VIVIAN
"is...pregnant."
Caelan asked."....W...what did you say?"
The doctor swallowed nervously before activating the holographic report from his watch.
"The pregnancy has been confirmed."
"Young Miss Vivian is... pregnant."
Silence..Absolute silence in the room. Vivian blinked.
"...Huh?"
She looked at the doctor. Then at her stomach. Then back at the doctor.
"...I’m pregnant?"
Instinctively, she placed a hand over her flat stomach.
"I don’t even feel anything..." she thought.
Vivian’s mind went blank.
Wait...What? No!
In the novel, Vivian wasn’t pregnant!
She lied!
The pregnancy test was supposed to expose her! How did it become real? Did the plot change?
Before she could understand what was happening, Caelan snatched the report from the doctor’s hand.
His sharp eyes scanned every line. The result remained unchanged.
Pregnancy: Positive.
For the first time, a trace of confusion flickered across his cold face. He slowly turned toward Vivian.
Vivian looked even more confused than he was. She kept staring at everyone as if waiting for someone to tell her it was a joke.
Unfortunately... No one laughed. Caelan folded the report.
His expression returned to its usual icy indifference.
"You will remain here until you’re discharged."
His cold gaze fell on her stomach. "Take care of my child."
Vivian’s eyes widened at his words.
"I don’t want any of this..." He pointed at her stomach. "...to reach your sister’s ears."
"You will give birth to the child."
"After that..."
"My maids will raise the baby."
His voice turned even colder.
"As for you..."
"I will never marry a vicious woman capable of drugging her own sister’s fiancé."
Without waiting for her reply, he turned around.
"Doctor."
The doctor hurried after him.
Bang! The door slammed shut behind them.
Vivian stood rooted to the spot. "...What just happened?"
An hour later...
Arin carefully helped Vivian into a sleek silver flying car. The door closed automatically.
"Destination confirmed."
The vehicle silently lifted into the sky.
Vivian leaned against the window absentmindedly.
Then...Her eyes slowly widened.
"...Beautiful."
The world outside looked nothing like Earth.
Towering crystal skyscrapers stretched into the clouds.
Thousands of flying vehicles moved through glowing aerial highways suspended across the sky.
Massive floating gardens drifted peacefully between buildings.
In the distance, enormous spacecraft entered and exited space ports.
There were no roads on the ground.
Every road... Was in the sky.
"So this..."
"...is Haxia."
Vivian couldn’t help smiling. "What an incredible world."
A moment later, her smile faded.
"No. I have to live and enjoy this world."
"I refuse to die the way Vivian did."
"But..."
She looked down at her stomach.
"How am I really pregnant?"
"The story... is changing."
The flying car slowly landed before an enormous white mansion. The doors opened automatically.
Vivian stepped outside.
She stared at the luxurious estate. She walked into the beautiful mansion.
"...This is my house?"
Before she could admire it further, a silver humanoid robot walked over.
"Welcome home, Princess Vivian."
"Your lunch has been prepared."
Vivian smiled awkwardly.
"Thank you..."
She instinctively reached for Arin’s hand.
Arin suddenly flinched and stepped backward.
Vivian frowned. Only then did she notice the ugly whip marks covering Arin’s arm.
Her smile disappeared.
"Who did this?"
Arin lowered her head without saying a word.
The robot answered instead.
"According to my records..."
"You did, Princess."
Vivian froze. The robot tilted its metallic head.
"Are you experiencing memory loss?"
"Should I contact a doctor?"
Arin instantly fell to her knees. "P..Please don’t destroy Number Ninety-Nine!"
"The company already refused to replace any more robots after you destroyed the previous ninety-eight!"
Vivian covered her face.
"...Right."
"I forgot."
"Vivian really was an evil bitch."
She whipped her maids whenever she was angry.
She smashed robots whenever they annoyed her.
Vivian slowly crouched before Arin.
"I’m sorry."
Arin looked up in shock.
"I’m sorry for everything."
"From today onward..."
"I’ll never hit you again."
Arin smiled bitterly. "You always say that after every punishment, Miss."
"I don’t mind you hitting me with belts. Or whipping my skin with metal spikes."
"You are my master. I will do anything you want."
Vivian felt a sharp pain in her chest.
No...Words weren’t enough. Only actions could prove she’d changed.
Without another word, she walked toward her bedroom.
As soon as she entered her room, something caught her attention.
An ancient jade bracelet rested around her wrist.
Vivian’s eyes widened.
"The bracelet..."
She remembered.
In the novel... Caelan would eventually take this bracelet away from Vivian and gift it to the heroine, Elena.
It became Elena’s greatest opportunity.
"The heroine awakened her power with this..."
A grin slowly spread across Vivian’s lips.
"This opportunity belongs to me now."
She bit her fingertip.
"Ow..."
"It actually hurts..."
A drop of blood fell onto the jade bracelet.
Vivian waited. One second. Two seconds.
Nothing.
"System! System!! Where are you?" Vivian said, looking around. She recalled Elena awakening a Trading system. Where she could trade things with an ancient cultivation world.
She looked around and no screen showed up.
No..Ding!! No.. hello Host!!
"...Seriously?"
She sighed. "The heroine gets a system."
"And I get..."
"Nothing? Why? Because I am the Villianess?"
Just then...A golden lotus suddenly bloomed inside her consciousness.
Vivian froze. "...A lotus?"
"What is that?"