CHAPTER 11: MYSTERIOUS PAINTING

THIRD PERSON POV

When Crystalle enters at the sliding door, it is a large room filled with acrylic paints that are strewn about the floor, with ten seats in the middle, bookshelves filled with art textbooks, a cabinet containing a variety of paintbrushes, palettes, different-sized painting boards, and empty sketchbooks that are symmetrically arranged in the shelves, then there was a second floor as well where there is a small parlor and a piano on the side.

the walls are covered in various paintings, while a cabinet holds many finished and incomplete sculptures. Crystalle walk on the side while keeping a soft and kind expression on her face as she studied the paintings. When she reached the front, she discovered a large painting board surrounded by acrylic paints that were strewn across the floor, as well as a variety of paintbrushes, some of which were small, some of which were medium, and some of which were also large.

as she glance at the board, she gasps as soon as she saw a painting of beautiful woman, although it's not yet finished, it still makes crystalle felt an astonishment towards the painter.

The woman had black silk hair, black fluffy eyes, a pointed nose, rosy lips, and pale white skin. She also wore a circular crown with various black gemstones embedded in it. But what particularly caught Crystalle's eye was the woman's somber face, which had tears in her right black eye, making her appear as though she had endured too many hardships and tragedies in her life. Her bare, trim body is covered with six black wings that is yet to finished.

not only that, she also notice the other remaining paintings leaning on the walls, so she checked everyone of it.

a painting of greenish grass depicts a family playing peacefully behind a lake, including a father and lady and their children. while the word "family" was scrawled at the edge of the board.

The baby was placed on the crib with a smile on its face, and seven archangels were blowing their trumpets in unison, and it was illuminated by a bright yellow light at the top, with a title of 'blessing' written at the edge as well.

a recreation of "the final supper," by leonardo da vinci that represents the last "dinner" between Jesus and his disciples, which gives the impression that it is a genuine oil painting.

Afterwards, there was a painting of an angel with his wings spread out and handcuffs on both of his hands. He was in the middle of an execution room where people were staring at him, cursing him, and giving him a hateful look. On the balcony, a young man was sobbing and trying to reach the angel but was unable to do so. This made Crystalle feel sad, especially after reading the painting's title.

"sacrifice.."

"what are you doing here, elyze?" crystalle stop looking on the paintings before she turn her back to the person who spoke at her, there she saw a young man wearing a school uniform with a white long silk hair and golden eyes, he was holding a strawberry shortcake that he buys at the cafeteria and then an iced-tea, this is none other than keir!

so crystalle just give him a simple smile and said by pointing the paintings that was leaning in the walls, "were these are your works?"

keir took the desk before place the strawberry shortcake and the ice tea on it, then he took another small round chairs and glance at his finished artworks.

"uh-huh, why? is it bad?"

"not at all, infact I'm very impressed.. you are indeed devian's little brother."

crystalle just frowned when he notice keir's sudden changes of his expression, he look at the artworks he made and said in serious manner, "my brother.. is a great example of 'near from being perfect.' he always excelled everything, be it in music, academics, swordmanship, fencing and so on, yet.."

His serious face has a trace of grief, which makes crystalle wonder about their shared past. However, she simply purses her lips and chooses to divert the topic of conversation because she is aware that Devian dislikes discussing his past.

"that person.. who is her?" keir look at the unfinished painting, as his gloomy face turns into lively one before he happily explain it to her.

"She was one of the myths that existed in our world; her name was Christine. According to legend, Christine was the princess of the netherworld, She had flawless jaws, beautiful black silk wavy hair, black fluffy eyes, long black eyelashes, and pale white skin. Christine is like a rose full of poisonous thorns that no one can touch, making her feel depressed because of her circumstance. She is full of sadness, sorrow, regrets, and loneliness, and any princes who dare to touch her meet with a tragic end.

Not until an archangel got himself lost in the netherworld and was assigned to work with his brother to destroy the monsters that keep endangering the barrier between heaven and the netherworld. It was there that he met the princess of the netherworld, who was bathing in the lake of destiny and humming in a melodic manner. They instantly fell in love at first sight when they first saw each other in the lake, as if they had been chosen by the spirits residing there.

however.. that happiness is only a fleeting experience; a week later, the archangel and the demon princess' forbidden relationship was discovered by their parents, which sparked a war between angels and demons. They attempted to flee together and descend to earth with the assistance of the archangel's brother, but they were unsuccessful; in addition, the archangel's brother also fell from heaven and lost all the titles he had been accumulating for nearly a millennium.

to finished the war between angels and demons, the archangel have no choice but to leave the christine and forget her in order to protect the person she loves the most. and then, because of grief and deep loneliness, the demon princess couldn't hold out anymore and decided to took her life by drowning herself in the lake of destiny, where they first met and fall inlove together. meanwhile, as soon as the archangel heard the death of christine, he fell into deep regrets and melancholy and then died afterwards due to some unexplainable illness.

And this artwork represents the sorrow of Christine, the demon princess, who was endowed with strength, beauty, and intelligence but was also cursed by a fate that binds her even at the end of her life. She is the epitome of miserable wretches who sought to resist fate but ultimately met their own demise. "

When he was done telling story, Crystalle couldn't help but feel sorry for Christine. She just wanted to be loved, but the person who accepted her whole turned out to be her "thorns" that couldn't be removed again. Even if they were reborn, the scars that were left on their hearts would still be there, like an eternal curse that had been placed upon them by fate. Christine was cursed after falling in love with a god's servant. And those who continue to fall in love with an archangel will ultimately perish.

'an indeed a rose full of thorns.'

"actually this painting has a pair, would you like to see it?" crystalle gasps because of what she found out, and out of curiosity, she couldn't help but to nods at keir, so he just stand up before he took crystalle's soft hands with a happy expression on his face, they both went up fo the second floor and there, crystalle saw another large painting that have the same size as the other painting in the first floor, it covers with white blanket, so keir slowly walk Infront of it as he pull off the blanket hanging on the enormous painting boards.

Crystalle's eyes widened instantly when he saw a painting of a handsome archangel kneeling on the ground with his hands both placed in front of him while blood was flowing on it. In addition, this angel was also stained with black blood and was gazing upwards while his body was restrained by chains, including his hands and feet, and his enormous pair of white wings were spread out on either side.

Simply by gazing at the oil painting, you can sense the man's misery, loneliness, and sense of pity. He had a gorgeous face, but he was crying as though he was full of regrets. You can also see a trace of hatred and despair on his face, like a person blaming fate.

then, she notices some runic characters scrawled at the edge of the picture. Even though she can't understand it, Crystalle is aware that they represent the painting's title, and it was written as follows; ᚳᚢᚱᛋᛖ ᚩᚠ ᚪᚱᚳᚻᚪᛝᛖᛚ

nevertheless, crystalle didn't ask the meaning of those greek words, instead she just glance back at the oil painting with soft expression.

"it seems sad.." commented crystalle.

"This is how Christine's lover felt when he learned that she had drowned herself in the lake of destiny; the shackles represent his regrets, obligations, sadness, and loneliness; the pair of white wings and the black blood on his hands represent his hatred and anger toward himself, his bloodline as an archangel, and fate for having separated them, it is truly tragic."

seeing keir's solemn expression, crystalle didn't spoke up, because even her, couldn't help but to pitied the archangel. He was chastised by fate since he loved someone from the underworld, who was a mortal adversary of heaven. The archangel lost her brother who helped him, especially her lover whom he loves so much, which caused them to fall deeply. As a result, he developed a hatred—a hatred that leaves an eternal scar on his heart—and as this hatred grew up, a new monster hiding beneath the angel's face will have developed, to the point where he will lose all reason and rationality.

thus, a demon will be born.

not long after, keir sat at the gray bean bag as he glance at crystalle with a scowling face then he asked, "so? what do you want from me?" hearing his questions, crystalle also sat to another white bean bag Infront of her and then took an art textbook at the mini bookshelves beside on her.

"I heard you are planning to run as the president of student council this year?"

"and so what of it? if you are planning to stop me and suggest to give up just because I only have a 50% chances of winning against damion, then leave right away, the door was just there."

"that's not true at all, infact.. I am here to help you."

those words caught keir's attention so he glance back, a deafening silence covers the whole atmosphere before he squinted at her. " this is not my brother's plan, is it?"

crystalle giggled, " why? do you think he would help you?this is my own decision."

"... as expected, there's no way brother would do such things like helping me, I'd rather die than seeking his help." keir clicked his tongue while there's a hint of irritation on his words, so this time, crystalle didn't hesitate anymore and ask him.

"You seems hate each other."

"We DO harbor animosity for one another. That man is a bastard, a trash, and a bullshit; he has no regard for his family or anything else other than power, fortune, and strength. When I first saw him in the pavilion last time, if it weren't for the fact that we share the same father but different mothers, I would've killed him right there and then. And if only I were stronger than him. I would have got rid of him."

crystalle saw the coldness on keir's golden eyes, but she was confuse at the same time, 'he told me that he hate his brother yet..' rather than she felt keir's anger toward his brother, she felt something different instead and that is.. a regret.

'am I just imagining something? possibly..' Crystalle is skilled at reading facial expressions, and because she has spent over 18 years smuggling illicit weapons, drugs, and other items, she is able to detect when someone is lying or telling the truth simply by observing their face. Because of this, she can read anyone's expression, immortal or mortal, even she wasn't endowed with special abilities. Devian and Damion were the only ones he couldn't read.

Despite her lack of interest in them, she refrained from learning more about their past out of respect for Devian's. She also knew that it wouldn't take long for Devian to reveal everything to her once he was ready.

Since trusting one another is a fundamental component of the pact between "eve" and "servant," she is the only one in whom he can put his trust. He also knows that Devian did the same.

therefore, this is not a big deal for her.

"I see, nevertheless, the only thing that I want is to help you, I'm also planning to kick damion out of the president seat, so this is an opportunity for the both of us, right?" crystalle smiled to keir.

"before that, I want to ask your reason, I mean your REAL reason, why do you want him to kick out in the president seat so much? he actually have a good policy, you know."

crystalle let out a heavy sigh before he stared to keir with a smirking face, that makes keir gasps as soon as he felt as though someone pulling him down into the abyss as soon as he saw his cold grayish eyes, not only that, he also felt something familiar to him..

'now that you mention it, she's..'

"If you want my reason, it's simple. he's a hindrance." she said simply. "If he were to take over as student council president, I wouldn't have the chance to develop a relationship with the student council, I wouldn't have the chance to join Supreme 10 and get to know the top brass, let alone meet the leader of the Black Butterfly Organization and its inner circle, and if Damion were in charge, I wouldn't have the chance to take over the academy."

keir nods at him, "In other words, you want to use me to built up some connection, huh? surely, you wouldn't survive here if you only have strength but no connection and brains, however.. I think you're asking a wrong person, Elyze, damion is not the authority here, but myself. I'm sure, as person who was smart as you are, you probably already knew that I'm the supreme 1 of the academy with a codename of 'purple hyacinth', so why insisting to help me?"

another smirk form from crystalle's pinkish lips, before replying, " Yes, I did say that I wanted to take over the entire academy, but only as a "shadow." You see, I'm a fairly reserved person who doesn't enjoy being in the spotlight very much. What I really wanted to do was to.. take control of the academy alongside you. Until I accomplish what I set out to do, I will serve as your "shadow," allowing you to serve as the TRUE authority in the institution. Connections, wealth, power, the ability to govern the students, anything you want, and also..." said Crystalle, opening her palms wide and grinning. He then looked back into Keir's eyes and recited some words that caused him to gasp.

"I can force your brother to comply with your commands. Isn't that what you want? After hearing your tales, I can infer that you have been pining for your brother's attention. Although I don't remember what happened when you met Zepphyr in the villa, your expression tells the whole story, after all, who wouldn't want to be acknowledged by the brother they hold in such high regard? He's good at everything, whether it be the arts or music, and you wanted to be "perfect" like him. Wasn't he the one who inspired you to strive and work hard in this way? since then, you have sought to surpass him."

Until now, Crystalle has only made educated guesses as to whether her suspicions were correct or incorrect; however, she has no choice because she is aware of how obstinate Keir was. Keir is similar to his brother in that if you don't provide him with a compelling enough reason to do so, he won't assist you. But by a strange coincidence, her suspicion had been accurate the whole time!

Given to keir's response, crystalle also notices him clenching his fist, giving her a good opportunity to have a glimpse into Devian and Keir's past.

seeing keir having a hard time making a decision was already enough for her, so she stand up and smile, "the gate is always open for you, if you have decided, then just find me in angelical flower gardens tomorrow, that's where I often resting, or you can give your answer tonight."

(Note: angelical flower gardens is where she meet edwin moran, I decided to name it since it's kinda weird if I say 'class-zero garden', right?XD)

just as crystalle was about to leave in the art room, he heard keir spoke..

"You.. I've been feeling a little apprehensive whenever I speak to you. I get the impression from your cunningness that you are a member of the Phantom's Knight organization. Tell me, are you one of their inner circle, the deadly seven?" As the wind whipped the strands from her ash-gray hair, Crystalle grinned once more before turning to face Keir.

"come on.. you're joking right?" she said to him while making her smile twitched, then she added lastly before crystalle gone out in the art room. "I'm just nothing but an ordinary student who seeks power like you."

Keir simply groaned heavily before returning to his unfinished painting on the first floor. For some reason, Keir's face turned solemn before he started to get out another bucket of black paint and started to paint.

...

CRYSTALLE.

When I leave the art room, I check the time and when I see that it is already time for afternoon classes, I quickly enter the classroom. Some people started to stare at me in fright, but I ignored them because there were more important things I needed to get done and I didn't have time to play with them.

After pressing the sixth button, I sighed and fumbled with my watch while gazing at it, leaning against the glass walls to clear my head.

'name: Elyze Moriarty

age: 18 yrs old

section: zero

Points: 50,000 pts'

"50, 000 huh?"

ofcourse, Since we were given a test and managed to pass it, we became official students of class zero, therefore while I'm busy devising a strategy to help keir defeat Damion in the student council election, I've been racking up points over the past few days without letting anyone else know to do the same.

"I still need another 50,000 points to keep up with devian, sigh."

Devian managed to earn 100,000 points in just one week over the past few days; I'm not sure what kind of "strategy" he used, but it was undoubtedly immoral. He likely seduced some of the girls in the bar, despite the fact that his face may appear to be that of an innocent angel and that he is regarded as a gentleman by many, those things is completely a lie! a great lie!

When the elevator finally stops, I sigh once more. When the door opened, I noticed Chauncey standing close to the large window with his solemn expression on and a phone in his hand, he was having a serious conversation with someone.

".. yes, father. thank you for reminding me."

"..got it, I'll take a look of it.."

".. you too, father, please be careful and.. take care Charlotte."

just as I was about to passed him, I heard Chauncey's voice, so I sighed inwardly as I slowly look back and give him a sweet smile.

"it's very rare to see a people being close to their parents, you're so lucky." he give me a serious expression, but soon after, it turns into frivolous one as he put his hands on my shoulder and smile.

"Yah~ you flatter me! although you are right about that, my parents spoil me so much when I'm still a child and even until now they still treat me as a little prince even though I already have a little sister that is four years older! it's quite embarrassing!"

He scratches his head and his cheeks get scarlet, as if receiving his father's first compliment, which caused my smile to twitch once more. this.. I don't know weather he is stupid or not!

"..ah, were you headed to class right now? let's go together!"

"y-yeah.."

Chauncey may seem like a stupid person, but I know that he didn't become the vice president of student council for no reason, and furthermore.. for some reason, I always feel uneasy when he is around. It's as if all of my plans will be ruined if I let my guard down to him, he was also the one who told to damion that devian followed him at the time.

soon after, he spoke, "By the way, damion told me that he offered you the position of secretary in student council but you turn him down? that's quite a good offer you know!"

when I heard what he said, I smile to him once again,"..I didn't say this yet damion but.. devian is actually planning to run as the students council's secretary this year, and I don't want to stole the spot from him.. besides, I have decided that I will be neutral to everyone."

chauncey hold his head while nodding, "I see.. you're quite a shy person aren't you? I'm quite jealous!" he give me a wide smile so I reply in joking manner.

"I'm sensitive in spotlight, after all. "

suddenly, I saw him stop walking so I look at him while frowning then, I notice a grin curls up on his lips before he give me a serious-yet-smirking look.

"Indeed you are, you even ordered your own fiancee to listen at damion and Miss amara's conversation to avoid being suspected." I just stop and didn't surprise anymore because I had already anticipated it since then, I have a rough ideas about Chauncey's background, he acts stupid Infront of the people but I know that he's a crafty person who will do anything for damion.

so I laugh to him silently and smile, "you got me there, chauncey."

"why did you do that?"

"just a simple curiosity. if he's a worthy opponent or not."

"what..?" he felt confuse, so I laugh again.

"I always love playing battle of wits to someone I took liking of, and it happens that damion was one of them.

"..ah, please don't tell our conversation to him, the game wouldn't be fun if he found out, right?" I smile again, by the time we reach in our classroom, I was about to open the sliding door when I heard him ask.

"just who really are you?"

I grin secretly and said, "guess."

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