They Hated Me in My First Life, But Now I Have the Love System

Chapter 499: I Have My Reasons

She didn’t try to flatter him unnecessarily. No offering him tea or coffee when he hadn’t asked. No peeking at the documents on his desk. No unnecessary chatter.

No barging into his office without permission, not that anyone could, anyway. After what the last female secretary tried, Carl had gone ahead and installed a voice activated security system. If he didn’t say "come in," that door wasn’t opening for anyone except one person: Nnenna.

And the rules? Oh, they were crystal clear.

No skimpy or revealing clothes. No attempts, subtle or bold, to seduce the young Prince. No crossing lines under the illusion of his calm demeanor.

No stealing from the finances she managed, even by a single kobo.

No speaking out of context unless explicitly invited to. And Carl, who genuinely valued intellect and discernment, occasionally gave her that space to contribute, but only when it was earned.

No betrayal. No secretly leaking schedules, documents, or reports to his enemies, competitors, or even nosy staff. Carl may have looked like he didn’t care about politics, but that man missed nothing.

But above all, the one unspoken rule that stood taller than all the others:

His little sister was everything to him.

Carl never had to say it. His eyes, his reactions, the subtle tension in his voice whenever someone mentioned Nnenna... it was enough. The message was clear:

Hurt her, disrespect her, even look at her wrong, and you might as well be digging your own grave.

She had heard that the last person before her made the mistake of saying something bad about Nnenna after Carl had given clear instructions on how to treat her when she resumed. The man thought no one would find out, but Carl did. And just like that, he was gone.

So from the very first day she saw Nnenna walk into the office, petite but full of unshakable confidence, the secretary buried all personal curiosity. Sure, she was intrigued by the girl who had Carl’s full attention. Who wouldn’t be?

But her professionalism came first.

She didn’t ask questions. Didn’t try to befriend her unless spoken to. Didn’t even let herself wonder what made this girl so special.

And perhaps... that was why Carl trusted her enough to keep her around.

Because in a world where too many people pretended to know their place, she actually did.

Carl blinked once as she finished. Then nodded again, this time with understanding.

"Understood."

He turned to Nnenna, who was already stretching a little, flexing her wrist and dropping the pencil with a soft thud.

"No mercy in this academy," she muttered under her breath with a tired smile.

Carl raised a brow, amusement flickering in his eyes. "It’s only dance. Try not to fall asleep mid spin."

Nnenna chuckled as she rose. "That only happened once. And it was a very slow spin."

He handed her the corrected pages. "Look these over later. You did well. Your fundamentals are solid, but your explanations can still be sharper. Remember, clarity over complexity."

She took the papers with a nod and mock salute. "Yes, boss."

Carl turned his eyes back to his tablet. "Dismissed."

With that, Nnenna followed the secretary out of the room, already shifting her focus to what lay ahead, an intense dance lesson with Hannah and whatever surprise choreography Emily had in store this time.

The moment the door slid shut behind her, Carl exhaled quietly and picked up where he left off.

But a faint smile lingered on his face.

In just one week, the first semester exams came to an end.

The moment the results were released, Nnenna checked hers immediately. She had been confident, yes, but she still needed to see it with her own eyes. noveldrama

Her heart did a small flip when the page loaded.

All A’s.

She exhaled slowly, a satisfied smile playing on her lips. Just as expected.

Ava and Emily had done excellently too, both ranking in their department’s top ten. The entire castle buzzed with celebration and shared relief, but Nnenna didn’t let herself get carried away. There was still work to be done.

A short holiday was given. Casses resumed once it was over, and the weeks sped by. Before they knew it, three months had passed. Now, the qualifying exams were just around the corner.

Carl had already handled the registration for her, listing her as one of the few exceptional students taking the Year Three qualifying exams. And of course, he vouched for her without hesitation. But for the application to be valid, she still needed signatures from two high ranking staff members.

Carl had signed his part already.

Now, it was time to get the second one.

"Go to Arthur," he had told her casually, like it was no big deal. "You’ll need his signature too."

It would’ve been easy for Carl to get it himself, after all, he and Arthur worked closely together, but he deliberately stepped back.

He wanted her to go in person.

To interact more with Arthur outside of combat and training.

Why?

Carl didn’t say.

All Carl told her was, "I have my reasons."

Nnenna had protested, clearly reluctant to spend any extra time under Arthur’s icy stare outside of the training grounds. But Carl wouldn’t budge.

So she gave in.

When she finally approached Arthur, she barely got halfway through her request before he signed the form without saying a word. No questions. No expressions. Just a signature. Then he gave a curt nod in response to her thank you and went right back to his work like she hadn’t even been there.

It was over in less than two minutes.

Now, all that remained was to wait for the qualifying exams to begin.

But something else loomed even closer, the weekend before the exams.

Her birthday.

And to Nnenna’s horror, Queen White was planning a full blown celebration. Against all of Nnenna’s protests, the Queen insisted on throwing her a lavish party, one that involved high ranking officials from Prigrian and even other nations.