Everything was frozen. Her vision was clear, but not the color. Everything was grey, except for something above her: a faint pinkish modern screen. Her eyes were glued to that pinkish, decorative, floating screen. She couldn't move; even lifting a finger felt impossible. Her body was frozen, as if something had tied her to the hard mattress she was lying on. Her eyes rolled slowly downward since she couldn't move her head. Haeru's vision became clearer even without glasses, it felt like the eyes she was using now weren't her eyes she used to have.
The room she was lying in was quite decorative, filled with a medieval aesthetic. The mattress beneath her was hard and stiff, unbearably uncomfortable for Haeru, who was used to sleeping on a modern Japanese couch. She shifted her gaze to the corners of her eyes, noticing a young couple in their twenties dressed in medieval maid and butler attire. They were clearly younger than thirty-year-old Haeru. The young couple was sobbing uncontrollably. The husband covered his tears with his large hands while the wife had already dropped to her knees, clutching the edge of the bed as if her life depended on it.
She noticed how busy the room was. Several maids in the background were rushing here and there; some were clearly running around. Yet everything was frozen, as though time itself had stopped. Everything felt confusing. Haeru's eyes returned to the faint pinkish, floating modern screen above her head. There was actually text displayed on it in English. Haeru's heart skipped a beat not in some romantic way, but out of sheer terror and fear. The text said, "Welcome to Emotion Rescuer"
Emotion Rescuer was a video game that had been quite popular during her high school days. It was an otome game with a classic story about a wealthy commoner teenager on a mission to find her stepbrother, who had gone missing when they were children. To do so, she enrolled in a magic school and accidentally crossed paths with three men, eventually falling in love with them. But as the story unfolded, they discovered that the commoner girl was actually a saint destined to help the country defeat the demon king. Haeru's heart was pounding rapidly with panic and fear. Then suddenly, she blinked. The faint pinkish floating modern screen above her head disappeared in an instant. Her eyes darted toward the people around her.
The grey color faded into real-life hues, and the once-frozen people began moving again. The faint sounds of sobbing and chaos slowly echoed in her ears before everything turned black and shifted back to that earlier scene. Haeru could now move her fingers and her head. The young couple, noticing their young lady moving, burst into tears of joy. The woman hugged her tightly while Haeru sat there stunned, eyes wide in shock. Everything felt so confusing, her body still weak. She looked at her hands; they were small, almost like those of a six-year-old child.
Before she could think much of it, her consciousness began to fade again, and everything turned pitch black. The same pinkish floating modern screen appeared in the darkness once more, displaying the words: "Successfully Transferred to Veronica Mildrith Gwendolyn." Haeru glanced at the options below it, "More" or "Okay." She decided to choose "More." Then a long description appeared in English, explaining that Haeru had been reincarnated into the body of the villainess inside a game called Emotion Rescuer.
The text stated that Haeru had thirty missions to complete before she could be reborn back on Earth as a new Japanese individual. Moreover, all thirty missions were related to protecting the heroine, Tiffany Mara. Haeru was tasked with protecting the heroine at all costs, without regard for her own life or safety, because the "Pink System" had already guaranteed her protection as long as she carried out the missions properly. It also stated that if Haeru failed any of the missions, there would be punishment.
After reading everything necessary, she clicked the option that said "Okay." Then a soft voice said, "You're now ready to begin Emotion Rescuer." Then everything started to feel dizzy. Haeru closed her eyes as a deafening ringing filled her ears like madness. Slowly, the dizziness and noise faded away. Haeru opened her eyes, only to see the same maid and butler resting on the couch. Haeru got up, still dizzy. Her body trembled with exhaustion and pain. Her small, fair hands touched her head, which had been bandaged.
Her eyes glanced at the two, the maid and butler resting on the couch. They looked so exhausted, almost as if they could collapsed any second. The maid's face was a bit pale when Haeru looked closer. Haeru slowly looked down at her small, trembling hands. "Am i actually dead? Why?" she thought. All she could remember was that she had once lived as a Japanese individual, and that she had once played this otome game during high school.
Except for those memories, she couldn't recall anything. Her family, her past life, nothing. It felt as if someone had pulled the memory card right out of her. That same wave of frustration washed over her again. She slowly moved to the edge of the stiff mattress. Her eyes glanced at her tiny, short legs, when suddenly, a loud noise came from outside.
Haeru's eyes widened. "What's this... is this an event inside the game or what?" She looked around. There was a wide window near a strange painting next to the couch. She shifted her gaze to the massive door. She hesitated for a moment before finally building a wall inside herself to shield against fear. After all, she was a grown woman. She walked slowly toward the massive door that separated her room from the outside.
She held the doorknob and slowly pulled it open. Her light-green eyes sparkled with the brightness that filled the hallway outside her room. Quickly, she restrained herself, realizing she was on the second floor. She tiptoed toward the long staircase that led to the massive living room below. Her eyes filled with shock and confusion, there was a party happening down there.
Why would they be having a party when their youngest daughter was seriously injured? Haeru scanned the living room from the second floor, trying to stay unseen. Then she spotted Veronica's sister, the one who had been enrolled at the Magic School, Magias– and had finally graduated.
"Isn't she that one woman who instantly become an S–Rank Adventurer after graduating from Magias?" Haeru thought. She sighed. So that's why they were throwing a party, despite knowing full well that their youngest daughter and sibling was in real trouble. She stood still, her eyes empty as she closed them. Then, a soft voice called out from behind her.
"Lady Veronica, what are your grace doing here!?" the maid gasped sharply. She stepped back and bowed to Haeru to show respect to the young lady of the house. Haeru was stunned; she still wasn't used to a single one of these medieval gestures. After being sent back to her room, the servants were already waiting for her.
Haeru walked slowly back toward her room, the noise from the first floor echoing in her ears. Praise, cheering, and laughter filled the house. Haeru clenched her fists softly, then let out a sigh and slowly restrained her emotions. She opened the door, only to be greeted by her personal servants, the same maid and butler. Haeru froze, seeing them already awake. The maid's eyes widened before she walked toward Haeru.
She fell to her knees in front of Haeru and gently held Haeru's hands before saying, "Lady Veronica.... I am so sorry for letting you fall into this situation."The maid, named Hesperia, was sobbing, her face flushed red with overwhelming emotion.
– END