I felt the worn piece of paper crumple under the pressure of my hands. It felt as if I’d be capable of tearing it with even the slightest of force

I wish I was able to easily solve my dilemma.

I threw the paper underwater and buried myself within the mountains. I’d cast so many of them into the fire that I’d since lost count.

But no matter how many hardships I endured, the letters on the paper did not fade away.

In the end, the two heads of the family surrendered to their ancestors’ whims.

The contents of the contract were simple.

We shall join the hands of our descendants after their birth. Though it’d be a bit embarrassing if their age difference was too large or if they were of the same gender, so let’s give them a longer deadline.

But they were both drunk and just coughed up whatever came to their minds, so the contract ended up looking like a joke. Although, the actual problem was the fact that the paper they used for the contract was no regular paper.

The contract must be fulfilled no matter what. Otherwise, the side-effects will not be pretty.

In the novel, this damned contract made Maevia Morgana’s life a living hell.

Her husband was awful beyond words.

I put down the contract and smiled at the wretched bastard sitting across from me.

“Excellent. Marriage sounds good.”

“Wise choice. Then let’s have a wedding ceremony that isn’t too ceremonious. Following that, I’ll need you to go down to the Fief and behave like the lady of the house until I call for you. Naturally, there won’t be any time to spend in leisure whilst dousing yourself in luxuries”, Gilbert Kallakis warned me in an arrogant tone.

Clearly, he was just brushing me off without a care in the world.

Ah, really. I’m at a loss for words.

Even whilst I was reading the novel, I felt like the story was pulling at my leg. Then again, it’s even more ridiculous when I’m actually experiencing the situation myself.

I retained a pleasant expression.

“Who said I was going to marry you?”

“……..Pardon?”

“I’m not marrying you, but your father instead.”

Yup, I wasn’t referring to him using his title on purpose. I’d like to just be able to refer to him as ‘you’. But it seemed like Gilbert didn’t have time to care about things like titles.

“What did you just……. It seems like I’ve misheard. Can you please repeat what you just said?”

I held back the desire to let a smirk show on my face.

Do you need me to clean out your earwax for you? Well, the notary must’ve heard what I said anyways.

“Your father is a single man. You’re just holding onto a worthless stone block, knowing that it was a gold bar all along, so obviously there’s still the possibility of your father being valid for the contract.”

“There’s no way those absurd words of yours are referring to me.”

“Oh my gosh, did it sound like I was referring to you?”

I feigned innocence but didn’t exactly deny it.

Gilbert’s face turned red.

“I’m not aware of a mistake I’ve made that warrants this kind of embarrassment from you. I’m not asking for much. All you have to do is fulfil the contract requirements and remain a faithful spouse.”

“Of course I’ll do that, but not with you. I’ll be marrying your father instead.”

“…….I don’t have time to play around with you, lady”, Gilbert sighed.

“Just tell me what you want. Jewelry? Dresses? How greedy must you be to not be satisfied with the title of Grand Duchess?”

Hey, don’t be such a little *****. You think you’re the only one with money? The only noble to ever live?

He wasn’t even the real son of the Grand Duke. He was adopted, just like his brother.

“If you wanted to marry me so badly, you should’ve just written your name on the contract. Does writing on a piece of paper hurt your little wittle pride? Or is it that you’re physically incapable of doing that?”

“Lady”, Gilbert nagged me.

I smiled sweetly.

“Yes, I may be the only daughter of the Morgana family, but shouldn’t you consider Grand Duke Kallakis’ family too? He has two sons, and both he and his other son are single. Unlike you, I have three options to choose from.”

It seemed like he’d only understand the situation if I explained it to him in detail.

His expression told me he thought I was spouting bullshit.

“However, my father has a hard time getting out of his room. My brother is still much too young…….”

“Oh my, you’re not leaving yet? I thought our conversation was over already.”

I glanced over at the notary, cutting off his rambling with knife-like precision. The notary silently took care of the contract.

I nodded at Gilbert, telling him to get out.

“Please send my regards to his excellency the Grand Duke.”

I don’t have to see you off myself, do I?

I wouldn’t go that far.

Gilbert eventually left with the notary, leaving behind a teacup in front of his empty seat. Uu, I didn’t know whether or not he was going to throw it at me when I rejected him. I ordered the maid to throw out the teacup. Then, Monica Elaine approached me.

“How was it?”

She asked for the result of the affair. I thought she’d wait until the end of the conversation but it looked like she hadn’t left yet.

“Time well spent.”

“It can’t be that you have a crush on the young master, right? Make up your mind. The Elaine family has always sided with the Morgana family, but we will not close our eyes towards this situation this time.”

It felt strange to hear this from Monica.

In the novel, she had an affair with Gilbert.

“…..That young master, it’s funny how he’s trying to pretend to be someone who’s been noble since birth just because he got adopted into a good family.”

Oh well, that’s what the novel said.

Monica Elaine attempted to get in between the relationship of Gilbert Kallakis and Maevia every chance she got in the novel.

A very popular subject was his ‘dirty birth’. They say lust can disappear very easily when you’ve got a pair of mismatched eyebrows.

So Monica always said the same thing.

-You think so, too, Maevia?

So that’s why, when the flustered Maevia nodded her head on impulse, Monica snitched to Gilbert as if she’d been waiting for that very moment.

-Maevia keeps cursing you behind your back… I simply don’t know what to do.

Monica fabricated rumours that Maevia had been talking behind his back. When Monica said that she wished Maevia happiness, Gilbert felt that she was far too pitiful to bear.

He was furious and asked Maevia if it was true.

Under such pressure, Maevia wasn’t able to explain herself. Gilbert started to hate her and didn’t even try to hide it.

Monica put on a pitiful expression whilst fiddling with her scarlet hair.

“No matter how much I think of it, this is too much for My Lady. Imagine having to spend the rest of your life in the barren northern territory where there’s nothing to do…….”

I smiled brightly.

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t fight a losing battle.”

“Ah! As expected, you must be looking forward to getting a divorce right after? Well, if it’s the Morgana family, they’ll somehow work it out. But once you get married, wouldn’t your decision end up becoming messy?”

Monica kept talking without hearing my answer.

“Anyways, young master Gilbert is a good-looking man. It’s not everyday you see such a fine man in the capital.”

“The capital is already cramped.”

“Pardon? The capital…… is cramped?”

She opened her eyes wide, looking as if she’d heard something unbelievable.

You should leave now too. How annoying.

I rang the bell rope and called the maid over.

“Monica, I will be very happy and well there, living in the cozy north with a husband that’ll look only at me.”

But Gilbert won’t give up so easily.

As expected, a few days later Gilbert requested to meet up with me. I refused him and said that I had a cold. After that, he sent me a bouquet of flowers with a letter.

My maid Sarah, the one closest to me, told me,

“Miss, I don’t think this is right. Isn’t it basic knowledge to know what it signifies when one gives a bouquet to another?”

It was only natural for Sarah to be dumbfounded.

In the end, she went wild.

“How dare he send you chrysanthemums?! Isn’t this just declaring war on the miss?”

Feeling her blood pressure go up, Sarah grabbed the back of her neck. However, this was only the beginning of the tricks Gilbert was going to pull.

My maid is precious so I’ll send her to go get a medical examination. And I’ll give her a raise.

“I don’t think it’s like that. I believe he just picked them because their shade of white looks virtuous. Anyhow, flowers are like humans to me.”

Even if I was to explain it to her, she wouldn’t understand what I meant.

“Does the Grand Duke’s household not teach manners or common sense?”

“I don’t think the head of the house forced him to learn since he isn’t going to be the successor.”

Technically, Gilbert Kallakis was a failure. The main character of the novel wasn’t actually Gilbert, but his younger brother Rehan Kallakis.

Gilbert was destined to be forever-second-best, a corrupted hero.

Unlike me, who remained calm, Sarah was out of control. Instead, she was near tears because she felt sorry for me.

“Urgh………. I can’t even put this in a vase.”

All right, all right, I get you. I, too, nearly broke the screen when I read the novel. I remember flipping through so many pages just to see Gilbert get punished.

“Throw it away.”

“C-Can I really?”

“I’d also like to throw that away.”

I looked over to the letter and pointed at it. I hadn’t even opened it yet, but I already knew its contents.

Gilbert was a prideful man.

He probably hasn’t even told the Grand Duke about my preposition yet. He’d undoubtedly try to coax me into marrying him.

Sarah didn’t even have to ask me twice; she threw the bouquet and letter out with a look of disgust on her face.

I sat down on the sofa and ate my sorbet without a care in the world.

Ice was commonly found within the Morgana residence, so common that even the maids could sit down wherever they wanted with a snack containing ice.

This was a luxury that would’ve been impossible to achieve in the novel.

In the novel, the Morgana family went downhill after all of their investments failed. Therefore, they didn’t even dare to break the contract’s requirements.

The magic involved in the contract was no ordinary magic.

It meant that, if you wanted to break the contract, you’d have to acquire a sage’s assistance. The thing is, it takes a large sum of money to do so.

The Morgana family didn’t have the means to raise money, so they followed Gilbert’s every request.

Well, I’m the Gap now, and he’s the Eul. [1]

Unlike the Maevia in the novel, I had nothing to worry about. I was able to break the contract or change partners as I wished.

So I chose Grand Duke Kallakis.

Gilbert treated the Grand Duke like he was some sort of toothless wolf. He had so much confidence in himself that he believed covering the Grand Duke’s eyes and ears would stop him from taking action, along with keeping him isolated in the North.

However, Grand Duke Kallakis was and would always be the king of beasts.

As of the moment, I felt too lazy to step in. I’ll just sit this one out; it’s not like it’s going to be fun anyways.

By now, he must’ve already heard the news and undertaken a background check on me.

I’m convinced that the Grand Duke knows what my life – as Maevia Morgana – with my biological parents is like. But how do I get in touch with him?

Living as Maevia, I did numerous crazy things on purpose, and it gives me a good laugh when I look at my records.

That evening, using the excuse that Gilbert had stressed me out, I booked an appointment with the fine-dining specialist chef so that I could enjoy a gourmet meal. I heard he was hard to book.

Egg dishes with truffle cream, asparagus soup, scallops with trout eggs, oyster gratin… I ate filet mignon steak and had chocolate ice cream as a dessert. All of my worries disappeared.

Money is the best. Delicious food is the best.

I hummed as I opened the door. I heard a tapping sound by the window.

“Hm?”

As I looked over, I caught sight of a bird lingering around outside my window.

A crow? But why is he so small?

The unidentified bird was as small as a crow-tit and had fluffy feathers. It kept pecking at the latch, but it wouldn’t open. It rammed itself into the window with all of its force.

Though, the window didn’t budge. The pitiful bird limped around.

Sarah was taken aback to find such a little pitch-black bird following me around.

“Ooo, why’s the bird like that? Doesn’t it know it’s glass?”

“Stay here.”

I asked her to wait and approached the window.

It wasn’t very difficult catching the bird; it’d been flapping around and had looked like it was going to fall.

It was so small, small enough to fit in my hand. I relaxed my palm and the small black bird tried to stand up straight, stretching its legs. Even though it charged head first into the window, the bird was sane and unscathed.

An ordinary bird would have been badly hurt. When I looked at the window, I saw a bird-like imprint.

Hmm, seems like he sent his familiar.

However, this familiar was never mentioned in the novel.

Nevertheless, I knew the set-up for the Grand Duke’s family. Their familiars usually came in the form of a snake or a tiger. That’s because they were the best when it came to battles.

It also seemed like they didn’t send an aggressive familiar; in fact, it seemed to like me quite a bit.

What is this all about? Was it because I rejected your son and said I wanted you instead?

Or was it because of the prince whose name I forgot and whose hair I tore off after he asked me for my chest size?

And when I said I wasn’t sorry and told him to just shave his hair off altogether?

But I didn’t think he’d actually do it.

Well, what’s good is good. I smiled brightly and directed my attention to the crow.

“Hello.”

“Gyak! Gyak!”

It’s feathers felt nice and soft.

I spoke to the Grand Duke through the familiar, knowing he’d be in contact with me through the bird.

“All the rooms in the Morgana mansion have special windows. They’re hard to break. I’ll show you how to open it next time, got it?”

“……..Gyak?”

The crow tilted its head.

Of course, you owe me a debt now.

“Gyaak, Gyak!”

The Grand Duke’s familiar flapped its tiny wings without tired whilst resting on the palm of my hand. Although, it didn’t fly away.

I let it down on my table.

It ventured around the table whilst observing my room. The clean tablecloth was now stamped with countless bird footprints.

“Gyak!”

Sarah brought in a water bowl and watched the bird with sparkling eyes.

“I didn’t think crows could be so cute. It doesn’t seem like one of the common crows of the Empire, rather it seems like it came from far far away. Are you going to raise it?”

“Do you think it’s possible for me to tame it?”

Sarah and I questioned each other at the same time. I was also questioning the Grand Duke.

Um, it’s probably not worth a shot.

There weren’t many beasts, but most of them made up for it with their size. Even the smallest of beasts were as big as an adult male.

Sarah was glowing with happiness.

“Of course! My Lady is good at everything! You’re good at dancing, you’re good at playing musical instruments, and you’re good at poker!”

“Sarah, if you bring me something to eat, I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that last thing you said.”

“I’ll be right back!”

She ran off and disappeared. The familiar looked at me, gaze flickering between me and the door.

“Gyak? Gyak?!”

Those big deep-blue eyes seemed very shocked.

It seemed to notice that the servant left, and now it was scared to be alone with me.

Usually people were afraid of familiars and wouldn’t know what to do. Even this cute little ol’ bird would be capable of killing someone without problem if they sent even the tiniest amount of mana to their body.

On the other hand, killing a familiar wouldn’t cause that much damage to their master. It was a one-sided contract of obedience.

Obviously, it’s not like just any old wizard could create a familiar.

And, naturally, it’s not like just any animal could be a familiar.

Even though it was only mentioned briefly in the novel, Grand Duke Kallakis had a total of eight familiars, with each one of them possessing strong powers.

I told you he was a beast. The only person who was capable of having a beast as a familiar was Grand Duke Kallakis.

And he might not even be the strongest person in the world.

“Gyak! Pak! Pak!”

Like a quick demonstration, the crow jumped. At that moment, Sarah knocked.

I wondered why she came back so early and why she looked like she just ate a bug.

“Miss, the young master sent his attendant. They said they can’t go back until you send him a reply.”

As expected, it was Gilbert. How insignificant he is.

Gilbert Kallakis doesn’t love me. What he wants is the power and the influence of the Morgana family.

Even in the novel, though the Morgana family had lost their wealth due to investment failures, they still maintained their pristine reputation.

Even if he wasn’t lucky enough to have a marriage contract, he would’ve still tried to use his marriage to further his success. I, just like the Maevia in the novel, would’ve been the perfect match for Gilbert’s goal.

〈That woman? I’m not interested since she’s easy. She has no worth except her face. This is the first time I’ve been so done with a woman before even getting with her.〉

Originally, Gilbert was nice to Maevia, but that didn’t last long.

Maevia opened her heart to him, but he changed a year after they had gotten married. He treated her like a lump of garbage, not a wife.

If Maevia in the novel had been like me now, it might have been different. But this was a waste of time.

Now that the authority of the Emperor was blooming for various reasons, the most powerful families in the capital were the Morgana, Elaine, and Morgoz family.

Of course, the capital had a lot of power but it never surpassed that of the Grand Duke Kallakis.

The whole Northern territory belonged to the Grand Duke.

Plus, he had so much money that the imperial vault would look like a piggy bank to him. Nevertheless, Grand Duke Kallakis seemed like a distant memory in the back of most nobles’ minds.

He doesn’t attend social events, nor does he interfere with the country’s affairs. Most aristocrats don’t even know what Grand Duke Kallakis looks like or how old he is.

Gilbert was the one who revived the Grand Duke’s reputation, which was slowly dying off.

A few months ago, Gilbert came to the capital, showing off his noble-like appearance and excellent swordsmanship skills which succeeded those of the Prince.

It was only natural that he hid his true personality and acted naively. For some time, he had quite the number of fans in the novel. They didn’t stop sticking to him that easily either. No matter how rude he was, they defended him and claimed his attitude was attractive.

That was only until the real male lead, Rehan, awakened. But I couldn’t wait that long.

“Sarah, I need to write a letter.”

She misunderstood my intentions and made a tearful face.

“You don’t have to do it if you don’t want to, miss. You don’t have to force yourself to do something just because you’re being compared to the young master! I’ll be back with the other maids!”

“I’m writing a letter to kick him out.”

Sarah, who was about to run out, hesitantly raised her hand.

“Ooh……, will you be sending it to someone else?”

“Yes. I’ll need to go shopping.”

“Gyak?”

The bird opened its beak when it saw my uncontainable smile.

I’ll make him realize how stupid it is to play this game with me.

Gilbert was persistent. Some days it’d be breakfast, others it’d be lunch. But every evening, he sent a different servant to come and greet me.

But that caused the opposite effect of what he’d intended. The Marquis was beginning to believe that Gilbert was a rude person.

Rather, he should’ve just visited me in person instead.

Then, he could’ve made the excuse that he loved me sooo much that he wasn’t thinking straight. A couple of people would believe it.

But all he did was send his servants.

Under his orders, his servants spent their whole day walking back and forth in front of the Marquis’ gate. Though, they weren’t as stupid as their master.

They were ashamed of what they had to do, but Gilbert was scary and they were forced into it.

The Marquis thought that such a person wouldn’t be able to gain his respect. They say that a servant’s personality reflects their master’s. Marquis Morgana was from a prestigious family, so the servants also demonstrated self-respect.

I didn’t overlook his peculiar behaviour. Everytime Gilbert’s servants passed by the gate, I gave them a glare.

Even my parents, who had no part in my marriage and had told me it was my old problem, were displeased with the situation.

Eventually, they were fed up with him and threatened Gilbert, telling him to keep his servants away from the Marquis’ vicinity.

Oh well; I sat to the side and drank my tea.

As Gilbert’s reputation plummeted into a grave of his own creation, I got a bit closer with the crow. For now, I’ve named it Raven.

“Miss, I’ve put the carriage on standby.”

Hearing her words, I stood up. Raven flew up and rested on my shoulder.

I lowered the little crow down without batting an eye.

“It’s no fun watching something you’ve already seen.”

“Gyaak? Gyak! Gyak!”

Raven was dejected and in tears when I left him inside.

While I was in the carriage heading for the main road, I noticed Gilbert’s servants secretly following me.

In the dressing room, there were four ladies waiting for me.

Charlie Morgoz welcomed me with enthusiasm.

“Eve! Thank you so much for inviting me! I wanted to buy a new dress, but Vanessa’s Designer Boutique is too popular these days and is always overbooked.”

“I’m just glad you’ll be accompanying me today. I hope you’ll be able to find your favourite dress.”

I was in a good mood, so I smiled.

Charlie lowered her head and whispered quietly.

“I looked at the room beforehand. I don’t really have good taste when it comes to dresses, so I was wondering if you could advise me…..”

“Of course. You’re looking for a dress to wear to the upcoming royal ball, right?”

“And a dress for Monica’s birthday party. Thank you so much, Eve! As expected, you’re the only one I can rely on!”

I tilted my head to the side.

“Monica’s birthday party? Do you need me to come too?”

Last year, Charlie was treated like some fashion terrorist at Monica’s birthday party. It was a simple dress, but Monica overreacted.

“It’s fine. It’s not like she’s going to beat me up constantly when I’m there. I’m sure it’ll be worse if I don’t go.”

I sat down with Charlie, who was used to Monica’s tyranny, and looked at the catalog. Within it, there were various sketches of exquisite dress designs.

I came here often, so I didn’t need to take any measurements.

I checked the fabric samples that will be used in the dress and picked out some lace, frills, buttons, jewelry sets, and finally some shoes.

As expected, shopping is nice. Spending money is the best. Charlie also had her arms folded and a satisfied expression on her face.

“Eve, I made a reservation at a restaurant. Will you be coming with me?”

“Oh yes, there’s this delicious dessert shop too!”

“I’m determined to spend a lot of money today. Let’s enjoy ourselves until sundown!”

“That’s right! The first to go back will have to eat everything they ate today once more!”

When the other ladies heard Charlie’s words, they all looked shocked and were wondering if she was cursing them or not.

I smiled and was the first to leave the dressing room. But then, I made eye-contact with a man waiting in front of the dressing room.

Gilbert, in all of his glory, stared down at me.

“You must be feeling better.”

I could hear the steps of the other ladies approaching.

I replied with a bright smile.

“Oh my, that can’t be. I still have a raging fever.”

“Do you really expect me to believe that lie?”

“Really? But I’m afraid that if I don’t leave to buy jewelry and dresses, my sickness will get worse. I forced myself to come out here with my sick body.”

Of course, that was all bullshit. Gilbert looked like he was about to pop a vein so he also replied with bullshit.

“That’s enough. This is also hard for me to see.”

“Uhum?”

“All you’re trying to do is attempt to make me worry about you.”

……Pardon?

Has he gone insane at this point? In the middle of his maniacal laughter, I furrowed my eyebrows. I clenched my fist so hard I felt my bones. Then, I relaxed my hand.

He must have been so upset when I ignored him. It’d be nice if I could punch him.

He died in the novel anyways. I wouldn’t be making any bad choices if I were to cut him off early on.

Though the soft-hearted Rehan might be sad, since they’re related by blood after all. The male lead, Rehan, was Gilbert’s brother. Though Gilbert would rather beat him up than call him ‘brother.’ His inferiority complex towards Rehan caused a bunch of problems in the novel, it even caused a mishap.

Ugh, maybe it’s okay to kill him after all.

“I’ve already told you, I’m not going to marry you.”

It seems like he thought I was joking because I answered him with a smile.

“That’s not true.”

“It’s true.”

“Lady Maevia, I don’t have a lot of patience. Don’t forget that I’m already fed up with you.”

His crimson eyes stared at me, resembling those of a beast. They seemed to say ‘yield whilst I’m still ordering you nicely.’

To Gilbert, Maevia Morgana was just the Marquis’ only daughter. Like a flower in a greenhouse that had never been watered by anyone but her parents.

A fierce woman who wields the sword, yet has never been compared to anyone else or met the cruelty of the world.

I gave him a mocking smile.

“I’m serious.”

“…….”

“How ridiculous of a man you must be to believe that bullsh……”

I was right about to swear at him when someone pulled me from behind.

It was Charlie standing in front of me.

“Can you stop? Eve doesn’t like that.”

Charlie straightened herself up and faced him.

“You are not her fiance. Actually, I don’t even think you’re her friend. Act appropriately.”

I could feel that Gilbert was about to explode in a few minutes. Yet Charlie didn’t stop.

Oops, looks like you picked the wrong person to mess with.

Morgoz was a warrior family whose mission was to defend the borders from savage tribes in the west. Regardless of gender, those who were born with the Morgoz name wielded the sword. As a result, Charlie, who was from Marquis Morgoz’s family, was used to being in dangerous situations. Even if she was just clumsily choosing a dress a minute ago.

I didn’t know how he was planning to make me face his fury and pressure when there were so many people watching us.

Look, Vanessa is also a loud person. Since she deals with a lot of nobles, she’s well versed in spreading rumours about them.

“Don’t go. Charlie will solve this.”

Reina, who was well-known for being shy, grabbed me with trembling hands. Near tears, she looked like she’d never experienced this kind of thing before, yet still tried to reassure me.

Of course I was fine. If I wasn’t able to handle his shitty temper in the first place, I wouldn’t have provoked him.

I wouldn’t fight a losing battle.

Gilbert gritted his teeth as he tried to persuade Charlie, who was defending me.

“Step aside, please. Let’s not make a bigger problem out of this. I just need a proper conversation with Lady Maevia, who’s been avoiding me.”

You look like you want to grab me by the neck right now. Who would believe you?

Charlie wasn’t persuaded and remained firm,

“I’ll call the guards.”

“Do I look like a bastard that would hurt a lady? I said I just wanted to talk. If you look down at me like this, it’ll come back to bite you. In the future, I’ll become Grand Duke Kallakis and will rule all of the northern territory……!”

“Please leave, young master. Before your reputation plummets even further.”

“….Ha.”

Finally, Gilbert took a half step back.

When he passed the surrounding ladies, I heard him grit his teeth. Charlie’s guards followed him as soon as he left the dressing room.

Charlie entered a nearby cafe, shared a few words with the owner, and gestured for them to come in.

The knights blocked the doors as soon as we entered.

We offered the owner a large sum of money for briefly monopolizing the cafe and he welcomed us with a big smile.

The ladies sat down first and asked me,

“Maevia, are you okay?”

“Do you need me to call a carriage? Do you wish to go back home?”

“I believe it’s better if we take a break here before going back. What if the young master follows us?”

Their intense reactions puzzled me.

They seemed like they just wanted to attack him; all I wanted to do was ruin his image. The ladies seemed to have already recognized him as an enemy.

Charlie, in particular, was glaring at him so intensely that it almost seemed like her eyes were going to set on fire.

When I made eye-contact with Charlie, who remained deadly silent, she hesitantly opened her mouth.