"The world is full of scary people," Alina mumbled.
The shades of green and brown passed by in blurs, but none of the girls sitting inside the car had the heart to admire them.
Alina was still shaken by the earlier incident, too afraid to think about all the consequences her best friend had listed one by one.
Severine, on the other hand, had been staring at her phone screen.
The chat window with Mr. King's assistant was open, displaying the message she had sent a minute ago.
It was a confirmation of the personal request.
As she had assumed, Killian had asked for the staircase footage and had made a formal request to delete it from the restaurant's system.
Like a tree that provided both shade and fruit, this agreement not only saved Severine but also brought her benefits through a business deal as a 'thank you' from the Kings.
Perfect...
A smile glimmered in her eyes.
"Wow, you should smile more."
Alina's words made that flickering smile vanish just as fast, making the young lady tsk.
"I say, your highness, your smile is indeed pretty enough to charge money for it. Maybe you should start a social media account. People will go crazy over you."
Severine: "..."
What goes on in this girl's head?
It was really beyond her.
"Oh, our team is going to participate in the championship next week. I won't be able to stay with you, so you'd better take care of yourself. And if that mad dog and pig sister come to look for trouble, you'd better give them hell."
According to the novel's timeline, Alina was unable to participate in this competition due to her leg injury.
Now, though, the plot had changed, albeit a bit.
"Hmm," Severine let out a soft sound of acknowledgement.
With her lashes lowered, it was hard to see any emotion in her blank eyes. It was as if she weren't a human but a beautifully carved doll.
Somehow, that comparison irked Alina.
She nudged the young lady with her shoulder, careful not to use too much force.
"Shouldn't you worry about me? Or at least wish me good luck? Where is the spirit of the best friend?"
Best friend? Who?
To Severine, Alina was the heroine of the novel. It would be a lie if she didn't have any negative emotions toward her after her prophetic dreams.
Maybe, if she had recalled earlier, she might have outrightly ignored Alina.
But they were already living together, and she wasn't cruel enough to kick the naive sheep into the den of wolves.
They had barely entered the academy's main gates when the car came to an abrupt halt.
"What happened?" she asked, trying to steady herself against the inertia.
"There is someone on the road." The driver replied without needing to elaborate.
It was evening, and the scene on the road was visible to both Severine and Alina.
"Holy shit! Didn't expect to meet another couple in heat."
Couple in heat... Though those words made Severine's lip twitch, clearly, she couldn't have described it any better.
A beautiful lady was holding her shawl, clumsily trying to cover her bare shoulders. Under the evening sun, the skin looked as if coated with a delicate glaze, white and golden.
Captivating indeed. Severine mused, linking that shy face to the name of a certain heiress. Rivina Mion.
Her off-shoulder white frock was crumpled in places, her red lips swollen with lipstick smeared around the edges.
Just from that, one could guess how passionate the kiss must have been.
Apparently, while kissing, they somehow ended up on the road, nearly hitting the car.
This back gate was secluded and rarely used. It wasn't hard to guess why they were being so emotional without care.
While Rivina Mion was flustered, red coating her fair face, the boy beside her looked unbothered.
If anything, there was a slight frown on his handsome face as he turned to glare at the window with his green eyes, as if accusing the people sitting inside.
"And we have another lunatic from our school."
Only after Alina's remark did Severine's attention shift from the girl to the young man.
He was wearing a blue blazer with golden embroidery shining brilliantly under the sunlight, matching his blonde hair.
Leisurely, almost lazily, he leaned over the lady, bending his well-proportioned body in a half-hearted attempt to hide the beauty.
He was well-dressed, wearing a white shirt with the top three buttons wide open, revealing a smooth neckline and an Adam's apple covered in red.
A bold kiss mark.
Before Severine could curse her fate, the young man straightened his long legs and stepped toward the back seat.
Knocking once, he stood there, waiting for it to slide down.
With no other option, Severine nodded to Alina. Only then did Alina press the button, letting the young man have a proper view inside.
He looked at the dumbfounded, cute girl, and the frown on his forehead eased.
"Did you guys record it?"
"If you don't want to be found, do it in a hidden place, will you? Scared this grandma to death," Alina huffed, patting her chest.
Instead of getting angry, the young master rested his hand on the car's metallic body. The jeweled cuff-links glinted as he leaned in.
His gaze darted between the two girls. "I apologize for that."
Seeing they posed no threat, a smile returned to his handsome face.
"Brother... can you stand still and not flash me with your chest? I think I'm enough traumatized for a day."
"... My bad," he coughed while straightening up.
That was the moment when a slight embarrassment flashed in his gaze before vanishing just as quickly.
"We didn't record. You should take care of her." Severine raised her chin to point at the girl standing there, awkwardly clutching the hem of her off-shoulder frock.
Not waiting for his answer, she told the driver to move, leaving the couple behind.
"Who was he?" Alina asked, her eyes wide with curiosity.
"Didn't you notice the golden embroidery on his uniform?"
That was a clear indication.
There were only three students with that kind of status in the entire academy, which allowed them to wear golden patterns.
The Rhodes twins and the youngest son of D'Arden. Emmett D'Arden.
"His uniform?" Alina exclaimed as if hearing something absurd.
"Your highness, my eyes were stuck on the pretty girl's ravaged face, and then that dude gave me a free strip show. Fuck, I even got a glimpse of his navel. Ew!"
Severine: "..." Spare the details. Will you?