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"I'M NOT REALLY SOMEONE important. But if that door opens and you're still in the way...well, believe me, I will be the least of your concern," Ari seriously tells them, making everyone look their way.

     "You fuckers, he's a Rose," Nox from the House of Rooks whispered.

     "And what does that mean?" Gengxin whispers back.

     Nox stares at the brooch on Ari's collar and swallows the lump in his throat before answering, "That means he's under the third strongest brotherhood among all the brotherhood houses."

     "He basically means we're fucked," Nicolás straightforwardly tells them, making them look back at Ari and the other white uniforms beside him.

     Kingston—standing in front of Max's group—tries to understand the situation before doing anything. Surprisingly, Kingston isn't crazy enough to make a scene. He knows it's best to back away, especially when this isn't even his territory. "Let's just look for a different seat," he says in defeat. But just when he and the rest of his friends were about to leave the table, the door to the Great Hall finally opened, making not only Nox and the others nervous but also the white uniforms.

     The hall was quiet as a group of men in black uniforms appeared. Two of them were teasing each other when they got inside, but they instantly stopped when they noticed everyone was quiet.

     "What the fuck is going on here?" The count, Cj—the leader of the infamous rank five brotherhood, Cigarettes, asks while looking around the hall.

     "Are you guys having a party? Because you're all acting like we're crashing it," the baron, Mj—the leader of the infamous rank six brotherhood, Jokers, then jokingly adds, making his jesters laugh with him. But when no one else did the same, Master Joker rolled his eyes and said, "Tough crowd."

     The members of Jokers and Cigarettes start walking in the middle. And when Kingston and the others realized they were actually approaching their table, they finally understood why everyone was so mad at them for wanting to take this seat.

     "Hmm, what's this?" Krist asks, staring at the guests in front of them.

     "H-Hello...sir...I mean, Master Joker. I'm Lennox Connery from the House of Rooks. We didn't know that this was your—"

    "I didn't ask you to speak, especially on these grounds, Rook," Krist suddenly interrupts, immediately making Nox move back and bow his head in terror. Even Nicolás, Magnus, and the quiet Asahi were starting to get nervous.

     Krist scratches the back of his head and looks at his underling, Ervin. Ervin touches his chest and bows his head to Master Joker before explaining the situation. "There is nothing for you to be worried about. We were just welcoming the guests as they have been acquainted with Max during Mr. Brains & Brawn," Ervin lies since he does not want to cause any unnecessary trouble.

     "Max?" Gengxin whispers under his breath. Confused as to why he was even mentioned. But then, when he saw Keigo, his eyes instantly widened in surprise.

    "Y-You...you were with Max. You visited our school two weeks ago," Gengxin realizes, surprising Keigo because he didn't expect Gengxin to remember him. As a huge pageant fan, this was very much of an honor for him.

    "I can't believe you remembered me. It was an honor to meet you last time," Keigo says with an excited smile.

     "You know each other?" Ari and Kingston asked at the same time.

     "We went to Lincoln High last time because it was related to the tasks that the princes gave Max. Mr. Li greatly helped us with it," Keigo explains, and Krist's expression suddenly changes as he grabs Gengxin to put his arm around him.

     "Oh! So you're friends with our little toy?!" Krist excitedly asks, making Gengxin look at Krist with a disgusted face before pushing his arm off him, but Krist doesn't care and just places his arm around him again.

     "And I remember you!" The jester, Rome, then shouts while pointing at Kingston, who now has his arms crossed.

     "That's right, I recognize him too," Cj replies, walking closer to Kingston. Kingston tried to still act tough, but he couldn't deny Cj's overwhelming presence. Without knowing much about him, he could already tell that the count differed from the other brotherhoods.

     "You're the fucker who won in the beauty portion at the pageant," Cj says, leaning close to Kingston, making Magnus—who was standing beside him—gulp in terror.

     Kingston doesn't say anything, but out of nowhere, Cj grabs him by the cheeks, acting as if he is inspecting his face. "Looks normal to me. I could never understand how you won. To be honest, this guy's much more attractive," Cj brutally points out while looking at Asahi.

     Kingston wanted to remove Cj's hold from him, but he couldn't even move for some reason. There was just something about him that felt so menacing.

     "Let go of the guest, you fucking idiot," a new voice says, making everyone turn their heads to look at the entrance again.

     Just in time, two more brotherhoods made their appearance. It was the members of BND and Crazy 8.

     "Holy shit. They're really here. What the fuck is going on?" Nox whispers. And none of them can really say anything because they never expected the Brotherhood to gather in front of them like this suddenly.

     "If it isn't Mr. Knight and Shining Armour," Cj says with a sarcastic tone when he sees Hans and the rest of the dukes before finally letting go of Kingston's cheeks.

     Kingston touches his aching cheeks but doesn't really say anything.

     The four brotherhoods gathered together and started talking with each other. Some even started playing around like they were old friends. Kingston and his friends, as well as the other guests who are in the Great Hall, were all stunned to see all of them there.

     The rest of the members of Cigarettes and Crazy 8 then went to their tables on the balcony while the rest stayed at their usual table with the white uniforms. The guests didn't know why they were even eating in that exact spot and why they were close with Ari, Felix, Ervin, and Keigo, but then one of the members of BND suddenly looked around and noticed something.

     "Where's Max?" Marcus—a member of BND and Max's brother—asks when he notices that the young heir is nowhere to be found.

    Ari and the rest of his friends looked at each other before looking at Marcus. They didn't even have to say anything for Marcus to understand what was going on.

     "So the rumors are true. Jontell really is assigned in your class," Marcus asks, and the rest of the brotherhoods finally stopped talking with each other to listen to their conversation.

     Krist, Cj, Ari, and the others started taking a seat at their table, forcing Kingston and his friends to finally move away so they could look for a different seat.

     The Great Hall became noisy again. When they finally secured a table for themselves, Nicolás looked at the students in front of him and explained, "Do you guys understand what just happened?!"

     "A bunch of brotherhoods just booted us out from our seats?" Magnus sarcastically asks, making Nicolas shake his head.

     "No...that table...it's Max's group," Nicolás tells them, making everyone look back at him like he was crazy.

     "Those guys are brotherhoods, aren't they? I don't study here, but it's obvious enough that the students in black and white don't exactly get along. What's the point of the hierarchy, then?" Kingston explains.

     "I know. That doesn't really happen to our house either, but—"

     "It's possible," Asahi suddenly interrupts, making Nicolás stop talking. When everyone was looking at him, Asahi took a deep breath and glanced at where Ari and the others were before looking back at them. "It only means that Sinclaire was able to conquer all those brotherhoods in a span of five months."

     "W-Wait, that can't be real, right?" Nox asks, trying to laugh at the ridiculous claim. "During Mr. Brains & Brawn, he was only an underling of Jokers. We also heard about him acquiring BND's brooch in our school newspaper, but Cigarettes and Crazy 8? Those two groups are impossible to penetrate. There's no way he could have done such a thing, right?"

    "But he did. And look, they're all close to each other. That doesn't happen in our houses. Whatever Sinclaire is doing, it's working. He's changing something here, and it's a change that's going to crash onto us like a storm," Nox explains, making Asahi furrow his brows when he realizes something.

     "A huge storm is about to fall upon the great houses," Asahi whispers to himself, remembering what he had told Max when he won the pageant a couple of months back.

     "What did you say?" Nicolás asks as everyone looks at him.

     "O-Oh, nothing."

     "Anyway, I'm surprised he has achieved that much. Looks like everything he said during the Mr. Brains & Brawn press conference isn't just talk," Gengxin then says, impressed by everything Max could achieve in school while still juggling his problems with his family at the same time.

     While the group of guests continued with their conversation, their food eventually arrived, and everyone in the Great Hall acted as if nothing had happened. But while they were eating, trumpet sounds were heard, and the large door opened again. This time, two new brotherhoods entered the room.

     It was the kings, Busters (excluding Viktor), and the princes, PHD.

     As usual, the white uniforms stood to greet them while the Royals walked towards the other balcony. But when Tanis arrived—the acting leader for this convention—everyone was surprised when they saw that someone else was actually with them.

     It was the queen, Cindy.

     The hall instantly went wild as the Hellcat herself graced their happy halls. Cindy smiled at the students and even waved at them while Master Joker and the others watched from afar.

     "That's Cindy Lin," Kingston says in shock.

     "That's not just Cindy Lin. That's the queen of the sisterhoods," Nox explains while Cindy follows the other royals to the balcony.

     While everyone couldn't believe she would even be in their school, Cindy looked back at the students happily waving at her. She looks around, and then he spots Marcus looking straight at her. Cindy was surprised, but before losing her composure, she quickly turned away.

     "My queen, is everything alright?" Tanis asks her.

     "N-No, everything's great," Cindy replies while Tanis gestures for her to sit beside him.

     While Cindy was taking her seat, he couldn't help but notice something missing.

    "Where are you, Leigh?"

...

Max got out of their classroom with a blank expression on his face. After what happened with Jontell, he didn't have the strength to head to the Great Hall and face everyone. Knowing his friends, they probably already told his protectors what happened, and Max doesn't want to deal with them lecturing him.

     To clear his mind, he went to the place with the best view in J.S High. It was the place that reminded him of the King's Horizon, where Gavriil and his other childhood friends used to go.

     It was Joker's base, the rooftop.

     Other than being the first base he has ever been in, Jokers was a group that helped him start everything. This was practically his comfort zone.

     "No wonder Krist always comes here whenever he's in a bad mood," Max says as soon as he arrives there. He takes a deep breath, the wind sending a chill down his spine as he walks toward the balustrade. But as soon as he got closer, he noticed someone was there. For a second, he thought it was one of the jesters since they were wearing a black uniform, but when Max got closer, he realized it was a different kind of uniform.

     It was a black uniform that belonged to a different house. When Max realizes this, he changes the expression on his face and asks, "You're not allowed here."

     The student in black didn't answer, so Max got even closer. But he didn't move close enough to the point where the intruder could grab him out of the blue.

     Max got ready to talk to him again, but then the brotherhood, who was staring at the scenery in front of them, suddenly said, "based on your commanding voice, I could already tell who you are."

     Max furrows his brows in confusion because he can also recognize the voice from somewhere. Still, he just couldn't pinpoint where he exactly heard it. But after some guessing and some memory collecting, Max finally remembered who the owner of the voice was.

     "Lord Uchdryd," he finally greets, and Uchdryd Rease, the leader of rank 7 brotherhood, Checkmate, chuckles and eventually turns his head to face Max.

     "I was worried that you wouldn't recognize me after everything I did to help you with your task. So, how did it go? Were you able to find the person who started the auction here?" Uchdryd asks, and instead of answering, Max bows to greet him instead.

     "Welcome to J.S High, my lord."

     Uchdryd stared at Max, and then he started laughing. "You really are something. The last time we saw each other, you threatened my brotherhood, and now you're calling me my lord. Now I don't know if you're being sarcastic or not."

     "The past is in the past. You're here now as a guest," Max answers, and Uchdryd grins at him this time.

     "You're not shocked to see me here, so that must mean you've seen the queen, Cindy."

     "Are the two of you the only black uniforms who are here in our house?" Max asks, and instead of answering, Uchdryd turns away from him again to look back at the scenery. Max thought he wouldn't answer, but after a while, the lord said, "I'm not sure. I came here late because I had an important meeting, so I haven't met the other guests."

     Max couldn't tell if he was lying, but he didn't ask any further and just walked towards Uchdryd to stand beside him, looking at the scenery in front of him.

     The two of them were quiet, and none of them really asked why they were even there in the first place. But after a while of silence, Uchdryd takes a deep breath and shares, "Before this was claimed as a brotherhood base, this was the spot that I used to go to when I was still in J.S High. I missed this area the most because I could watch the sunset. The House of Bishop looks like a cathedral, so it's sometimes a little depressing."

      "Don't you find it strange that you're no longer a student here?" Max then asks, which somehow amused Uchdryd because he didn't think the heir would even speak to him.

     "It's strange sometimes since I've spent almost two years in this school, but it's nothing to be miserable about. My brotherhood lost, and we got demoted and changed houses. That's just the way it is. But what doesn't change is the fact that I'm still a member of a wonderful brotherhood, and that's everything I can ask for," Uchdryd explains, making Max turn his head to look at him.

     "But that's not what everyone else knows about Checkmate. Your brotherhood in the past is anything but wonderful. As you already know, they were as terrible as Paradox," Max explains without hesitation. And this time, Uchdryd looks at him because he can't believe that a white uniform could say such a thing to him so bravely.

     "You just told me earlier that the past is in the past. I am fully aware that the Checkmate, the previous princes, were tyrants. But that's not how we are now, and I have no reason to feel guilty over something I did not commit. Though I understand the weight that our brotherhood's history carries, that still does not mean that we are exactly the same," Uchdryd explains with such diction, surprising Max because he never thought Uchdryd would speak in such a way.

    The way he carries himself shows why his brotherhood is still in such a high rank despite everything they went through in the past. Out of 30 brotherhoods, rank 7 is definitely high.

     "I misjudged you," Max honestly tells him. "I thought you'd be another Viktor, but I was wrong."

     Uchdryd looked at Max, and then he started laughing again. "You give me too much credit. You'll be amazed at how much I can disappoint you. I'm not like the brotherhoods here."

     Max didn't want to believe it, but he didn't say anything anymore.

     When the two became silent again, Uchdryd pulled something out from his pocket. It was a single cigarette stick in a golden cigarette holder with a dragon engraved on it, similar to the dragon tattoo on his chest. When Max saw it, he couldn't help but remember Cj.

     Uchdryd lights the cigarette with a lighter that matches, inhaling the smoke before handing the stick to Max. "Wanna share?"

     "No thank you," Max answers, even though he's dying to have one to cool his head after what happened with Jontell.

     "Suit yourself."

     While Uchdryd was smoking, Max looked behind him before looking back at the brotherhood leader. "I know this wouldn't really help you, but do you know one of the reasons Krist chose this as their base?" Max asks.

     When Uchdryd didn't reply, he continued, "This was where he got beaten up by the members of Checkmate. It's an unpleasant memory, so he chose this as a reminder of the past."

     Uchdryd inhales the smoke and slowly lets it escape his mouth. With his eyes still glued to the scenery in front of them, he says, "I know."

     Max wasn't entirely surprised, but he hoped to hear more about it. Thankfully Uchdryd wasn't shy to share the details.

     "We were in our second year when that happened. After the loss of Paradox, Checkmate became weak and a laughingstock among the other students. Our previous leader hated Viktor and their other brotherhoods, so when they heard Charles was making his own brotherhood, they took action on their own hands," Uchdryd explains, exhaling the smoke from his cigarette again.

    "Of course, that didn't really work out, and our previous leader left the school entirely, making me the new leader. The reranking eventually came, and with my command, we got defeated by a rookie brotherhood called Crazy 8. That's the story as to why I'm in St. George Academy now," Uchdryd explains further, turning his head and giving Max a mischievous smile. "I'm not claiming I'm the best, but I know I'm better than him."

     "Thank you for telling me," Max replies, making Uchdryd laugh again.

    "Don't get me wrong, that's not really a secret. It's a story that everyone already knows, so I'm not giving this information away just because I like to," Uchdryd explains, exhaling the smoke directly toward Max's face.

    Max gets annoyed and starts fanning the smoke with his hand, but he doesn't really get mad at him. "I really hope you and Cindy are the only black uniforms here."

    "Why, are we already too tough to handle?"

    "Well, for starters, Jontell Rosario is also a guest here," Max reveals, almost making Uchdryd drop his cigarette.

     "What did you just say?" he asks with a shocked expression, surprising Max because he didn't know Uchdryd would react like that

     "You're familiar with him?"

    "Familiar with him? Of course I'm familiar with him. Everyone who's part of the business world knows who he is. Their family is like the gangsters in our world. No one really likes them. But I'm surprised he came here of all places. I thought he wouldn't have a face to show anymore," Uchdryd casually says, making Max furrow his brows in confusion.

    "What are you talking about?"

    When Uchdryd heard the question, he smirked and leaned his face close to Max until it was only a few inches away from him. "That question may come with a price, Mr. Sinclaire."

    "Now that's the sly brotherhood member I met last time," Max says back, not even getting flustered by him. After all, if it's handling boys like him, Max has a very long line of experience with them.

     "Well, since you're keeping me company right now, I'll give out this information for free," Uchdryd tells him, instantly making Max focus all his attention on him so he won't accidentally miss anything. "To be honest, I'm surprised you don't know this, but I guess only underground businesses would be aware. Your count, Charles, should have known about it too since he's a member of the Mills family, but since he was disowned, he wouldn't know."

     "You're dodging my question," Max points out, and the grin on Uchdryd's face turns into a much more serious one when he finally reveals, "Jontell isn't the heir to the Rosario family anymore."

     "What?"

     "After the bombing incident of the Stepanov Clan, and after they got heavily accused as the mastermind, the Rosario family became lowkey. They're still doing other illegal activities and are getting away with it since they have strong connections with the government. Still, they were never the same ever since," Uchdryd tries to explain.

     "To get their old power back, there are rumors that they're planning to join forces with another strong family through marriage, and the child born through that marriage will be the new heir. Which means it will no longer be Jontell."

    "Could this be connected to why he's here?" Max then asks.

    "Why do you think that would be connected?" Uchdryd asks back, testing him.

    Max was thinking about it for a while, but his eyes widened when he realized something. "It's because of Viktor, isn't it? Jontell knows that Viktor's alive and that he's here. Do you think he's trying to prove the innocence of their family so he could reclaim his position as the heir?" Max asks, and Uchdryd just smirks and remains silent about it.

    Looks like the free information ends there.

    "You...you have a lot of information in you. I'm starting to get curious about what type of brotherhood custom you might have in your house," Max comments, and Uchdryd just finishes his cigarette stick and tries not to say anything about it.

     "What rank are you in now?" Uchdryd asks out of the blue.

     "Currently, I'm in rank 10, but I'm not entirely sure about it now since it changed a lot," Max answers.

     Uchdryd looks at Max, and then he glances at the brooches in his collar." Work harder and reach rank 5 so you can be the school representative who will participate in the exchange program we're planning to conduct."

     "The exchange program?"

     "It's not certain yet, but I wish to see you in our house soon."

     "And why is that?"

    Uchdryd looks at Max for one last time and starts walking toward the exit. "There is uncertainty in your eyes, Max Sinclaire. You seem to have questions you're still trying to find answers to. But information comes with a price, so I hope you can pay me back with what I'm about to tell you."

     Max turns around as he watches Uchdryd walk away. But when Uchdryd finally reached the exit, he looked over his shoulder and told him, "A member of Crème de la Crème is studying in our house. And like you, Cindy, and Gavriil...he was also there. During the bombing incident that killed Viktor's family, he was one of the attendees."

- END -