Chapter 62. The New Girl.

There was a new girl in attendance at the Royal Imperial Academy. But no one really noticed her presence. She didn't stand out much.

The RIA had been established nearly two centuries earlier and was dedicated to education and the continued empowerment of the kingdom of Winstead's nobility. It was a place for the children of the country's elite to gather and establish bonds of friendship with each other and loyalty to their nation that would hopefully last a lifetime.

It was also a pitiless jungle where the weak were preyed on, traditions were ruthlessly enforced, and the status quo was supreme. In the academy, the nail that stood up was swiftly hammered down. More than a few of the students discovered their lifelong enemies in these hallowed halls.

More than a few lives were destroyed and quickly forgotten.

Kelsie Van Chalen rather enjoyed that aspect of student life. Traditions were important, after all! The past was the foundation of the future, and only by embracing them wholeheartedly could one hope to match the achievements of those who came before. To a pure child of nobility such as herself, anything new was anathema.

A sickness that must be purged!

A duty she now happily commenced.

"I hope you realize this is all your fault," she purred happily as two of her friends held the fool who had humiliated her in place so that Kelsie could properly discipline her.

"I'm sorry," trembled her victim, a mousy little blonde wearing crooked glasses in a wrinkled uniform that looked second-hand. "I don't know what I did, but I'm so sorry."

Kelsie offered the crying girl a cat's predatory smile and said, "I didn't give you permission to speak, you silly little thing. That means you just interrupted me!"

"Know your place, commoner!" said Grisla, the daughter of one of Kelsie's family retainers who angrily pulled back the other girl's hair and made her cry out in pain. "Never interrupt Lady Kelsie!"

"I'm sorry!" the girl sobbed once more. Such delightful music.

Morning classes had just finished and it was now time for an afternoon break, where the students could either rest, study, or have lunch in the academy's massive cafeteria. Kelsie and her friends chose to use this time to teach the new student her place, grabbing her from behind as she walked down a corridor and pulling her into an empty classroom.

"It's good that you're willing to apologize," Kelsie said to the other girl in a gentle voice. "I like that you're quick to realize your faults. But there's one problem I have with it. You don't seem to know what you're apologizing for, do you?"

"Tell me! Please tell me, please tell me, please tell me!" the blonde girl wept.

Kelsie sighed in dismay at the foolishness of this useless commoner. She really didn't seem to understand anything. "First, tell me what your name is, girl."

"E-Everly! Everly Skolder," cried the deeply distressed Everly Skolder, who in fact was not distressed in the slightest and was greatly enjoying herself at this moment.

"Everly Skolder," Kelsie said with sour-faced derision. "Oh, that's disgusting. You're so lowly that your family won't even let you use their name? That's even worse than being the child of a concubine! You're just an untitled little bit of runoff who skated into these great halls based entirely on who your father is. Don't you feel any shame?"

Rather than answer, the girl continued to sob, angering Kelsie further. Why was she behaving like this? Where was her dignity? Kelsie was merely chastising this worm for her odious behavior. Why was she acting like such a little victim? The idea of someone like this attending the hallowed institution that had educated Kelsie's family for generations was unthinkable!

"Shut up!" Kelsie said, before slapping the mewling weakling across her face. The satisfying feeling of violent contact with Everly's cheek soothed her temper a little. So, she did it again, and then again.

Fear made Everly quiet down. Kelsie nodded to herself, pleased that she'd silenced the little worm. Now she stepped in closer and firmly gripped Everly by her chin, forcing her to meet her gaze. To her delight, Everly's eyes were now filled with terror. Kelsie liked that. She liked it a lot. Terror was respect. Respect that she deserved.

That was the power of violence. It truly uplifted those who deserved to stand at the top of society's hierarchy.

"You need to know your place, Everly," Kelsie continued in a voice filled with mock concern. "You might be descended from one of us, but you're not really one of us, you see. You don't understand the rules. Like when you approached Prince Ian earlier. Don't you realize he's royalty? How dare you speak so casually to him!"

"He dropped a book! I was only handing it to him," Everly sobbed.

"That doesn't excuse you speaking to him with your commoner's mouth!" Kelsie said fiercely.

"He thanked me! I only told him he was welcome!"

"Stop talking back to me, whore! God, you just don't get it, do you?!" Kelsie shrieked in anger.

This time, she slapped Everly with enough force to draw blood.

"You must never approach his highness again! You must apologize for your presumptiveness! You need to beg me for forgiveness! If you fail to do these things, I promise you your school life will be hell! I promise you, Everly Skolder!"

With that said, Kelsie slapped Everly one last time and had the other girls push her to the floor. Then she deliberately stepped on Everly's back as she and her friends exited the room, leaving the sobbing girl to lay there alone to weep.

Moments later she winked out of existence.

The entire encounter had never occurred. It had been an illusion. One that had been placed inside Kelsie's mind as well as those of her friends. The real Everly had sat nearby unharmed while watching the entire event as though it were an engrossing television drama.

"God, that was hot, wasn't it?" Everly purred to Carter as she sat atop a desk. "I was picking up a real caged heat vibe, you know? Girls in prison? Woo, I wanted to see how far she'd go to put me in my place."

"Everly, I fail to understand the purpose of letting them believe they were harming you," Carter said in befuddlement. "Let me punish them for their temerity on your behalf. Those who believe they can lay hands on you must suffer for their ignorance."

"Easy, Carter. Easy," Everly smiled. "I was just having some fun. I'm embracing my role as an honest and pure girl who would never even dream of upsetting her social betters. The pleasure of putting on a good performance exceeds any anger I feel towards being mistreated."

"Are you certain you weren't just using those fools to enact some manner of masochistic fantasy?" Carter asked her.

"Oh, no, I was definitely doing that as well. Wow, that was intense! You know, all of that came from Kelsie's instincts too. Did you see how roughly she was pulling my hair and dishing out those slaps? God, I might have a new crush. Hey, do you think next time she'll start choking me?"

Everly blushed happily at the idea. Carter stared at her for a long moment before carefully choosing his words.

"Great one, why are you letting those vipers believe that they're assailing you? I ask again, what purpose does it serve?"

"It's bait, silly," Everly said as she hopped off the desk. "Ser Ian, Prince Ian, whatever his title is Ian, is supposed to have heroic inclinations, right? He stands up for the little guy. So, how do you think he'll react when he learns that the pretty little girl whom he chats with about birds is being bullied by those sexy little monsters?"

"Ah. I imagine a man who possesses such principals won't stand for such behavior," said Carter, catching on.

"Exactly," Everly said to him. "He'll come to my rescue when he learns what's happening because boys love doing stuff like that. I think. It's something that happens a lot in light novels, anyway. A girl gets bullied and mistreated and then the boy swoops in to save the day."

"Don't you hate those sorts of stories?" Carter asked her.

"I do. I really, really do. But now is not the time to question our tactics. Not when we have such a splendid opportunity to find out if Prince Ian has what it takes to be the hero I seek."

"Everly?"

"Yes, Carter?"

"Why not just read his mind and find out?"

"Carter. We've spoken before about my dislike of spoilers. Half the fun in knowing is not knowing with certainty. I really want to learn for myself if he's got what it takes."

"What if he doesn't?" Carter asked her.

"Well, no skin off my teeth, then," Everly shrugged. "We'll just move on. I might raze the capital into dust to alleviate my disappointment, but other than that, no harm no foul, right?"