Ever since then, things have been quite normal.

Ace has been acting normally.

Florence has been acting normally.

Everyone has been acting normally.

Honestly, a small part of me was waiting for a day when all the boys would shout out, "Surprise!! We were just pretending that everything was alright!! Florence is actually a yandere!! And you're actually going to go on trial for treason next week!!"

But that day never came, thankfully.

When I properly recovered and the doctor gave me permission to move as I pleased, I immediately went to Florence and tripled the poor doctor's salary.

"L-L-L-Lady Cylliaaaaa!!! Thank you!!" the doctor cried to me when his pay raise was announced.

"It's no problem. You took care of me, so it was a well-deserved reward," I replied with a nod.

"I was so scared...that my head would be chopped off..." the doctor mumbled.

"Why?" I asked out of curiosity.

"N-Nothing!"

"No, please don't be afraid to tell me anything."

"Sorry, Lady Cyllia, but I believe I might die if I say another word," the doctor said with a deep nervous bow.

"Is that so...Then it's fine. Feel free to take a week of vacation. I'm sure you're tired," I sighed.

"An...angel. I think...I see an angel. A beautiful angel...Lady Cyllia, I will always remember your kindness," the doctor said as he clasped his hands to his heart and collapsed onto the ground dramatically.

Both tears and snot rolled down his face, which made me wonder how much he actually had to go through as the palace's head doctor.

"Uh...of course. You may be excused," I said awkwardly at his overreaction.

He stood up, quickly bowed once more, and left the room happily as if he were free from a lifelong curse.

Anyway, since I was free to do as I pleased, I decided to find Wolfe again to clear up any misunderstandings.

I found myself walking to his room, and as I guessed, Wolfe wasn't there.

...It was just like my dream.

With a small shake of my head, I left the room and retraced the same steps I had walked in my dream all the way to a familiar-looking door.

Everything was the same.

It was down to the exact detail.

I knocked on the door a few times, but as I expected, no one responded.

"Wolfe~! I know you're in there!" I called out.

There was no reply.

I didn't even bother calling out to him and just kicked down the door.

Honestly, I don't have enough patience for this.

When I walked inside, I spotted the small tuff of fluffy strawberry hair peeking out from behind the single bed of the room.

Ah...seriously.

Wolfe was even hiding in the exact same spot as my dream...

At this point, maybe I should start taking that "dream" of mine seriously.

Was I possibly...a psychic???

Hah...that would definitely be an interesting turn of events.

But...if my dream happened to actually be precognition of the future...then everything that happened between Florence and I would...also...

I shook my head.

Nah.

Predicting the future is impossible, even in a world where swords and magic exist.

But...

Now that I think about it...

Maybe Shai, the god of fate, would have the ability to see the future.

I haven't met or seen Shai in a while, but I'm sure he's busy—he's a god after all.

And Gadia, the god of karma, must also be busy right now...

They haven't tried to visit me at all for the longest time, so I almost forgot about those two stupid gods.

They're not ignoring me...right...?

Haha...

Because...

...That would kind of suck.

It took me a few moments before I was able to snap back into reality and realize that I was in the middle of trying to save a friendship between me and Wolfe.

"Oh, Wolfe~! I see you hiding behind that bed~ You can't hide from me!" I yelled childishly as I jumped onto the bed that Wolfe was hiding behind with a big grin.

I pushed all the negative thoughts out of my mind as I tried to focus on what was currently more important.

"..."

"Are you ignoring me, Wolfe?" I asked with a small pout.

Wolfe turned his head up to me slowly and his green eyes stared into mine with slight confusion, as if he could not understand why I was in front of him.

It was a familiar expression and it felt as if though I had seen it before...

...in my dreams.

"...Why are you here?" he asked quietly as he continued to hide his large body behind his bed.

He furrowed his eyes cautiously as he watched my every movement.

"You never came to visit me when I was sick. So I decided to come all the way here to visit you instead. Seriously, I have to go through so much work because of you," I sighed dramatically as I rolled all over his bedsheets, messing up the neat blankets.

"..."

Wolfe didn't say anything as he kept a small distance between me and him.

"You know, I was really sad when I realized a dear friend of mine didn't even think of visiting me once while I was bedridden...it kind of sucked, you know. I even had this really bad nightmare because of it," I murmured as I stared at the ceiling, laying on Wolfe's bed as if I owned the place.

"...I'm sorry," Wolfe said after a brief pause.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. It's not your fault I had such a bad dream anyway..." I muttered.

"..."

"Have you ever had a nightmare before, Wolfe?" I asked slowly as I turned my head to stare at him.

He didn't answer right away.

Actually, he seemed more confused as to why I was asking him these questions than why I was here in the first place.

"Nevermind...I asked a weird question. Sorry," I apologized as I tried to change the topic.

I wonder why I even asked him that...

Of course, Wolfe has had a nightmare before.

Everyone has.

It's just...

Ever since I had that dream, I never talked to anyone about it.

Not even once.

"No...I've had nightmares before," Wolfe said after some time.

Wolfe didn't look at me as he said this.

"Were you ever afraid that one day, your nightmare would come true?" I slowly asked him out of passing curiosity.

"Sometimes. But my nightmares were always about things that happened in the past. So, I wasn't afraid of them coming true...I was just afraid of having to relive them again."

"You must have had a traumatic childhood then."

"..."

Wolfe didn't say anything for a while.

But even though it was quiet, the silence was comfortable.

"...I thought you wouldn't want to see me," he murmured to himself as he dipped his head into his arms.

"Why?" I asked, even though I knew what he would say.

"..."

"Hmm?"

"I hurt you..."

"And?"

"...He told me you wouldn't want to see me again..."

"Who?"

"...Florence did."

This was the exact same conversation we had in my dream.

Nothing was different.

It was so similar that it was almost scary.

"He was wrong. I really did want to see you. And I was sad when you never came to visit me," I said softly.

"You...don't hate me...?" Wolfe asked as he peeked his head out from behind the bed to look at me.

"Of course I don't. You might be annoying at times, but I wouldn't have let you sucked all that blood out of me if I had hated you," I replied honestly.

Wolfe seemed to be slightly conflicted as he stared at me.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yes, of course, I am. The doctor said I am completely healthy now," I nodded.

"No...I wasn't wondering if you were healthy or not...but I was wondering if something happened to you," he said.

"Why?"

"It's just...you seem kind of off," Wolfe said as he stared into my eyes.

Oh...

He noticed.

"No...nothing happened," I answered.

"You're lying," he said.

Geez...

I stared at him with a small pout before sighing and replying once more.

"It's just...I have a feeling that I've done all of this before," I replied vaguely.

"Done what before?"

"Everything."

Wolfe was silent after that.

Yeah, I wouldn't know how to respond to myself either.

"You're strange, Cordelia," he said.

"...What?"

"I always feel like I can understand you...but at the same time, I don't understand you at all. You're strange," he repeated.

"Is that an insult?" I asked.

"No...it's a good thing. Yes...definitely a good thing," he nodded.

I don't know why, but his words made me smile.

"Wolfe...are you upset with me?" I asked.

"No...? If anything, I thought you would be upset with me..."

"Do you want me dead?"

"No!"

"Hehe..." I chuckled.

"What?" he asked.

"You didn't dodge the question or hesitate at all. That makes me happy," I smiled from the bottom of my heart.

Wolfe widened his eyes at my smile and quickly turned his head away.

"What's wrong?" I asked Wolfe.

He hesitated for a long time before he answered me.

"...You have a pretty smile," he said shyly as he covered his face with one of his hands.

What's this...?

Wolfe was acting like a schoolboy in love.

Haha...he's cute.

Whoever he likes in the future will be a very lucky girl.

I reached my hand out and patted him on the head slowly.

Now that I think about it...Wolfe really was like a puppy.

All he needed was love and affection.

"Wait...! Don't go near me," he suddenly yelled as he backed away from me as fast as he could.

"What? Does it look like I'm going to do something to you...?" I asked.

"..."

"Does it?"

"No..."

"Then why?"

"..."

"Why?"

"...I'm scared that I'm going to do something to you."

I laughed at his words and grinned.

"You're a million years too young to actually be able to try something on me. Remember, I let you drink my blood last time. Next time, you won't be too lucky, Wolfe," I said with a triumphant look on my face.

"..."

Wolfe cocked his head to the head at my words and also smiled a little.

"Good," he said.

.

.

.

Unlike my dream, I didn't bother asking Wolfe to spar with me.

It was because I was afraid of what would happen if Florence actually walked in on us while we were sparring.

What if the events of my dream actually came true?

...I didn't want to test out my theory.

So, I basically left Wolfe after having a short conversation with him and walked all the way back to my room in good spirits.

I hopped onto my bed with a sigh and faced the ceiling.

And as reassurance, I called for Ace to be by my side.

I absolutely did not want to end up in a situation where I would be left alone with Florence.

"I'm sorry...were you busy, Ace?" I asked him with an apologetic smile.

"No. I don't have any work to do around the palace anyway," he said as he switched from his dragon form to his human form.

No matter how many times I saw his transformation, I couldn't help but think it was beautiful.

"That's good...I was just bored and I thought it would be fun to have some company," I partially lied with a smile.

It was true that I wanted to have Ace by my side...but the main reason came from the fear of what would happen if I bumped into Florence.

And...I don't know why, but having Ace by my side felt very reassuring.

It was as if nothing in the world could harm me with him next to me.

"I'm an awful person..." I mumbled.

Ace, who had extremely sharp hearing, turned his head to me cautiously and tried to make eye-contact with me.

"What's wrong...?"

"It's nothing," I said quickly as I turned my head away from him.

But it wasn't nothing.

Because right now, I am doing everything I can to not bump into my fiance by using my crush, which just so happens to be my familiar and a completely different species, as a shield against him.

If anyone saw and knew what was going on, this would become the scandal of the century.

"You're acting strange, Cordelia," Ace murmured.

"And I've been hearing that a lot lately. Don't worry about it," I sighed as I recalled my previous conversation with Wolfe.

"Are you tired? Hungry?" Ace asked.

I paused a bit at his words.

"I'm not a child, you know," I said as I tried to stop a small smile from forming on my lips.

"Yep, I know. You're all grown up now," Ace nodded as he gave me a small pat on the head.

Humph...

I pouted a little at his words.

Well...I won't lie.

I do like getting pampered and spoiled by Ace but...

...I hate it when he treats me like a kid.

"Did something happen, Cordelia?" Ace asked me with a gentle smile as he tried coaxing a response from me.

I tried averting my eyes to dodge the question, but I could feel Ace's persistent gaze on the back of my head so I gave up.

"...Nothing is wrong...I just have an eerie feeling that something bad might happen soon," I said with an exasperated sigh as I succumbed to Ace's pressure.

"Hmm...do you know exactly what will happen? Or is it just a hunch?" Ace asked.

"It's...a mixture of both. I'm not sure either...but I just want you to stay by my side in case something does happen," I mumbled in response.

I knew I sounded kind of stupid, but what else could I have said?

"I'm glad you're relying on me," Ace smiled a little as he gave me another pat on the head.

"Well, if not you, who else would I rely on?" I asked as I looked up to him.

Ace paused for a moment at my words and turned his head away from me for a moment.

"Ace? What's wrong?" I asked, confused by his reaction.

"Nothing...I'm just happy..." Ace grinned as he turned back to look at me straight in the eye.

Ah...his green eyes really are pretty...especially when he smiles...

...His eyes look like they are glowing.

I didn't know how to respond to Ace, so I looked away and did my best to hide the faint blush that I knew was about to appear on my cheeks.

"You should rest, for now, Cordelia. Even though the doctor said you were fine, you should probably take it easy and sleep some more," Ace said as he easily broke the awkward silence.

"You're not leaving already, are you...?" I asked a bit nervously.

"Of course not...I won't leave your side until you tell me to, okay?" he reassured me gently.

Mmm...

Whenever I am with Ace, I always feel like I become a child again.

It's a warm feeling.

"Okay...I'm sorry for bothering you," I said as I laid down on my bed awkwardly.

"You've never bothered me before, Cordelia," Ace sighed at my apology.

"Hehe," I chuckled a little.

Even though I was completely healthy now, or so the doctor said, I still felt a little tired when I moved around too much, so I plopped onto my bed with a deep sigh.

"Ah...sleep is the best..." I mumbled to myself as I wrapped myself into a sushi roll with my blankets.

Most people would probably feel uncomfortable if there was someone watching them fall asleep, but in my case, I had slept with Ace for many years.

So I was pretty much used to it.

In fact, I felt more comfortable when I slept with Ace by my side.

Needless to say, I could feel a wave of drowsiness wash over me and I was just about to fall asleep...

...Until I heard a few knocks on my door.

I opened my eyes in a hurry and then I saw him.

Florence leaned against my doorframe casually with a slight bit of irritation on his face.

He's here.

He actually came.

"Am I interrupting something...?" he asked.

...Yeah.

My sleep.

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

A/N: That's it for this chapter~ Florence came back, and like always, he is mad. Who knows if Cordelia can save herself from this one~?

She has Ace with her this time, so who knows? ;)

Hehehe...

I just love Ace and Florence drama~

This week, I'm updating a few hours early because I'm busy later today! I hope you guys don't mind~

Anyway, for those of you who also celebrate this holiday...Happy (belated) Thanksgiving! I'm thankful for everyone who took their time to read my story over this past year~ I love you, everyone! Thank you for existing~

Stay safe~

Okie byeee!

Word Count: 2597