Not so afterparty

-Clink! -Clink! -Clink!

"May I have everyone's attention please"

Raising my head, I looked at the person on the stage.

Tapping on the wine glass in his hands, Aric gathered everyone's attention.

Standing elegantly in the middle of the hall, Aric made sure that everyone was looking at him before continuing.

"First of all, I would like to thank all of you that decided to attend the gathering. Although our elective could be considered on the smaller side compared to other electives, we here are like a family."

Making eye contact with everyone in the room, Aric mood turned a little bit serious as he spoke

"I have recently been made aware of the demonic attack and the conflicts happening between the juniors and us seniors, and it honestly pains me to see this. I may not be able to change this. but ,we can work together!"

Pausing slightly, and looking at everyone in the room, Aric raised his glass and said

"This is more than just a party. This is a family!"

At first, everyone was quiet. Turning to look at each other a myriad of expressions could be seen from certain individuals' faces. they wanted to rebuke but…they dared not to. With Elijah's current influence, his words were law. Refusing him was like signing a death warrant.

-Clap!

Breaking the awkward and tense silence was the sound of a clap.

-Clap! -Clap! -Clap!

Soon someone else started clapping, and like a chain reaction, everyone followed along and started clapping.

"I understand, I will follow the president's order!"

"We love you, president!"

"I love you, president!"

Cheers resounded across the hall as both the male and female students cheered for Aric

Smiling, Aric took a big gulp of the wine and once again lifted the cup in the air.

"cheers!"

Though everyone cheered, I didn't , I felt suffocated as I sat in the hall, maybe it's because I've never attended any party In my past life.

Of course, this didn't escape Aric's eyes, as his eyes narrowed for a split second before returning back to normal as if nothing happened.

Unbothered by the fact that Aric probably noticed my behavior, I nonchalantly sat on a sofa and enjoyed my wine. The fact that he managed to say those words without cringing was worthy of my admiration.

For all I knew,Aric cared nothing for the conflicts within the academy. In fact, he was probably rejoicing at the fact that there were conflicts within the academy. Most notably at the fact that some of the attention was diverted away from him, allowing him to act as he pleased.

Looking at the glass of wine in my hand I frowned.

Though I usually disliked alcohol, the reason unknown to me, it wasn't a problem anymore. Excluding the fact that the wine wasn't that strong, with my new physique only alcohol higher than 70% could affect me. Anything lower than that didn't bother me.

Sort of ruined the pleasure of alcohol, but oh well, it's not like I needed alcohol in my life again.

After nearly finishing half of the wine that I had brought with me which I so conveniently hid inside of my bracelet, I felt my bladder bloating.

Walking up to a waiter I asked

"Excuse me where's the bathroom?"

Pointing towards the entrance of the room, the waiter said

"Turn right over there and after you walk a couple of meters you should see a bathroom sign"

"Thank you"

Thanking the waiter and following his instruction, I headed to the bathroom

"I needed to take a leak"

…

[Isabella POV]

Sitting on the sofa, I was lost in thoughts. Occasionally I would glance to my right where a male student sat.

He looked completely out of place with his clothes that did not suit the atmosphere. He had short white hair and blue ocean-like eyes.

His features that were devoid of any pimples or freckles looked clean and pleasant.

Looking at him, I couldn't help but look at him in confusion. He was currently sitting on a sofa sipping on some wine looking extremely bored.

No one approached him, nor did he approach anyone and he seemed to enjoy the solitude as he would occasionally mumble to himself.

…was what he said true?

The reason why I am paying so much attention to him was because that very same student had approached me earlier. 

…It was odd.

I had a vague recollection of him, as he was one of the more famous students in her class. Not in a good way though…

...The 'weirdo' was what they called him.

I wasn't sure about the details, but he was regarded by most of the students as a weirdo that they should avoid at all costs.

Thinking about her interactions with him, I couldn't help but agree more.

…he was a weirdo.

Usually, the male students would come towards me and try all ways to get my attention.

yet, he only told me two things before leaving. What was even more confusing were the things that he said to her.

'You should be careful tonight…' and 'the party was likely arranged for you —no, you're most likely the target for today's party!'

If this was a new trick to try to get my attention, he had succeeded.

I didn't really put his warning to heart, but I definitely started paying more attention to my surroundings.

Having been in these sorts of situations since I was young, my temperament became cautious. If anything remotely suspicious happened I would immediately raise her guard to the maximum.

Scanning the hall everything seemed normal, and apart from a few people already getting drunk, there was nothing odd about the…hm?

Drunk?

Weren't wines the only thing that were served here?

How could people get drunk off of wine?

Instantly I knew that something was wrong.

Hiding my hand behind her back, she prepared to summon my sword in case something dangerous happened.

-Thud! -Thud! -Thud!

One after another students started falling on the ground.

I instinctively tried to summon my sword but a wave of vertigo caused me to lose my bearing.

Stumbling around, I tried my best to support myself against a pillar.

Looking around, every student fell on the ground unconscious.

"Dammit!"

Gnashing my teeth, I tried my best to combat the drug effects.

Although the drug was strong, I still did not lose consciousness. It partly had to do with the fact that I was one of the strongest people in the room and my strong mentality.

…but I didn't know how long I could remain conscious for. Time was ticking and I could only try my best to not fall for whatever plot someone was brewing.

Looking around I tried to look for the boy that had warned her beforehand…but it was to no avail as he was missing.

'Is he the mastermind behind this…?'

'Maybe he was the type of person that loved to tease his prey?'

"Cough!…cough! kh-Isabella!"

Coughing and stumbling on the ground, Aric walked towards me.

Looking at Aric who seemed to be in distress I took a few steps back.

"Huff…huff…huff"

Dropping on one knee, Aric panted heavily.

"Kh-what's happening?" Aria said his as he tried to hide the smirk on his face.

"Drop the act"

"Wh-at are you talk-ing about?"Aric responded

"You think you can fool me when the entire time you had a smirk on your face?"

Taken aback, Aric touched his face.

"ku ku ku"

Trembling, Aric smiled deepened as he started laughing.

"how careless of me…I just couldn't contain my excitement" He said as his lips curled upwards.

Standing up, Aric exaggeratedly facepalmed

"Ah… I'm sorry, I just couldn't hold myself after imagining myself sharing some alone time with you, one of the three great beauties of the first years "

-Voom!

Summoning my sword,I instantly drew it.

"oh my, aren't we a little too hasty?"

Raising his hands in surrender, Aric smirked as he walked in my direction.

I moved quickly and slashed him , trying to cut him open.

"…too bad you missed" Aric said as he dodged my attack with a simple movement of his body.

I fell to the floor panting heavily, Aric had a delighted smile on his face. A couple of minutes wasn't enough to combat the drug that he had carefully prepared beforehand.

Walking slowly, Aric seems to be savoring my struggling expression.

"Yes…this is what I wanted! Finally, the oh so indifferent Isabella has finally shown me a different expression!"

"Wh-at have you done to me!"

"Oh dear, don't show me such face…"

Kneeling on one leg and holding my chin, Aric expression twisted savagely

"Now, now, we wouldn't want our dear isabella showing such a face now would we?"

"If not the strict orders I received, I would've already devoured you…"

"Let's just say that you're going to be thanking me soon"

-Pu!

Spitting on Aric face,as I defiantly looked at him.

"Fuck off!"

"Y-ou y-ou"

Trembling, Aric touched his cheek where I spat. Looking at his finger which was covered in saliva, Aric faced twisted menacingly as his hand grabbed my neck

"How, how dare you spit on my face!"

His strong voice reverberated across the hall as he tightened the grip around my neck

"Unlike you, I wasn't born as beautiful as the rest. I was insulted, jeered at, and bullied for my appearance." he said

"This world's hierarchy is dictated by three things, wealth, beauty and talent."

"Unlike you who had all, I had none! I was bullied and harassed throughout my whole childhood. Even my parents forsake me for my younger siblings who had better appearances than me!"

"Just when I was about to end my life…a demon came and saved me"

"She gave me talent, power, and my current appearance"

"If not for her I would be nothing!"

Sigh

Startling, a loud sigh resounded across the hall. Soon a pale youth with deep blue eyes walked into the hall. His eyes slightly paused on Aric before looking at me.

With an annoyed look, he scratched his head and said.

"I warned you didn't I?"