Flashback 5 (Olivia POV)

Months had passed and I wasn't being guarded anymore. Whenever I had a chance, I went to my secret place, wearing my robe and covering my face with fabric. That place was a big house in a secluded place near the capital. That house was actually owned by brother Raphael, but he let me use it to hide everyone I safed.

"How's everyone going?" I asked when I visited.

Brother Raphael welcomed me and let me enter the house. "Everyone is going well, except for the boy from that night. He is so scared."

I could understand why he was scared. Noah, that boy, he was just a boy who killed someone. That must be hard for him and the guilty feeling must be eating him up. "I see, I will go and see him. How about the lady?"

"She's fine. Nothing bad happened. I told her what happened that night and she said that she forgive that boy. She just worried about Prince Francis."

"Alright, I understand. Make sure no one notices that she is here since she is a 'dead' person for now." I sighed in relief then walked to Noah's room. I had to calm him down.

I entered Noah's room. "Noah, you okay?"

"No…" He answered with a shaky voice as his body trembled. "Those people… They are searching for me right? What will happen to me if I get caught? I heard that Baron Collin was sentenced to death, I will have the same end like him, right?"

I approached him. "No, don't worry. They won't find you here because this is a secluded area. Also brother Raphael won't let anyone come and find you here. If you stay here without getting too much attention, then you will be safe. Everyone who knows your face has died, only me and brother Raphael left." I tried to calm him down.

"Re-realy? But… But I killed someone."

"I know you killed someone, but Baron Collin made you do that right? Do you even know who you killed that night?"

Noah shaked his head. "You don't even know her. I know that it doesn't mean you're innocent at all, but you're not fully wrong either."

After talking with Noah, I left him and went to the bookstore mentioned in my letter to Francis. I wonder if he really visited that bookstore and read something there. That was the second time I went there but I hadn't found any clues. I even hadn't seen his face clearly, I wish I could recognize him.

XX street where the bookstore was located was a popular place among the commoner. That area was always crowded with people so no one would notice if there was a prince in disguise.

When I arrived, I entered the bookstore and walked between the bookshelves there, searching for Francis. At the corner of the room, there was a boy that looked like the Francis I met at the library, sitting on the floor and having a hard time understanding the book he was reading.

I decided to approach him, "do you recognize me?" I asked.

"Are… are you the one who gave me this paper at the library?" He asked me back while giving me a piece of paper.

I took the paper and read it. That was the exact same paper I gave to Francis that day. This boy, if someone impersonated me, he would be in great danger. He didn't even realize it and just gave me the paper easily.

I bowed at him slightly. "Greetings, I am Charlize. Are you, the First Prince?" I whispered at the few last words.

"Ah, Charlize. Nice to meet you."

"First of all, I'm sorry since I won't speak formally to you. If I speak formally, everyone would find it weird and know your identity. Your identity must be hidden. Next, we will meet here often and I will teach you everything." I started our conversation. He just listened to me and agreed to everything I said. Then I started to teach him.

Three hours passed so fast and it was close to dinner time. "You have to return back so no one will notice you."

"Understand. Thank you Charlize."

Since that day, we met at the bookstore almost everyday and learned a lot of things together. He knew me as a worker at the Ashford mansion, who had a grudge against that family. I told him that I would help him to raise the throne and ruin that family.

Besides helping him to study, I also help him by providing antidotes. A lot of people wanted his life, and poison is the best solution for it. To help him, I supplied him with a weak antidote that helped him to survive every poison attack.

By time, I gave him poison, saying that it was an antidote. I wanted him to grow his body immune to poison. I couldn't protect him every single time and there was a possibility he would be poisoned with a strong poison that has no antidote. The perfect way for it is to build the body immune.

...….

Two years after the accident in the forest, no one talked about that night anymore. Noah's condition was getting better and he started to help brother Raphael learn swordsmanship.

Only the duke's secret army who were still searching for Noah. They didn't know his face, so they had a hard time finding any clues. Moreover the duke wanted them to move secretly, making things more difficult.

In order to ensure Noah's safety, I decided to ask him to become Francis' knight. No one in the duke's secret army would search for him in the palace.

"Noah, make sure you help him. Help him if he has a hard time, help him to sneak out, help him to learn swordsmanship secretly, everything." That's what I said the first time they met.

Both of them ended up getting along really well, without even noticing the secret about their past.

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Hi everyone, here I am with a new chapter.

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