Avy later found out that the cat she decided to keep was a victim of mages that try to deepen their understanding of magic by experimenting on innocent animals. The dying cat, that she didn't bother to name, was found in an abandoned experimental home that was near the place where Ashton needed to visit in the country of Bergunn. The healers were able to heal its physical wounds but they weren't able to fix its broken soul that has been exposed to mana for too long, even though all of them knew it was going to die soon, they didn't leave it there and much to the young master's mercy, he decided to bring it back home.

"And also, Mi'lady. Young master reminded us to tell you that the summit will start in two weeks' time, hence you should be present in the palace with all the children of the Empire's pillars." Mariel was brushing her mistress' hair while she sat in front of the mirror, seemingly too focused on the strands of raven black seaweed-like locks that reached her waist.

She hummed, a little bit of interest in her tone. "Am I required to attend?" she asked which made her servant chuckle in response.

"Who would dare to force you, My Lady?"

Avy clicked her tongue unamused, "Sounds insulting," she spat.

Yes, who would dare to force a sick in the head daughter of a duke like her? They surely don't want to be thrown into prison for pissing off a powerful noble. Mariel must've known her answer beforehand but chose to tell her anyway, hoping that this time, she would agree considering the fact that she became less aggressive.

"It really is fine if Mi'lady doesn't attend. His grace would probably take care of the people who would question it."

Avy snickered by the thought of her father fighting all the people who asked where his daughter was. "What is he gonna do? Shut them up for the whole summit?"

She saw her maid smiling through the mirror. "For the good, perhaps. No one knows, Mi'lady."

Avy's sarcastic smile faded into a tight line. Well, that's quite concerning. Everyone knows how capable the Arkwrights are to silence a person for good. Yes, they don't have records of mercilessly killing innocent people for their own benefits, but it can also mean that they are just really good at keeping their respectable image untainted, in fact, they even have an assassin as the head chef and an equally- or maybe a lot more dangerous- old man as the head butler. The statement stands, playing in the middle of being a joke or a pure capability of them holding lives of other people in the palm of their hands.

"Fine. I'll go," she surrendered brightening up the mood of her maid even better but before she could even open her mouth to express her happiness, Avy spoke again. "But I'll go outside again. Just before I leave. And Ashton will not know."

Mariel's face became worried once again, perhaps thinking that she was planning on sneaking out alone again. Avy knew exactly what her expression meant and answered her thoughts just as immediately.

"I'll bring you and Revie along. But- we will not be going out asking for attention. Or I will just stay at home. Forever." she threatened her with a blank stare but the servant just nodded enthusiastically and said something about informing everyone that the lady will be attending the summit after a long time of avoiding social circles before speeding out of the room. Avy didn't care less and brushed it off, taking back her attention to the thing that has been occupying her mind since earlier.

Her hair.

She doesn't have any good experiences at growing her hair long. Maybe if she did, she could only remember all the bad ones. And most of all, it is and would be an inconvenience. Heck, she might even set herself on fire if she didn't take care of it soon. She stood up from her chair and went to her desk, carefully avoiding the small feline curled up into a ball that made its way next to her foot for some reason.

She searched through her things for a while before she got her hands on a pair of scissors. With a huff of satisfaction, she went back in front of her mirror to finally do the deed.

"What are you doing?"

Maybe it was because she was used to Ares talking all of a sudden without any warning, she wasn't startled when the said curse servant appeared next to her, looking at the thing she was holding in her hands.

"Cutting off some unnecessary things," she answered, parting her hair into small sections to be able to cut it neatly.

Ares didn't protest nor did he question her about cutting her hair, knowing that it was already hers and the real Avy no longer has a say in her own body. He just sat on her bed and watched, eating berries that he found somewhere in the kitchen, probably.

"By the way," Avy started, calling his attention. "I will be going out again, just like what I told you, Marie and Revie would tag along so you need to hide for a while. Remember our conversation?" she didn't look at him because she didn't need to, Ares swallowed the food in his mouth and spoke.

"Yeah. I was listening earlier when you were talking to your maid," he replied. "Do you think it will go the way you want it to?"

Avy gave him a look and answered. "It has to."

Ares didn't respond after that and just kept quiet, focusing his attention on the berries at hand while Avy was making sure that it would not be that bad to look at after she cut her own hair. She gripped the scissors steadily, looking at the mirror with no hesitation on what she was about to do.

"You know, Avy never cut her hair short," she heard Ares comment, his voice muffled after stuffing his mouth with food. He finally decided to speak up. "Just a couple of trimmings here and there," he added.

Avy didn't really want to hear any of those, maybe because she didn't want to know if hair is something important to the original owner of her new body, just like how most people are obsessed with theirs.

"Her hair is pretty and was obviously taken care of." she tried to feel empathetic but miserably failed by just keeping her attention on the scissors' place where she would cut.

"My darling's hair is the most beautiful of all."

"A-!..."

Avy suppressed a scream when she felt a stinging pain in her finger. She hissed through her teeth as the droplets of crimson liquid fell on the floor, the pair of scissors she was holding just a moment ago was discarded when an image of a woman brushing the hair of a small girl flashed inside her head. She didn't notice that her mind started to wander and accidentally cut her own finger when she was about to chop her hair off.

"What's wrong with you?" her snake servant asked but she didn't answer and just stared at the small fire that lingered on the floor for a while before vanishing without a trace, and the cut in her finger that slowly closed and healed as if it was never there in the first place.

Holy crap.

She was only supposed to be surprised by the new memory that was given to her, but it turned out to be a less important piece of information she learned at that moment. Just at that moment, because there will be another afterward.

~~~

"I didn't know it was possible."

Avy heard Clerivan mumble behind her as they walked through the busy streets of the town. She couldn't blame him, after all, she was also surprised and somewhat amazed when she first saw her own eye color turning into a completely different one. The two of them rode a simple carriage available in the estate before Avy decided to walk by foot before reaching a crowded area since she didn't want attention. Well, in her defense, even the so-called 'simple' carriage looked like it would sell for bags of gold. And that would be strange if it was not an aristocrat riding it.

And yes, there were only the two of them. At least after Mariel decided not to go after finding out that Blackwell was the name of the district that the lady was going to visit. She was sure that she heard her muttering something although she wasn't able to make up any sentences from it, the odd detail was, she looked troubled for a second before beaming an apologetic smile at her, saying that she won't be able to join them.

Their numbers threatened to increase when the two young lads volunteered to go, but there's no way Light's hair color would go unnoticed by the townfolks while Avy isn't really capable of changing someone's eye color- Ciel's eyes- hence she went against the idea of them going, much to their dismay. She could still picture their disappointed faces that looked like puppies deprived of treats, kittens drenched by the rain. In the end, she chose to only drag her knight outside the estate to stand as her guard, and as a walking assurance that she would return home safe and sound.

Avy sported a simple cream-colored dress topped with a deep brown vest with laces and a brown cloak whilst Clerivan wore a cream-colored button-up sleeved top paired with a pair of black trousers, the scabbard of his sword was attached to his belt. They both blended in quite well.

Everything went smooth, except for the fact that it should've really been her knight who wore a better disguise or just hid his face from the people.

"Sir Warde! Your knights said that you were on a vacation, what brings you here?" a cheerful voice of an elderly woman coming from a stall of fruits called the knight's name. Avy looked in the direction where she heard the voice and saw a woman with brown hair tied into a low ponytail looking at them with a wide smile.

"And who might this be? Did you already find a lover after such a long time?" the woman said teasingly, sending Clerivan a playful glance. It wouldn't be a surprise for Avy to be mistaken as someone older than her actual age, after all, she is tall and quite mature looking even as a sixteen-year-old.

"She-"

"I'm Revie's distant cousin, I just moved here from the countryside." before Clerivan could answer, Avy beat him to it, extending her hand to greet the woman with a handshake.

"Oh my, you didn't tell me that you have such a beauty for a cousin, Sir Warde. I would've offered my son as a marriage candidate." the woman chuckled, accepting the hand with a bright smile. "I'm Martha Kaelin. I've known this knight right here for years since he's been managing our district quite well," Martha said, pertaining to Clerivan.

"I'm Avy."

"What a pretty name. It is the same with Duke Arkwright's only daughter." the older woman pointed out.

Avy replied with a smile, "Yes, I've heard."

"Welcome to the capital, Avy. Although you should've chosen a safer district to move in." Martha spoke with worry, seeing the curious face that Avy gave her, she continued. " You know, this district is really dangerous even with the ravens doing their best to keep the peace. To be honest, before Sir Warde was appointed as the Knight Brigade Captain, terrible crimes happen in broad daylight because the lord who governs this part of the capital; marquis Heron, didn't take any action to solve the problem. That man is a selfish bastard, I'm telling you." the woman huffed in irritation. Avy was a little amused by how brave she spoke, knowing that she could get in trouble for talking shit about a noble.

"If the knights didn't patrol the forest after cessation, no one would've known that the animals have gone feral that they would attack any human on sight."

This statement caught Clerivan's attention, finally opening his mouth after only listening to the woman speaking. "Would you mind saying more about the incident?"

Avy kept quiet as the woman started filling them the details, knowing all too well that she's a living witness of what happened, and even a survivor.

"It seems like some crazy people entered the forest two nights ago and slaughtered the animals. The knights said it was a mage and a swordsman, or a mage who specializes in swords. It was really an awful sight." she shivered by the thought.

Martha conversed with them for a couple more minutes before they decided to go on their way, the woman gave them two bags of fruits as a welcome gift to Avy which she didn't refuse. Clerivan being stopped by some person happened a few times before they reached the restaurant where Avy left Kill a couple of nights ago.

She looked at her knight, expecting him to react, it was his sister's diner after all. But Clerivan just kept a straight face, just a hint of surprise visible in his eyes. She just shrugged it off and pushed the door, the ventilation hit her face first thing she entered.

"Avy!" a familiar voice called her name prompting her to look at the person who shouted and saw Ares walking towards her. He was wearing his usual white button up sleeve that was unbuttoned, showing his chest proudly and black pants, that again, he stole from her brother's wardrobe. Avy would never admit that he looked good in them though, or he might just stay in his human form every second of the day and annoy her until she kicks him out.

"What took you so long? What's that?" Ares quickly made his way towards her and was about to take the bag she was holding but a blade of sword stopped him in his tracks.

It was fast and swift that Avy didn't notice whathappened until his knight stood in front of her, the paper bag he was holding was already neatly laid on the floor.

"Another step closer and we might have to spill some blood." Clerivan stared coldly at Ares who didn't even look frightened at the blade pointed at his neck, instead he locked eyes with the knight and smiled in a not so friendly manner.

"I wouldn't want to spill blood too, but if you insist."



~~~

Hello it's me how are you??? I just updated so that I could shamelessly plug my new book lololol but how was this chapter? Tell me what you think! I'd also really appreciate if you gave feedback on the new book that I published. It's only a short story so please check it out!