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THE AUDITORIUM WAS FILLED with white uniforms and guests from different schools. Westberg Academy, a famous academy that had won multiple seasons of Mr. Brains & Brawn and other academic competitions, was on stage sharing some of the traditions and customs they have in their school.
Kingston Creed, who's a student of the said school, was handing out brochures while the other students from Westberg Academy were sharing their presentation on stage.
Everyone was enjoying their time, listening attentively so they could learn more about themselves. But while everyone was concentrating on the program, the doors to the auditorium suddenly opened.
No one really paid it any mind since the program was open for all, but when the following students made their appearance, people at the back started talking among themselves, making the others in the front start turning their heads as well.
Gaffers Ari Faulkner, Felix Campbell, and Ervin Walker, as well as tech genius Kawanishi Keigo, enters the Auditorium with serious expressions on their face. Right behind them was Max Sinclaire, whose appearance attracted everyone in an instant.
"What are they doing here?" One of the white uniforms asks.
"Are they investigating something here?"
"Is something going to happen? Should we leave?"
Everyone was well aware that every time Max would make his appearance, something was definitely bound to happen. But fortunately for them, as surprising as this may sound, this group of friends only came here to watch the program with everyone.
"Relax. We're only here as walk-ins," Ari suddenly announces when he notices that everyone is staring at them.
Felix awkwardly tried to hide his face while Ervin apologized for interrupting them. The five of them then took a seat at the very back so they wouldn't be able to distract the others.
The presenters on the stage stopped as well, but when Max and the others were able to find their seats, they continued on.
Kingston, who was busy handing out brochures that contained basic information about their school, glances at Max and decides to approach him.
Keigo—the pageant enthusiast—immediately notices him and starts hitting Ervin's shoulder because of excitement. "Guys! Kingston Creed is approaching us. Act cool," he then says, making his friends turn their heads to look at him.
When Kingston finally stopped where they were seated, Max decided to stand from his seat to show the guest his hand. "Kingston. It's great to see you again. It's been a while."
Kingston stares at Max's hand, but then he sighs and surprisingly shakes it. "I saw you last time when you welcomed the guests. It's hard to miss you because you're always seen everywhere."
Max smiles at the remark, finding it more of a compliment than an insult.
"Anyway, you're here to watch our presentation? Or did you just arrive early since Lincoln International is scheduled after us?" Kingston then asks, making Max chuckle this time.
"We're here to watch all the presentations. My friends decided that we enjoy today's convention. They're very persistent," Max answers.
"I get your friends, but you? You were a previous student at Westberg Academy. You don't really need to know anything about it."
"Believe me, I'm going to learn more about your school here than I did when I was studying there. Let's face it, I was just another spoiled kid studying in a school that my family sponsored, so I didn't really care much," Max explains, and this time, Kingston ended up chuckling.
"You transferred to a school that has your surname on it, so I don't know what's better."
It's strange to see them getting along now because they were practically enemies in the past. I guess the pageant really made them closer.
"Well, since you're already here, take these brochures," Kingston says, handing out the brochures to Max so he can give them to his friends. Max takes them with no complaints, but then someone behind him suddenly clears his throat.
Max turns around and sees Keigo making eye signals, so Max smiles and looks back at Kingston. "I know you're busy, but let me introduce you to my friend. That's Felix, and then Ari and Ervin. And sitting beside him, the one with the blue armband is Kawanishi Keigo. He's a huge fan of yours."
Ari and the others looked back at him while Keigo waved excitedly.
Kingston doesn't really greet them and just looks back at Max. "I know who they are. We crossed paths with each other at the cafeteria yesterday."
"You mean the Great Hall?"
"Whatever."
"To be fair, you were the one who was looking for a fight," Ari then says, making Max shoot a look because he didn't want to start anything here, so Ari just rolls his eyes and looks back at the stage to continue watching the presentation.
"Looks like you're with the other members of the student council," Max then says, changing the topic and gesturing at the Westberg Academy students on stage. "When I was the president, most of them didn't really inform me about anything."
"It's because you're never really in school. But I guess you transferring here favored me more because I finally got elected as the president," Kingston fires back, almost making Max laugh out loud.
"Anyway, I don't want to hold you back. Thanks for the brochures. We'll listen to your presentation attentively and give you our honest feedback," Max says, touching his chest and bowing his head to Kingston.
Kingston was surprised, but he nodded his head at Max before running back to where his fellow schoolmates were.
When Max sat back in his seat and passed the other brochures to them, Keigo immediately leaned toward him and said, "Max, please introduce me to the other contestants. I think they'll notice me more if you do it."
Max was about to answer him, but Ervin, who Keigo shoved so he could lean toward Max, immediately pushed Keigo away to scold him.
The two of them start bickering, so Ari and Felix join in to make them stop. The other students were obviously bothered by their noise but were too afraid to say anything to them. But amidst the chaos, Max just stares at his friends with a warm smile.
Today was going to be a normal day. As much as he wanted to worry about Jontell or any other things that might stress him out, Max didn't want his friends to worry about him anymore. He was here to enjoy the convention like everyone else and just worry about the stressful things after.
But little did Max know that his protectors were already working on solving his problems for him, making sure that Max did get to enjoy his day and finally have the rest he desperately needed.
...
"Have you guys already seen him?" Hans asks over his phone.
"Some of our Jacks reported to us yesterday and told us that he found him walking near the Hall of Janus, almost like he was looking for something. Over," Brave—who was at the rooftop with the rest of the jesters, answers.
"Idiot, you don't have to say 'over' after every sentence. This isn't a walkie-talkie," Hans answers back, walking down the corridor with Krist and Siren.
"Sorry, I just feel like we're on an important mission here. Like a stakeout."
"Just concentrate on looking for the guy. If you spot him, message me immediately," Hans replies before finally ending the call.
"No luck?" Krist asks as soon as Hans puts his phone inside his pocket.
"No. There are just too many people on our campus now that it's hard to find him."
"Don't worry. I already asked one of our new members, Eren, to check the security cameras since he's a member of the Omega Society. I wanted to ask Felix, but I didn't want to disturb him with his day with Max," Siren then explains.
Krist, who was busy chewing gum, takes a deep breath and tells them, "I can't believe we're all acting like this just because of one guy. It's almost embarrassing and annoying at the same time."
"Well, this one guy is Jontell Rosario. Based on his records, he has never attended a single convention. Him attending one for the first time is suspicious enough. He's definitely planning something here," Hans reminds him, and Krist just shrugs his shoulder before blowing the bubblegum in his mouth and making it pop.
The three leaders eventually arrived at the courtyard where the booths from other schools could be found. The area was filled with more students, making it more difficult for them to spot Jontell.
"Man, the booths are making me remember the Brotherhood Week where the Omega Society set up body bags with fake blood," Krist then shared while the three of them walked around the courtyard.
"I heard from Felix that the skit was Max's idea," Siren explains.
"Of course it was. Only Max would be crazy enough to pull such a stunt."
While the brotherhood leaders were walking, a group of students from one of the guest schools suddenly approached them. For some reason, Krist thinks that they're approaching them for a fight, but to his surprise, the male and female guests push him away and suddenly face Siren.
"Hi, you're Sky Hansen, right? The famous model?" One of the girls asks, surprising the marquis.
"O-Oh, yes, I am," Siren lies since no one knows that River (Sky's twin) actually exists.
"May we take a picture with you?" Another girl asks, and Siren charmingly smiles and nods her head, making the group of friends screech in excitement.
While they were taking pictures with the marquis, Krist rolled his eyes and got ready to voice out his annoyance with the duke. But when Krist turned to look at Hans, he saw him surrounded by the other students as well who were trying to get a picture with him.
"You got to be kidding me," Krist says, moving away from the crowd and crossing his arms. While he waits for them to finish, he takes a deep breath and looks around the other booths. While he was looking, he suddenly spotted a familiar face in the crowd, immediately making his eyes widen in shock.
"F-fuck. That's Jontell!" Krist shouts, turning back to Siren and Hans. When he sees that the two of them are still busy entertaining the guests like the real nobles that they are, Krist curses under his breath and decides to chase after Jontell by himself.
Master Joker pushes the students away as he tries to chase after the infamous heir. But when he reached the end of the courtyard, Jontell was nowhere to be found.
"Shit!" Krist angrily says, pulling out his phone to call the leader of Cigarettes, Cj. With just one ring, the count answers the call. But before Cj could even say anything, Krist immediately tells him, "I just saw Jontell. He might be heading to the Hall of Caelus..."
[At the West Tower]
"He might be heading to the Hall of Caelus. I already dispatched some of my underlings there so just keep a close eye," Krist says over the phone while Cj and Marcus are walking down the hallways of the freshmen tower.
"Alright, we'll handle it," Cj replies, ending the call and looking at the duke walking beside him. "Looks like Jontell is close by. We should head towards the library. He might be there," Cj tells Marcus, and Marcus just nods in reply.
The two of them walk their way towards the library, the other students trying to avoid them as much as possible, mostly because of the count who has this look on his face like he's going to punch you for no reason if you accidentally bump into him.
"So, Jontell Rosario...has Max never mentioned him to you before? Not even once?" Cj suddenly asks, surprising Marcus.
The atmosphere between them is awkward since the two of them aren't exactly close, but Marcus tries to humor the count anyway as he answers, "Max never talked about his past with me. He's secretive, especially to his family. His butler actually knows him better than I do."
"Oh, that scary guy he's always with?"
"Yeah, he's been with Max since he was a literal baby. He's almost like his son so he'll do everything to protect him," Marcus explains, making Cj chuckle to himself.
"Then if Jontell is really here because of that sly fox then he better watch out for his butler. Even I don't want to mess with a man who has sworn loyalty to someone," Cj then says. It may have sounded like he was joking around when he said it, but to Marcus, it was a statement he agreed on.
"Well, if we spot him first and find out he's really here for Max, Jontell wouldn't have to worry about Étienne at all because he'll have to face me first," Marcus threatens next, making Cj grin.
"Scary."
The two continue walking down the hall, searching for Jontell so they can finally know what he's up to. But when the two of them got to the Hall of Caelus, the grin on Cj's face widened. "Looks like you'll have to get ready to fight big boy because there's your man," Cj says, pointing at Jontell who was going from room to room, checking them like he was searching for something.
Cj and Marcus got close to him, trying to push past the wave of students. When the two brotherhood members finally got close to the heir, Cj looked around at the students and suddenly shouted, "Yo, bastards! Can you all give us a little privacy here for a second?!"
The students in the hallway turned their heads to check who it was. And the moment they saw that it was actually the leader of Cigarettes, the students immediately ran off with no questions. In less than a minute, the entire hallway was cleared, leaving Cj and Marcus with Jontell who eventually noticed them too.
"Look who we have here. How are you, Jontell? The last time I saw you was during an underground business meeting. I think we were still kids back then," Cj says, approaching Jontell with his hands inside his pocket.
Jontell, who had injuries on his face because of the blows that Max gave him yesterday, looks at the two men in black uniforms, unfazed.
"So the rumors are true. Charles Justin Mills is really here cornering students and beating them up for fun. I've already gotten a few punches, but I think I can handle more if it's from a pussy like you," Jontell suddenly says, which only makes Cj snicker.
"Looks like you still have a foul mouth."
"Looks like you still have daddy issues."
"I should say the same thing to you."
"Alright, enough. Both of you," Marcus finally interrupts. With Cj and Jontell's personalities, this conversation is never going to end. "We're not here to make any trouble. Well, not yet. As the duke of the house of kings, why are you here, Jontell Rosario?"
Jontell takes a deep breath and turns his head to Marcus. The moment he sees his face, the heir grins and says, "Marcus Thompson. Heard your mother's still working at the company. For a mistress, she really does have a thick face. She fucking the vice president now too?"
"What the hell did you just say?" Marcus angrily asks. He was about to grab Jontell, but Cj thankfully stopped him in time. Jontell could only laugh at the reaction he was expecting from the duke.
"One sentence and he already got you," Cj says to Marcus, making Marcus clench his fist in anger. Cj then looks back at Jontell and tells him, "We don't want to shed blood here, especially the blood of a man from a different territory. So let's make it quick and easy. Why the fuck did you come to J.S High? Answer this, and we'll leave you alone. "
"And why the fuck do you think I'll answer you that?" Jontell asks back, not threatened by the count at all.
"Because if you don't, the rumors you heard about me will be more than just rumors. Don't test me, Rosario. I bite more than I bark," Cj tells him, his expression more serious than earlier.
Jontell could already feel the strong presence that the count was emitting. But before he could finally answer his question, another figure suddenly appeared before them.
Marcus and Cj turn their heads to see who it is. And to their surprise, it's actually the vice president of the Elites, Gavriil Alexeev.
"Vice, this is a conversation between brotherhoods. If you're here to stop us then—" Before Cj could even finish his sentence, Gavriil stops in front of them and says, "I'm here not as an Elite but as a member of the Clan (Busters' underling)."
"If it's regarding Jontell Rosario, we're following direct orders from the queen, Cindy Lin. You cannot interrupt us," Marcus tells him.
"I'm following direct orders from the king. And as you two may already know, we are here in the House of Kings. If you wish to disrupt me in my duties, you're indirectly challenging them," Gavriil says with a serious expression, almost making Cj laugh.
"Geez, what did little Maxy see in this scary guy," Cj whispers to himself before scratching the back of his head. "Alright, let's all just relax. We're not here to fight you, especially when I know damn well how good you are at it. But if you do anything to this guy, the queen isn't going to like it."
Gavriil looks at Cj but doesn't reply to him anymore. Instead, he walks his way toward Jontell and stops in front of him. "By order of the king, Jontell Rosario, you are being summoned at their base," Gavriil reveals, surprising not only Jontell but Cj and Marcus too.
"Why the hell would Tanis Hendrix ask for my appearance?" Jontell asks back.
"It's not Tanis," Gavriil immediately clarifies. "You're looking for Viktor, aren't you? Well, there's no need to search for him here like a lost child. I'll bring you to him directly. So prepare yourself, Rosario."
- END -