A tea cup was crisply set aside on a plate.

Lucilline's pale skin glowed within the rays of the lamp. It was nighttime, and a crescent moon hung in the dark void-like sky. His eyes fell to look at the pile of paper across his desk. After writing down plenty of notes, Lucilline had finished his work.

"Young Master, are the papers done?" Willow asked.

Lucilline took the pile of paper off his desk, then handed it into Willow's arms. "Yes, you can look it over and check for mistakes."

"I doubt there would be any." Willow spoke. She went over the papers, her eyes scanning the surface at an alarmingly fast pace. "Mhm." She smiled. "As expected. Young Master truly never makes any mistakes."

Lucilline steadied his cheek on a slender palm.

He spoke leisurely, "Of course. I never make any mistakes."

Willow arched an eyebrow. She lowered his eyes, which landed on the sight of Lucilline's fingers. His thumbs fumbled and rubbed against each other, stroking every knuckle cleanly. Willow straightened her back, and said blatantly, "Why is Young Master nervous?"

Lucilline quickly sat up straight in his seat. "I'm not nervous."

"Young Master," Willow deadpanned. "Your hands are touching each other. This is a common trait of yours when you're nervous."

Lucilline pursed his lips. He changed the subject quickly, "Right, did you deliver the quartz earrings to Father? Is he doing well? Did he say anything to you?"

Immediately, Willow's mood diminished. Her heels tapped the ground anxiously, "I-I didn't see him in person, but I made sure that he got the earrings. He was probably... very happy. Young Master, you needn't worry about him." Then, she returned back to the original subject.

"Young Master, don't use Grand Duke Rubius to hide the truth. This is the evidence; the absolute truth. Are you still willing to say that you're not nervous?" Willow settled her hands on her hips.

Knowing that he couldn't argue back, Lucilline fell silent.

Willow sighed. "Young Master, you can inform me of what's bothering you. I am willing to hear about your troubles. After all, I am your servant. If I can't do something as simple as this... then it means I am truly incompetent. So, allow me to listen."

Lucilline studied the expression of Willow. She wore a calming yet determined look. With one glance and Lucilline could tell that his maidservant was feeling genuine.

He sighed, "Fine. It's only a meek matter, but sure, I'll tell you."

Willow straightened up after hearing that. She felt tension scrutinizing every marrow of her bones, as her ears heightened.

The light of the lamp shone on Lucilline's pale skin, as he expressionlessly explained. "I was thinking about the carriage accident from this afternoon. The horses are supposed to be tamed, but something agitated them into becoming wild. I can't think of anything from that moment which might've shocked them. It could've been that they were suddenly hit... but who would do such a thing?"

He fiddled with his thumbs, which were slender and yet long. "Could it be the owner of the carriage? When we checked, there were nobody inside the carriage."

Lucilline's eyes flickered from his hands to Willow. "What do you think?"

Being called out on, Willow automatically stiffened. She blurted out mindlessly, "I think that the culprit of this incident is really seeking for death! To try and offend the Duke Rubius family, their courage must be unlimited! Don't worry, Young Master! With me by your side, you don't need to panic! I will crush the limbs of whoever dares to mess with you! I will make sure they never walk on this land again!"

Lucilline, "..." He was shocked into becoming speechless. Never in his life had he ever seen such an arrogant and extremely off-topic Willow before.

His golden eyes widened, and his jaw almost dropped.

Realizing the stupor that was written across his face, Lucilline quickly turned away. His shoulders began to shake up and down. He threw a gloved hand over his mouth, trying to block the laughter that was piling up.

Unfortunately, he couldn't hold it up.

Lucilline bursted into sweet laughter, with his chest heaving up and down. He could barely catch a breath, and his voice sounded oh so melodically seductive to the astonished Willow.

Willow blushed, "Don't laugh at me, Young Master!"

Lucilline waved a gloved hand, appearing quite nonchalant. "Sorry, but you ignored my thought process and was instead focused on getting revenge. That... made me..." He bursted out into another round of laughter, reddening and darkening the blush on Willow's face.

"Enough is enough, Young Master." Willow sighed. Her blush faded, as she tried to exempt herself from the embarrassment and ridicule. "I want an explanation for the incident as much as Young Master does."

"I know that." Lucilline erased the laughter from his face. "That is why you're the only servant in this household."

Willow fell silent.

Just when Lucilline thought he'd stepped too far, Willow began to bloat up like a balloon. "Young Master! Now is not the time to mention the dark history! Tomorrow is a Monday! You need to wake up extra early for tomorrow's session at school! Did you complete the homework? Do you understand the lesson taught? Do you want me to contact the teacher into giving you less work?"

Lucilline, "..." The subject was avoided faster than ever.

He blinked, then looked at the paper in Willow's hands. "Actually..." Feeling guilty, Lucilline shrank back in his seat, "I didn't have much time to complete the homework due for tomorrow..."

He dragged his words on, hoping to be exempted from witnessing Willow's hot temper.

Unfortunately, his wish was not granted.

Willow immediately bursted into hot anger. "What? Why didn't you tell me that? If you told me that, I wouldn't have disturbed you by giving you so much paperwork from the estate!" She crouched pitifully, burrowing her face into her dress. "Oh ho... I'm such a failure of a maid."

Standing up from his chair, Lucilline was at a loss of how to comfort her.

Willow hung her head down. "Forget it, Young Master." The servant patted her dress and stood up from crouching. "I will be leaving now. Make sure to get some rest for tonight. A long day is awaiting for you tomorrow. If you need me, feel free to call my name."

Willow took the papers with her, then excused herself. She closed the doors behind, shutting the light inside the bedroom.

Lucilline listened to her footsteps, which led away from the door.

Once he made sure that Willow had left for sure, Lucilline relaxed. He pulled out his pile of homework from under his desk, flipping it twice to examine. That night, he was going to get no rest.

In the morning, when Willow came back, she found Lucilline slumped across the desk, fast asleep. Set aside on the desk were a set of completed homework.

Willow, "..." She felt quite upset that her words were disregarded.

*****

In order to never attract any attention, Lucilline always walked to school. He was afraid to flaunt his wealth and make a big scene out of it. In one hand, he held a leather bag, which contained all of his papers, homework, books, pen, and ink.

Lucilline wore his school uniform. It was a simple white short-sleeved shirt, with an unbuttoned black sweater, which loosely overlapped. A black tie hung from his shirt, with the collar pulled slightly to reveal his slender and delicate collarbones. Because he wore short-sleeves, his elbow to his forearm was bathing in the warm sunlight. An expanse of pure unblemished skin was exposed.

His hair was tied into a loose braid, plopped down on a shoulder. Although messily tied, his hairstyle matched how nonchalant his personality was. His pants were of loose black trousers, and he wore high-heeled and tight black boots. The heels would continuously click and clack at the pavement ground.

He wore plain black gloves, made of soft fabric, which were tight and displayed his slender knuckles. On his wrist hung a bracelet of a copper bell. The bell rung twice before falling into silence.

Gradually, he arrived at the gates of his school; S Academy in Lydia Kingdom.

The guards noticed him. Without saying a word, the guards allowed him to pass the gate. After all, this was the third son of Duke Rubius! There was no way a single thing would harm him!

They were completely unaware of the latest carriage incident, which was burdened on Lucilline's mind.

Inside the gates, there were already a few students. Majority of the students had already entered the academy, but some were loitering outside.

"Hey, did you hear that there are a few transfer students?"

"Mhm. There is a girl and boy. Both are from the same district!"

"They're both cute as well! I think I've spotted the new popular students of our school!"

"Shut up, fan girls. The transfer boy is inside the school. That's where you'll find him. So leave us boys alone."

"Hmph! You're only staying outside because the transfer girl is out here!"

The girls and boys clashed at each other, as they talked about their own likes and the new transfer students. Lucilline paid no heed to it.

After all, he felt tired. It was as if something was weighing down his eyelids, and his brain was on the verge of shutting down. After wasting a few hours worth of sleep on completing his homework, Lucilline barely got any time to rest. He overworked himself, and felt deprived. His skin paled even further, and a headache formed on the tip of his head.

He trudged across, heading towards the academy.

The school building was in the shape of a castle. The top formed into the tip of a pyramid, piercing into the boundaries of the skies. Before the entrance of the building was a water fountain. Tranquil and smooth surfaces of water piled in the fountain, gleaming and sparkling like jewels.

By the fountain was a teenage girl. She was unfamiliar to S Academy, because she was one of the two new transfer students.

Her healthy wheat-like skin glowed in the reflection of the waters, almost as completely unblemished as Lucilline's skin. The girl tied her chestnut brown locks of hair into a high ponytail, with straight bangs brushing past her forehead. Her big round eyes were a colour of iris, shining brighter than any gem in Duke Rubius' jewelry collection.

She wore S Academy's uniform, a black sweater befitting her figure, just like what Lucilline wore. A white shirt was visible underneath, with a black tie properly attached to the collar. Her skirt was a pattern of black and white stripes, reaching to the midst of her knees.

This transfer girl... she was the heroine!

The transfer girl was examining the fountain with big and bright pupils. She focused on nothing else but the water, since it piqued her curiosity so greatly.

Meanwhile, Lucilline was walking solemnly to the fountain. He focused on nothing else but the matters in his head, which were about the strange carriage incident from yesterday.

Both didn't pay attention to each other.

Abruptly, a cheerful sensation filled the depths of the transfer girl's chest. She was excited to attend a proper school, especially one that specializes for nobles!

Despite not being a noblewoman, she still got to attend. After all, her aptitude in other subjects were great and worthy to attend S Academy.

The transfer girl cheered herself on.

She bursted outwards, her hands and arms flying to reach for the sky. Abruptly, the force she used was too strong. Additionally, she didn't notice a sullen someone walking by her.

Unexpectedly, the transfer girl accidentally whacked the leather bag that Lucilline held... into the fountain! Wide eyes and speechless with disbelief, the transfer girl wanted to apologize. However, she could barely talk as she witnessed the leather bag plop into the depths of water.

For some reason, whatever that leather bag held... it was way too heavy!

As soon as the bag fell into the fountain, a large current of water arose.

A splash of water crashed against Lucilline's black sweater, soaking his outerwear into a dripping mess. The transfer girl winced, as she looked cautiously at the victim's expression.

Lucilline blinked twice. His golden pupils glowed a magnificent light.

He finally woke up from the fatigue of last night.

Lucilline's eyes fell upon the leather bag, which was completely soaked through. Indifferent, he reached out and fished out the bag.

Once the bag was taken out from the water fountain, several droplets of water were poured out.

Nonetheless, the contents and paperwork inside the bag were practically unrecognizable! The water had wet the ink, making it scrawl all over the pages.

Lucilline expressionlessly took off his black sweater.

His outerwear soaked up all the water, leaving his white shirt a bit dry from the water's assault. Lucilline tied the black sweater around his waist, showing off a pair of slender and slightly feminine yet masculine hips. He shot an inquiring look at the transfer girl.

The transfer girl was rooted at the spot. She was first... stunned at the appearance of the teenage boy before her! Second... she was feeling a bit hot when looking at him!

Back then, if all the reincarnators knew just how wild her thoughts were, they would've all dropped and stopped reading the novel.

"Umm..." The transfer girl couldn't help but stammer. "I... apologize for making such a havoc!"

She bowed, and her chestnut brown hair dangled at the ground. She expected to be punished or to be let off.

If the reincarnators were there, they would've been sure of her punishment. In the original novel, Lucilline was completely humiliated. His papers had become unrecognizable, and a piece of his clothing was soaked in water. Unwilling to be seen in such a state, he shot a glare at the heroine, scolded her with unrecognizable curses, and then directly ran away!

This lead the entire school into believing that the heroine was bullying him! The school naturally took to the side of the nobles, so they began to often bully and humiliate the heroine.

That completely began Lucilline's adventure as the great villain!

However, that was in the original novel...

This... was his story.