Harmony's POV

“This face...whose face is this?” I exclaimed in shock, touching my face while still staring at the mirror. I slapped myself hard, thinking it might just be an illusion, but I immediately closed my eyes when I felt the pain from the slap.

What's going on? I don't understand anything.

I scanned the entire room. This room seemed old-fashioned; the furnishings and style made me think I was in the 18th century. I turned my eyes back to the mirror and carefully examined the face I saw there.

This face... She has an oval face shape and a rose ivory skin tone. Her brows are sharply angled, and her eyelashes are thick, paired with royal blue, upturned eyes that seem to search the depths of your soul the moment they meet yours. Her straight nose suits her perfectly, with pink, rose-colored, downward-turned lips. Her crimson-blood hair reaches her tailbone. And the beautiful shape of her body cannot be denied, even though she looks a little thin—

Just who the heck is this person? Whose body is this? Why am I here, then? By now, I should be dead, but why?

“P-Princess H-Harmony,” My attention was drawn to the woman when she mentioned that name. That name may belong to the owner of this body, right?

I stepped back when she suddenly knelt in front of me, which made me frown. “Pardon my audacity, Your Highness,” she said while bowing her head.

There she goes again with ‘Your Highness.’ Is the owner of this body really a princess? Huh? Harmony? Is that what I heard? She addressed me as Harmony. Maybe she's not talking about Harmony, who happens to be one of the characters in my favorite novel.

I looked around again, only to freeze in place when I saw a portrait hanging on the wall opposite the bed, and below it was the name...

“Harmony Azmin La Evalor?” My eyes widened, and my lips slowly parted.

No way! This can't be! Harmony is one of the characters in my favorite installment of the Astaria Series!

And...

And why this freaking body out of all the bodies I could own? I became Harmony Azmin La Evalor, a useless, weak, and burdensome side character, for freaking sake!!!

Because of the intense shock, I didn't realize I was already pulling at my hair while shaking my head incessantly.

“Your Highness! What is happening to you, Your Highness?” The woman approached and tried to remove my hands from my head. I pushed her away and gave her a nasty look.

Her face is thick enough to pretend to be worried about me. After she fed Harmony rotten food, she still has the nerve to show such an expression.

“You! Get out of this room now!” She didn't respond to my yells to get up and leave the room, so I got up and pulled her out. I shut the door and leaned against it, panting. “Why is this happening?” I looked around again and stared at my hands.

I frowned because of how thin this body was. Does it even eat? Or, more correctly, is Harmony being fed properly?

While I was thinking about that, my attention was caught by the food on the floor—that can no longer be called food because it has gone moldy. My palms clenched because they mistreated Harmony. They even denied Harmony decent food.

I slowly walked towards the mirror. I seriously looked at myself in the mirror.

Why am I angry at what Harmony suffered? I shouldn't care about her, yes, I don't.

I don't care for her. I hate everything about her, especially how frail she is. I am annoyed by her name, just by hearing or reading it in a book, so when her character died, I celebrated. But should I be happy now? Should I take back my wish for Harmony to die because I became her? No! Where else for? What's the point of living if my little sister isn't here? What is the use of this new life in Harmony's body if Savy is already dead?

Especially since this side character is also destined to die.

“I was reincarnated in the body of someone who was about to die. How funny, HAHA,” I walked near the bed and picked up the fork I saw there. “I'd rather end this life myself before the scenario of Harmony's death at the hands of the Assassins takes place.” After saying those words, I slowly thrust the fork into my chest, but just as the tip of the fork was going in, I was stunned by what I heard in my mind.

“S-sis, I want you to continue living without me. I've always wished every time your birthday comes that you would live a long, happy, and free life...sorry, my dear sister...because I was the cause of your suffering, but now it's like I'm Harmony; I'm ready to be your supporting character so you can have a happy and peaceful life that you've always longed for...”

My lips parted, and I immediately dropped the fork I was holding. I looked at my hands because they were covered in blood; I felt like my vision was spinning. “N-no...b-blood? Thi...this blood—NO!!!” I grabbed my head because of the intense pain.

I heard the door open, but I couldn't bring myself to look at it; I kept screaming.

“Harmony! Harmony! Harmony!”

“Your Highness—oh, god! So much blood!”

“Call a doctor! Right now! Hurry up!” I could clearly hear the shouts, but I couldn't focus my attention on them to recognize who they were because my eyes suddenly blurred.

“Where are you going, Mother?”

I saw a child rising from the bed in my mind. Huh? What is this?

“Did I wake you up, my daughter?” The woman with crimson-red hair approached the child and kissed her forehead. She laid the child down and sang to her.

“Mother, are you leaving?”

“Yes, daughter. But don't worry, I'll be right back,” the woman replied while continuing to caress the child.

“Promise, Mother?”

“I promise.”

And then the scene in my mind changed. The child is wearing a black dress while crying in a coffin; she's crying non-stop and is already wet from the rain. Not even one of the adults dared to use an umbrella for the child because their faces showed no emotion.

“You're so unfair, Mother. You told me you'd come back, and although you did, you're lying in a coffin. You abandoned me here, where nobody cares about me. I hate you, Mother.”

I don't know why, but my tears were also flowing non-stop as I watched the scenes that I believe are Harmony's memories.

“Stop crying,” the child looked up at the approaching man. The way he looked was intimidating, so the child stopped crying.

“F-father...”

“You worthless thing. You can't even maintain your etiquette,” he moved slightly closer to the child so that the people around them wouldn't hear what he was about to say. “I'm ashamed to have you as my child.” After that, he left, followed by a woman who turned to the child and smirked, causing the child's eyes to widen.

After that scene, what I saw changed again. The child was peeking into a room, and inside were two people talking. The Emperor and who I believe to be his Aide.

“A-are you sure of this decision, Your Majesty?”

“What's wrong with my decision?” The Emperor looked up, causing the aide to bow his head.

“It's been less than a week or a month since Empress Melody's death, and you're already planning a wedding with your concubine—”

“What's your point?”

“Please pardon my ignorance, Your Majesty. I just worry that people might think badly of you getting married all of a sudden...that they might think that...”

“That what? That I planned Empress Melody's death?” The aide avoided his gaze, which made the Emperor laugh. “When people realize that their new Empress is more deserving than the former one—especially since Vitalia was one of the candidates for crown princess at the time, that concern will also be forgotten. So make sure to take care of our wedding arrangements as soon as possible.” The aide nodded and was about to leave, so the child quickly ran away.

The next scene was violent; after the concubine was declared the new Empress, she began to mistreat the child.

“You little shit!” She dragged the child and pushed her into the basement.

“P-please have mercy, Stepmother! Don't lock me in here, please!” I wanted to close my eyes, I wanted to erase from my mind the ruthless abuse that the child suffered at the hands of her Stepmother, but I couldn't because all of this was Harmony's memories that would forever be imprinted in my mind.

The woman mercilessly slapped, pulled, and kicked the child. And seeing that, I couldn't help but remember all the hardships I experienced at the hands of my parents.

“Save me, Mother...please...”

I couldn't stand the next scene. The child hangs upside down while she endures a stern wooden whipping from a servant's hand. This is, if I'm not mistaken, the maid who served Harmony dirty food.

“Excellent, Celia. Because of that, I shall appoint you as Harmony's Nanny to look after her. You know what you have to do.” After that, the Empress left the basement, leaving the two of them behind.

From then on, not a day went by without young Harmony experiencing violence at the hands of the shameless servant.

“Stop it! Don't hurt her! Stop it! STOP IT!” I suddenly sat up from lying down, gasping for breath. I grabbed my head and looked around the room.

Where am I?

I realized that I had passed out and was no longer in Harmony's room. The place was different, and so was the scent. When the door opened, I immediately lay down and closed my eyes. I don't know why, but I don't want them to know I'm awake because I don't know what to say when I face the people here in the palace. I might even kill them.

“How is my sister's condition?” There is no doubt that he's the Crown Prince because he used the term ‘sister’ in his question from a masculine voice—

Wait, what—the Crown Prince?! The male lead is inside this room?! Damn!

“So far, she is doing well, Your Highness,” replied who I believe to be the physician.

“What happened to my sister? Why did she hurt herself?”

“She has a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how she feels, the way she thinks, and how she acts...she suffers from Depressive Disorder or Depression, Your Highness.”

What? Me? Has depression? Depression, my ass!

“Depression? But how? How can she be depressed when she has everything? She is the Emperor's daughter,” the prince asked cluelessly. Of course, he doesn't know about what Harmony went through at the hands of his mother.

“Depression has different causes. Stressful life changes, such as the death of a loved one; chronic stress; traumatic events; and childhood abuse, Your Highness.”

“The first cause may be the reason. Maybe she still hasn't forgotten what happened to her mother.”

No! The biggest reason is your mother! That bitch!

I wanted to shout that, but I restrained myself. I'm still confused about what's happening, so as much as possible, I have to be careful with what I do. It's difficult; in this place, in this world, I have no allies.

“The only advice I can provide at this time is to give her twice as much care, encourage relaxation, avoid putting her under stress, and support her in everything she wants to do because there is a chance that she will harm herself again. Next week, I'll check in to see if anything has changed. I'll take my leave now, Your Highness the Crown Prince.” With that, I heard the door close. I still didn't open my eyes because I could feel that the Crown Prince was left in the room.

And I can feel his stares. He's staring at me for Pete's sake!

“I know you're awake, Harmony.” I almost wanted to get up and run away from this room when I heard that. But even though I know he knows I'm awake, I still won't open my eyes, and whatever happens, I will never open my eyes—not in front of him!

Oh, come on! Get out of here now. Urgh! This is so freaking awkward!

“You don't want to talk to me? I see. Get well soon, Harmony, and I'll leave you to rest now.”

I breathed a sigh of relief because he finally left. I sat up and sighed, then looked around the room. I realized that I was currently in the infirmary.

I sadly gazed at the stars from the window.

“Why, Savy? Why do you want me to continue living without you? You're so unfair.” I lay down and turned my eyes to the ceiling. “A happy and peaceful life I long for, huh?”

Maybe when I wake up...I won't be in this body anymore.

After that, my eyelids slowly closed.