Ace, who was not prepared in the slightest for my sudden outburst, took a few steps away from me as I unleashed hundreds of unholy screeches from the pits of my stomach.

Me?

Confess?

Absolutely not...!

Never!!

I'd rather rip out all of my hair in one go...!

"E-Eh? Cordelia???" Ace yelped as he watched me breathe and puff out air as if I were some sort of ogre.

"Ace..." I murmured, my voice scarily quiet.

"Y-Yes?" Ace asked me warily as he maintained a good distance from me for his own safety.

"Love...is a forbidden topic from now on...okay? No more love. Screw all love. If anyone dares to utter the word love, I will rip out their heart and eat it...Do you understand...?" I asked a little darkly as I channeled my inner Grey-energy.

In response, Ace nodded his head quite quickly as he worked toward calming me down.

"How about we go grab something to eat? You must be hungry...you haven't eaten anything in a long while after all," Ace said with a refreshing smile on his face as he carefully led me all the way to the dining room in a hurry.

Throughout the entire walk, I was on my guard as I looked out for any flags that would lead to my inevitable confession.

Never...

I shall never confess...

"C-Cordelia? Are you alright?" Ace asked me as he held a concerned expression on his face.

"Yes...why?"

"You've been mumbling something under your breath for a while now...so I was just wondering..." Ace said a bit awkwardly as he sat me down on a comfy seat.

"Oh, don't worry about it...It's fine...Yes...Everything will be fine...I will make sure of that..." I muttered quietly as Ace called for a servant to grab me something light to eat.

Soon, the dining table in front of me was filled with plates piled full of sweets and delicacies along with a piping hot pot of refreshing peppermint tea to compliment the winter season.

I couldn't stop my mouth from drooling a little as I stared at all the desserts in front of me.

"What are you waiting for, Cordelia? Go ahead," Ace laughed a little as he watched me try to absorb the food through my eyes.

He picked up a small macaron and held it up to my lips with a loving smile.

Geez...what is with that look on his face...?

He acted almost as if though he were staring at something very precious and sweet.

It was the type of sugary look that would easily make even the world's coldest woman melt at the mere sight of it.

But here he was, easily giving away such a smile as if he were actually in love with me.

'I'm delusional,' I thought to myself as I ate the macaron in Ace's hands.

And just like this, Ace himself continued to feed me slowly.

"Mmph...Wait, Ace, it's fine. I can eat on my own, you know," I said as my mouth was stuffed to the brim with cookies.

"Oh, I see," he nodded as he didn't stop picking up more sweets for me to eat.

"Yesh...sho pwease stahp before meh cheeks exshplode [Yes...so please stop before my cheeks explode]," I tried to say as the capacity of my mouth reached its limit.

"Hehe...Cordelia, you look like a chipmunk," Ace chuckled a little childishly as he watched me struggle to properly swallow down everything.

"You meanie," I muttered, also a little childishly, as I rinsed my mouth with a few gulps of peppermint tea.

"I'm sorry," Ace apologized without even a hint of guilt on his face.

He was grinning as innocently as a fairy as he stared at me with an overly-soft look in his eyes, which made me immediately want to forgive him.

It was then that I realized...

...I was definitely being conned by his smile.

"Just...don't do that again," I murmured with a small humph as I began to leisurely eat the cookies at my own pace.

Hehe...these cookies really were good though...

They tasted so good that it brought an unwanted smile onto my face, which prompted Ace to make a low chuckle under his breath.

Wait a minute...

Was Ace...

...teasing me?

No...No...No...

Ace wasn't the type to be a bully.

...Right?

"Eat as much as you like, Cordelia," Ace smiled as he casually rubbed away cookie crumbs from the side of my mouth with his finger.

I gasped a little in surprise and scooted slightly away from Ace as he licked away the crumbs from his finger and ate them.

"It's sweet," he smiled.

S-Smooth...

I could feel my face becoming a dangerous shade of red.

What the heck was wrong with Ace today???

Is it because I never confessed to Ace, like my dream, that reality warped a little???

I don't understand...!

"W-Why are you like this today, Ace?" I asked him in a pitched voice with a small stutter as I backed away from him.

Ace was quiet for a bit as he processed my question.

"...Do you think I'm acting a bit different today, Cordelia?" Ace asked me with a small cock of his head as he feigned ignorance.

"Yes. Very different," I nodded my head strongly.

"Hmm...I can't help it. You're very cute today," Ace smiled with a cute giggle.

I swear I felt my heart pop out of my chest for a moment when he said that.

At this rate, I might just confess to him naturally...!

Oh my goodness...this man is dangerous.

"That's not a proper reason...Be honest with me," I muttered underneath my breath with a small pout.

"It's true. I think you're very cute, Cordelia," he repeated with such a sweet look in his eyes that I nearly thought he went insane.

"L-Lies," I stuttered as I turned away from him.

But as soon as I did, I swear I heard Ace whisper a small curse behind my back.

"...d-mn...it..."

"Ace?" I asked as I quickly turned my head back to face him.

"Oh...I'm sorry. Did you hear that?" he asked me with a slightly embarrassed look on his face.

"Yes...are you sure you're okay?" I asked him.

"Well..." he murmured quietly as he gently grabbed a lock of my hair and played with it with his fingers.

"What?" I asked as I blushed a little.

He was silent for a while before he chose to answer.

"Your fiance...managed to mess me up more than I thought he would..." Ace said in a scarily quiet voice.

His face was expressionless, which was an extreme contrast to his previous sweet smile.

"You mean...Florence?" I asked, ignoring the sudden darkness in the air.

Ace flinched the moment Florence's name left my lips and he frowned slightly.

"Don't say his name...I don't like it..." he murmured as a growl unconsciously escaped his throat.

Ace's mood changed so fast that I was left momentarily confused.

At first, he was smiling as sweetly as a child and now he looked angry enough to kill.

"Did something happen as you were carrying him to the infirmary?" I asked him a bit cautiously.

"Nothing," he answered briefly.

"I see..."

"We just had a small talk, that's all," Ace murmured underneath his breath.

I flinched.

The air around Ace was so cold now that it felt suffocating.

I had no idea what Ace and Florence talked about after they left, but judging by the expression on Ace's face, I felt like it was best if I didn't ask.

Suddenly, the cold air around Ace went away and he blinked a few times as he tried to shake away his rage.

"I-I'm sorry, Cordelia. Were you scared? I won't do that again," he quickly apologized awkwardly with a genuinely guilty look on his face.

"I-It's fine," I replied quickly as I handed him a cookie.

Ace stared at the cookie with a slightly confused expression on his face.

"You should eat some too. I'm always grumpy when I'm hungry, so maybe you'll feel better if you eat something," I said with a small smile as I handed opened his mouth gently with my finger and placed the cookie on his tongue.

Ace slowly chewed the cookie, savoring its taste, before swallowing it slowly.

"Did it taste good?" I asked him with the cock of my head.

With a small smile, Ace nodded his head.

"It tasted good...but you don't need to feed me anything, Cordelia. I'm your familiar, remember? As long as you're by my side, I will never grow hungry or thirsty," Ace chuckled as he fed me an oatmeal cookie in return.

"Humph. Just because you don't have to eat doesn't mean you can't eat. Everyone in the world has the right to enjoy good food, whether they need to or not," I said with a small pout as I swallowed the cookie.

"I'd rather watch you eat though," Ace smiled as he fed me even more.

I gave him a small joking glare in return before I could hear the sound of approaching footsteps.

"SWEETIEEE!! I'M SORRY!! I DIDN'T SEE YOU GO!!" the voice of my father yelled from afar.

Slowly, I turned my head to see my father stomp into the dining room with overly dramatic tears in his eyes.

"Father?" I questioned.

My father looked like a mess.

His hair was disheveled and all the buttons of his clothes were mismatched as if though he had recently took off all his clothes and had to quickly put them on in a hurry.

Behind him, I could see the extremely flushed face of Sophie, who also seemed very disheveled and strangely out of breath.

And if I looked close enough, I could see red marks all over Sophie's neck.

Sophie, who caught me staring at them, quickly covered her neck with both of her hands as her face became an even deeper shade of red.

Ah...

I see.

Something happened between the two of them, didn't it.

I coughed awkwardly as I pretended not to notice that anything was wrong.

Clean thoughts...

As of now, I, Cordelia de Boren Cyllia, am an innocent child.

Yes...I must have clean thoughts...

"I'M SO SORRY, SWEETIE! SOPHIE WAS SO CUTE THAT I-"

"ALASTAIR! SHUT IT!" Sophie screamed, interrupting my father completely.

Ahem.

Oh, this is awkward.

"Oh, it's fine, Father. I was just enjoying some snacks along with Ace. Would you like to join us?" I smiled as naturally as I could as I pointed to the dining table.

At first, there were endless piles of sweets and desserts on the table but now there were hardly any left after I ate most of them.

"O-Of course, sweetie! Sophie and I are going to go take a bath first though. We have an important guest coming later, so we need to...um...clean ourselves up before they arrive. Isn't that right, Sophie?" my father stuttered as he turned to his fiance.

"Y-Yes...that's right, Alastair. W-We'll be back soon, C-Cordelia," Sophie nodded as the red blush on her face never left.

"That's alright...take your time," I said, emphasizing the end of my statement with a small smirk.

Gosh...these two are so predictable.

Sophie and my father both blushed even more at my words before quickly nodding their heads and running off somewhere without another word.

Clean thoughts...Cordelia de Boren Cyllia...is an innocent child...full of only clean thoughts.

I turned my head slowly to Ace as I tried to hide the embarrassment on my face.

"Ahem. You were thinking the same thing as me when you saw them, weren't you," I muttered to Ace.

Ace coughed a little as well as he awkwardly tried to come up with a response.

"Um...Yes, I think so..." he nodded.

And thus, our pleasant snack time was dyed in shameful awkwardness as we waited for my father and Sophie to return.

.

.

A While Later

.

.

My father and Sophie eventually returned with fresh and clean appearances as if nothing happened in the first place.

"Sweetie! I'm so sorry about earlier...I didn't even realize you left until it was too late!" my father cried as he grabbed me and squeezed me tightly against his chest.

Yes, in other words, he was too preoccupied with Sophie that he completely forgot about my existence.

I sighed.

"No, it's fine, father. Don't worry. I'm honestly very glad Ace and I left at the right moment for you and Sophie to be alone," I said as I gave my father a few pats on the back.

After all...there was no way in heck that I would ever want to witness my father and Sophie doing-

I shuddered and nearly puked at the very thought of it.

I'm glad Sophie and my father are getting along...but aren't they a little bit...too extreme????

"Ahem...yes...well...er...We're having a very special guest arriving soon, and I know you're back home to take a break, but Sophie and I would really like it if you could come greet them with us," my father said awkwardly as he gave me a small smile.

"Who is it?" I asked.

"He is the one-and-only High Priest," Sophie replied.

What...?!

T-The High Priest?!

There is only one person who has the title of 'High Priest' and he is the person who stands at the very head of the Holy Church.

In comparison to the king, the High Priest has almost equal, perhaps even more sovereign power.

The High Priest rarely makes a public appearance and no one, not even the royal family, has the right to meet him unless the High Priest himself agrees to it.

Even the thought that such a powerful man would be meeting my father and Sophie at our basically humble dukedom was jaw-dropping.

"A-Are you sure?!" I gasped.

"Yes. For some reason, the High Priest himself offered to officiate our marriage. Obviously, Sophie and I didn't have the right to refuse, so we accepted. We were as shocked as you are," my father nodded and stared off into the distance as if he were fondly(?) remembering the past.

Why would the High Priest ever want to do that?!

I thought back to my father's first wife, Amelia de Boren Cyllia, who is also, unfortunately, known as my birth mother of this life.

Remarriages are frowned upon by the Holy Church, although they are socially accepted in the case that a person's partner dies prematurely.

In my father's case, Amelia, that old hag, died in prison due to...ahem...an accident, so no one would complain if he were to remarry.

But it's a completely different story if the Holy Priest himself decides to officiate their marriage!!!

Is the Holy Church crazy?!?!?!

"Isn't this bad...?" I whispered to my father with a worried look on my face.

Although having the High Priest officiate your marriage would be an unimaginable honor that many would kill for...it's something that the dukedom doesn't need.

Rather...this might actually end up being worse for my family.

All eyes would already be on our family during the wedding...

I shuddered while trying to imagine how many greedy and arrogant nobles would purposefully target our family out of jealousy and spite.

"Don't worry, sweetie. I didn't protect the dukedom for the past few decades for it to just suddenly break apart because of a few annoyances," my father said with a soft smile.

My father stared at me with an unfazed, confident look in his eyes that was as powerful as a king of beasts.

That's right...

Sometimes I forget, because of how silly my father is, but he is an extremely capable man with unshakable power and countless connections.

I took a peek at Sophie, who was standing proudly behind my father.

She was also an extremely intelligent woman with an unshakable will, strength, and courage that could even rival that of my father's.

I smiled.

These two will definitely be fine.

"Okay, Father. I'd like to meet the High Priest with you as well," I nodded with a small grin.

"Good, he will be arriving soon in a few minutes. I'll call for some maids to prepare you," Sophie said as she was just about to sneak away before my father stopped her.

"Sophie, how many times do I have to tell you that you don't need to do the work of a head maid anymore?" my father pouted.

"We'll have this discussion after we're married, Alastair. You've already given me so much, so at least let me do my work," Sophie snapped as she quickly left before my father could say another word.

My father stared blankly at her back for a while until she was completely out of sight.

"Sophie...is too cute..." my father whimpered as he scrunched up into a ball.

I smirked.

Good luck, father.

You might have Sophie's hand in marriage, but if you mess up once, I doubt Sophie will hesitate to leave you.

"Let us take you to the preparation room(s), Lady Cyllia," a maid said from behind me.

Suddenly, I remembered all the traumatic things I had to go through as I child whenever the maids needed to prepare me.

They aren't planning on doing all of that now that I'm older...right...??

"N-No..." I muttered as my face went pale.

Aghhhhh!!!

"This is the equivalent of torture!" I screeched as the maids dragged me away before I could even think of escaping.

All the maids of the dukedom were already used to my escape-tactics and screeching since childhood, so they didn't even flinch at my reaction.

Darn it...

It's a pain being too strong...

I might actually end up accidentally killing one of them if I properly fought back, you know...

"Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy..." I cried.

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

A/N: That's all for this chapter! Cordelia's going to need to go through some torture- I mean preparations in order to meet the High Priest~ Who knows what is going to happen next~?

Also, it seems as if though Florence and Ace had a secret conversation that Cordelia didn't know about...Who knows what they were talking about too~?

I might know the entire plot, but like, I'm just going to pretend that I don't~ ;)

Anyways, HAPPY NEW YEARS, folks!! Let's all say goodbye to 2020 and just enjoy the fresh air of 2021~ Let's hope 2021 is better...because I swear if it doesn't, the US might just die. :(

I didn't have enough time this week, because of the holidays, but I'm planning on writing another "Extra" chapter, like how I did last year for New Year's. I don't know what it'll be about yet, but I'll figure that out later~ Hehe~

Thanks, again, to my readers/voters/commenters! I hope you all had a lovely New Year's and that 2021 will be filled with peace, happiness, and joy for all of you~

Stay safe and healthy, everyone~

Okie byeee!

Word Count: 3148