♰

"IT'S ONLY BEEN A week, but you look different, Master Leigh," Étienne says while looking back at Max through the rearview mirror.

     Max, who was still reading St. George Academy's student handbook on his phone, didn't even remove his eyes from the screen as he answered, "A lot of things happened. Even I'm having a hard time keeping up with everything."

     "But knowing you, I'm sure you already have a plan, or maybe even an objective," Étienne tells him, and Max finally lifts his head up to look at his butler. He chuckles, and then he answers, "An objective? Of course I have one. Who do you think I am?"

OBJECTIVES:

(1) Help serfs produce 50,000 MP for next week's tax collection ✓

(2) Find clues on who's working with Payton Wolfe.

(3) Prove there was foul play to get PHD back in J.S High.

(4) Ask about the previous president who proposed the Divisions Program. (Old Saints President: Klyde Vitus Von Hatzfeld, brother of Klaus, member of Paradox)

- Serfs mistreatment(?)...why are serfs treated like this?

- House of Bishops' involvement with PARADOX (Klaus & Klyde Vitus Von Hatzfeld)

- WHO IS THE ARCHBISHOP?

(5) NEW: Help get the White Uniform Protection Code approved.

- Do all this in 1 MONTH: April 22, deadline.

    "I have only accomplished one, but I'm working on it. There's a lot to be done, but I'm not giving up on that school just yet," Max adds, making Étienne smile proudly.

    Max wasn't the type to care about others in the past. He only did things that would benefit him, and he wouldn't be scared of admitting it to everyone involved. Max was the perfect heir his mother always wanted. He was a businessman. He knew who to use and who to ignore. But now Max has become more grounded. He became a teenager who saw things differently. He wanted to help, knowing full well that he could do it. Of course, the fire he once had still remained, but it's quite different now. And this difference was something Étienne could happily live with.

     "Étienne, what do you do when someone is too stubborn to listen to you?" Max asks while Étienne continues driving.

     "Are you referring to yourself?"

     "Ha ha...very funny," Max sarcastically says, making Étienne chuckle.

     "Well, if you want a genuine answer, then you can do three things. One: be very understanding. Understand why they refuse to listen. Wonder where they're coming from and try to fix that. But if that doesn't work, you can do number two: Scare them."

     "Scare them? That's it?"

     "Show them the consequences. Fear is your greater weapon. If you don't listen, bad things will happen. That simple," Étienne explains next, making Max scratch his chin, thinking about it carefully.

     Will fear work with the students of St. George Academy? With all the punishments they already receive there, Max thinks it might not fully work as much as he would imagine.

     "Alright, but if fear doesn't work, what else? What's the third way?"

     "Well, number three is the most complex, but it's the most effective. The only way to make a stubborn person listen and follow you is to make them believe it's their idea, not yours. Lead them to the path you made yourself and guide them to the conclusion you already predicted. They think they thought of it themselves, but the truth is, they've been doing everything you laid out for them. It's the most effective way. I usually do that to you," Étienne answers, making Max nod his head in understanding while ignoring the last statement that his butler just said.

     "You're good. I think that will work."

     "If you've been taking care of one of the most powerful heirs in the world, you will master it eventually," Étienne says, and Max couldn't help but roll his eyes back before turning to the window to stare at the buildings outside.

     "Make them believe it's their idea, not yours. Now, how am I gonna do that?"

     It sounds easy, but Max knows full well that it's not. But then again, he doesn't really have a choice anymore. The exchange program has officially started. There will only be one month left for Max to complete his checklist. One slip-up and all his handwork will be flushed down the drain. Max can't risk that.

     "Master Leigh, we've arrived," Étienne suddenly says, snapping Max back to his senses. He blinks and looks out the window again, realizing he is now parked near the dorms. Étienne headed out of the car to open Max's door for him. 

     "I think I'm the only person in this school who was able to escape but still chose to come back to this prison. I must have seriously lost it," Max says with a sigh before stepping out of the car.

     "I am proud of what you have become, but you should also know when and where to draw the line. If anything happens again, I will not hesitate to get you. And these people will fear more than prison once I get my hands on whoever tries to hurt you," Étienne suddenly tells him right after. He then looks down and checks Max's hands, which were once injured, but Max immediately hides them from him so he won't be able to see the scars.

     "Looks like Marcus told you," Max says, and Étienne looks at him seriously this time.

     "You are the master of the Sinclaire and the Lemieux family. You are also the sole heir to the Lemieux Corporation. Those who dare hurt you are directly challenging these strong households. Sometimes I worry that you forget the weight of the names you carry," Étienne explains, and Max chuckles before reaching out to fix Étienne's uniform for him.

    "Always so serious," Max says, tapping Étienne's shoulder and moving away from him."But I'll be fine. I experienced more trouble back in J.S High. St. George can leave scars on me, but they can't hurt me, so there's nothing for you to worry about."

     Étienne doesn't say anything anymore, but he nods his head in understanding.

     "Anyway, did you prepare what I asked you last night?"

     "Yes, Master. It's already on its way."

     "Good. Then I'll head out first. I'll see you next month, Étienne. Take care of grandmother while I'm away," Max says as he walks away. Étienne bows again as Max slowly disappears in front of him. As soon as Max is gone, Étienne takes a deep breath and heads back to the car to finally drive away and leave his master with worry and fear in his heart.

...

"Home sweet home," Max says as he walks up to the Serf's Dormitory. With his hands inside his pocket, he smiles at how different the Hell Sanctum looks compared to the first time he came here. He then turns to the Dwellers and the Gaffers' dorm, and Max can't help but chuckle because of the red-stained furniture outside their yard thanks to the paint explosives that they did yesterday.

     "Serves you right," Max childishly adds before finally walking inside.

     The clean hallway was empty, and Max could hear the noise coming from the cafeteria in the basement. He looks at his phone and realizes that it is already lunch break.

    "Just in time."

     Max walks to the cafeteria as the noise gets louder and louder. As soon as he arrived, he took a deep breath and opened the door. Everyone in the cafeteria instantly became quiet. They were afraid it would be an intruder, but everyone immediately smiled when they saw who it was.

     "It's Max!"

    The serfs ran to Max to greet him like they were kids excited to greet their father, who had just returned home from work. Max happily smiled at them, glad to see them as well.

     "I'll be damned, you actually came back," Stefan Kross, the assigned leader for the Serfs Division and one of Max's close friends here in the House of Bishops, says with a serious expression as he approaches the young heir.

     "It would be horrible of me not to come back," Max answers, and Stefan finally smiles and pats Max's shoulder.

     "By the way, congratulations. It looks like your grandmother is now the chairman. I honestly didn't see that coming," Stefan then says, surprising Max because he wasn't expecting them to know about that, especially since getting outside information isn't allowed here.

     "How did you—"

     "Keigo illegally wired his laptop to a different internet connection and set up a projector here, so we all watched the whole anniversary party last night," Alexander McLurkin, the tech-savvy, explains as he approaches Max, making Max turn to look at Keigo, who was running towards him in full speed.

     "Max! I missed you!" Keigo shouts, hugging Max tightly.

     "I should have expected that you'd do something like that," Max says with an impressed smile. "But I did invite you to come, but you rejected it. And besides, I was only gone for a night. How could you already miss me?"

     "I know, but still..." Keigo pouts, and Max chuckles again before patting Keigo's head like he always does to Felix. The pageant enthusiast became flustered and immediately let go of Max, which made the other serfs laugh this time.

     While Keigo and his other friends ask Max about everything that happened last night, another figure enters the cafeteria. This time, it was a school staff. The serfs looked at each other before looking back at the staff, unsure why he was there all of a sudden.

     "What's going on?" Stefan asks, ready to speak with him as the division leader. But then the staff examines the crowd. And when he spots Max, he approaches him and says, "Maximilian Leigh Sinclaire. The order you requested has arrived. The Ministry was gracious enough to accept this once, but know that this won't be allowed again."

     "Order?" Keigo and the others ask in confusion.

     "Oh, thank you. Please, let them in," Max then replies before turning to the serfs and telling them, "You asked me to bring cake, but I couldn't really ask for some since I was too busy last night. But I guess this will be enough, and hopefully, you guys aren't full yet.

     Before the serfs could even ask what Max meant by that, the door opened wider, revealing chefs who were wheeling in different delicious dishes. Everyone in the cafeteria was shocked but instantly started cheering as a table was set in front so the students could grab what they wanted and eat. Even the cafeteria ladies were given their own meals to enjoy, which surprised them even more.

     "Well, Bon Appetit," Max says with a smile, and everyone immediately drops their plates and runs to the buffet to eat while the chefs help prepare their plates.

     "Finally! Lunch that isn't sausages and dry peas!" Xander shouted before running off to join the others.

     "You're really spoiling us way too much. If you keep this up, we might get used to the kind treatment," Stefan comments. He then chases after Xander to grab a plate as well, and while everyone is falling in line to grab their food, Max can't help but smile, making Keigo notice.

     While everyone was enjoying the fancy meal, Keigo turned to his dear friend and told him, "You look like you're in a good mood. Did something else happen last night? Does it involve a certain vice president?"

    Max snorts at the supposed accusation before brushing his friend off. He then walks out of the cafeteria while Keigo follows beside him. When they were away from the others, Keigo's expression changed, and he turned to his friend and told him, "I was able to talk to Blade and Killshot this morning. I heard you requested something from Kim Hee-joon last night."

     "News really travels fast here, huh?"

     "What you asked is danger, Max. Things might backfire on your end," Keigo explains, even though he's well aware that Max has probably thought about that already.

     "How is it dangerous?" Max asked back.

     "You asked Kim Hee-Joon to declare the implementation of the brotherhood customs," Keigo finally reveals, and Max takes a deep breath and turns to look at his friend.

     "This is all or nothing, Keigo. If I don't do anything now, things won't progress. If we want to strike someone, we must strike the main source, and using the brotherhoods is our only chance of doing that. We'll get through this. Just trust me," Max says, and Keigo sighs while massaging his temple.

     "I've always trusted you, Max. But St. George Academy...something big is happening here. It's bigger than us."

     "I'm aware. I've always been aware," Max quickly replies before looking away from Keigo. "Which is why I'm also aware that President Lucas Ivory sold the school to an unknown buyer," he then reveals, making Keigo's jaw drop.

     "W-What? Reverent Father Lucas? He sold–"

     "They're exploiting the white uniforms without them knowing. They're using the donations for their personal benefits, which is why the gaffers are well protected. I'm not even going to be surprised if their parents are aware of this," Max explains further, surprising Keigo even more. Like Max when he first heard about this, everything made sense to him now.

    "It was sold to an unknown buyer?" Keigo asks back before realizing something, making his eyes widen in shock. "The Archbishop! That's the reason why you asked me to look for information about him, right?"

     "At that time, I didn't know about St. George being sold yet, but I knew something was off with that Archbishop. Now we have more reasons to investigate him. So, any news?" Max then asks, and the look on Keigo's face already confirms Max's suspicion.

     Keigo hasn't found anything about him yet, just like PHD and Checkmate.

    "I hacked through the school files and even scanned his face, but nothing. Everything about him is either erased or non-existent," Keigo answers.

     "Well, I suspect they're only using that old man as a cover-up, and someone out there is really pulling the strings. But still, keep searching. We need to know how the Archbishop got involved in all this," Max answers, and Keigo nods his head in understanding.

     "But we'll need more information about this matter, not just regarding the Archbishop. If possible, we should learn about President Lucas Ivory too and find out why he sold this school in the first place," Max continues as he suddenly walks towards the corner.

     Keigo furrows his brows in confusion while he watches Max, but as soon as Max makes a right turn, Vesper Hugo Cinna–who has been listening to them since earlier–turns to look at Max, who is staring back at him with a smirk.

     "Don't you agree, Cinna?"

     Vesper is surprised that Max even noticed him there, but he laughs and steps out to reveal himself, surprising Keigo.

     "V-Vesper?"

     "Looks like BND really trained you well," Vesper tells Max. "I was just walking around when I heard you two discussing something interesting. I'm not the type to worry about you kids, but you're just talking about something so controversial in the open like that. Even if you're in the Serfs' dormitory, you don't know if—"

     "Max already asked me to check the serfs' data. I also installed CCTV cameras and microphones around every inch of this building last night while everyone was busy celebrating. I'd know if someone heard us or if someone is going to betray us," Keigo suddenly revealed, surprising Vesper this time. He knew that Max was on a different level, but he didn't realize that his friends were in a different league of their own, too.

     "Impressive," he simply says before turning to look at Max again. "By the way, the party last night was fun. I almost got wasted. The booze was pretty good."

     "I'm glad. But why did you leave so early? We weren't even able to chat," Max asks next.

     "Something came up all of a sudden. But no worries, I genuinely had a good time," Vesper then adds. Max found it suspicious but didn't push through with it and decided just to let it be.

     "Anyway, today's the official opening of the Exchange Program. I saw the council preparing the atrium earlier for J.S High's second representative. Martin Osborn of the Saints is also heading to the House of Kings today. Hopefully, your house will treat him better than how St. George treated you," Vesper says, and the two serfs couldn't tell if Vesper was being sarcastic or not with his last statement.

     "J.S High can be unpredictable, but I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. I think they will welcome him warmly. They know how to fake kindness and hospitality after all, right?" Max asks, turning to Keigo while hiding the worry on his face, showing that Max wasn't certain of how J.S. High would treat that council member either.

     "Right," Keigo answers, unsure about it too. 

     "Then there's nothing for us to worry about," Vesper grins. "Now, let's head back to the cafeteria. I saw the food being brought there earlier, and I'm already starving."

     Vesper walks away first, and then Max and Keigo look at each other before following behind the older serf and joining the others.

     [At the Keep's building, J.S High]

     "You're late," Richard Young, J.S High's Rank 3 and the Elites' secretary, says as he turns to look at Vice President Gavriil Alexeev walking towards him while fixing the brooches on his collar.

     Gavriil stands in front of the secretary, and Richard instantly notices the brooch that Gavriil decided to wear today. One was the Elites' brooch, while the other one was his underling brooch. The sight of it was definitely something that surprised the elite.

     "You're wearing the Clan's brooch. You never wore that unless there's a special occasion," Richard Young tells him.

     "This is a special occasion," Gavriil answers.

     "You're only wearing that to intimidate our guest," Dustin Griffiths, Rank 4 and the Elites' Treasurer, then says, approaching the two officers. "Well, technically, he's not a guest. He will be a student at J.S High for a whole month. Feeling intimidated is expected, but he should also be honored for this opportunity."

     "He should be," Gavriil replied. "He will never have a chance of becoming a student of the House of Kings. He should be more than honored as he was even given the chance to stain our grounds with his dirt."

     "How frightening," another student comments.

     Richard, Dustin, and Gavriil turned to their right and saw Heaven J. Carter, the former Elites' School Representative who is now Rank 6, walking towards them with a smug look on his face. "You're just fired up because you saw how Sinclaire was treated in St. George Academy. The Elites are responsible for ensuring Max looks good since he represents our house, yet he's still treated like filth despite being a student here. I bet the Elites feel embarrassed. But then again, I don't really care anymore. I'm just here as a fake Rank 5. The Elites no longer concern me."

    "Oh please, you're just saying that because you're bitter for getting demoted on the day you were about to be announced as the representative for the Exchange Program. As a white uniform who has now become as insignificant as a proxy, you should be more considerate," Dustin fires back, his expression still cold, unlike his cheerful twin.

     Heaven angrily grabs Dustin's collar, but Richard immediately pushes him away. He can't risk having them argue now when a student from a different house is coming.

      "You two better calm down, or so help me god, I will do it for you," Richard threatens while looking at Dustin and Heaven. When the two finally moved away from each other, Richard took a deep breath and fixed his necktie before adding, "As soon as the transfer student arrives, we have to stay focused and alert. One wrong move, and it's all over. President Ian gave us clear instructions. No matter what happens...protect the Saints' representative, Martin Osborn, from the brotherhoods. Is that clear?"

     Heaven rolled his eyes back and moved away from the group while Dustin fixed his uniform and turned away from them. Richard sighs again and looks back at the vice president. "This exchange program is gonna get messy," he tells him.

     "Believe me, Young," Gavriil starts. "It already is."

- END -