System vs Rebirth

"Please..."

When hearing that tone filled with frustration, sadness, and helplessness, Noel was stunned. This might be the first time Anna actually let go of her emotion. Whenever she did it, Anna would always brush that matter off.

Noel would also do the same, but there was an instance where he let go of that emotion. It was in the Sword Saint Tomb. It might also be the trigger for Anna.

"..." Noel looked at Anna, whose head was resting on his chest. He let out a sigh and gradually reached for her hand. His right hand grabbed the blade while his other hand gently assured Anna's hand to let it go.

After letting out her emotion, Anna just felt tired and didn't think much about his action. She let go of the sword and Noel used the chance to place the sword on the shelf so that there would be no dangerous action could be taken.

Noel thought Anna was manipulative, but if she could even use this outburst to actually manipulate him, he would be tricked by her this whole time. There was no way he could call her dumb.

Noel closed his eyes for a moment and said with a soft tone. "My parents."

"Mhm?" Anna raised her head and stared at Noel.

"Help me in finding my parents. Whatever the case, you're the center of attention of their execution. So, I want you to help me find my parents and get the truth from them. That's the only way to solve this hatred because they're the ones knowing the entire thing. Help me find out the truth why you become the center of the execution. If I don't believe you, you can use the Spirit Oath to make both of us unable to lie," Noel stated with a serious expression.

"That means..." Anna's expression brightened.

"Yeah. You want me to tell you directly, right? There you go. I have given you the condition. But until then, I don't think I can treat you like what you want."

Anna clenched her fists as if she had accomplished one of her small goals.

"Don't think too much. I won't change no matter how you beg me before that. This time, you can treat it as my apology for never talking to you, who is the related party. Even in the court, the culprit still has the right to defend himself. So, I should have talked to you."ConTEent bel0ngs to Nôv(e)lD/rama(.)Org .

"No, it's fine. I know that you hate me so much. Even if I try to change you, it's impossible because you have been hiding all that hatred in your heart." Anna shook her head while smiling.  "At least, now I have the chance."

Noel closed his eyes, wondering if this was the right thing to do or not. He sighed and said, "I'm going to get some air."

He walked away, leaving the library. Anna could only look at him as he left the room because her brain had stopped working after doing all that.

When Noel closed the door, Anna's face flushed red as if all the embarrassment from earlier finally struck her.

Her feet felt weak as she dropped to the ground. All the memory of what she did earlier flashed in her mind, making Anna clutch her head.

'What have I done? Why in the world I did all that? Even though it's true that I'm frustrated, I am older than him if we count the past life as well. I shouldn't have done all that!

'Is it because I am that frustrated? No, I should be fine for a while. Noel is still a kid and I can understand his anger. Then, why did I tell him all that?'

Anna couldn't get a single reason in her mind. She wanted to make a reason but her body rejected that kind of reason.

She couldn't help but remember what the Sword Saint said.

"Beautifully said. You were exactly like my sister and she ended up becoming my old friend's wife."

"Wife... Noel's wife?" Anna muttered in a low voice before shaking her head furiously. 'What in the world are you thinking? Becoming Noel's wife? You idiot.'

Anna fell silent for a moment because she had another thought. 'But now that I think about it, if I become Noel's wife, doesn't that mean I can talk about my reincarnation? If you can't even trust your husband, then who can you trust? That also means the relationship between us is good.

'That's right. If I think this way, won't I be able to fight against Noel too? He pushed me to the wall back in the inn and almost kissed me, and we almost did it on the bed... If I kept pushing, wouldn't it make Noel be the one to pull back? With that kind of hatred, there's no way Noel will accept that. Wait a minute, how in the world am I thinking about it? I have reincarnated so I'm older than him!'

Anna scratched her head, trying to make the thought disappear, but to no avail. Instead, another thought flashed in her mind. 'But right now, my body is at the same age...

'Still, I remember that in the past life, Noel doesn't have a single woman in his life despite being surrounded by them.

'What the... How in the world this kind of thought even appear in my mind? Is it because I have told him all that earlier?'

Anna surprisingly became even more frustrated than when she let out that outburst. Her body was twitching as if trying to get rid of that embarrassment.

She looked around to make sure Noel wasn't there and caught a glimpse of the book on the table.

"That... That's right! Let's just read the book and forget about this thought. I don't even know how I could come up with those thoughts too. It's truly ridiculous. Haha... ha... ha..." Anna walked back to her chair staggeringly. Even her hands were shaking when holding the book.

In the end, she covered her face with her hands while muttering. "Maybe... I really... shouldn't have said anything."