Wearing Another's Skin
I hope we can get close. Acting, at its core, is imitating others. Understanding your role, merging with it so seamlessly that no one can spot the performance. I am OOO. I am OOO. I am OOO. You repeat it endlessly in your mind, slipping into someone else's skin.
Brother. Erase myself, fill that space with something else. Fill it, fill it, fill it... Brother, brother?
...Huh? What'd you say?
I asked if actors can't do voice work.
My vision snapped back to reality: my sister, glued to YouTube on her phone.
Back in the days of post-recording, sure, but modern actors? We suck at it. Me included.
Then you couldn't do this.
The video she showed me that day featured a lone pink-haired character illustration, oddly detached from the background. I had no clue what a visual novel was back then, and the disconnect between the static image and the voiceover bugged me.
Oh come on, this part with her?
Ugh.
Looking back, that was my first encounter with Bathory Mirhane. Grandiose to call a first meeting with a fictional character that, but still.
What's it supposed to be? Anime?
No, a game. You know those dating sims, bro?
Sort of like that. Kinda.
No idea. Not interested.
And yet here I am now, in this mess. A genre I knew nothing about, a character whose name I didn't even know. A world I figured was just some voice actor's role. But somehow... I blinked, and suddenly I'm smack in the middle of it—not even as a voice actor anymore. As the character you hated most.
Dear sister, whom I don't love all that much. Would you have seen this coming? I sure didn't.
Honestly, who could've predicted this?
If you'd come to this world instead of me, into Bathory's body...
...That would've been better.
I didn't want to open my eyes.
That was my first thought upon regaining consciousness. Waking up felt too hard. My body's condition wasn't great, and dragging up those emotions for the first time in ages had left me exhausted. Playing negative feelings always builds up mental fatigue.
Above all, passing out from hyperventilation at the end was mortifying. What a pro move—faint after a bit of acting for the first time in forever.
Body hurts, heart hurts. I just wanted to do nothing and rest. Sleep's the best medicine, right?
So, undisturbed, for four—no, five hours—
Knock knock.
"... "
—My modest wish shattered almost immediately.
The door creaked open, footsteps followed.
"Miss... are you still asleep...?"
The unreliable maid Schuett's voice tickled my ears.
A few hours later, please.
"I brought tea... h-here..."
A rattling sound, like wheels rolling.
"... "
Tea? Why?
I knew Bathory's personality was a total disaster, so unsolicited kindness like this was unexpected. Was it maid instinct to worry for her mistress? Or just a soft heart?
"You're still asleep, I see... then..."
My opinion of Schuett shifted slightly. From unreliable maid to at least kind-hearted maid.
"... Hack!"
"Hold it."
You crazy bitch.
"...So, the library servant summoned you, you went, found me collapsed, and brought me back to bed?"
"Y-yes, miss—!"
"Hmm..."
I knew exactly who she meant by "library servant."
"I figured that lazy, people-hating woman wouldn't send anyone herself."
"D-did you... meet Urtic Mirhane?"
Not an order—probably a request. Urtic and Eclair au Chocolat both hated leaving the library, but Eclair had less aversion to sending someone out.
"Wh-what for, with Urtic Mirhane..."
"...A maid with too much curiosity. Shouldn't you focus on holding your posture? Your legs are tilting again."
"Eek...!!"
They kept drifting, though. Not proper genuflection.
"H-how long do I have to—l-like this—?!"
"Who knows? An hour or two?"
"Hiiik...!!"
What punishment for a maid who nearly spat phlegm into her mistress's tea? Real Bathory would've slapped her, screamed, and threatened to fire her—but I didn't want to stoop that low. Vulgar and undignified.
A villainess noblewoman? Noble first, villain second. Nobles must have dignity.
"Every time your angle slips, add ten minutes. Don't try shortcuts."
"I-I'm sorry—forgive me—!!"
A punishment to make her realize her mistake and sincerely apologize.
"Just kidding. Stand up."
"Phew!!"
Too harsh might breed resentment, so that was enough.
"Ugh..."
Schuett collapsed at my words, then staggered up using the wall, legs trembling. Stronger than she looked. Maids handled heavy work, after all.
"So, why'd you brew this tea?"
I poured from the steaming pot, inhaling the subtle aroma. No ordinary leaves—expensive stuff. Why serve it to someone she probably didn't like?
"Oh, uh... it wasn't me. Urtic Mirhane ordered it. Said these leaves aid recovery, so brew them for you..."
"...That woman?"
Urtic's leaves? "Aid recovery" meant she'd applied special processing learned from Eclair—witchcraft, really. Witchcraft.
In the original story, both Urtic and Eclair could use magic—more like witchcraft. Eclair was cheat-level; Urtic talented but less so. Problem was their zero motivation—they hoarded results without using them.
"Why would she give me tea leaves?"
Urtic, who hesitated to share even with friends, handed witchcraft-infused leaves to me, whom she hated.
"I... d-don't know?"
"Wasn't really asking for an answer."
I sipped. Rich, clean flavor lingered.
"Good tea."
Honestly, I'd suspected cheap knockoff, bad taste, or poison. But no—it was premium, delicious. Poison... too early to tell.
What was original Urtic Mirhane like? Not a bad rep, from what I recalled. My sister hated Bathory but liked Urtic. Something about her weak will and hikikomori vibes, yet blunt speech without noble airs—honest in all things. The flaws were plus points to sis, apparently.
Key: Urtic was honest. Unlike scheming Bathory, she'd help reliably once you earned favor. Earning it was the hard part.
Her giving me tea meant...
"Hmm..."
Some faint sibling bond remained? Not real blood, but she thought Bathory was her sister. Or my acting worked? The teary outburst, unintended hyperventilation fainting—maybe bought sympathy. Or both.
"You—Schuett, right?"
"Y-yes? Yes!"
Still fidgeting from numb legs, I asked her.
"Do you have siblings?"
"S-siblings...?"
"Yes. Specifically, older ones."
I had a little sister but no older siblings. I knew little-sister protocol; big-sister stuff? Clueless.
"One... an older brother."
"Brother, huh. Close?"
"K-kinda... we got along. Fought sometimes, but..."
Perfect.
"You'd reconcile after fights, right?"
"Y-yeah...?"
"How? How'd you rebuild?"
What I needed: mending ties with an older sister—[Big Sis] Urtic Mirhane.
"Why suddenly...?"
"I need to. To restore things with that woman, Urtic Mirhane."
To become Eclair's disciple, gain her aid.
"...Whaaat—?!?"
Not surprising she'd freak. Bathory wanting reconciliation? Unheard of in canon.
"No need to overreact. Sisters can't ignore each other forever."
It was all acting. Playing a villainess noblewoman playing a sister seeking harmony...
"...Ha."
What a ridiculous sight.