Inside the Vice Principal's office, there were two students, a girl with slightly dishevelled blond hair and a boy with an eye-catching red handprint on his left cheek, sitting opposite to each other.
The boy's slumped posture and light smile greatly contrasted with the girl's 'wanting to strangle someone to death' expression.
If she wouldn't have been informed by the librarian, she would have speculated that the former is the offender and the later is the victim.
The Vice Principal turned towards the boy and said, "Young master Sinclair, please explain what had occurred?"
Ver cleared his throat before proceeding to his explanation in a lively manner, "Well, I headed to the library to pick up a book, you know like a good student would, but then this seemingly elegant young lady suddenly charged towards me, tightly clenching her fist like a brute–"
"Who are you calling a brute?!" The girl immediately retorted.
"Obviously you. Were my words not clear enough?" Ver immediately snapped back.
She gritted her teeth and yelled, "You really have no shame!"
"Enough, Young lady Erika!" With just a word, the once noisy room quieted down.
These two are high-ranking aristocrats she reminded herself.
The Vice Principal then signalled Ver to continue.
Ver complied, "As I was saying, she clenched her fist like a brute ready to attack, I knew my delicate face would bruise and my jaw would dislocate if I get hit, so as an act of self-defence, I instinctively subdued her, but don't worry! Her head wasn't damaged."
"You call slamming me to the floor self-defence?!" Erika yelled, earning a cold glance from the Vice Principal.
Ver shrugged his shoulders, "If you view punching a random student as a greeting then I don't see what's wrong with my logic. Besides, I let you land a hit, which means we're even now." He pointed to the handprint on his cheek.
She clenched her fists as she yelled, "A light slap on the face can't equal getting slammed to the floor!"
"Well, you're not wrong, but since it's my face and my skin, it is equal." He said bluntly.
"Says who?!"
"The law."
"...What?!"
"Section 79 Article 6 states that those who are under the age of 18 and are unemployed but have contributed to the kingdom, like a refinement of existing spells, must not be harmed mentally and physically. To be honest, it's not even close to equal."
Erika couldn't tell whether he was bluffing or not.
"Well—...Your insane if you think your face is even as precious as dirt!"
Ver gasped. His look of pure disbelief briefly changed back to his nonchalant expression as he said, "Your right. It's as precious as gold, maybe even more precious."
"You aren't just shameless but also delusional!"
"I prefer the terms confident and creative thinker, but hey, use what works for you."
*SLAM!
The desk shook, and the stacked papers trembled and were threatening to fall. The bickering students instinctively looked towards the origin of the sound, and as a result, their eyes met with the Vice Principal's deep, almost murky blue eyes.
"May I ask why the young lady tried to attack the young master?" She said calmly.
The whole room fell silent.
Erika loosened and then tightened her grip on her skirt.
During that time in the library. She was tasked to grab a book by her professor when all of a sudden vivid memories of what seemed to be the future flooded her mind.
"No! NO DON'T! PLEASE...I'm beginning you..." Their desperate cries and dreadful expressions seemed to have been engraved in her ears and eyelids.
Her father, mother, siblings and even servants...all of them.
Such a predicament was caused by her rash and selfish decisions, it was mostly her fault, however, all of it was fueled by an enticing offer from a monster who she had trusted for some unknown reasons.
She isn't hot-tempered, but, guilt and rage had, at the library and at this moment, greatly overwhelmed her rationality and self-control.
She stood up.
Her eyes reddened as she looked Very in the eye. She then uttered, "I hate you. I hate this trashy, waste of space, son OF A BITCH!"
Her reason instantly solicited a sharp yet playful whistle from Ver and a look of shock and dismay from the Vice Principal.
The Vice Principal stood up abruptly, her eyes widened as the adrenaline equal to four cups of black coffee slapped her awake. Immediately she asked, "Young lady Erika Violet Mayfield! What has gotten into you?!"
"I just want this bastard to know that I hate him! I hate him with every fiber of my being!"
"This is not an acceptable behaviour as a noble lady! I would like to speak with your parents tomorrow!"
And with that, Ver was let off the hook and was sent out of the office.
"Brother!"
Ver's eyes softened as he turned to look at his sister...and a white-haired pretty boy?
A suitor perhaps?
His lips twitched slightly.
"Bro—ther!"
Slim and delicate arms wrapped around him.
"Finished with the transfer?" Ver asked as he gently ran his fingers through his sister's messy black hair in an attempt to fix it.
Amelia retreated slightly.
"It's done! I even met a classmate on the way there. Evander!" She called towards the white-haired boy.
Evan walked near them.
White hair, often associated with the Hart's, striking golden eyes, tall, sturdy but not bulky, slightly tanned skin and wore an ironed navy blue uniform.
He reached out his hand.
"Evander Dumieres Hart, a pleasure to meet you, Young master Sinclair." He introduced himself in a tone neither too confidant nor humble.
"Likewise." Ver shook the other's hand. His smile seemed to deepen as he stared the other in the eye.
Pretentious shit.
Just from the smile, the tone of voice and the almost unreadable eyes, Ver knew that the boy was a pretentious born to be a scammer kind of person.
"Brother, have you eaten lunch yet?"
"Not yet."
"Perfect! Let's all go together."
~·+•+·~
As they reached the cafeteria, most students were already leaving and some were about to finish their meal.
The three of them grabbed a tray and stood in line.
Ver felt a bit bored and decided to look around the place.
Evander noticed the other's slight fascination with the interior of the cafeteria. Seeing an opportunity to create small talk, Evander didn't waste a second to ask, "Is it the young master's first time here?"
"Yeah."
"Do you usually eat at the South?"
"Sometimes."
"Sometimes? Is the young master often busy?"
"Yeah."
"...Busy with assignments?"
"Yeah."
"....."
Didn't they say he adores talking especially if he's the subject?
Amelia, who was silently listening to their (one-sided) conversation joined, "Is your class hard, brother?"
Ver turned his attention towards his sister as he answered with delight, "Of course not. It's as easy as eating cake. They just give excessive assignments."
Evander felt speechless not just how blatantly obvious that the other had no interest in him whatsoever, but also how bold his statement is.
Amelia laughed at her brother's casual display of confidence.
"Oh right! Brother, how's your dorm? Is your roommate nice?"
Dorm? Evander repeated in his mind.
"The dorm's nice and my roommate.." his eyes then drifted towards an eye-catching fiery red hair at the entrance of the cafeteria.
"He's a brat." Just as he said that the said brat turned around and accidentally met with his eyes.
Ver grinned as he playfully winked at the other. Even at that distance, Ver could see the other's disgusted look.
He watched as the redhead storm off while dragging who he assumes are the other's friends.
"Brother, who was that?"
"A suitor." Ver said casually.
"Oh my." Amelia covered her mouth. Her cheeks burned slightly.
She wouldn't have guessed that the fierce-looking upperclassmen liked his brother.
Evander paid no attention to their conversation about the suitor, instead, he busied himself with thinking of possible ways to get closer to the Sinclair.