After successfully finding and killing a rabid feral goat, I was finally able to go back to my home.

I snuck into my home as quietly as I could and immediately walked straight to my bedroom.

After walking into my room, I belly-flopped onto my bed, waking up Ace, who was also sleeping on my bed, in the process.

"I need sleep," I whined as I grabbed Ace into a hug and wrapped myself up into a burrito with the soft blankets.

Within five seconds, I left to dream-land.

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One Night Later

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.

"Milady, it's time to wake up."

"..." I didn't reply.

"Milady, you need to wake up now."

"..." I ignored the annoying voice again.

"Milady, we have guests."

"No," I said curtly.

I neither wanted to wake up nor meet the "guests."

"Milady, if you don't wake up now, I'll have to ask our guests to wake you up themselves."

"I don't care," I muttered.

"Of course. Give me a moment to bring our guests into your room, milady."

Grey left my room with a chuckle.

Ugh...Why is waking up in the mornings so hard?!

It's even harder to wake up today because I spent last night in the forest...

I shifted my position on the bed and waited for sleep to come again.

But before I could fall deeply into my sleep, my bedroom door opened.

"Go away, Grey," I said with a little annoyance.

Couldn't he just take a hint and leave...?!

But instead of Grey, someone even more annoying replied.

"Wake up, Lia."

Ugh...the annoying prince came.

"Go away," I groaned.

"Maybe I'll just..." Florence whispered softly as he sat on the side of my bed next to me, "...kiss you awake..."

I could feel him give a small peck to my cheek.

I slapped him as hard as I could in return.

"That's harassment," I said with anger in my voice.

Apparently, Florence wasn't affected by my slap AT ALL because he chuckled.

"Aww...it hurts that my little fiancé is being so cold..." Florence said with a fake pain in his voice.

"Don't always call me your fiancé! If I had a choice, I wouldn't have picked to marry you," I said as I shuffled into a better position on my bed.

"..."

Florence stayed silent as he contemplated what I had said.

"It gets creepy when you're quiet," I groaned.

"...If you could've picked your partner...who would you have picked...?" Florence asked with a somewhat scary smile.

"Anyone except you," I answered him.

"Why...? I'm smart, strong, rich, handsome, and I have a ton of power. What else would you want in a man?" Florence said with exasperation.

Ugh...I hate how he's right.

"Shut up. I don't care," I groaned.

"Maybe I'll need to change your mind then..." Florence whispered into my ear as he gently brushed my hair with his fingers.

"Yeah...no," I replied as I grabbed his arm out of my hair and twisted it behind him.

"When will you learn to accept me as your fiancé...?" Florence sighed.

"Hmm...never," I answered him honestly as I let go of his arm.

To be honest, I couldn't imagine myself falling in love with this jerk of a prince.

"Who knows what will happen in the future though? Maybe you'll learn to fall in love with my charms," Florence said with a soft chuckle.

"I think my pride wouldn't allow it," I said with my own chuckle.

"That's exactly what I love about you though," Florence said as he took my hand to kiss it.

"Stop it," I said as I pulled my hand away.

"You may try to fight back...but no matter what...you'll still be mine. Out of every man in the world, the only one who owns the ring that will go on your finger is me," Florence said with a cheery grin.

Creepy.

"I think you're forgetting the fact that I'm a living human being with basic rights. Also...you're just a kid. There's no way I would fall hopelessly in love with a kid," I sighed.

"...You're a kid yourself though. You're younger than me. Do you prefer...perverted old men...?" Florence asked with confusion.

I nearly burst out laughing.

This kid doesn't even have a clue about how many years older than him I am.

If my body looked like the same age as my mental age...people would call me a pedophile for marrying this kid...maybe I'm already a pedophile...

I'd rather marry someone older since I can't imagine marrying someone who's half my age...but the only older men who would marry me in this world are perverted old men...

Why is finding love after reincarnation so hard?

"...Anyway, why are you here...?" I asked as I dodged his question.

"We're going to train at your place instead of the castle," Florence said with a grin.

"...Why?"

"Since you were recently targeted by two assassins at the royal festival, we're being extra careful. I can't have you leave your estate freely," Florence sighed.

"Wait...Does that mean that he's here...?" I said with a slow realization.

Suddenly, my bedroom door was slammed open enthusiastically.

...Shoot.

"Milady, our second and final guest has arriv-" Grey started before he was cut off.

"CORDELIA~~~ CORDELIA~~~ CORDELIA~~~ MY LOVE~~~" Sir Maddy screamed as he ran towards me.

I immediately jumped up from my bed and opened my bedroom window.

Escape.

Without a single moment of hesitation, I leaped out of my room.

Just like a cat, I landed gently on the ground on all four of my arms and legs.

"Bye, Sir Maddy! I have...uh...something important to do!" I yelled up to my room from the patch of dirt below my bedroom window as I ran away.

"CORDELIA~~~ DON'T LEAVE ME~~~" Sir Maddy screamed.

I could see Florence holding Sir Maddy back from jumping out of the window with me from the corner of my eye.

I sighed.

Why did Sir Maddy have to come to my home???

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.

30 Minutes Later

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.

I was caught by my brother, Ash, after running away for a long time. He captured me with the help of his stealth magic, which is kind of stupid in my opinion.

Ash scolded me for a LONG time before I gave him my specialty fake tears. When I did, he stopped, blushed, and then left me alone without even trying to comfort me.

Heh.

Ash is so sweet...and easy to manipulate.

Maybe...One day...I can use him...

Hehehehe...

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.

5 Minutes Later

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.

"TIME TO LEARN~~~ MY CHILDREN~~~" Sir Maddy yelled as all of us groaned for the worst.

"So...what are we going to do today?" I sighed.

"Playing a game~~~ A FUN LITTLE GAME~~~" Sir Maddy squealed in ecstasy.

"What game...?" I asked with a little bit of fear.

I swear...if he says we're going to play another torture game...I'm running away again.

"HIDE-AND-SEEK TAG~~~" Sir Maddy exclaimed.

"Huh?" everyone asked at the same time.

"USE MAGIC~ RUN AWAY~ HIDE~ DON'T GET CAUGHT~ TRY NOT TO DIE~"

"This sounds more normal than what we normally do! Where are we going to play?" I asked Sir Maddy while cocking my head.

I doubt that we could play a game of magical hide-and-seek in my house or backyard. If we did...everything would be destroyed.

"FOREST~"

"Huh? Yeah oka-WAIT. WHAT?" I said before I took a double-take.

"FOREST~"

Was Sir Maddy thinking about letting us train in the forest beyond my backyard...?!

"No," I refused sharply.

"FOREST~" Sir Maddy repeated.

"No."

"FOREST~"

"No."

"FOREST~"

"No."

"FOREST~"

"No."

"Punishment~~~?"

"Ugh...Fine."

...But Deux is in the forest! How the heck are we going to play a game of magical hide-and-seek tag IN THE FLIPPING forest without getting him discovered???

"GREY IS "IT"~ ON YOUR MARKS~ GO~" Sir Maddy screeched loud enough for the whole world to hear.

Immediately, I sprinted into the forest. If Grey was the person chasing us, I would need to be extra careful.

After a little bit of running, Florence and Ash went off in a different direction than me. The only one following me was Ace.

"Let's go this way, Ace," I said quietly as I pointed to the direction where Deux's hideout should be.

Somehow...I needed to warn Deux to hide while not making Ace suspicious of anything.

Ace nodded his head at my decision and changed his direction to where I pointed to.

When we reached the area where I hid Deux, I realized that he was already gone.

Was he...hiding?

I smiled.

It was a good thing he realized what was happening and hid before the other boys found him.

I was about to sigh in relief...until the shadows below me wrapped around my legs and lifted me straight into the air. I was dangled upside down.

Luckily, I was wearing my outdoor clothing and not my usual dress...or else...I may have flashed everyone against my will.

"Well...um...this is awkward...Can you possibly...use any last dying pieces of mercy in your black-hole of a heart...to let me go, Grey...?" I awkwardly chuckled as Grey walked into my view.

"Sorry, milady. But it is my job to capture all of the 'hiders' in an orderly fashion, right?" Grey said as he wrapped my legs with his magic even tighter.

"I get it! Just let me down!" I yelled as I fired my ice magic at him.

Grey used his shadow magic to catch the ice shard I threw at him and launched the hunk of ice straight into outer space.

I think...Grey has introduced a new comet to the universe.

"I'm not letting you down until I 'tag' you, milady," Grey said as he inched forward to me.

Someone! Save me from this evil man!

Wait...Where did Ace go...?

"A-Ace...?" I squeaked as I looked around me.

"Try your best, Cordelia," Ace sighed as he watched the entire show in front of him on the side.

Woooooow. He wasn't going to help me...

I felt a little betrayed.

"Humph. I can escape by myself anyway! I don't need anyone's help at all," I said arrogantly.

I launched my water magic and enveloped Grey's head with a nice bubble filled with lovely impossible-to-breathe-in water.

Obviously, Grey couldn't use his shadow magic or his hands to remove the water since water is...water.

So, he released his shadow magic on me and dropped me straight from the air.

I fell to the ground in a thud and winced.

That hurt.

"Bring it on, Grey," I said as I stood up.

I released the bubble of water I had around his face. Either way, Grey would've escaped my water magic even if I hadn't deactivated it.

When I dropped the ball of water, it fell on all of Grey's clothes.

It was at this moment that I realized that I made a mistake.

A very big mistake.

Grey combed his wet hair back with his fingers and gave a cool raspy chuckle.

His hair sparkled under the sun and I swear that his shirt became see-through.

It was both hot and terrifying.

The otome game makers knew exactly what they were doing when they designed the characters...and I hated it.

How dare they create such beautiful characters and expect girls to NOT die when surrounded by them?!

It was at this moment that I learned to respect the heroine of the game, Lily. She was never blinded by these...lovely specimen.

When these kids are drenched with water...

...literally, everyone regardless of age or gender will get a nose bleed.

...I also got a nosebleed myself.

Darn it.

How am I going to survive when I know they're going to grow up to be hotter...?!?!

.

.

.

.

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A Little Over 5 Years Later

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.

.

.

"Happy birthday, my lovely little daughter!" my father squealed as he lifted me up into the air and twirled me around.

Even after these past few years, he still had much more than enough strength to lift me up.

"Thank you, father," I said with the soft chuckle of a well-behaved noble lady.

My father slowly brought me back down to the ground, and I gave him a small bow.

"I'll see you soon, father," I smiled sweetly as I turned around and left my father's office.

Each step I made was completely graceful and I moved with perfect posture.

I could hear my father sigh at how much older I had become. To him, it was like I had lost all of my childish charms.

Today was my 15th birthday.

There was only one more year until I went to Greenwood Academy.

And I've become much more mature.

In fact, I am now known as the "lady among ladies."

This means that I am now so mature tha-

"Happy birthday, my wife," a man said behind me as he wrapped his arm around my waist and give me a small peck on the back of my neck.

"It's so good to see you again, Prince Florence," I giggled politely as I gave him a curtsy.

"It's so good to see you again too, Lia. Would you like to give your husband a greeting kiss?" Florence said as he moved his face closer to mine.

Ugh.

I immediately dropped my "good-girl" act.

"...Get...Away...From...Me...JERK! ALSO, STOP CALLING ME YOUR 'WIFE!' WE'RE NOT EVEN MARRIED YET," I yelled as I gave him a round-house kick to the gut.

Florence flew a good meter or so back and gave a chuckle.

I cracked my knuckles.

Every single freaking time the male leads come talk to me...I suddenly feel the urge to destroy something.

"After all this time...you still haven't changed, Lia," Florence said with an indescribable grin.

"Excuse me?! I'm pretty sure I've grown A LOT. I've gone through hundreds of growth spurts," I retorted.

"That's not what he meant, sis," Ash sighed as he walked in on our conversation.

"Suuuure..." I replied sarcastically.

"You still...never listen to me. If you ever grew a brain, maybe you would realize that you should listen to me more," Ash groaned.

"Well...you should start listening to someone with a higher IQ than you..." I mumbled under my breath.

"...What did you say...!? I'm still technically the oldest out of all of us, so you should start learning on how to respect me," Ash said with his classic sharp tongue.

"Aww...it's okay if you can't accept the fact that I'm still smarter than you..." I said with a chuckle as I ruffled his hair.

"D-Don't touch me. It's gross..." Ash blushed as he pushed my hand away quickly.

Why does he always treat me like I'm the plague???

"Milady, it's time to stop messing around. We must prepare you for your birthday party. Please follow me this way," Grey bowed in a greeting as he gestured toward a place behind him.

"Of course I will go with you," I gave a soft chuckle as I turned around and immediately began walking in the opposite direction from him as far as I could.

I need to escape.

I threw the heels I was wearing off of my feet and broke out into a run.

"Where are you going, milady? The preparation room is behind me. Why are you going away from me instead?" Grey said with a smile.

He knew exactly why I was leaving.

"Whatever could you mean? I don't believe that I am doing anything wrong, Grey..." I said with a soft smile as I continued walking away from him.

"Sorry, milady, but as much as I would enjoy playing a fun game of hide-and-seek with you, we're late..." Grey said with a chuckle as he picked me up with his shadow magic.

I wasn't able to run away in the air.

"Oh...really...um...sure...just let me down. I won't run away. I promise," I lied.

No matter what, I was definitely going to try to escape.

"I've learned my lesson, milady. I'm not letting you down until we get to the Head Maid," Grey sighed as he continued to carry me along with him.

In case you were wondering, Sophie, my maid since childhood, has been promoted to Head Maid...which means she now has even more power over me...

"Ugh! Ace, help me!" I yelled out loud.

Nothing seemed to happen for a brief moment, but soon, the air shifted and I could see Ace come from the other side of the hallway we were in.

Currently, he was large enough for me to ride him. He was still smaller than me, of course, but he was certainly growing a lot. He's still adorable though~

"...What's going on...?" Ace asked slowly as he assessed the situation.

"Grey is trying to kidnap me," I lied.

"...Be honest, Cordelia..." Ace sighed.

".....................He's taking me to Sophie the merciless witch," I shuddered.

"So...Grey is just doing his job?" Ace asked to clarify.

"No...well...um...yes," I muttered.

"Don't call me if you don't need me, Cordelia," Ace sighed as he turned to leave me.

"...Okay."

For the past few years, Ace has become colder to me. It's like he's trying to separate himself from me as much as he can while still keeping his side of the contract.

I try to talk to him like normal...but it never works out in the end.

I've gotten more used to his attitude over the years, of course, but...I can't help but miss the times when we were closer to one another.

The argument I and Ace had at the royal festival...is something I haven't forgotten for a single moment over the past few years.

Every day, thanks to Ace's cold attitude, I am still haunted by the fight we had.

I never fully understood why we were fighting.

There was no point in us arguing at all back then, right?

Why won't he ever tell me what I did wrong?

Is there something I did wrong?

...Can we ever become friends again...?

I sighed.

I hate having negative thoughts...

Instead of crying like I used to, I rubbed away the small tears in my eye and smiled.

All I need to have are positive thoughts...

Everything will work out in the end.

...Right?

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A/N: I fast-forwarded time by five years again~ I hope you guys don't mind the sudden jump! There was nothing else I needed to write while they were kids.

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From least to greatest, the ages of the characters are:

Cordelia - 15 *Ace - 15(+) Florence - 15 Grey - 15 Mattius - 16 Deux - 16 Ash - 16

*Ace's body is the exact same age as Cordelia's body due to the contract. However, he was technically born a few years before Cordelia, so his age can vary depending on the context.

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In case you were wondering, their personalities won't change too much, except for a few small differences. They'll definitely develop more over time though~

Thanks again to everyone who read/voted/commented!

Okie byeee!

Word Count: 3163