Episode 2|A Story She Once Read
Pain.
That was the first thing Mikayla felt when consciousness returned.
A dull, throbbing ache pulsed through her head as if someone had taken a hammer to her skull and decided to keep going. Her body felt heavy, stiff, unfamiliar.
…Am I dead?
The thought drifted lazily through her mind.
The last thing she remembered was bright headlights… the roar of a truck… and the hard pavement rushing toward her.
Mikayla slowly opened her eyes.
Instead of the flashing neon lights of Las Vegas or the suffocating smell of gasoline and smoke, she saw a wooden ceiling above her. Rough wooden beams crossed the room, and sunlight streamed through a small window nearby.
Birds chirped faintly outside.
The air smelled of bread and herbs.
“…What?”
Her voice came out weak.
Mikayla sat up abruptly—then immediately regretted it as dizziness assaulted her.
The room was small.
A simple wooden bed. A worn dresser. A table with a cracked ceramic bowl sitting on top. The entire place looked like it belonged in a historical village rather than the modern world she knew.
“Where the hell am I…?”
Her voice sounded different.
Softer.
Higher.
Mikayla froze.
Slowly, very slowly, she lifted her hands into view.
They were smaller.
Slimmer.
Her heart skipped a beat.
“No… no way.”
She scrambled out of bed and nearly tripped over the hem of the loose dress she was wearing. Bare feet slapped against wooden floors as she rushed toward the small mirror hanging on the wall.
And then she saw it.
A girl stared back at her.
She looked about seventeen or eighteen years old.
Long golden blonde hair flowed softly past her shoulders, catching the sunlight streaming through the window like strands of molten gold.
Her eyes were a vivid emerald green, bright and clear, the kind of gaze that seemed to glow with an almost unnatural purity.
Her features were delicate and gentle, the kind of beauty that people often described as angelic.
The kind of face people would instinctively trust.
Mikayla stared at the reflection.
The girl stared back.
“…Who the hell is that?”
She raised a hand.
The girl in the mirror raised hers.
A long silence followed.
Then Mikayla slowly pointed at herself.
“…That’s me?”
Her mind reeled.
This is impossible.
She was Mikayla Edwin.
Top-tier scammer.
Professional con artist.
Recently deceased truck victim.
So why was she standing in the body of some random girl in what looked like a medieval village?
A sudden wave of memories crashed into her mind.
Images flooded her thoughts.
A merchant shop.
Long days helping count coin.
A kind but exhausted father.
A small town.
And a name.
Mikayla staggered backward.
“…Riley Scott?”
Her eyes widened.
Because that name was painfully familiar.
Not from real life.
But from a book.
Months ago, during one of her rare breaks between scams, Mikayla had picked up a ridiculous romance novel out of boredom.
An 18+ reverse harem fantasy story.
The title had been something embarrassingly dramatic—The Saintess and Her Three Devoted Knights.
And the female protagonist of that story…
Was Riley Scott.
Daughter of a humble merchant.
Kind.
Innocent.
Pure-hearted.
Gifted with the Power of Light.
Destined to become the kingdom’s Saintess.
Mikayla’s eye twitched.
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me.”
She grabbed her head.
Because she remembered the rest of the plot too.
The saintess was discovered after her light magic awakened, and soon after that, three powerful men appeared in her life.
The Crown Prince.
The Cold Duke.
And the Genius Archmage.
Each one of them obsessed over the saintess until the story devolved into a dramatic whirlwind of romance, jealousy, and endless misunderstandings.
And that wasn’t even the worst part.
There was also the villainess.
A noble lady who despised Riley and constantly schemed to destroy her reputation.
Poison.
Kidnapping attempts.
Political manipulation.
Assassination plots.
The amount of drama in that novel had been so ridiculous that Mikayla had nearly thrown the book out the window.
“…And now I’m living in it?”
She stared at the mirror again.
“This has to be a joke.”
But the memories in her head felt real.
Riley Scott.
A merchant’s daughter.
Living quietly in a small town.
And most importantly—
This was before the story began.
Before Riley’s powers were discovered.
Before the church took her away.
Before she was declared the Saintess.
Before she met any of the male leads.
Mikayla slowly leaned against the wall.
Her brain processed the situation with the cold logic she used in every scam.
Step one: understand the system.
Step two: find the loophole.
Step three: exploit it.
She closed her eyes, thinking carefully.
If she remembered correctly, once Riley’s light powers awakened, the church would immediately take her to the capital.
They would train her.
Dress her in beautiful robes.
Put her on display as the kingdom’s holy symbol.
Then the male leads would appear one after another.
And the villainess would start trying to kill her.
Mikayla shuddered.
“…That sounds exhausting.”
Romantic drama.
Political intrigue.
Love triangles.
Assassination attempts.
Absolutely not.
She had already died once.
She wasn’t about to spend her second life stuck in a soap opera.
Her eyes opened slowly.
A familiar smile spread across her face.
The kind of smile that had cost countless rich idiots their fortunes.
“If I remember correctly…”
The church discovered Riley because of her light magic, which was considered sacred.
But the church itself…
Was corrupt.
They hoarded wealth.
Manipulated politics.
And used the saintess as a symbol to control the masses.
Mikayla folded her arms.
“Well then.”
If the church valued holy power above all else…
Then there was a very simple solution.
She would join the church first.
Climb the ranks.
Gain influence.
And avoid the entire ridiculous plot before it even started.
Her lips curled into a mischievous grin.
“There’s only one small problem.”
Women weren’t allowed to become high-ranking clergy members.
Especially not High Priests.
But Mikayla Edwin had built an entire career out of solving problems like that.
A disguise.
A false identity.
A few well-placed lies.
Easy.
She turned toward the mirror again, studying Riley Scott’s face carefully.
Golden hair.
Bright green eyes.
A face that looked like it belonged in a cathedral painting.
“Looks like I’m starting a new scam.”
Her smile widened.
“And this time…”
She tapped the mirror lightly.
“I’m scamming an entire religion.”
Far away in the capital, the gears of fate continued turning.
The Crown Prince.
The Duke.
The Archmage.
The Villainess.
The Saintess.
The story that had already been written.
But none of them realized one important fact.
The girl destined to become their saintess…
Had just decided to rewrite the entire plot.