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"NOT JUST YOU. IT'S related to all of us. The members of Crème de la Crème," Elijah Memphis says before taking a deep breath and turning away to look at the scenery in front of them. "I think you've realized it by now, but someone out there has been targeting us. Both the new and the old members."

     "I have noticed. It started with Hans at the greenhouse in J.S High. Most of us thought they were targeting me so I wouldn't be able to compete in Mr. Brains & Brawn, but that wasn't the case at all. Thinking back, it was way too presumptuous of us to think it happened just because I enrolled in J.S High," Max explained with an almost embarrassed chuckle.

     Elijah, as well as the rest of the students in the four houses, found out about the bombing incident that occurred during the pageant season. It was surprising because J.S High has the best security, making them the school where everyone least expected to get bombed. A lot also made rumors about what that incident was for, but when Elijah heard that Janus Sinclaire dropped the case and kept quiet about it, he instantly knew that it was more than just about the pageant.

     "Wait, you mentioned the old members, too, right? What do you mean by that?" Max then asks, realizing what Elijah just said.

     "Actually, the incident earlier wasn't just a bomb explosion," Elijah reveals, pulling something out to show it to Max. "Someone tried to target Vesper Cinna with this."

     "What?" Max asks in shock, taking the dart from Elijah's hand to check it. When he saw the logo, he immediately looked at the brotherhood leader, confirming that Max knew what that logo meant.

     "So you've met my father," Elijah says with a sigh.

     "Someone bought a special bullet from him. That bullet was used against us, which is why PHD lost," Max explained, and Elijah figured much. During the brotherhood reranking, when he saw how Kim Hee-joon just started losing his vision, he knew that he wasn't just hit by any ordinary bullet.

     He knew at that moment that such a deadly weapon had to be created by his father.

     "I'm not close with my father because my mother made sure I don't associate with him thanks to the nature of his work. As much as I want to understand our family's situation, I understand how dangerous my father and his talents are," Elijah explains. "But I'm not here to fucking talk about my background..."

     "So this bullet was supposed to hit Vesper?" Max asks instead to change the subject.

     "The culprit must have known that Vesper and I would sometimes meet up and chat. I think he used that dart so that when Vesper actually gets hit, they'll find this as evidence, and then they'll pin the blame on me and my family. It's like hitting two birds with one stone," Elijah explains, making Max widen his eyes because something similar already happened.

     "This also happened to Gavriil's family," he says. "During the Stepanov bombing, the bombs found were actually created by the Alexeev Corporation, so they were the first suspects. It was proven to be false after, but it already affected their reputation."

     "Exactly. It's the same script, yet idiots still get deceived," Elijah says, his expression changing into anger again. "Those mother fuckers know us enough to the point where they can make these kinds of narratives that would make sense. They're all wrapping us around their fingers, and the more I think about it, the more it pisses me off."

     Elijah clenches his fist, and then he suddenly pulls his shirt down, showing a familiar mark on his shoulder. It was a symbol of a fleur de lis, the symbol imprinted to them with a hot iron as a mark to show that they're proud members of Crème de la Crème.

    "When I turned five, we got the letter that I was Crème de la Crème's rank 6. My mother's family rejoiced because that was the highest rank any of their bloodline had ever gotten. They even held a silly party for it. It's just pathetic," Elijah said, clenching his fist even more to the point where he might end up hurting himself.

     "I never wanted to be a part of this stupid group, and if possible, I would have skinned myself just to remove this mark. But I couldn't just revoke the title like Vesper did. I saw what happened to his entire family. Revoking this can ruin the lives of the people I love. I don't want that," Elijah then revealed, and he honestly surprised Max.

     Max didn't really know Elijah enough, but whenever he saw him, he oozed dominance and power. He always looked angry, and he looked like he purposely intimidated people. For a second, Max thought he was like the other brotherhood members he met back in J.S High, but now he realized that he was totally different from them.

     I guess you shouldn't really judge people by their cover.

     "I know what you mean," Max says, reaching out to touch the same mark on his arm. "But the real question is, why? Why are they doing this to us? What's their purpose?"

     "Who knows? It could be a family who has a grudge because they were never chosen as members of Crème de la Crème or just some random person who hates the rich. Whoever it is, what's clear is that they want us gone," Elijah says, fixing his shirt and suddenly standing up.

     "But I guess that's all I wanted to say," Elijah stated, taking the dart from Max's hand to hide it back in his pocket. "I just wanted to warn you about this matter. I know you have a lot of things on your plate, but you should still be careful. Despite being depicted as holy, St. George Academy isn't the safest place for you to be in. Especially since we're the only members of Crème de la Crème here. Excluding Vesper, of course," Elijah then explains.

     "Thank you," Max answered with a smile before standing as well. Afterward, he showed Elijah his hand, surprising the leader. "It was nice meeting you, Elijah Memphis Valor," Max suddenly says.

    Elijah stared at Max's hand and chuckled. After a while, he grabs it to finally shake Max's hand. "It was also nice meeting you again, Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire."

...

     [The next day: at J.S High, Class II-A]

     "I miss Max!" Felix shouts while burying his head on his desk. "A month is so long. And even though I hate to admit it, I miss Keigo too. When are they coming back?"

     "Stop being a baby," Ari fires back while reading a book beside the distressed white uniform slash member of fearsome brotherhood, Crazy 8. "You're acting like you're never gonna see them again. It's embarrassing."

    "But weren't you mumbling about how you missed them too yesterday when we were at the library?" Ervin then exposes, snatching the book from Ari's hand, which was actually his.

     Ari got ready to complain, but when he saw the expression on Felix's face, the expression that said, "How dare you mock me when you were the same too?" Ari immediately shut his mouth and pretended like he didn't say anything.

     "Anyway, I heard the brotherhood leaders had a meeting yesterday," Ervin then opens up before taking a seat beside his friends. "It had something to do with Viktor. Brave mentioned he was going to propose something relating to the Exchange Program."

     "I heard about it from Siren too, but after the meeting, she didn't tell us the details. To be honest, she sounded a little frustrated when I talked to her last night. She said President Ian wasn't too keen about the idea, so it really got me wondering what the proposition was about," Felix answers.

     "That's probably why Uchdryd Rease, the leader of Rank 7, Checkmate, looked really pissed after the meeting too. One of the Roses told us about it in our group chat," Ari then shares. "Viktor must have proposed something so troublesome that it left Uchdryd looking that pissed. I guess it's related to St. George Academy."

     "Well, if this is Viktor we're talking about, then I'm a hundred percent sure it's going to be crazy again. This is someone who proposed the brotherhood custom after all," Ari then adds, making both Ervin and Felix nod their heads in agreement.

     "But now that we're on the topic of brotherhood, do you guys think the members of Revels will ever show up?" Felix asks, which was something that the two underlings have been curious about too.

     Ever since the Brotherhood Reranking ended, the members of the Revels have never been spotted in J.S High. Others claim that they're too scared of what the students might do to them, while others assume that Viktor told them not to set foot in their house since they're not welcome. After all, during their final battle, it seemed like Revels surrendered to Busters, so it's not impossible that they'd listen to their orders.

     "I might not know the reason, but if I were the Revels' leader, I wouldn't want to go to J.S High too, knowing that my brotherhood only won because we cheated. At least I'd have integrity," Ari points out.

     "You? Integrity?" Felix fires back, and the two of them start arguing again.

     Ervin sighed and went back to reading his book to ignore the two's usual love quarrel, but then someone entered their classroom, instantly making everyone quiet down. It was none other than their classmate, the Elites' Vice President, Gavriil Ivanovich Alexeev. Gavriil, along with the other members of the council, rarely attends their classes, so seeing him here still surprises them.

    "Morning, vice," Hazik, their classmate, greeted.

    Gavriil nodded his head to acknowledge him before walking back to his seat. The vice isn't really the strict type in class, especially since Ari is their official class representative, but everyone definitely mellows down whenever he's in the room.

     "Look at him looking all gloomy," Ari whispers while watching Gavriil pull his notebook out from his bag like some kind of stalker. "I don't understand why students are afraid of him. He's not even that scary."

     "Then why are you whispering?" Felix teased.

     Before the two of them could start arguing again, Ari and the others suddenly noticed white uniforms running down the hallway. Ari furrowed his brows and got up from his seat to check the ruckus, making the other students in Class A stand as well.

     "What's going on?" Ervin asks before shutting his book.

     "Did something happen? Did someone get pranked again?" Felix then asks.

     "Hey! Where are you guys going?" Ari asked, quickly grabbing the arm of a white uniform who was running past him.

     "A video of Max Sinclaire started playing in the pavilion," the white uniform suddenly answered before pulling his arm from Ari so he could join the others downstairs.

     "What?!" Ari, Felix, and Ervin shouted in unison. Even Gavriil—who was trying to ignore the commotion—was already standing from his seat when he heard what was going on. 

     Despite acting like he didn't care about the Vice President, Ari immediately looked at Gavriil. He didn't say anything, but the two of them already knew what the other meant. So without any hesitation, the three friends, along with Gavriil and the rest of Class II-A, ran to the pavilion. Like what the white uniform said, playing in the large projector was a video of Max in St. George Academy. Most of them didn't know what was going on, but what was obvious was the red stains on Max's uniform and the clear bruises on both of his hands.

     "W-What the fuck is this? What happened to Max?!" Ari shouted in shock while Felix could only cover his mouth, unsure of what he was seeing.

     "What's going on?"

     "That's how they've been treating him there?"

     "How dare they treat a member of the House of Kings like that!"

     "Who's playing this video?!"

     "He's J.S High's Rank 10! Who do they think they are?!"

     The white uniforms immediately started reacting as they stared at the state that Max was in. It was funny because if this happened a couple of months back, they would have rejoiced and started laughing at the heir. But now, with everything that has happened in their house, the students of J.S High collectively see each other as one entity. Disrespecting one is disrespecting all. This was a trait that grew within them before anyone could even notice it.

     "Max," Ervin says before reaching out to hold Ari and Felix's shoulders to calm them down because the Master Jack could tell they were both ready to explode any second. 

     "He hasn't even gone for a couple of days, right? What the hell have they been doing to him?" Felix asks in disbelief. Max has worked too hard to avoid being treated like that again, but here he is, looking exactly like the time he first arrived at J.S High.

     "I don't know." Those were the only words Ervin could say.

     While everyone was voicing out their concerns, Gavriil was standing at the far back, his chest beating fast while his fist was clenched in anger. Because while blood dripped from Max's hand, Max made sure that it wouldn't stain the bracelet that he had given him.

     "Leigh..." Gavriil whispered under his breath. "I have bruises on my hands just so yours wouldn't have them. But why? Why are you bleeding like that?" 

     The vice president was seconds away from breaking composure, and he was already planning to call for St. George Academy for what they did to Max. But before Gavriil could even do anything rash, someone suddenly grabbed his shoulder and squeezed it.

     "Calm down," a voice says, and Gavriil turns around and is surprised to see that it's actually Marcus, along with the other members of BND, Jokers, Cigarettes, and of course, Siren.

     "Don't let your feelings cloud you," Hans, the leader of Rank 2 brotherhood, BND, then states, finally snapping Gavriil back to his senses. If they didn't arrive on time, Gavriil wouldn't know what he might have done. "Go and find the person who acquired this video, and call the other Elites too to get this handled immediately," he then instructs.

     "Yes, my prince," Gavriil answers, touching his chest and bowing before running to handle the situation.

    The white uniforms immediately moved aside as the brotherhoods walked to the front of the projector to get a better view of the video. Soon after, everyone became completely quiet.

     "We can't let these students get treated like this any longer. Even serfs in J.S High are happier," Max said in the video as the students of J.S High watched him closely. "The discrimination and the treatment they have here...it's not right. Ranks are there for you to improve yourself. But this? This is wrong. They're not even treated as students here."

     "Max, you already have so much on your plate. We have PHD to worry about, and then that cryptic message that threatened our house. And look at your hand. This is enough proof that they do not care about you or these students. This isn't your house. You are not obligated to help them," Keigo then explains, making the other white uniforms nod in agreement. Even Ervin, Felix, and Ari were nodding their heads.

     But even though most of them agreed with what Keigo said, the students of J.S High knew Max better than the other houses. Despite everything that happened to the heir, Max never gave up on J.S High, which only means Max will never give up on St. George Academy too.

     "Keigo, if I had that mindset...I would have left J.S High a long time ago," Max revealed, and those words sent a shiver down everyone's spine.

     "St. George Academy. Let everyone in this hell know that I, Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire, will remain as a serf until my last day in your school and find out why you are all treated like this. And even if you despise me, hit me, pour paint at me, or even kick me until I fall, I will help this god-forsaken house and make sure no one will bleed again. We will find a solution to your cruel system. That is my promise, and that is my undying resolve. I swear it, as a student of J.S High."

     As soon as Max said those powerful words, everyone was left completely speechless. Some were even teary, while others, especially the brotherhoods and his friends, were proudly smiling at him. This was Max Sinclaire, the person they called the brotherhood tamer and the man who would carry the future of J.S High. No one has ever raised their house's flag more than he has, so the students' respect for him was definitely well-earned.

     "Mj, you were worried about Max when he left, right? But it looks like he got it all covered," CJ teases, but Krist surprisingly laughs and nods his head to agree to it.

     "You're right. It looks like our little toy is a big boy now," Krist says.

     "We were never wrong in choosing him. Having him wear our brooches while he said those brave words is really such an honor," Siren then states.

     "Master Joker, shall we send all the students in St. George Academy a Jack-in-the-box? Disrespecting Max is like challenging J.S High, don't you all agree?!" Rome—Jokers' youngest—suddenly asks the white uniforms, and surprisingly enough, everyone starts cheering like they were willing to go to war with the other house with no hesitation.

     The members of Jokers and Cigarettes started laughing, but before Hans could scold them for saying such a thing, the Elites finally arrived at the scene to handle the unexpected situation.

    Secretary Richard Young immediately turned the video off while Gavriil, Treasurer Dustin Griffiths, and the fake School Rep. Heaven J. Carter started telling the white uniforms to head back to their classrooms. Ari, Felix, and Ervin wanted to stay behind to talk to the other brotherhoods about the video as well, but they decided to follow the vice and head back inside. They can just talk about it during lunch.

     "President Ian," Hans greeted, immediately making the other brotherhoods bow their heads to greet him as well. "Have you already found who played the video?" Hans asks next, and Ian sighs, obviously distressed. His reaction confirmed that they already knew who pulled this little stunt.

     "An informant told us that the video was sent by the lord of Gluttony, PHD. To be more specific, it was Adachi Ren of Pretty Duo," Ian revealed, leaving everyone completely stunned, but at the same time, it made sense because only PHD would send such a thing to their house. They were definitely expecting a reaction from that short clip.

     "Does Hee-joon hate being there so much?" Anthony—CJ's right-hand man—asks with a smug look on his face.

     "Or are they purposely trying to make us burn the House of Bishops down?" Brave jokingly asks next, instantly making Ian look at him with an intimidating glare.

     "We will do no such thing," the president instantly answers. "Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire is temporarily a student of St. George Academy, which means he has to follow their rules with no question. If we retaliate because of this, what does that make us?"

     "I don't know, someone who actually cares about their students?" CJ sarcastically asks, making Ian sigh and massage his temple.

     "I understand your frustrations, but we all agreed to send Sinclaire with the understanding that his treatment will be different from what was supposed to be given to a representative of this exchange program. We altered the conditions, and we have made sure he will organically experience what it's like to be a student of their house," President Ian explains before turning to Hans and the others.

     "Let us not pretend that you leaders weren't the ones who suggested this," Ian then reveals as Gavriil and the other Elites arrive to join him.

     "Everything has been settled. I also have the copy of the video with me," Gavriil answers and Ian nods his head before turning back to the brotherhoods.

     "I agreed with your suggestion because you explained that Max Sinclaire will be able to learn from this experience. So if you do not trust him enough that he will be able to handle the trials in St. George Academy, then I will be happy to pull him out there and let Heaven J. Carter replace him," Ian explained with such authority that the others couldn't say anything anymore.

     "We didn't say we didn't trust Max," Marcus immediately defends, but he doesn't get to continue his thoughts anymore when Krist walks towards the Elites with his hands inside his pockets.

     "I believe...no...we all believe that Max can conquer that house like he conquered us, but there is so much a white uniform can do. You heard Viktor's proposition yesterday, right? That video...I think Hee-joon sent it here so you could finally make a decision," Krist seriously says to Ian without even batting an eye.

     Ian doesn't back down and continues to stare right at Krist's eyes. But as the two powerful students stare into each other, CJ pulls Master Joker away and faces Ian instead.

     "Stop being an ass, President Ian. As Viktor requested for the exchange program..." CJ paused and turned to the other brotherhood members before looking back at the Elites, a sadistic grin now appearing on his face, which was enough to scare the spoiled students of St. George Academy. "Allow J.S High to send a brotherhood member as our second representative. Because if you don't, we really might end up burning that damn church."

- END -