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"TELL DIRECTOR HOLLAND THAT I'll need his monthly report tonight, I can't push the deadline any further. Move my meeting with the Indian investors too. Ask them what time they'll be available," Max tells his butler, Étienne, before stepping out of the car.

     "I'll handle everything, master Leigh. You don't have to worry, just focus on your school," Étienne says while holding the car door for him. When Max was now outside, Étienne then bowed to him for one last time before saying, "Enjoy your day master." 

     Max adjusts his peak cap and nods his head before finally taking the steps towards the Keep where the other white uniforms were found. Unlike before, the students weren't glaring at him or secretly cursing at him whenever he walked past them. After everything that Max has done in J.S High, the white uniforms couldn't say anything against him anymore.

     "Max!" Someone calls out, and Max looks behind him and sees his dear friend Ari running toward him so he could catch up. "How was your weekend," Ari asks, draping his arm around Max's shoulder as the two walked to their classroom together.

     "You know, the usual: meetings, interviews, those sorts of boring things," Max says, and Ari could only laugh because he did expect Max to say such things. If Max told him that he was able to sleep all day instead, then Ari would have been more surprised.

     "Well, better to be busy at work than to be busy with that Elite," Ari mumbles to himself, making Max look at him in confusion, so Ari just laughs and doesn't say anything anymore. He doesn't want to hide the fact that he now knows about Max's real relationship with Gavriil, but since Max isn't ready to tell them yet, then he'll keep quiet for now.

     "I hope you're not overworking yourself, Max," Ari says instead, and Max looks at him and genuinely smiles at him, making Ari sigh.

     Ari has always known that Max was different than the others. When he enrolled in J.S High, Ari realized that there were people who lived differently from the rest. His family was literary nobles, authors, and scholars, so they live a much more comfortable life than others. He knew he was fortunate, but when he met some of the white uniforms in J.S High, he saw the drastic difference.

     Families born in the business world were simply bred differently. The way they act, the way they think about things, and how they live in general were so different that Ari had to adjust so he could be able to understand that these people were insanely rich and powerful.

     Most of the students in J.S High are from families that are business tycoons. Ari knew in an instant that outside J.S High, they were automatically placed on top. But when Ari met Max, he realized something else. The power Max's family holds was completely different from the rest. Those companies and rich families would look like ants when you put them beside the Sinclaire's and the Lemieux's.

     They hold so much power, yet it all comes with unimaginable consequences. Max alone gets to carry so much burden, and Ari got to see it with his own eyes when he found out that his own family was even drugging him.

     Max has gone through so much, and his childhood was so traumatic that a simple field trip already made him extremely happy. He was able to achieve so many things in J.S High while worrying about his family and company. Even if Max continuously denies it to act humble, no one else could ever do what he does.

     "Max..." Ari calls out.

     "What is it?" Max asks back.

     Ari pulls his arm away from Max's shoulder and stops walking, making Max stop walking as well. While the two stood in the middle of the hallway, Ari faces Max and seriously tells him, "I'll do it, I'll support you all the way."

     "W-what are you talking about?" Max confusingly asks, and Ari grabs Max's shoulder and says with complete determination, "I'll rank up and join you in the Elites."

     Max was surprised because he didn't know why Ari would suddenly tell him that here in the middle of the hallway of all places. Of course, he was glad that Ari finally agreed, but at the same time, he was confused. He wanted to ask his friend why he made such a decision out of the blue, but then the bell rings, perfectly interrupting them.

     "Well, that's all I have to say, let's go," Ari says as he starts waking off, not even waiting for Max so he could avoid the awkward questioning.

     "Ari! Wait up!" Max shouts, running to catch up with him.

     The two eventually arrived at their classroom at the Hall of Caelus, but when they got there, they were surprised to see a crowd of white uniforms blocking their room.

     "What's going on here?" Max confusingly asks.

     "Oh no, I have a bad feeling about this," Ari replies before running towards the students who were at the door. "Move! Stop blocking the way!" He shout as he and Max made their way to their classroom.

     This was a familiar occurrence because the first time something like this happened, there was a jack-in-a-box on top of Max's table, so Max and Ari already prepared themselves for what they were about to see. They tried to expect the worst possible scenario, but what they saw inside was something that they definitely did not expect at all.

     "Holy shit," was the only thing Ari could say when he and Max were welcomed by the five members of PHD, the Dangerous Five.

     Max's eyes widened from shock when they saw them, but at the same time, he somehow expected that something like this was going to happen. When they were at the airport the other day, Max came across the leader of PHD in the restroom. Kim Hee-joon asked him about his points, and Max was too flustered that he wasn't able to even answer. Joon didn't say anything after that and just left right after. Max thought that it was strange that Joon would suddenly ask him that, but it seems like this was the reason.

     "Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire," one of the princes called out as he approaches Max who just arrived with Ari.

     Compared to the other brotherhoods, the Royals are the brotherhoods that Max has the least knowledge of. Other than the fact that you rarely get to see them, the white uniforms normally try their best not to mention anything about them so they won't get in trouble. All Max knows about PHD, or Dangerous Five in general is that they're somehow blood-related.

     "My prince," Max calmly greets before giving out a bow. Ari didn't know what was happening either, but he looks at his classmates and quickly tells them, "What are you all doing? Give your respects to the princes."

     With that single command, everyone immediately stood from their seats to bow to the five princes. When they stood back up, one of the princes walked toward Max and pulled something out of his pocket. He then hands it over to Max, and when the item was now out there for everyone to see, the white uniforms instantly gasped in complete shock.

     It was a black invitation with PHD's symbol engraved on it in gold. Max didn't know what it was, but based on everyone's reaction, the invitation was something that Max should be worried about.

    "You are invited to the princes' banquet on February 16. You are given 5 days, so make sure to be there or there will be consequences," the prince says for the last time, and the five of them finally walked out of the room, immediately making the white uniforms make way for them.

     As soon as they were gone, everyone was completely quiet.

     "Max!" Felix shouts, running to where Max is, Ervin and Ari right behind him.

     "What just happened? What's with this banquet?" Max asks, and everyone looked back at him like he was crazy.

     "Of course, I wasn't able to explain that very important detail to you...again," Ari says with a sigh. He then looks at the other students and shouted, "Alright! The show's over everyone! Now head back to your rooms!"

     The white uniforms ran off out of fear as Ari slams the door shut. When everyone was now gone, and when everyone else in their room went back to their seats, Ari runs to Max and tells him, "Alright, shit just got real."

     "You just got an invitation to the banquet! Ever since I got to J.S High, that has never happened before!" Ervin says in excitement, which was such a rare thing since Ervin wasn't the type to show excitement. This only meant that this invitation was a big deal.

    "I heard from others that PHD has only hosted one banquet, ever. That's how much a big deal that is," Felix then says, so Max looks down on the invitation, admiring what seems to be a rare item.

     "Now I think it's time you explain to me what this is all about, don't you agree?" Max asks, waving the invitation around.

     "Don't just do that," Ari then says, quickly taking the invitation away from Max's hand and gently placing it inside Max's pocket like that piece of paper was worth millions. "Alright, let's go to the back of the room so I could finally give you an explanation..."

     Just for a recap, Brotherhood Customs are customs that give brotherhoods permission to touch the white uniforms. It's the loophole that Viktor Stepanov found in the White Uniform Protection Code, which was designed and implemented by the previous president, Matthew Grey Cullen. This is the reason why brotherhoods are now respected and feared.

     Some examples of customs are Joker's Jack-In-the-Box where they leave a box to a white uniform, pranking them for an entire day. Cigarette's Tobacco Deal where a white uniform will make a deal with the counts, and in return, Cigarettes will make them their homeboy. And of course, the most recent one, the Kiss Mark, a custom specialized by Crazy 8 that deals with gathering secrets/information.

    All customs have a sole purpose that is significant for the brotherhood who made them, but brotherhoods don't just make a custom and get on with it. The brotherhoods first have to submit this to the Brotherhood Association where it can be approved, which is why each custom is somehow still considered harmless. It will all depend on how the brotherhood will use it after its approval.

     For instance, the Jack-In-the-Box custom was approved because it was described as a series of pranks. Tobacco Deal got approved because of the rule that if Cigarettes can't fulfill the deal, they'll be the homeboy instead. While Kiss Mark got approved because the first Siren insisted that it will only target secrets, and secrets are known to be 'harmless'.

     Now, as stated earlier, all customs have a sole purpose that is significant for the brotherhood who made them, and for PHD's custom, it's the essence of the Banquet.

     The Banquet is the prince's brotherhood custom. It's an event personally arranged by the members of Pretty, Hot, and Dangerous. When a white uniform gets an invitation, the student will have a private meeting with them.

     "I remember when our classmates jokingly took my chair away and decided to place it at the Royals' base. The princes' got mad and went here (Chapter 32). Then they did something and got two of our classmates removed. I thought that was their custom," Max says, remembering how the princes only said the words "Listen and Obey," and everyone instantly got scared.

     "That's called the Princes' Law, and that's not a custom. It's a role given to them in which they have complete power over the white uniforms. They're given permission to handle situations on behalf of the council or the association. Busters have that power too, but it only happens rarely," Felix explains.

     "You know, that has always boggled me. I can't believe the association gave them such a role. What if PHD or Busters does something bad? What then?" Max then asks.

    Ari and the others understood Max's point, but looking at it, the Royals, specifically PHD, only do things when they are provoked.

     "Believe it or not, PHD follows their motto well. If you've noticed, they don't usually do anything troublesome. That's why if you ask me, Jokers and Cigarettes are more of a pain in the ass instead of the princes," Ari reveals, and even though Ervin's a Jack, he couldn't help but nod his head in agreement too.

     "What's their motto anyway?" Max asks.

     "The strong protect the weak." Ari, Felix, and Ervin answered in unison.

    "Alright, so this banquet...all I have to do is attend it? And why do they want to meet with me? Why do they have to send me an invite when they can just summon me all they want," Max continues to ask.

    "It's confusing because I'm not finished explaining yet. An invitation for the banquet is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity because not only do you get to privately dine with the second-strongest brotherhood, but the white uniform who will be given this invitation will—" Ari was about to finish his sentence when Felix suddenly cut him off. "The princes will fulfill one of the guest's desires," Felix reveals, making Ari pout like a kid because he wanted to tell Max about it himself.

     "W-wait, am I hearing this wrong? Are you serious? Why would they even just give that to anyone?" Max confusingly asks. Ervin and Ari don't entirely know about it either since this rarely happens, but luckily for them, they have Felix who is a fortified brotherhood member too.

     "They say PHD carefully chooses who to invite to their banquet, but you don't just go, like what you assume," Felix quietly explains so their other classmates won't be able to hear them. "You finish certain tasks firsts."

     "Tasks? Seriously?"

     "The tasks are considered your gifts for the royals. Didn't you notice what the prince said before they left? You are given 5 days to prepare. Within those five days, you have to be able to finish the tasks given to you or else you won't get to attend the banquet," Felix explains further, leaving Max speechless.

     Max takes the invitation from his pocket and was about to open the invitation to see what was written in it, but Felix quickly stopped him and says, "No, only read it when you're alone. No one can see the contents of that invitation except you."

     "Alright, but what should I..." Max pauses and decides on whether or not he should just read it when he gets back home, but then he remembers something and decides on that instead. "Thanks, everyone. You guys explained everything perfectly. Now I'll just have to read this, so I'll be right back," Max says, and before anyone could say anything, Max rushes out of the room and starts running off.

     The restroom could be an obvious choice whenever someone wants to read a very important letter or invitation, but Max wasn't going to risk it. The room where the rank 10 are found isn't a good place either, so there's only one thing that Max knows of, and that's the Greenhouse.

     "Max!?" Red confusingly asks when he sees Max entering their brotherhood base, panting heavily like he just ran a marathon.

     "Max, what on earth are you doing here? Did anything happen?" Marcus then asks, quickly standing from his seat and heading towards Max, checking his body to see if he was hurt anywhere.

     "Marcus, I'm fine. I'm here for something important."

     Out of all the bases he can go to, the Greenhouse was one of the safest places to be because it's the base of the third-strongest brotherhood, and it's safer because his brother was there too. Thankfully Hans and the others weren't around because Hans would have definitely scolded Max for skipping classes, so only Red, Marcus, and Khian were present.

     "I'm glad you guys are here," Max says as he walks towards the middle of the greenhouse where you can find a living room-like area.

     "Max, what's going on?" Marcus asks again but with a more serious tone this time.

     Max doesn't say anything, but instead, he takes a deep breath and shows them the invitation. As soon as they saw what Max was holding, the three Dukes couldn't help but cover their mouth in shock.

     "Holy shit that's an invitation for a banquet," Khian says, snatching the invitation from Max's hand so he could get a closer look at it since even brotherhoods don't get to see such an invite. "What on earth is the ice prince thinking? He rarely does this, and now he does it to you?" Khian continues to ask.

     "Why did they give you an invite? What on earth is that Joon planning?" Marcus asks, his protective-brother instincts tingling as he stares at the invitation too.

     "I don't know, but I'm here to find out," Max answers as he takes the invitation back from Khian's hand. He was about to open it so he could read the contents, but then Red stops him and says, "Alright, we'll guard the entrance. Make sure you read the contents carefully. The last person who got a similar invite got expelled, so you better be careful."

    "What?" Max asks in shock, but before he could even get an answer, the three dukes already walked away from him so Max could read the invitation privately. Max takes a deep breath and swallowed the lump in his throat until he finally got to read what everyone was making a fuss about.

February 12, 2024

Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire,

Greetings!

You are formally invited to attend the princes' private banquet. You have shown all the traits that fit our criteria except one, and we want to see if you truly deserve a spot on our table. That's why for this occasion, you are tasked to solve three injustices.

First: a man in white who carries the weight of his brother's past. Though they are not the same, he cannot seem to run away from his eldest's fiery brown eyes.

Second: a boy who was falsely accused by those with a higher power. His mouth is sealed, yet his truth is loud for those who are willing to hear it.

And last: a prideful liar who bought his way to the top. His intentions do not deserve his position.

Who is wrong, who is right? Who should you believe in when there are only people who lie? Remember, your white uniform symbolizes nobility, so it is time you make use of it.

If you are able to solve all these within five days, another invitation will be sent to you, and you will now be able to attend the banquet in which your greatest desire can be fulfilled.

We're hoping for your active participation.

Sincerely yours,

The Princes

PS: We have sent someone who will assist you with these tasks. We made sure that he is within your reach, which is why we even had to ask a certain Elite for a favor. Remember, you are only allowed to discuss this with him. Failure to follow these rules will revoke your invitation. Good luck.

     Max puts the letter down and sat on the sofa with a blank face. He didn't know what to say after reading the invitation. There was so much to take in, and what's worse, Max has to be able to do all that in just five days. How on earth will he be able to do it?

    "Wait, what did the letter mean when it said they had to ask a certain Elite for a favor?" Max confusingly asks when he remembered the postscript, but before he could even think about it, his brother suddenly enters the greenhouse, running towards him like he has something urgent to say.

     "Marcus, what's going on?" Max asks, standing from the sofa.

     "Someone's outside. He said PHD sent him," Marcus explains, surprising Max because he wasn't expecting them to know that he was here. He quickly hides the invitation, but then the door of BND's base opens, revealing a white uniform wearing a familiar brooch.

     "Mr. Sinclaire," he calls out, and as soon as Max saw who it was, Max couldn't help but cover his mouth in shock.

     Marcus turns around as well and stands beside Max. The white uniform stood in front of them, and then he bowed and introduces himself, "It's nice to finally introduce myself properly to you, Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire. My name is Kawanishi Keigo, a member of Dynasties, an underling of PHD. For the following five days of your task, I will be at your service."

- END -