Some people say that curiosity would kill the cat but eventually, Celia knew what she was doing. She knew that she was afraid of death but at the same time, the weight of her knowing how the novel would end, her ending as well would be near if she sticks to being Celia, the original villainess.

That’s why for the past few weeks she had stayed in the Crenst household, she learned a lot of things, as how a noble should act, etiquette lessons, the history of the empire, the servants that she had already considered friends, especially her newfound friends in the male leads.

Supposedly, she planned to escape from the main characters, to exclude herself from the plot, and yet, no matter what she did, out of her kind heart, she would never have avoided helping a young boy unconscious on the street even if she knew it would be one of the male leads.

Another thing is when she was able to help Lady Rena despite that she hated including herself in the main storyline.

All she did was help people after reincarnating to her most hated character and yet, her plans of changing her future for the better came right at her realization. She didn’t expect she would likely create a ripple effect on these men.

And at the moment, she also didn’t expect that they’ll be hiding at the darkest deepest place of the temple.

“So, is this the plan that you’re telling me?”

“Yes, and you see, I’m intelligent right?”

“What are you even trying to say young master Deim----”

“Just Deim, Celia…” for a moment, Celia narrowed her eyes. She knew they would be in danger if she kept this man doing what he wanted, yet her curiosity ran over her. Before she knew what they would be going for, they were already facing danger.

Deim’s voice sounded soft and warm, different from the rest of the tones that he managed to utter to Celia, and yet, Celia didn’t pertain to such a thing since her emotions would get a hold of her by shouting at the top of her lungs if Deim just didn’t lean in over and put his forehead to hers.

“Be quiet for a while and just trust me”

“Trust? Deim look at what that trust got us into…” Celia wanted to burst her words, but she managed to control them. Deim didn’t respond and took a minute to even processed what she just called him.

The young boy didn’t know back then that calling him by his name would be nice like this, especially for the lady that he barely knew and yet already got his attention on the day they first met.

She was the variable, the one that changed his point of view from his daily monotonous life, and probably, that’s the reason why he just can’t let her go for the time being. He keeps on reminding himself that he’s just interested in her but would that interest turn into something more? He doesn’t know.

However, right when their eyes met, his heartbeats felt stronger, louder, and hard to bear and his eyes felt like they are seeing the real lady’s beauty up close.

“Deim, get a grip of yourself and fix this mess of else, I will---”

“You will what?” The voice that sounded soft like cotton candy feels like it became even softer than before. Deim was trying to convey something other than the words he would have said to Celia.

The young lady opened her mouth, Deim waited for a few more seconds, and yet no words could come out of her mouth. It seems that she is contemplating whether to speak something or not, but she went to close her lips after all.

Though the look in her eyes didn’t show such satisfaction at all. She just narrowed them and look directly toward Deim as if she was communicating through her eyes and before Deim could get a hold of her eyeing questions, they heard the footsteps of the priests and knights coming toward their spaces

“Shit!”

“Where did you learn that word?”

“It’s not very important right now, young lady. We have to escape”

“And where would we go when you brought us in here in the first place?” Celia almost burst out if she hadn’t been able to turn her fists to knuckles. At that event, Deim sighed and put both of his hands towards Celia’s shoulders.

By then, Celia’s eyes widened after hearing what Deim had said

“This is what I heard from the nobles and I’m just thankful that I knew where the secret passage is…” While taking her hand and making a run towards the narrowest place of the temple, Deim continued with his words making Celia’s mouth turn to have wide gaps.

After a few more runs toward the place, they immediately walked through a dead end

“So, is this your plans again? Deim are you indeed failing to---” However, even before Celia could continue her words, the dead-end wall that seemed to block their way opened. Deim turned to her and removed his hands from the wall holding a piece of knight’s clothing then winked at the lady with a teasing smile.

“Are you saying something?” As if to tease the young lady even more, the wide grin present on his face became wider until Celia looked elsewhere.

“Hurry up or we’ll be discovered. This should be illegal, what you’re doing Deim”

“I know but I just couldn’t help but be curious besides, I’ll take that as an agreement that I’m cool”

“I didn’t say that”

“Well, you’re acting like I’m already cool”

“Did not”

“Who says no when you’re letting me hold you as we run?” Celia looks at him and their hands intertwined together and couldn’t help but sigh.

Well, she didn’t respond anything at all to those words that Deim said, and yet, she couldn’t help but hear how her heart skipped a beat. Was it because Deim is one of the male leads from her favorite novel? Or was it because he is handsome like the rest?

When she looked at her back even though they are just mere children, Deim had these luscious wavy silver hair, fair skin like a lady’s, and eyes that shone like ashes of the night sky. He looked like one of those dreamy young boys that every lady would want to covet.

She almost fell that the heroine got it all, wealth, status, and the love of the male leads that every lady would only dream to be in the same position as hers.

Right after they had entered long enough the place, when Celia looked back, the door that they’d entered immediately closes and the lamp from both sides of the walls appeared to lighten the surroundings. The light was warm, it was illuminating orange flickers of light like the sun and yet, Deim’s hand was tightly gripping Celia’s.

Celia’s eyebrows flinched for a second before finally widening her eyes only to feel Deim’s sturdy back on her face hitting her nose completely.

“Deim, that hurts”

“Shhh,” instead of saying sorry for the abrupt halt, Deim chose to turn his head and look at Celia who in turns remain wide-eyed. However, her vision didn’t seem to focus on the young man anymore, it is now indeed on the back of the young man, a view that she never knew even existed in the novel.

“What the hell was that?”

 

***

 

Meanwhile, within the Crenst household, the young boy with a pink hair and golden eyes like Celia was picking some roses on their household’s garden.

“Maybe, sister would like this if I gave these to her…” with those thoughts in her mind, he immediately work on a crown flower that he learned from the gossips of the maids around him.

“I know that if I bestow this crown flower to my sister, we would be inseparable and I could even marry her since we are that close!” The excitement on his voice didn’t fail him to beam like the rays of the sun, so shiny with his face expecting a future with his sister.

His face was red like tomato and even the thought of kissing her sister’s cheeks right after giving the crown flower to her head made him almost faint of a heart attack not until he heard some gasps right besides where he was.

That’s when he immediately go where the servants he thought were shocked and widened his eyes for the words he had head.

“We would be doom”

“That’s why I told you to keep a proper watch on her lady”

“Well, I want to protect the lady too but we just have a lot of work to do”

“Didn’t you all want to do this in the first place?”

“We don’t want to do this anymore since the lady had been kind and we are already the lady’s loyal allies so no matter what we already respect her”

“You respect her? But then why can’t a simple observation to where she was failed your eyes?”

“It’s not our fault, perhaps the lady is just sneaking around?”

“Well, whatever the reasons, we must find her at all costs”

“Yes, I would also do that…”

Then the rest disperse to look for Celia but then, Nether, the young boy from the household, dropped his crown flower unable to process the situation until warm tears streaming down his face.

“Sister, my sister disappeared, no my sister….” But then before he could shout, a shadow loomed over his figure until he felt warm hands to his shoulders

“Young master Nether, don’t worry, I will find your sister…”

“Jacob?”

“Yes, young master, I am…”

“Then I command you, lead the way”

“Are you coming young mas---”

“Nether, you can just call me Nether from now on, Jacob. So now, lead the way and I will never repeat this again…” with firm hands, Nether looked in front of her despite Jacob kneeling to him.

“I will never let my sister in harm. Jacob, if someone harms the one you love, wont that someone deserve to die, right?”

 

***

A person was chained and had these scars around him. His feet and hands were tied up with chains in each corner of the room and yet, Deim looked calm but Celia looked as if she’s already panicking.

“Deim, why and how did you know----”

“This? Simple, it’s because I’ve eavesdrop the nobles that day Celia. I don’t plan to endanger you but I guess we have no choice but to save this young boy”

“I know that but how could they…”

“This young boy was supposed to be a vassal for the demon but the demon rejects men they wanted a woman and for that, they keep on torturing this boy”

“But for what reasons?”

“I also don’t know, by the time I realize this, the temple indeed had this dark side”

“Then what should we do now?”