In a grand and elegant house, a woman with grey hair and blue eyes stood with her head bowed, as if weighed down by guilt. She just stood there, silently taking in all the anger being thrown at her.
In front of her was an older man with silver hair and the same blue eyes, his face twisted in rage.
"My daughter, are you really incapable of reaching the status I want for you?" he shouted harshly.
"I'm sorry, Father," she replied, and immediately, he slammed the table with a loud bang. His face was filled with fury, as if the sin she committed was unforgivable.
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! I WANTED YOU TO BE SUCCESSFUL LIKE YOUR BROTHER!" he roared.
"EVERYONE IS TALKING ABOUT YOU!" he yelled, then threw a glass on the floor, shattering it everywhere.
"YOU'RE USELESS! GET OUT! I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOUR FACE. OUT!!" he shouted while pointing to the door.
The woman just lowered her head and walked out, her expression blank—like his words were nothing new, like she'd heard them a million times before.
As she stepped outside the room, she glanced at an older woman with ash-grey hair and eyes.
"Are you okay?" the older woman asked, her voice full of worry but with no strength to act.
She walked past her, ignoring the pity.
"Mom, don't worry. This is normal."
A mother would usually worry if her child was scolded like that, but she knew her mother was too much of a coward to do anything—for herself or her kids.
She walked out to get some fresh air, looking up at the bright sky, but to her, everything still felt gloomy. It was like the weather matched her heart. Then, the sound of footsteps approached her.
Zareth looked at his sister's blank face, but as her older brother, he could tell what she was hiding inside.
"Elysia, are you okay?"
"It's nothing new," she said, walking away without any expression at all.
That moment kept playing in Elysia's head even after she entered the academy. She lay on her comfy bed, staring into space.
Then she got up, opened her closet, and changed into something to wear outside. After she finished, she took a deep breath and let it out.
She opened her door to find a black-haired guy standing in front of it.
"You're finally out. You're late this time. I'm starving, you know?" he said.
The emptiness she felt just moments ago started to fade because of this guy's presence.
"Nao, have you been waiting long?"
"Forever," Nao replied.
Elysia gave him a small smile, and Nao noticed.
"Elysia, are you okay?" he asked, a bit puzzled by her strange reaction.
"I'm fine. Let's go," she said, walking ahead while Nao followed.
==
I (Tetsu) started feeling something odd about Nao and Elysia. Are they… dating?
I've been tailing them for five days now and honestly, they seem really compatible.
"What are you doing here?" a voice said. It was a girl with purple hair who caught me hiding in the bushes.
"Selene... I... well..." before I could finish, she ducked next to me.
"There they are," she pointed at Nao and Elysia, who were chatting.
"I've been watching them too. Maybe something's going on?" Selene said, shocking me.
"Me too," I replied.
We both watched them, clearly close, but somehow there were no rumors about them.
"Is Elysia always like this?" I asked Selene.
"Honestly, this is the first time I've ever seen her show any emotion," Selene admitted.
"Emotion? She looks super expressionless to me," I said.
"If you knew her long enough, you'd notice—she's like 'alive' when she's with that guy," Selene explained.
No way. I thought Elysia seemed the same as always. And Nao too—they didn't look like a couple at all.
"What are you guys doing here?" a male voice startled us.
I turned around to see Theo looking serious.
"We're watching them," I pointed to Nao and Elysia.
"Oh, they're dating now," Theo said casually, making both me and Selene gasp loudly, which got us noticed.
"Are you serious, Theo?" Selene asked in disbelief.
"Yeah," he nodded.
"Where'd you hear that?" I asked, still doubting.
"I heard it's the latest hot gossip. You really didn't know?" Theo asked, making me fall silent for a second.
"They're leaving," Theo said as he saw Nao and Elysia walking off.
Me and Selene pulled Theo back into the bushes. "Shhh!" I whispered.
We all focused on following them quietly until they reached their rooms.
They said good night to each other and just went in.
We were kinda disappointed. Nothing juicy happened.
"What if we just ask them tomorrow?" Selene suggested.
I thought about it—it was actually a great idea.
"Alright, I'll ask Nao and you, Selene, ask Elysia," I said.
"Me?" Selene questioned.
"And you, Theo, just watch and don't mess it up," I told him.
"Okay, tomorrow, the real investigation of the 'cold duo' begins!" I said, grinning.
===
Prison of Judgment.
Loud sirens blared, sending all the guards into chaos.
"What's going on?!" one of the soldiers asked.
"A prisoner escaped!" another one replied, running quickly.
All the guards gathered as the warden stood to address them.
"One prisoner has escaped. You're all on 24-hour alert. If anything happens again, someone will be held responsible!" the warden barked.
"Yes, sir!" they shouted in unison.
The escape news sent panic around the world. Everyone was now on edge.
===
In Norman Village,
The Divine Inquisitors were patrolling the area.
Norman sipped his tea while reading the newspaper—only to suddenly choke, dropping his cup and smashing it.
"Papa!" a little girl cried, scared, holding the newspaper.
"Yena, we're going into hiding again," Norman said.
===
On ship no.145, a red-haired woman read the newspaper with a serious look.
She turned to her crew already lined up.
"Everyone!!" she shouted. "Clean up the ship and block all foreign passengers. Understood?!"
"Yes, Captain!!" they replied.
===
In a fancy mansion, a silver-haired man was enjoying the night.
"Master Zareth," a male butler handed him the newspaper.
Zareth took one look, and his eyes widened. He crushed the paper in his fist.
"Zepr..." he muttered angrily.
===
The next day at the Academy of Sandy,
Everyone came to school looking happy... except Nao, who looked seriously troubled.
"What… is this?" he muttered, shocked at something he didn't expect.
His face said it all—something surprising just dropped.