System vs Rebirth

Six months ago.

Anna had just finished the day and was about to sleep. But suddenly, her instinct picked up a danger.

It was a tad too late, but the danger didn't do anything to her. So, she turned around while shouting, "Who?!"

Dimitri didn't reply to her. He remained inside the shadow. However, he left a box that contained all the items that Noel wanted to give Anna.

Before leaving, Dimitri's voice echoed inside the room. "My Master wants to give you a big surprise in six months."

Anna couldn't react or reply as the danger suddenly disappeared. Even her instinct told her that the person had left.

When she opened the book, she realized who sent him. It was Noel.

"Hu…" Anna let out a breath of relief, knowing that it wasn't an enemy. "I can understand that he doesn't want me to see him, but still, it's too nerve-wracking. But…"

Anna fell silent and recalled his words. "He said Noel wants to give me a big surprise in six months… Huh? What kind of surprise?"

Anna tilted her head in confusion. No matter how hard she thought about it, nothing came to her mind.

However, she didn't forget that she had just kissed Noel's cheek not long ago.

"Wait a minute… Don't tell me he took that kiss seriously? I mean, it's truly easily misunderstood, but he's not going to say he'll take responsibility or something, right?" Anna looked up.

She couldn't help but imagine what if her guess came true. What if Noel suddenly wanted to take responsibility and marry her?

"I mean, Noel is a great man. Even with my previous life's memory, he can still match my progress. Maybe, my own progress stimulates him to make faster progress. If I play my cards right, I don't have any doubt that I can become one of the strongest people in the world. And if he is truly by my side like this, won't it mean that both of us will become the strongest couple…"

Anna fell silent. On the one hand, she loved how it would be. Strong nobles usually had multiple wives. The wives got a huge advantage even if they didn't become the main wife since their family would benefit from the connection, and the more wives the noble took, the bigger their influence would be. So, having more wives was proof of power and a symbol of protection. The same applied the other way around, but they had one big problem, which was the successor. After all, there was only one person who could give birth in the family.

On the other hand, she couldn't imagine what the world would become if she truly got together with Noel. It might be because of what happened in the previous life that the thought never occurred in her mind. They were arch-nemesis, so it was impossible for them to get together.

But because, in their current life, their relationship was quite good, she couldn't help but imagine that kind of possibility.

"W-wait a minute!" Anna was flustered. "What am I even thinking… Even in the past life, Noel has never touched any women. I know that he is not planning to get closer to anyone unless he has achieved his ultimate goal."

Anna nodded, convincing herself. And that goal would be long in the future. By that time, she would have passed the age of marriage, so they wouldn't be together at that time. That was how she convinced herself.

…

However, when Anna had to face this situation directly, she couldn't help but think she might be wrong.

Noel was staring into her eyes intensely as if he couldn't get enough of her. And with what he said earlier, it felt like Noel wanted to take advantage of her simple play to enter the brothel into an opportunity.

'Wait a minute. He is not going to do it, right?' Anna's heart began to beat rapidly. She wondered what Noel planned to do. 'No, wait a minute. Maybe he wants to pay me back for that one? But he might do the same thing, right?'

Anna gulped down, thinking Noel wanted to kiss her the same way as she did. Noel always paid someone back, especially if it was a grudge after all.

So, she shut her eyes tight while closing her mouth, waiting for Noel to do it.

But to her surprise, Noel ended up flicking her forehead.

"Ouch! What are you doing?" Anna immediately covered her forehead while glaring at Noel.

But in that instant, she realized Noel was just trying to tease her.

Noel had a cheeky smirk as though he had achieved his objective. He couldn't help but tease her, "What are you doing? Don't tell me… you are expecting something? Ah, right. You were the one who kissed my cheek. Maybe, it's you who is trying to seduce me this whole time."

"You might be beautiful and we might be friends, but please don't overstep your bounds, alright?" Noel chuckled.

Anna's face was red, not because of anger but because of embarrassment. She clenched her teeth.

She wanted to get angry, but if she shouted here, it was the same as acknowledging her defeat. There was no way she would do it after Noel teased her like this.

Even if she was embarrassed, she still tried to make a smile while asking, "What? You are still thinking about that small kiss? I was just trying to thank you for your help, Noel. Don't tell me, you couldn't forget about it? Is it because I was the one that gave you the memory? That's why you are like this. You just can't be honest with yourself."

Anna also giggled, teasing Noel back.

Both of them were glaring at each other. Their eyebrows twitched, knowing their opponent was tough to crack.

Though, they were interrupted by the sound of the door that was slightly opened.

"Ehm… Am I interrupting something?" A woman with brown hair took a peek while asking. She didn't dare to enter when she saw these two having fun.

She pointed her finger to the cabinets in the corner of the room and said, "Since you are here for the first time, you can find all the lubes and medicine in the cabinet over there."

"…"