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"GIVE RESPECT TO THE Royals," a low voice announces, and like what happened at the stadium during the assembly, all the white uniforms bowed. Max takes a deep breath and slowly bows his head as well.

    PHD heads inside first with Kim Hee-joon walking right in front of them. Behind him is his Hot Wingmen, and then the Pretty Duo, and followed by the Dangerous Five.

     Unlucky for Max, Ari, and Felix, their seat is right beside the aisle. Max tries his best not to look up as he catches a glimpse of the princes walking in front of him. But as he kept his head low, he suddenly saw a pair of boots in front of him. Max slowly looks up and is surprised to see one of the members of Dangerous Five staring at him from head to toe.

     As soon as Max's eyes met with his, the prince forcefully pushes Max's head down, making Max bow even lower. "Does your back hurt? You can't even bow properly? Huh, peasant?"

     Max's eyes widen from shock as his peak cap falls off him. He couldn't even say anything. He tries to look up, but the prince pushes him down even lower.

      The students surrounding Max couldn't help but tremble in fear. The atmosphere was turning bad, so another prince approached them to calm the other prince down, specifically Ren Adachi, the guy who had helped Max find his class before.

     "Now that's not very polite, Wang Jun. Let go of the serf's head," Ren stated, and without hesitation, the prince named Jun lets go of Max.

     Max slowly stands straight. Ren walks in front of him and curtsies, and before he could take his leave, he moves closer to Max and says, "But as a form of respect for our system Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire, do bow properly next time."

     "Or how about I just shove his head on the ground so we can teach him some manners?" another prince suggests while draping his arm around Ren.

     The members of PHD crowd around Max, making both Felix and Ari gulp in fear for their friend's well-being. Soon after, their leader, Kim Hee-Joon, joins them, instantly making the rest of PHD move away to give him some space. Hee-joon stares at Max from head to toe with his cold yet empty eyes.

     While the white uniforms kept bowing, Marcus on the other hand was being pinned on the table by their leader, Hans. When Wang Jun shoved Max's head earlier, Marcus almost ran down the balcony to help him. Thankfully BND got a hold of him and immediately pinned him down and covered his mouth. They knew that getting involved with the royals was out of the question.

     Hee-joon continues to stare at Max before finally opening his mouth. "What did you guys even expect from a child who was raised by a witch? Now let him be, I'm starving," Hee-joon says, and as soon as he turned his back on Max, Max grabs him by the shoulder, forcefully making the prince face Max again.

    PHD got surprised by the sudden action. One of Hee-joon's right-hand-man was about to punch Max for touching their leader, but Hee-joon lifts his hand, signaling them not to do anything.

     Hee-joon stares at Max, and for a second, his bored expression changed into amusement. "Were you bothered by what I said? Why? Your mother was cruel, everyone knows that. She was so evil that someone even killed her. You should be thankful she got killed later than anyone expected. At least you had more time to be with her," Hee-joon says with no hint of emotion. He knew that this will trigger Max, and he was right.

     Max's rational thinking completely left him. Everything about status and rules went out of the window as he grabbed the princes' leader through his neck. All of the students finally stood straight, their eyes wide from shock and disbelief when they saw Max strangling a prince.

     Max's hand trembled in anger as he stared down at Hee-joon without saying a single word.

     "Scary." The prince thought to himself without even trying to push Max off of him.

      Ari wanted to do something, but his body wouldn't let him.

     Max's hold on Hee-joon's neck got stronger to the point where Hee-joon was already having trouble breathing. But before things could get any worse, someone suddenly grabs a fistful of Max's hair and effortlessly pulls him away from the prince. The hold on his hair was so painful that Max thought that he'd pull the hair off of his scalp.

    Ari and Felix gasps when they saw who it was. And in an instant, everyone bowed again, but lower this time.

     The man finally lets go of Max's hair. Max quickly turns around, only to see the king himself, Viktor Stepanov, standing right in front of him with a sadistic grin.

     "Whoa there white uniform. I find you amusing, but you're not allowed to touch my prince like that," Viktor says while removing the strands of hair that got stuck in between his fingers. After that, he snaps his fingers, and Busters approach him in an instant. One of them went to his side as Victor started removing the black leather glove on his left hand.

     "You know what, I have always been curious about you. When I heard you're going to enroll in my house, I couldn't help myself. I felt...delighted." He says, finally removing his glove.

    Max doesn't say anything and bravely stares straight at Viktor's eyes instead. Viktor's grin becomes wider when he realized that Max wasn't afraid of him. So without hesitation, Viktor lifted his left hand and got ready to punch Max. And even if Max wanted to continue to act tough, he finally closes his eyes because of fear.

     Nothing happened for a second. But instead of getting a punch, laughter suddenly echoed inside the painfully quiet Great Hall.

     Max slowly opens his eyes back and sees Viktor laughing like he heard the best joke that he's ever heard of in his life. The laughter went on for a couple more seconds before Viktor finally calmed himself down. He then stares at Max's chest, and for a second, Max thought he saw his necklace. But in fact, Viktor was staring at the brooch on his collar.

     "That sly old man. He always has a solution to these things. The fact that he gave you his brooch is impressive. I'll hand him that." He says before putting his glove back on and putting his hand up like he's surrendering.

    "Looks like your uncle gave you a protective shield. It's kinda cute, but I can't go against authority." He says almost mockingly.

     "The president has his favorites. I'm a little jealous," another member of Busters adds, making the others laugh.

     Max clenches his fist in anger and embarrassment. As the members of Busters continue to laugh at him, Max reaches out to his collar so he can remove the brooch, but Viktor suddenly snaps his fingers, instantly making his brotherhood stop laughing, and Max stops doing what he was about to do.

     "Oh, little boy. If I were you, I'd keep that on." He tells Max. "Without that, you might suddenly disappear. But then again, you're a Lemieux, so disappearing won't be new to you." He continues with a smirk, and Max clenches his fist even harder to the point where he was already hurting himself.

     "Don't act like your clan didn't face the same fate," Max finally says, and the mere mention of his clan made Viktor's aura change in an instant. Max knew at that moment that Viktor isn't going to play nice with him anymore.

     "If it wasn't for my clan's demise, you wouldn't even be where you are now Sinclaire."

     "Should I be thankful then?" Max bravely asks, and Viktor takes a step closer and whispers, "You should be bowing...like the rest of your dead ancestors."

     When Viktor finally takes a step away from him, Viktor picks up Max's peak cap on the floor. "Don't get me wrong Sinclaire. I can think of different ways to hurt you, even with that stupid brooch on. I can hurt you in so many ways that you couldn't even imagine, but I won't. You know why?" He asks while brushing the dirt off of the cap.

     Max doesn't say anything as Viktor gently places the peaked cap back on Max's head. Afterward, he looks at the students in the Great Hall and suddenly declares, "Because I'm a good king!"

    Viktor's voice echoed inside the hall, almost making the students flinch. He then walks to the middle and continues to shout, "I am a generous king! A patient king! A merciful king!"

     The students standing close to Viktor trembles in fear as Viktor looks at them one by one like he's trying to spot someone who would disagree. When no one dared to defy him, Viktor looks back at Max and points at him with his slender index finger. "And you...Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire...aren't even allowed to step foot in my throne room. So know your place here and know who you're speaking to before I fucking rip your pathetic tongue out."

     Everyone falls silent.

    Viktor was breathing heavily after his spontaneous speech. It's obvious that he lost his cool, so Kim Hee-joon approaches him and gently touches his shoulder, automatically making him calm down.

    "Don't waste your breath on a serf. Let's wrap this up now Vi," Hee-joon tells him.

     Viktor's dark aura instantly vanishes. He takes a deep breath, fixes his uniform, and looks back at Max with a grin like nothing happened. "Oops, I apologize but my prince is getting impatient. This was a good chat. I'll see you around...white uniform." Viktor finishes before finally walking away with his prince.

    The rest of the Royals follow behind them. And when they reached their balcony, all the students went back to normal, instead of Max who's left standing in the middle of the aisle like a lost child.

     Ari immediately composes himself and grabs hold of Max's arm. "We should go," he says before pulling Max out of the Great Hall with Felix who was equally terrified.

     Max couldn't say anything as Ari continues to pull him away from the scene.

     For the first time in many years, Max felt pure anger. But at the same time, he felt shame and fear, and being able to feel such embarrassing emotions after facing Viktor Stepanov was a big slap on his arrogant face. Because it showed how far he truly is from where Viktor is standing.

    His uncle warned him, their homeroom teacher warned him, and even his brother - a member of the third strongest brotherhood - warned him about crossing paths with the kings. Max thought they were mere warning, but now he understands that it wasn't the case at all.

     Viktor isn't like the rest of them. He wasn't just an heir who wanted to prove himself. He was on a whole different level. Max now fully understands what he has to do. He can claim the Lemieux name as much as he wants, but it will all be for nothing if he doesn't face Viktor as an equal.

     Max pulls his hand away from Ari. Ari and Felix stop walking as they stare at Max with pity. And people looking at him with pity was the last thing that he wanted others to give him.

    "Just wait and see Viktor Stepanov. I will definitely reach you. I will conquer the brotherhoods, become the Elites' president, and face you as a Lemieux like how our old families faced each other in the past. And when that time comes, it's your turn to feel that agitating terror."

...

The Great Hall was back to normal after what happened with Max and the royals. The white uniforms wanted to talk about it but no one dared mention it, knowing the fact that Viktor was just right above them.

     The other brotherhoods also kept their mouths shut. Not because of Viktor, but because of their respect for Marcus, who was silently eating his food with his wrists all red because of how his members pinned him down earlier. Even Jokers and Cigarettes didn't say anything because they knew where to draw the line, and mentioning what happened to Marcus's little brother would cause more trouble.

    The Royals on the other hand were as lively as ever. They were chatting and having fun. Some were even running around like kids. But as the members of PHD and Busters mind their own business, Viktor, who is sitting alone with Hee-joon, slices the tuna on his plate and says, "You're lucky president Rothman wasn't here my prince. Remember, outside matters are forbidden, which means mentioning that white uniform's dead mother is out of the line."

    Hee-joon chuckles and looks at Viktor whose eyes are focused on his plate. "So you're lecturing me now? That's new."

     "As a member of the royals, you should know where you stand as well. If we cannot even follow the rules, then those below us won't follow them either," Viktor seriously tells him making Hee-joon roll his eyes in annoyance.

    "Don't act like you didn't do the same. You lost composure earlier, which means you're still weak. Remember Vi, that boy is—"

     "I know," Viktor says as he slams his knife down, instantly making Busters and PHD stop talking so they can look their way.

    As the chatter coming from the white uniforms continue below them, Viktor slowly looks up at Hee-joon. He stares at him with his deadly grey eyes and clenches on the knife as he says again, "I fucking know."

- END -