Schedules picked up. Gossip slithered back to its usual corners. Everyone returned to pretending like nothing ever happened.
Although, for the entire day, the bitch hadn’t even noticed her at all.
"Is sothing wrong with Sera?" Beatrice asked, eyeing her over her milk carton.
"Not really..." Verena shrugged.
"Did you do sothing to her?"
"Why would you assu that?"
"Well... walk towards her, then."
Verena raised a brow. Child’s play.
She strolled confidently toward Sera, tray in hand, hair catching the light like she was in a shampoo comrcial. No big deal.
Sera, anwhile, was in line, aggressively piling rice like it had personally offended her. The mont she spotted Verena approaching, her spoon froze mid-air.
Why is she walking like that? What is she, a fashion model in a rice queue?!
"Morning," Verena said sweetly, plucking a boiled egg from the tray like a queen choosing jewels.
Sera made a weird noise. "I—YOU—GET AWAY FROM !"
From behind the counter, the lunch lady blinked. "Uh... would you like chicken or beef?"
"Whatever she’s not having!" Sera snapped, pointing at Verena like she was a food allergy.
"Hey, what did I do wrong?"
"EVERYTHING!"
"Even though you’re the one who bit ?"
Every student within earshot froze mid-step. There was a collective stop to the crowd and silence gathered around them. The pink-haired girl didn’t react at first, probably just buffering, trying to process what had just co out of Verena’s mouth.
It was reckless. It was idiotic.And yet, Verena couldn’t help herself. Teasing Sera was just too damn tempting. Even if it ca with bites.
"You hear that?... Could it be that Sera is actually-"
"Didn’t know the girl was kinky like that."
"Is it just , or do I kinda ship it?"
Sera’s cheeks flared red the mont the whispers reached her ears. Flustered beyond reason, she stood still, fists clenched, teeth grinding. But admit to anything? Absolutely not. She would rather perish.
"YOU BI—"
Sera nearly lost it.
The humiliation burned, and instinct clawed at her throat, begging for a scream, a demand for the pride she felt slipping away.
But then, Verena’s voice echoed in her head, "If you want respect, don’t scream for it. Command it."
Well, she wasn’t even sure those were Verena’s exact words, but hey, it was close enough for her dramatic little brain to cling to.
She exhaled sharply, biting down the fury, and crossed her arms with a practiced scowl.
"So what?"
Verena was startled.
That was... new.
It wasn’t just Verena who looked surprised.
Everyone else seed equally stunned as if witnessing a rare celestial event. F
For once, Verena’s usual smirk softened into sothing gentler, almost... proud? Sera caught the look and imdiately felt a strange flutter of victory, though, of course, she masked it with a scoff.
"Ugh, whatever..."
But Verena wasn’t done.
She held out her hand.
Gasps echoed. Everyone assud a slap was incoming.
Instead, Verena gently patted Sera on the head.
If Sera bit her, Verena won.
If Sera didn’t... she won against herself.
Sera didn’t bite. She just sighed, cheeks glowing crimson, but kept her dignity intact, even if her pride was sowhere whimpering under the table.
"Are you done now?"
"Yeah..."
"Verena? Sera? Beatrice?"
All three of them turned to the white-haired girl standing in front of them. It was Evelyn.
Verena stiffened imdiately.
Oh no.
That look in Evelyn’s eyes wasn’t normal—it was the kind of quiet that ca before a natural disaster. Cold. Focused. Ominously serene. Verena gulped, already picturing her untily demise.
She could see the murder in those eyes.
[SYSTEM WARNING]
[DANGER LEVEL: ???]
[The entity [Evelyn] is emitting unstable emotional signals.]
[Analyzing behavioral pattern...][Calculating safest course of action...]
What? The sytem is helping this ti?
[Recomnded Action: Avoid eye contact. Complint hairstyle. Offer emotional support in small doses.]
[SYSTEM ERROR: CONNECTION TERMINATED]
[Cancelled]
The system’s warning was abruptly cut off as Verena’s eyes widened in sheer terror.
But before she could even process her fear, sothing far more unexpected happened.
Beatrice and Sera, who had been bickering with just monts ago, suddenly dashed toward Evelyn with the kind of enthusiasm that could only be described as adorable.
"Hey, Evelyn!" Beatrice cheered, her face lit up with the kind of innocent joy that only a true troublemaker could muster. She threw an arm around Evelyn’s shoulders, much to Evelyn’s surprise.
"We missed you... idiot..." Sera added, her tone softer than usual.
She awkwardly patted Evelyn on the back, clearly unsure of how to navigate the sudden rush of affection.
Evelyn, who had spent most of her life as the quiet, ignored one, stood frozen.
Her eyes blinked in confusion as the two girls flanked her, their smiles wide and genuine.
It was as if soone had just handed her the greatest treasure.
"W-What?" Evelyn stamred, looking from one girl to the other.
"You’re our friend, Evelyn!" Beatrice grinned. "No more being alone!"
Sera, in her usual blunt manner, added, "You’re stuck with us now, so get used to it."
For a mont, Evelyn just stood there, utterly stunned. Her heart was pounding as if trying to escape from her chest.
Friendship? she thought, her mind racing.
And then, for the first ti in a long while, Evelyn realized sothing that sent a warm, unfamiliar feeling through her: she wasn’t alone anymore.
Her eyes softened, the walls she had built around herself starting to crack. "I... I have friends?" she whispered, almost to herself.
"Of course you do!" Beatrice said, her grin widening.
Sera gave a small, rare smile. "Yeah. Don’t ss it up, alright?"
Evelyn blinked, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
It wasn’t until Sera ruffled her hair, and Beatrice tossed an arm around her shoulders that she felt sothing she had never truly experienced before: acceptance.
For once, she wasn’t a doormat, a background character in soone else’s life.
Maybe... maybe this was what it felt like to have real friends.
"Okay, okay," Evelyn chuckled softly, finally relaxing. "I guess I’ll try not to ss it up."
[System Update: Evelyn’s personality has undergone a drastic shift.]
[The previous ’Doormat’ Heroine traits are now being overwritten by newfound traits of confidence, trust, and friendship.
[This shift may lead to unexpected behavioral changes in future interactions. Caution is advised as these changes may affect relationships and decision-making.]
[Status: Positive Shift Detected.]
Verena was still in a daze, trying to process the whirlwind of events. For once, she felt an odd sense of relief.
It wasn’t her who had to fix anything this ti.
"Verena..."
She gasped and spun around, startled by the familiar voice. It was Clarina. She hadn’t seen her for a while.
"I haven’t seen you in forever..." Verena said, raising an eyebrow.
"Yeah, I’ve been swamped with advanced classes since I’m a late cor. You know how it is here... the academy’s been brutal."
Before Verena could respond, she was interrupted by a burst of laughter from the other girls. Sera, Beatrice, and even Evelyn had swooped in, surrounding Clarina in an enthusiastic whirlwind.
"Clarina! We missed you!" Beatrice exclaid, pulling Clarina into a playful headlock.
Clarina, completely taken aback, stood frozen for a mont, wide-eyed. "W-What’s going on?!"
The three girls proceeded to tug her away, chatting excitedly and ignoring her bewildered expression.
Clarina could only blink in shock as she was carried off, completely out of her elent.
***
The whole situation was completely unexpected. She never thought her efforts would actually bear fruit.
Wait, hold up... Did I actually do sothing right? Is this real life? Maybe I’m dreaming. Any minute now, I’ll wake up, and Sera will be back to insulting , and Beatrice will still think I’m a walking disaster.
Suddenly, a letter lay on the doorstep, its elegant seal catching her attention.
She bent down to pick it up, her curiosity piqued.
There was no na, no indication of the sender. Just a cryptic seal she didn’t recognize.
She carefully broke the wax seal, unfolding the letter with an almost ceremonious air. The words were simple yet foreboding:
et at the arena where you once trained with Raphael.
The arena.
The place where they had honed their skills together, back when everything seed simpler, before the tangled webs of politics and power.
She frowned, already knowing who would be waiting for her there.
Norvan.
Her suspicions were confird when a system notification appeared in her mind:
[SYSTEM ALERT: The Conflict Event has slowly begun.]
[Participants must proceed to the designated arena for the challenge.]
Verena’s heart quickened, but she remained composed. She glanced at the letter one last ti before folding it neatly and tossing it onto a nearby garbage can.
Every beat of her heart was palpable as she made her way toward the arena, her boots clicking against the stone floor.
The arena lood ahead, the familiar sight of the training grounds evoking mixed emotions.
mories of past struggles and victories danced in her mind, but they didn’t stop her from pushing forward.
As she stepped into the arena, the quietness was rather heavy to swallow.
The shadows shifted, and then, out of nowhere, a figure appeared at the far end of the arena, cloaked in a dark hood.
The figure moved slowly, deliberately, as if savoring the tension.
Verena’s breath caught. It was him.
Norvan. The fucking bitch who’s killed many tis!
"So you’ve co?" His voice echoed, low and mysterious, as the cloak billowed around him like an on.
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