[A/N: This chapter is subject to change as it has not yet been revised. Keep that in mind as you read it.]
[A/N II: I'll try to publish more 1-2 chapters 'till 11 am (US Hour!), so stay tuned!]
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A full day had passed since Alicia had arrived at the Barastrosa mansion, but the commotion among the servants still wasn't over.
''Have you seen how she's matured? This girl gets prettier with every passing year!" The women commented shamelessly.
''It's an honor to have someone of her level hanging around our house, especially at a time like this.'' The others commented openly.
Many of them were happy with the arrival of the girl, whom they had known since she was little, due to Duke Julius himself having taken her in as a student when she was only 14 years old, when he witnessed her abnormal talent.
Furthermore, the crucial factor in the excitement of the house's servants wasn't necessarily her talent, but the fact that, even though she graduated from the prestigious Knights Academy — which was second only to Brivid Academy — she was a commoner who rose to the top, obtaining the title of 'Knight'.
It was a rare thing to see, even in a vast world filled with magic and talented people like Keishin.
"When will lunch be ready, Miss Dorothy?" Lughys asked, sitting in one of the comfortable chairs in the dining room. ''Honestly, I'm hungry.''
Putting the book he was reading aside, the boy directed his eyes towards the tall woman, standing in front of another small figure on the other side of the gigantic dining table.
There, talking quietly to Jasmine, she seemed distracted and didn't hear Lughys' question. The boy sighed, knowing there was nothing he could do when it came to Jasmine.
Not caring about anything else, he clapped his hands together, making a high-pitched sound rumble through the hall.
The girl and the middle-aged red-haired woman fell silent, looking back at the brown-haired child.
''Well, now you hear me. I apologize for intruding on your heated conversation, but could you let me know when lunch will be served, please?"'
He shook his head smugly, making the yellow and red strands sway, falling in front of his forehead.
''I want to enjoy the day still. The teacher gave me this break, so I won't waste it just sitting here, you understand?'' He finished his speech, smiling strangely.
The thought of enjoying his time off wasn't really going through his head, it was just a facade.
After all, even though Alfred had told him to get as much rest as he could, as the next day would be full of difficult practical activities, the boy didn't plan on loafing around.
On the contrary, he continued to study, albeit in a reduced form so as not to tire his mind too much.
''Oh sure, young master.'' The red haired housekeeper said. ''Lunch is almost ready, and it will probably be served to both of you in five minutes.''
The woman turned to Jasmine once more, after the girl gave her sleeve a few light tugs.
Their lips moved, bumping against each other, but the murmurs had been so low that Lughys was unable to understand what the two were talking about.
Dorothy nodded in agreement, stating something in a low voice to Jasmine.
'What are they talking about so eagerly?' Lughys wondered inwardly, fingering his own chin.
The girl smiled, and the woman's expression was one of confusion, but her face turned slightly red before she opened her mouth once more.
"Well... Uhh... I'll have to go away for awhile now." She said.
The woman, then, discreetly shot a lot of embarrassed glances in Lughys' direction.
''So, see you later, Young Master and Young Miss.''
The two children watched the tall red-haired woman patiently leave the room.
Within seconds her broad back was gone, after she walked through a wooden door that led to the nearby kitchen.
The two still present in the room soon darted their gazes at each other, staring at each other with impassive expressions as cold as Mount Everest on their faces.
''So how are classes with Mr. Weathers going?'' Jasmine started the conversation, surprising Lughys. ''He can be really weird at times, but that's part of it. Maybe with time you'll get used to it.''
The little brown haired boy didn't answer her right away, deep in thought.
'Why is she talking to me so directly?' He thought.
Things in the weeks that had passed since he'd regained his memory, and also since he'd been adopted by Duke Julius, had been good in many ways, but nothing close to 'good' when it came to his relationship with Jasmine.
Even after hundreds of his attempts to try to get her attention in a good way, Jasmine simply treated him with disdain, mostly hurling insults openly and sneering at him.
She was extremely arrogant. So it was hard to form any kind of relationship with the damn girl.
However, now she was trying to get closer to him, for some unknown reason?
This was definitely weird.
"His classes are actually interesting. And although he's kind of weird, I wouldn't say it's difficult or anything."
Sipping what appeared to be juice or something similar from an exquisitely shaped glass set on the dining table, the boy continued.
"I mean, I'm not going to be arrogant and admit that they're easy, but I can't say they're complicated either. Understand?"
"Yes, yes." The girl replied, taking a sip from another glass on the table.
Talking to the girl seemed to make Lughys have an epiphany.
'Has fate finally smiled on me?'
If Lughys remembered properly, even though Jasmine was just a villain with few lines of dialogue in the original plot, her story had been fleshed out by the author personally on forums.
She was one of the main villains and yet she didn't have as many lines of dialogue as Taliyah and the others.
The reason for the author's personal explanation?
Well, for some reason that Lughys didn't know, the girls who played TWOF had a crush on Jasmine and her attitudes.
So there was a door for change.
Basically, as he was a long way from the beginning of the original plot — about nine years and a few months until then — it was likely that things weren't going to go in the way he originally predicted to be.
That is, Lughys could assume that Jasmine Barastrosa wasn't a villainess yet.
She was on her way to becoming one, though. That was more evident than spilled milk on a kitchen floor.
Anyway, the reason Jasmine Barastrosa would become such a terrifying — and easily dismissed — villain was because her life had been marred by tragedy.
She would later lose her aunt and clearly, like her mother, would blame Lughys and Julius for that.
In fact, coupled with the fact that she had been through other traumatizing times, it was obvious that she would become a villain — but was that all?
The boy personally didn't think so and so did the fanfic makers.
What Lughys had been able to conclude from the information he had obtained in his past life was that Jasmine had been influenced by both her mother and her aunt – before the latter's death.
Also, Jasmine, even though she was a villain, had an interesting story, in his opinion.
And yes. Though he didn't like to admit it, Lughys had read that forum shit, in the end — it had been inevitable with Diana's pressure.
The amazing thing was that, surprisingly, this had come to be of use to him recently.
'She looks quite different still. Maybe there is still salvation.' He thought, seeing her comment on the classes.
It might not seem like that, but only a few seconds had passed.
"Looking at it from another perspective, it's hard to deal with him sometimes."
"Sincerely, I know what it's like."
For starters, if Lughys were going to compare the Jasmine from the game to the current one, then the brown-haired boy could say the one in front of him was like an angel.
But if things went as the plot had established, then it was likely that she, Jasmine, would transform into someone different in the blink of an eye.
It would be a full turn change.
Anyway, the boy didn't just think she wasn't a villain now, he was sure of it.
He couldn't state for sure what would explicitly turn her into an idiotic villainess, but since he had some prior knowledge, that was enough.
Besides, she still hadn't met Taliyah.
Her supreme object of envy and anger, which she would blame for all the misfortunes that had happened in her life.
Yea. He knew it was very cliché, so what?
So, bearing all that in mind, he would just deter her thoughtless interest and hatred on him by being responsible and noble, showing that he actually wasn't as bad as she thought.
A calm, impassive approach, a little gentle, just like Julius. That was a good option of approach.
At least it didn't hurt to try.
"See, if it becomes difficult to talk to Professor Winthers, do this…"
Their small figures, previously seated in chairs relatively far apart, gradually approached without them noticing at all.
At the same instant, their little arms and legs, engulfed in expensive aristocratic clothes, swayed this way and that as they babbled about various subjects with very serious expressions for their respective ages.
So, without noticing time passing, Lughys and Jasmine, for the first time, didn't look like mortal enemies, talking like siblings normally would.
''My God...''
''What's happening? Is this real?''
''I think we're all dead... This can only be an illusion.''
However, even though they didn't believe their own eyes, the servants and rulers of the mansion, mostly hidden in the kitchen, did not dare to disturb the spectacular scene that, that afternoon, unfolded before their eyes.