Two hours passed and the clock read six-thirty o'clock in the morning but the father and daughter duo were still occupied with their own works and tasks. The sun is already up and the room was illuminated by the light coming from the big window of the study. The chirping of birds could be heard, Avy blew a puff of air as she reached the last page of the book she was reading. She closed it and glanced at the window. It's bright already? She was too immersed in what she was reading that she didn't notice the time passed by too quickly.

She could feel her hungry stomach complaining since she didn't eat anything before coming to the study, she figured that she had to rush to the dining hall before she drop from starvation. Again. She's used to not eating on time back in her previous life and only stuffing her face with instant food she gets from convenience stores near her house. Her mom and dad were both busy people and they didn't have enough time to do the grocery for her. It's not that she needs them to do it for her anyway.

After transmigrating into a new world where she is a noble lady, she started eating on time because Mariel nags her a lot if she doesn't. All her food is also in proper balance prepared by the head chef, it was completely different from how she lived her life in the past. And if she were to say, she's getting too accustomed to people serving her that she even unknowingly waited for Mariel to invite her to breakfast, it's already thirty minutes late since her scheduled eating time and her stomach is not taking it nicely.

She looked at the Duke who was still absorbed in the documents on his hands, he looked like he was used to all-nighters, sitting on his chair and reviewing papers for hours is no longer a challenge for him.

Avy took a deep breath and cleared her throat before speaking. "Aren't you going to eat breakfast?" she asked. Just to be clear, she's not worried about him, if he's hungry or not, it's just that, it would feel too awkward to stand up and leave the study without saying anything. The whole two hours of silence didn't feel uncomfortable at all, but walking out all of a sudden doesn't feel right.

"I will eat breakfast later. Don't concern yourself with me and just go ahead." the Duke answered, again, not sparing her a glance as if his eyes were glued on the papers.

Avy furrowed her brows. Not sleeping enough. Not eating on time. That sounds just like her in her past life. Also, one of the reasons why she died, if she had enough strength to get out of the way, she could've survived the accident.

"Should I ask the maids to bring your food here?" she stated.

"I refuse. I still have other duties to perform. Albeit unnecessary, I do appreciate your suggestion." her father said, still refusing to go. It seems like he wouldn't budge from where he was sitting even if an earthquake shakes the whole manor, not without finishing what he started.

"What are those anyway?" she narrowed her eyes at the documents, feeling curious about what he was working on.

"The terms and conditions of the magic stone contract with Eusvel. It's a matter that cannot be rushed."

Avy just shrugged and laid herself back on the couch. "I'll wait till you finish then. "She picked up the book she finished reading and opened it once again. Although she really wants to get up as soon as possible, she also doesn't want to leave the Duke alone. And the reason? She doesn't know why.

She was just about to stand up to get another book from the shelves when she heard the screeching of the chair sliding on the floor. She looked at her father who was fixing his sleeves, he was on his feet and it looked like he was ready to leave his work.

"Very well." he stated with a sigh of resignation visible on his mature and handsome face.

Avy watched him as he made his way to the door of the study, it was just not long ago when he refused to leave his seat, what made him want to go out of his cave now?

"Why are you still standing there?" Duke Alton looked back at her with his stern gaze which snapped her back to reality.

"Right." she hurriedly followed the older man.

The door of the study opened and she was greeted by the figure of the man standing on the side of the entrance. It was no other than her personal knight, Clerivan, who stood there like a statue as if he was a dog guarding a treasure.

It took him no less than a second to notice them and respectfully bowed his head. The Duke just gave him a nod of acknowledgment before continuing to walk.

"How long have you been standing here?" Avy asked him, raising her brow, she even took an effort to sneak out so that he would be able to sleep a little longer and he still ended up going back to his duty so early in the morning.

"An hour, Mi'lady." he answered

The lady just furrowed her brows at him, he was standing there for an hour without moving yet he still look like he can take down a bear. She brushed off her thoughts and went after her father, the knight walking behind her.

Meanwhile, in the dining hall, the two young boys were already seated on the chairs, waiting for the arrival of the Household's lady. They were, of course, informed about the Duke reaching the estate the night before but they weren't really expecting him to join them since taking Ciel's words, his father is the type of person who tends to skip breakfast to finish everything he has to do.

The sound of the dining hall's door opening was a signal for the two that someone entered, they swerved their necks to the direction of the entrance with bright smiles, getting ready to greet Avy. But the first face they saw belonged to the last person they were expecting to come, the Dukedom's head, Duke Alton.

"Good Morning, Your Grace." the servants bowed their heads as they greeted the Duke politely.

"W-welcome back, father." Ciel stammered, he was completely caught off guard by his arrival, and so was the Prince.

"Why are you not eating when you have the food in front of you, Ciel? Your Highness?" the Duke asked sternly as he sat down on the end of the table, looking at the two boys who were sitting next to each other, their food still untouched.

"We were waiting for Sis-- for Lady Avy, My Lord." Light answered.

"I told you not to wait for me every morning, you idiot duo. The food is getting cold." Avy intruded with her knight, startling everyone with her sudden remark.

"Did Raux cook the dish he promised to make?" she asked her maid who was also inside the dining hall, Mariel went straight to help in preparing the hall after reading the note that her lady left, saying that she will be staying in the Duke's study for a while.

"Yes, Mi'lady." Mariel replied, referring to the whole roasted chicken that Avy requested during her training as a reward for her running for hours on the training grounds under the scorching sun.

"I figured he was a man of his word, but this is beyond my expectation." Avy happily settled down on a chair near her father where the plated chicken was, she looked at the lavishly prepared dish in front of her and didn't mind the stares that everyone was giving her.

By everyone, that includes the Duke who was looking at her with blank eyes. Was she always this cheerful whenever she eats? He then glanced at the two young men who just started eating as if they were already accustomed to seeing Avy act like that.

"I was not aware that you love chicken so much, Avy." he stated.

"It's just normal that you don't know everything about me, Father." Avy responded, taking her eyes off the chicken and shifting her gaze at the Duke who was quite surprised by her answer.

The Duke just put his attention back on the food that was prepared for him. "Is that so?" he said.

"Sister eats everything that is served in front of her though." Light whispered, he and Ciel just recently learned about Avy's growing appetite, and they were witnessed to how she ate everything she was given during the training whenever they had a couple of minutes break.

But his words didn't go unnoticed by the girl. "I heard that." the young prince tensed up when he felt the chilling glare that Avy gave him, causing his rival to snicker, covering his mouth with his hand.

The whole breakfast was silent, but it was somewhat way warmer and comfortable than how the Duke remembered it to be. It seems like during the short time that he was away, something changed the atmosphere that restrains everyone to act more relaxed. If his observation serves him right, it has something to do with Avy.

"Do you have any appointments today, Father?" Ciel was the first one to break the silence.

"I will be visiting the headquarters later." The Duke answered.

Avy on the other hand just continued eating as if she heard nothing until her father's word sunk in her head. She paused for a second and looked at him. "You're leaving again?" she asked.

"I am certain that I told you I have other duties I must fulfill."

The people inside the hall glanced at her, some with questioning eyes, wondering why the lady asked such question when she usually doesn't really concern herself with her father's affairs. Indeed it was strange and most of them didn't know what she was thinking. It may be nothing for all of them but Avy sees it as something else.

"You're a lazy pig."

Ares stated as soon as he realized what his master was planning.

'Shut up. This is my chance. Just for today.'

"Can I go with you?" she blurted out as sweetly as she can, although it just sounded quite informal. Ciel, Light, Mariel, as well as Clerivan, raised their brows in surprise, even the maids and servants present raised their heads to look at her.

Duke Alton's stopped eating, he paused midway on cutting the food on his plate before giving his cold gaze to his daughter. "And why is that?"

"Am I not allowed to?" she didn't take her eyes off her father as if challenging him in a staring battle. She can't let this important chance go!

An opportunity to skip the hellish training implemented by the head chef who should be in the kitchen but decided to make her suffer by telling her to run for hours until she pass out cold. It's not that she's going to do this kind of thing every day, she just wanted to rest for a day. Heck! Her legs were still shaking a little, she would take the training seriously after she's well-rested. Maybe?

After a couple of moments looking as pitiful as possible, for the third time that day, Avy was able to force her father into submission. The Duke exhaled and shook his head lightly. "We'll be leaving in two hours." he stated, causing Avy's face to brighten up as if she just won the lottery. The only thing missing now is passionate victory dance, which she refrained herself to do.

"You really are a lazy pig." Ares commented once again, his tone as if he was expecting it from Avy. Why did he choose her to be his master again?

~~~

"You called for me, Father?"

Ciel was standing in front of the Duke's table inside the study after his father summoned him as soon as they finished eating breakfast. Duke Alton had his back facing his son while he was looking at the vast garden from the big window, his hands resting behind him.

"I suppose everything was quiet during my absence." he started without turning around to face Ciel.

"Aside from the assassination attempt. There is nothing to be bothered about. You can rest assured." the young Arkwright stated, deep respect embedded in his tone. Everyone is not ignorant of the fact that the Arkwrights aren't accustomed to familial affection like normal people, they treat each other like colleagues living in the same house and it applies to everyone even to the smallest children. But they don't force their practice on the women who enter the family by marriage and let them be affectionate as a mother.

Since the Duchess died early, that affection disappeared with her and the Household returned to how it used to be. But for Ciel, he never missed any of that love, for he was only a toddler when his mother passed, he grew up like how Arkwright men were raised and eventually forgotten about the warm voice who sang him lullabies.

"And Avy?" the Duke asked, changing Ciel's expression a little bit.

"She has become more cheerful, she smiles and laughs more often. She gets upset less and she stopped acting indifferent to everyone around her." he couldn't restrain himself from smiling as he said how much her sister has changed. He still doesn't know the reason why she slowly started acting less dejected, but he's thankful.

The Duke hummed in response, he did witness it first hand when Avy talked to him without looking down or walking away, he thought it was just on a whim, but it seems like she started treating everyone a little differently.

"She still mentions the Prince sometimes, but it was more of worrying about His Highness' well-being." Ciel added, creating a frown on the Duke's stoic face.

"Undeservingly so." he said

Hearing his words, Ciel's façade changed once again. The softness in his eyes disappeared and it was replaced with contempt.

"There is a way to cancel the engagement, right, Father? Sister hasn't turned eighteen yet, we can still–"

"I have no plans on forcing my will on your sister, Ciel. This engagement is merely a matter to introduce her to a suitable partner. Should I have known she would be acting like a fool for a man, the engagement would have been canceled long ago." That is right. It was just something they have agreed on in able to get the best candidate for Avy, they weren't really going to pursue the wedding if the Lady didn't like him. But before they could even pull her away, she was already fascinated by the Prince.

"You have the power to change that, Father! Just cancel the engagement." he didn't stop. No one in their family likes the Prince to be Avy's betrothed anyway, they have no problems about opposing the Imperial Family is it's the only means for Avy to cut ties with her obsession.

"Nonsense. Are you certain that she would stop this preposterous act once I forbid her from meeting with the prince?" the room temperature dropped along with the Duke's tone. They have been the ally of the Imperial House for hundreds of years even when the Empire was only founded, and the Emperor made a vow that if a girl is to be born in the Arkwright family, she would have the choice to be the Empress, but many time has passed but all the offspring that the Ducal house produced was all male, that was until Avy was born.

Her future was already decided by then, but as she grew up, her mother hesitated to make her the Crown Princess. Hence they made a deal, Avy can only be the Empress if she chooses the Prince to be her life partner, and the engagement should be kept hidden until her coming of age, that's enough time for her to decide if she wants to be married to the Imperial Family or not.

"That's it for today. You've done well." Duke Alton said, ending their conversation. Ciel remained silent, he's not stupid enough not to know that his sister would definitely go mad if they cancel the engagement. And no matter how much he opposed the idea of her getting married to a man who never even touched her hand, he doesn't want her to hate him, not now, not in the future.

He pursed his lips and left the study, wishing that someday, the spell that fate put on Avy would disappear.

~~~

"You don't have to go to the headquarters to avoid your training Mi'lady! We can just ask Sir Raux to move the training schedule!!" Mariel was hysterical after they went back to Avy's room and found out the reason why the lady insisted to come to the Knight HQ with the Duke.

"Gosh. Why so dramatic? I'm not gonna do anything weird in there so you don't have to worry." Avy stated as she step out of the room after changing her clothes into something more suitable for going out. Clerivan greeted them in front of her doorstep as he was the one to escort her to the carriage waiting outside the manor.

"Are you sure you want to go in that place My Lady?" were the first words that the knight said as soon as he saw his master coming out of the door, it seems like he himself is quite hesitant to just let her go with her father that easily.

"Why the hell is everyone so worried about me going somewhere with my Dad?" she scoffed in an offended manner, "Just so you know, I'm not gonna cause a ruckus in there." she told them and went off, her two servants just gazed at her exasperatedly, knowing that they wouldn't be able to get a word inside Avy's head no matter how hard they try.

"Do I really look like I would yell at anyone and stir trouble wherever I go?" Avy whispered to herself, even though the original Avy in the novel was a spoilt brat, she was never an outgoing person and always chooses to stay in a place where she's alone, hence the only scenes she read about her being a rotten girl were the scenes where she would be such trash towards the female lead. Other than that, she doesn't remember her doing something bad to anyone, maybe some occasional tantrums here and there, nothing out of ordinary for a rich girl from a powerful family.

"They weren't talking about you lashing out on anyone."

Her thoughts were interrupted when Ares' voice was heard once again.

'What do you mean?' she asked, talking to her curse servant with their telepathic connection.

"You will see once you get there." Ares stated which Avy just answered with a grunt, and continued walking until she reached a part of the mansion where there were servants working. They quickly stopped to bow in her direction when they saw her coming, and none of them were able to meet eyes with her the whole time.

"Those hateful eyes again."

"They're all the same."

"I'm lonely."

She stopped in her tracks when she remembered those words.

She turned sharply at the maids with a frown. Were they glaring at her? They must be whispering behind her back, aren't they? She felt like she was being watched with pairs of judging eyes. She felt the same as how Avy described it in her journal.

"Mi'lady?" she snapped back to reality when she heard Mariel's voice, all those messy and unsettling feelings vanished. The eyes that felt like they were piercing her skull disappeared. Were those all just inside her head?

"W-what?" she said.

"You were spacing out, Miss. Are you hurt somewhere?" Mariel said, wiping the sweat that formed on her mistress' forehead.

Avy shook her head and brushed off the thoughts, maybe playing as Avy got into her head already that she even overthink about useless things.

"Sister!!!" Light shouted energetically, waving his arms in the air as Avy walked down the grand staircase to the Entrance Hall where the two were waiting for her to arrive. They were accompanied by a couple of knights, some belonging to the Arkwright household, and the rest came from the Imperial Knight Brigade that is made to ensure that every member of the Imperial Family is safe.

"You're coming too?" Avy asked with her brows raised

"I don't want to be left alone with him all day." the prince answered pointing his thumb at Ciel who was standing a few meters away from him. The latter just glanced daggers in his direction before walking towards his sister.

"Let's go to the carriage Sister." he said, ignoring Light.

"I want to be in your carriage too!" Light commented

"No. It'll be too stuffed and sister would get uncomfortable." Ciel shut him down, surely if he was not a member of a Ducal House of Arkwright descents, he would be thrown into jail for disrespecting the Imperial House.

"Liar. Your Family Carriage is big enough to fit ten people." the young Prince retorted

"And we're wealthy enough to provide another carriage for you alone, Prince."

"Then why don't you ride on your own if you have that many carriages to give, Arkwright?"

Avy just stared at them in disapproval as if watching two little children fight over the last candy. She was about to say something to cut them off when someone did it in her stead.

"You will be riding with His Highness, Ciel." said a voice coming from the staircase, they looked at the source of the voice and saw the Duke standing on top of the stairs, coming down while fixing his cuff links.

"The Lady will be riding with Mariel." he stated, stopping the two young boys from arguing. He looked at Clerivan and spoke, "I expect you to do your job excellently ."

"Yes. Your Grace." Clerivan bowed his head, the Duke nodded at him before heading out of the estate.

Avy silently snickered at the two boys looking like dejected puppies before following the Duke. "Better luck next time." she passed through between them and patted both their shoulders.

"The Duke is scary, isn't he?" Avy said with an amused smile. "That was a compliment by the way." she added.

"His Grace prefers being organized all the time." Mariel replied.

The both of them went inside a black carriage adorned with red linings and red magic stones to ensure that the ride will be comfortable, it was indeed big, but not as fancy as the carriages owned by nobles with wealthy backgrounds.

'This family sure likes being simple and elegant, how unique.' Avy thought to herself before going inside the carriage with her maid.

The whole ride was silent since Avy just stared at the window of the carriage admiring the things they pass by, everyone who saw their carriage bowed down their heads politely with small smiles on their faces. Some greeted the knights who were riding horses to guard the people inside the carriages, it looked really peaceful.

"The Arkwright Family is really respected, huh? How ironic." she said to herself

She thought that the Arkwright Family is only powerful because they were feared, it turns out to be better than what she expected. They are respected because they are worthy of the respect that they are receiving, she wondered why the original Avy despised them so much.

The carriage stopped after a long ride, the carriage's door opened and Mariel helped Avy to come down.

"I'm hungry..." she muttered before raising her head to see what does the headquarters looks like, and she was astonished by what she saw.

It was a tall wall that was twice as tall as the estate's walls greeted her eyes, the gates were nowhere to be seen, just a big wall of metal with the Arkwright's insignia on it.

"NO NOT HERE. PLEASE. I WILL GO ANYWHERE BUT HERE!!!" she was startled by a shout of a man not too far away from where they were standing. She swerved her neck to the right and saw a couple of Knights escorting a man who looked like he would break down at any moment.

"Told you. This is not a normal Headquarters." she heard Ares' voice again.

"This is the Empire's Greatest Prison."

~~~