The Capybara Heiress

I was a capybara who'd escaped from a marine park.

Ten minutes ago, I'd been sprawled across a rock by the ocean, sound asleep. Then a girl in a white dress fell off a cliff and landed squarely on my head.

My brain buzzed from the impact, like I'd just been hit by a giant orange.

The girl's name was Daphne Bradford. I'd seen her before when I lived at the marine park, but now she was covered in blood and barely alive.

She weakly grabbed my paw and made a special pact with me. "Help me get revenge. Once it's done, you can have my body."

I thought about it for a full three minutes.

The ocean had been pretty boring lately. Going ashore to lie in the sun didn't sound too bad.

Besides, when a brat at the aquarium once stole my orange, she'd gotten it back for me.

So I agreed.

Before I could ask who she wanted revenge on, she died. And just like that, I became Daphne Bradford.

When I opened my eyes again, I was lying on the beach, salty seawater washing into my nostrils.

This body was soft, and its limbs felt as weak as noodles.

I tried to stand up and failed.

As an experienced capybara, I decided to give up on this very unnatural method of walking upright.

I started crawling on all fours instead. It took me five full hours to crawl from the beach to the brightly lit Bradford estate.

Along the way, I stopped to watch the sunset and took a few bites out of the grass beside the road. The grass was a little tough and got stuck in my teeth.

I felt like I might be dehydrated, so I crawled into a nearby fountain and meditated for ten minutes.

By the time I finally reached the gates of the Bradford estate, it was completely dark.

A security guard was making his rounds with a flashlight. The beam landed on my wet face, which was covered in sand, mud, and seaweed.

He let out the most horrifying scream of his life. "A ghost!"

He dropped his flashlight and scrambled toward the house.

I wasn't angry. I just wanted to tell him that the way he ran wasn't very steady and that he could easily fall.

I continued crawling slowly inside.

The Bradford family was in the living room celebrating the fake heiress Scarlett Bradford's birthday.

A rush of memories suddenly flooded my mind.

Daphne had only been brought back to the Bradford family three years ago, but no one in the family liked her.

Scarlett was especially awful. She constantly bullied Daphne because she knew their parents favored her.

And on the first anniversary of Daphne's disappearance, the entire family was gathered around Scarlett. Not one of them had remembered Daphne.

I thought about it for a few seconds. The human world really was complicated.

Scarlett was just as annoying as those brats who liked pulling my ears at the aquarium. She was wearing a glittering, scale-covered dress and giggling happily.

"Dad, Mom, thank you for taking such good care of me this past year. It's a shame Daphne isn't here today. I'd be even happier if she were."

Just then, I pushed open the heavy carved door with my head.

Soaking wet, I crawled into the living room, leaving a trail of seawater that smelled like the ocean across the carpet.

Scarlett's laughter stopped abruptly.

The champagne glass slipped from her hand and shattered into countless sparkling pieces on the floor.

"D-Daphne Bradford?!" She pointed at me and screamed. "Ah! Are you alive or are you a ghost?"