A/N: In case you haven't noticed, yes, I updated TWO chapters today to celebrate the holidays~
So, please remember to read the chapter I updated before this one~
The total words for both of these chapters was a little under 10,000...so please enjoy reading both of them! (or else all my hours of editing would go to waste...)
Alright, enjoy this extra chapter!
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One Year Ago (When Cordelia Was 14 Years Old)
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Third-Person POV
It was snowing the day before New Year's Eve.
Cordelia's family had just enjoyed a warm Christmas with hot cocoa and presents worth more than your bank account.
After such an enjoyable Christmas, Cordelia had spent the week lazing around and eating every seasonal dessert she could.
But, unlike how relaxed Cordelia was, the boys had a big pressuring matter on their hands.
"Guys...We have a problem," Florence, the young prince of our nation, said as he smashed his cup of hot cocoa down onto the table for a dramatic effect.
"Duh, we already know," Ash, our protagonist's older brother, groaned.
"Ugh...I get that you hate me, but just listen for a second," Florence irritatedly grunted.
"Excuse me for interrupting, young master and your highness, but I don't understand why you guys are having such a difficult time with this...I personally prefer it this way...It makes the game so much more...enthralling," Grey, the evil servant, smiled with ecstasy written all over his face.
"...Not everyone is like you, Grey. Some of us just don't have the patience for this," Florence sighed in frustration.
"Stop rambling and just cut to the chase," Ash finally snapped.
"Fine. Listen...at first, I didn't think it'd be too big of a problem...but I think...Cordelia is just a little...too dense. Like...she isn't just dense...but she's dense. Like super dense," Florence groaned.
All three of the boys sighed.
"It's like there's a black hole in her brain. Everything we say or do just gets sucked up in there somewhere and disappears..." Ash muttered.
"Every time I tell her that I love her, she always assumes I'm lying," Florence sighed with a smile.
"At least you can tell her you love her. Every time I try to say it, I choke up and the words don't properly leave my mouth..." Ash sighed as he slammed his head onto the table.
"Aww...Looks like the sister-complexed brother can't tell his own sister how much he loves her~" Florence teased.
"...Say another word and I'll kill you," Ash said threateningly while staring daggers at Florence.
"Forgive me for interrupting again, but I think Cordelia is fine the way she is. Last week, I told her, 'I'd like to compliment your beauty today, milady,'" Grey said with a smirk.
"How did she respond?" Florence asked with curiosity.
"She spat out the tea I gave her and started screaming, 'DID YOU POISON MY TEA?! OH MY GOD, AM I GOING TO DIE?! OR MAYBE...ARE YOU PLANNING WORLD DOMINATION?!' It was quite thrilling to see the fear in her eyes," Grey grinned softly as he imitated Cordelia.
"Hahaha..." Florence chuckled.
"Hahaha..." Grey chuckled along.
"...Okay, let's not get side-tracked guys! We're starting to get off-topic," Ash interrupted.
"Yes...As I was saying earlier, Cordelia is way too dense that I'm not sure any of us have a chance with her..." Florence said as he suddenly became serious.
"We need to get our feelings to her somehow," Ash said as he also became serious.
"Hmm...This sounds fun...May I join in too...?" Grey asked as he also became invested in what they were talking about.
"I was thinking...about turning this whole situation into a competition..." Florence said with a grin.
"Huh? What do you mean by that...?" Ash asked as he was suddenly intrigued.
"Well...I think it'd be fun to see who could get Cordelia to say, 'I love you,' back to them tomorrow during New Year's Eve..." Florence described.
"That's...it? Why don't we have a competition to see who can confess their feelings to her first without her misunderstanding? I think that'd be better," Ash intercepted with good reasoning.
"I...thought about that too for a while...but then I realized that it'd be an impossible mission. I doubt that the dense brain of her's would be able to comprehend any form of confession..." Florence sighed.
"...That's true...she's hopeless..." Ash agreed.
All three of them sighed again.
"But at least it should be possible to get her to say, 'I love you,' to any one of us," Florence continued.
"...Fine. I'll play along with this game of yours," Ash agreed.
"Grey? How about you?" Florence asked.
"Haha...This game isn't my style, but I'd love to see her say, 'I love you,' with her eyes in pain...so I'll go along with you two," Grey agreed with a smile.
Both Florence and Ash shuddered.
The two of them rarely agreed on anything, but at this moment, they both shared the same thought.
"He's insane..." Florence and Ash thought in their heads.
"Haha...I thought I was someone who loved seeing Cordelia being teased...but you're on a whole nother level...Grey..." Florence chuckled.
"Haha...you're kidding with me. You enjoy seeing Cordelia's reactions when she gets scared too, right?" Grey chuckled along too.
"Well...I'm not going to lie. I do. But, I prefer seeing her face become as red as a strawberry. Her embarrassed face is truly...adorable..." Florence said with a dark smile.
"Yes...her expressions are really...fascinating..." both Florence and Grey said out loud at the same time.
This time, only Ash shuddered.
"They're both insane..." Ash thought to himself.
"A-Anyway, from this point on until the new year, we'll be going our separate ways," Ash said as he changed the conversation.
"Yes...Although, we all know that in the end...I'll win. She's my one-and-only toy after all," Florence smiled.
"Try me, little brat. There's no way I'm going to lose to you," Ash said with his own smile.
"Hahaha...It's cute watching both young master and your highness struggle..." Grey chuckled.
"Game on," the three of them said with dark smiles on each of their faces.
And this was the start of what would be a very long day for Cordelia.
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New Year's Eve
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Cordelia woke up to the crisp air of a winter's day.
When she opened her eyes, she nearly screamed.
Caging her on both sides with his arms and legs, was the blonde prince.
"WHAT THE HECK?! GET OFF OF ME!" Cordelia yelled as she attempted to push Florence away.
Unfortunately for her, she had just woken up, so she had very little strength.
Besides, Florence had the strength of a hundred men...so escape was impossible.
"Good morning, my cute little fiance," Florence said as he gave Cordelia a small kiss in her forehead.
They were in a misunderstandable position on her bed, and they both knew it.
"What?! Why are you doing this?! Stop it!! We're only teenagers!! Baby-making is for adults," she screeched as she attempted to throw Florence off of her again.
But, just like a boulder, he didn't budge.
"...Oh? So you're saying that when we both become adults...you'll let me make babies with you...?" Florence asked with a grin on his face.
"W-Wh-What?! W-Where?! Where did you g-get that idea from, you creep!!" she stuttered uncontrollably in embarrassment.
Due to the situation of her being trapped on her own bed by someone of the male species, her face grew redder by the second...which only made Florence happier.
"Aww~ Are you embarrassed? How cute...My fiance is so...cute..." Florence whispered as he moved closer to her ears with a soft chuckle.
Cordelia, who had a strange weakness with her ears, turned bright red and curled up into a ball to hide her face.
"Go away...or I'll kill you," she muttered.
At this moment, Florence was conflicted.
Due to how cute she was acting, he really wanted to tease her more.
But he knew that if he continued this, he would never be able to win the competition.
So, he simply laid down on Cordelia's bed and gave her a hug from behind.
"W-W-What?!" she stuttered as she suddenly became stiff.
"Let's just stay like this...okay?" Florence said softly as he closed his eyes for a nap.
Just because Florence had always been around to mess with Cordelia didn't mean that he was never busy.
In fact, he was almost always busy.
As the sole crown prince of Silverbell, he had an endless amount of work, studying, and training to go through each and every day.
Messing with Cordelia was the only time he truly had fun.
So, he decided at this moment that he would take a nap with her.
"Get. Away. From. Me. Jerk," Cordelia said sharply as she tried to push Florence away again.
But, Florence didn't let go of her.
"...I'm sorry...Cordelia..." he murmured with his eyes still closed.
"Huh...?" Cordelia questioned in surprise.
"Just...let me stay like this...for a little bit longer..." Florence murmured as his voice trailed off.
"A-Are you...okay? You not acting like normal..." Cordelia said with a little bit of worry as she turned around on her bed to face him.
It was at this moment, she knew she had made a mistake.
Since she had turned around, she was now facing Florence face-to-face on her bed at extremely close proximity.
She immediately turned 100 shades of red darker looking at Florence's undeniably handsome features...including his soft golden hair, his luscious eyelashes, and his airy breaths.
Florence opened one of his closed eyes to look at her and nearly smirked out loud.
"She looks like a tomato..." he thought to himself with a small chuckle.
"Hey...Cordelia...I've been going through a lot lately...Can you comfort me a little?" Florence asked in the cutest way he could.
"Y-Y-You want me to do what?!" Cordelia stuttered.
"I love you, Cordelia..." he said honestly as his voice trailed off and he closed his eyes again.
"...W-What are you saying, you jerk...?!" she stammered.
"I love you so much, Cordelia," Florence whispered again as he brought Cordelia closer to him.
"S-Stop joking around or else I'll...I'll...make you regret...stuff," she said nervously.
"I love you...Cordelia..." Florence murmured with his voice purring almost like a cat's.
"...I-I u-uh...s-stop it..."
"Cordelia..."
"What?!"
"Please...just once...can you say, 'I love you,' to me...? I want to hear it...I want to hear it from you..." Florence asked as he held Cordelia close to him.
"..."
"Just once...please...?"
This was exactly what Florence had planned.
"I..." Cordelia started to say.
Florence held his breath in anticipation.
"I...WOULD NEVER LOVE A JERK LIKE YOU! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN CATCH ME OFF GUARD ON MY OWN BED??? HAVEN'T YOU EVER HEARD OF PERSONAL SPACE?! YOU'RE JUST A KID!!" she screamed.
She was finally able to push Florence off of her and she stormed away from the room while slamming the door behind her.
Florence sighed.
"Hahaha...that's why I love her so much. She's too cute...the only one in the world who can make me feel this way," he chuckled as he covered his eyes with one of his arms on her bed.
Florence had lost his round.
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Later in the Day
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After such a nightmarish encounter with the prince that morning, Cordelia moved on to eat breakfast.
The meal tasted incredibly good and Cordelia's mood slightly improved.
However, the thought of the prince was still fresh in her mind and did not disappear even during lunch.
"The dumb prince jerk thingy...stupid...brat...dummy...evil...meanie...devil...idiot..." Cordelia mumbled as she ate her food.
Ash gave a huge sigh of nervousness.
He was definitely not ready for this competition, but he still wanted to win nonetheless.
"So...Cordelia...how was your day?" Ash asked as he finally came up with the courage to say something.
"Hahaha...I wish it could've been better...but...how was your day?" Cordelia chuckled darkly.
"Looks like my day was much better than yours. You probably should've planned your day a little bit better, idiot," Ash said rudely by accident.
Ash had always attempted to treat Cordelia nicely...but due to his sharp nature, he could never act as a kind brother to Cordelia.
This was one of his biggest regrets.
"Wow...thanks for cheering me up so well..." Cordelia said sarcastically as she continued eating her food like a champion.
"You think I want to cheer you up? That's a funny idea you came up with..." Ash chuckled insincerely.
"Gee...thanks. Unfortunately for you, I'm not an idiot!" Cordelia said with a chuckle as she stood up from her seat suddenly.
"Huh...? What the heck do you mean by that? Last time I checked, you were an idiot..." Ash said with a smirk.
"I don't get hurt when you say the things you do! So, don't feel bad, okay?" Cordelia giggled as she walked over to Ash to give him a pat on his head.
"Ugh. Stop patting my head! It's gross, idiot," Ash said as he swatted her hand and turned away from her.
But he wasn't able to hide the slight blush on his cheeks from Cordelia.
She giggled.
"Hahaha~ I can read you just like a book! I bet you're too embarrassed to look me straight in the eye, right?" Cordelia asked confidently with the cock of her head.
"...What the heck would give you that idea?! Did you hit your head this morning? There's no way I'd be unable to look a brat like you in the fac-" Ash said as he turned to face Cordelia and look at her eyes.
But unlike how he planned, the moment he looked into her crystal-clear shining sapphire eyes, he was unable to look away.
His breath was almost knocked out of him.
So, he choked on his words and was left speechless.
"A-Ash? Are you okay...? Why aren't you saying anything?!" Cordelia said as she panicked.
Ash immediately snapped back into focus and looked away from Cordelia's eyes.
"Pfft. It's like I thought. You're eyes look awful...just like muddy water. I can barely look at your eyes without throwing up," Ash lied with a chuckle.
"Hmm...I'll take that as a compliment!" Cordelia said optimistically.
"Huh? Why?" Ash asked with a puzzled look.
"All colors...including the color of muddy water...are pretty if you think about it. It's only thanks to preconceived notions that we find colors 'disgusting' right? I'd like to think...that all the colors around us are beautiful," she smiled as she described with a wave of her hand.
"...You sound like an elderly woman. Jeez. How dumb..." he murmured.
"Haha...I dare you to call me an 'elderly woman' again," she said with a dark smile.
The truth was, her mental age was currently around the age of a middle-aged woman.
So the thought of being 'old' was deeply on her mind.
"Elderly. Woman. Brat," Ash said nonchalantly.
"Hahaha...I'm leaving," she smiled as she slowly walked away.
And then she immediately tripped on her way out, just like how the female-leads of cliche anime did.
Ash's mind was completely blank as he activated his plant magic to catch her.
Cordelia landed into a large, soft baby-pink flower.
Then, she looked up and smiled.
"I knew you'd save me! There's no way you would've let me fall, even though you say you hate me so much!" she laughed cheerfully.
"...I hate you..." Ash muttered out loud.
"And I love..." Cordelia started to say.
Ash froze.
Was she about to say what he thought she would say?!
"...And I love how you're so easy to read~ I know you don't hate me!" she chuckled.
Ash automatically released his plant magic and dropped her onto the floor.
"I'm out of here," he groaned as he left the room.
"W-Wait! But why?!" she yelled as he left.
The moment Ash had completely left the room and entered his bedroom, he immediately collapsed onto a couch.
"Ah...You got my hopes up for nothing. Hey...Cordelia...You know I'd always protect you, right? I've never been able to hate a stupid brat like you..." Ash sighed as he looked at the ceiling of his room.
Ash had lost his round.
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Later in the Evening
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Exhausted after such a terrible day, Cordelia was ready to collapse and fall asleep.
However, it was nighttime, and she would have to go visit Deux soon in the forest to give him food.
Thus, she was forced to deal with another male lead.
"Grey...help...me..." Cordelia sighed as she flopped onto her bed.
"What would you like, milady," Grey asked with a small bow.
"Hmm...I would like a life, please," she whined and threw a tantrum on her bed just as a child would.
"That's a very...broad...way to ask for something, milady," Grey smiled.
"Huh? What do you mean by that?" she asked.
"When you ask me to give you life, are you asking for fulfillment in your own life...or do you want the life of another as a slave, milady...? I can give you both..." Grey asked with a dark chuckle.
"Haha...Let's move on from this conversation, okay?" Cordelia asked as a small drop of sweat dripped from her head.
"Of course, milady. I only do whatever you desire," he responded with a smile.
"...What if I want you to do something...bad...?" Cordelia asked hesitantly.
"I'd have no other choice but to obey you, milady. You are my one-and-only true master...the only one I will obey...the only one who has control over my actions," he said through his devilish smile.
"G-Great..." she said with a nervous stutter.
"It's a little late, milady. Would you like a cup of tea or a massage tonight?" he asked professionally.
"Hmm...I always drink tea. So...I'll pick the massage for today," she answered slowly.
"Of course, milady. Strip."
"Huh? Yeah, sur-Wait. What?! EXCUSE ME?!"
"You need to change your dress into this robe for me to give you a proper massage, milady," Grey replied with a smirk.
"Oh...right. You...need to work on wording things better, Grey. Hahaha...I thought you were talking about something else...Haha..." she chuckled awkwardly.
"Whatever could you have been talking about, milady? I consider myself to be a professional man."
"Well...let's just say I was thinking about something...dirty..."
"...Dirty? Milady...were you having impure thoughts?" he asked softly.
"Yeah...I guess you can word it that way..."
"Naughty people, such as yourself, are usually punished, milady."
"Oh...that's umm...good to know..."
"And the one who normally deals with the punishments for this household, milady, is me."
"I...don't like the way this conversation is heading..."
"Hey...milady...should I...punish...you?" Grey asked as he moved closer to Cordelia to lift up her chin with his gloved hand.
"G-Grey?! I think this joke has gone a little too far...haha..." Cordelia said as her hands began to sweat.
"Haha...Truly, milady, the fear in your eyes and the sweat on your face always manages to make me excited..." Grey said with a soft chuckle.
"Okay...I'm not going to lie, but I thought of even dirtier things after you said that..." Cordelia blurted out.
"Well then...It seems you haven't learned your lesson, milady...Maybe I should take more drastic measures..." Grey murmured loud enough for Cordelia to hear.
"UH. NO. I'M FINE," Cordelia yelled sharply.
"I'm sorry, milady, but I'd like to disagree. You don't seem to be acting fine. Instead of threate-I mean warning you about my punishments, perhaps I should just go ahead and do them."
"H-Help?!" Cordelia squeaked as Grey backed her into a corner.
"You seem so scared, milady. What would you say if I let you go?" Grey asked with a smile.
"I would give you a promotion or..."
With all due respect, milady, I don't need a promotion. However...there are some things I'd like to hear from you..."
"Like what???"
"Take a guess, milady."
"Umm...You look very hot-I mean handsom-I mean cool-I mean charmin-I mean nice today?"
"Not quite, milady."
"What do you want to hear then?"
"Something from you, milady."
"Err...I love..." Cordelia started to say.
Grey froze for a brief moment.
"I love how you always manage to do your job properly even though you're like this?"
Grey held his hand up to his forehead in disbelief.
"...Hahaha...milady, forgive me for calling you impure. It seems that I have forgotten how incredibly pure you could be..." Grey chuckled as he let Cordelia go.
"H-Huh?" Cordelia stuttered.
"Please go get changed, milady. I will ask Sophie to assist you," he smiled.
"U-Uh...yeah...of course..." Cordelia muttered as she left the room in a hurry.
She closed the door behind her as she ran away for her life.
"Hmm...Well, it seems that even I wasn't able to control my beating heart for a brief moment...Haha...I wonder how much more control milady has over me than I think..." he muttered with a sigh.
He looked outside the window to see the sun setting.
"Well...it's fine either way. Unlike the others, I prefer it this way," Grey smiled with a chuckle as he breathed in the frosty air.
Grey had lost his round.
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Later that Night
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Cordelia gingerly tapped her feet twice on the ground to call out her forest friend, Deux.
"Deux...I'm a little tired today...Is it possible for my visit to be a little shorter than normal???" Cordelia whined as she collapsed onto the ground.
"..." Deux didn't reply as he appeared in front of her.
"I guess you wouldn't care either way..." Cordelia sighed as she sat down underneath a nearby tree.
"..."
"Do you want to play a game?" she asked as she looked to Deux.
"..."
"Hide-and-seek is always a fun one! Or...tag...or..." Cordelia struggled to say.
"..."
"Hmm...Wait. I don't think you're the type to enjoy playing games..." Cordelia muttered as she rested her head on the tree.
"..."
"Well...I've had a long day today...wake me up before it gets super late today, alright?" Cordelia said nonchalantly as she went to take a nap.
Within moments, Cordelia's breaths had lightened and her mind had wandered off to dream-land.
The wind blew softly as it combed through Cordelia's fair aqua hair and the moon illuminated her clear complexion, causing her skin to almost shimmer.
When she slept, her face was completely relaxed, which almost created the illusion that she was a forest fairy.
It was truly a...beautiful sight.
But Deux wasn't the type of person to care for those things.
So, he sat down by Cordelia's side and simply relaxed.
He felt safe and comforted.
And that was all he needed.
After a few minutes had passed, Cordelia's head slowly drooped from its position and she almost fell to the ground.
But, Deux was right by her side, so all that happened, in the end, was that her head softly landed on Deux's shoulder and she continued to sleep without a care in the world.
Deux didn't care that her head was on his shoulder in such an uncomfortable position.
In fact, this was the most comfortable he had ever been.
Thus, he slowly grew drowsy himself and fell asleep while using the top of Cordelia's head as his own pillow.
They rested peacefully under the cool wind.
Cordelia was resting on his shoulder as he rested on her head.
Everything was peaceful...
...Until a forest wolf decided to intrude on their territory.
There was no need to worry though.
Even though Cordelia was sound asleep, Deux had everything handled.
With his eyes still closed, Deux used a tiny amount of his wind magic to slice through the wolf's brain from within silently.
And when the wolf had officially died, Deux's mind wandered to sleep again.
An hour passed before Cordelia woke up in a panic.
"OH, MY GODS! How long was I asleep for?! And why the heck am I on your shoulder!!!" Cordelia gasped as she stood up quickly.
"..."
"Hmm...you know what? I love..." she started to say.
Nothing was going through Deux's mind as he listened to Cordelia, as always.
"I loved the nap I had today. I think that's the first nap I ever had that was so comfortable..." Cordelia muttered to herself.
"..."
"Well...Anyway. I got to get back before its too late! Happy new year's Deux! Bye," she yelled as she left.
Deux watched as she ran away.
Then, he sighed and rested his head against the bark of the tree again.
"Bye, Cordelia," he murmured.
And even though Deux was not a part of the boys' competition...
...Deux had lost too.
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A Few Minutes Later
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"...So she didn't say, 'I love you,' to you either?" Florence asked the other two.
"No...I thought she was going to say it, but I got my hopes up for nothing..." Ash muttered with a sigh.
"Same with me..." Florence agreed with the nod of his head.
"It seems none of us had the luck of winning today, young master and your highness," Grey chuckled.
All three of the boys sighed at the same time.
"Cordelia...she's tough..." Florence chuckled.
"Haha...She definitely is..." Ash laughed pitifully.
"Well...that's what makes her so interesting..." Grey smirked.
The boys sighed once again.
All the boys went back to their original work in defeat.
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After Midnight
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Cordelia had just celebrated the new year with her family and the male leads.
They launched fireworks into the sky and enjoyed the lovely view.
And when the party was completely over, Cordelia went to her bed for sleep.
After such a slow and tiring day for her, she fell asleep easily without difficulty.
Ace entered her room too for sleep.
He laid down on her sheets and curled up into a ball just like he had always done.
But his small movement slightly woke Cordelia up from her deep sleep.
Half in a daze, she grabbed Ace and brought him close for a hug.
"Mm...You're the best...I love you, Ace," she muttered half asleep.
Ace froze at her words and then relaxed again.
Almost immediately after Cordelia said these words, she fell back asleep.
Ace looked at her sleeping face for a while.
"...I love you too, Cordelia," he murmured quietly under his breath so no one could hear.
And even though New Year's Eve had already passed...
...The true winner of the competition was Ace.
Happy New Year's Everyone!
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A/N: First off, I'd like to say that, yes, this was a sort of fan-service chapter of sorts.
I have no idea who any of your main ships are, but I hope you found this chapter fun to read nonetheless!
Also, Happy New Year!
This New Year's is special because...well...it's the last New Year's of the decade, which was the main reason I wrote an extra chapter for it.
Anyway, good-bye to the 2010s and hello to the 2020s ~
I hope you guys enjoyed the holidays with your family and friends!
As always, I'd like to thank my readers/voters/commenters too~
Okie byeee!
Word Count: 4475