see how she treats me?" I scowled in reply at my new, and only, friend in this world. That's right.

In this universe, people have the ability to manipulate certain aspects of the elements. I say people, but for some reason, its mostly nobles with this power, and the higher your status, the more 'strands' you have, or ways you can control the elements.

Thankfully for me, as the daughter of a marquess, I have more than one manner of controlling my element, which is plants. One is that I can talk to them. Yes, I can talk to plants. It was shocking, to say the least, when this little thing which is supposed to be a gift suddenly started talking to me and telling me it was thirsty because the maids in this house are terrible at their jobs.

The other power I am yet to awaken to, is the ability to make flowers bloom. How do I know this? Why, it's because when I die in the novel, flowers bloom around my dead body to create an ethereal scene of beautiful despair and doom; a breath-taking mixture of life and death. Yes, yes, very clever...

THAT IS SO SHITTY. This is such useless power! How could I ever use that to defend myself?! And to think the only reason the author gave me this power is so that my sad death can look aesthetic!

"Are you sad? Should I sing for you?" the flower asked me sweetly, it's saccharine voice dipped in honey and I blanched.

"No! Please! Anything but that!" I had fallen into its trap once; never again! This flower indeed is the reincarnation of Cassian's feelings towards me. As sweet as its voice is when it talks, I thought its singing voice would be heavenly but! My goodness! The maid had rushed in when she heard me screaming but of course she couldn't hear the torture I was subject to. That day, the usual rumours among the servants about me being the crazy lady of the house took a turn for the worse.

I shuddered at the thought and turned back to look out the window, ignoring the flower's dispirited sigh at my blatant rejection. I leaned forward at the sight outside, my interest piqued.

He's here again today.

I was looking at the man tending to the garden of flowers. This garden was the most beautiful thing I had ever laid my eyes on although this old mansion that I lived in was in an astonishingly deplorable state. It wouldn't be shocking if one look at the ledgers showed how the house's money was being taken by the servants for their own uses. To be honest, Nora's life really was pitiful.

She was the first daughter of the Marquess of Ilaria, who, after his wife's death, took three years to get remarried and bore another daughter; Nora's replacement had arrived.

Surprise, surprise, step-mother wanted her gone. She was abused until finally she fought with her father and was sent away to one of their mansions. Here she lived, respected by not a single servant, as they all knew even her father was indifferent to her. The abandoned daughter; the lady only in name.

Honestly, it's so cliché that I wanted to laugh when I heard this story from the vines outside my window. It's so cliché, overused and pathetic but then it hit me; the thought of how this child really had lived like that. In this world, she lived facing rejection from all corners.

But in the midst of remembering this past drenched in despair and darkness, there are moments of warmth. Visions of a hand reaching out to a crouched, crying Nora. In her memories, that hand was glowing, as if surrounded by a beautiful bright light.

And in this cursed body's memories, that moment was bewitchingly beautiful.

It was Cassian's hand, reaching out to comfort her in her lowest moment. It was devastatingly warm. This child's only source of salvation.

And when she fell in love, she was rejected then as well.

Ew. I grimaced. It's just so messed up. Everyone needs love. Why was she always treated like this? It's so unfair.

I shook my head to clear myself of some dark thoughts and brought my attention back to the man in the garden, who now had his palm held up to one of the flowers and I watched in amazement as right in front of my eyes, the red begonias began to bloom.

So I'll be able to do that too.

Heat crept up to my cheeks as I was filled with excitement at the thought of having magical powers.

I see him do this often, but it's still so beautiful every single time. As useless as my power would be in protecting myself, it sure as hell was pretty. While I was in my daze, the man stood up.

"Ah... he's leaving," I murmured, pouting a little. I wanted to see more of that magic.

This man was the gardener of this mansion. But of course, the only reason he could have this power was because he wasn't always a servant. Like an FBI, I had collected all sorts of information about him from the plants around the mansion. After all, I was going to be approaching him soon as part of my survival plan.

His name was Risor and he had no last name... because it was taken from him.

Allegedly his father was a traitor and had betrayed a noble of a higher standing, so his entire family had their tongues cut out along with having their status and wealth taken from them. Unable to stand this, the man killed himself and with the Marquess' benevolence his son was sent here as the garden's caretaker while the mother worked as a maid in my father's mansion.

These types of punishments were common in this world and I had read about stuff like this in the book but you know what shocked me most about Risor's story?

Apparently my father is a compassionate and loved man, as he took them in, and he had helped a lot of people like this. That generous man, beloved of the people is the beast of my story. It took all I had in me to not fall into a bout of rage and self-pity. He is one of the biggest reasons why my life had become this way.

If Marquess Sollea had her sent away, she must truly be a tyrant.

That was the mindset of all the people around me.

No wonder they treated me like this. The first time I met eyes with one of the servants of this house, my breath caught in my throat. I'll never forget. Because anyone could see the unconcealed scorn that was directed at me.

Somehow, I had reincarnated as the most pathetic and pitiful mad little princess of this world.