Is there anything more boring than a story about a princess stuck in a tower? One can find variants of such a tale just about anywhere. Think about it, is there anyone who hasn't heard some story about a wealthy, young noble lady stuck in some godforsaken tower god-knows-where?

"…Maybe they're all just trying to fool us?"

Lettice's offhand opinion was immediately shot down by Benja. That is to say, he simply made fun of Lettice.  "No, if anything, it feels like something you'd come up with. Not funny, not cool, just plain stupid and…"

"What? Seriously, what happened to respect for your elder brother?"

"Please, have you ever acted like one?"

"C'mon Sasha, you really don't know anything about what's happening? This kind of feels like a prank you'd try to pull, too."

"Oh ho. Now that's an interesting thought."

I was just about ready to yank my hair out in frustration. Whether their antics were merely a front to stave off their fear or not, the end result was just plain annoying. It boggled my mind how these two devil-may-care brothers would grow up to be the villains who would subdue the empire under their feet.

"Sasha?" …Well, I guess I did see it a little. I was beginning to kind of understand how they became villains.

Estelle seemed to have finally noticed the unspoken fear in the air, inching closer to me until she was practically glued to my side. Having been born with a sickly constitution, she was naturally a lot more sensitive and vulnerable to her surroundings. In the past, the only ones she would turn to for comfort were myself and my late mother.

"Sasha, do you really not know what's going on?" Unfortunately, I'm not omnipotent. Although I could've certainly done with some prior knowledge of this.

This being our current dilemma of three aristocrat children and the daughter of the nanny imprisoned in some obscure corner of the estate somewhere. What really took the cake was that the culprits weren't demons or dragons or the like, but rather, their own blood relatives.

That aside, the biggest problem here was my inability to reconcile our current situation with what I knew. No matter how much I combed through my memory, I couldn't recall reading a single detail about this dilemma.

Part 1. To think I'm Oldboy*!

Up to this point, my life had been pretty much normal – well, you could argue that normal is rather subjective, but I would still consider myself a kid just like any other in this era. With that said, I was probably a little luckier than most given that my mother struck it pretty big in life as a nanny for the Serpente dukedom. My father, on the other hand, had passed away before I was born, so I have no memory of him. According to my mother, I inherited these ruby eyes of mine from him.

In any case, we moved all the way from the southern side of the empire to the capital. With a recommendation letter from her previous employer in hand, my mother managed to secure a position as a nanny for the Serpente's newborn daughter. As for myself, I spent my early years playing around as a half-nanny, half-friend to said newborn daughter.

The duke and his wife were very good to us. I had no idea if this was the case for other noble families but the couple treated my mother and I as one of their own. Under normal circumstances, a mere commoner such as myself would've never had the opportunity to interact with any, let alone so many, noble children in this way. And believe it or not, the duke even scolded his own son for making me cry at times! With our two families getting along famously, my childhood was, needless to say, simply amazing.

I first felt that something was horribly off on the day my mother passed away – a victim of the plague that indiscriminately took the lives of seven thousand people in the capital within the space of a week, including that of the empress. It was only thanks to the duke my mother was given a proper funeral instead of being burned in a  mass grave like everyone else. It was also thanks to the duke that I was able to remain in the estate instead of being kicked out.

Back then, I wasn't actually caught up in my mother's death at the tender age of fourteen. My thoughts were completely preoccupied by something else entirely. You see, at the time my mother died, memories of my previous life flooded into my mind unexpectedly. Everything, be it about myself or my current situation.

I initially thought that my mind was playing tricks on me due to depression. After all, those memories were telling me I was living in a fictional world from a novel. And that I was an orphan in my previous life, which came to an end as I died alone in a broken elevator.

Who would believe such a thing? No one, that's who. Not even myself. …Or so I thought until a few weeks later when the Duke and his wife died, just like they did in my memories of the novel. That was when an uncontrollable sense of fear and unease started to take over. If this world really was a novel… then what was to follow was tragedy upon more tragedy – not just for myself, but for Lettice, Benja, and Estelle as well.

According to the mai n character's POV, the children of the Serpente family spent two years studying abroad in a foreign country. They say this was done by their relatives in order to manage the Serpente household better in the duke's absence.  By all accounts, it was assumed that I had followed them there for Estelle's sake. That wasn't a problem: the problem was, there was nothing about what happened to the children during those years. All I knew was that Estelle was to die somewhere in that time. And I, Sasha, would return with Lettice and Benja to bring about absolute chaos in the empire.

You got it. I was supposedly the book's last boss, the final villain. The queen of the serpents, the demoness in human flesh, yours truly. Also the person who gets tortured to death in the end, by the way. And here I thought I'd been a pretty decent person in my past life. To think I'd end up reincarnating as a villain… Just what unforgivable sin did I commit anyway? God, my luck of the draw is just…

Well, at least I know what will happen now. All I have to do is not do what I did in the novel! There was just one little problem…

As the novel was written from the main character's perspective, it was only based on what that person knew, truth or otherwise. Thus, as a reader, I lacked all the information of the actual goings-on. For example, who would've dreamed that the four of us weren't actually in a foreign country, but imprisoned in the basement instead? There was literally no mention of that in the book whatsoever.

That night was one I'd never be able to forget. On that night, when the funeral for the duke and duchess ended, I was staring up at the sky wordlessly with Estelle while Lettice and Benja dealt with their relatives. We were silent, hugging each other tightly with our tiny hearts beating madly, neither crying nor talking.

To this day, I have no idea why one star managed to look so mysterious to me that night. It felt like that one star twinkling above was trying to send me a strange signal from afar….almost as if…it were trying to send me a message from the future. The light almost looked like the sparkle of a single tear…

As I gazed at it, I could not dismiss the increasing feeling of uncertainty despite having the assurance of knowing everything that was to happen in the future. It was as if my instincts were clamouring, trying to warn me of something I had missed. A warning of something having gone horribly wrong.

"Estelle." I turned to look at the voice, finding Lettice, still in his funeral garb. His empty blue eyes were somewhat unfocused as he gazed at us.

"Uncle wishes to speak to us."

Poor kid. Lettice, funnily enough, was a shy child who was rather bad at keeping a poker face – a rather critical weakness for an aristocrat. I could only imagine how uncomfortable he must've felt to have come out himself rather than have a maid convey the message as was customary. Perhaps he had been desperate to have some time to himself, away from the crowd.

Estelle seemed rather unsettled by the lack of expression in her brother's eyes, if the way she was now looking at me was any indication. She relied heavily on my mother and I whenever she felt uneasy, and today being her parents' funeral of all days meant she was especially vulnerable. I knew what she wanted but even so, my identity meant that I couldn't be by her side at a family meeting. No matter how close to them I was, I wasn't actually a family member. I could only send her along with a few reassuring pats and an encouraging smile.

The two children headed back into the mansion, throwing glances back at me every few steps. Were they worried about me? I wanted to tell them that it wasn't necessary since we'd be together for a long time yet.

If only I had known then that there was indeed something to worry about… If only I had known this would be the last time the four of us would be able to step foot out under the blue sky for the next two years… It would've been nice if I had managed to get a flower or something as a memento.

I passed the first day in a state of confusion, unable to make sense of what was happening. It started when I first opened my eyes to gaze upon an unfamiliar ceiling. Or as I'd like to call it: my first surprise. The second surprise came when I turned my head to see my strawberry blonde locks intermingling with Estelle's pale blue ones. My last memory was of falling asleep in the room I used to share with my mother…so how did the two of us end up sleeping here together? And speaking of here…this wasn't my room, nor Estelle's.

Still floundering in shock and confusion, I stared blankly at her peacefully sleeping face. She must have felt my gaze on her for she soon opened her eyes. Drowsy blue eyes looked around in confusion before her sleepy voice questioned just a moment later, "Did you bring me here, Sasha?"

….I guess she's still half-asleep? It was the only explanation I had as she couldn't have been serious otherwise. In any case, who could've brought us here to begin with?

"…Sasha? Estelle?"

"Are you in there?"

*Oldboy is a reference to the 2003 Korean film, Oldboy, the plot which is described as: Oh Dae-su, who is imprisoned in a cell which resembles a hotel room for 15 years without knowing the identity of his captor or his captor's motives. When he is finally released, Dae-su finds himself still trapped in a web of conspiracy and violence. His own quest for vengeance becomes tied in with romance when he falls in love with an attractive young sushi chef.

TL: Soju Jimmy

Editor: Midwinter Gimlet

QC: Solistia Cosmopolitan

I knew what would come next, but I still felt like I was on edge. Warning bells rang in my head, signalling that something was off. But I didn't get enough time to ponder over the signs.

“Estelle.”

I turned around to find Letis, dressed in mourning clothes. The once bright blue eyes of the fifteen-year-old now blankly stared at us. It was almost like the light in his eyes had been extinguished.

“Uncle has something to discuss with all of us.”

The poor boy… He had numerous servants he could order to summon Estelle, but he still came on his own. He must've been desperate for some time alone. Despite needing to keep up a stoic appearance, Letiswas shy and found it hard to control and hide his emotion. For an heir to a noble family, it was considered to be a fatal flaw.

Estelle stared back at her brother, her eyes mirrored the same blankness. She turned around and looked at me, almost begging me to not let her go. Even back when her parents were alive, she'd feel nervous and anxious if I or my mother weren't beside her. And now that she'd lost them… I couldn't imagine what she must be feeling.

Still, no matter how badly I wanted to, I couldn't join the family meeting. Despite practically growing up with the siblings, I wasn't officially their family. It was impossible for me to be present there.

I smiled at her, trying to reassure by gently tapping her hand. Still reluctant, Estelle slowly let go of my hand and walked up to Letis.

Under the bright moonlight, the siblings' pale blue hair sparkled as they constantly looked back at me during their walk towards the manor. Were they…worried about me? I wanted to hug them and tell them that as long as we were together, everything would be fine.

But at that time, I didn't know that their worry was not for naught.

If only I'd known that that night would be our last time in the gardens for the next two years… I would've picked up a wild blossom to take along.

When I opened my eyes, a strange ceiling greeted me. That was the first surprise of the day. I didn't know what others might have done in the same situation, but panic suddenly began to creep up on me.

The second surprise sprung up on me soon after. When I turned my head, I found Estelle' long pale blue hair resting on top of mine. I'd clearly gone to sleep in my room in the annex last night, where I used to live with my mother. Unless either of us suffered from sleepwalking, there was no way we should have been sleeping on the same bed. What was even more weird was that the room itself was unfamiliar to me. It wasn't mine or Estelle's. How did we end up here?

I stared at Estelle's sleeping figure in stunned silence. She must've felt my gaze burning into her because she soon stirred awake. Her sleepy blue eyes blinked vacantly and looked at me. She looked around at the unfamiliar surroundings and spoke in a groggy voice.

“Did you bring me here?”

Why would she think that? Perhaps she was still half-asleep. I wish I had someone I could ask the same question.

“Sasha? Estelle?”

“Are you guys upstairs?”

Suddenly, I heard Letis and Benya calling out to us. I panicked for a moment, I couldn't figure out where they were. But soon the two boys came running up, their footsteps thudding against the steps.

The moment our eyes met, we all fell silent. The last time we'd seen each other in pajamas was about 8 years ago. It was embarrassing to see each other in such a state, but this wasn't the time to linger over something like that.

“Sasha, do you have something to do with this?” Letis raised a query against me.

Ah, he didn't know anything either? And here I thought I could rely on Letis. He is the most reliable out of all the siblings. I couldn't help but stare at him in disappointment.

Benya ran a hand through his dishevelled hair. He turned around to glare at Letis upon hearing his question. Letis expression, in return, turned sour seeing Benya's suspicious face.

“What? I just wanted to clear it up, okay?”

“The fact that you said that shows that your intellect is suffering from a major problem.”

“Won't you think someone's playing a prank on us after waking up together in a strange room too?”

We exchanged puzzled glances, all of us ignorant about the current situation. An ominous feeling began to creep up on me. It was as if my heart was plunged to ice cold water.

“Does our house even have a room like this?”

“Are you an idiot? You're the eldest son and you don't even know this?”

“Did you know?” Retorted Letis.

With balled fists, Benya couldn't help but say, “It's not like you know anything about it either.”

We used to run around all over this manor during our childhood, so we found it hard to believe that there was a place that even we didn't know about. The bedroom was fairly large, but it looked cramped because of all the furniture stuffed in the room.

A short-legged bed lay in the center of the room, surrounded by different kinds of chairs and a marble table with a lamp on top of it. Several chests and closets were lined up against the wall, right next to the dressing table and the thick rugs covered the cold floor. But none of the furniture matched each other, as if chosen without any care for beauty.

The sunlight trickled in from the large witch window placed up on the wall. It was the only source of air and sunlight in the room. It was quite disturbing. It was as if—

“Were you guys in a room downstairs when you woke up?”

“Yes, imagine having to wake up next to him!”

“Hey, how do you think I felt?”

I left the bantering pair behind, choosing to explore the place instead. I spotted a small door right across from us. I walked towards it and held the rusty brass doorknob. The door creaked open as I turned it.

“There's a bathroom here…” Benya commented as he sneaked up behind me.

The bathroom was big enough for a servant like me, but for these nobles… It was quite small.

“Does the room downstairs have a bathroom too?” I asked, dropping all sense of formality. Whenever there were no adults around, I tended to talk to them casually. This is how it's always been since we were little. We grew up together and felt no need to be formal with each other.

“Yes, at first I thought it was a different room, but it turned out to be just a bathroom.”

Ah, as I'd expected… An indescribable feeling began to gnaw at me and my heart began to race as I grew anxious. My eyes fell on the door next to the closet. I closed the bathroom door and approached the other door.

Letis stepped behind me and yelled out in warning, “Be careful. Who knows what's in there!”

In any other situation, the rest of us would've laughed at him and his paranoia. But considering our current predicament, no one was in the mood to do so. Even Benya, whose sole purpose of breathing was to tease others, chose not to comment on it. In fact, his reaction was probably warranted. The situation was so strange that even if we found a slumbering dragon behind the door, we wouldn't be surprised.

Of course, there weren't any dragons inside the room. But in hindsight, a dragon might've a better option.

Lettuce stepped up as the oldest and bravely opened the door. We held our breaths, preparing ourselves for whatever surprise would be revealed. In the end, it just turned out to be another ordinary room.

The siblings were unfamiliar with it. They'd never seen this room before.

“What is this place? A restaurant?”

The room wasn't a bedroom or a bathroom, but a kitchen lined with cupboards that were filled with utensils. The dishes looked old and dirty and the wood on the cupboard was chipping away. Just like the bathroom and the shoddy room, it wasn't a place befitting of a noble's status.

Benya was the first one to enter. He walked around the kitchen without a care in the world, as if the situation we were currently in didn't bother him at all. He turned around and smirked at us.

“Estelle, doesn't it look just like your dollhouse? You and Sasha can play here all day.”

Letis chuckled at his lame joke, finding it easy to laugh at our expense. I glowered at them, causing them to immediately try and change the subject. Letis put on a serious expression.

“Alright. Let's stop joking around.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Sasha, did you plan this prank with the other servants? I wouldn't put it past you to do something like this.”

What… Did he think the other servants went and hid themselves under a boulder to pull off this prank? Why did he think I planned all this? I was about to say something to him, but I guess it was a good thing when Estelle, who up until now had been clinging to my arm, interrupted me.

“Sasha… It's too stuffy in here.”

“I feel the same way.”

“I don't like it here.” She muttered softly.

I knew what she wanted to say. It didn't matter what this place was and why we were there. She just wanted to get out of there. I wanted the same, but…

“I think the way out is downstairs.”

Letis spoke up as soon as I was done, as if he was expecting me to say that.

“There's no door leading outside down there.”

“We were probably brought here to prevent us from being infected. What did they call it… quarantine? Maybe they moved us while we were asleep because they thought we would get scared.”

I thought he was joking around again, but his calm demeanor surprised me. I hesitated for a bit, wondering whether I should ask him a question. In the end, I decided to give it a go.

“Yesterday… At the family meeting, what did your relatives say?”

The mischievous look in his eyes died the moment I mentioned his relatives as a gloomy feeling took over him.

“Because of the current situation, they considered it best if we moved to Fjeya for a while. They said that after what happened to our parents… They couldn't bear to lose us too.”

Ah, that's exactly what the book said. The heir to the Cervantes family was only fifteen year old right now. His circumstances were quite bad, so no one would blame him for temporarily entrusting everything to the adults and going abroad, just like the other children of nobility. It was a natural thing to do.

Then this place really was—

“You didn't talk about anything else?” I asked.

“What else would I say? Ah, I told them that we couldn't leave without you, so don't worry. Who'll take care of that crybaby if not you?”

I appreciated his sentiment, but that wasn't what I was worrying about. Something seemed off about the situation.

More memories popped up in my mind. I don't why I remembered it at this very moment, but I realized that all of the sibling's relatives passed away suddenly after a few years.

One died from a chronic illness, the other died after being poisoned, another died in a fight fuelled from rage, and then another…

All of the deaths were suspicious in one way or another. There was a rumour that the vipers were behind all of it… At least, that's what I remembered.

“What are you two talking about?”

“Sasha was worried that we were going to leave her behind.”

“Really? I thought she'd like that.”

…What in the world does Letis think of me?!