Life After Reborn as Twisted Heroine

Damn… I let my guard down!

I got so caught up with those discoveries about my reincarnation that I failed to notice what should be right under my nose… That Shilien had been slowly winning over Chrisola's heart!

If this continues unchecked, the story's plot will align with Twilight's Chronicle. It's only a matter of time before Shilien and her supporters make their move.

"What are you daydreaming about?" Ren's voice broke through my thoughts.

We were in the magic training hall, tossing magical energy balls back and forth like some juvenile game of catch. It was an exercise assigned by Ixius to help us improve our control over mana, though I suspected Ren enjoyed it far more than I did.

"Just some things I've been mulling over…" I muttered, throwing a crimson energy ball his way. As he caught it effortlessly, the red orb shifted to a shimmering gold in his hand.

"Like what?" Ren asked while tossing the magic ball back to me with a nonchalant flick.

"What else but that wretched bitch… Shilien!" I growled, this time infusing a lot of mana and hurling a blazing orb toward him.

"Whoa, hey! Don't take out your anger on me!" he flinched as he felt the heat from my mana and complained, dispelling the fiery sphere and waving his hand.

"Sorry! Sorry!" I apologized then sighed and slumped to the ground. It seemed my worries were weighing me and made me unable to focus and continue our training.

Ren walked over and plopped down beside me, his expression softening.

"Wanna talk about it?" he offered, pulling two small chocolate candies from his pocket and handing me one.

"Where did you get these?" I glanced at the treat suspiciously.

"I won't tell you!" he chuckled, unwrapping his candy and popping it into his mouth.

I unwrapped mine, letting the faint sweetness ground me as I began to vent my dilemma about Chrisola and Shilien.

"Basically… Chrisola seems upset because I've been spending more time training with you than playing with her lately," I admitted.

On one hand, I'm glad to have a training partner like Ren to help me strengthen myself without enduring Shilien's grueling sessions… But on the other hand, I'm worried about leaving Chrisola to grow closer to Shilien because it is dangerous.

"She's never been this cold to me before. It's like every attempt I make to fix things just pushes her closer to Shilien! I'm really curious to know what that snake has been telling her…"

Ren tilted his head thoughtfully. "Why not spend some time with her, just the two of you? Play a game or do something she likes?"

"I've tried! But she kept sulking. Shilien… That wicked woman must have brainwashed Chrisola and planted her ideas to turn my sister against me little by little!" My voice dropped, venom lacing my words.

"Hmmm… How about I invite her to play? The three of us could hang out together," Ren proposed.

"No way!" I snapped at Ren's suggestion. "Don't make things worse! She's mad at me because of you!"

"Okaay... Chill." Ren raised his hands in mock surrender, laughing. He then took another chocolate candy from his pocket. "Anyway… what's Shilien's grand plan in the novel anyway? When does she strike?"

"When Chrisola is fifteen…" I trailed off as I recalled the events in Twilight's Chronicle that marked the coup in the Emeraldine Kingdom. "A series of disasters; the worst famine in decades, a plague sweeping through the kingdom, and natural calamities, cripple the land of Emeraldine… The King falls ill, too weak to rule effectively, and the people grow restless. They turn their anger toward the monarchy, accusing it of abandoning them. That's when Duke Argenti, with Shilien's help, rallies the nobility and stages a coup. And then… The rest is…"

"History?" Ren clarified.

"Tragedy," I corrected bitterly, biting into my candy.

"So the Kingdom loses, and Duke Argenti wins?"

I nodded grimly, the bitter taste of the novel's ending mingling with the remnants of chocolate on my tongue.

"Wow. Ruthless," Ren said, leaning back on his elbows. "Using the people's suffering and the desperate situation as a stepping stone for power. That's so cunning and cold."

"Exactly! That's why I hate her so much. And don't even get me started on the Argenti family!" My voice rose with frustration. "If you read the novel, I bet you will despise them too!"

Ren hesitated before speaking again. "Still… she's your biological mother, right?"

I barked out a bitter laugh. "Mother? Ha! That's hilarious! Do you consider Marquess Lazarro as your father?" I shot back at Ren.

"Touche." He smirked. "Honestly, I can't say I do. My memories of my parents from my past life are blurry, but the Marquess? Yeah, no. That lecherous guy's not winning any Father of the Year awards."

"Exactly. Blood means nothing when there's no love behind it," I said, brushing a strand of silver hair from my face. "Though the King's a slightly different story…"

"Hee… What about the King?" Ren asked curiously.

"I don't know… I can't figure him out. He's nothing like the man described in the novel. Sometimes I wonder if that old man is testing me or if he's just indifferent to everything around him."

Ren and I sat in silence for a moment before he broke it with another question.

"Hey, Shilien's rebellion is still years away, right? Why don't we just warn the King now?"

"Warn him?" I stared at him incredulously. "You think that old man would listen to kids like us? Without evidence, he'd laugh us out of the room. Besides, Shilien and her faction haven't even made any overt moves yet."

"But the story has already changed, hasn't it?" Ren leaned forward, his ruby eyes gleaming with excitement.

"What are you getting at?"

He smirked. "Think about it. You and I… We're not supposed to be part of this world, are we? The moment we entered the picture, the story started diverging. What if Shilien's plans have already shifted too?"

I froze, his words sinking in. He was right. The fact that Ren and I had isekai'd and crossed paths with each other had thrown a wrench into the novel's established plot and timeline.

"You're saying…"

"I'm saying we can't assume her rebellion will happen years from now," he said, sitting up straight. "If anything, we should be expecting the unexpected."

I clenched my fists. "Damn it. You're right. But how do we confirm anything?"

Ren grinned mischievously. "We gather intel, of course!"

"Great plan, Sherlock. How exactly are we supposed to do that?"

"Simple. Magic." He stood and stretched, raising his hands toward the ceiling.

"Wait, what are you—"

Before I could finish, the air around us shifted. Light gathered in his palms, swirling like liquid gold, before spreading across his body. It wasn't just ordinary mana. This was something far more intricate, a spell, unlike anything I'd seen before.

"T-this is…" My words caught in my throat as the radiant energy enveloped him.

Ren turned to me, his smirk widening. "Ready to see what I've been working on?"