In a beautiful garden filled with red roses, there was a small greenhouse near the lake. It was full of warmth and cozy, even the pastries and teas on the table has a great aroma that gives more peacefulness in the surrounding.
Leona drank the tea on her cup and savor the slightly bitter but delicious flavor on it.
"Do you like the tea, Leona?"
Callel asked gently and smiled sweetly to Leona. He turns his head to the maid and wave his hand, the maid quickly bow down her head and left immediately.
"Yes brother, this tea is quite tasty."
Her responded and slowly put the tea back on the table.
"Leona, do you wish to have more jewelries and dresses? I can buy it all for you before you go to our grandfather's barony."
Callel said and drank his tea but his eyes was fixed into Leona's direction.
"It's fine brother, I already have so many dresses and jewelries in my closet, however, there's one thing i want to do before I left, I want to speak to father."
She fucosed her bluish eyes to Callel with an earnest gaze.
The warmth and cozy atmosphere suddenly change into a coldness ambience. Leona clearly notice the changes but she just ignored it and picked another cube of sugar and directly poured it to her cup and mixed it with a spoon.
"What would you want to tell the Duke?"
Callel.
"A deal."
"A deal? what do you mean?"
"I don't have to tell you... brother."
Leona sip her tea before smiling to Callel.
Callel's eyebrow twitched and stared intently to Leona with his sharp golden eyes. He doesn't know what was happening but the Leona in front of him is different. He can't even read what was in her mind like he used to before.
"Who are you?"
Callel suddenly asked out of nowhere that make Leona stop from moving and immediately look towards Callel with a widen eyes.
"What are you talking about brother?"
She just asked with a phony laugh.
Leona's ear jolted when she sense something from behind. She quickly jump away from the table and take the spoon with her before throwing it in a fast speed to an object that almost hit her back. It was an arrow that made of ice, the edge was so sharp but fortunately, it was destroyed by the spoon she throw earlier. Her gaze immediately fixed towards Callel who was still on his chair and nonchalantly drinking his own tea like nothing happened.
'So that's the power of winter's blessing.' She thought.
"W-what did you do?"
She asked keenly while pretending to be scared.
"I'll ask you again, who are you and where's my sister? lying to me is akin to death."
Callel crossed his legs and look down towards Leona who were still on the ground.
"The way you talk, move, and stare at me is different from her. She would never call me brother and if she drank a bitter tea, Leona would immediately throw it out. She's clingy and annoying, most of all... she never knew how to move like what you did earlier."
She gritted her teeth and glared at Callel.
'I can't act like the original Leona. Even if I already know her memories and the way she live. It's still hard for me to copy her.'
"You will never believe me even if I tell you the truth."
Leona responded and slowly stand up from the ground and wipe the dirt from her chin.
"Oh, how so?"
Callel was smiling like an innocent child before putting his hand on the table.
"Fine, I'll tell you. I'm not your sister but this body was still hers."
"I don't quite understand what your saying miss impostor."
Leona snorted after hearing the word 'Impostor' but she still explained the whole thing to Callel. Callel on the other hand was no expression on his face. He just drank his tea from time to time while listening to Leona.
"So, that's all what happened? I see."
He said with a calm manner and clasp his hand to each other. He look towards Leona and stared at her intently before leaving her alone in the garden without a word.
Leona was staring blankly at the air. She felt completely confused and complicated.
'What was that?' She asked confusedly to herself and look towards the lake. She sighed heavily and closed her eyes slowly.
"Now that I think about it, my senses and Leona's senses are rather similar or rather, it is because I am now the current Leona?" She opened her bluish bright eyes and lift her right hand to ate a cookie that made in peanut and milk.
"It's sweet..."
—
"We're here!"
Blue excitedly blurted while they're hiding in a tree branches. They were surprised by the massive castles that even the Disneyland Castle will be ashamed to be compared. It was known to everyone that the Avella Duchy has the third on having a luxurious lifestyle and state.
"Wooah! even my father's castle can't hold a candle on this freaking house!"
"Heh! This is on another level of richness!"
"It's still a day, we should wait until midnight. Also, don't forget that this world has a peculiar magic tools or Whatnots... we have to be more careful!"
Violet said while leaning her back on a tree.
The information they have gathered when they're in capital was accurate. It was two days and a half when they arrived in the Northern territory which the Avella Duchy resided. The magic carriage's energy stone that was used as fuels are already used up and nothing left. It was said that energy stone is one of the most important resources in the whole continent. Energy stone was used in magic carriages, transient vision (More like videocall on earth), and many more.
"I'm hungry, I hope Leader have many foods..."
Red said with a small voice while cleaning her dagger with a towel.
"You're such a glutton Red— Oh shit! there's a handsome person walking in the castle!"
Yellow abruptly said and almost falls down from her position where she was sitting on a branch next to Blue.
"What? a handsome man again? Almost all noblemen you see in the capital are handsome. You're worst Yellow!"
Green sneers.
"Well, you can't blame me... even my so-called brothers here in this world are so handsome. But that man now is almost a god-like cheat handsome! Silver hair with a golden eyes, damn! his tied long hair and long proud nose, his cool aura is amazing. I wonder what it feels like to lean on his broad shoulder—"
"Yellow stop it!"
Violet interrupted her speech and snorted after throwing a small stone on Yellow's head.
"Ehem, sorry I got carried away... anyway, from what I heard, Avella Family has their own unique appearance and it was having a silver hair. Now that I see it in person, it really is awesome! I'm tempted to touch it!"
Yellow added while giggling.
"Now that you describe him, I think his appearance is bit familiar. You see, we're just an extra characters inside the story of a novel made by Kath. Malia is the name of the Female lead while the Male lead is the Crown prince. The story mentioned about the features of the second male lead, He was known as Callel. The second son of a Duke and an entrepreneur man with a merchant minded person. He has a silver long hair with a golden eyes and an appearance that was comparable to a divine beings... I think he's that man."
Violet explained while starring intently to Callel who was casually walking alone in a hallway.
Everyone was stunned and silence immediately envelope the atmosphere. They seem to remember some part of the stories in the Novel but some of them only read Chapters below 5. They're busy with their own lives when they're out in the organization, that even reading a book is a nuisance to them.
In prologue and epilogue, Malia. The female main character was an orphan came from a certain orphanage. She was adopted by a noble couple and take her as their own daughter. Malia is so beautiful that some even says that her beauty was beyond everyone's reach that can be compared to the Avella family's blessing from God of Winter. The only different is her green like forest hair. Not long after, the noble couple who adopted Malia found out that, Malia has a strange blessing. Healing. That was when the pope from the Holy church revealed his premonition to everyone, that even the Imperial family was shaken by its information. Malia is a Holy saint and a disciple of the God of life.
Being blessed and being a disciple of a God is different. Blessing is where a God bestowed a person a power to used as his/her own that can be pass through generation to generation, While being a Disciple of a God is the most honorable title in the whole continent. Meaning, you have the privilege to use the power of the God who protected you as long as you want, however, it depends on the God if she/he will give you limitations and you'll live a longer life than a normal person.
Malia's power is a Healer. She can heal any deceases and sometimes can bring back a life of a person. She was so useful especially in the war against demons, that was why people keep praising her as their savior. Because of her unwavering kindness to people, many men was captivated by her and her beauty. One of them are the Crown prince and the genius bachelor, second son of a Duke from North, Callel Avella.
However, Callel began to notice his feelings to Malia until it become an obsession. During the war between humanity and demons, Callel died just by saving her from a curse. He sacrificed himself and choose to divert the demon's curse through him and pushed Malia behind to protect her until the end.
"Hah, poor man. Even though his obsessed to her, he still save her unselfishly."
Yellow commented and sighed heavily.
"Well, you can save him if you want."
Green said sarcastically.
"In the end, what happened between Malia and the Crown Prince?" Red curiously asked.
"They live happily ever after, of course. The epilogue say so."
Violet responded while peeling an apple.
"I'll sleep for awhile, just wake me up if midnight arrives okay?"
"Alright..."
"Aye! aye!"
"fine."
—
Drazel look towards the door when he heard a knock and immediately opened it widely. The only one who appears before his eyes is Callel, who have an unpleasant vibe in his aura. Callel's forehead furrows when he frowned and step inside Drazel's room. Earlier between him and Leona's encounter but he still can't believe what he have seen.
"What happened?"
He asked while walking back to his desk beside the bed and picked up some papers.
Drazel was somewhat annoyed by Callel's presence and shook his head lightly. He was busy reading some information about their knights that can guard Leona until she arrives at their grandfather's Barony. He's making sure about Leona's safety and needs for travelling in case she might wants something.
"She's so strange lately."
Callel murmured but Drazel still heard what he said.
"What do you mean strange?"
"She told me something... She said, she's not Leona."
Drazel suddenly stopped scanning the paper on his hand and immediately look towards Callel with a sullen gaze and said "What? How's that possible? Well, I know sometimes cloning someone is possible but... whenever I see her, I can sense her presence and body, she really is Leona."
"Yeah, that's what I saw too but the Leona now is different, s-she even called me brother instead of 'My sweet bro.' She can even avoid my attacked from her back and the most unbelievable thing is... She quickly throw a spoon through my freezing arrow! She's not clingy anymore! And I don't want that!"
Callel exclaimed and his face darkened.
He was astonished and worried at the same time because of her sister's sudden behavior. Of course, he didn't believe of what Leona said earlier. They have the same blessing and blood, that was why he was sure that her sister was just bluffing to gain his attention. Moreover, he thought that Leona was probably worried for her departing two days from now.
"What the hell? You attacked Leona?"
"Yes, but it's just—"
"You! Do you want to die?!"
"Hey, I'm just proving something about her sudden changes okay? Also, that attacked was not even dangerous because I'm controlling my blessing's well but surprisingly... Leona attacked back!"
Drazel's sharp eyes was like stabbing Callel's face by its strong gaze. Callel swallowed his own saliva and lift his both arms just like a suspect surrending to a police.
"You better watch your actions next time, Leona might misunderstood the situation."
Drazel seriously said and walked back to his desk and sat again.
"So, did you find someone great today?"
Callel asked and sat on a red soft couch next to Drazel.
"I found four knights. Their skills are good, the backgrounds is good and their loyalty is not bad but I'm still observing their attitude. I won't let anyone look down on our Leona."
"Hmm, that's great but you know... Our grandfather doesn't have a child other than our mother, I think someday Leona will be chosen as his next heir to the barony."
"That also said, Leona will not an Avella anymore if she'll become a Baroness."
Callel was contemplating whether to say something or not but in the end, he just shrugged his shoulder and shut his mouth.
They already know from the start that their mother is just an adopted daughter of an unknown baron. Even before their father, Duke Zareff and their mother, the late Duchess met. Their mother was known for being strangely beautiful that makes anyone who glimpse at her adored her very much. She have a black hair with a silver color on the edge of its strand that was rare from the continent. Her bluish eyes that sometimes would bright if she's happy like what Leona has. Their mother was strange that even their father and the two siblings except Leona can't understand her strangeness. Even before they were little, before Leona go to sleep. Their mother would chant some foreign words to Leona's ears every night that the two brothers was now accustomed to their mother's behavior. They even thought that the Duchess was a witch but they immediately erased it from their minds when they saw their mother's kindness to everyone. From the household workers to commoners, she was described as a saintess. For the nobles, she was called as a perfect Duchess because of her good temperament, she's gentle and elegant, and also have a modesty that even sometimes compared to the Queen.
"Being a Baroness isn't a bad idea, the most important is that... we will support her no matter what happened. I don't know what the Duke's planning but if it'll hurt our little sister, then, I will not forgive him."
Callel said and look towards the door.
"The Emperor held a meeting with the Heads of all noble households especially the four powerhouses. I think it was related about the upcoming war between demons and humans. Father will be busy again protecting the boarder."
Drazel was writing while speaking to his brother. He too, doesn't even know what was happening between father and their grandfather. They just know that the Duke's request for Leona's exiletion through the Baron's remote region territory was agreed. The Duke didn't even bother to explain to them the reason.