I introduced Deux to my family and the rest of the male leads.

Each of them had hated Mattius before, and since Deux had the same face as Mattius for obvious reasons, they refused to believe that Deux was someone else.

They treated him harshly.

But over time, they realized that Deux had a completely different personality.

He was nothing like Mattius.

He was someone completely different.

So, in the end, they accepted him and asked for forgiveness for acting irrationally.

None of them knew who Deux really was.

And none of them asked.

They couldn't dare to ask.

Deux was broken.

It was obvious to everyone.

So, instead, they did their best to make him feel home.

He was pampered like the pet dog of our family even though he was always the most mature.

I'm glad...he was accepted at least.

But I had bigger matters on my hands.

Revenge.

I could feel it taking control of my thoughts and emotions.

There were too many things wrong with the Marquis family.

How dare they.

How dare they do that.

How dare they commit so many different crimes.

How dare they hurt Deux like that...

I needed to uncover all their secrets.

To end all their plots.

To bring justice to them.

Time.

I need time.

I'll ruin them.

Whether it takes months, years, or even decades...I'll make them wish they never dealt with me.

.

.

One Week Later

.

.

"Hey! Make sure you guys don't get into trouble at school, alright?!" I yelled as I tackled both Ash and Deux.

The two of them were a year older than me.

So, obviously, they would need to enter school exactly one year before me as well.

To be honest, I was worried to let the two of them go off to school, especially when Deux wasn't used to normal society yet.

But...He would have to go on his own eventually...so I didn't argue against him leaving.

"Get off of me, you stupid piece of trash," Ash groaned as he pushed me off of him.

"Aww~ But I'm just worried about whether you'll be able to take care of yourself properly..." I pouted.

"...Why do I always feel that you think I'm younger than you...? I'm older than every other kid here, so stop treating me like I'm immature," Ash said with a sigh.

"Alright, you two, let's not get too carried away, alright?" my father asked with a chuckle as he stood between us.

Does Ash think he's the oldest one here?

I'm technically a middle-aged woman if you count my past life, so he can't even try to compete against me.

"Hmm...sure. You're a big boy now so go enjoy school and your life! Just...make sure to take care of Deux...okay...?" I asked to make sure.

Deux...would probably waste away if he was on his own.

I'm worried.

Will he be alright on his own for a year...?

"Don't worry, brat! I'll take care of him. I wouldn't let a fly hurt him," Ash said with a reassuring grin.

"Pffft! You wouldn't need to protect him against anything but himself. There's nothing that he wouldn't be able to kill on his own," I chuckled.

Deux was as strong as all of us without formal training.

So...what would happen if he did receive formal training...?

I shuddered.

He would be overpowered as heck.

"Ugh. I get it. But just know that I won't let him do whatever he wants, alright?" Ash muttered.

"Alright! That's good then," I smiled.

I looked over at Deux who was spacing out while staring at the crystal blue sky.

Today, there were no clouds to be seen. It was so clear...that the sky seemed almost fake.

It was too perfect.

Like splashes of watercolor on a well-made canvas, the different shades of blue in the sky blended together perfectly.

Deux wasn't paying attention to anything around him as he stared at the perfect atmosphere.

It was like he just simply didn't care about anything that anyone had to say.

He was in his own little world.

His own little bubble.

Where he could ignore all the struggles of the real world.

"Deux. Deux. Deux...!" I said while trying to get his attention.

After a small pause, he finally turned his head to face me.

"Make sure you enjoy school to the fullest, okay?" I asked with a small cock of my head.

Deux didn't say anything.

"We will...so stop worrying," Ash intervened after Deux remained silent for too long.

"Good. Good! You two boys are acting just the way you should be," I yelled with a nod of satisfaction.

"If anything...we should be worried if you get in trouble while we're gone..." Ash grumbled.

"...Don't worry! Ace will be here watching me...and besides...It's not like I'll be in mortal danger or anything while you're gone..." I said with a small sarcastic chuckle.

"...I feel like you just raised a flag..." Ash said with a huge groan.

"Nahhh...this story has been going through too much drama lately, so it's probably going to be peaceful for a good chapter or two," I muttered logically.

"What...are you talking about...?" Ash asked with a deeply puzzled look.

"Oh, I'm not talking about anything important. I was just breaking the fourth wall for a bit," I chuckled.

"...Fourth...wall...?" Ash questioned.

"It's nothing. Anyway, enjoy your school life! Make sure to send me letters and come visit us during breaks, alright?!" I yelled as the two of them walked into their luxury carriage to sit down.

"Yeah...Sure. But...hey...there's something off about you today, sis. Did something bad happen to you recently...?" Ash asked as he stared at me.

"..."

"Sis...?"

"Bye, Ash! Bye, Deux!" I yelled as I ignored his question.

"Yes...of course...goodbye, brat," Ash murmured.

"I hope to see you two again soon," my father jumped into the conversation as he also said his goodbye's before they left.

From the small corner of my eye, I think I saw Deux give a small wave with his fingers.

After that, the carriage left and my father reentered our home to continue his work...

...And I was finally able to drop the smile on my face.

I relaxed the tense muscles on my face and loosened my jaw.

I stretched my limbs and sighed inwardly.

That was close.

Ash almost figured out what I've been trying to hide.

Haha...ever since Mattius died...I've been so fake.

Does my smile look natural?

I sure hope it does.

It's been a little hard to smile ever since...he died...but I think I'll get used to it eventually.

Maybe.

But I'm a little paranoid.

If I don't smile...they might all worry about me.

And I don't want that.

So, it's better to keep my emotions to myself.

Yep.

This is all for the best.

I just need to smile.

Suddenly, a pair of hands wrapped around my mouth and eyes as they pinned me against whoever was attempting to sneak behind me.

"Guess who," a voice said as he kept his hands on my eyes.

"...Judging by that annoying voice of yours...and how easily you are able to invade a person's personal space...I'd assume you're the jerk prince of Silverbell..." I muttered as I threw Florence's hands off of my eyes.

"Oh? You know me that well...I'm happy..." the prince said as he gave a shining smile that was worthy for someone of his caliber.

GAH!

The light coming off of this man was too bright for my eyes!

IT'S CONSUMING ME!

"R-Right. Whatever..." I said as I turned my eyes away from him.

"Can you believe it? I get to have you all for myself now that those nuisances are gone. Well...not that it mattered anyway. You were already mine from the start," he smirked.

"What...?! No way! I DON'T BELONG TO ANYBODY, GOT IT?!" I yelled as usual.

"..."

Florence didn't say anything as he examined my face.

"Uhh...Is there something on my face...?" I asked as I backed away slowly.

"No...other than your plump lips, crystal eyes, button nose, fair skin, and perfectly symmetrical face...there's nothing on it that I would like to comment about..." he muttered.

I blushed at his description of me.

Why did he make it sound like I was actually pretty...?!

I looked like animal poop in the forest in comparison to these heavenly specimens.

"W-What?! Hold on! I'm not that pretty!!!" I yelled as I pushed him in embarrassment.

"...Haha...HAHA..." Florence suddenly began to laugh loudly.

"Huh?! What's so funny?!" I asked in confusion.

"Oh my god...I already knew that you were oblivious to everything...but you're even dense about yourself..." Florence laughed.

"Huh? What? Wha-"

"Nevermind. Anyway, I wasn't looking at what was on your face. I was looking at...how you were acting..." he muttered.

"Uh...What does that have to do with anything...?"

"Did something happen?"

"Huh?"

"I'm asking you if something happened to you recently."

"Umm..."

"Lia...you haven't been acting like yourself lately."

"..."

"Did you think I wouldn't notice?"

"I..."

"I've been watching you for years, Lia. I know exactly when your smiles are fake."

"Why would you be watching me...?"

"...I don't know. Maybe it's because my eyes naturally gravitate toward you whenever you're around," he said as he placed both his hands in his pockets.

"Enough with your jokes!"

"They're not jokes, Lia."

"Sure," I said sarcastically.

Florence sighed in irritation.

"Anyway, let's move back to the main conversation. Lia, I'm worried about you. Did something happen to you...?" Florence asked again.

"..."

"Lia..."

"No. Nothing happened. You're acting weird today, Florence. Normally, you're a huge jerk but today you're just a weirdo," I chuckled as realistically as I could.

Florence just looked at me while I did this.

"Hmm...If you won't tell me on your own...maybe this is a good chance to try something Grey taught me," Florence smiled sadistically.

"...Huh?"

"Maybe I should just try forcing it out of you," Florence murmured as he wrapped his arms to pull me closer to him.

He used his large slender hand to lift up my chin to his face as he moved his own face closer to mine.

His eyes were only a centimeter away from mine and he stared straight into my eyes.

It was a horribly awkward and embarrassing position, so I closed my eyes on reflex.

Seconds passed as I tightly clenched my eyes closed.

Then, I felt a small kiss on my nose.

"Idiot...don't close your eyes when I'm that close to you. I might get the wrong idea," he said as he suddenly let me go.

After a while, it suddenly hit me at what just happened.

"W-What. Y-You. YOU IDIOT!" I screamed as I activated my ice magic and tossed a lethal chunk of ice at him.

Unfortunately, he melted my rushed and poorly-made ice shard with his fire magic before it killed him.

"It's your fault for not telling me the truth~" Florence smirked as he began to walk away.

Seriously.

LIFE. SUCKS.

.

.

A Few Hours Later

.

.

I took a sip of my tea.

"Grey...why does life suck so much...?" I asked with a small whine.

"Forgive me, milady, but I don't have an answer for that," Grey replied with a small bow.

"But it's so hard to deal with everyone, you know?"

"Perhaps it is your impatience with other people that causes this, milady."

"Yeah...I guess so."

"Milady..."

"Yes, Grey?"

"Sleep."

"Huh...? What do y...ou...m...ean..." I tried to ask.

My words became slurred and the room started to spin until everything faded away into black.

.

.

The Next Morning

.

.

I woke up on my bed in shock.

What the heck just happened?!

Did Grey drug me?!

What the heck did he do?!

WAIT!

Maybe things are going according to the storyline of the otome game again!

Does that mean he's trying to kill me now?!

I sat up in my bed as quickly as I could and accidentally woke Ace up along with me.

"Cordelia...What's happening...?" Ace asked as he stretched his body on my bed.

"Well...Last nigh-" I started to say before I stopped.

Standing at the foot of my bed was none other than my personal servant who drugged me, Grey.

"Good morning, milady. What would you like for breakfast today?" he asked professionally with a bow.

"W-WHA-" I started to yell.

"Forgive me for last night, milady."

"Huh?!"

"I added some sleeping medication into your tea without your permission, milady."

"Wait. What? Why?"

"You didn't seem to be well, milady. Not only that, but it seems that you've been getting slight symptoms related to insomnia," he added.

"..."

"I assumed that you wouldn't be able to sleep again, so I decided, in the end, to force you to sleep instead, milady. It isn't healthy for a grown woman like yourself to have no sleep."

"You didn't need to do that, Gre-"

"Did something happen, milady?" he asked as he stared at me straight in the face.

"..."

"Milady. No matter how much you try to hide it, all of us can tell something is wrong."

I could feel Ace staring at the back of my head throughout all of this.

Ace already knew the reason behind all this.

He was present during Mattius' passing.

For the past week, Ace had been caring for me and consoling me as much as possible.

"Nothing is wrong! Oh my god, everyone here is ridiculous! Don't assume things, alright?" I yelled as I threw my pillow at Grey, which he easily caught with his shadow magic.

"...Milady...forgive me...but this conversation has been leaving a bitter taste on my tongue."

"I'm okay! Jeez...there's nothing wrong with me."

"Well then. Now that it has come to this, forgive me, milady. It seems that I can't control my anger anymore."

Grey walked over to me and pinned my arms on my back and lifted me up at the same time.

"W-WAIT! What are you doing?! I just woke up!" I yelled as I struggled to break free from his iron grip.

But instead of letting me down, he used his shadow magic to wrap around me and to keep me from moving.

"I'm kidnapping you, milady. Maybe I'm planning on killing you. Who knows..." he murmured with a scary look in his eyes as he used his shadow magic to carry me down the halls.

I felt my heart drop to my stomach.

This was scary.

Was he actually trying to kill me...?!

I thought I had changed the storyline enough so that it wouldn't happen for now!

"W-Wait! G-Grey...L-Let's talk about this, please!" I yelled as I continued to struggle away.

I was about to use my magic to get away from Grey, but he suddenly dropped me onto the ground.

Ouch.

That hurt.

I opened my eyes to see Florence, Grey, Ace, my father, and even Sophie (my maid) standing in front of me.

The room we were in was decorated with pink streamers and, in the center of the room, there was a table with a strawberry cake on top.

"Surprise!" they all yelled.

...Huh...?!

"We've noticed that you've been acting a little weird, so we decided to cheer you up with a party!" my father said as he began to do a little dad dance that no one wanted to see.

"Yeah. If you won't tell us your secrets, we won't force you...just know you can count on us," my maid, Sophie, said as she gave a warm smile.

"H-Huh? Wait. I...thought Grey...he was...going to kill...me?" I stammered in confusion.

I could see Grey smirk in the corner of the room.

I'm going to kill him.

"So...are you surprised...?" Florence asked with a small smile.

Florence, Grey, and Ace looked at me for my reaction.

I inwardly chuckled and then gave a smile.

A real smile from the bottom of my heart.

I sighed.

Why is it so hard to be fake and depressed in a world like this?!

It's not fair!

I want to be sad and gloomy like all the other teenagers my age!

But...

I laughed.

This life is fine the way it is.

And...maybe I'll postpone my revenge...

It's not worth it for right now...I guess.

I'll just teach these boys a lesson in the meantime...

-------------------------------------------------------

A/N: That's the end of this chapter~

I'll be updating again next week like always, so keep a lookout!

Part of me is a little sad, because at this point in the story...I'm over halfway done with the storyline.

Writing this story is so much fun that I wish I could write chapters for forever...but I can't.

*sigh*

Anyway, thanks again to my readers/voters/commenters as always!

I'm grateful to you all~

Okie byeee!

Word Count: 2595