REGIS is a university where everything you need is found: homes, stores, traveling channels, and even entertainment industries, all in the form of a city. In short, as long as you are a student in REGIS, having a luxury life is a free purchase.
The third day ended fast in less than an hour, but since it was midday, most people headed to the inner city; students' expenses are covered by the school, but others have to pay for all services.
Sylvia, Belladonna, Baial, and Mariana all headed to a cafe in the inner city, chatting happily.
Bella leaned on her chair beside the window, saying,
"Did you see today's matches? Man, that was hilarious."
Sylvia, who is sitting next to her drinking water, slammed the bottle on the table in anger.
-slam-
"Tell me about it; three consecutive withdrawals made this whole event a joke for the public...this day was a complete waste of time if you ask me."
Sylvia squeezed the bottle in her hand, feeling deceived, but Bella said calmly,
"It's not exactly a waste of time ... at least the first match had a bit of a taste, don't you think?"
"You mean Eclipsa?"
"Who else? That woman has such a domineering presence; every match was no match."
Sylvia rolled her eyes at Bella; after a moment of thinking, she helplessly nodded, saying,
"Tsk...I hate it when you are right, but I can't deny it. When she thought she was prepared for all her tricks, she ended up discovering she knew nothing. Eclipsa is indeed strong, and today's match was a direct awakening slap."
"But she's not the only one; all four of them are exceptionally strong. It's hard to predict the winner just by the results of the previous days." Bella's lips curled with a creepy smile. "I am actually looking forward to tomorrow's games." "
"You are absolutely right."
Baial said from behind, holding snakes and drinks. After placing them on the table, she sat down beside Mariana. Everyone took their snakes and started eating. Baial continued what she was saying.
"From the previous matches, we actually knew little about any of them, and you saw what happened in Eclipsa's match... I honestly think tomorrow we might witness what true battles look like."
Mariana, who was sitting across from Bella, had a strange, hostile expression while staring at Belladonna, which made Belladonna uncomfortable. She stopped eating and asked her directly,
"You realize staring at people and talking much makes them feel uncomfortable."
Mariana bit her lips and frowned, asking, "What are you doing here?"
Bella didn't seem bothered by her and just grabbed her snacks and started eating again.
"It's none of your business; since when did it become the youngest's turn to question the oldest? Let me tell you, little Mari, if you follow up those old bastards' footsteps, don't bother showing up in front of me again."
"You... You are absolutely ridiculous; they are just worried about you, yet you treat them like enemies."
"I wonder if I am being unfair to them...no, let me answer that." Bella's expression turned dark looking at the clueless younger sister in front of her. "Mariana, you are not me; you are just a weak healer who doesn't understand the true meaning of being the true owner of a mariposa, so it's expected you never witnessed their greed. I simply refuse to be the tool of their greed."
The slightest thought of the past makes her feel disgusted: 'When at my lowest, they joined their hands to destroy me; they thought breaking me would make me easier to control, but they never expected I would turn completely against those ingrates.'
Mariana said, "Won't you regret it?... Cutting ties with them, didn't you even regret your choice?"
"Never." She leaned her head on her chair, closing her eyes, saying, "It's been too long since those people stopped being my family."
A man's voice suddenly came from behind Bella.
"Well said."
All of them turned their gazes at the man wearing a black sweatshirt and black jeans, with shiny red hair with black ends covering his neck and golden fierce eyes looking at Mariana as if he wanted to kill her.
Others may not know, but not us. Stop playing the victim when you are at fault." Daniel spoke with anger, scaring the shit out of her: "If you ever open this matter in front of her once again, I won't mind killing you."
Mariana couldn't say a single word after that; she couldn't find the words to defend her home because deep down she knew how much her older sister had truly suffered in that so-called home.
Bella flicked him on his forehead, stopping him; he faced her, looking all pitiful.
"Ow...that hurts. Why did you hit me?"
"Stop scaring her; she is still just a kid."
Hearing her words, he acted all spoiled.
"Humf, she is not; all I see is a full-grown-up who doesn't know how to respect others."
Sylvia's stomach felt upset the more she saw them talking.
"Stop giving me dog food already; if you continue like this, then find a room; I won't hold you."
"Nobody asked for your opinion."
"What the fuck are you doing here anyway?"
Sylvia asked, but she had a brief idea of what he was about to say, so she stopped him mid-talk.
"I was passing by and saw Sister from the wind—"
"Stop right there; I don't care."
"You!?" The answer only fueled his rage even more.
Sylvia placed her hand over her stomach, faking illness.
"Blugh...Enough with the chit-chat; pick a chair and sit down already."
"Give me your chair then."
"On what grounds?"
"That I am older than you."
She raised her middle finger at him, saying with a straight face,
"Fuck you."
"Did you kiss your mother with that mouth?"
"You're dead."
Nella finally had enough of their Pickering that she finally snapped, "Stop Pickering, both of you, and Dan, go fetch a chair yourself."
"On it"
Danial didn't say more; he did exactly what he was told, making Sylvia wish to bury him alive right then and there.
Feeling helpless facing those kids, she didn't know how to react, but deep down she was truly happy that someone was actually defending her, 'Thank you, Daniel, truly thank you for making me feel that I am not truly alone.' A faint smile appeared on her face, showing just how grateful she truly is.
Sylvia suddenly asked, "So why are you here exactly?"
Bella leaned on her hand, saying, "Should I leave or what?"
Sylvia waved her hand in denial, clearing the misunderstanding.
"It's not like that...normally you would leave after you took what you needed. Why are you hanging out with us this time?"
"Is it really that strange?"
"It's so not like you, so why are you actually here?"
Bella's face turned serious; she grabbed her drink. After taking a sip, she turned at Sylvia, asking her,
"What do you think about serenity?"
"Which serenity!?...What are you even asking?" Sylvia, who was clueless, looked at her, awaiting a convincing answer.
Bella took a deep breath and asked again, "I am asking about Serenity Voldemort. What kind of person do you think she is?...Is she worth trusting?"
Baial spat out her drink upon hearing Serenity's full name; she felt her soul leaving her body.
"Pfft...cough, cough, cough...what did you say?...Serenity Voldemort?...Is there any serenity other than the one I know?"
Mariana patted her shoulder, saying, "It's the same one you apologized to this morning."
"WTF!" Feeling scared and shocked, Baial was trembling while her past memories of bullying Serenity flashed through her head. 'That's a dead sentence...what the hell did I drag myself onto?...That bastard Jin was actually being persuaded by his fiancée all along, and every time we insulted Serenity, we actually praised the princess, who is actually the real clown here?'
"I am wondering how it felt to be praised and insulted in one sentence." Baial asked, mocking her previous arrogance in front of her.
Sylvia turned at Daniel and then faced Bella again, asking in concern, "Is this why you were eating ice cream? You're troubled with something."
"What?" Daniel suddenly stood up, his face turned one hundred and eighty degrees; clearly he was worried about her.
"What exactly does it have to do with serenity?"
"The look in Daniel's eyes said everything; he killed Serenity hundreds of times in his head. Bella, seeing him misunderstand the situation, waved with her hand, asking him to sit down.
"It's not what you think...I wanted to ask her about something that will require me to reveal something. I only need to know if I can trust her with the secret."
"That's all?!"
"Yes, that's all. Now can I get another ice cream?" Bella's gaze was turned at Baial, who was still processing things.
Baial hurried up to her seat, "I will get you one, but what flavor?"
Daniel cut her off instead.
"Strawberry flavor and add some chocolate cubes on top... oh, make it two treats."
Hearing him reply in her place, she felt confused. She looked at Bella to clarify things; seeing Bella nodding her head, she just went along with him.
"O...okay."
"Wait…coming with you," Mariana said as she got up and followed behind her. She didn't want to stay between those three. "If I stayed, I might end up with something that leads to future trouble."
On the counter, Baial started complaining about their bad habits.
"Does she eat ice cream when she has trouble?"
Mariana said, "Only when stressed; she doesn't even like ice cream but eats it when her mind is full of shit, saying, 'What? It freezes them.'"
Feeling her words are nonsense, she questioned her.
"Does that make sense to you?"
She flatly answered, "She is crazy, so it does."
"That doesn't explain anything." Feeling more confused, she couldn't help but ask, "You are siblings, so do you also have this habit?"
Mariana's soft expression darkened as she answered her with an answer that aroused even more questions.
"Just a sister from the same father, that's all."
Baial's eyes widened at the discovery; she turned her head at Mariana, asking,
"Wait... what did you just say?... Does that mean she is from the first wife? Did your father marry two women?"
Mariana quickly said, "He didn't...my father only ever married one woman, which is my mother."
Baial raised her hand, stopping Mariana from speaking any further. "Stop right there...I am not interested in the rest of the story; keep it to yourself, please. I don't plan to get involved in the royal mess. So sorry."
Seeing the firm gaze on her face, Baial thought, 'It would be best to not ask any further or pretending I heard nothing would be harder.'
After getting the ice cream, Baial took them back to their table, where the others were waiting for their return.
Baial placed the ice cream on the table in front of Bella.
"Here you go, your strawberry treat."
Daniel grabbed one of them and started devouring it without saying anything.
"Thanks for the meal."
Baial looked at him in confusion, then turned at Bella while pointing at Daniel.
"Je took your treat. Is it really okay?"
"He is the one who likes ice cream; don't worry about it." Bella just grabbed hers calmly and started eating it. After taking one bite, she asked again, "You still didn't tell me, what do you think of her?"
"Let me think."
Sylvia said and got drawn into thoughts, seeing that Bella turned to the others.
"What about you?... Share your thoughts on her."
Baial asked in concern, "Is it really okay for us to discuss a royal just like that?"
Bella simply said, "I am asking for an opinion, not telling you to stir up a rebellion."
After hesitating for a while, she finally spoke: "I don't know; if I had to say one thing, it would be that she is not as simple as she appears. Ever since she fell into the lake, she was no longer the serenity I know...her aura, her presence, even her way of speech—everything changed. The serenity we talked to this morning is completely unrecognizable to me, so I am afraid I can't help."
"I see, thanks for sharing your thoughts anyway." Baial's words made her even more confused.
On the other hand, Sylvia thought about it for a while but couldn't really come up with an answer, but she finally started to speak.
"If it's a yes or no question, then the answer would be no."
"Why?!"
Sylvia started explaining her point of view, "She is someone who managed to trick all of us into thinking she is weak while she is truthfully not, endured bullying till the very end without complaining even once, not to mention her score controlling throughout the past years. Someone like that in the royals deserves respect but is feared by all."
Sylvia joined her hands in front of her face with a stern look in her eyes and said in a clear warning voice, reminding Bella,
"So my point is better not to trust a royal with such character; royals are best at backstabbing. I don't think I need to tell you about that; after all, you experienced it firsthand."
Bella's mood sank hearing both Baial and Sylvia's thoughts of serenity. "So she is not to be trusted."
Feeling dejected, she ate a large spoonful of ice cream, and then another one. She didn't stop till she heard Daniel suddenly saying,
"Maybe that's not the case."
"What do you mean?"
Bella stopped eating and listened to him attentively, but his next words shocked her.
"Up till now that woman did nothing to hurt anyone, and I assume you met with her not long ago and she said something that aroused your anger. If you asked me, I would say she is capable of killing you, not the other way around. If she knows something and doesn't want to share, I would say she didn't need to mention it in the first place, and we are not idiots. I believe we are capable of at least telling what is true and what is not."
"So what do you suggest I do?"
"I say we trust her this once."
Seeing how serious his expression is, Bella chooses to trust him on that.
"I will trust my instinct this time then."
Daniel asked curiously about the answer, "And what does your instinct tell you?"
Bella let go of the ice cream in her hand and smiled softly at him. "Right now my instinct is telling me to trust your opinion; after all, your opinions of others were never wrong."
Daniel blushed, embarrassed by her compliments. "Th...thanks."
Sylvia, sitting in the middle, felt as if she was a third wheel. "This dog couple—I am never sitting in the middle ever again."
"Just who is the older one in here?" Sylvia smacked Daniel's back. "That was awesome. Again, it was proven you have the brain."
Sylvia gave him a thumbs up, feeling proud. "Just shut up already."
Sylvia said, "No can do; every time you use your brain, it gives me goosebumps for real."
Mariana and Baial, on the other hand, felt how big the gap was between them.
'Daniel, who is a famous playboy, is a monster just like them, even Baial, who is just a normal person. What does that make me then?'
The seeds of jealousy started to grow in the heart of Mariana; time will pass, and it will turn into a thorn in their future path ahead...