I was so frustrated. I didn't remember much about Father's case of treason from my third life. I hid on a continent across the sea for more than seven years. Once I arrived back home, I was captured and then sent to jail. I really didn't hear much about the case. Was my Father framed?

You couldn't blame me for thinking this, Father was a priest in the temple of wind. But he was not a high priest. He was just one of the many priests in the temple. He wasn't even holding a tremendous amount of power. Father wasn't stupid. He wouldn't overthrow the ruler with just the little power he held in the temple.

In our country, the Emperor or Empress reining was supposed to be neutral. The ruler received blessings from all gods. They would not serve a particular god. This prevented each temple from supporting their own candidate. Thus, all the potential heirs would not study in any one of the temples.

So how did Father attempt treason? What was he even betraying? I was pulling out my hair when Isobel meowed.

"You look so frustrated." The heartless monster known as Yves laughed shamelessly.

I glared at him. "You suggested me to sort out my Father's mystery, so now I'm devoting all my brain power on it! I have zero clue! Is your twisted heart satisfied now? To see me this frustrated?"

"A bit." He smiled happily.

I couldn't hold back anymore. I threw the cushion at him. He stepped to the side to dodge it.

"Do you know anything? I know you do. Blake has been spying all along."

His smile deepened. "I am the high priest of darkness, I don't do things for free."

"Then what do you want?"

"I am going to nap now. It'll be great if there's tea when I wake up. Even better if it's perfectly timed."

I fumed, but there's a short cut, I should grasp it. It's no use racking my brain when it's clear I didn't have that information. I stormed out of the room to bake some cookies for him.

-------------

Holding a tray with cookies and tea I entered the room Yves was napping in. When I opened the door, he was already awake, sitting in an armchair. Argh!

"You're late."

"Do you want it or not?"

He walked towards me and picked up a piece of cookie from the tray. He took a bite of it and said, "You really learned a lot of things during the last two lives. The spoiled girl I first met certainly couldn't bake cookies."

"Try pretending to be best friend with Rachelle, I am sure even you can master baking a three tier cake."

"Do you want some?" He dangled his half eaten cookie in front of me.

"Just eat..." He placed the cookie he was holding near my mouth and I took a bite without thinking. My face seemed to explode after that. "Do you want to eat it or not?" I threatened.

He started laughing uncontrollably. "Why are you still this shy?" He gazed at me with a huge grin on his face. He tapped me lightly on the head and took the tray from my hand.

He sat down on the armchair and said, "I hope you knew that your stepsister had became Empress in the end. The Empress."

"The Sacred Empress Rachelle... Wait, you mean she didn't just marry the Emperor? I thought she just married the Emperor and was crowned Empress. You mean she had been the ruler?"

"Of course, she aimed for nothing less. I don't think your stepsister even chose one of those stupid man circling her in the end."

"Then was my Father framed?"

"Imagine if your own daughter has ascended the throne, but you found your husband is trying to look for his own long lost daughter, your stepdaughter. What will you think?"

"My stepmother? She thought I would threaten Rachelle's position as Empress? So she planned to kill my father and me? That's stupid. On what ground could I threaten the Sacred Empress Rachelle who was a genius, with lots of powerful suitors?"

He shrugged. "All I can say is your stepmother is more of a moron than you can imagine. She even convinced some of Rachelle's foolish suitors to carry out the plan."

"That's... so I was killed because of some moron?" I cried in despair.

"Sometimes morons are more powerful than the smart." He leaned back against the chair and took another bite of the cookie in his hand.

I was speechless. That's the reason I was killed in my third life? My stepmother had even planned to kill her own husband. The husband who doted on her. If she had been such a dumb, short sighted moron from the start, then what about my other lives?

"Oh yes, turned out she had a hand in your death in your first life too," Yves added nonchalantly. "Your father seemed to have found out what your stepmother had done a few months after your death. It was a huge scandal, that's why I heard of you."

"Why are you telling me this? Leading me on so that I asked you the correct questions so you could tell me this."

"Bored?"

No. I didn't believe him. From all these, it felt like he wanted to tell me my Father actually cared about me more than I had thought. And the one I should actually be careful of was my stepmother.

I stared at him for a moment and then stomped out of the room. When I returned I had a plate of macaroons I had baked for myself. I placed it on the table in front of him.

"I baked more than I have planned." I turned my head away after saying this, wishing he hadn't caught my bight red ears.

He chuckled. He then tugged my little finger with his and then said, "Let's eat together."

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Author's note

It's a sweet chapter, isn't it? See you next time!