The door closed behind me with a soft click, leaving only the hush of velvet curtains and the quiet tick of the clock on the wall.
Then the notification appeared.
[Congratulations! First Stream Completed. Rewards Distributed. Stream Dashboard Unlocked.]
A small crystal camera floated in front of me, humming faintly. I poked it, and a clear panel unfurled like a hologram:
— Stream Dashboard —
Viewers: 18
Followers: 7
Mana Earned: 3,050
Popularity: +35
Skill Points: 1
My breath caught. So it wasn't a dream.
[User HolyKnightFan: "OMG SHE'S BACK!"]
[User YandereDragonQueen: "Early stream LET'S GOOOO."]
[User DemonKingLovesDrama: "I was promised villainess drama, where is it."]
I rolled my eyes, pretending not to grin as I tapped the blinking "Level Up" button.
[Level Up! Stream Level 2 achieved.]
New tabs appeared:
Skill Shop
Stream Upgrades
Donation Goals
I pressed on Skill Shop, and a list popped up:
Beginner Fireball (1 SP, 1,000 Mana)
Beginner Barrier (1 SP, 1,000 Mana)
"Cute Wink LV1" (1 SP, 500 Mana, increases donations)
[User CatEarsSupreme: "Get Cute Wink! Milk the simps."]
[User DemonKingLovesDrama: "FIREBALL. CHAOS NOW."]
I sighed, ignoring them, and selected "Beginner Barrier." A warm glow circled my wrist, a faint rune etching into my skin before fading.
If I was going to survive in this world, I needed a shield, not a wink.
A knock came at the door.
"Milady, Prince Julius has arrived to see you."
My stomach twisted. Prince Julius—the cold, golden-haired prince who would one day condemn Elvira to death for "bullying" Serena.
[User YandereDragonQueen: "PRINCE FLAG PRINCE FLAG!"]
[User HolyKnightFan: "Elvira, stay calm!"]
[User DemonKingLovesDrama: "Throw hands."]
I glanced at the chat window floating near my mirror, then at my reflection—cold eyes, dark curls, a villainess in every sense.
I drew in a slow breath, smoothing down my black dress.
"Send him in," I said.
The door opened, and Prince Julius stepped in, golden hair shining in the morning light, his blue eyes cold as they swept over me.
"Elvira," he said, voice sharp. "We need to talk about what happened with Lady Serena."
Ah, here it was. The death flag event.
[User HolyKnightFan: "Oh no, the death flag 😭."]
[User YandereDragonQueen: "You can change your fate, Elvira!"]
[User DemonKingLovesDrama: "FIGHT HIM."]
I lifted my chin, ignoring the thudding in my chest as the translucent chat window hovered near his head.
"What about her?" I asked, crossing my arms as if I wasn't terrified.
His eyes narrowed. "She said you were… different today. You didn't bully her. You were kind."
I blinked. That wasn't what I expected.
[User CatEarsSupreme: "Plot twist 😳."]
[User YandereDragonQueen: "SEE, YOU CAN CHANGE YOUR ROUTE!"]
[User DemonKingLovesDrama: "Boring. Should've slapped him."]
I ignored the chat. "And what of it, Your Highness?"
He looked at me, searching for something, then sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I don't understand you, Elvira."
Before I could answer, a new notification appeared:
[New Stream Quest: "Survive the Prince's Judgment"]
Reward: 1,000 Mana
A small button popped up beneath it:
[Enable Donation Goal: "Buy Survival Gacha (Cost: 5,000 Mana)"]
[User DemonKingLovesDrama: "YES, ENABLE IT."]
[User HolyKnightFan: "Get the gacha, get the gacha."]
I hesitated, then tapped Enable.
A small donation bar appeared in the corner of my vision, starting to fill as viewers threw mana into it.
[User YandereDragonQueen donated 200 Mana: "Stay calm, Elvira!"]
[User CatEarsSupreme donated 150 Mana: "We need that gacha pull!"]
[User DemonKingLovesDrama donated 500 Mana: "SPICE IT UP."]
Mana flowed in, warming my fingertips.
"Your Highness, I'm tired of playing the villain everyone expects me to be," I said honestly, letting the words slip before I could stop them.
He blinked, taken aback. "What?"
[User HolyKnightFan: "Character development 😭."]
[User YandereDragonQueen: "I'm so proud 😭."]
[User DemonKingLovesDrama: "Tch, fine, I'll allow it."]
The donation bar filled to halfway. Almost there.
Prince Julius stepped closer. "If you truly wish to change, Elvira, I… will watch and see if it is true."
What? Was he giving me a chance?
Another notification popped:
[Quest Progress: "Change Fate – 3/100"]
[Reward: 500 Mana, Popularity +10]
I couldn't help the small smile tugging at my lips.
"Very well, Your Highness. Then watch closely."
The moment Prince Julius left, the room fell quiet except for the faint hum of the donation bar inching upward.
[Donation Goal: "Survival Gacha Pull" — 3,850/5,000 Mana]
[User HolyKnightFan: "Almost there!"]
[User CatEarsSupreme: "I want to see what she gets!"]
[User DemonKingLovesDrama: "Pull something chaotic, please."]
I collapsed onto the velvet chair by the window, exhaling.
So far, I had survived Serena and Julius without triggering the dreadful and as inevitable as death after poison death flag, but the real danger was the world itself.
In the original plot, Elvira was doomed not because she bullied the heroine, but because she refused to change until it was too LATE.
Not me.
[User YandereDragonQueen donated 500 Mana: "We believe in you, Elvira 💖."]
[Donation Goal: 4,350/5,000 Mana]
Warmth filled my fingertips again, making me shiver. It was strange, the way mana felt like liquid light pooling in my veins.
A knock came at the door. A maid peeked in, trembling. "M-Milady, Lady Serena has come to visit."
[User HolyKnightFan: "OH?? Serena visiting??"]
[User DemonKingLovesDrama: "Round two, let's go."]
[User CatEarsSupreme: "She's like a baby deer 🥺."]
"Let her in," I said, straightening my dress.
Serena stepped in, clutching the same poetry book, her soft pink hair trembling as she met my eyes.
"Elvira, I… I wanted to thank you. For yesterday," she whispered.
[User YandereDragonQueen: "She's so precious 😭."]
[User DemonKingLovesDrama: "Don't ruin it. Or do."]
The donation bar filled with a ding.
[Donation Goal Complete: "Survival Gacha Pull Available!"]
I blinked as a new window popped up, displaying a glowing golden button:
> [Pull Gacha (1x) — Tap to spin for a random item!]
"Um… Elvira?" Serena asked, fidgeting.
"One moment," I said, tapping the button.
A colorful wheel appeared in my vision, spinning rapidly as sparkles danced around it.
[User HolyKnightFan: "IT'S GACHA TIME!"]
[User DemonKingLovesDrama: "Manifesting chaos 😈."]
The wheel slowed, ticking past "Common Cloak," "Healing Potion," "Fire Spell Scroll," before landing on:
✨ [Reward: "Charm Aura LV2 (Auto-Active)"] ✨
I felt a warm breeze brush past me, and Serena's eyes widened, her cheeks flushing.
"You look… beautiful," she whispered, stunned.
I blinked, then glanced at the chat.
[User YandereDragonQueen: "CHARM LEVEL UP 💖."]
[User CatEarsSupreme: "SHE'S SO DONE FOR LOL."]
[User DemonKingLovesDrama: "THIS IS NOTHING BETTER THAN FIREBALL."]
I grinned, tucking a strand of dark hair behind my ear.
"Serena," I said softly, "let's be friends."