"Brother," Alice said softly, her small hands clenched at her sides, "I have indeed chosen to stay in Venus."
For a brief moment, the world around them seemed to slow.
Darius paused.
"Is that so?"
His voice was calm, but beneath it churned something dark and unpleasant. It was at this moment that Darius realized he had been rejected by his own sister—publicly, no less. As the leader of Mars House, he could not afford to show displeasure. Nobles were always watching. Students were always listening.
Inside, irritation boiled.
He clenched his fist until his knuckles turned pale and shifted his gaze toward Ray. Darius knew—no, he was certain—that it was because of Ray that this little girl had found the courage to reject him.
Ray had also made it clear that he would be staying in Venus as well.
Still, Darius could not simply give up. A forced smile tugged at his lips as he turned back to Ray and said, "Ray, I have heard a lot about you from my mother. She told me to be friends with you. Why don't you join my house?"
Ray smiled faintly, though there was no warmth in it. "Yes, she told Prince Lucas to be my friend as well," he replied calmly, "and he almost shot me to death. I'm sorry. I don't think I will be able to join you, as Prince Lucas is probably also in your house."
Darius paused again.
The surrounding students murmured quietly. It was a popular story in the Richard Kingdom—how Lucas, his younger brother, had been banned from the Inventor Guilds and forbidden from using anything related to the network: wristwatches, crystal visions, all of it.
And it was because he had fought with a member of the Inventor Guild—someone like Ray.
Darius knew the enmity between his younger brother and Ray ran deep. He also knew there was nothing he could do to mend it. For a fleeting second, he considered suggesting reconciliation, but even the thought felt hollow. Some grudges could not be undone.
He sighed, the weight of frustration pressing on his chest, and turned to Ryan. "Are you willing to join Mars?"
Ryan shook his head without hesitation. "I am the son of the Water Formation Sect leader. I am bound to stay in Venus House. I cannot change."
Darius finally understood—he would change no one's mind here.
Suppressing his disappointment, he moved on to convince other top fifty members from Venus House. Yet everywhere he went, he was met with strange looks—cold, wary, even judgmental. One by one, his offers were rejected.
Confused, Darius eventually made his way back toward his own house.
Little did Prince Darius know that many eyes had followed him earlier—especially when Alice had cried. To the onlookers, it had looked like a powerful elder brother bullying a small, defenseless girl.
The impression spread quickly.
It was not only Venus House that noticed, but the other houses as well.
Later, Darius would realize the mistake he had made. He would hear whispers. Names. "Bully." Other cruel nicknames would follow.
The consequences would be heavy.
Students he had previously convinced to join Mars House would quietly withdraw. Worse still, many current members—who had once planned to remain—were now considering leaving.
At that moment, all the house leaders stepped forward onto the stage. The new students stood below in four neat lines, each representing one of the four houses.
Aries, Adrian, and Wesley all cast strange looks toward Darius.
Darius frowned and looked back at them. "What?"
The three leaders exchanged glances, then simply shook their heads and turned away.
Darius felt an uncomfortable twist in his stomach. It was the same look he had received from the top fifty students earlier—after he had spoken with Ray and the others.
Before he could think further, the leader of Jupiter stepped forward and announced, "Now that all of you have been given offers, please switch houses now if you are willing to leave your current house and join a different one."
Movement rippled through the crowd.
A few students left Jupiter. A few left Mercury. Several stepped away from Venus.
But Mars was different.
More than thirty percent of its new students walked away.
Darius froze.
Shock ran through him as he stared at the thinning line of his house. He could hardly believe what he was seeing.
At that moment, Jupiter's leader looked directly at him and said coldly, "What you did to your younger sister was seen by everyone. You should not have bullied her. I am shocked that there are still seventy percent of students left in your house."
Wesley chimed in immediately, mocking laughter in his voice. Aries glanced at Darius from Mars House, then at Adrian from Jupiter House. A smile slowly spread across her face—one that went unnoticed.
Two important members from their house quietly slipped away toward Venus.
Adrian was too busy mocking Darius to notice that one of his own members, who is in the top 10, had left as well. But when he noticed a top ten student leaving Mars House, he laughed again. "Look at that! Not only have thirty percent left your house, but even one of the top ten has abandoned you. What a blunder you made!"
Darius said nothing at first.
Then he noticed something else.
In Venus House, not only had Grace left Mars House, but there was another presence. Someone far more significant.
Arisa.
The number one student.
For a brief second, Darius smiled.
He looked at Adrian and said calmly, "You're one to talk. You mock me too much. It's true—number four of the top ten have left my house. But the number one student has left your house."
"What?"
Adrian hurriedly scanned his line.
Arisa was gone.
Panic flashed across his face as he searched the other houses—until he spotted her standing beside Ray in Venus House.
Shock rendered him speechless.
Before he could react, before he could rush forward to call her back, Aries spoke first, her voice firm and authoritative.
"Alright then. Since everyone has chosen their respective houses, you will see small buildings behind you. Go to your houses according to the number you finished in the exam. Get some rest, and remember to attend your house assembly tomorrow morning."
She paused briefly.
"More rules are written in the rule books. Read them carefully—or suffer the consequences later."
Her gaze swept over the students.
"Dismissed."