Chapter 27: A Letter. (2)

While Olivia was lost in her whimsical thoughts, half listening to her classmates' chatter, an unusual commotion outside began to ripple through the air, arresting her attention.

The noise carried a note of urgency, a ripple of excitement that seeped through the walls, infiltrating her consciousness.

Suddenly, the door to the classroom swung open with a force that silenced the room.

In walked the boy at the center of all the rumors.

His presence was commanding, an aura of nobility and elegance that seemed almost out of place.

Olivia froze, her thoughts momentarily scrambled, her mind overheating as it struggled to process the scene unfolding before her.

This time, unlike his usual demeanor of cold indifference, he wore a wide grin.

But there was something predatory about his smile, something that sent a shiver down the spine, and Olivia was not alone in feeling it.

In his hands were several thick letters—she couldn't see exactly how many from her seat at the back, but there were at least ten.

Despite her intense focus on him, the boy seemed oblivious to her presence.

Instead, he walked around the classroom, handing out letters to seven boys and ten girls.

"Here," he said to the first recipient.

The boy arrogantly looked at him and scoffed, "Who do you think you are exactly? Why should I accept something from someone from the sticks?"

He didn't answer, instead, he smiled thinly, silently pressuring the classmate with his eyes.

The class was eerily still, and after about twenty seconds, you could sense the boy's initial arrogance beginning to wane under the pressure.

After thirty seconds, the boy, still with a hint of stubbornness, tried to take the letter.

Perhaps to tend to his shattered ego from being scared, he didn't look at the Leon. "Okay, fine, I'll take it and move away."

He reached out but couldn't pull away the letter. Sweat ran down his cheeks even though the temperature was not warm.

Finally, he glanced at Leon and was terrified by the artificial smile and the death stare.

"In our household, when you receive something, you should use both your hands. Is that different from yours?"

"A ha ha, you're right actually—"

"I was joking, but you would still receive it with both hands, right?"

"Y—yes, it's an honor."

The boy who was initially so arrogant received it like a beggar receiving a coin.

It was purely pathetic, even by Olivia's standards, but none of the classmates laughed or sneered at him.

His face turned an ashen shade as he received it.

The new arrival moved on, repeating the process with each recipient. Seven boys, ten girls—all influential nobles in the class.

Each time, he made them take the letter with both hands, his silent pressure turning even the most domineering students into meek followers of etiquette.

As he handed out all the letters, every step he took seemed to reverberate through the floor, echoing the silent questions that hung heavy in the air.

After seven minutes of this unsettling ritual, he looked around the room, specifically at those who had received letters, and spoke.

"I would recommend reading it alone. And for those who don't read it... you will regret it. So I advise you to read it carefully."

The recipients of the letters exchanged anxious glances, their curiosity mingled with a thread of fear.

The boy's voice had a theatrical quality, like a bard in the midst of a grand performance.

He raised both arms dramatically to the side, his grin widening.

"Now, don't be worried," he said, his tone dripping with faux benevolence.

"If you read the letters I personally wrote and fulfill my conditions, everything will be fine. I assume all of you are smart enough to understand that, yes?"

—Nods, nods.

With anxious eyes, they bobbed their heads up and down, hastily hiding the letters in their rucksacks, uniforms, or wherever they could.

Olivia watched the entire scene unfold, her mind racing with questions.

'What was in those letters?'

Finally, the boy turned to Olivia, "You, commoner, come with me."

Author's Note: Welp... Maybe because I already mentally accept she would be gone it was better than I anticipated.

Good day to you guys.