A week had passed and now, the crown prince was gazing at the stunning brightness of the moonlight. The rays beam toward his figure but he didn’t mind it at all, instead, his hands went to the huge window glass of his room and formed tight fists. His eyes narrowed with his creased eyebrows. Still, he couldn’t forget how Elmias had gathered his observation within the given time he had ordered him

“Y-Your highness, I shall have my report now on the Lady of the Crenst Household,” the servant said earlier while kneeling. Then he stood as he picked a paper from his pocket and read aloud his observation.

"Go on,” The crown prince said while narrowing his eyes. He was sitting on his chair earlier that seemed to fall if it weren’t for his feet on top of the table while his fingers intertwined with each other.

“Y-Your highness, to my observation, Lady Celia Crenst had been quiet for a few days. She had been mostly staying in her household while talking nicely to the servants. She hasn’t done anything to discredit or bully her servants anymore. Even her brother, the young master of the Crenst household seemed to like his sister now. However,” Elmias paused which narrowed the crown prince’s eyes once more, yet Eran never spoke. ELmias gulped while his hands were shaking then he gazed toward the crown prince once more before continuing with his words

“I-It seems as if some rumors about her changing for the better had been spreading fast within the noble household,” Elmias was about to continue his words but he was immediately interrupted by the crown prince

“Hmm, is that so? Interesting, go on,” Eran spoke but this time, he seemed to be encouraging Elmias more with his words. Elmias creased his eyebrows and gulped with shaking hands but he had no choice but to report what he had gathered, besides, the crown prince might be still a small young boy but he seemed to have a mind of an adult and that’s making the old servant seemed to tremble

“Y-Your highness, it seemed that the rumors spread quickly because some nobles saw how Lady Celia ordered one of her knights to carry an unconscious boy from the streets and her servants were also the ones that spread rumors of her kindness to other noble household servants”

“You say she claimed a lost boy is that it?”

“Y-Yes, your highness, it seems like the young b-boy is heavily injured and bloodied at that time based on my inquiries to others,” Eran nodded when Elmias said those words, however, the young crown prince couldn’t even stop himself from grinning ear to ear

“Alright, I know what I want you to do, Elmias, and this time, don’t ever fail to send my invitation to the Lady of the Crenst household. I want her to be my partner on my birthday,” Eran spoke but the tone of his voice seemed as if he could kill the lady instead of making her his partner

‘Being a curious cat isn’t bad at first, right?’ Eran thought while his eyes couldn’t stop themselves from narrowing

“Y-Yes, your highness,” the servant said and respectfully bow before Eran ushered him to leave now, the crown prince is all alone in his room once more. That’s when he went to his window and clenched his hands into fists

“Indeed, you’ve been a different lady this time, Lady Celia. Interesting…”

***

“A-Ach----” Celia was about to sneeze but because something caught her eyes, she only felt as if her eyes started to swell with the pain of not completing her sneeze at all. Shaking her head, she put her blanket close together to her shoulders as she went for a walk in the middle of the night

She couldn’t sleep and every time she forced herself to sleep, her eyes couldn’t even close themselves so she only shook her head and decided to take a walk to her household’s garden

She even thought that she still hasn’t adjusted to her stay in a foreign land with a foreign body that she reincarnated into however, it seems like it’s contrasting her view since she was fast asleep the first day of being Celia and it’s just suspicious to her that right now, she couldn’t asleep as if someone was talking to her when she almost sneezes earlier

‘Get a grip of yourself, Anna! You are now Celia so you need to properly act like a lady and stop yourself from your impending second death, right?!’

Having to slap both of her cheeks gently, she even shake her head and closed her eyes but then, they suddenly opened wider when she heard a burst of unexpected laughter behind her when she turned around, she couldn’t stop smiling this time

“There you are, Jacob…” she said softly and the young boy returned her smile with a wink instead. For the few pew days that the silver-haired young boy stayed in their household, Celia made him her friend and she succeeded.

Unlike the original lady of the household, Anna, who became Celia, interrogated him nonstop after he had been healed from his wounds, she even gave him his name according to the novel but that was because she wanted to make the young boy turn to be a good friend to her according to her plans and she was doing well with it

She only doesn’t know if it will all change if he or the other male leads will meet the heroine, the destined partner of the male leads. However, she’s already prepared if that is to happen

“What are you even doing here in the middle of the night, Celia,” yes, the young boy called the lady of the Crenst household by her name not because he wasn’t respecting her but because it was what the young lady wanted. Just hearing her name be spoken by Jacob made her heart feel warm

“I’m just taking a walk in the garden since I can’t sleep,” Celia spoke averting her eyes from the young boy and looking at the view in front of them. The breeze was cold and it indeed blew some parts of the young lady’s hair that Jacob could even smell the scent emanating from the lady. For a moment, he thought as if his heart had leaped to normal beating and his face became red

‘What am I thinking?! Get a grip of yourself, Jacob!’ This time, it was Jacob’s turn to remind himself since he couldn’t understand what he was feeling toward the lady. He knew that he shouldn’t have feelings for her, but who wouldn’t when she just saved her life when he nearly died out of anger? Who else would be so nice other than her lady who had also argued with her parents to let him be a knight of the household? Only Lady Celia would be that’s why he suddenly averted his sweet gaze from the lady to the ground until he heard her soft chuckles

“Jacob, are you alright?” Celia went near Jacob and look at his face only to see that his face is red. It made the lady crease her eyebrows for a second before widening her eyes

“Perhaps, you’re ill, again?”

“Milady----” Jacob wasn’t able to finish his words when suddenly, Celia moves her hand to the young boy’s face and finally landed on his forehead. She could even see how his ears are all red, but all Celia wanted is to know if Jacob is fine since he just caught a fever a few days ago. She also did this that very same day when they first introduce each other, thinking the young boy had a fever and he truly did.

After finding that he didn’t have any fever at all, Celia heaved a long sigh before looking at the red face of the young boy.

“Jacob, I’m glad you’re fine now,” Celia said with meaning in her words and Jacob nodded slowly before gulping. It even took him a few more minutes before he finally manages to speak

“O-Of, course Celia, now we should head back. It seems that the morning is about to come. Here take this,” Jacob said and handed her a small rabbit doll. It was fluffy when Celia tried to softly squeeze it on her hands

“What is this?”

“Well, I forgot to tell you but it’s a thank-you gift. Might as well save yourself some nightmares if you always sleep with it,” Jacob said but this time, he wasn’t looking at the lady but gazing somewhere else

Celia on the other hand only smiled and said her thanks to the young boy who accompanied her to her room.

‘Well, I guess I can finally be at ease since Jacob is a very nice guy after all. It only takes time for him to open his whole heart to me but I know that I can trust him now because we made a promise to each other’

“Good night, my lovely friend, Celia”

“Good night my knight in shining armor”

The two laughed for a while before Jacob started talking normally once more and winking at the lady before waving his hands while walking in the opposite direction

Celia smiled and did the same until she finally went to her room and lean her back on the door. She looked at the rabbit doll that Jacob gave her and she unconsciously smiled as she went to her room eventually, she indeed fell asleep in an instant

***

Seven days ago

“M-Milady I think you should see the guest,” Lina said as she went to the lady’s room. The lady was already in a dress since she was about to have her breakfast in the dining area alone since the Duke and the Duchess had somewhere they went to.

However, just before opening the door, Lina had already opened it but she was already breathing hard with her hands on her knees as she looked at the lady horrified as if she had only seen something terrible that made the lady crease her eyebrows

“Why? What happened Lina?” Curious, Celia asked as she guided Lina to take a seat, but the maid only gulped and bowed respectfully to decline Celia’s offer. In that, Celia’s eyes narrowed but they eventually widened the moment that Lina started saying the words in a horrified tone

“M-Milady, the guests are out of control. He’s shouting at the maidservants and eventually, he’s throwing vases and glasses on the door so everyone shut it

‘Jacob did that? Well, in the novel, that didn’t even happen!’ Celia didn’t have any choice but to eventually come towards the guest room where Jacob was staying and there, they found that the door is closed but there were shouts and sounds of broken things inside

“Lina, don’t bother to ask now but get me an axe, now!”

“B-But Milady---”

“Please Lina, don’t worry, I’ve got it under control. I promise you all right?”

“Y-Yes…” Lina didn’t have any choice but to eventually go and claim an axe from the gardening tool the gardener had and brought it to the lady. The servants were in wide eyes and opened mouths when they witnessed what the lady did. She only broke the door and the light went on in the darkroom

There, they heard a crying sound of a child

“Leave me alone! Who are you all?! I don’t even know all of you!” The young boy said as he stayed sitting with his arms wrapped around his knees.

Celia didn’t hesitate to come into the room

“M-Milady!!!” The maids shouted and even Lina was worried but the lady ushered them to stay in their place as she went to the young boy

“Hi…” she started but the young boy didn’t seem to respond instead she began crying once more until he felt two warm hands touch either side of her shoulders

“I’m sorry if we suddenly took you into our household without your permission but please, we don’t hold any ill intention towards you or anyone else. We’re good people,” Celia explained and tried to smile at the young but the young boy was about to shove her hands when a sword suddenly pointed at his neck and a huge shadow covered the lady

“Please Milady, stand back. We don’t know if this boy will not harm you in his situation”

“Sir Ruel?” The knight’s sword was near the young boy’s throat only one wrong move, he could slice it effortlessly

“Please spare the young boy, he’s only lost and please understand him”

“But if the duke and duchess know of this---”

“They’ll understand Sir Ruel,” Celia looked once more at the knight before heaving a sigh since he put his sword back at his waist but the young boy seemed to be terrified with his trembling body. The knight instead, narrows his eyes on the young boy before nodding and closing his eyes for a moment and going beside the young lady

“If Milady says so,” Sir Ruel had her temper but the moment the young boy harm the lady, he will never forgive even if his opponent is only a young boy

Celia went to the terrified boy and kneel in front of him as she wiped some of his tears with her handkerchief

“Don’t cry, we’re good people, see?” Celia smiled and after wiping the young boy’s tears she asked him the words that made the young boy’s eyes widened

“We saved you from death in the street and return, I’m not asking much but if this household will be attacked someday, please protect us, everyone one of us, alright?”

“What’s that?” the young boy asked after calming down because the lady seemed to reach her pinky hand to him. Celia smiled at first before answering him

“It’s a pinky swear since it’ll be our promise. Other than that, do you have a name?”

“N-No. I don’t have any,” the young boy averted his eyes as he looked at the lights beaming from the window of the room.

Celia heaved a sigh for a moment before nodding

“Alright, then from now on, please let me give you a name,” the young boy widened his eyes but he never turned his gaze toward the young lady instead, the young lady was the one who held both of his cheeks and said some words calmly that made the heart of the young boy beat harder than before

“Jacob, from now on you’ll be named Jacob, and it means a mighty warrior who will win every war he will manage to fight,” however after saying those words, it’s only a second before seeing the young boy smiled and eventually falling to the lady’s arms. When she tried to put her hand on his forehead, that’s the time she heaved a sigh

“He’s ill, Sir Ruel please help me take him to another guest and tell everyone to keep what happened here a secret from my parents,” the knight seemed to contemplate whether to accept the lady’s orders but when he looked at Lina, she seemed worried at the lady which means he nodded afterward

“Yes, Milady I will,” the young boy was rescued by Sir Ruel as they put him in another room while Celia looked at the window for a second before smiling

‘This will be a new beginning to my peaceful life. A beginning which the original villainess failed to do’

Two days passed and the two became closer but one young boy was eventually getting jealous of how his sister was paying much more attention to an unknown stranger than her own brother so one night Nether confronted Jacob

“Why do you always stay with my sister, huh? You’re just a commoner who happened to catch her eye!” The young boy shouted toward Jacob but instead of responding in an angry tone, Jacob only heaved a sigh and then looked at the young boy in front of him who was currently gripping his small pants while crying and biting his lower lips

“It’s because I made a promise to your sister that’s why I can’t stay away from her,” Jacob truthfully said that startled the young boy but still, he was glaring at him.

“P-Promise?” The young boy asked while he was surprised. The grip he’s making on his small pants suddenly loosened

“You want to know?” Jacob said anticipating how eager the young boy but he only pouts while glaring at the young kid in front of him only giving no response at all

“Alright,” Jacob sighed with a pause before speaking the words that made the young boy calmer

“I promise to save this household in return for saving me so don’t speak ill of her because she’s a nice person, alright?”

“I didn’t say anything ill to my beloved sister I admired her a lot—no, I just not only admire her but I love her,” the moment Nether said those words, Jacob already know what the young boy meant but manages to blink them away

“Then if you love her, be a good brother and don’t cause her any trouble alright?”

“What’s that?” Just like on that very first day they met, the young boy chuckled after hearing Nether question him

“It’s a pinky swear so you won’t make your sister worried about you, alright?”

“What am I supposed to do with this?” Nether asked and Jacob guided him until they locked their fingers

“There, now you have a promise,”

“I have?”

“Yes, and you wouldn’t break it because you said you love your sister, right?”

Nether’s face reddened as he looked to the ground and after a few moments he said some words that he never expected to say

“I-I’m sorry for also causing you trouble this time. I-I guess I’ve misunderstood you.” Jacob chuckled and patted Nether’s head and eventually said his name

“Let me formally introduce myself, I’m Jacob, and nice meeting you young master Nether Crenst,” Nether eventually smiled at the young boy after calming his expression and hugged him

"From now on, would you also become my friend, Jacob?”

That night signals a new bond that happened between the two

Until the present night

Jacob looked at his hands and put them on his chest as he looked at the shining moonlight beams in his window

At that moment, he unconsciously smiled while imagining that the one he was looking at is the lady herself smiling at him.