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"PARADOX...WHAT DID THEY do to Kim Hee-joon?" Max asks, and the question comes as a surprise because out of all the possible questions, Vesper thought Max would ask, this was the last one he predicted.
"Kim Hee-joon? Now that's a man who I believe is very dangerous," Vesper says. "Joon is not a kind man and is actually quite selfish. I don't know much about him, but I do know something ."
"And what could that be?"
"The only reason why Joon became a prince—" Vesper pauses, and then he suddenly reaches out to touch the brooches on Max's collar before continuing, "Was because he wanted to serve Viktor. Nothing more, and nothing less."
"Viktor Stepanov?"
"Joon isn't noble or honorable. He didn't want to rank up because he wanted to change J.S High. No, that's not the reason at all. He has this obsession over your king. I don't know why, and I really don't care to know. But that's probably the reason why Grey always said that he was never fit to be the prince," Vesper then adds, making Max's eyes widen in shock this time.
So Grey didn't want Joon to be the prince?
Is Vesper telling the truth?
"So if I were you, you better rethink if you want to help him return to J.S High. You are here to help him, correct?" Vesper then asks, but Max decides to ignore it.
"I understand what you're trying to say, but you didn't answer my initial question. What did Paradox do to Kim Hee-Joon? Does it involve his ability to use the Prince's Law?" Max asks again, and Vesper sighs and finally lets go of the young heir.
"I don't think I'm the right person to tell you that story, kid. Even I have a brotherhood code," Vesper answered, making Max furrow his brows in frustration. He expected such a response from someone like Vesper, but he still assumed he'd learn something from him. I guess Max asked the wrong question.
"Based on your answer, it means they really did something to him," Max guessed. "I can see it in his eyes when I spoke to him once. It was burning with rage, which was the opposite of his cold facade. Something happened to him during the time Paradox were still kings. But what was it?"
"If you're really curious, I'm not the white uniform you should be talking to. You should go ask Levi. He knows Joon like a mirror. He's the person you should talk to," Vesper then says when he notices the puzzled expression on Max's face.
Levi was actually a person that Max had already planned to talk to. Other than the fact that Leviathan Dubois was the first person to ever receive an invitation to PHD's banquet, Levi was also J.S High's previous Elites' vice president, so it only means that he was close with Max's childhood friend, Grey. Like Vesper, Max hopes to learn a lot from Levi's knowledge about the past.
"Vice President Levi? Were they close?"
"Close is an understatement. They were like brothers. Well, from what I heard. If you find out Joon and Levi's connection with Paradox, I think you'll understand what I mean by all this. But beware of Uchdryd Rease. That asshole is protective of that saint. It's actually annoying," Vesper says, but Max didn't say anything about that particular information. He's not really here to talk about someone's love life.
"Is there anything else you want to know? I'm free, and I actually like you. I saw that video of you getting your hands beat by that creepy nun. I like guys who bite more than they bark," Vesper then says, reaching out to touch Max again, but Max immediately pushes his hand away this time.
"Please refrain from touching me," Max warns.
"Oops, my bad," Vesper casually answers as he puts his hands inside his pockets.
Max looks at Vesper for one last time before checking his watch. It was already 6:00 PM, and the serfs probably started cleaning the dorms by now. He should leave and join them.
"Looks like our little chat ends here. Thank you for your time, but I have to go," Max says as he turns away from the white uniform. Max reaches out for the doorknob and gets ready to leave, but Vesper suddenly says something that immediately makes him stop.
"There was also something that I noticed in your viral video. You were wearing a silver bracelet with a blue diamond, right? At first, I thought it was Lemieux's emblem, but Lemieux prefers white and gold, while Sinclaire is red. But after a little more thinking, I realized that the blue diamond is actually a very famous family insignia," Vesper suddenly shares, making Max unconsciously touch the very bracelet Vesper was referring to.
"What is it with you if I wear such a bracelet?"
"Well, wearing such a thing...it's almost like you're telling people you're their property. Or, to be more specific...his...property. Is that true?" Vesper asks, but Max decides not to answer him. There was no reason for him to.
"That's a dangerous man you're playing with, Sinclaire. I suggest you run away now before you get bit. Viktor Stepanov put that man on a leash for a reason. After all, Alexeevs aren't known for being...friendly," Vesper then says, but Max completely ignores him and immediately runs off the room.
As soon as he got out, he lifted his hand and stared at the bracelet. Max tried his best not to get bothered by what Vesper said. In fact, he shouldn't be worried about it at all. He knows Gavriil enough to trust him, but somehow, Max couldn't help but feel uneasy. He'd lie if he said that he never got curious about Gavriil's past. Gavriil has always been secretive from the very beginning, and it's evident that he's hiding a lot of things from Max. He wants to know more about the man he decided to love, and one word from Étienne and—
"What am I even thinking?" Max quickly asks, interrupting himself and brushing the thought away before he can even finish it.
"I should be worried about the situation here first before anything. Keep yourself together, Max. Gav will never hurt you," Max convinces himself before finally walking back to the Hell Sanctum so he doesn't have to overthink about something he believes he shouldn't be worried about.
...
"P-Please...I beg you...I don't know. I d-don't know what you're talking about. So please let me go," a man who was tied in a chair says, blood oozing out from his nose and mouth while he stared at the figure standing right in front of him in complete fear.
"I told you. 'I don't know' is not the answer I'm looking for."
"I swear! I don't know!" The man shouts this time, and the unknown figure sighs and adjusts the leather gloves he's wearing before throwing another strong punch, causing the man's blood to splatter on his face.
"Now you've made a mess," the unknown figure says as he wipes the blood off from his cheeks. He got ready to throw one more punch, but the phone in his pocket suddenly rang, making him stop and sigh in frustration. The figure pulled the phone out of his pocket to check who it was. When he saw the name of the caller, the expression on his face immediately changed. He then taped the mouth of the man tied in a chair before heading out so he wouldn't be able to make a sound.
"President Ian, you called?"
"Gavriil, where have you been? Why didn't you go to school today?" President Ian Rothman asks, and the unknown figure, who was actually the Vice President of the House of Kings, Gavriil Ivanovich Alexeev, bites one of his gloves off his hand before answering, "I was pretty...occupied."
"Occupied? Well, you better be back tomorrow because Viktor wants to propose something. I need you in that meeting. It's important. Richard Young will be there as well," Ian then reveals, surprising Gavriil because he hasn't heard anything about this before, which he found annoying because Viktor has been calling him since yesterday, yet he failed to tell him about a proposal he's planning to do.
"Propose something? What is that mad king planning now?"
"I'm not certain yet, but I think it's regarding our new Dukes, the Revels. They haven't shown themselves since they won the Reranking. I haven't sent them a warning yet because I know how the white uniforms would treat them as soon as they show themselves in our house. It's safer and more manageable on our part," Ian explains, and Gavriil couldn't help but agree to it.
"Oh yeah, I also sent you an email earlier. Read it and send it back to me with your signature. We need to hand that report to the association tomorrow," Ian adds.
"Okay, I'll check it when I get home."
"Anyway, did you skip classes today because you're already missing your ambitious yet adorable white uniform?" Ian jokingly asks, making the serious expression on Gavriil's face break into a small smile.
"Don't be ridiculous. It's only been two days."
"Two days can still be dreadful."
"As if you'd know."
"Hey, when I was still with my girlfriend, being apart from her for even a day felt like torture, so don't pretend like you don't miss him even for a bit. They're not even allowed to use their phones in St. George Academy, right? I bet it's frustrating that you can't even hear his voice," Ian explains, and Gavriil chuckles this time. Sometimes, when he's having a normal conversation with Ian, he forgets that he's actually the president of the Elites.
Ian has a way of making people feel comfortable, but then he'd shift to something more serious when needed. Maybe that's the reason why he's so admirable.
"Don't worry, I've been releasing some steam," Gavriil then answers before looking at the blood stains on his sleeves and the bruises on his knuckles.
"Well, if you're so curious, why not ask the exchange student who will be arriving next week? The House of Bishop's school representative will be arriving next Monday for the exchange program. Maybe you can ask him about what's been happening with your boyfriend. Who knows, you might hear something interesting," Ian explains, which instantly attracts Gavriil's attention.
"Interesting, you say?"
"Maybe I shouldn't have said that," Ian replies before giving a nervous laugh. "In any case, I know you've got your hands full, so I'll end the call so I don't disturb you any further with whatever you're so busy with. Just don't forget. Read my email, and attend the meeting tomorrow. Got that, Vice President Alexeev?" Ian asks.
"Yes, I got it."
"Then see you tomorrow."
Ian ends the call, and Gavriil hides his phone back inside his pocket before walking inside the warehouse again, terrifying the blood-covered man who was still tied in the chair, waiting for him in complete agony.
"Sorry about that," Gavriil says, the expression on his face once again changing into something more menacing.
"I don't want to waste both of our time, Mr. Angeles. If you keep stalling, someone who is much more terrifying than me will come to visit, so I suggest you speak now before a mad king arrives and takes over," Gavriil threatens as he takes a step closer to the man named Mr. Angeles. He then wears a new pair of gloves before removing the tape from Mr. Angeles' mouth so he can answer Gavriil's questions.
"Now, let me ask you again...where on earth is Janus Sinclaire hiding his son?"
[The next day: at St. George Academy]
"Did you see Hell Sanctum? It looks like they started cleaning the place up. There's like a dozen trash bags outside," Saints' School Representative Martin Osborn says as he walks his way to the Dining Hall with the rest of the council members so they can have their lunch.
"By the way, there's only ten minutes left. We still haven't received any notice from the Brotherhood Association, which means when the clock strikes 12, we can officially take Kim Hee-joon and subject him to deliberation," Secretary Perseus reminds them, an excited smile obviously present on his face.
"Don't get your hopes too high. It hasn't been 24 hours yet. As you said, there's still ten minutes left, and a lot can happen in ten minutes," President Justice then points out, and Pursues just shrugs his shoulder, confident that they'll be able to teach Kim Hee-joon a lesson after embarrassing them like that yesterday.
"I doubt it."
When the members of the Saints entered the hall, bells rang, and everyone instantly stood up to show their respect to the five strongest white uniforms in their house.
Justice happily smiled at the other students while the gaffers glared at him for practically doing nothing yesterday. They then walk past the gaffer whom Joon threatened to kick out. He was nervous, but when he saw the Saints, he suddenly ran to Levi and grabbed him by the collar, surprising everyone.
"Why didn't you fucking help me yesterday?! You're the Vice President, aren't you? It's your duty to protect the white uniforms, especially the gaffers," the student scolds.
Justice was about to pull him away from the vice, but Levi stopped him. "It's okay," Levi calmly says before looking back at the furious gaffer. "There was nothing we could do with the situation. The Prince's Law is a written rule that no one can go against. But rest assured, if it is proven that the law does not apply in our house, then Kim Hee-joon falsely threatened you, which means the ministry can take him for deliberation."
The gaffer and the rest of the white uniforms are shocked after hearing the good news, but after a while, the gaffer finally lets go of Levi and starts laughing.
"Deliberation? Now that's what I'm talking about! That will show him not to mess with gaffers," the white uniform confidently says, making the other gaffers laugh with him.
For them, this was a victory, but Levi was worried that they were celebrating too soon. There's still a few minutes left. Until the 24-hour mark hasn't been met yet, Joon is still in the clear.
"Deliberation? Who the hell is getting deliberated?" A voice then asks.
Everyone turns around as the large door of the Dining Hall opens, revealing the six strong brotherhoods of the House of Bishops. Uchdryd, who was leading them, walks towards the Saints while the rest of the white uniforms place their hand on their chest to properly greet them.
"Who's going to be deliberated? Kim Hee-Joon?" Uchdryd asks again with his hands inside his pockets.
None of the gaffers said anything since most of them were scared of the Checkmates, considering how they're the strongest brotherhood in their house. Uchdryd wasn't also the type to touch the white uniforms, but I guess the fear came from the information he held. Checkmates are considered the Masters of Information, and knowledge is the most terrifying of all.
"Is no one gonna answer me?" Uchdryd asks again before turning to the Vice President. The leader was about to repeat what he said earlier, but when he noticed how Levi's collar was a mess, Uchdryd almost lost his composure. Thankfully, Justice noticed and immediately diverted his attention.
"Kim Hee-Joon is subjected to deliberation. Within 24 hours, if his threat to remove the gaffer is proven to be a bluff, we are allowed to bring him to the ministry for wrongfully threatening a white uniform," Justice explained, and Elijah Valor of Red Tigers instantly started laughing out loud, his laughter echoing inside the Dining Hall.
"Wait, is that the reason why the bastard stayed at the dorms with his brotherhood? Is he afraid to be embarrassed by the entire student body?" Elijah asks while the rest of his brotherhood laughs with him.
"Wrongfully threatening a white uniform, or wrongfully threatening a gaffer? I'm certain that you won't give the same energy if it was a dweller or a serf," Ruby Rose of Scarlet Letter then points out while the rest of the Red Tigers continued laughing.
Uchdryd, on the other hand, sighed and massaged his temple in annoyance. "You find this funny? The fact that these gaffers are so protected is actually pathetic. Nothing about this should be amusing," Uchdryd then says, instantly making Elijah and his brotherhood stop.
"But it's not something we should be concerned about anyway," Ruby Rose adds, which was something that the other brotherhood leaders agreed on. This was Kim Hee-joon's problem, not theirs. None of them told him to threaten a white uniform, let alone a gaffer.
"I guess you're right," Uchdryd answers. "Besides, there's only a minute left before the 24-hour hits its mark. I don't really want to put my nose in their business, but good luck to PHD. The Ministry can be very unforgiving." Uchdryd then turned around and gestured his brotherhood to head to the balcony so they could finally eat their lunch in peace.
The rest of the brotherhoods followed as well, while Secretary Perseus of the Saints, along with the white uniforms from the Gaffers Division, stared at the clock in anticipation. Everyone in the dining hall was completely quiet as they patiently waited for 12:00 PM to strike. But as the brotherhoods walk towards the balcony, and as the Saints wait for the signal, the door suddenly opens, instantly making everyone turn their heads to see who it is.
All the students in the hall stopped everything that they were doing as an important figure entered the cafeteria, three guards following right behind him. They wore uniforms that everyone was familiar with. And for others, this was a uniform that they did not wish to see.
"N-No. This...this c-can't be..." The confident gaffer said in disbelief.
The four figures walked to the middle of the hall. The man leading them, who had a long beard and a pair of round glasses, stopped right in front of the Saints and pulled out a paper, showing it to them so they could read its contents.
Everyone tried to catch a glimpse of what was written on the paper, but those who saw it couldn't help but be left speechless. Because on the paper were the words "Prince's Law," and at the bottom was the Brotherhood Association's seal of approval.
This only meant one thing.
Kim Hee-joon was definitely not bluffing.
"We are representatives of the Brotherhood Association, under direct orders of President Janus Sinclaire," the man in the middle says with so much authority that no one could even say a thing. "4th Year Student, Wilbert Quintrell, with student number 0020725 of the Gaffers Division. Today, 27th of March, at exactly 12:00 PM, in accordance with the Prince Law, you are to be removed from St. George Academy and will be transferred to the House of Rooks."
As soon as the man said those words, the church bell rang, indicating that it was already 12:00 p.m., and the 24-hour finally hit its mark. The gaffer, whose name was actually Wilbert, dropped to his knees while the rest of the white uniforms stared at him with their eyes and mouths wide open in shock.
"You have shown traits that go against the mission and vision of your house, and your blatant disrespect to Pretty, hot, & Dangerous makes that evident. You are expected to pack your things, clear your room, and surrender your stole. This is effective immediately. And this decision...is none negotiable."
Wilbert was now sobbing while the rest of the students in the dining hall didn't know what to think. They thought this was all just a bluff. They thought that Kim Hee-joon was just trying to scare them. But now...it was happening right before their eyes. Even Max hasn't seen such a thing before. He knew PHD had such power because they were able to remove some of his classmates in Class A once, but he didn't expect that they could actually remove someone from their house entirely.
Looks like the House of Bishops just got a rude awakening. When they first found out that PHD got demoted and would be transferred to their house, they thought they could fuck around with them and show them who's the real boss in St. George Academy. But it seems like Kim Hee-joon just proved them all wrong.
As the saying goes...
Kim Hee-joon isn't locked in here with them. They're locked in here with him.
"No, you can't do this to me! He can't do this to me! What gives him the right?!" Wilbert Quintrell started shouting.
The man holding the paper looked at the guards behind him and nodded his head. Without saying a single thing, two of them walked towards Wilbert and grabbed him by his arm so they could drag him out. While they were dragging him away, Wilbert started screaming for help, but no one did anything. Well, no one really could do anything at this point, even the Ministry.
"That is all. Please, St. George Academy, continue with your lunch. I hope we don't see each other again soon," the representative from the association says with an eerie smile before turning around and walking away.
As soon as they left, Secretary Perseus Odair stumbled back in complete shock while holding his chest. The other council members helped him up while the white uniforms, mostly the gaffers, instantly started shouting at the Saints and asking them about the incident.
Everything was now total chaos.
President Justice and Vice President Leviathan stared into each other in silence. They didn't really know how all this was possible, but they knew one thing...They made a huge mistake by letting PHD enter their house. And whoever decided to cheat during the Brotherhood Reranking is definitely gonna regret ever choosing such a terrifying opponent.
"Holy fucking shit." The only thing Elijah Valor can say as they watch the white uniforms who were now scattered everywhere like rats in a maze.
"Looks like Kim Hee-Joon didn't stay in their dorm because he was afraid that he'd be embarrassed. He didn't show himself today because he was that confident," Chandler Heptinstall, leader of Gallants, points out.
"So the Prince Law still applies in St. George," Ruby Rose says next. "Any information why that could be, Uchdryd Rease?"
"No, I don't know why, and not knowing anything fucking pisses me off," Uchdryd answers as he clenches his fist in irritation. He then looks up at the ceiling at stares at PHD's banner, a banner that holds the symbol that once struck fear in the hearts of both white uniforms and brotherhoods in the past.
"Kim Hee-Joon..." Uchdryd whispers. "You definitely are...a dangerous man."
- END -