Chapter 15: Ava Adrienne Albrecht

AVA

Today is the day after my official adoption as a member of the Albrecht duchy.

However, that was no reason for me to slack off. My activities on my first day as an Albrecht had already been planned by my new Father. The second and third young masters were tasked to take me on a trip to the Central Plaza. It was for me to be familiarized with the shops and stores located there at which a majority belonged to members of the Merchant Faction closely affiliated with the Albrechts.

As we rode the carriage, the young masters briefed me on what I needed to know beforehand. A string of shops on a street called Cypress Avenue belonged solely to the Albrecht duchy – the Dawn Row Boutique, the Jewel Place bakery, the Glass Joker emporium, and the Exalted Compass Jeweler, all of which were sponsored by the duchy and run by people personally scouted and sponsored by the Duke. It's no wonder that the Albrecht duchy has far more power than the other Dukedoms. They make sure to have as many sources of income as possible.

I was tasked by the Duke to memorize the shops, streets, and every nook and cranny of the place since one of the things that noble ladies can be in charge of without facing social scrutiny is managing business relating to luxury goods, fancy food, and the fashion industry. Understanding commerce and trade to have the makings of a future businesswoman is something I would have to excel in eventually and it would be an advantage for me to learn about it as early as possible.

By 'as early as possible', the Duke meant it word by word. He's really not wasting any time at honing me to be the perfect Albrecht lady.

As I listened raptly to Young Master Lennox, scribbling notes on a small notebook I have at hand, I looked back on the startling turn of events.

Even though I've already known about the final decision of the Duke to adopt me, I acted as if I didn't know about it. I did my best to show off as a 'candidate', as if I'm anxious about not getting picked. Thankfully, nobody suspected that I've known more of their façade than they intend for me to know.

During the assessment period, I was given several challenges by the Duke, the young masters, Head Maid Cecil and Head Butler Archibald for a whole month. They tested my intelligence and personally handled my basic education. I didn't bother to hide my literacy in order to impress them and made it seem as though I was a genius. Of course, I held back a little as to not make them too surprised to the point of suspicion.

Like what they originally said, the Albrechts took care of my health and I began to find myself both too pampered and too busy to continue having difficulty sleeping. Perhaps the relief that I will soon be officially named as the Lady of the Albrecht duchy also lessened the burden on my mind.

Whilst abiding faithfully to the Duke's orders of eating and sleeping well, I honed my reading and writing skills, memorized and applied basic etiquette and was taught how to speak and act like a noble lady. The classes were set up reasonably as to not put burden on my health. I did not have such a hard time with it since I had already received similar education in my past life.

When the month was over, the Duke told me that I passed the assessment and revealed the fact that they were pulling my leg regarding the 'candidacy' for the Albrecht lady's position. I acted so well in taking in the news with surprise and excitement, a bit too much that I felt like I've over-reacted. I even cried for two hours straight that I almost got sick right after.

As the paperworks for the adoption were underway, the Duke also briefed me regarding my new background which he personally arranged.

Unlike with the Krausers, the Albrechts made preparations to make my adoption more legitimate on paper as to not face any negative comments from the noble society. I won't be adopted as 'Ava, the slum girl with commoner origins', but as a child of aristocratic background who recently lost her only parent.

My name before adoption would be Ava Abbott, the only daughter of the Abbott Barony. On paper, the Abbott Barony exists but in reality, the family had died out twenty-five years ago.

The Duke told me the entire story regarding the Abbott Barony to make me understand my position. About two and a half decades from now, the last Abbott couple, Jeremy and Lucy Abbott, went to seek counsel from the young Duke by letter about their incapability of having children.

The Baron did not wish for the legacy of his family to end without the family name accomplishing something great enough to be listed honorably in history. It was a legacy that his father passed to him and one that his grandfather passed down to his father. To realize that ambition, the family line cannot end with him.

The couple originally planned to adopt a child from their relatives, however, all of them had died due to a recent plague that ravaged the region where they resided. Only the Baron and Baroness survived.

Adoption has always been a sensational topic among aristocrats and something that can put ill-fame on the family depending on the circumstances and the people involved. The Krausers had gotten away with it during my past life because of their high rank and the fact that their family had been deeply rooted within the Kingdom since it was founded. The Abbott Barony's case was different. Aristocrats of lower ranks usually cannot afford getting tied up in scandals like that because their rank can easily be stripped of by the higher hierarchy if they're not careful on maintaining their prestige. The nobles represent the dignity of the Gouveia Kingdom and if a noble family were to place themselves under scrutiny with their actions, the King have the authority to strip them of title. Of course such a law cannot implicate strong families above the title of Count nor those families who had enough wealth to bargain with the Royal Family.

Looking for a child of noble origins from fallen Baronies can be an option for the Abbott couple, however, it comes with great risks. Previous adoptions like that did not bode well for the family who made the adoption since the family from which the child originally came from always took advantage of their child's candidacy as the next head of the adoption family.

But in the occasion that the couple adopts a child from common origins, the child may be in danger to be stripped of the title by other high-ranking nobles once the adopted parents die. Familial ties without noble blood relations were also scrutinized in aristocratic society; my own experience from the past life can attest to that. With no living Abbott relative to protect the child, their family name could face the danger of eradication from noble society once someone of higher standing takes an interest in the assets that they would leave the adopted child. The Abbott barony was a humble family when it comes to aristocratic excellency, but they had quite impressive assets since their fief was blessed with very fertile lands. Aristocrats had always been opportunistic people. Thus, the Abbotts asked the Duke for a solution to their problem.

To cater to the wish of the Baron regarding continuing the Abbott family's legacy, the Duke suggested a strategy. Fortunately, no one knows about the infertility of the couple aside from them, the Duke and the family doctor who diagnosed the condition. The doctor too was a loyal vassal serving the Albrecht duchy and had been dispatched to the Barony to help with the aftermath of the recent plague, thus there were no problems of the secret leaking to outsiders.

The couple was told to fake a pregnancy and register a son to their family registry. Such a small family wouldn't be investigated so strictly by the kingdom since there were too many families of Barons scattered all over the Gouveia's lands that lived too far from the Capital city. The Duke also volunteered to sign the birth papers as a witness to strengthen the legitimacy of the document. After that, the couple would find a baby to pass as their own and raise him as the next Baron. It was also planned that the said child would not be informed of his real origins.

However, the unprecedented happened. The Baron and Baroness ended up dying from the remnants of the plague just weeks after registering the birth of their 'son'. The original plan fell apart but since the Duke wanted to honor the Baron's final wishes of keeping their family name intact, the Duke preserved the family line by pushing the procedures through by himself.

The only difference was that the Ludwig Abbott registered as Jeremy and Lucy's son did not exist in real life. He only existed on paper. Thus, for years, the Abbott Barony had an existing head of the family. The family's matters were handled by Butler Archibald and the Abbott barony functioned normally as if nothing went wrong with the family line after the Abbott couple passed away.

About twenty years later from the death of the Abbott couple, the Duke found a personal use for the Baron's family line. One of the young knights who worked for him in the shadows was gravely injured and was needed to be cared for secretly. The man's name was Anthony and he was a commoner that the Duke scouted during his active knighthood.

In order to hide Anthony and tend to his leg injury in secret, he was sent to the countryside and he played the role of Ludwig Abbott actively. Anthony's age was twenty-three at that time; only three years older than how old Ludwig could've been if he was real. It was passable for him to be a convincing Ludwig Abbott.

For the next years afterward, Anthony as Ludwig Abbott had been acting as a messenger that passed around the necessary information throughout the Albrecht's intel network. It was not that different from his former job aside for the fact that he didn't have to take physical risks and he recovered necessary intel by using other shadow knights as his eyes and ears. However, to Anthony, he felt that he wasn't that useful in such a role.

When he found out that he has regained full function of his injured leg after four years, he had been requesting to go back to the Duke's home and resume his duty as a shadow knight.

Anthony's expertise as a shadow knight was top-notch and it would be more beneficial if he did get to return to his former post. Thus, the Duke had been contemplating what to do with the identity of Ludwig Abbott and he hadn't come up with a decision yet until he decided about my adoption.

For Anthony to return to the Duke's side, Ludwig Abbott would be killed off in an accident at which he would leave his one and only daughter. That would be me.

The story would be that Ludwig who had been wedded and divorced on paper to make his identity more convincing, did not know that he had a child with his former wife who died from childbirth. Their child ended up in an orphanage and was found by Ludwig a month ago. That would be the reason why Ava Abbott's name was recorded late to the family registry.

However, the father and daughter were unable to make up for the time lost. Just two weeks after Ava was taken under the Abbott's wings, her father met an accident and died days later. On Ludwig's deathbed, he made a decision to make sure that his only child would have someone to take care of her after he had gone.

The recently orphaned child was mentioned in her father's final will. The will stated for the Abbott family's assets to be transferred to the Albrechts, including a request for the Duke to take in the final Abbott child as an adopted daughter. To surrender one's riches to a family of higher standing was considered an act of utmost loyalty.

To answer to the Abbott family's request, the family name of the Barony would then be presented with the Plaque of Merit which is the highest prestigious title that a Dukedom can bestow to honor the services of a lower-ranked family and have their name recorded in history.

It would then be arranged that the Duke honored his retainer's last will as he was touched by the sad story of the final surviving member of the Abbott Barony. Thus, Ava Abbott would be adopted by the Albrecht duchy.

The Duke had already made all of the preparations for this during my so-called 'candidacy' period – from the record of Ava Abbott's birth, the fake records of her stay in the orphanage where she had been supposedly found, the registration of Ava Abbott's name in the Abbott family registry, the fake reports of Ludwig Abbott's carriage accident, the documentation for the last will, the ceremony of awarding the Plaque of Merit to the Barony and the acquisition of their assets, all leading up to the process of Ava Abbott's adoption and transfer to the Albrecht duchy – there was evidence everywhere and very minimal loopholes for anyone to doubt my carefully-designed identity.

With that strategy, the Duke solved three problems with one solution. One, I get to have a legitimate aristocratic background and escape the infamous 'lowborn shaming' from the noble society; two, Anthony can regain his real identity and stop acting as Ludwig Abbott; and three, the Duke could still bring honor to the Abbott Barony's name like what Baron Jeremy Abbott wished when he was alive.

Despite of myself, I couldn't help but be awed at the Duke's prowess and intelligence. He was aware of what his cards were, understood their function and importance, and knew exactly how to smartly utilize those cards to the benefit of his goal. It was as if he could see into the future. For existing problems at present, he had already sown seeds of solution for them in the past years; and for probable problems in the future, he is currently sowing the seeds that might help to solve them even before the problems actually happen.

There was a statement in the original novel that always showed up when describing Duke Albrecht. 'He's always a couple of steps ahead of everyone else.' I've seen just how accurate that statement was with my own eyes. It's no wonder that he became novel-Ava's respected advisor even before she became the Empress.

Meanwhile, the coachman informed us that we were nearing our destination and I went back to my current reality. I focused on the task at hand and placed the handheld notebook inside the depths of my skirt pocket.

My new brothers helped me get out of the carriage when all of a sudden, I caught sight of someone unpleasant leaning on the wall of the boutique that served as our first stop. It was Vegzyn with a particularly cheeky grin plastered on his face.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I've been more or less used to the three divine siblings randomly showing up out of nowhere. During the preparations and training for my adoption, they have visited several times to poke fun at me and try to distract me from my studies. I have been doing quite a good job at handling their antics and they weren't that troublesome if I just think of them as bored kids who have too much time on their hands.

To my surprise, they had made a very convenient way for me to communicate with them without the need to be wary of observing eyes. Using the spirit connection of the contract linking my soul with them, I can talk to them telepathically.

I threw a small glance at Vegzyn as I went down the carriage steps. "What do you need now?" I asked him through the telepathic link.

"I don't need anything. I just came to deliver the reward I mentioned to you before…" Vegzyn answered.

"What reward?" I asked suspiciously as my feet touched the pavement.

Instead of answering me, Vegzyn waved his hand and a gust of wind suddenly rushed in my direction. My hat flew away with it, landing at the center of the road.

I was about to retrieve it when a carriage suddenly passed by. My brothers pulled me into safety and I could feel my heart rate accelerating. That was a huge shock; I almost got myself killed to retrieve a hat!

As my new brothers scolded me for my recklessness, I threw a brief dirty look at Vegzyn. Did he really just almost got me run over by a carriage?

"Is this your so-called reward? Gee, thank you very much," I told him telepathically with a sarcastic tone.

"No it's not," Vegzyn answered, the grin on his face widening. He pointed somewhere and added, "There it is…"

"Excuse me… I think this belongs to you," a familiar voice said. It came from behind my brothers, the direction that Vegzyn pointed at. I turned my eyes toward the owner of the voice.

I anticipated that we would meet again. It's inevitable that we'd cross paths, but I never imagined for that moment to come this early.

And yet, there he is... Greyson Wesley Krauser, the Krauser's third young master, just a couple of steps away from where I stood.

I was shaken inside. But I knew better than to give myself away.

I do not know him in this life. Thus, I should pretend not to know him.

I did what every timid little girl does when meeting strangers or being caught in an awkward situation – hide in an adult's arms.

I paid attention to all the words being said around me. In the novel, there were no detailed explanations regarding the relationship between the sons of the Krauser and Albrecht duchies aside from a single paragraph that stated how they were all rivals in childhood despite belonging to the same political faction.

In the novel, the six boys had been acting hostile towards each other ever since the moment the Albrechts were introduced into the story; and because Greyson had already been infatuated with his former adopted sister by that point in the timeline, he was even more hostile towards the Albrecht boys who ended up saving Ava from danger in his stead.

From Lennox's words towards Greyson, he must know the Krauser's first and second young masters from the Academy.

All of a sudden, Young Master Greyson said something that caught my attention.

Did he just say, that I look like someone he knows? What does he mean by that?

Is it possible… no it can't be… Can he possibly remember me?

I have to see what his face looks like and try to draw information from his expression.

Taking advantage of Nashiel's words about me introducing myself, I stepped up out of Sally's embrace and made my introduction. Whilst I did so, I observed every little detail of the young Greyson Krauser's facial expression.

He looked like he saw a ghost. His blue eyes were wide, his complexion pale. It's the end of autumn and the chill is in the air, yet the boy has beads of sweat lining his forehead.

"Are you okay, young master? You look pale…" I told him and peered innocently at his face.

"I'm… I'm okay…" he answered and took a step back. "It's nice to be of your acquaintance, Lady Albrecht…" he added distractedly. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off my face.

You… Do you possibly remember me?

At that moment, time suddenly stopped. Everyone was frozen in place except for me.

Then Vegzyn went waltzing in closer to us while clapping his hands loudly. "Whew, it was so worth the trouble to give you this reward. The look on Greyson Krauser's face is priceless!"

I turned towards him in confrontation. "What do you mean by that? What exactly is this 'reward' you're talking about?" I asked in a demanding tone. I have a bad feeling about this.

"Well, can't you remember? Before you went back in time, I clearly told you I'll give you something extra as a reward for amusing me…" Vegzyn answered. "I made the Krauser brothers go back in time with their memories of the past life intact! Now how's that for a plot twist?" he declared proudly, spreading his arms wide at his sides in a grand gesture.

I was stunned speechless. It was as if someone threw a ticking bomb at this moment and that bomb landed in my hands. "You… Y-you w-what?" I stuttered in response.

"Didn't the Krauser brothers always say before you died that they want to make amends for all the sufferings they caused you? Now is the chance for you to demand that compensation. Use them as you like. I'm sure they'll do whatever it is that you want them to do. And since they also remember the past life, they should be pretty useful," Vegzyn told me and smirked. "Aren't I such a genius for coming up with that?" he gloated.

Genius?

A genius, he said?

He's a freaking idiot! This is not a reward, this is punishment!

"Ha," I breathed out, feeling the urge to laugh at this ridiculous situation. The Krausers remember me. They actually remember me…

The chances of them messing up my plans is almost a hundred percent. I'm screwed. I'm totally screwed.

"Hey, cat's got your tongue?" Vegzyn said as he waved a hand in front of my face. "Why won't you say anything? Don't you like your reward?" he added.

"Like it?" I replied, resisting the urge to slap him across the face. "I absolutely hate it," I declared calmly and looked at him squarely in the eyes. "Why did you do this?" I asked with accusation in my tone.

"Because it seems fun?" Vegzyn answered in question form. His expression tells me that he has no idea why I'm reacting this way.

He blinked his silver eyes in confusion and ran a hand through his white hair. "Well, anyway… Have fun," he said before magically disappearing.

Time resumed the instant Vegzyn went away and I found myself suddenly losing my balance. The ten-year-old Greyson had caught me by the waist.

"Are you alright?" he asked worriedly, his blue eyes filled with concern.

In less than a second, someone else took me by the arm and supported my back with his other hand. At the same time, I saw Nashiel step between me and Greyson.

"What do you think you're doing, Lord Greyson?" Nashiel exclaimed. Behind him, Lennox held me protectively in his arms.

"Are you alright Kitten?" he asked me. His angel brows were knitted together, a sign of vexation.

"I'm alright, young ma—" I answered and almost blurted out 'young master' if not for Lennox putting his finger on my lips to make me stop talking. I looked up at his grey eyes and he sternly shook his head. Right. I can't be caught calling him 'young master'.

I almost slipped with my words. A bit shaken, I pulled myself together. I held onto Lennox's shirt like a terrified small animal and made an embarrassed expression.

As I buried my face on Lennox's vest, I internally panicked once again about the revelation that the god of mischief told me.

That stupid Vegzyn! Is he crazy?! Why did he have to do that? The last thing I need is for the Krauser brothers to interfere with my matters!

I snuck a glance at what's happening around me and saw Nashiel continue to berate Greyson.

"The young lady fell, so I just acted out of impulse, Lord Nashiel… I apologize if my action displeased you," Greyson said.

The ten-year-old Greyson I know wouldn't have said such a thing. The ten-year-old Greyson did not have the word 'apologize' in his vocabulary.

This boy in front of me right now is not the ten-year-old he currently embodies but the eighteen-year-old Greyson, the one who cried miserably while holding onto the hem of my skirt… He's the Greyson who lived with the past me and witnessed my life and death.

This is the worst. Having them remember me is definitely not a reward. It's just another curse, another burden… This can't possibly be true…

Someone tell me they don't know me… I'd rather that they don't remember me…

Vegzyn, that idiot. That freaking idiot!

~~~

LENNOX

I watched idly, busy narrowing my eyes at the youngest son of the Krauser Dukedom who couldn't have picked a better timing to interrupt our time with Kitten. He seemed to have been completely bewitched by our sister's face. I had an urge to gouge his eyes out when all of sudden, Kitten lost her balance and started to fall.

Both Nashiel and I reached out our arms to catch her, but the Krauser boy was nearer. He caught Kitten by the waist and asked her if she's alright.

I heard something snap inside my head upon witnessing that and I moved quickly to retrieve our new sister from the blonde-haired, blue-eyed scoundrel.

He dared to put his mangy paws on Kitten? I glared at Greyson Krauser whom Nash had begun berating. That little rogue, I ought to—

I was distracted by Ava taking hold of the hem of my shirt. I looked down at her whilst protectively shielding her with one arm. "Are you alright, Kitten?" I asked her.

"I'm alright, young ma—"

I quickly silenced her by placing a forefinger on her lips before looking at her sternly and shaking my head. She understood her fault and I saw her cheeks flare up in embarrassment.

Then she buried her face on my chest just like a real kitten. For some reason, I couldn't move. Then I slowly lifted a hand to support her back properly. I gave her shoulder a few pats.

"It's okay. I don't think anyone heard," I whispered near her ear in an attempt to comfort her on the mistake. She had been practicing on not calling us 'young master', but she had lived as a commoner all her life and is still adjusting to her new social status. I ought to give her some slack since Father and Brother Al obviously won't give her a break.

I glanced at my hand on her back and marveled at how small this girl is. She successfully filled in some satisfactory pounds in the past months, but it didn't diminish how frail she still looked.

"Did you not see her brothers were about to catch her? Kitty hates to be touched by strangers," Nashiel's words suddenly broke through my thoughts.

Then he motioned to me and Kitten as if to emphasize the situation to Greyson Krauser.

"See? You scared her!" Nashiel remarked with accusation in his tone.

Greyson Krauser genuinely looked perturbed and he looked at Kitten apologetically. "I'm sorry Lady Albrecht… I'm really sorry… I was just trying to help…" he said.

At that moment, Kitten took her face off my vest and glanced at the Krauser boy.

"It's alright My Lord… I apologize for making a fuss…" she said and proceeded to stand upright.

She approached Nashiel and placed a hand on his arm. "Brother Nash, I'm okay… Please don't be upset…" she said in a pleading tone.

"You sure?" Nash asked, looking skeptical.

Kitten nodded. "I'm really okay. The young master just tried to help… I'm the one at fault; I should thank him instead," she said before turning to the Krauser boy and curtsying.

"Thank you for helping me, Lord Greyson," she told him.

Greyson Krauser bowed back. "It's not a big deal, milady… I'm sorry if I startled you," he responded.

Kitten mustered a bright smile in return. "I'm just a little bit of a scaredy-cat thus I'm afraid I overreacted; the young master isn't at fault in any way…" she said and glanced at the enormous clock in the very middle of the plaza. "Look at the time," she remarked and turned to me, Sally and Ferdinand. "We should get going; we still have to visit all of the stores in the list…" she added then grabbed my sleeve and seemed to be asking for support.

"Ava's right. We shouldn't waste valuable time fooling around…" I followed. Kitten looked satisfied with my answer.

She then held my hand with her right and reached for Nash's hand with her left. "It's nice meeting you Lord Greyson, but my brothers and I happen to be a bit busy for this afternoon…" she told the Krauser boy.

Greyson Krauser nodded his head. "I understand… I'm sorry for taking up your time…"

"It's not a problem. It's good to see you after a long time…" I lied through the skin of my teeth. "I also heard you finally found your lost sister. We have sent our congratulations to your residence after the news was announced…" I told him. After I said that, I felt Kitten's grip on my hand flinch and tighten as if she was surprised. But when I looked at her, she was just smiling normally.

"Thank you for your kind words, Lord Lennox…" Greyson replied. "I should let you go on your way then… I too have to return to the carriage; my mother and sister would be arriving soon…" he added before we spoke our final farewells and finally went our separate ways.

I gave one final glance at the Krauser boy's carriage over my shoulder as we walked inside the boutique. For some reason, I dislike him more today than I do on usual days. And he seemed to have changed his demeanor. He was usually cocky and confident, and if my memory serves me right, I've never heard him apologize to anyone before.

And yet, he apologized to Kitten so many times… I tightened my grip around the small hand holding mine.

"What's his deal?" I murmured darkly under my breath.

"What's whose deal, Brother?" Kitten suddenly asked from beside me.

I glanced at her sideway. "Nothing…" I said.

There were no more interferences as we went on the tour around Cypress Avenue. We finished two of the shops as planned. Kitten did well at interacting with the employees of the shops but in my eyes, she somehow looked distracted.

When we were on the way back home, she fell asleep on my shoulder. Nash looked displeased but he didn't make a fuss as to not disturb Kitten's slumber.

"She's sitting beside me on the next trip… It's gonna be alternate, okay?" Nash whispered but I pretended not to hear him.

~~~

GREYSON

After the Albrechts left, I ended up waiting a couple more hours before Mother and Lottie arrived back to the carriage. It was nearing sundown by the time the servants finished loading all the luggage. Mother must've expected that I would make a fuss since I waited a long time when she promised to return immediately thus when I didn't throw a fit, she looked really surprised. On the way home, she commented on how I'm growing to be a fine gentleman and praised the change on my temper.

Truthfully, I would have thrown a fit in this situation regardless of whether I'm ten or eighteen years old, but right now, I feel lethargic.

At last I found Ava… It was me who found her and not my more capable brothers. We had been looking for her even as we were looking for Lottie but now that I actually saw her, I didn't feel the relief or the joy I thought I would feel.

Seeing that she's safe and well, and looking even more than safe and well, I should've felt happy for her, but I didn't.

I kept on replaying the scenes in my head; of how she looked at me like I'm a stranger, how she talked affectionately with the Albrecht brothers and held their hands, and how she seemed like a totally different child from what I remember.

I realize that my feelings were the opposite of relief and joy. I felt disappointed and sad.

Why?

It's because we were supposed to be the ones to save her. We were supposed to be the ones to hold her hand, protect her and keep her happy. This is supposed to be the second chance given to us to make up to Ava about everything that went wrong in our relationship in the past life. This is supposed to be our chance to start everything anew.

Why didn't it occur to us the possibility that someone else might help Ava?

Why didn't it occur to us that the reason why we couldn't find her anywhere was that somebody already picked her up from the streets?

No, wait, that's not it… Something doesn't add up…

Nashiel said she was the daughter of a Baron. Does it mean that Ava had been born with a different circumstance from her past life? Could it be that we wouldn't have been successful at finding her no matter how hard we try because she was never a slum child this time around?

The deity did say she would be in an image that we wouldn't recognize… Is this the meaning of those words; that Ava had not been born a commoner this time but as an aristocrat?

My head hurts so much from thinking about the incident this afternoon. How would I even put this to words and tell my brothers? I don't even know how to explain this to them… Such thoughts had been circling my mind from the moment we arrived back home until dinner finished and I was alone in my room.

As if on cue, someone knocked on my door, and Brother Landon announced his and Brother Brandon's presence outside.

"You seem to be out of it during dinnertime, so I suggested to Brandon that we talk inside your room instead…" Brother Landon said as he went inside. Brother Brandon followed after him.

The two of them sat on my bed whilst looking at me curiously.

"What's with your face? Did something happen?" Brother Brandon asked.

"I met Ava today," I said simply. Thinking would get me nowhere. Perhaps my brothers can make more sense of the situation.

The reaction of my brothers was just like I anticipated.

"What do you mean you met Ava?" Brother Brandon exclaimed with wide eyes.

"You found her? Where?" Brother Landon demanded, holding my shoulder tightly.

"She's with the Albrechts… I saw her with Lennox and Nashiel Albrecht, and they said she's their newly adopted little sister…" I answered, straight to the point.

There was shocked silence at first, then my brothers responded at the same time.

"What?" they chorused, dumb-founded.

"It's as I said… Ava had been adopted into the Albrecht duchy. Her new identity is Ava Adrienne Albrecht; she introduced herself to me with that name," I emphasized. At that instant, the negative feelings I was suppressing overflowed.

My eyes watered and tears began to fall. "It was bound to happen since there wouldn't had been a chance that she remembers the past life like we did, but it hurt so much when she didn't recognize me…" I sobbed. "She seems like a totally different person. She's not the Ava I know…" I continued, placing both hands over my face as I cried.

~~~

LANDON

One week later

I've been working on a book report for the last hour and as I scribbled the last paragraph to end the work, my mind wandered once again to the most important matter that my brothers and I are currently tackling.

After the night Greyson told us about meeting Ava, we stayed at home for two more days before returning to the Academy dorms.

Grey wouldn't stop crying that night; he may be a young adult on the inside but having a child's body probably made him have a child's predisposition and sensitivity to emotions. I too experience changes in mood at times as twelve years old is a complicated age when pubescence usually starts. Even so, I do my best to keep my mental age more dominant.

We assured him that we would investigate the new sister of the Albrecht brothers once we return to the Academy however, it turned out to be unnecessary to wait that long. On the morning after that night, the rumor about the newly adopted lady of the Albrecht duchy had spread all over the capital.

For a couple of days of our homestay, we bore witness to the sensation that the adoption incident brought. Little Ava Adrienne Albrecht was the topic at every tea party and social gathering among the aristocrats. As if that wasn't enough, the rumors also spread among the servants of aristocracy and the stories found their way to the ears of the commoners.

People working in publications, noble and commoner alike, took advantage of the situation and released stories about the Albrecht duchy's new daughter. There had been articles explaining the romantic circumstances of the little girl, some of them bearing verified information and quite a lot stemming from assumptions and hearsay. Things like this don't occur often within the noble society and it's an open secret that people are always dying of something to gossip about. I had already bore witness to that during the past life when our family adopted Ava. In addition, the Albrecht duchy was an ancient and respected family that rarely gets into any scandal and thus, the incident drew more attention than usual.

By the time Brandon and I went back to the dormitories, the Albrecht duchy had begun rooting out the articles published about their new family member, retaining only those with information that they had verified. To everyone's surprise, Duke Albrecht even contacted The Herald's Epoch, Gouveia Kingdom's most influential publication company, to give an exclusive interview about his new daughter. It was the first time such a thing happened ever since the current Duke took office. Duke Albrecht usually doesn't like dealing with publication companies since most of them were just interested in stirring up drama within noble society. A stiff and highly-disciplined man like himself looks down on such matters.

The Academy wasn't an exception among the places at which the squabbling about the new Albrecht Lady occurred on a daily basis. Since the Albrecht brothers are currently studying in the Academy and had been popular ever since they started attending, perhaps the school was where the gossips were the most intense.

Every morning, all I hear was the student's buzz about new information dug up on Lady Albrecht. Everyone seemed eager to learn the whole story about the Albrecht's new lady to the point that some might think that this much attention is abnormal.

I guess this is one way of confirming just how prestigious the Albrecht duchy really is. If one were to be asked which of the three Dukedoms of Gouveia Kingdom has the most power and influence at current times, it would be hard to deny that the position belonged to the Albrechts.

Sadly, our Krauser duchy had the least power among the three Dukedoms despite Father having the position of Minister of Defense. Father had learned from our Grandfather that making safe choices may not make one more powerful, but can guarantee a stable foothold within the Kingdom. The Krauser duchy had been like that for the past generations – somewhat passive and rarely taking risks. Even within the start of my rule during the past life, I kept true to Father's teachings.

I finished up binding my book report and checked the time on my wristwatch. Time to get a bite to eat before my next class.

As I strolled through the hallway leading to the dining area, I perked up my ears to listen to the surrounding gossip while answering greetings from my peers and juniors. Every single student had a copy of the latest issue of The Herald's Epoch which came out just yesterday; quite a few still had their noses buried in it and others seemed to be discussing what they had read. The publication had the previously-arranged exclusive interview with Duke Albrecht and thus most of the mysteries about Lady Albrecht's story had been answered. Most of the gossip today seems to be among the female student bodies, specifically about the family's recent wholesale purchases of dresses and accessories for their little lady.

I arrived inside the dining hall and looked around first to see if Brandon's lunchtime happened to overlap with mine. When I saw no trace of him, I went to get my meal. I recollected the information that Brandon and I gathered so far while I ate.

Lady Ava Adrienne Albrecht – an eight-year-old noble girl of lower aristocratic lineage with a tragic and romantic past had been adopted officially by the Albrechts ten days ago. She was born to the last surviving heir of the Abbott Barony, an aristocratic family which almost died out during a plague two and a half decades ago. However, her story was not that simple.

She had been raised in an orphanage with no knowledge of her noble birth because her father had not known about her existence until about a month ago. Rumors said that the former Baroness did not know about her pregnancy as she signed the divorce papers with Baron Ludwig Abbott. She died during childbirth and somehow, the baby ended up in the orphanage.

The Father and daughter had been reunited as the Baron attended a charity event for the orphanage and saw the keepsake of her former wife. Some stories beforehand said the keepsake was a necklace; others said it was a brooch. Duke Albrecht verified it to be neither; it was a hairpin.

When the legitimacy of the child's birth had been confirmed, the Baron took his daughter with him and registered her name on the family registry as soon as possible. However, the Baron died shortly after that. His carriage fell off a steep roadside on the way home after conversing with his lawyer about a change of official papers regarding his child's inheritance and other rights to the Abbott Barony. Although he survived the accident, he was injured gravely and died a couple of days later.

On his deathbed, Baron Ludwig made a final will with a request towards the Albrecht duchy whom his family had served loyally for generations. He asked for his daughter to be adopted by the Duke and take in the assets of the Abbott Barony with her in an exchange for a Plaque of Merit for the services of the Abbott family towards the Dukedom. Within the will, the Baron expressed his concern towards his daughter who was unable to receive the love of a family her whole life, and that he could trust no one but his Lord and Master with the precious child.

Touched by the tragic fate of the Abbott family and of his retainer's utmost trust in him, the Duke went to meet the child and was said to have fallen for the little lady's charms in a matter of days. He then decided to honor his retainer's will and officially adopted the child. Duke Albrecht admitted in his interview that he was quite taken by the little girl for she showed intelligence beyond her young age and despite being the victim of several tragedies, she stayed as a bright and optimistic child.

Even though the Albrechts had provided verified information about their adopted daughter, Brandon and I looked into the story more objectively and conducted research regarding the legitimacy of the stories. Somehow, there were a few points that didn't make sense with some of it.

We did find the newspaper article detailing the carriage accident involving the Baron, as well as one before that in the gossip section of a magazine detailing the novel-like reunion of the Abbott Baron with his long-lost child.

However, Lady Ava's age coincided with our Ava's age – eight years old; and Baron Ludwig just turned twenty-five when he died, which means that he was only seventeen by the time that his child was born. Our research unearthed that his marriage lasted for only eight months and he was married to a woman named Ariane Mimosa, a Baron's daughter from the neighboring Wintercombe Kingdom.

At first, it didn't make sense to us since the legal age of marriage of Gouveia Kingdom is sixteen for females and eighteen for males. Yet, if the Baron was seventeen at the time Lady Ava was born, it would mean that he was married at sixteen. He was too young to be married under the Gouveian law.

Brandon and I shared this information with Greyson and he sent a letter that made things clear.

He had a hypothesis that can answer the question regarding the Baron's marriage. Since the former Baroness was from Wintercombe Kingdom and the legal age of marriage there was fifteen for females and sixteen for males, Greyson suspected that Baron Ludwig did not marry inside Gouveia but in the territory of his bride's home country. That was why he was able to be wedded at age sixteen.

When we looked into this, Greyson's letter proved true. The Baron indeed got married in Wintercombe Kingdom according to the public information logs in the school library. On instances that lower nobles tie the knot with a foreigner and planned to marry under the laws of a different Kingdom, it would only require the blessing of their direct superior for them to proceed with the wedding and that specific superior would be the one to inform the higher hierarchy. Thus, Duke Albrecht's signature was the only thing that the Baron needed to proceed with his wedding.

But even with all these information, something didn't quite feel right to me. I still haven't accepted the fact that Ava had been born with different circumstances in this life.

Yes, it does coincide with the god's words that she would be in an image that we recognize, but still… it just doesn't sit well with me… There's something not quite right about it…

"Oh my god, that's Lord Alistair!" a voice suddenly interrupted my reverie.

I looked up to the direction of the voice and indeed, Alistair Albrecht just entered the dining hall. Behind him is his brother, Lennox Albrecht.

The other students kept silent as the Albrecht brothers proceeded to the buffet table. The looks on the students' eyes implied that they want to approach the Albrechts and confirm the stories firsthand but no one was courageous enough to do so.

At that instant, I stood from my seat and went directly towards the Albrecht brothers.

"Look who finally decided to show up at school…" I said as soon as I was close enough to be heard by my targets.

The Albrechts turned towards me. Alistair gave a wry smile whilst Lennox rolled his eyes.

"Good morning to you too, Lord Landon," Alistair replied.

"What is it that you need?" Lennox followed immediately.

"That's cold of you… Do I only approach you when I need something? Our families have always been on friendly terms; we ought to get along better, don't you think?" I responded.

"We've always meant well, Lord Landon… It's you and your brother who doesn't seem to like the sight of us…" Alistair remarked, raising an eyebrow.

"That was just our competitiveness getting the better of us, Lord Alistair… It can't be helped when we're always head to head for top of the class, and Lord Lennox and Brandon tends to clash at their swordsmanship classes… If we did something that offended you, I ask for your forgiveness… I'll warn Brandon to be more civil as well… He's always been a hot-headed child, but he's not all bad…" I told them.

The Albrechts seem to be a tad surprised at my demeanor. I can't blame them. I was never the talkative type at school, and everyone knows I hate anyone who beats me at academics. But that was the immature twelve-year-old Landon… That's not me anymore… I have different values and different priorities from my twelve-year-old self… As of now, my priority is to learn more about Lady Ava and confirm whether she's our Ava or not.

"If that's so, then let's get along well from now on…" Alistair answered with another wry smile.

"By the way," I said, going straight to my business. "Did you know that within your absence, the school had been full of stories regarding your little sister? I think the students here would like to hear more about her," I added with a stagnant tone.

At the mention of their sister, I saw their gazes change a little. Somehow, they look more hostile.

"Father had already released an interview that can answer most of everyone's questions. I don't think there's a need for us to satisfy everyone's curiosity," Alistair answered.

"Why are you suddenly bringing up our little sister?" Lennox asked, looking at me with a solemn gaze.

"Well, you know that adoptions rarely happen within aristocracy; and it's not just any household who made the adoption, it's one of the Kingdom's most prominent noble families… Everyone's intrigued… My younger brother Greyson also happened to tell us about meeting the said lady when he went out to the Central Plaza, thus I was just a tad curious about what she's like…" I replied simply. "As you know, we also have a sister around the same age, and since our families are on friendly terms, perhaps they can befriend each other… Our Lottie can help her with adjusting to noble society. Lottie happen to be preparing for a small tea party for her friends. Perhaps your sister can join the gathering," I added.

"That's nice of you to offer, but I'm afraid it's too soon for our Ava to be attending tea parties with fellow noble ladies. Since she was raised from a humble origin, it's still necessary for her to be taught of the ways of nobility. She's a timid child too. Asking her to join a tea party might be too much to ask for now… Perhaps after her formal introduction to aristocracy, we'll tell her about your offer and she'll make the decision herself," Lennox answered.

Alistair gave a couple of nods, expressing his agreement to his brother's words.

"That's too bad…" I responded, feeling uncharacteristically irked at the sound of Lennox Albrecht saying 'our Ava' directly at my face. "Then do tell us once she's ready to accept invitations for social events… We'd love to meet her," I added and smiled. "See you in class then, Lord Alistair… Have a pleasant day, both of you." I gave them a small bow of the head.

"Likewise," Alistair said and bowed back. With that, we separated ways.

As I walked away, I couldn't help but be disappointed. It looks like it won't be easy to see the Albrecht lady in person until the Albrechts allow her to mingle among society.

I can't expect to probe information from the Albrecht brothers but that was within my expectations. They've always been a cautious bunch. At least I tried… It would be worth trying to befriend them so we can see Lady Ava as soon as possible. There's not much point trying to draw conclusions about her without meeting her firsthand. We have to meet her to see whether she's our Ava, the Ava we all knew, loathed and loved.

As for whether I want the Albrecht Lady to be the Ava we know, I'm not so sure. Perhaps like what Greyson confided to us, I'm also feeling sad that we weren't the ones to save her.

But if that is so, then we didn't mature at all. If we're still putting our feelings first before Ava and her welfare, then that's no different from the past life.

"If she's indeed Ava…" I murmured to myself. "…then I'll be happy for her and be good to her… It doesn't matter if I'm her brother or not… Perhaps the Albrechts will do for her what we couldn't do in the past…"

~~~

In the evening

AVA

It had been several days since I met Greyson Krauser. I'm still upset at the fact that the Krauser brothers remember me, and I made sure to express that towards the main perpetrator Vegzyn by ignoring him all week. But there's no point in crying over what's already been done.

Since I had been too busy dealing with the Albrechts ever since the start of transmigration, I couldn't pay any attention to any of noble society's gossip and missed hearing about the Krauser duchy finally finding their lost daughter. That information intrigued me the moment it was mentioned within Brother Nox's and young master Greyson's conversation so I asked Sally about it.

Charlotte Sophia was found in a port town in Seaside Shore just like what I had known and told the Krausers during the past life. That incident is the greatest evidence that the three young masters indeed went back in time with their memories intact. Just like me, they used the knowledge from the past life to change the course of events and avoid the future tragedies that started during this timeline.

At first, that information alarmed me. With Sophia returning, the Neutral Faction is no longer missing a candidate for the future Edel selection. Nevertheless, my adoption still pulled through. I looked into the exact day of the Krausers' announcement regarding Sophia's return and it was only several days away from the time that the Duke told me about my official adoption. There could've been time to relinquish their promise.

I can only guess why my adoption still pulled through because I obviously cannot ask the Albrechts directly. Perhaps they thought that they had already expended much effort with my adoption and their efforts would be wasted if they didn't pull through with it. And it's always better to have a back-up candidate in case something happens to Sophia again.

Two candidates are better than one. Perhaps the Neutral Faction will decide on a main candidate depending on which one between me and Sophia has better chances to win the selection. I made do with my own assumptions and got myself to calm down regarding the matter. I shouldn't stress myself out about it because whatever circumstances may have happened, I still got adopted officially by the Albrechts. The result is the most important.

Back to the Krausers, I also thought of probable scenarios to stop stressing myself over it. Since they found their sister and their family won't suffer the same tragedies that happened in the past life, I concluded that perhaps the Krauser brothers had decided to forget about my existence and focus on their own lives. Perhaps Greyson Krauser's reaction at seeing me again came as a surprise because he didn't expect for me to exist since I had missed my arrival in their home months from the time I should've been picked up by their mother. Who knows what those three are thinking but I hoped that my assumptions are right.

Thus, regarding dealing with the Krauser brothers in the future, I decided to just continue what I did on the day I met Greyson – feign ignorance. If I continue to act like I don't know them, they'll stay away. It's going to be stressful, but that's better than dealing with the Krausers all over again. Thankfully, it looks like it's going to be a fairly long time before I meet any of them again; the nearest date would be my social debut.

The past days had been busy with lessons and preparations of my introduction to society, but it looks like the Duke was just getting started. From tomorrow onwards, my lessons on basic education would be replaced by more advanced classes and I will also start learning horse-back riding and archery upon my request.

The horse-back riding and archery lessons were not at all part of the Duke's original plan but I insisted on them. I recalled the conversation with my new Father and brothers during dinner two nights ago.

"Starting on Monday next week, Ava's lessons will be upgraded. According to her tutors, she's a literal genius and had already perfected the expected education that noble children her age should master, perhaps even more than that. Such development is unthinkable considering you've been studying for barely two months. It's very commendable," the Duke said and casted an amused glance at me.

"My teachers' words are too kind, Father…" I answered with a smile. "I just do my best. All I do in the house is sleep, eat and study; if I can't do those three simple tasks perfectly, then I'll be putting the name of the Albrechts into shame," I added.

"Sheesh, Kitty had been spending too much time with Father; she's starting to sound like him," Nashiel commented with a sigh.

I smiled wider. "I'll take that as a compliment, Brother Nash…" I told him.

Meanwhile, Alistair turned to me. "It's good to see you getting a little plumper, Vivy… Did you have your weight measured today as well?" he asked.

I looked at him, continuing to smile. "Thank you for the concern, Brother Al… We did measure my weight today… I gained a couple of pounds within the week," I answered proudly.

"That's great…" Alistair told me with a smile. "If you want to eat anything that's not available in the mansion, just tell me…"

"I'll keep that in mind, brother…" I answered.

"By the way, Kitten, I'll be your dance partner for tomorrow's social etiquette lessons. I left a pair of shoes on your bed earlier; see if it fits…" Lennox interjected.

"But I just got several pairs of shoes for dancing lessons from Father…" I said in surprise.

"You can't have too many shoes… And this pair is special; I had it customized so it won't hurt your feet much," Lennox told me.

"I'm going to grow soon; maybe we shouldn't buy too many dresses and shoes?" I told them, remembering the recent shopping spree where I had to spend every free time in a span of three days looking over merchandise and trying on clothes and accessories. The maids were having a field day the whole time. The duchy had no ladies thus they weren't able to dress anyone up fancily.

"Nonsense," the Duke and his sons chorused, unexpectedly synchronized.

"You're the lady of the Albrecht duchy. You don't have to worry about such things," Nashiel told me.

"You should be used to it. You're the only daughter of one of the richest noble families in the Kingdom," Alistair followed.

"I'm just afraid I'll grow spoiled," I told them.

"Grow spoiled then," Lennox said. "And do what you can to make yourself feel that all this luxury is well-deserved… It's simple if you think of it that way, right?"

I nodded my head slowly. "I see you point, Brother Nox…" I answered and relaxed my shoulders. "Then like everyone wants, Ava will act spoiled and ask for whatever I need or want," I remarked, grinning.

The Albrechts gave amused smiles and seemed satisfied.

"Good girl…" Lennox commented before going back to his dinner.

"Then, with that saying, can I ask for what I want right now?" I added almost immediately.

"All of a sudden?" Nashiel said with a laugh.

I nodded my head. "There's something I've been thinking about for the past week…"

The three boys and even the Duke looked curiously at me.

"Ask away," the Duke told me and I heaved a huge breath.

"I want to learn horse-back riding and swordsmanship," I finally said.

The four of them looked taken aback at my answer and somehow, the Duke doesn't look too pleased.

"For what reason?" he asked.

"I want to learn how to protect myself," I replied.

"That's something you don't have to worry about… The bodyguards that would be tasked with your protection are top-notch. They won't let a hair on you come to harm," the Duke remarked.

"I know that Father… And it's not that I doubt the capabilities of the duchy's knights. But you'll never know when I'll need to protect myself. Father always said that it's always best to start young and early, whatever the task may be… If I start learning self-defense from a young age, I'll be more adept at it as I grow up…" I reasoned and put down my cutlery.

Then I got off my seat and went towards the Duke. He watched as I got closer to him.

The moment I reached him, I stood on tiptoe and reached for his hand.

"I want to be someone capable, not just an ordinary noble lady… I want to someday be strong enough to protect the people who helped and protected me… After Ms. Mary died, I knew how it felt to be helpless as my family was being harmed… The mere thought of losing my current family scares me. The Albrechts are always facing danger. I don't want to be a burden who always needs protection. And I want to be strong and capable enough to protect Father and my brothers once necessary," I said sincerely.

"My sons and I? Needing your protection?" the Duke remarked, looking amused.

"You never know what can happen, Father… You told me before that change is the only constant thing in this world… Circumstances can change. If you let me train, I might grow stronger than any of you here," I told him.

"You think so?" the Duke said. I nodded briskly in response, exerting more effort to look confident.

I suddenly heard a snort. I looked around and saw Nashiel suppressing his laughter with a hand over his mouth. Alistair and Lennox looked pretty entertained by my words as well and made no effort to hide the corner of their lips turning up in smirks.

"Very well then… I'll let you learn horse-back riding… But as for the self-defense, you're far too small to learn swordsmanship. You have to grow bigger first. I'll only allow archery," the Duke told me.

Playing the role of the overjoyed child, I took a huge leap, got onto the Duke's lap and gave him a big hug around the neck.

"Thank you Father! I won't disappoint you!" I told him.

The Duke looked surprised at first. Then he placed his enormous hand on my back and gave it a pat.

"You better not, Ava Adrienne," he said.

Everything had been too good to be true nowadays. My plans had been going smoothly so far. Like I anticipated, I'm getting a lot of resources from the Albrechts.

I planned to get self-defense lessons firsthand so that the incident of my death would not repeat itself. This time, I'll grow to be someone capable enough to defend myself. I won't let anyone hurt me, emotionally, mentally and physically.

After all, I'm on a mission to bring the whole continent together. This much preparation is necessary; it might not even be enough. I have to push myself to the limits to have a greater chance at achieving my final goal.

"Lady Ava, your riding gear is all prepared," Sally's voice from behind the door of my room suddenly interrupted my thoughts and I called for her to come in.

"Please be careful with your lessons tomorrow Milady…" Sally said as she laid down the riding gear on the table. "Really… I don't know what's going on in your mind when you asked the Duke for such lessons…"

"It's going to be useful some way or another, Sally… Trust me," I told her.

Sally sighed as she covered the riding gear with a silk cloth. "If you say so Milady then I'll believe you… Just promise me you won't get hurt," she remarked.

As I stared at her worried face, I thought of the many times I felt the prick of guilt whenever the people of the duchy showed me concern and care. However, I snuff out that guilt as soon as it starts showing. After all, I cannot rule out the possibility of their concern and kind actions as something that just came out of the Duke's orders.

There might be no one guiltier of deception than I do in this house; I'll continue deceiving people as long as I deem necessary; and the more I trick people, the more I doubt others as well. I grew up in circumstances that showed me how people are more capable of being bad than being good. I've grown predisposed to think that people only show kindness if the situation is to their favor. There's no reason for me not to think that way about the people of the Albrecht household. I have no way of knowing whether their kindness is sincere or not, and succumbing to their kindness will just be a source of weakness on my part. I'm merely starting on my mission; I can't afford having that weakness.

"Milady, are you alright? Why aren't you saying anything?" Sally asked and I realized I had been quiet for a few seconds. She quickly went to my side and placed her hand on my forehead.

"I'm fine, Sally. Sorry for worrying you… My mind wandered for a while there… I'm just so excited for the lessons tomorrow," I told her and gently took her hand off my forehead. "I promise I'll be careful always," I answered with an assuring smile.

"I'll trust your words, Milady…" Sally replied with a smile before getting up briefly to get the brush in front of my vanity mirror. "Let's brush your hair before you go to sleep…" she added.

"Okay," I said smilingly, turning my back towards her.

As I felt the gentle hands on my head, I further steeled my conviction.

I am not in the wrong. I'm doing what's needed to be done. I have no time to play mind games with these people and spend valuable thinking space to come up with ways I can use to see whether they're sincere about me or not. If I put my guard down and let just anyone inside my heart, it won't give me any benefits but it can put me in danger instead.

By putting appropriate distance between me and other people, I'm doing the right thing. And no kind actions, worried words nor gentle touch can make me believe otherwise.