50

"It depends on me in the end, right?"

"It's up to you to succeed or fail."

"Let's run with that. You gave me a plate, but if I can't eat it with a spoon, I should fold it."

Khalif confidently left with Randol's personal details. While feeling a little pressure, he seemed to be fascinated by art brokers.

"Shall I go now?"

After leaving the study room, Elena left the central library and walked down the road. In the meantime, Sian's words had complicated her head, and she refrained from her activities as Lucia, fearing that Ren would be setting his edge. It was also the exam period. Perhaps that's why this road, which was sparsely populated and untidy, felt much lower and shabby.

Elena came down to the West Side annex of the Academy without any trouble. As usual, she headed to the basement studio in the annex, where a group of three or four female students stood in front of her and blocked her.

"Stand there."

Elena picked up her eyes and scattered them. They wore high-quality uniforms that were not suitable for libraries with many commoners. Also, it was easy to guess that they were nobles because they cared a lot about dressing up. Among them, the day was ripe for a female student who appeared to be the leader of the group.

'Was her name Mitchell? She was a parasitic woman next to Avella, who used to gossip and slander.'

She didn't feel good. Whether they were arguing for a purpose, not a coincidence, it was clear that she was caught up in a troublesome affair.

"Me?"

"Yes, you."

Mitchell fell behind, and the ferocious young women crossed their arms.

"Do you have any business with me?"

"What? Business? Look at her. Aren't you supposed to say hello first if a senior calls you?"

Elena bowed her head to watch the situation more.

"Hello."

"Did you see her say hello? I thought she was going to break her neck with that force."

"I've been told that freshmen aren't cheap, but wow, she's no joke."

Elena was convinced as she watched them openly snarling and criticizing despite her normal greeting.

'You're picking a fight.'

Elena pondered why they might quarrel. She could infer the answer without difficulty.

'Avella, you must have been troubled by your eyes.'

Now the picture was finally roughly drawn. Avera had had a crush on his cyan for a long time. She adored him to the extent that she would use any means and methods at the selection ceremony for the queen. Elena, who was attached to Sian in Avella's eyes, could not have looked nice. In addition, every time she was with Sian, she had to be the center of attention.

She fell down from the first meeting and was held in Sian's arms, and when she went to the library, he protected her from Ren's quarrel. For Avella, Elena had no choice but to be as intrusive and unenviable as a thorn in her eye. That's why she would have thought of bringing the factions together like this, even harming her and pulling Elena away from Sian.

'That's why I didn't want to get involved.'

Elena sighed. Looking back, it was Elena herself who caused all this.

"Are you sighing now?"

"I really can't do this. Come with me."

Two large girls in the group stuck to both sides of Elena, dragged her to the back of the annex building. When they reached a place where people were scarce and sunlight was difficult, they pressed her with more overbearing expression and speech.

"You're crazy, aren't you? His Highness has spoken to you a few times, so you can't see anything, can you?"

"…"

"Are you going to talk back to me rudely? Huh?"

The big girl patted Elena on the shoulder and threatened her. The girls next to her were also spitting or staring at her, creating a scary atmosphere.

'I can't believe this, it's ridiculous. If you knew I was Veronica, how dare you try to hurt me when you can't even look me in the eye?'

Elena was overwhelmed by the situation she was experiencing for the first time. Who dare to commit these atrocities to Princess Veronica and hope to survive. Since Lucia was not an imperial nobleman, but the daughter of a merchant from a foreign country, this kind of harm is possible, but she was worried about how to deal with it.

'It's obvious that they are habits. The weaker you are, the worse you behave.'

Standing at the top of the social world, she had an eye that could distinguish between those who should be kept close to her and those who should be filtered.

"Have you got a gag on your mouth? You're always quiet when you talk back. Why, are you scared?"

Elena grinned. It was a clear rain of laughter.

"I can't believe it."

"What? Did you lose it? Did you just laugh?"

"It would be a strange situation if it didn't make me laugh. To come barging in and threaten me like that is. It's so childish."

"What?!"

The faces of the female students were red and blue as Elena openly sarcastically criticized them.

The girl who was pushing Elena's shoulder just a little while ago seemed insulted, and her breathing became harsh.

"Has this bitch lost her fear?"

"There's no place to pinch you there, so leave. Senior Mitchell, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Mitchell's eyes wavered as Elena publicly nominated her, even calling her by name. Trying to do so, Elena stared at Mitchell with a nonchalant gaze. It was as if she was asking her to be aware of her.

"She's so funny. Who are you to tell your senior? Huh?"

"Wait a minute."

Mitchell, who had been silent, raised her hand and held her back. Then she walked forward, and she had a snake-like smile.

"What does the arrogant junior have to say to me?"

"Don't live like that."

"What?"

Mitchell's relaxed expression was bizarrely distorted. She thought she'd kill her pride and beg at best, but she got on her nerves.

"Do you think Avella will cherish you? That's an illusion."

"What the hell do you know. You talk too much just because you have an open mouth."

Mitchell's face was grim and she glared at her with a scathing glare. If she got a little more angry, she would have slapped her in the cheek. But Elena, far from being put off, stared at her rather blankly. Mitchell felt herself shrinking under her indifferent gaze.

"I don't know anything else, but I know the ending of senior. It's going to be miserable."

"…!"

What Elena was saying now was not a lie. Avella had lost the war of factions in the society and covered up all the bad things she had done to the flawed Mitchell. She had used her so much that she had to get rid of her because she was useless. Elena hoped Mitchell, who had been acting like Avella's hands with a dumb head, would come to her senses, which ruined her family.

"Senior, this girl is crazy. How dare she mention Lady Avella?"

"We really must educate her properly. I can't seem to put it into words."

Elena added another word, ignoring the girls who were making a fuss next to her.

"Think about it now and well. Whether she really cares about senior."

"Who the hell…"

Mitchell couldn't answer anything. It was because Elena's expression was so serious.

"This bitch! I'll really have to wake her up."

"What are you doing? Are you going to keep looking?"

An embarrassed female student raised her hand high in the air. Everyone could see that she was preparing to hit Elena.

'What type of strike is that. It's really low.'

Violence within the academy was severely punished, as it was also linked to the conflict between the families. However, it was different if the victim student was a commoner. They would be disciplined according to the academic academy's school rules, but the water level would have to be weakened. Elena didn't want to deal with them because of her low status, but that didn't mean she was going to stand still and let her punch her in the cheek at all.

"That's enough, isn't it?"

Pause.

Elena, who tried to avoid her body by turning to an unfamiliar voice, and even the girl who tried to slap her, stopped moving. Mitchell also turned to the direction where the voice was heard.

"S-senior R-Ren?"

"Senior why are you here?"

Mitchell and other girls' facial expressions were distorted. Ren was a human being who did not even associate with Avella. Such Ren suddenly appeared and was interrupting. Ren chinned with his back against the wall.

"That kid is mine."

"What?"

"You don't understand? I took her."

"…!"

It sounded like a warning to not touch Elena, although the tone was different.

"Senior, it'll be over in a minute, so just a little while…"

The schoolgirl, who was about to slap her on the cheek, plucked up her courage and asked Ren for his understanding.

"You think I'm asking for your permission right now? It's not good if you can't understand me."

"T-that."

"Leave. I'll give you three seconds."

The girl bit her lips hard at Ren's deadly threat. This is because if you step up and get caught by Ren, your academic life will be ruined.

"I'm going to step down now that you say so."

"There is no time. 3, 2…"

Mitchell greeted him as a representative and led the group out. Mitchell couldn't take her eyes off Elena, she seemed to have a lot of thoughts. Ren, who kicked out all the uninvited guests, shook his hand and approached Elena.

"You have many enemies?"

"…"

Elena was in deep trouble. She would have rather dealt with them, but now that she had met Ren on the street, it made her feel worse.

"Hey, I saved you. You have to say thank you."

"Why didn't you just let them stay and leave."

"What?"

"I can clean them up on my own."

It was not bluffing. Even if Ren didn't appear, Elena was confident she could clean them up.

"You're embarrassing me again."

"Because I have suffered a lot from my senior. Look at the work."

It was time for Elena, who had a bad feeling about the last incident, to turn around and be harsh.

"I didn't tell you to go?"

Ren stood in front of her with a grin. Elena was not particularly surprised, since she had already expected this. In fact, they had fallen out so much that it was difficult to recover, so she cut him off without embellishment.

"If you have anything to say, just say it. I don't think it's a coincidence. I think you've been waiting for me."

"Oh, you're sharp."

Ren made eye contact with Elena. He smiled a meaningful smile and said it directly.

"Are you a ghost?"

"What do you mean by that."

"You've never been seen in any undergraduate classes, not even in the dormitory. I go to the academy, but there's no sign of you."

"…!"

Elena's face hardened. She let her guard down. She'd forgotten how bad Ren could be. The very fact that he had brought it up meant that he had already finished his backdoor investigation of Lucia.