“Diana.”
“Diana . . .” She could hear someone’s voice calling her.
“Diana!”
Her eyes fluttered open in surprise when she felt someone shaking her. She was seated upright on a soft bed.
She involuntarily coughed and it felt like whatever was blocking her airways vanished. She realized she could finally breathe. As if to resupply her lungs with much-needed oxygen, she inhaled deeply.
“Diana!!!” she heard several voices exclaim.
Diana looked around and gasped audibly when she realized that she was surrounded by people she did not know. They were neither doctors nor nurses either and it did not look like she was in the hospital.
‘Where am I? Did I actually get kidnapped?’
There were two ladies on her left. One was supporting her back while the other was holding her hand. There were other women standing several steps behind the two. They were all staring at her as if waiting for her to say something.
A man was on her right side and he was also supporting her and holding her hand. He looked like he was checking her pulse. There were other people behind him as well. They were all male.
Everyone looked rather exquisite. Not the face that kidnappers would have.
‘Wait, I shouldn’t let my guard down. Looks were always deceiving.’ She reminded herself that not because all these people looked like superb paintings meant that they were good people.
She looked around warily; looking for weapons. She gulped when she realized that the man holding her hand had a sword on his waist. The men behind him had swords as well.
Some of the women behind the two beautiful ladies beside her also had swords. She realized they were all dressed in a peculiar manner. Everyone’s expressions were also weird. Like they were worried about something that might happen.
‘Why does everyone look like the illustrations I’ve seen in fantasy books?’
‘What’s going on? Did I get kidnapped by a cosplaying bunch? Or did I accidentally get lumped in with a historical European movie shooting?’
Diana wondered if she had to act as the evil witch or a haunting ghost.
But she already knew that was not possible. She was in the hospital just yesterday. Cosplay and movie shooting was not allowed there. She wondered if she was somehow moved elsewhere.
Then she realized that her hands looked smaller than usual. She looked down at her body and her eyes grew wide in panic.
Diana had the body of a child and she was dressed in clothes she did not recognize. Wide-eyed, she looked at everyone again and swallowed a scream of shock.
“Diana . . . ?” She could hear them call out her name. They were saying something but she could not understand them.
Diana froze when she recalled that she had just died.
‘Then why am I in the body of a child? No, a teenager. Did I reincarnate? Or was transmigration the proper term in this case?’
She wondered if she just got sent to a fantasy world. For her, everyone there looked too good to be human.
‘Or did I actually go to heaven? I think I was not evil after all. Were they angels? Were heaven and hell actually true?’
Her head suddenly throbbed in pain. She freed her hands to hold her head. It felt too painful like it could explode any second. Everything blacked out. And then the memories of a girl flooded into her head.
* * *
Weirdly, the girl was also named Diana – the same as hers. The girl had Rose added to hers though.
Diana Rose was twelve years old. She was the fourth daughter and the last child of the Duke of Evymeria – the most prosperous territory in the Kingdom of Zhastraia.
The girl’s eldest sister named Isabella was the Queen due to her marriage to the King. It was an arranged marriage but it was widespread that the King cherished the Queen. Since Evymeria was the most prosperous and widest territory in the kingdom for generations, the last five generations of Kings of Zhastraia had gotten their Queens from Evymeria. All former Kings of Zhastraia always had wives from Evymeria. Thus, the current King also had to marry at least one of the daughters of the Duke. It gave the King strong and stable support while likewise keeping Evymeria in check.
The girl’s second and third siblings were both males. The first elder brother called Nicholas was the next duke candidate to succeed their father.
Meanwhile, the second older brother Anthony was hailed as “The Strongest Knight in the Kingdom” and would be the future Grand Commander of the Knights Order.
On the other hand, the girl’s fourth and fifth siblings were both females.
Lumina, the fourth sibling, was second only to their eldest sister Queen Isabella in terms of skill and beauty. She was the kindest and gentlest among the siblings. However, she was also the scariest when her switch was flipped, like when anything came to harm what was important to her.
Francesca, the fifth sibling, was the most talented in music and arts. Although she liked fighting, she did not learn swordsmanship and archery when Anthony offered since the family was against it. She still learned offensive and support magic though.
Lumina and Francesca both excelled in healing magic which was the specialty of most Ducal Evymeria daughters from previous generations. Likewise, they were both deemed worthy candidates as wives for the Royal Family. They could even become the Queen in case something happened to Isabella.
The King’s brothers were already currying their favor for their hand in marriage for a higher chance of succession since the King had no heir yet. In that world, marriage to the Royal Family was among the highest honors a family could get.
Diana Rose was the youngest and the last child in the family. She was born nine years after Francesca.
As the youngest and now the only kid in the family, everyone cherished and doted on her. They gave everything that she asked for and let her do whatever she pleased. The girl merely had to act the least bit disappointed or upset and everyone would agree to whatever she asked.
However, the girl was closest to her third sibling, the second older brother Anthony since he brought her with him on some of his travels. Being a knight, Anthony had trained Diana Rose with the basics of swordsmanship and archery since she was young despite the protests from everyone in the family.
The women in the Evymeria ducal family were not supposed to learn swordsmanship and archery unless they intended to be knights. However, Anthony reasoned that it was merely for protection until their youngest got married and had someone to protect her. Another reason was Diana Rose could instantly heal the calluses on her hand whenever she wanted. Her hand would be as soft as her any lady’s if she wanted to.
Apparently, Anthony had also tried teaching his other two younger sisters but they had rejected him so he focused on the youngest while she was still a kid. The girl enjoyed being with Anthony so she learned as she was instructed despite how their family was against it. She did not ignore her normal lessons as well.
The young girl was a fast learner and finished most of her lessons more quickly than her older sisters ever accomplished before. Thus, she earned some time to have fun and do as she pleases.
Since she was surrounded by adults, she was eager to be an adult herself. She often wished she could instantly be an adult so she could do the things she could not as a child.
Diana wondered if that was the reason why her soul was dragged into the girl’s body.
The girl just turned twelve that spring. She was already a beauty despite her young age and she was said to be more magically talented than her sisters.
Diana marveled at the fact that the world that the girl lived in had magic. Magic was used in daily life and defined one’s future.
The girl was said to be the most mana-rich among the siblings once she grew up and was thus held very important in the family and the whole duchy. She had the title “The Treasure of Evymeria” and was hailed as a prodigy.
Thus, the girl could do whatever she pleased that despite the fact that it was not allowed due to safety issues, she was permitted to travel to other territories with her brother Anthony since she was seven.
With the strongest knight as her guard, her safety was assured. She thus enjoyed more freedom compared to her older siblings. While on her travels with Anthony, she was exposed to the outside world and mingled with commoners.
According to the girl’s memories, everyone in the Kingdom was born with mana. Even commoners could use magic and magic tools were used everywhere. Even the lights used in homes, inns, and diners were powered by magic.
In addition, ducal Evymerian daughters were always born with overwhelming amounts of mana since Evymerians were said to be the descendants of the goddess Evymeria who was the goddess of growth, healing, and fertility. Thus, the girl herself had a strong affinity for growth and healing.
A/N: And that is the world where she is now.