31 | Stitches

Another day and another work for Elyse to do. She slightly regrets that she didn't do her task last night but half of her tells that she deserves some rest. Ever since she became a member of the Student Council, she has become very busy and had no time for herself. Last night was fresh air for Elyse to have.

Strange enough, Elyse felt comfortable that night when both of them took a stroll in the middle of the night. She noticed one thing about Chad last night.

For the first time, she saw his eyes being sad and gloomy. Maybe it was only because of the mood but she feels that there was something wrong.

'I wonder why he made such a face...' she mumbles to herself while walking in the hallway carrying a bag full of paperwork that she just finished. She's going to report this to Raymond and go to her class. Although she was already late she had no other choice. Fortunately, the teachers seem to understand Elyse so they let her be late for the class.

"Is this natural?" She whispered and sigh.

"Of course, it's not. Who's in their right mind to not care about their student's attendance?"

"But forget about that... I wonder why he made such a face." She said to herself.

"His face... looks like —" she pauses and stopped walking. There's something about Chad that she couldn't say in words. He looks sad and gloomy but is also waiting for someone. Or just simply in love with someone, he can't have. But she cannot put it into words altogether. Because she knows there's still something missing.

And that missing piece is about her.

Elyse doesn't want to assume, but that's what her guts have been telling her about her.

She heaves a deep sigh and shakes her head off.

"There's no time for this. I should be bothered by the Rahania students." She mumbles to herself while walking in the quiet hallway alone on her way to see Raymond.

Louisette hasn't done anything for now but she knows that Louisette will sometime trouble her. Those red eyes stare at her as if mocking at her situation and her evil smiles that smell trouble. For some reason, it made Elyse feel pissed instead of being afraid of her.

Hildegarde and Zues. Elyse found a piece of new information earlier today. Hildegarde is a noble household that is also on par with Zues. The Zues Family are known to be the Alphas of Battlefield or War and Hildegarde are the Betas of Warriors.

When Duke Zues, Tina's father came back to the Zues Mansion to become powerful, his first step was to be remarried in the lady of Hildegarde. Also, it doesn't seem that Duke Zues likes the lady of Hildegarde that he married. Elyse found out that in order to be powerful he needed a strong power that would support him in the near future. To search for his long-lost daughter, he needed an incredible power to protect her in the future. And so, he married the lady of Hildegarde. The love story between them isn't like others.

Both don't love nor like and just used each other for their own gain. Duke Zues wanted power and Lady Hildegarde wanted freedom from her family. But everything went wrong when she gave birth to two boys. Duke Zues couldn't grasp the reality of cheating on his first love — Rafaela and so he began to be a cold father to the two brothers. He didn't give them the name "Zues" and instead gave them "Hildegarde" their mother's maiden name.

Of course, Lady Hildegarde understood that he loves very much his ex-wife. But they're only children, they shouldn't feel the cold shoulders of their father just because of a woman. Lady Hildegarde deeply regretted that she married him not because he didn't love her but because he was cold to his sons. To his children. The very thing that Lady Hildegarde was afraid of.

The relationship between the two brothers gradually shattered and when their mother died, they became distant from each other. When Tina came into their life only Lewis gave an interest because of how both Duke Zues and Tina look very similar. Of course, Hethan saw the similarities. Who wouldn't see the obvious fact that Tina was actually their lost older sister from the other woman?

Hethan secretly built jealousy in his heart and it made him mistreat Tina in their household.

"You are not welcome here," he said every time when Hethan see Tina. Of course, Tina would always just give him a smile and nods her head. As if she already knows that she doesn't belong here.

And it made Hethan pissed more.

Lewis in the other side would always ask himself, "Why does she always smile when we hurt her? Is it because she's just only kind? Then that kind of kindness she has will only make her weak." Lewis thought to himself and would only watch her from afar.

Lewis couldn't bring himself to save and protect Tina because he also couldn't change the fact that he is also jealous by the thought that even just once, their father smiled and laugh with them when Tina was still a little child with Rafaela.

Although Tina was only a baby, Lewis can still picture a happy family from them. Duke Zues on the other side were only watching them from afar.

****

Elyse found herself in front of the door when she came back to her senses. She tries to knock but no one seems to answer her knock. She tried to open the door and it was unlocked. She welcomes herself in and put the papers on the table in The Student Council room.

"Maybe Ray is busy." She whispered looking at her surroundings. Everyone is not here.

She went outside the room and decided to go back to her class when she bumped into Kai in the hallway, also carrying a small paper.

"Huh? Elyse?" He said and approaches her.

"Elyse! Thank goodness you're here!" He said with a bright smile on his face.

'I suddenly got a bad feeling...'

"Hey Kai, do you need something?" He nodded his head.

"I can't seem to find Thaddeus around here. I needed him to check these papers himself but well as you can see. Whenever I try to make him work, he would always run away. Ugh, he's so fast I can't catch up to him." He spoke. Looking at it now, Kai's hair is disheveled and he's catching his breathing. Maybe he indeed chase after Chad when he talked about work.

'I knew it.' Elyse thought.

"I see. How did he become a Student Council then if he couldn't do his responsibilities?" Elyse asked with her sarcastic tone.

"Well. Chad wasn't supposed to join the Student Council but because Louisette didn't join the Academy and the Council, even went to Rahania to study — Chad became a substitute. He wasn't supposed to be joining the Alphas but as time goes by, he proved himself to be able to join us too. I guess that's supposed to be expected for Alpha of Messenger." Kai explained.

"There's a time too when I caught him working in the student council room alone in the middle of the night. I got scared for a second because I thought it was Dain since he likes dark places but it was Chad working alone." He explains further.

Hearing that made Elyse feel a great impression of Chad. He may look childish and plays often with the student council but hearing Kai's explanation made Elyse imagine how hard-working Chad is.

"Why is he hard working when he shouldn't push himself into pressure?" Elyse asks and Kai shrugged.

"I don't know. Maybe because he's The Alpha of Messenger's descendant, it became his own habit too." The explanation that Kai made, makes Elyse feel something is wrong. He is working hard even until the crack of dawn.

Elyse feels starts to worry about his health.

"Now that you are here Elyse, would you mind giving these papers to him? This isn't really like the ones that Raymond does it's just a bunch of paperwork from the higher ups too. And Raymond already has a load of work to do, he's also a student so helping him will be great. So please, do convince Chad for me?" He pleaded and Elyse nodded her head.

"Sure." She answered and Kai gave her the papers in her hands. Maybe it wouldn't be bad to visit him for a while.

After that, Kai gave him directions to Chad's room and when she finally arrived, she knocked on his door.

"Chad?" She calls his name but no one seems to answer.

"Hey, I brought some papers with me. If it's okay with you, can I come in?" She said but only silence was received.

"I'm really going to come in, okay?" She said and opens the door slowly. To her surprise, she was welcomed by the dusty room filled with white silk fabric covering almost all the furniture.

'Am I in the right place?' she thought but when she saw a familiar shirt hanging on the wall, she recognized right away it was from Chad so she was not in the wrong room.

"Why is it so dusty here?" The place was covered with dirt and paintings all over the floor. Some parts of the fabrics were also covered in different colors that looks like they dried up.

"Is he painting?" She asks herself. She looks around and it seems that Chad wouldn't come back for any moment now. So, she pulled the fabrics off the painting and she saw a very beautiful woman.

With tan skin and golden eyes, her hair silver white, and her piercing gaze. Somehow, the painting looks familiar as if she has already seen the same painting she saw back in Maria's Palace.

She slowly walks back away from the painting and accidentally stepped on a fabric that was covering a sculpture. Because of this, Elyse fell off her balance and fell to the ground.

Thankfully enough, aside from her ripped cloth because she bumped into the painting she just saw — everything was good.

Her eyes went wide open when she saw the sculpture of a woman half finished. Her eyes were closed and her long wavy hair was the only part that is finished.

"Who is she?" She whispered and tries to touch the sculpture when Chad's voice echoed in the room.

"Elyse?" She quickly back away and hides the painting from her behind.

"C-Chad!" To her surprise, his face looked mad and is glaring directly into her eyes. She avoided his gaze.

"I-I'm sorry. I just got curious. Uhm, here are the papers. Kai said to give these to you." Elyse said while avoiding her gaze.

'What am I doing? Why am I avoiding his gaze?' for some reason, Elyse couldn't understand the mixed feelings she had when she saw paintings of a familiar woman.

Is it his old lover? Her past lover?

Just thinking of the woman from the painting who is Chad's lover made Elyse feel something even weirder in her chest.

"Elyse, are you okay —"

"You seem to be over-working yourself these past few days, Chad." She quickly changes the topic and gazes up at him with a clear smile on her face.

'Calm down, Elyse. This isn't the place to think of it.' Elyse convinces herself. Last night, it made her heart feel comfortable when she was around him alone. But now looking at the paintings of a woman, she feels pathetic and ashamed of herself.

"Over-working? What does that mean?" Chad said, riding her along.

"You should take better care of yourself, Thaddeus." She said with a smile on her face.

"Well first of all I don't do the work. Second of all, I am just a lazy Alpha and third I don't really work." She laughed.

"What's that? Those reasons sound the same." Chad laughed.

"Well, I can't help it though. I am just being me." Elyse nodded her head.

"I see, I should get going now. I am actually late for my next class." Chad leaned on one of the paintings that are covered with white silk fabric and nodded his head.

"Of course. But Elyse," Chad changed his tone into something serious while looking at her straight to her eyes.

Her hazel eyes glimmer like Chad's eyes.

"You should be careful with Louisette." Elyse scoffed and nodded her head.

"Nah. Of course, I will. Although I already sense trouble from her." He nodded and she nodded her head as well and Elyse opens the door and walked away.

When the door is finally closed, he heaves a heavy sigh and glances at the painting he was leaning on. He put the white silk away from the painting and it shows an illustration of Elyse.

"Thank goodness, she didn't see this or else everything will become even more troublesome." He mumbles to himself and starts tidying his room and putting the painting of Elyse and the sculpture of Aniya in a locked room where only Chad can open it.