2 Angelica Claes

"Long live, Her Imperial Majesty, Empress of Aristia!"

Amidst all the joyful cheers of her rejoicing subjects, there stood the unfeeling ruler in all her blinding glory.

Mellifluous hair as white as snow, translucent skin similar to that of rare porcelain, delicate eyelashes that flutter like the wings of a butterfly, and spellbinding, diamond eyes that hold a whole galaxy – indeed, this beauty is none other than Venus.

Dressed in an exquisitely-embroidered gown that perfectly flows along her curved, doll-like figure under an elegant sapphire-coloured robe, she remains still like a portrait of the bright morning star. The emblem of supremacy upon her head amplifies her seraphic presence with its tantalizingly radiant gemstones.

As if blessing humanity with her ethereal existence, she slowly turns to face the crowd with grace like that of a swan.

However, everything wasn't always what it seemed.

What started out as compelling and majestic would only mark the beginning of the bloody reign of a corrupted, vainglorious queen – an era of disputes and conflicts.

---

"Hey, did you see that?"

"Goodness, full marks on all subjects!"

"Is she some kind of a monster?"

Eli only pretended to be aloof, letting everything fall on deaf ears.

Now, if they were to ask what kind of studying technique she used or whether she cheated at all, she'd only smile - the humblest one she could muster.

That's because no matter what she said, she knew she'd only appear conceited to them, especially when the truth was that she just studied as hard as she could like everybody else.

No cheating. No cram school or anything.

And Eli hates boasting.

She'd prefer to act reserved rather than that. Watching her classmates openly react to their test scores still makes her feel a bit envious, though.

Of course, she'd like to celebrate hers too. Being the top student in class doesn't mean she's a genius.

She studied up all night, made extra effort in taking notes during class discussions, and spent all weekend with her face buried in a book.

A year ago, Eli entered the prestigious Canaan Private Academy, an educational facility with an ancient and noble origin, as a scholar with certain standards to meet in order to continue her free schooling tutelage.

Coming from an average middle-class family, the idealistic young her wanted to experience attending a private school without spending too much money, hence working harder than she ever had in her thirteen years of life to avail a scholarship in this well-distinguished school founded for upper-crust students.

During freshman year, she acted more like a college student with all the effort and time she put in studying. She was afraid that she would fail and lose her privileges if she slacked off even just for a short while.

As a result, she didn't have many friends and before she knew it, she turned out to be a fourteen-year-old who labelled fashion and outings as idle activities.

"Hey, class is over, guys!"

Too absorbed in her recollection, Eli almost failed to hear the school bell ringing as well as the ensuing chatters around her.

It's the end of classes for today.

"Eli, wanna go karaoke?"

A cheerful voice then suddenly snapped Eli out of her daze.

With that, she turned to see a girl with lovely features – long chestnut hair, slightly tanned skin, and hazel brown eyes.

"I don't really feel like it today, but thank you for inviting me, Leah," Eli answered with an apologetic smile.

"But exams just finished. Come on, you have to reward yourself sometimes," she insisted.

"I'm really sorry. I have somewhere to go. Maybe next time?"

Eli felt heavy for refusing.

This isn't the first time she did, though. Despite knowing that her invitations have a ninety percent of chance of getting declined, Leah still goes all the way to ask her to hang out.

At first, she's grateful for the attention she's pouring on her, but turning her down most of the time made her think she doesn't deserve it.

There's a reason for this, however.

In the end, the brunette wasn't able to convince her. Even then - Leah being her considerate self, she just beamed at Eli and said goodbye before leaving with a group of friends.

The ash-haired girl made sure to wave back and smile, bidding her farewell.

"I feel bad for Leah, to be honest. Getting rejected all the time and that."

At that, Eli stiffened.

"Isn't Angelica a bit too straight-laced, though? Maybe that's why she's always by herself."

"If I were Leah, I would've just left a boring person like her behind."

"She's a school geek, anyway. Not a very fun person to hang out with, don't you think?"

Her dull grey eyes then dimmed and subtly lost any remaining vibrance, life slowly vanishing from them as the murmurs continued.

"And do you find her gray hair funny? She looks like a grandma."

"A nerd and a granny, then!"

The group of high schoolers then burst in a fit of chortles before making their leave.

This was why Eli didn't want to rope herself together with Leah. She's the object of such spiteful remarks from time to time.

It's not only because she sported a plain mien or had a bland personality. She's aware that it's also due to jealousy.

She's considered a commoner, unlike them whose families are part of the cream of the top of this country, so they're somewhat against the fact she's the best student of their class.

With these in mind, Eli found herself acting aloof once again, pretending she hadn't caught wind of those insults.

Fighting fire with fire won't solve the issue here, so she just zipped her mouth and walked out of the classroom. All the while, she made sure to put this incident on the back of her mind.

"Just let them be, Angelica..."

After a moment of strolling around, Eli finally arrived at her favourite spot in school, the library. Just by seeing it already cheers her spirits up.

Then with a smile, she proceeded to open its wooden doors.

Time and again, the massiveness of this sea of knowledge never fails to impress the bookworm.

The room was constructed in a rectangular shape, wherein the second floor stretches all around the four sides of the first floor, leaving out the middle part.

What's inside is an enormous paradise for Eli, with books of various sizes and colours peeking out from their respective bookshelves, grandiose cream-coloured interiors, intricate wall decorations and furniture all over the room, a shiny, velvety marble floor that lacks even a speck of dust and dirt, and a glowing, dream-like chandelier on the ceiling taking the centre of attention.

Eli remembered how she almost fainted at her first time seeing it.

In fact, Canaan Private Academy is known for its labyrinthine library. It's still a mystery if half of the students' tuition fees actually go there.

Many believe that the founder of the school simply wants to promote reading in today's generation as the presence and significance of these traditional sources of information are gradually being overshadowed by modern technology.

While still in daze, Eli strode over to her usual spot beside a fancy-looking window.

It's not far from the door and the librarian's counter, but the surrounding bookshelves are enough to hide her presence.

"Haaaah... Home sweet home..." she mused out loud, heaving a relieved sigh.

Right then, however, after settling down on the soft cushion of the wooden chair, she found herself brooding over her recent experience all of the sudden.

Eli then took out one of her answer sheets from her creased schoolbag.

Blankly staring at the piece of paper, she wanted to motivate herself to work harder and not to blame her studies for what happened at the classroom. She did act straight-laced because of it.

Then, rolling her eyeballs to the window, Eli was greeted by a melancholic reflection.

Her silver-grey hair was combed away from her forehead into opposite directions, leaving two curly strands on both sides of her face, and cascaded into voluminous curls that were scattered all over the small of her back. Another feature that accentuates her gloomy persona is her dove-grey eyes framed with pointlessly long eyelashes.

Despite her sun-kissed pale skin, Eli's overall appearance radiates nothing but negativity.

Sure, she admitted she looks old for her age, but that's because she simply has no interest in wearing make-up or styling her hair. Aside from her grey hair, her weak constitution is the reason why people call her grandma.

She likes wearing long skirts and plain dresses because they're comfortable to move in and she doesn't like bringing attention to herself in a way that most girls her age would. Moreover, she always has to wear her thick-rimmed eyeglasses due to an accident when she was younger.

She also likes reading books above everything, making her that typical library patron and a bookworm.

"What to do, though...? I can't focus on reading when I'm feeling like this."

Frustrated at this emotional hurdle, Eli only scooted closer to the window and lightly slammed her head on it.

Then, out of nowhere, she dramatically palmed her reflection on the glass and let out an exasperated groan.

Her pessimism might just actually summon a black hole that can sweep off the whole library.

"Ugh... Oh, come on! I wanna read...! Pull yourself together, Eli!"

From talking to her reflection on the glass to banging her head on it like a madwoman, Eli tried to snap out of her hollowing storm of emotions but to no avail.

"Umm..."

Then, she froze.

A barely audible husky voice of a male, tinged with unmistaken hesitation and puzzlement, suddenly mumbled from behind the unmoving girl.