♞

HANS WAS WALKING DOWN the hallway beside the head of the barons, Master Joker, while their respective brotherhoods followed behind them.

     "The reconstruction of the greenhouse is finally complete, and we're allowed to move back tomorrow. I hope you don't miss us too much jester," Hans teases, looking at Krist who was chewing bubblegum.

     As soon as he heard what the duke said, Krist rolls his eyes and replies, "In your dreams. I'm actually glad that you guys are finally going to move out. The rooftop is already way too crowded with you guys around."

     "He's joking. It's his coping mechanism," Brave suddenly butts in behind them, immediately making Krist turn to punch his shoulder, making the two brotherhoods laugh.

     As the laughter slowly dies down, Hans then looks back and glances at Marcus who has been quiet since earlier. No one has said anything, but the moment they saw Marcus, they instantly saw how exhausted he looked. Even though they wanted to ask what happened to him for the past two weeks, Hans decided to just let him cool down for a while. If he's ready to share it with them, they'll listen.

     "Anyway, I'm fucking starving. I hope they serve Chicken Makhani again," Khian says before looking at Marcus. "How about you Marcus? Any dish you're craving for right now?" He then asks, casually draping his arm around him so Marcus wouldn't feel like they're being cautious around him.

    Everyone looks at Marcus, expecting him to smile like he always does, but he wasn't even looking at Khian as he answers, "I'm not really hungry."

     The atmosphere around them instantly tenses up, so before things could get awkward, Rome clears his throat and says, "I'm not really hungry too. I'm trying to lose weight."

     "Why the fuck are you trying to lose weight when you're still so young? Eat as much as you can you clown," Red suddenly scolds him, making Rome glare at him and reply, "Sure thing mom."

     The brotherhoods laugh again, and the atmosphere goes back to normal. But as they were walking, Hans and Krist look at each other before glancing back at Marcus who looked distant.

     They were worried about him, but they knew that they can't help him at the moment. The only person who can talk to him now was his brother, and it seems like their conversation earlier didn't really help with whatever Marcus was feeling at the moment.

     "Maybe I'll just buy-" before Rome could finish his sentence, a white uniform suddenly runs in their direction. The brotherhoods were surprised, but then Hans recognized the white uniform as he was one of their Roses.

     BND and Jokers stop walking as the white uniform made a sudden halt in front of them.

     "My dukes," he says while bowing at BND in a respectable manner before looking at Jokers this time. "Barons," he greets next.

     Krist bows his head to acknowledge the greeting while the other members of Jokers were still not used to that kind of treatment so they didn't really know what to do and how to react, which ended up with them just awkwardly standing there.

     "What's the matter? Is there anything for you to report to us?" Hans asks.

     "One of our Roses reported that they spotted four white uniforms pretending to be Ashes. We haven't particularly seen their faces due to their masks, but a lot of factors point out that they're frauds," the Rose reports, surprising the brotherhoods even more.

     After hearing the report, Arjun stood beside Hans while Brave stood next to Krist.

     "Why on earth would white uniforms mimic the Ashes? Do they want to get killed by Cj?" Arjun asks with furrowed brows.

     "Maybe they're just pranking someone. These are white uniforms after all. We can't really do anything about them, so who cares if they get caught by Cj?" Toni reminds them, and the other members of both brotherhoods couldn't agree more.

     "Unless there's more to it," Leo then adds, the everyone looks back at the Rose.

     "We don't wish to worry the dukes or blow this entire situation out of proportion, but Sinclaire and his friends have not arrived at the Great Hall yet even though their class ended twenty minutes ago," the Rose reveals next, and the two brotherhoods finally understood what the worry was about.

     "You idiot! You should have already included that when you said your first report!" Krist complains, and the Rose immediately apologizes.

     "Well, they're white uniforms, right? Then I doubt that they'll do anything drastic, knowing that Max is backed up with both BND and Jokers. Ari and Ervin are there with him too so it's best if we just look for them before things get out of hand," Hans instructs, and everyone nods in agreement, even Jokers since Hans is a leader of a brotherhood who is ranked higher than them.

     The two brotherhoods were ready to split up when out of nowhere, Marcus runs towards the Rose and grabs him by his neck, surprising everyone, especially the underling.

     "Where is he then? Did no one else see him? How the fuck did you guys see those fake Ashes then not even see my brother?! You useless rose!" Marcus angrily shouts, and the members of BND and Jokers couldn't believe what they were seeing.

     Marcus was always a cheerful person, but they also know how he's protective over his brother as well. But the way he's acting now was different. This was definitely not protectiveness anymore.

     "Marcus! Calm down! Let go of him!" Hans demands, but Marcus wasn't listening as the Rose tries to gasp for air.

     "Marcus! Let go of him for fucks sake. We'll find your brother so calm down for a second," Master Joker tries to say next, but like Hans, he didn't listen.

     Hans curses underneath his breath and looks at Leo and Hansol, signaling them to grab hold of Marcus so they could pull him away from the Rose. But before the two could even move, Khian - Marcus's closest friend - grabs hold of Marcus's shoulder and tells him, "He's not going to disappear from you again. But if you continue to act like this, he will."

     The moment Khian said those words to him, Marcus slowly let go of their underling. The Rose stumbles back and gasps for air, immediately making Red and Leo run to him so they could help him.

     "I-I'm sorry." Marcus backs away from them and stares at his hand with shock. Marcus has not eaten nor slept properly for two weeks now, and then adds up all the stress that he's been going through after his father's engagement announcement. Marcus was definitely on edge.

     "Marcus, go home," Hans suddenly commands, silencing everyone who was there.

     "You're not in your right mind. You forget that you're a member of BND, and right now you need to rest and cool your head," Hans explains, and as expected, Marcus did not like the command that was given to him.

     "My brother may be in danger and you expect me to go home?" Marcus asks, and the way he looked almost pitied Hans and his brothers in BND.

     "You are a duke Marcus, and dukes don't just grab Roses by the neck like it's nothing," Arjun then reminded him again.

     Marcus wanted to protest, but Krist appears in front of him and says, "We are his protectors, which means it's not just you but all of us. We will find him and make sure he returns home safe. Besides, Max wouldn't want to see you like this either."

     Everyone was looking at Marcus with full concern that Marcus didn't have any other choice but to surrender. He clenches his fist and stares at the floor. "I apologize for what I did, and I assure you that it will not happen again. I will go home as commanded."

     Hans stares at Marcus before taking a deep breath. "Good," he says before adding, "But grab our roses like that again and you may never be allowed to return in this House even if you beg."

...

"Felix, can you try and move so you could reach the rope around my wrists?" Ari asks while the four friends were still locked and tied in this unknown room.

     "I'm fucking trying! This chair won't budge!" Felix complains.

     "Why are you so weak Campbell?!" Ari shouts back, instantly making Felix glare at him like he was ready to kill him.

     "Do you want to die Faulkner?!"

     "For heaven's sake your two, I'll do it," Ervin says instead in irritation as he starts moving his body so the chair he's sitting on could move closer to Felix who's sitting beside him.

     As soon as Ervin was only a few inches away from Felix, Felix immediately looks over his shoulder and grabs hold of the rope so he could untie it. "How did that guy tie these ropes?! It won't budge either!" Felix complains for the second time as he tries to untie Ervin's rope with all of his might. But before Ari could say something that would make him and Felix fight again, Max looks at his friends and weakly says, "W-Will the three of you calm down...I bet Krist and the others are already...o-on their way...here."

     "Max! Stop talking and just think happy thoughts," Ari then tells him.

     "I'm not dying you idiot, relax," Max manages to joke, and his three friends finally stopped moving.

     Though Max said that to calm his friends down, it still doesn't change the fact that he was in great pain after what Cj did to him. And to top it all off, Max really thought that the Count was going to kill him. That alone sent actual chills down his spine.

     "I can't believe we got played by that Arthur guy. He seriously just used us to get his revenge on Cj. What was he expecting us to do? Ask BND and Jokers to attack them?" Ari casually asks while the four of them wait for someone to rescue them.

     Max, who was trying his best to ease his breathing on the ground while still tied on his chair, immediately looks back at Ari after hearing what he just said. "Wait, can you say that again?"

     "What? The part about Arthur wanting revenge?" Ari asks back.

     "N-No...the last part."

     "Jokers and BND attacking Cigarettes?" Ervin answers for Ari, and Max's eyes widened like he just finally found the missing piece that will complete his task in conquering the Counts.

     "Ari, you seriously are a genius," Max tells him, and Ari - despite not knowing where that statement came from - smiles proudly and replies, "Well thank you."

     Before Felix and Ervin could even ask Max why he thought Ari was a genius all of a sudden, someone suddenly barges inside the room and shouts, "Max!"

     Max and his friends instantly looks at the doorframe and were relieved to see the Red and Khian.

     "Oh my god, thank you!" Ari rejoices, and Khian immediately runs to them to untie their ropes while Red runs to Max's side to check on him.

     "What the hell happened to you?" Red asks though he wasn't expecting Max to answer as he starts to untie the rope around his wrist and ankles.

     "How did you find us?" Ervin asks the moment Khian was able to free him from the ropes.

     Khian, who's still untying Felix and Ari, doesn't look back at Ervin as he answers, "One of our Roses reported about four suspicious students who were impersonating the Ashes. We then did some detective work and interrogated some students until we finally found you."

     Ervin wanted to ask about what he meant when he said they interrogated some students, but he knew that it was best to just keep quiet about that part.

      "I can't believe you're injured again. I have to bring you to the clinic," Red says as he finally helps Max stand up.

     Max thanks Red and tell him, "Looks like you're always there to help me during these types of situations. I am once again indebted to you."

     "As much as I want to talk more about your growing debts, you should be more worried about your brother. He went mad earlier and started strangling the underling who reported the incident," Red reveals, surprising everyone in the room, especially Max.

     Ari, who was finally out of the chair, unconsciously touches his neck when he heard what Red just said about Max's brother.

     Max on the other hand couldn't even say anything. He was shocked, but the truth is a part of him somehow understands why he's acting that way.

     "Alright, let's chat about that later. Let's bring Max and his friends at the clinic first and call the others," Khian says after finally untying the rope on Felix, and everyone eventually left the room, pretending like they didn't just encounter J.S High's most notorious leader.

...

"I should have killed that fucker when I had the chance," Krist says while clenching his fist in anger.

     After getting treated by the doctor, Max was finally back in shape to tell everyone what happened. Thankfully, Max didn't suffer any major damage, so he can still go to school tomorrow. Now he was resting at the clinic with two brotherhood leaders, Krist and Hans, who were also with their respective right-hand-men, while the other members of Jokers and BND proceeded to the Great Hall to eat their lunch.

     "So what happened to them? Did they just leave?" Hans then asks.

     Felix, Ari, and Ervin - who were also inside the clinic - look at Max. They were ready to tell them that Cj arrived and handled the situation, and then almost tried to kill Max, but then Max answers instead, "The real Ashes arrived and took them away. Like your underling, Cigarettes' underlings must have reported it to them too."

     "As expected of them," Hans says back.

    Brave, who was sitting on one of the beds, scratches his chin and says, "I'm not going to lie though, what that Arthur kid did was pretty smart. If I was him, I'd want to take my revenge on Cj too, especially with how he is. And using us as proper revenge just puts the icing on top of it all."

     "Is Cj that terrible?" Felix then asks, joining into the conversation with his innocent facade down.

     Krist and Hans look at each other as soon as they heard the question. Krist then crosses his arms and explains, "Like most of us here, Cj was our classmate back in the day too. When he wanted to create a brotherhood of his own, he wanted me to join him but I declined, so out of six of Cj's members, only two of them are fourth-year students, and we don't even know where he got both of them. After that, he became distant."

     "So he's mysterious?" Ervin then asks.

     "Cj is manipulative, sadistic, and selfish, but he's not mysterious. He'll reveal himself to you with no second thought because his truth doesn't make him vulnerable," Arjun answers next, and everyone nods their head to agree to it.

     "Of course my brotherhood is still civil with them, which is why others assume we're still very close," Krist then adds. "Because as much of an asshole that Cj is, he won't do anything that doesn't benefit him in the end. Unlike Jokers, he doesn't go with those petty dramas, which is why their brotherhood isn't harmful most of the time."

     "Except when you choose to be their homeboy of course," Hans clarifies.

     "By making deals, right?" Max asks next, looking at Hans so he could explain it further.

     "That's right. Their brotherhood custom: the Tobacco Deal. Cigarette makes deals to a bunch of students. Those who will be tempted will be subjected to the rules of the deal. It's one of the most dangerous customs out there as it benefits Cigarettes more than the white uniform."

    "And what do you mean by that?"

     Krist takes a deep breath like he's about to reveal something heavy. He then sits beside Brave on the edge of the bed beside Max's bed before giving an answer. "Unlike our Jack-in-the-box custom, Cigarettes don't do mere pranks. A year ago there was a serf who accepted a deal. He was always bullied by this gaffer, so Cigarettes made a deal that they'll scare him so the gaffer would stop. The serf agreed, and the next day, the gaffer had broken bones all over."

     Max was surprised by what he heard. Even his friends were shocked since they haven't heard of that incident before. But the look on Krist's face made them realize that there was more to this story than just that.

    "Of course, after that he became Cigarettes' homeboy like how the deal works, wearing a dog collar so everyone knows his new title, but after a couple of weeks, the homeboy himself ended up with broken bones too. He was then paralyzed a few days after, and eventually, he left J.S High," Krist adds, and Max was left speechless.

    He's heard of bullying before; even experienced it himself, but broken bones and getting paralyzed was a different thing. Now Max fully understands why BND and Jokers were worried when Max mentioned that they'll have to conquer him next.

    "There were rumors that President Janus had to pay a large sum to keep the parents of both the gaffer and the serf quiet about the incident, which is why it was never talked about again," Brave then adds, and all Max could do was sigh and massage his temple.

    "If their custom was that dangerous, why on earth did the Brotherhood Association approve of it? During my special classes regarding the brotherhood origins, it's stated that the Association has to evaluate the custom first," Max explains since he couldn't believe that something like that could actually happen, and no one seems to be batting an eye.

    "Actually, they almost didn't approve it at all," Hans reveals. But before Max could even ask further, he immediately adds, "It was only approved when Cj added another rule that helped him secure the approval."

    "And what rule is that exactly?" Max asks, somehow nervous to hear what the Duke has to say next.

    Hans moves closer to Max and crosses his arms, almost warning Max that what he's about to say would definitely make Max bite onto it before he could even think rationally. "The rule that states that if ever Cigarettes couldn't fulfill the end of the deal, they'll become your homeboys instead."

- END -