Would You Switch Places With Her?

Plopping down on my worn loveseat, I reach to grab my controller and turn on the console. The familiar white screen before the title screen flashed, and I nearly couldn’t control my excitement. I ran home to my college dorm as soon as my classes finished just for this. I was a massive fan of otome games, and this was my favorite so far. ‘A Commoner’s Love’ was about a commoner named Tessa Rose who attended a noble’s only school to learn to control her magic and fall in love with one of the four capture targets. A typical game with its only one real defining feature to set it apart from the others. That being the true route of the game. I tried not to look up too many spoilers online, but I did see rumors that the final route belonged to that of the villainess of the game, Veronica Ixia. That horrible character that made all of the other routes so difficult to complete. She single-handedly is the reason why I got so many of the bad endings while playing. Thanks to her, I spent twice as many hours in the game as I realistically should’ve. Unlike most villainesses, Veronica interferes with every single route Tessa could’ve taken. It seems that she truly hates Tessa, not just some superficial jealousy over the male targets.

I click through the main title sequence, and sure enough, Veronica’s picture appears on the screen with ‘True Route’ listed underneath her face. Her stark black hair and clothes sat delicately on her pale skin. The only thing bright about her was her blue eyes that sparkled, even through the TV screen. Her appearance truly suited her role in the story as the dark mage. I clicked past, and to my surprise, the story was shown through a cinematic rather than playing. It was like watching a short movie from the eyes of Veronica rather than Tessa. But it began before the main story started. I watched as the game showed a completely different side to Veronica. One where a small child just looked for affection from anyone in her life. From her brother, mother, father, or the servants. However, her mother was too sick to pay attention to her, her brother was indifferent, and her father beat her relentlessly. The servants were too scared of her title as a dark mage and treated her coldly. I watched as this small child became colder, harsher as she grew. No longer caring what others could give her. Eventually, her mother passed, and her father grew worse in behavior. Until one day, he pushed her from the second story, and she nearly died. Thankfully, her brother Victor called for help and saved her life, but that was the only time he ever interfered with her abuse.

Veronica eventually was able to be free of the household and go to school once she hit the age of eighteen. For a moment before school, she brightened in expression, but it quickly disappeared as those around her treated her of that of a villain. A dark mage only capable of violence and hatred. If she was going to be treated like a villain, what was stopping her from becoming one? Especially when she learned the existence of Tessa Rose. A light mage who earned more love and respect even though she was a commoner. Another taboo within this world. If these people could push back their feelings even though she was a commoner, why couldn’t they do that for her? What was so wrong with her? As she fell into despair, she lashed out at those around her and eventually met her end, executed by one of the male capture targets, the Crown Prince, Albert Linaria. I felt tears fall from my face. I had also done Veronica that disservice of hating her without truly knowing her. The guilt I felt in my chest just wouldn’t go away.

Just then, I felt my phone buzz next to me, and a shudder went down my neck. Luke would be so mad if he knew I ditched him today to play, but this emotional note in the story was so worth it. Veronica’s story was so refreshing compared to that of so many other games. I didn’t imagine them to flesh out even the background characters and bring them to life. But just when I thought it was done, another screen appears, reading the words “Would you switch places with Veronica Ixia?”. I was surprised by the question. Would I swap places with the villainess of a story? As in, I go into her body and she goes into mine? I’m sure the developers only meant this to be a superficial question, but I found myself truly pondering. Veronica Ixia lived a life where no one ever loved her. No one ever considered her well-being or feelings. But if she were in my body, she would no longer be a dark mage. Just an average person with the ability to be loved purely for who she was, without any extra factors. I found myself feeling strangely confident with my answer when I clicked ‘yes’.

The screen flashed white once more, nearly blinding me in my dark room, and when I squinted my eyes open again, I found myself outside staring up at the sky. The sun was so blinding that I had to go back to squinting. What happened? It should be nighttime by now, I was playing the game for quite a long time since I got home. And why was I outside? I went to sit up and found that the sudden movement revealed a pain in the back of my head and neck. I reached back and felt something wet. Pulling back my hand in front of my face revealed a dark red liquid coating my palm and fingers. Unable to help myself, I let out a scream.

“My lady!” a voice rang behind me, “What happened to you? What happened to your hair?!?” I swing my head towards the voice to reveal a relatively young woman, probably not many years older than me. She was wearing a black and white maid outfit, resembling that of the Victorian era. She looked extremely panicked and was running towards me.

“Are you unable to speak? What happened? Did you fall from the window? Did you jump?” she asked, her voice rushed. Did I jump? Looking around me, I finally noticed broken glass pieces, some tinted red. Then I looked to my left towards a large manor with a broken window about two stories up. There’s no way, right? The Victorian clothes, the ‘My Lady!’, and suddenly being in a beaten-up body that fell out of a window. I didn’t actually change places with Veronica Ixia did I? Did I fall asleep in my chair? Was I dreaming?

“Um, do you happen to know my name?” I asked, looking straight at the woman. Her face went from panic to confusion and then right back to panic.

“Do you not remember? Did you hit your head on the way down?” She looked for any sign of recognition in my face. “Your name is Ms. Veronica Ixia. Daughter of Duke Ryder Ixia and sister to Victor Ixia.”