This chapter is brought to you by 打上花火 (otherwise known as Fireworks) by DAOKO and Kenshi Yonezu.
Edited by: bafflinghaze
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"That will be all for today. Review your notes and make sure to read chapter thirteen in the textbook. Do not forget we have rehearsals in two hours. You may all go and take care of your personal business before meeting me at the theatre. Dismissed."
Everyone left the classroom and followed their classmates to the schoolyard.
The upper-year senior students all headed to the gate with a knowing look cast to the Second Year students.
Said students watched on with jealousy.
As much as they appreciated Professor Rickman, no one wanted to be left to the tender mercies of Professor Rickman.
A warm breeze and the smell of summer approached.
The remaining students gathered in groups and brought out cold snacks, a luxury to the common class but a normal commodity of the aristocracy.
They made themselves comfortable around the schoolyard and tried to pass the time by finishing last-minute homework or simply socializing, like normal teenagers... but rich.
All was calm and peaceful with the world—which is rather rare, seeing as no one had been poisoned in the last three months.
"Neo!"
Many heads turned when Royce Benedick called out that particular name.
Their eyes landed on the steps of the school, which tended to get crowded with the number of students exiting the building.
Someone had tripped on their way down... behind Nazareth Odum.
From the color of his uniform, the boy was a student from the Junior Department.
Before anyone could try to prevent a murder, Nazareth had reacted.
They watched the boy gasp, eyes going wide before squeezing them shut as the infamous Scummy Troublemaker instinctively reached out and spun him around like he weighed nothing.
What happened in the next moment wasn't anything particularly heroic like how one would expect in a romance novel.
The weight of the boy still ended with Nazareth and him falling down the remaining steps of the school like idiots.
Odum took the fall.
Literally.
"Naza!"
"Fucking dumbass..."
The boy who had tripped opened his eyes when he realized he was alright.
He felt himself lying on a firm chest while black locks brush against his face.
His head was tucked under someone's chin, and when he raised it, he met cold but misty vermillion eyes framed by smooth raven hair.
The boy had never seen the notorious Nazareth Odum in such close proximity before.
He'd heard plenty of rumors, but the rumors always made him out to be scarier than how he really looked.
Nazareth had a pale face and an elegant nose, with sharp cheekbones and a small mole under his lip that added another layer to his icy complexion. His lips were a soft and petal pink, thin but curved with a cupid's bow, and he smelled like a dandelion field under the sun.
It was a warm and comforting smell despite his many, many, many transgressions.
In his current state of somewhat-dazed-after-cushioning-a-fall appearance, Nazareth Odum was devastatingly attractive.
The consensus filled the minds of everyone who witnessed the fall and/or its aftermath and were currently crowding around for a closer look.
"What the hell are you doing?! Get off of him!"
Nazareth's three companions cut through the crowd of students and surrounded him like dogs jealously guarding a treasure.
Royce shoved the boy off and kneeled next to him.
"Are you alright?!"
"I'm fine..."
Nazareth tried to sit up, wincing slightly as he did, which didn't go unnoticed by some of the students.
His friends converged around him at once.
Tybalt, having noticed the muddled look in the other's eyes, latched onto Nazareth's arm to keep him steady.
There was a flicker of concern in those lavender eyes as he scrutinized him.
Nazareth was clearly disoriented from the fall.
So even a monster like him could be affected by something as trivial as falling down the school steps.
Vermillion eyes scrutinized the crowd, like a wolf searching for its prey.
Finally, they landed on the boy who tripped.
The boy was small and wore the uniform of the Junior Division.
He was trying desperately to melt into the crowd with little success.
His large eyes stared at the school menace with doe-like fear and everyone saw the way Nazareth's eyes softened.
With the aid of Tybalt, Nazareth drew closer to the kid.
The students around them sucked in a breath as he reached out and caught the boy by his chin.
The boy elicited a small squeak, trying to shrink away but also terrified of the consequences if he tried to avoid the Odum bastard.
Nazareth tilted the boy's head to one side, and then to the other before he brought out a handkerchief.
He fiddled with the handkerchief and pressed one of the stitches on the corner beside his acronym.
Those who stood close enough to witness the action watched in amazement as the handkerchief turned wet without water.
Nazareth placed the cloth on the side of the kid's face, where a small cut had appeared during their fall.
"What's your name?" He asked.
"P-Polonius, Sir... Polonius Meyers."
"Polonius..." Neo hummed, "Do you spar often with my sister, Polonius?"
"Y-yes, Sir."
Everyone watched as Nazareth gave the boy a small soft smile, just a small quirk of his lips and crease in his eyes.
The smile was captivating enough for Polonius to lose his breath for a moment.
"Be careful next time."
The boy nodded.
Nazareth patted him on the head.
The crowd had suddenly gone completely silent.
After he made sure Polonius was holding the handkerchief to his face correctly, Nazareth turned to his friends and said a few more words.
"I need to sit down. Let's go."
Finneas and Royce helped to mitigate the crowd while Tybalt supported him toward the direction of the broken bell tower.
For these types of witnesses, they could do nothing about it.
It wasn't like Neo was actively trying to hide his intentions.
He was changing, and they wanted everyone to know about it.
---
The illegitimate Young Master of the Odum Family had done it again.
Ever since the Spring Holiday, there have been strange rumors going around about the infamous Scummy Troublemaker.
"I mean, why else would he suddenly become... become, well... become this?"
"According to a distant cousin of mine who had a friend with a boyfriend with an acquaintance who sat by their table, he managed to make out some of the conversations they had. Apparently, he had a dream—"
"—But come on, really? There's no way a dream can affect someone like that. You either had to have died—"
"—Or remembered a past life or something—"
"—Or be possessed by a fairy..."
In conclusion:
"Yeah, possession seems pretty reasonable..."
So out of all the different, and more convincing, theories hovering in the air, the next generation of the aristocracy concluded that Nazareth Everette Odum was possessed by a fairy.
Ah, fairies.
Humanity loved and hated them so, bothersome during peacetimes and saints in times of need. No one had seen a single fairy for hundreds of years, but they had existed at one point, long before the founding of the Empire.
As to why most of the student body decided on fairy possession, well...
People here didn't like trouble. No one liked trouble, but some people liked making it. The most well-known troublemaker of all was... well... it was obviously Nazareth Odum.
Children of the aristocracy were sharp and quick-witted.
From birth, they were aristocrats first and people second. No one was truly kind, nor were they benevolent.
Behind those masks hid a serpent's den and the weak would always fall the quickest.
And what about those who were weak, but held a position of power that you wouldn't want to offend? You used them as scapegoats and ridiculed them from behind.
It was by the mercy of the gods that Nazareth Odum was such a menace and fitted this category well.
So what if he was the bastard son of the Odum Family? So what if he could crush them with a single finger? In the end, this crazy bastard just wanted to kill his own brother.
How tacky! Never seen such a clumsy scheme. The whole school knew about it, you know?
So what if this changed? So what if the entire game and setting flipped on its head? This was aristocracy and adaptivity had always been key to survival.
Children of the aristocracy were more clever than they tend to appear, and they were versatile because of these special skills handed to them at birth.
They could read your eyes, your body language, your posture. They were the best at understanding social behavior because, in the Empire, this was how aristocrats were made.
Do you think all of them were just dumbass cannon fodders in some story? If that was so, then what was the point of entering this school, where their very purpose was to someday lead the entire nation?
The position of a noble had no room for a dumbass!
The only one who has ever committed these canon-fodder-like actions was that bastard kid from the Odum's and those lackeys of his!
No one had noticed the changes, at first.
Nazareth came to school with a haircut, but that could be because of other factors outside the aristocracy.
Then, someone found out Nazareth applied for healing classes next quarter, completely diverging from the political track he was originally following.
AND THEN, Finneas Dagon started to curse like the Dagon child everyone had originally expected him to be before Nazareth got him into his clutches.
Tybalt Phelan was seemingly more sincere in his interactions, which was strange since he'd always been well-liked by the student body.
It's not like he's been a manipulative fake this whole time, right?
Right?!
Royce Benedick had come to school after a week's absence and wasn't acting like the Asslicking Dog he was so proud of being, wearing a scowl on his face which led to several students being discomfited by the scarcity of his usual bright smile.
It all led back to Nazareth Odum.
Those who had grudges were forced to lay them down.
Odum was no longer a menacing devil, an alien to the norm.
Many students found it hard to accept this shift, so they made him into a mystical fairy.
This was blatant brainwashing at its finest, but what else could they do?
He was a duke's son, despite being a bastard, and half the school served under his family.
Should the students thank the gods for making their nightmare disappear?
Now that the worse had come to pass, they felt like they could overcome anything.
Nothing could be worse than going to school with a person who would stare at you like an ant and then proceed to poison your deskmate because he or she had done something offensive to him.
Compared to their parents' education, those who had gone to school with Nazareth had attained the survival skills of an international diplomat after suffering through years of psychological pressure and trauma.
Nazareth's classmates eyed the Junior Division boy, who was currently being comforted by his older brother and his friends.
There was a red tint to the poor kid's face as he tearfully recounted his fall.
Nazareth's classmates sighed.
A decently cold and blunt personality befitting of an Odum, and a very attractive appearance courtesy of Duke Odum and Alouysia Webbers of the Red Light District made a fine-looking youth.
With black silk hair, vermillion red eyes, an unusually pale complexion, and a lithe build capable of cushioning your fall, he was pretty.
It was easier to forget the sins of a monster if the monster was wrapped in handsome skin.
Not that they could ever forget those sins.
Welcome to the aristocracy!
If the enemy was no longer the enemy, it was better to grit your teeth and accept it, even after everything.
This was also a political maneuver to keep the weak from being swallowed by the powerful.
---
When they made it to the bell tower, Neo was ordered to take off his shirt.
No one commented on the bandage beneath his collarbone which hid his Slave Emblem.
Tybalt checked his back.
Judging by the faces both Royce and Finneas were making, the wound either looked worse than it was, or it was exactly as bad as it looked.
It took two and a half teenage boys to figure out how to dress a wound.
It was very unfortunate that the actual doctor of their four-man team was hurt.
"Are there any cuts?"
"The skin is scratched."
"Is there blood?"
"Not a lot... Is that bad?"
"No, you just need to clean it."
With his back turned, Neo instructed them to clean the wound with the disinfectant handkerchiefs, courtesy of Quill, who had sent it as a care package after their last breakthrough with the Slave Emblem.
It was nice to have connections in the most convenient of places.
"Okay, now measure the plaster."
It took both Royce and Finneas to figure out how big the plaster should be because Neo noticed his shirt had ripped, and Tybalt forgot to mention there were some particles still stuck to the wound and had to use a tweezer to extract them.
"You're very well prepared."
The statement was directed to Finneas, who was the only one in the group to carry a first-aid kit.
The boy shrugged.
He owned it, but it didn't mean he knew how to use it.
"Put the medicine on and then the plaster."
The final two steps took longer than necessary because Tybalt wanted to put the ointment on, but Royce also wanted to put the ointment on, and Finneas was too busy figuring out how to stick a plaster onto someone's back.
"Just play rock-paper-scissors!"
They played rock paper scissors.
Finneas won.
Neo put on his shirt and covered the back with his blazer, which he had taken off earlier in the day.
"At least you can change during rehearsal."
"Yes. Into a dress."
Neo was still very bitter about his role in the play.
The four of them made themselves comfortable on the roof of the bell tower.
"Were we supposed to memorize our lines today?"
"You just reminded me..."
Surprisingly, it was Tybalt and Royce who didn't have their lines memorized.
"In our defense, we got double casted."
Royce stared at him bewilderedly.
"You got double casted. I forgot to memorize my lines."
He was awfully honest.
Finneas snorted.
"Uncle pushed the deadline forward. You two have another week."
"Want to practice together?" Neo asked.
Finneas gave him a jab on the side, "Worry about your acting first!"
Royce sighed, "Let's schedule a meetup to go over our lines and acting. It's bad enough that the two of you are the main leads—"
"Hey!"
"—But this didn't happen in our first life. Knowing our shitty luck, we should expect the unexpected."
"Did you just quote Oscar Wilde?"
Royce ignored Neo and continued, "Has anyone ever noticed how much shit happens to us when we're doing something important? I got robbed at my own store, and everyone knew your brother got kidnapped by Tybalt's brother and you were somehow involved in the case. Let's not mention how we're always being stared at by the majority of the student population. Like, I know we have a reputation, but those students act like they don't have a life outside of ours."
Done with his rant, Royce noticed the way everyone silently stared at him with a mixture of horror and acceptance.
"Those... are some interesting observations," Tybalt smiled forcefully.
"It's true—"
"Benedick, I need you to shut the fuck up right now. If you say another word, I will literally have an aneurysm."
With his inherently sharp tongue, Finneas cut the conversation off.
He turned to Neo, "We were just talking about the show. Odum, we need to be on par by next week or my uncle will skin me. Do you want to practice at your place or mine?"
"Now, now, Finny. Don't tell me you want Naza all to yourself? Just because you were lucky enough to replace that Frederick Meyers for the role of Gilde—"
"It's not like that, you asshole!"
And then they started bickering.
Royce shook his head as he watched the actual teenagers in the group act like normal teenagers for once.
"I still can't believe you're playing Lady Rose. What part of you made Rickman think you're some delicate woman?"
Because Lady Rose was a very, very delicate woman. Like, delicate to the point where she could keel over and die if she took more than ten steps a day.
So delicate, in fact, that Neo could only express it through the various swoons he'd been doing to hide his poor acting.
Neo groaned internally, remembering when Professor Rickman had slipped everyone in the class a piece of paper with the characters they were going to be assigned to for his 'official' production the other day.
Royce sighed mournfully, "There were so many cute girls in class who could have done it too..."
Finneas had the misfortune of overhearing him.
"You call that cute? The women in this academy can kick our ass!"
Neo nodded in agreement.
"They want to be like Mother and join the army. I'm afraid the Professor would be murdered if he gave them the role."
Ah, for Vespera Odum to be the aspiration of all the female youths in their generation.
Inspiring, but also relatively terrifying.
"Who says he's afraid? That fucking old man would do anything to make our lives miserable."
Finneas growled, "Thank fuck Meyers transferred out of the classroom due to mysterious reasons. That guy was an idiot and would have made us fail this project."
"True, true. It is good that Freddy had to go."
"That bastard was getting too comfortable, anyway..."
As Royce, Tybalt, and Finneas agreed with the fate of Frederick Meyers, Neo had other thoughts.
"But I thought Frederick was nice." He tilted his head. "His acting was good, and he was very polite." Although he had sweaty hands.
'He was also your brother's subordinate.'
Was the thought of the trio.
"Okay, enough about Meyers. Odum, yours or mine?"
"You're welcome to mine. There might be less magic interference."
"Eh? That's not fair! Naza, I want to come too," Tybalt quipped, tugging at Neo's sleeve childishly, "It's been so long since we visited!"
Finneas scowled, "What do you mean 'we'? No one invited you!" He pointed his finger at Tybalt aggressively.
"Now, now, Finny. You're not the only main character. I'm playing Rose's cousin and his fiance, remember? Double cast." Tybalt smirked.
"Oh. Then you can also come, Tybalt."
The smirk grew wider.
"Hold on, you bastard...!"
"If the two of you are going to go, then I'm coming as well. I'm the Nurse."
Finneas scoff. "For like, three scenes."
"Don't you die at the beginning?"
"Why you...!"
Before the conversation can turn into another argument, Neo thoughtlessly added, "Does that mean the three of you will all come to visit me?"
The trio stared at him in silence, argument forgotten at Neo's words.
Neo looked around, confused. "What is it?"
Finally, Tybalt shrugged.
"I didn't think you would actually be so generous to extend the invitation."
Finneas immediately fell upon him like a vengeful harpy.
"Yet you still want to pick a fight with me, huh? You little shit!"
"Oh, Finny, you know I adore your temperament."
Neo met Royce's knowing eyes and his gaze softened.
In the past, he hadn't appreciated their company.
Royce was seen as an annoyance. Finneas was more or less a servant. Tybalt was his most frequent visitor, but the visits were used to scheme out another assassination attempt.
Neo didn't realize how lonely it was. He had gotten used to the constant bickering of his companions, to the point where he hadn't realized how rigid and silent they were in the past; not with his hatred polluting their dynamic.
He swore, he never wanted to go back to those days ever again.
"Maybe we can have tea together."
"That would be a first," Finneas snorted, "The last time we went to your place, all we talked about was how to kill—"
"—an ice crab!" Royce covered the other boy's mouth.
"But we don't do that anymore, right?" He asked with a pointed look.
Finneas, sensing the warning coming off of Royce's gaze, nodded.
Royce let him go.
Neo watched in amusement at the blatant censorship.
"I've been thinking of having the three of you over for work and tea. That's what friends do, right?"
He smiled a little and stood up, not noticing the way the former trio of lackeys froze on the spot with identical expressions of denial and awe on their faces.
---
The group of friends made their way down the bell tower and back to the schoolyard.
The moment they stepped into the area, they could hear the incessant whispering of the other students.
"That Polonius kid is staring at you."
"I know."
Royce gave Neo a pointed look, "Do you know him?"
"Guinivere does. She hates him."
"And you don't mind because...?"
"He's never won against her."
Royce chortled.
"He's also Freddy's younger brother," Tybalt pointed out, sliding his gaze over to Frederick, who was sitting with a group of friends and trying to convince Polonius to go home.
Meanwhile, many of the students watched as Nazareth reappeared after taking a fall down the Academy steps.
He looked perfectly fine after barely an hour, but he had shown weakness by needing the support of his companion.
The students had witnessed it, and they all collectively filed it into their heads.
If the Scummy Troublemaker wasn't creating trouble then they had better things to do than to focus on him.
Like enjoying this early summer weather.
The sky was bright and blue, with the sun shining upon them. The breeze was warm and carried the scent of summer flower trees.
Somewhere along the way, Tybalt had swung an arm over Neo's shoulder, surprising all of them.
It took a moment for Neo to realize how much Tybalt valued skinship. It would come as a trait when one has to take care of several younger half-siblings on a daily basis.
In their last life, Tybalt had kept himself restrained, always moving with caution at every step, but now, Neo finally discovered, he was comfortable.
They decided to sit by the steps. The area was practically deserted since all the other students preferred to sit by the shade of the trees.
Royce hopped on top of the stone railing and crossed his legs. Tybalt joined him.
Neo preferred to take his chances on the steps themselves, and sat beside Finneas.
Like this, the four of them enjoyed the rest of their break—
Ominous footsteps made their way over to them.
A boy with ash brown hair approached them with an angry gaze hidden beneath a dull facade.
He crossed his arms as he stood in front of them, staring Neo down bitterly.
"Odum, we need to talk."
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Step 26: Give some fanservice and let the chaos begin! Warning, you might get hurt during this step. Thankfully, you have a friend who carries around a first aid kit. It's a good day to be alive, enjoying the fruits of your youth with your friends whom you've stubbornly tried to deny were your friends.
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The Author has something to say:
Do not deny how we all wish to be Polonius. This dream, however, can never be.
Thank you, Ash_galaxy, aaru ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ, ~RubyInkWell~, Golden_Seastar, and roseyposies for the wonderful fanarts! You can find them on the discord or fanart page. All links are in the description of my profile.