♞
THREE DAYS. IT TOOK Max three stressful days to finally finish his suspension. And after all the community service - and the hurtful things that other white uniforms would throw at him here and there - Max finally walked down the hallway wearing his brooches with pride. And as the vice president promised, Max didn't lose 1000 merit points.
"I can't believe I'm finally done with my suspension," Max tells Ari, Felix, and Ervin while the three of them walked their way to the Great Hall to eat their lunch.
Max received his brooches yesterday, and Cj was also able to wear his black uniform again. And even though they had a somewhat heated discussion in the clinic, the two of them didn't act awkward with each other. Cj still treated him like how he's been treating Max, and Max did the same. There was no point ranting over Cj's rotten personality now.
The truth is, the biggest mistake Max ever made regarding Cigarettes was that he secretly compared Cj with Krist and Hans when they were obviously different types of leaders. Another thing was that Max has been with Cj outside of J.S High most of the time, which is the reason why he wasn't able to understand what he really is as a Count.
After their conversation at the clinic, Max realized that just because he was able to do something for Cj, it doesn't mean that he will be bowing to him like Hans and Krist did.
But that realization also made Max understand something crucial.
Cj has made it clear that he will never bow to him, but Max saw that Cj doesn't really have to bow to him for Max to conquer them. Cj wasn't the type of leader that was going to bow to anyone and Max was going to respect that. There are still other ways to fully conquer them.
"What's lunch going to be anyway? I'm starving," Ari says as he drapes his arm around Felix's shoulder.
"It's probably something with soup. They usually alternate the dishes," Max answers since he worked at the kitchen with Cj for three days.
His three friends looked at him, but then Ervin chuckles and teases, "Seeing you serve food for us made me realize that life can really be fair sometimes."
Ari and Felix laugh, and then Max jokingly hits Ervin by the shoulder.
When the three finally arrived at the Great Hall, they walked straight to their table where Jokers and BND were already waiting.
"There's my little toy!" Krist excitedly says as they arrive at their table.
Rome then stands from his seat and runs to where Max is to hug him. "I miss you so much! It pained us to see you working in the kitchen all day. One of the students even threw food at you so I got so pissed, but Hans told us not to do anything so all we could do was watch in agony."
"Don't make me look like the bad guy all of a sudden," Hans suddenly says, making Max chuckle.
As Rome finally lets go of Max, the three of them went back to their seats.
"So, how's working with Cj? I bet he was a total pain in the ass. After all, that guy knows absolutely nothing about working with others. He's a selfish prick," Brave suddenly says before slurping on a juice box that he stole from one of the white uniforms.
"He was actually fine," Max answers, making the brotherhoods look at Max like he said something distasteful.
"Fine? You mean Cj? The Cj who dumped cold soda at me when he didn't like the flavor that his homeboy bought? That Cj?" Red asks, honestly surprising Max.
"N-No, I meant...he didn't do anything harmful. He just did his job well as a suspended student. He didn't cause any trouble or anything like that," Max clarifies.
Arjun, who heard what Max has to say about the Count from the other table, looks at them and says, "Well, Cj isn't really the type of person to make any trouble. When you think about it, he does his job well. He's truthful too so you just end up getting used to his personality. We should know. We've been with him for almost four years."
"No! Not you too Arjun!" Red suddenly complain, making Khian hit his head so he could stop whining.
Hans, who sometimes had disagreements with his right-hand man, couldn't really help but nod his head in agreement. "I guess we should give the count some slack. Cj's not always a bad guy. Most of the time people don't even notice him because he does his job in secret. He's not flashy like Viktor which is nice. And besides, Cigarettes are loyal to him, and that tells a lot about what type of leader he really is."
"I know, but wasn't it also weird to see him wearing a white uniform again?" Hansol then asks, making Max look back at them with shock.
"What do you mean again?"
"Well, all of us were white uniforms before too, and Cigarettes and Jokers wore the uniform longer since they only started when they were sophomores," Marcus explains, and Max couldn't believe that he hasn't thought of that before.
"So you guys were white uniforms..." Max says while scratching his chin.
"Well, the Royals were the first ones to form their brotherhoods, and then BND followed soon after. Cigarettes were then formed the following year, same with Jokers, and then Crazy 8 came. If you weren't aware they were from the House of Pawns before," Hans explains.
"Yeah, I'm aware of that. Cindy told me about it during the Welcome Ball. But I'm still surprised about the other information," Max says before taking a sip of his hot coffee.
"I'm surprised you haven't heard of it before," Hans tells him.
"We might have talked about it at our Brotherhood History class but I've been absent a couple of times so I must have missed it," Max says, making Krist chuckle.
"Apparently you guys are like the pillars. Viktor created the customs which redefined the power of brotherhoods. Cj on the other hand introduced the underlings which also reshaped the brotherhoods' reputation. Jokers became the father of the we-don't-care ideology that's very trendy now with other brotherhoods, while BND made the role-model image a thing. That's why it's very fitting that you guys are in this house," Ari says with an impressed tone, and Max, Felix, and Ervin couldn't help but agree.
"Actually, I don't really see us as such. In the first place, we were only forced to join a brotherhood. It's not like we had a choice," Brave casually says, immediately making Master Joker kick him underneath the table. When Brave realized what he just said, he immediately gasps and nervously laughs it off.
"Please forget that I just said that," Brave says, making the table awkward and quiet. Thankfully, the waiters arrived with their food just on time, making everyone shift their attention away from what Brave just said. One of the waiters even greeted Max since they worked together for a while, which Krist and the others still found strange.
While everyone was enjoying their lunch, trumpet sounds were suddenly heard throughout the Great Hall, automatically making the white uniforms stop eating so they could stand. Even Max and his friends stood up as well.
The Royals finally made their grand entrance as the students bowed to them.
As usual, the princes went in first. The Dangerous Five all looked serious as they walked their way to their balcony. The Pretty Duo, on the other hand, had a playful yet sensual aura around them as they chatted their way to their tables. Ren Adachi even winked at Max when he walked past him.
The Hot Wingmen then made their entrance with their leader, the ice prince, Kim Hee-joon, walking right behind them. The Hot Wingmen had a strong presence, while Joon looked like he was just completely tired and would rather go home.
Finally, the eight kings, Busters, went inside the Great Hall, following the princes. Viktor was still nowhere to be found, but their presence was still overwhelming despite the absence of their leader.
Their temporary leader, Tanis Hendrix, walked like a true king with his long silver hair swaying with the cape that he was also wearing. The sight of them made even Max feel tense, and that once again made Max realize that he still has a long way to go before reaching them.
When the Royals finally went to their respective seats, the students went back to eating their lunch like someone flipped a switch.
"Can't believe Viktor is still missing. You guys have any idea why?" Ari asks as he takes a sip of his chicken soup.
Hans, who was sitting beside him, doesn't even look back at him as he answers, "We don't really know, and we don't really care. Honestly, it would be better if he didn't come back at all."
"Should you be saying that out loud?" Max asks, concerned that the Royals might hear him, but Hans just shrugs his shoulder like he didn't really care. After all, he is the leader of the Dukes. If anyone could talk back to the Royals, it would be him.
While they continued with their lunch in peace, the door of the Great Hall opens again, revealing the last brotherhood to make their entrance, the Cigarettes.
The Lighters stood up to bow to them while the others didn't pay them any mind. Max stops eating as soon as they saw them. And as Cigarettes walked their way to their own balcony, Max suddenly stood up from his seat as well, surprising Hans and the others.
"Max...w-what are you doing?" His brother, Marcus, asks, but Max ignores him as he takes a deep breath and walks towards the Counts.
Marcus immediately stood up as well to follow his brother, but then his leader Hans grabbed him by the arm and pulls him back down. "Whatever he's about to do, let him be," Hans says, and Marcus could only sigh and watch his brother from afar.
Cigarettes were laughing and playing around, but when they saw Max approach them, they immediately stopped. Even the white uniforms couldn't help but look at them.
"Oh, if it isn't our cute little master," one of the members teases.
Max gulps and clenches his fist before taking another deep breath. He's been thinking about this for three days so he can't back out now.
"Counts," Max says before looking at Cj, instantly making the other white uniforms stop talking as well so they could watch what Max was about to do.
"I would like to once again thank you for giving me the opportunity to become your master. It was an experience that made me realize a lot of things," Max says, making some of the members of Cigarettes chuckle since they remembered that moment too.
While the six Counts stared down on Max, Cj takes a step forward and asks, "What's this all about, Sinclaire? If you want to say something, then say it now."
Max looks around at the white uniforms who were watching him before looking back at the Counts. "I misunderstood you and your members. I've always glorified the white uniforms when I've been bullied a couple of times by them too. White Uniforms aren't always the victims like how I claimed them to be, and you never looked at them as such either. I realized that your customs aren't cruel. Your customs proved that white uniforms will go as far as to strike a deal with you because they're cruel."
The white uniforms who were listening couldn't help but start murmuring with each other after what Max had to say. Even Ari couldn't believe that Max was brave enough to call them out like that.
"So this is what he meant when he told us he knows what to do to conquer Cigarettes?" Ervin whispers, making Ari and Felix shrug their shoulders, confused about the situation as well.
"They say that your deals are always to your advantage, but I think it just means you know who to make a deal with. White uniforms agree to your terms because they want to beat someone up, they want to manipulate their scores so they could rank high, or maybe because they want you to bully someone. They use you so they wouldn't feel guilty, and then blame you for the consequences that fall upon them after the deal is over," Max continues to say, and a grin was slowly starting to appear from Cj's face.
"I know now that my goal was never to tame the Cigarettes. My real goal was to realize that the brotherhoods in this house aren't the only ones that needed to be tamed," Max says as he takes a step closer to them with complete determination.
"You told me you will never bow to me, so let me do this instead..."
The white uniforms practically gasp. Hans and Krist even jolted out from their seat because of complete shock.
"Counts..." Max says as everyone stares at him with disbelief.
As Max finally puts one knee on the floor, he touches his chest and lowers his head before finally saying, "Please, if you stand beside me and assist me, I will make this House unbreakable. I will fix our flawed system, I will unite the brotherhoods and bring back the crumbled pieces, and I will strengthen the ideologies and attitudes of the white uniforms and make them this house's strongest foundation. I will make sure that everyone will hear of our great name. And I promise you all that J.S High will become legendary," Max declares with a commanding voice.
Even though it looked like he was only telling those words to the Counts, everyone else inside the Great Hall falls silent.
Some students felt that Max sounded cocky and ambitious, but they couldn't deny the strong influence that Max just made when they heard of his brave declaration. The hair on their skin even stood up after hearing it.
Jokers and BND, on the other hand, couldn't help but watch Max with such great pride. It was almost like they were watching their kid grow up in their very eyes.
While the Royals, who were also watching the spectacle, were also impressed by everything that Max just said since no white uniform has ever declared such a thing before, especially in front of the entire student body. Even the ice prince, Joon, couldn't help but smirk in amusement.
Everyone's eyes were on Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire.
For a brief moment, they saw a strong capable man who would raise their banners high.
For a brief moment...they saw their future Elites' president.
"You really are amusing, you sly little fox," Cj suddenly says with a chuckle, making Max lift his head to look back at him.
Cj doesn't say anything else, but then he suddenly throws something at Max, immediately making Max stand from the floor. Max checks what it was, and to his surprise, it was a new pack of cigarettes.
"Tamer's flavor..." Max says as he stares at the pack, a smile slowly appearing on his face.
"It's our way of thanking you for what you did for the company," Anthony - Cj's right-hand-man - says as Max looks back at them again.
"It's also our thanks for blocking our boss from getting hit by hot water," another member then adds, making Max chuckle this time.
Max didn't really know what to say anymore, so Cj turns around and starts walking so they could head to the balcony, making the rest of the members of Cigarettes follow behind him. But as they were walking away, Cj suddenly tells him, "That's our strongest flavor, and not everyone will get the privilege to get a hold of it. Take a look and see if you're worthy enough to use it too."
Max furrows his brow and opens the pack to check it. He opens the pack and was expecting to see sticks of cigarettes, but to his surprise, it was empty. The only thing that was in it was—
"I hope you're not all bark and no bite little Maxy. Let's see how long it would take for you to fulfill such a daring promise," Cj says as they finally make their way to the balcony.
Max's eyes widen from shock as he pulls out a crown brooch, making the other white uniforms gasp from shock as well. Even Jokers and Cigarettes couldn't believe it. For the third time on the grounds of their great house, everyone witnessed Max conquer another brotherhood. They witnessed Max take another step closer to his goal.
So with a bright smile on his face, Max clenches the brooch that's on his hand and shouts, "That's a deal!"
- END OF VOLUME III -