Chapter 21

"These guys really won't give me a break." Matthew sighed as he stood up to open the door.

"Come in," Matthew said as he held open the door for the young lads who entered one by one.

Ian was smiling from ear to ear, "Hey! You haven't visited the dorm yet! I thought you'd arrived last night. I was so lonely yesterday!" Ian acted sad and then faced Malia. "Hi, Malia! Are you liking the Academy?"

Malia gave a brief response, "Mm, it's okay."

"I'm obviously assisting my sister to settle first. We just had lunch and I took her here right away." Matthew faced Malia, "Malia this is Prince Daniel Erias and Prince Elliott and Everett Aster."

Malia already had a guess after noticing their hair color and eyes, clearly unique features compared to other students in the cafeteria and Daniel… Daniel has the male lead halo and aura no less, "Greetings to the prince of – "

"You don't have to greet us in that manner. We are all equal here." It was Daniel who spoke, and his voice was incredibly good. His purple orchid eyes seemed so soft and yet intriguing at the same time.

"Ahh…okay." Malia simply nodded. 'What a total BS! Unless we are close friends, I will still need to address you properly outside of school.'

Daniel was aware that Malia was a little indifferent as Matthew would often describe her that way, however, he was also expecting his sister to act cutely like other noble girls. That's typically what happens, even with girls who were deemed "calm and proper," some would still act coy and manipulative. He recalls Anastacia at that time, 'Even that strong-willed girl blushed in front of me…well, who cares.'

Malia did not seem moved by his look, but in reality, she was just trying to control herself. 'Waaaah! Daniel's face is really my type! Thank heavens I'm hiding behind a mask!' Dominic, his younger brother, shares the same appearance as him but he doesn't have the same charismatic quality as the main lead of course. Dominic has a lustful bad-boy look, whilst Daniel's unmoved or unconcerned attitude makes him seem like a bad-boy type as well.

'Why am I even comparing him to that pervert.'

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Ian proceeded to take a seat next to Malia on the sofa. Observing this, Malia followed suit and sat down. Daniel and the twins were led by Matthew to sit across from Malia and Ian.

"Uhh…" Malia really cannot say anything or can think of anything to say as they are basically strangers. She was also busy looking at the twins!

'Woah, these visuals, in the same room. Craaaazy…am I lucky or I am lucky?'

Similar to Matthew, who has silver-grey hair, the Aster twins have grey hair, although theirs is darker. They have shadow-grey hair. They also have the most alluring emerald cat eyes. Since entering the room, both of them have been completely silent, and they both appear bored.

'In the novel, they are both silent and uninterested in practically everything around them, only the female lead could fascinate them or something. Their appearances are remarkably similar as well! Hmmm, it appears that Ian and Matthew are half-inch or so shorter than the main protagonists…well ...that's how it usually is… aren't they gonna say something? It's getting rather awkward.' Malia is feeling uncomfortable, and her mind is racing with questions.

Malia stayed silent just observing the three guys that she was only reading from her phone almost a month ago. There are so many things she wants to know about them that she doesn't know just by reading the novel but that would be considered discourteous since they are not close to each other.

'I just hope they aren't rude, because typically they are, especially since the "Polite" version of them is always reserved for the female protagonist. But! considering that I'm Matthew's sister, they might still be kind if I'm polite and respectful.'

Ian broke the silence and spoke first. "Hey Malia, I told them that you can sing reeeeally well. I brought them here, so can you sing for us?"

Malia also predicted that since her brother was friends with the main characters, she would interact with them on some level. What she didn't anticipate was how quickly she would run into them, and it seemed that she could only blame Ian for his loudmouth.

"It's actually not the real reason why we are here." Daniel interrupted while glaring at Ian, "I just heard from Ian that Kai took part and invested in your song. I am confident that Kai would not invest in something he did not deem to be worthwhile or profitable."

"Her songs were really good, and after we got a copy last Sunday, it was played nearly nonstop throughout the manor—"

"Wait songs? I thought there was just one song?! I only heard one! Malia I wanna hear your other songs pleaaaase!" Ian motioned like a begging puppy.

Malia dodged Ian, who was trying to grab her dress and was about to kneel on her right side, by moving her head and body to the opposite side.

"Where's the fun in that? It'll be released next Saturday; can't you just wait for a few more days?"

"Noooo… I need to hear it now!!! I will give you anything you ask for! I'll purchase ten copies of your album or 100 if you want. I will be your number 1 fan! I promise!"

Malia could only scratch her head and look at the other people in the room. She then fixed her gaze on her brother, who appeared eager to brag about her to his buddies.

"Fine, let me get my guitar." Malia was about to stand up when her brother insisted that he should grab it for her. Considering that she was a girl, it would have seemed courteous to accept, but as Matthew left, the room became even more silent.

'Okay, it seems like it was a wrong choice.' Malia only slouched and fidgeted with the ruffles of her dress.

Given how quiet the place was, Ian tried to joke.

"Malia, did you know that holding a man's hand without any blood connection for two minutes would make your mask red?"

"WHAT?!" Everyone was startled by Malia's reaction when she yelled, and the twins nearly sprung out of their seats. They were astounded by her change of behavior and her seeming lack of care or concern about their presence.

"The eff do you mean?! Are the knights aware that simply holding hands will cause this mask to turn red? They've been holding my hand while helping me get in and out of the carriage!!"

"HAHAHAHAHA! I was just kidding! Gosh you're so gullible!"

'This crazy bastard!' Malia, annoyed with his joke unconsciously smacked his head.

"Aw! Why did you hit me?" Ian pouted.

"Are you seriously asking?!" Malia was about to smack him again when she overheard the three men in front of her chuckling gently. She was genuinely taken aback by their response, especially the twins who had been expressionless since earlier.

After hearing his friends' laughter, Ian also let out a loud laugh making the room livelier compared to earlier. Malia was silent and flushed when she realized what she had done. Her initial plan to be "polite" in front of them seems to be useless now.

After some time, Ian had a sudden spark of curiosity: "By the way, what does 'eff'' mean? You said, 'The eff do you mean?', what was that?"

"Tsk, I'm not answering that question." Malia stood up and tried rummaging through the cabinets in the room. She was attempting to conceal her red ears so they wouldn't be visible in their sight while dodging Ian's question at the same time.

She was being carefully observed by Daniel and the twins as they watched her move around the room. Not because they like her or anything, but because the three of them could consider her as a friend who they'd feel comfortable being around. They are definitely intrigued about her now.

Malia totally forgot about them as she discovered old photos in some drawers and sewing kits and some embroidery patterns in the bottom drawers. One drawer also contains baking tools like cookie patterns and some measuring tools, this made her examine the greenhouse and noticed that there is a small kitchen area at the back. There are also tea sets and expensive dessert plates and utensils.

'Seems like this is the place where the servants would prepare tea and refreshments.'

Additionally, there was a tiny oven and a cooking surface with pots and pans on it. Except for two large jars with labels that say, "sugar" in them, the space is essentially empty.

Malia suddenly heard a knock at the door and then noticed Lily and Matthew's assistant, Albert, carrying a few large boxes.

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-- end of chapter 21 ---

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