♰
"WHAT'S THE POINT OF meeting with Klyde? To be real with you, there's no other reason for you to speak to him now that everything's cleared up in this house," Vesper Hugo Cinna, the Serfs Division's guard dog, truthfully tells Max as the two of them were having a smoke at the balcony of their dormitory.
"And if I'm being honest, meeting up with him might only give you a reason to pity him. And believe me, Klyde is the last person who you should pity after the damage he did to St. George," Vesper continued to explain.
Max slowly exhaled the smoke out of his mouth, staring at the view of the Garden of Eden while the other students were eating lunch at the Dining Hall. After speaking with Reverend Mother Margaret earlier this morning, Max decided to talk to someone about what he'd do with the information given to him regarding Klyde, and seeking advice from someone like Vesper was the best option.
It might look like an easy decision to make, but there's a reason why Mother Margaret gave him the option to choose between going or not.
Max thought about what he would even say to him. What are the questions he'd ask? Is it really a good idea to meet someone who hid from the public for years? Why does Klyde even want to speak with him alone? What is he planning to do or say to him? These questions made Max feel conflicted.
"I mean, we listened to the same recordings, didn't we? Klyde did what he did because St. George Academy failed him first," Max explains.
"And does that justify him fucking everyone else's lives?" Vesper answers back.
"I'm not justifying it. I'm just...explaining. Villains are regular people who got stabbed in the back and thrown in the mud to rot. Sometimes when it's too much, they just give up on the world," Max explains further, and Vesper chuckles before inhaling the smoke from his cigarette stick.
"We were both stabbed in the back, front, top, and bottom, but we didn't have the desire to just make everyone else's lives a living hell. Face it, some kids have natural evil in them. It's not their fault, but it's been innate in their system. You should know," Vesper clarifies next, and Max finishes his cigarette in frustration before throwing it inside the bin.
"Klyde might know who this school was sold to, and that information can greatly help the Brotherhood Association, especially my uncle."
"Or he might not know and you still went to visit him to wherever that address is, only to be spatted with bullshit. Remember Max, Klyde was trying to look for information about this school's mystery too and look what happened to him. It destroyed his life. There's something wrong in this house, Max. Something deeper than just the Ministry exploiting the students. Associating yourself with Klyde might put you in a lot of danger, and based on the path you're taking, you already have so much on your plate," Vesper truthfully says this time, making Max sigh while he continues to stare at the beautiful garden below them.
"You did what you could for this school. There's no reason for you to associate yourself with someone who got tangled with dangerous people. I don't want you to—" Vesper stopped, finishing his cigarette and dropping it on the floor so he could step on it. After composing himself, he continued, "You asked for my advice, and as someone whose entire family got fucked up because I made a selfish decision to leave Crème de la Crème, I suggest you don't go. Your mission for this school is over. Let the association handle the rest. This is no longer your responsibility. Return to J.S High with the princes. That's all you have to think about now."
Max carefully listens to Vesper's words of advice, reaching out to touch his necklace to make a final decision. But just as he was about to make up his mind, he suddenly felt the brooches in his collar, and the feeling of the cold metal on his fingertips made him remember that he didn't have to decide on this alone.
"You know, ever since the issue in this school has been resolved, I've been feeling uneasy. I accidentally told Justice about this, but I felt troubled that people started associating me with Grey," Max suddenly shares, making Vesper turn to look at him, surprised that Max opened something up like that.
"Everyone was thanking me, and I appreciate it, I really do. But I remembered what Vice President Levi said. He said that there would be a time when I start comparing myself to Grey, and he was right. When he said those words to me, I ended up being aware of it," Max paused and touched the arm that had the fleur de lis symbol on it before continuing, "Am I doing all this...because I'm trying to be Grey? Am I trying to replace the white uniform that the brotherhoods truly loved and respected? When I had that thought, I had this sick feeling in my stomach."
"Maybe what you're feeling is different from what you're thinking. Maybe you just see Grey as your role model and it doesn't feel right that people see you as him. Maybe you underestimate yourself so much that you don't want to disrespect Grey," Vesper explains, but Max immediately shakes his head to deny it.
"No, Grey was never my role model. I don't even remember him that much anymore and maybe that's the problem. I don't have anyone to look up to or strive to become. Everyone sees Grey in me but I don't want to be like him."
"And you're not like Grey at all," Vesper assures Max even though he also thought Max was similar to the ex-president in the past.
When Max hears what Vesper has to say, a sad smile appears on his face.
"I know. And sometimes I think maybe...maybe that's what the others are thinking too, which is why their expectations of me—" Max stops his train of thought and takes a deep breath. He closes his eyes and lets the wind touch his skin. "Once upon a time, there must have been a boy who had the same sentiments..." he then whispered to himself, making Vesper look at him with furrowed brows.
"What are you saying now?"
"There must have been a boy who had the same sentiment," Max suddenly repeated, but louder this time. He opened his eyes back and suddenly realized something that changed his entire perspective. It was the answer that he'd been seeking all this time.
When Max finally made up his mind, he turned to Vesper with a serious and determined expression. "I know you mean well Vesper, but there's one more opinion that I want to hear. I know that meeting up with Klyde is dangerous. I know the stakes and the consequences better than anyone. But let me fuck up on my own. If I made the wrong decision, you can scold me then."
...
[At J.S High, Great Hall]
"I'm fucking starving!" CJ shouted as he and the rest of the members of Cigarettes went to their table to eat, their underlings standing from their seats to bow to them like usual.
The rest of the members of Cigarettes proceeded to the balcony, while Anthony—CJ's right hand—stopped at their table where an angry brotherhood waited for them there.
"Where the hell did you guys go? You left a huge mess in our base. Do you even know how many cigarette buds Brave and I had to pick just so it wouldn't clog the drains?" Krist Hyusen, better known as Master Joker, angrily asks while CJ sits beside him, Anthony sitting on the other table with the rest of the Jokers.
"Yeah, do you know how disgusting wet cigarette sticks feel?" Brave asks next before stuffing his mouth with cream puffs.
CJ casually laughs at the complaint and steals Krist's soda can, chugging it down without a care. "Sorry, we were a bit preoccupied. Another serf asked to make a deal with us. Said something about a gaffer who has been giving him hell for the past two years. You know I can't ignore that. But if you don't want me leaving without your permission, I don't mind being an obedient dog for you," CJ teasingly answers, making Krist step on his feet before giving him the middle finger.
"Burn in hell."
"Oh come on MJ, I was just joking! For a jester you're such a killjoy," CJ replies while wiggling his aching toe.
"Want me to punch you instead?" Krist fires back.
"Can we have one day where you two aren't bickering with each other?" Crazy 8's leader, the current Siren, says as she appears behind the baron and the count. Siren then takes a seat beside CJ while the rest of her members head straight to the balcony as well.
"But I guess it's fine. You two fighting each other is the best thing we have seen at the moment. Everything has been so dull. Maybe I should pull a flag and declare war for the fun of it," Siren then says as a waiter arrives to hand the others their lunch.
"Pull Busters' flag. I'd bet on that," CJ says as he starts eating.
"No thank you. Buster has been boring since PHD left. And Viktor hasn't even done anything thrilling. He's just...there. And as much as I love the temporary peace and order, I miss the conflicts," Siren explains, which the others agree with.
"Maybe boring for us but it's definitely not as boring for the white uniforms who are still busy with their rankings, especially now since the Elites announced that they're finally releasing the new ranks after Kawanishi Keigo made a computer system where the students can't cheat their points anymore," Master Joker also shares.
"That Kawanishi is hella smart for being able to complete that computer program before getting transferred to St. George Academy. I bet the ranks will change drastically now," Brave then replies.
"Heard they'll announce the ranking after the Exchange Program ends. That's at least a week from now. That also explains why these three haven't been hanging out with us recently. Seems like they've been working hard," Krist says next, gesturing at the empty seats where Ari, Felix, and Ervin are usually found.
"Guess they're trying to catch up with a certain overachiever," Brave comments, and the rest of the brotherhoods instantly smile at the thought of their tamer.
While everyone was enjoying their lunch, trumpet sounds were suddenly heard throughout the great hall, automatically making the white uniforms stand from their seats while the brotherhoods continued eating. The large doors then open, revealing the infamous Royals, Boys Next Door and Busters.
BND enters first, smiling and waving like true royalty. They walked in the middle but stopped at the table where Krist and the others were so they could sit at their usual tables.
After the Annual Brotherhood Reranking, the white uniforms were expecting BND to join Busters at their balcony since they're now part of the royals, but to everyone's surprise, they didn't. BND, specifically Hans, stated that he'd rather eat dirt than eat lunch with Busters, so they remained at their tables despite their new titles.
Fortunately, Viktor didn't give a damn where they sat. They could sit on the floor for all he cares.
"Look at our dashing princes. It almost feels wrong not bowing to you," CJ sarcastically says as the members take their usual seats.
"Then why don't you?" Marcus asks, and everyone at their table becomes quiet. When Marcus saw where this was going, he sighed, automatically making the other brotherhood members laugh.
"That was a cute joke Marcus, good job," CJ tells him, and Marcus knows enough to just ignore him rather than engage with the troublesome count.
"Because of you guys, being princes feel like a nightmare," Red truthfully comments, pushing away Rome who kept poking him.
But while everyone is still busy teasing the princes, the members of Busters walk past them, and the atmosphere changes in an instant. Viktor was walking ahead of the other members, but he stopped and looked back at the group, making the other kings stop behind him as well. Hans looks at Viktor and opens his mouth to say something, but the king doesn't let him.
"You're as rowdy as usual," Viktor says.
"Hey, no need to be bitter just because you can't sit with us," Master Joker then says, and Viktor grins at him before quickly changing back to a much more serious expression, making Krist and the others feel uncomfortable.
"If you're going to pick a fight because your prince isn't here then—" Before CJ could even finish his sentence, Viktor cuts him off.
"Look at you all being fired up when I barely said anything. Can't a king just admire his...loyal...subjects," Viktor says, annoying the brotherhoods.
"Why don't you go play with your new toys? The Revels have been following you like dogs," Master Joker says next, and the statement made Viktor sigh.
"I would but...they're broken now," Viktor says, instantly making the white uniforms who overheard him shiver in fear. "Anyway, the Exchange Program is ending soon. I'm quite excited to see how it will go. I'm sure that the Elites would be very thrilled as well, don't you agree?"
[At the Elites' Office]
"I don't know how he did it, but that boy really is a computer genius. He's so good that it's almost scary," Richard says before looking at the other officers who are all busy finalizing documents.
After the incident regarding the illegal auction involving Kenzo Furukawa and Antonio Fernández de la Paz—J.S High's former Rank 7 and 8—the Elites realized that their merit system had a huge problem. So when Max and Keigo helped put the auction to an end, the Elites asked Keigo if he would be able to reprogram the system so that illegal points could be filtered out.
This meant that every point submitted, whether it's only 1 MP or 1000 MP, would be traced and verified. This is something they could not perfect in the past.
Kawanishi Keigo, despite being busy with everything that happened the last month, was able to finish the program before he got transferred to St. George Academy. He gave the Elites instructions on how to use it and how to secure it so that only members of the Elites have access to the system, as well as President Janus.
With one click, every student's points started getting scanned and traced.
Of course, before anything, the members of the Elites tested it first, specifically the holy three, Ian, Gavriil, and Richard. As expected, after their points were verified, the results revealed that not a single point from them was illegal or even suspicious.
"The results for the new top ten will be finished. After it's verified, we'll submit it to President Janus," President Ian explains, and the rest of the members of the council nod their heads in understanding. "We're going to need the files for—" Before Ian can even give his next instruction, the phone in his pocket suddenly vibrates. "Oh, excuse me," he says instead, rushing out of the room to check who the caller was.
When Ian saw that it was from an unknown number, he almost turned it off, but it didn't stop ringing so he had no choice but to answer it.
"Hello? Who is this?"
"President Ian Rothman, it's great to finally hear your voice again like this. It's been a while," the caller from the other line says, making Ian's eyes widen in shock.
"Sinclaire?" Ian asks, unsure if he is hearing it wrong.
"Sorry for the late introduction, but yes, this is me. I'm sorry if I called you out of the blue. I asked Gavriil for your number because I needed your opinion about something. This is important to me," the caller, who really was Max, revealed, surprising the elite.
"You called me because you simply wanted my opinion? I'd lie if I said I'm not flattered," Ian says with an impressed smile.
"Well, someone told me that I have to make certain decisions, and these decisions will show what kind of justice I'm truly seeking. I thought about it for a while, but then I remembered you. You were the person who took over when Grey left. When J.S High was starting again, it was you who picked up the responsibility. You've made decisions that drastically altered everything. So if you allow me, I'd want to ask you a question," Max says.
The president walked towards a large window and stared at the view of their campus. He then arranged the brooches on his collar before seriously answering, "If this is such an important decision, shouldn't you be handling it yourself? You need to learn how to make your own decisions, Sinclaire. Asking for my—"
"I used to believe that too. I used to believe that I could handle everything. But when I got transferred to St. George Academy, it made things clearer for me. I can't do everything alone. I don't have to do everything alone," Max seriously says while the Elites' president listens to him attentively, not even interrupting or cutting him off.
"Since the exchange program started, my vision has been clouded. I know I'm not like Grey, and I'm not like you either, but whenever I felt lost, I never knew where to look, not until now. Because if I'm being honest, Grey was the person everyone looked up to in the past. But I don't feel the same way about him. I barely even remember him. I never said it out loud, and I never really thought about it before, but now I realise that the person that I strive to become was never Grey...it was you. You're the one I've been chasing all this time. When I look at the top, it's you who I see." Max shares, leaving Ian completely dumbfounded and speechless.
"When Grey left, you must have been lost too, but look at what you've been able to accomplish. You might think it's flawed but you did a great fucking job. I don't even know how you were able to handle all those scandals, but you did, and it worked. I love Grey, my heart proves that to be true, but you are the president that I want to be compared to. So even if it sounds childish, I really do want to learn so much from you," Max says with no malice or hidden intent. He was being honest, and the president could tell that he was even if he couldn't see him.
Ian couldn't think of what to say. He felt surprised and embarrassed, but most of all, he felt thankful. Students admired him and wanted to be like him, but he had never encountered someone who would put their admiration into words as Max did. Never in Ian's life did he even expect to hear an incredible student like Max say such a thing to him. He could only laugh at the mere thought, confusing the heir on the other line.
It felt like yesterday when Ian welcomed Max to J.S High on his first day. To be completely honest, Ian saw an arrogant and selfish boy in him. He thought that Max was going to be another heir who would be hungry and greedy to prove his worth, not caring who he'd step on in the process. But the longer he watched Max, the more he realized how much he had grown.
Looking back, the Max Ian met on the first day would never say those things to him out loud. The fact that Max sees him as someone he looks up to, as someone he wants to learn from, just shows how much growth Max has gone through over the past months.
President Ian definitely admires these types of students.
"Are you making fun of me? I have never complimented anyone so highly before so I feel kind of offended that you—"
"N-No, no, my apologies. I didn't mean to laugh. It's just that...this was a bit too sudden, don't you agree? If the vice president heard you say these things to me, I might not see the light of day anymore. But all jokes aside, I don't know what you're going through but thank you for these kind words. I will hold them dearly," Ian finally says, making Max feel embarrassed since everything he said to the president has now sunk in.
"Well...you know...I'm still going to beat you. I'm going to be the president and take your place whether you like it or not."
"And I'm not stopping you, am I?"
Max was caught off guard, but he nodded his head even though he was aware that he wouldn't be able to see him.
"When you return, let us meet and have a little chat. There are a few things that I would like to say to you as well," President Ian says, surprising Max this time. "But anyway, as much as I want to hear more of your praise, I'm a bit preoccupied at the moment. What is it that you wish to ask me? I'll try my best to answer in a way that will not entirely dictate your decision, but hopefully, it can help make your judgement clearer. After all, you're still the representative we chose to be sent there. I also expect so much from you."
Max smiles at the reply before clearing his throat. "Well actually, I just wanted to ask if..."
...
The gates to St. George Academy finally open, revealing a boy who is no longer wearing his white uniform. He also looked more certain about himself, and much more confident. Anyone who catches him will definitely see the difference.
"Master Leigh, it's been three weeks since we've last seen each other. I'm glad you're doing well," Étienne, the Lemieux family's most loyal butler, greets with a bow as Max approaches him with a smile.
"You look dashing yourself, Étienne. So how's everything lately? How's grandmother?" Max asks while Étienne opens the car door for him.
"Vice President Emmanuel Arnault has been teaching Madam Lilith the new company policies, but do not underestimate her. It is evident that she has watched Master Ulysses carefully in the past. She knows the way of the business as much as anyone," Étienne answers, instantly making Max smile, glad that his grandmother is doing better than expected.
"And my father? No, wait, don't tell me. I'd rather find out about it myself when I return home. I bet he's doing something that will piss me off again," Max answers as he finally enters the car. "Now, has everything been settled?"
"Yes, the Lemieux private jet is ready, and I already called the person who will be joining you on this trip. You called for a Mr. River Hansen Karlsson, correct? And as instructed, I did not tell him the address to your destination. Only I and the pilot know where you're heading," Étienne answers next, instantly putting a grin on Max's face.
"Well, Mother Margaret told me to bring my most trusted person, but other than trust, I think someone with the title Master of Secrets will be much more helpful, don't you agree?" Max asks his butler who doesn't seem to understand what the heir is even talking about.
"Anyway, let's go. I want to get this over with so I can return immediately. There's still so much to do here," Max says as Étienne finally closes the car door, driving his master to his last destination that will ultimately put an end to the mysteries of this hellish house.
- END -