The Thought (Francis POV)

It's been five months since Olivia became my study partner. I still couldn't tell why she resembles Charlize so much. There were also some things that made me think they were the same person. But maybe I was wrong. How could they be the same person when they're different? Charlize is definitely on my side, even though I started to doubt her. While Olivia? I couldn't tell which side she was on.

Olivia has helped me a lot. She helped me to avoid those spies and even taught me for the annual evaluation. Thanks to her, I could prepare for the evaluation and even practice swordsmanship with Noah without anyone noticed.

Still, those could be an act. There was still a possibility that she did it on purpose. She's from the family that opposes me after all.

One day, I found Roosevelt and Rowan took steel stones away from the palace. They even dared to trade those things. I was shocked there because they really dared to do such a thing. But what was more shocking was how Olivia acted that time.

She was there with me and saw them too. Olivia was shocked at that time. I wonder if she was shocked because I found those two taking steel stones away from the palace, or if she was shocked for the same reason as mine. She ended up leaving me as she told me she would make sure no one came closer to my room.

"Your highness. Are you alright?" Noah woke me up from a deep thought. That time, we were resting after practicing swordsmanship as usual. "What are you thinking about?"

I was silent for a bit, then asked him. "Noah, what if Olivia and Charlize are actually the same person?"

Noah was silent in shock. Of course he would. Who could imagine those two were the same person. "Your highness, it's hard for me to think that way. But, is there something that made you think that way?"

"If you look carefully, doesn't Olivia have similar eyes as Charlize? They also have similar height." I started to state my first impression about her.

"But, that doesn't mean they're the same person, your highness. Also, Miss Charlize's face is always covered by a fabric."

Noah had the point. Just because they have the same green eyes doesn't mean they're the same person. Also, since the first time I met Charlize, I had never seen her face. The same goes to Noah, he never saw her face.

"Okay, I agree with that." I paused a bit, then continued. "Still, there're a lot of odd things about them. First, why the last time we met Charize, someone reported us. We never got caught before, but the last one, that person saw us."

Noah listened to me carefully. "Do you remember the book that Olivia gave me? That was the same as the last book I read with Charlize." I stated another argument.

Another thing that made me suspicious of Charlize was the antidote that she gave me. She gave me an antidote at the same time Olivia gave me cookies for the first time. So, I decided to drink Charlize's antidote, and to my surprise, it was a poison.

"Another question, Noah. Why are Charlize and Olivia poisoning me?" I asked another question. Noah widened his eyes, couldn't believe what I just said.

"Yo-your highness, are you sure?" I nodded, confirming what he just heard. "I can tell why Lady Whitley did it, but for Miss Charlize… are you sure she did it?" Noah's voice was a bit low, not because we were talking about a secret, but because he couldn't believe what I said.

I took a bottle of liquid. "This is the last antidote that Charlize gave me. Do you remember that she gave me this right after I told her about Olivia?" Noah nodded as a yes. I drank the liquid inside it. That was the fastest way to prove what I told him before.

In a few moments, my breath started to become heavy; the poison had worked. "Yo-your highness!" Noah was panicked and had no ideas what to do. The liquid he believed as an antidote turned into a poison.

I had almost the same reaction as Noah when I realized that Charlize was poisoning me. I was just curious about Charlize and Olivia, then tried the antidote Charlize gave me. It turned out that she was poisoning me.

"See, she is also poisoning me. But I don't know her reason." I tried to breathe as normal as I could. This poison didn't give me a strong effect since I often got poisoned with the similar type.

"Bu-but Miss Charlize… I can't believe she… She's not a bad person. Why would she..." His body trembled. I couldn't read his mind, but maybe he was confused.

Noah, he was saved by Charlize. For him Charlize is someone important. The one that he would follow. Even he became my knight because Charlize asked him to. Of course I knew how he felt.

I smiled at Noah, trying to comfort him. "I know how you feel toward her. It's not like I blamed her or you."

"You trust me too much, your highness. You haven't heard the complete story about me." Noah smiled. That wasn't a smile that you made when you're lying. Rather, it was a sad smile.

I knew he had a secret. The thing that he never told anyone. "You don't have to tell me that if you don't want to. And I trust you because you don't have a reason to betray me, except Charlize asking you to do so."

Still, everything was weird. I didn't have any clues that helped me to figure everything out.

Why did someone see me at that bookstore right at the last time I did it? Why did Charlize give me an antidote right after Olivia gave me cookies, like she had known it was poisoned?

The last question's answer was because that antidote was a poison. But why did she poison me? What did she want from it? Did she not trust me anymore that I would help her in the future?

And why did I feel like Olivia and Charlize resemble each other?

-------------------------------

Hi, I'm back. For a new reader, welcome to this story and please to support me. You can add comment or even vote this story.

What do you think about this chapter? Do you have any theory?

I'm sorry that this chapter seemed shorter than it used to be.

Thank you for reading this novel and thank you for your support. I will work harder to make this novel a great one.

Also, I started to think, how if I make a discord server when we can have discussion together? Please give me your oppinion.

See you in the next chapter!!!