At the ripe age of eight, Annabelle Dorne is no longer just a tiny noble girl with an existential crisis.
No, she is now a full-fledged menace with an unhealthy obsession with books and a father who deeply regrets giving her unlimited access to the family library.
She has read so much that the general library—a massive collection that even some royal scholars envy—is no longer enough.
Every single book within reach? Devoured.
History? Read it.
Warfare? Memorized.
Questionable poetry written by a former emperor with too much free time? …Unfortunately, yes.
At breakfast, Annabelle is absentmindedly stabbing a piece of meat while flipping through a massive tome on ancient battle strategies.
Her mother, Paula Dorne, watches her with thinly veiled concern.
"Sweetheart," Paula says hesitantly, "maybe take a break from reading?"
Annabelle does not even glance up.
"No time, Mother. I need knowledge."
Paula looks at her husband, Jake Dorne, who sighs like a man who has lost all control over his household.
"I'll… build her another library."
Annabelle immediately perks up.
Another library?!
Isaac, her eldest brother and the newly instated Master of the House, snorts from the doorway.
"She'll finish that one by next winter."
Annabelle glares. "Shut up, Isaac."
Nicholas, her middle brother, lounges nearby, flipping a coin between his fingers. He has miraculously grown out of his full-blown troublemaker phase (…Kind of).
"Anna, you do know most noble girls your age are playing with dolls, right?"
Annabelle turns a page in The Art of War for Future Dictators.
"Dolls don't teach you how to overthrow an empire, Nicholas."
Nicholas stares.
"...Okay, what the hell have you been reading?"
"Nothing important."
Jake pinches the bridge of his nose. Paula sighs. Isaac smirks.
Nicholas looks vaguely afraid.
---
THE FOUR GREAT NOBLE HOUSES
Annabelle's insatiable thirst for knowledge is how she discovers the truth about the Four Great Noble Houses.
Her history tutor—a poor old man who definitely did not sign up for this level of student enthusiasm—barely gets a word in before Annabelle starts teaching herself.
She leans forward, eyes sharp.
"So, the Renar family," she begins, "are the Holy Ones. Blessed by the Goddess, strong in magic, but overall, not that threatening unless you really make them mad." She tilts her head. "Basically, the goody-two-shoes of the empire."
Her tutor clears his throat. "Well, I wouldn't quite say—"
"And the Voss family are the creepy ones." Annabelle wrinkles her nose. "Necromancy, blood magic, memory manipulation—definitely villain-coded. Kind of gross, honestly."
"Lady Annabelle, that's not exactly—"
"And the Calderon family is the biggest war machine in the empire. Space-time magic, meteor showers, reality warping." She gestures vaguely. "They probably have explosions for breakfast."
"Technically, their magic is a bit more nuanced than that—"
"And then there's us."
Annabelle leans back in her chair, twirling a quill between her fingers.
"The Dorne family."
The room is silent.
She taps the end of the quill against the table.
"The Cursed House," she says thoughtfully. "Our magic is so powerful it's practically illegal. Black holes, advanced time manipulation, soul control, reality warping…"
She sighs.
"Honestly, we sound like the final boss in an epic legend."
The history tutor wipes his sweat-covered forehead.
"W-well, when you put it that way—"
---
WAIT A DAMN SECOND.
Annabelle is about to move on to the next topic when something suddenly dawns on her.
Hold on.
If the Dorne family was so powerful…
Why weren't they more important in the novel?!
Annabelle narrows her eyes.
Something isn't adding up.
This empire-shaking, ridiculously overpowered noble house had barely been relevant in the book she read before transmigrating.
Why?
Was it a plot hole? A deliberate narrative choice? Or… something more sinister?
Annabelle leans forward, mind racing.
There's only one thing to do.
Investigate.