To my dearest daughter,

How have you been? It's been so long since I've been able to write to you, I'm sorry for not responding sooner. The war is starting to reach its end, and we've managed to survive countless casualties as if by miracle. I'm relieved that things back at the manor appear to be going well, so make sure you thank your mother in my stead, for all her hard work.

I saw a beautiful golden moon, last night. It reminded me of your eyes, and I found myself longing to see you again. I sent you another gift with this letter, and I'm hoping you'll receive it well.

Moving on, you must know that we're going to be taking in the second prince of Laydel under our care soon. Unfortunately, I won't be able to personally welcome him into our home, so I'd like it if you and Rayvis could be nice to him when he arrives. I'm sure the boy could use a few allies in his strange new home.

But make sure you keep some distance. After all, he is a growing man. Men are dangerous, Irene. Be sure to at least keep a metre or two away from him at all times. Just to be safe.

I will be back home soon, but I'm afraid that I'll miss your eighth birthday. I already feel sad enough not being able to spend any special days with you for the last three years. But once I'm home, let us spend many fun days together.

I'll write to you again soon. Until then, please be well and take care of yourself.

Love from,

Your beloved Father

As Irene held the cold parchment in between her fingers, she could feel and smell the crisp winter of the mountain forests that Rudien was in, through the letter he sent. Irene couldn't help but smile as she gazed out of her bedroom window, the autumn leaves almost completely disappeared from the branches of the trees outside.

Winter was near, and so was her eighth birthday. And the appearance of Prince Mikael - a character she had been waiting to meet for almost eight years now - was around the corner.

It's finally time... She thought, golden eyes gazing out with a serious expression. There's only two more months until he arrives... I have to make sure he opens up to me.

As she gazed out, she noticed a familiar airborne figure with majestic white wings, flying toward her window from the distance. Snow, who had just arrived from his check in on Rudien, zoomed into the room before finally perching himself onto the desk beside Irene.

"He's doing well. The knights are preparing for their last battle before coming home," he told her. "A few of them are injured. But nothing is fatal."

Irene nodded. "Good. I'm glad they're safe," she said to the phoenix, who folded down his wings. The golden linings on the tips of his feathers glistened under the candlelight. "Please continue to protect them in their next battle too, Snow."

He closed his eyes, lowering his head. "Of course, Sprout."

Irene stood up, folding the letter between her fingers and placing it back into the envelope. As much as she missed her father, she couldn't help but be worried about the appearance of Mikael Laydel — a boy who would become the villain of her story.

As she sighed softly, Irene walked toward one of the elaborate white drawers in her room, where she kept stacks of all the envelopes she had received from Rudien over the last three years. She neatly pulled the top drawer and placed the new letter on top of one of the piles, before her eyes glanced at a notebook on the right.

A notebook she would use, to plot how she would change the original story. As Irene picked up the hard-back book, she ran her thumb over the edge of one of the pages, smiling at the messy handwriting and splotches of ink from struggling to get used to dipping pens.

As Snow watched her carry the lavender-coloured notebook back toward her seat, he noticed the white-haired girl flipping through the pages, and leaned in out of curiosity.

It was then - he realised something.

The words she wrote. And the letters she used, they were completely unfamiliar. As if written by a person who came from a different country entirely.

What is that writing...? He wondered, but didn't ask out loud. Could it be code...? No... Those are definitely the letters of another language... He always knew Irene was a unique case, but his loyalty to her never wavered even when she seemed suspicious.

This girl... Not only does she have too much mana in her body, which I'm having to constantly absorb, but she's even able to write in a different language? She sure is full of surprises.

Irene sighed softly, flicking through her scribbled notes as she looked for all of the information she put down for Mikael's character. As her eyes scanned the notes, they stopped at a page titled with Mikael's name. Smiling softly - Irene began reading her notes.

Before entering the manor, he lived with Daniel in hiding, and the two were watched over by maids who were hired by Duke Atlan. In her original story, Hanna never really went into detail with this part of the princes lives - but if she assumed correctly, Mikael was ignored by the maids while Daniel received all of their attention.

Although Daniel treated his brother well, he never did anything to stop the maids from ignoring Mikael. They treated him like a ghost in their house, and as he watched them shower Daniel with love and luxuries, Mikael grew up to feel envious and inferior to his brother.

Thus, Mikael would find it difficult to trust people. He and his brother originally had a good relationship - except Mikael was jealous of how fortunate Daniel was, although he always tried to hide it. When he entered the Cherliann manor, he was bullied by Irene — who used to pull pranks on him and embarrass him openly, even in front of other nobles.

Whether it was planting one of her jewels in his room and framing him for stealing, or having the maids serve him chicken bones for dinner. Her perpetual torture never ceased.

And as a supporter of Prince Daniel, Rayvis also had a cold attitude toward Mikael. He didn't intervene when he saw Irene torment the second prince, and even threatened Mikael to know his place, whenever he demonstrated prowess in battle or politics.

The unfair treatment and cruel people around him, ultimately led Mikael to becoming a man who despised Laydel itself. He began to grow ambitious and plotted to kill the girl who Daniel was so in love with, before murdering his own brother. Mikael yearned to see the kingdom which abhorred him, fall at his hands.

But when he met Isabella for the first time — in his attempt to kidnap her, everything changed. Of course, it wasn't a fast and immediate change that took place in Mikael's tainted heart. In the end, it couldn't change the fact that he would remain a villain.

As she looked through her notes, Irene noticed the word "PLAN" written across the top of a following page, and reviewed what she had jotted there.

" - be nice to Mikael and continuously try to become his friend. Knowing him, he'll be extremely cautious and find it difficult to open up. But you can't give up even if you keep failing! Always try!"

Irene chuckled softly. Although it was something she wrote herself, the encouragement she received while reading this somehow fuelled her motivation even more.

" - If Mikael ends up hating you and plan A doesn't work out, try to have Isabella help him out. If he meets her, he's sure to open up to her. But be careful - if he ends up falling in love with her, it might cause a dangerous love triangle when Daniel gets involved. ."

I can't argue with that. The love triangle in my original story was seriously bad... Irene thought, frowning. She remembered both the brothers were on the verge of killing each other, if not for Isabella.

Irene heaved a sigh. There was no guarantee her first plan was going to work - because Mikael wasn't the kind of person who would fall at the mercy of someone who was nice to him. Breaking down his walls was going to be like taming a savage, wounded lion. And that was no easy feat.

Even if he's only nine, he's dangerous. Irene frowned, brows furrowing in thought. Right now, he's already on the path to becoming a villain. I have to force him to stray from that path.

After taking a deep breath, Irene snapped her notebook shut and gazed upwards, clenching a fist. I've got this! I can do this! She told herself, steeling her resolve. I've managed to make the wicked Cherliann household, a wholesome and loving family! There's no way Mikael will grow up to be a villain as long as we take care of him.

"Don't worry, Mikael Laydel." She smiled, closing her eyes. "I won't let you suffer any more."

👀