The Duke's Worthless Daughter Awakens an SSS+ Guide Core

The memories arrived like a devastating tidal wave, threatening to tear her consciousness apart. Lyrina clutched her head as countless unfamiliar scenes flooded her mind, each one colliding violently with the next. The sheer volume of information made her vision blur as she absorbed eighteen years of a stranger’s life.

A little girl stood entirely alone in the vast, manicured gardens of the Emperion estate. She watched from a distance as her three elder brothers sparred under their father’s strict guidance. Whenever she had asked to join them, she had been told that a fragile failure had no place on a training field.

Another painful memory surfaced rapidly from the depths of the girl’s childhood. A ten-year-old Merianah held a beautiful bouquet of fresh moon lilies, waiting patiently outside her mother’s office after her annual guide assessment. She waited until the sun set and the hallways grew dark, but the grand doors never opened for her.

Then, a much more recent recollection forced its way to the forefront of her awareness. At sixteen, she had hidden behind a marble pillar, overhearing a gathering of influential nobles discussing her upcoming engagement. They spoke of her future with complete disdain, treating her existence as a mere joke.

"It is nothing more than a political necessity," one noble remarked.

"The Crown Prince deserves a woman who can actually support him," another voice added.

"Fortunately, imperial engagements can always be broken if the liability becomes too great," a third person whispered.

The cruel, mocking voices echoed mercilessly inside Lyrina’s mind, causing her physical pain. She gasped desperately for air, her chest heaving as she tried to detach herself from the foreign emotions.

There is so much pain here, she thought, her heart aching for the girl who had vanished.

This experience was far more intense than merely inheriting a list of historical facts. She could still feel every single heartbreak and every public humiliation as though they had happened to her own soul moments ago. The residual sorrow was utterly suffocating, weighing heavily on her borrowed chest.

For several long minutes, she remained kneeling on the cold pavement of the alleyway. She focused on her breathing, allowing the torrent of complex emotions to finally settle into a quiet ache. Eventually, the internal chaos receded, and a profound silence returned to the dark space.

Lyrina slowly opened her eyes, blinking against the distant glare of the city.

"This definitely isn’t Earth," she whispered, her voice sounding entirely too soft and melodic to her own ears.

Towering skyscrapers illuminated by massive holographic billboards stretched infinitely into the heavens above. Sleek hovercraft glided silently between the structures, following invisible highways in the sky. In the distance, automated patrol drones swept the lower streets with piercing blue searchlights.

Everything around her was far beyond the advanced technology of the apocalyptic world she had just left behind. She lowered her gaze toward her hands, turning them over to inspect them in the dim light. They were incredibly pale, slender, and remarkably soft to the touch.

These were certainly not the scar-covered hands that had wielded heavy assault rifles and plasma blades for over a decade. She had truly become someone else, inhabiting the shell of a completely different person.

"Merianah Emperion," she murmured, testing the syllables.

The aristocratic name felt entirely foreign on her tongue, carrying a weight she wasn’t sure she wanted. Then, she noticed a distinct pressure resting against her collarbone. She reached up to touch a heavy pendant hanging from a delicate silver chain around her neck.

Embedded within its intricate silver frame was the proud, polished crest of House Emperion. It depicted a majestic silver phoenix spreading its wings beneath a constellation of nine sharp stars. Lyrina frowned as she traced the cold metal lines of the insignia.

A noble family, she realized, her lips curling into a dry smile.

The sheer irony of her new situation almost made her laugh out loud. In her previous life, she had fought tooth and nail in the mud just to survive another grueling day. Now, she had suddenly awakened as the daughter of one of the galaxy’s most powerful and wealthy families.

Except the real daughter was already dead, she reminded herself grimly.

She glanced down at the shattered crystal vial lying in pieces beside her knees. The shady merchant who had sold her the drug was completely gone from the scene. Only a few drops of dried, dark blood stained the pavement where Merianah had initially collapsed.

"He ran away," she concluded, scanning the empty exits of the alley.

That coward’s swift departure was not surprising at all given the circumstances. Selling prohibited, experimental military drugs to a high-ranking noblewoman was easily enough to earn a lifetime sentence in a labor colony. He had likely fled the moment he thought he had a corpse on his hands.

Lyrina placed her palms flat on the ground and pushed herself up to her feet. Her legs trembled violently under her weight, forcing her to lean against the brick wall for support. This body was frighteningly weak, lacking any semblance of core strength or stamina.

Years of severe emotional malnutrition and a total lack of physical training had left Merianah with almost no muscle density. Lyrina took one cautious step forward, carefully balancing her center of gravity. Then, she took another step, frowning when her knee buckled slightly.

Even walking normally is going to require a conscious effort, she noted with annoyance.

"So this is what an F-Class Guide feels like," she muttered to herself.

In her past life, she had single-handedly faced mutated zombies capable of tearing apart armored military vehicles. Compared to those monstrosities, this fragile, unconditioned body was going to be a much greater immediate challenge. A soft, melodic chime suddenly echoed directly beside her right ear, startling her.

"Identity confirmed," a synthetic, emotionless voice announced.

Lyrina froze instantly, her combat instincts telling her to drop into a defensive stance. Before she could move, a translucent blue screen materialized directly before her eyes.

[Imperial Citizen Registry]

[Name: Lady Merianah Emperion]

[Age: 18 Guide]

[Core: F-Class Mental]

[Stability: Critical]

[Vital Signs: Restored]

[Warning: Genetic abnormalities detected.]

Is this some kind of holographic interface? She wondered, blinking at the floating text.

She reached out a hand to touch the display, but her fingers passed right through the light. The glowing screen wasn’t actually being projected from an external device or a wrist comm. It was rendering directly within her own retinas, meaning it was only visible to her.

Before she could fully process this strange piece of technology, the blue text suddenly flickered rapidly. The standard registry information vanished, replaced by a series of bright red warning lines.

"Unknown energy signature detected," the automated voice stated inside her mind. "Beginning internal compatibility assessment."

A sudden, brilliant golden light spread quickly through her dark veins. The agonizing pain she had fully expected to experience never actually came to pass. Instead, a deeply comforting, strange warmth settled directly within the center of her chest.

Then, the translucent screen flickered one final time, the red warnings fading away entirely. One single sentence slowly appeared across its smooth surface in elegant, glowing letters.

"Compatibility confirmed," the system chimed softly. "The SSS+ Guide Core has successfully recognized its new master."