-Your mouth is a bit foul-
"W…why is it you?"
Hearing the man's calm voice on the other end of the phone, she felt as if she was being tricked, considering who the owner of the number was. "You motherfucker, I will deal with you later; just you wait."
Aries on the other end of the phone felt chills; he hurried to defend himself.
- It's not me; he took it from me when I was calling you. -
Feeling annoyed, she complained, "Then why wasn't I given a warning?"
-Not my fault; you reap what you sow.-
Serenity, feeling pissed and angry at him, hit the back of her bed with her fist, resulting in a big hole in it.
-bang-
"I will show you what real harvest is once I see you."
The other man beside Aries on the other end of the phone finally spoke.
-That is about enough of both of you...you too, Aries, stop angering your older sister.-
Feeling smug, she laughed at him. "Hahahaha...you deserve it."
She couldn't laugh for long before the man started lecturing her as well.
-You too, Serenity, stop picking on him.-
"Um...ehem...sorry about that; it was Aries's phone, so..."
- You're a grown-up already; it's time to change the way you young Siblings talk.-
"Umm, about that...Daddy," she moved her phone away from her ears, feeling embarrassed. "It's...actually...umm..."
Her dad, feeling so fed up with their mess, decided to let it go.
-Haah, forget it; young folks stopped listening long ago.-
"Sorry about that."
Her dad talked with concern, asking his daughter,
- Are you okay now? -
"Umm," she only nodded her head. In her mind she knew, "When it comes to emotions, my daddy is not the best at expressing them in words, but his actions speak louder."
- Good. Also, I heard from Aries that you wanted to come with me. Is it true? -
Serenity's tone turned serious as she replied to her father, "Yes, and I already said it even before I went with my mom. Once Mother settles down, I will go with you, and right now she did so...naturally I want to go back."
-I understand that, but I want you to end this year in REGIS first-
"In REGIS!!?" Her father's words surprised her greatly. "I originally intended to do so, but you did deliver the transfer form to the school."
-What form? -
"This morning the teacher asked me to her office, asking about this. I thought you wanted that, so I got along with it. Why? Isn't it your idea?"
-explain- his calm voice turned into wild roars questioning his son, which shocked even his daughter.
"Huh?!"
Aries felt intimidated by his father's look, and he started defending himself.
-Keugh...I was the one who did it...You said you wanted to change the kin into Alkana and had such a big fight with Mother the other day, so...I thought you wanted to walk away for good-
Hearing his explanation, Serenity felt enraged by his words; her face turned emotionless, while her tone turned cold.
"What the hell did you do?"
- I am sorry, okay? Just treat it as a mistake and let it go. -
"Fuck you and your reasons; I am going to fucking skin you alive. You realized the woman you're talking about is our mother, huh?!"
While Aries was surprised by her words, he couldn't really understand, 'Why are they defending her? Am I really the only one who remembers all she did?'
-Huh?!...Now you call her Mother. Isn't she the same person who allowed the bullying? Wake up, young lady; you almost died recently.-
Serenity bit her lips from frustration; she clearly knew something that was a stone stuck in her throat.
"What do you even know?"
Jevon slapped his son hard on the face; he was clearly dissatisfied with his son's words.
-slap-
His eyes widened as he witnessed his father's angry face for the first time; he couldn't help but complain about it.
-Why did you hit me? I said nothing wrong.-
All he did was give his son a small lecture about their relationship.
-No matter what, she is still your mother who gave birth to you and...Serenity, you don't need to feel guilty about that day; we are your parents, it's just normal.-
"Umm, thanks, Daddy." Her father's words comforted her a little; her expression eased a little.
- You're welcome. I am glad you didn't end up like that idiot. -
A sly smile curled on her lips as she mocked her brother.
"You said it; I am not an idiot. I am just like you."
- Thank you for loving your mother.
Jevon's voice turned gentle, genuinely thanking his daughter; she felt the change, and her tone changed right away.
"That's what I should do."
- Alright, enough with this topic. Aries will come to withdraw the transfer form; no objection, right?!-
Her voice turned cheerful as she replied to her father, "Don't worry, Daddy, everything is good."
- Take care. -
"Bye."
Serenity leaned on her bed after the call ended, thinking about what happened ten years ago.
"We both had to leave her for almost the same reason....Guess I am truly my father's daughter."
After staring blankly for a while, she slammed her face hard with both hands; it swelled red, and she rubbed her face from the pain.
-slam-
"Ewewewew, that fucking hurts...I better hurry; classes will start soon."
After showering, Serenity changed into her black dress and headed to her class. With her swelling face, she drew the other students' attention, but she couldn't care less and headed directly to her seat.
After settling in her place, Mariana came close to her, saying,
"Y...your face."
"What's wrong with it?" Not understanding anything, she just stared at her.
"Th...th...um...oh...i...I just wanted to—" Mariana felt embarrassed and flustered; words refused to come out of her mouth.
Seeing the situation, Baial came forward to help but was holding a history book in front of her face as she approached them.
"She is asking if she can heal you."
Serenity, feeling dumbfounded by her look, asked seriously, "W...what on earth are you holding that book for?"
"Obviously, because it's you, history books are so thick that even if you attacked, they would at least absorb the damage."
In both her mind and actions, her genuine fear of getting beaten by her—'I don't want to receive another beating like yesterday's; even the thought itself makes me shiver.'
"U...uh," Serenity didn't pay her words any mind and simply asked, "Whatever. Isn't using magic forbidden within? How exactly do you plan to help?"
Mariana explained, "During the cup of glory, healers who participate have a free pass from that role."
"Free pass, you say?...But then again, if that wasn't the case, someone might have died already," diverting her gaze at Baial.
Although Baial couldn't see her because of the glasses and the hair dripping on them, she could feel it: 'That woman killed me almost a hundred times in her mind just now.'
She tugged Mariana's sleeves and whispered to her, "Is she like you?"
She tilted her head in confusion. "Like me in what way?"
"Let me explain further: is she a royal like you?"
"Oh, don't worry, she is not," understanding her question, Mariana whispered into her ears, "she is worse."
Her face turned pale upon hearing those words; she understood the meaning of it and hurried to kneel in front of her, apologizing.
"I am sorry; I didn't mean to bully you and say all that mean stuff to you. Please forgive me."
The students in the class were stunned by her actions and words, not understanding what was happening, while Serenity also felt uncomfortable.
"Enough with the kneeling."
Being stubborn as she is, she refused to, saying, "No, I won't get up till you forgive me."
"Is this a threat?"
Hearing those words, Bella jolted from the ground, defending herself. "No...that's not it...I didn't mean it to turn out like this."
"Stop being such a frightened cat; I won't eat you."
Bella raised her hand, making a promise. "I promise it will never happen again. Will you please forget all about the past and start anew?"
"Haa~h, let me tell you I didn't really hold it against you; if I did, you wouldn't be standing so carefree in front of me right now."
"Thank you." Her face beamed with light; she couldn't hide her happy smile.
"So about your face..." Mariana asked.
"No need to trouble you."
But Serenity looked at Mariana's face for a while before asking her, "Do you have an older sister?"
Mariana, although feeling confused, still answered her anyway; she didn't see any danger coming from telling her.
"I do have an older sister, but she doesn't come home that much. Why are you asking?!"
"Strange...how come both are siblings, but there is such a huge difference in magic?!"
"Now that's weird. Do you know my sister?" Mariana asked.
"The bitch with neither proper cloth nor manners...no, I don't."
"E…eh...you really don't."
Being dumbfounded wasn't enough. Sylvia, who was watching everything unfold from the side, suddenly bursts into laughter.
"Pfft…Hahahahahahah...haa~, man, that was the funniest thing I've heard in my entire life."
She got up from her seat and walked slowly towards Serenity, leaning with her right hand over her desk.
"Never in my life have I heard someone describe her this accurately before, and you say you don't know her. Who would believe a word you say after that?"
Serenity didn't feel intimidated at all; instead, she was super calm. "I have a good memory; meeting for once is enough for me to remember, and..." Serenity used her pen to push Sylvia's hand away from her desk, saying, "Her sister's taste is quite unique to forget, don't you agree?!"
Baial commented innocently, "She actually got a point."
Mariana and Sylvia turned their heads at her, giving her a 'you're dead' stare; she covered her mouth instantly.
"Stop scaring the little kid," Serenity said.
After thinking for a while, Sylvia turned at Mariana and patted her shoulder. "I am sorry to inform you, but...she is actually right. I am sorry."
Mariana covered her face using her hands. "Why are you saying it like she was dead? Be careful; she might hit you when she learns what you said."
With a sly smile drawn on her face, she said, "Let her try her best, and you will see what will happen then."
Balial spotted her on the spot. "Don't tell me you actually want to fight her head-on?"
Serenity started mocking her answer: "Did you realize it yourself, or did someone help you?"
"Myself, it's written all over her face," Bailal said, posed as she thought, 'Can't believe she actually called me an idiot.'
Serenity used her hands to clap in tiny "Wo~w, such a smart kid."
Sylvia, who was watching this, suddenly realized, 'Wow, that woman is really a deserving royal, but that little kid Bella is...'
She gave Bella a sympathizing look; when she saw it, she felt something was off. "What?!"
"What an unfortunate child...whatever." She shook her head to get rid of the thoughts. "It's true I have always wanted to beat the shit out of her, but is it that obvious?"
Serenity gave her a slight tilt, saying, "What do you think?!"
"I guess it is, huh..." After Sylvia heard her, she had a strange idea forming in her mind.
'Is it possible she was pretending to be dumb all along?'
When Sylvia looked around them, she saw the whole classroom was strangely staring at Serenity; upon a closer look, they were actually staring at the person standing behind her.
"What is he doing here?"
"Can't you see he is here for serenity?"
"She's doomed this time; just look at his face. He's clearly up to no good."
Their stares and whispers made her look behind to see who they were looking at.
"What are you doing here, Jin?!"
Jin didn't say much, but with a serious expression, he bowed in front of her.
"I am sorry about everything, and thank you for sparing my family."
"Okay."
He delivered what he needed to say and left the classroom after hearing her simple "okay," leaving the whole classroom dumbfounded once again.
Serenity said with a simple complaint, "Is it the national day for apologies or something? Everyone I meet today is strangely polite."
"Better get used to it soon; knowing how many people have offended you during the past few years, this scene will repeat more than you imagine," Sylvia said.
Feeling his actions were strange, she linked it to her recent information: "Why did he apologize?...Is it possible he also got intel about her identity?"
Bella said, feeling responsible and afraid at the same time, she knew part of what Serenity went through was her fault. She tearfully said, "I am sorry again."
Serenity didn't bother getting angry and only leaned on her desk.
"Haa~h...Why do it if you can't take it?"