Anna opened her eyes and it felt like she was seeing the world in ultra HD.

First sat up, looking down at her hands. Since she came into this world, her body had always felt alien. Like it didn’t truly belong to her. But now? She felt like it was hers. Lived in and owned.

Her head raced, like she had been forced to watch a million hours of movies all at once without breaks.

Wait, that’s kinda what happened?

As she stared at her arms, she noticed how different the orchid marks looked compared to what they looked like on Princess Orchid. On the Princess they were much fainter, and now they were bolder. Sharper. As if someone had used a silver sharpie to ink them over.

I’m Princess Orchid now...no, I’m not her. I just look like her.

Right.

I’m not her. I’m Anna DeMarchess.

No. I’m Anna Carson. Carson. That’s my last name. I’m 26 and I used to work at Slinger Corp, I was the general affairs staff, that’s a fancy word for errand girl and corporate slave but who cares.

I am Anna Carson. Anna Carson. Not DeMarchess.

She ran it over and over in her head, chanting her real name to herself.

"Your highness, is everything alright?"

Anna turned, coming face to face with Ray, Kai and Azul. The three of them stood together, watching her with cautious eyes as if they expected her to lapse back into coma.

Ray? No...Noctis. His name is Noctis. Such a lovely name, why did she stop calling him that?

And Kai...Mako. Hmm, I kinda like Kai better.

Azul? He’s always been Azul.

Wait...why am I talking so much in my head?

Anna opened her mouth to speak but no words would come out. Confused, she tried again, her lips moving but no sound.

Oh my goodness did her memories fry my brain?! What the fuck is going on?! Why can’t I speak?!

"You shouldn’t put too much stress on your body, your highness," Azul moved forward with a glass of water Anna swore spawned out of nowhere.

She took it, gulping it down in seconds. Ray reached for the glass and she used the opportunity to grab his arm.

He blinked, startled, but didn’t pull away. As Anna looked at him, she remembered everything the Princess Orchid did to him, how she "found" him —but in reality she bought him like he was a piece of furniture— and married him. The only reason was because he was raised as a western spy. How quickly she grew bored of him because he refused to spy on people day after day. How she abandoned him, barely checking on him in months. To the points most servants didn’t even know he was the Princess’s husband.

Anna reached up and touched his cheek.

Oh, no one deserves to be treated this way. That fucking bitch. Now that I have all her memories, I want to strangle her even more.

"Your highness?" Ray whispered, his eyes widening with shock.

His eyes are so pretty. So deep...like a black hole. That stupid woman hated his eyes and always insulted them. She didn’t know shit about beauty.

Anna had so much she wanted to say to Ray, so much she wanted to apologize for. But her throat still refused to work on any words.

So she smiled. Her eyes grew misty but she didn’t cry. She didn’t think she could cry anymore.

Ray seemed to understand her. He grabbed her hand, pressing her palm into his face. His skin was so smooth, and his lashes were long and inky, giving his eyes an ethereal appearance. This was the first time Anna had seen his face up close, and she could get lost in his eyes.

Anna chuckled softly. Oh my goodness he’s adorable!

Kai moved, and Anna turned her attention to him. Unknown to her, Ray grumbled silently and wished she held him longer.

"Your highness, I’m so sorry about that night and—" Kai started to say.

Anna tilted her head to the side, a dazzling smile on her face as she stared at him.

Kai, taken aback from how sweetly she was smiling at him, didn’t know what to say next.

He didn’t expect this reaction. He fully expected her to hate him and scream at him or worse, call the guards on him.

Instead she smiled. And that smile...Kai’s heart skipped a beat. He didn’t know when he grabbed his chest, the tips of his ears turning pink.

This didn’t go unnoticed by Azul and Ray.

Meanwhile, Anna was screaming internally.

Of all her husbands, Princess Orchid treated Kai the most like a lab rat. Her justification? "Aquatic beastmen are rare. I want to create a merman that’ll cry pearls for me."

What a cunt. Sorry...I shouldn’t call a woman a cunt. But urghhhhh.

Now that Anna knew everything, her heart went out to him that most. His anger back at the party made sense. Even though she wasn’t about to forgive him easily (he did choke her without permission) the night wasn’t entirely bad.

My first kiss in this life. And it was so wonderful I’m getting hot thinking about it! Fuck, my voice isn’t back yet. Ahhhhhh.

Oh that’s right, he knows my secret too. I should be nicer to him, we’re about to become allies.

Anna winked at him, laughing quietly when his face went blank and his cheeks turned pink.

Finally, Anna turned to Azul.

He bowed, "I’m relieved you’re better now, your highness."

Anna nodded, her smile widening.

Azul was one of two husbands that came to Princess Orchid of their free will. The second was Drax. Anna’s suspicions were right, The Princess Orchid had a political marriage with Azul, a love match with Drax, and her other three husbands were...

Anna didn’t want to think about it.

She looked at the three of them, and it felt like she was seeing them for the first time.

Having all the original memories felt better than she imagined. It was like turning on the lights after being in the dark for so much.

It all makes sense now.

Meanwhile, the men were in varying states of confusion.

Ray tried again, for a split second to read her mind. Instead of the noise he heard before, this time it was calm and filled with Anna’s voice. She talked a lot, and Ray was able to quickly deduce that something happened to her voice and she also remembered everything. He should have felt relief, instead he was worried. What if something bad happens?

Kai was the happiest. She wasn’t angry. She smiled at him, she actually smiled at him! Even though her eyes were different and he sensed something off about her, she was awake. All he had to do was find a way to speak to her without so many prying ears.

Azul was the most confused, yet he found that he missed touching her.

The door opened, ushering in the king and queen and two doctors.

Oh boy....

Anna sat perfectly still, the same smile on her face as they examined her. The Queen burst into tears, while the king stood rigidly and threw accusatory glares at Kai.

After an examination, the doctor revealed her voice loss was temporary and should be resolved before evening. She was out for a week and that was to be to expected.

Anna didn’t know which one shocked her more. The fact that it took seven days for all original memories to download, or the fact that she temporarily lost her voice in the process.

Once that was all said and done, she got to her feet and headed to the door. The men tried to follow, and she made aggressive hand signs for them to stay away.

Not having a voice is annoying.

She waved excitedly at them before leaving. Once she was gone they exchanged confused glances between themselves.

***

Anna skipped down the hallways, humming a happy tune in her head. She had one goal right now, sort out her thoughts and make her next plans.

She found Bella, and was able to give her written instructions.

After that was done, she returned to her room, took a long and refreshing bath then changed into the most casual pair of clothes she owned.

Bella returned with a massive basket of all the items. Anna flashed her a thumbs up before picking up the strawberry plant and all it’s massive vines, the journal, and beckoning Bella to follow her.

Bella, confused out of her mind, obediently did as she was told. This was the first time she’d seen the Princess so happy, and she didn’t want to spoil that mood.

Though, what did the Princess need so many kitchen utensils for?

Anna left the palace, a skip in her steps, a joyful smile on her face, and her gaze straight ahead.

Finding Princess Orchid’s lab was easy now that she knew everything. The lab was isolated from the palace, surrounded by dense shrubbery and trees. Anna unlocked the door without restraints and ushered Bella in.

The sight of so many science equipments made Anna’s jaw drop.

Oh my fucking hell, how much did all these cost?!

"Your highness?" Bella whispered, her voice frightened. The Princess never allowed anyone into her lab, that was the number one rule in the palace. "I should leave now..."

Anna whirled around and faced Bella. She took a whole vine off the strawberry plant and handed it over to Bella before waving her goodbye.

Bella accepted the gift and left, glancing at the lab repeatedly till she was gone. Will she be okay? Wait, she’s be princess. I should be flogged for questioning her.

Anna pulled out a chair and settled down.

Then she waited.

Hours ticked by till she was able to speak again.

"Are you dead?" Was the first thing she asked, sarcasm coating her tone.

AI Orchid materialized. "I warned you. Revealing your identity will come with consequences."

"I know. We need to talk. So, this was your idea of a punishment?"

The hologram folded her arms but otherwise was silent.

Anna laughed. "It was?! Oh my goodness."

"Have you lost your mind?"

Anna waved dismissively. "No no, it’s just...this is all your fucking fault, you know? If you wanted me to be a villainess, the least you would have done was give me a fucking guidebook. But no. You withheld your memories and gave them one at a time like fucking candy. What did you expect?! Of course my cover would get blown."

"You’re insane. How can you still be..."

"Be what? Sane? Hold on," Anna rose to her feet and squared up the hologram. "Did you think my fragile human brain would collapse under the weight of your evil memories?"

Silence.

"Is that so? Wow. Talk about insulting."

"You’re fine now. You have all the original memories. Your punishment is done and completed."

"Yeah, no thanks to you, bitch. Oh and, you’re a horrible person. Really. There’s not one redeeming quality in you, not even Leila could make me see you as a good person."

Something flashed in AI Orchid’s eyes. "Do not mention Leila."

"Why not? Sore spot? You know, I never knew what happened to her. Did you kill your own child?"

"I’m not having this conversation with you."

"Oh my, did I hit a sensitive nerve? Stand here and fucking talk!"

"Why bother? You’ll figure it out anyway."

Anna bit her lip. At the back of her mind she knew that she acted rashly, throwing the death of a child—her child— in AI Orchid’s face.

But at the same time, she didn’t feel guilty about it.

Oh, we must be merging. Scary.

Even that thought didn’t bother her.

"So what now?" Anna asked.

A large glowing screen containing her stats showed up.

Her eyes widened. "Two million points already?!"

"Congratulations, host. The guidebook’s goal has been completed. You’ve gotten all original memories and are 80% close to your goal change."

"Cool."

"From now henceforth, the training part is over and you will be expected to embody a villainess, no excuses. Note that any further reveal of your identity will result in an automatic goal change denial."

"What?! You’re not supposed to do that."

"Consider the first punishment an appetizer. Once again, congratulations."

"What now?" Anna asked.

AI Orchid vanished.

Then Anna heard a ding in her head, followed by a familiar mechanical voice.

[The System will revert to its initial form. Did you miss me, hostie?~]

A wide grin spread on Anna’s face. "Oh we’re so fucking back!"