"Do you know why I am asking you such questions?"

Tiffany blinked, the weight of his question pulling her attention back to him. There was something different in his tone, a subtle shift in the air that made her pause. She had been caught off guard by his earlier revelations, and now, his words seemed to carry a deeper layer of meaning.

"I mean...given your situation, if I were you....." she admitted, the uncertainty creeping back into her voice. "I would want to assemble a rebellion by going against your fiance, correct?"

"Rebellion, you say?" he echoed, the tone of his voice hard to read. "That's one way to look at it."

"But it will be stupid, if your identity ever came to light. After all, you are still a rank lower than your future bride. Even if you can't be charge with treason since we are living in the 21st century, it can't be said that life during the aftermath would lead you to live peacefully......" she pressed, her voice a little more tentative. "And I doubt it a mere simple rebellion, I feel like....when you mentioned 'shutting down Edgewood', it means....you had a suspicion that those kids are planning to do so, correct? And you want to put a stop to it. But you don't have the means, which is why....you are using The Fox, correct?" 

Tiffany could see the tension in his jaw, the conflict beneath the surface that he was trying to suppress. Finally, he spoke, his voice quiet but firm.

"You're not wrong," he admitted, his tone sharp but measured.

"But why....why do they want to shut down Edgewood Academy? They...what do they have to gain out of all of this?" 

The boy in the deer mask let out a slow, deliberate breath, his gaze shifting away from Tiffany for a moment as if he were choosing his words carefully. "Fame." he began, his voice low and controlled.

"I....am sorry?"

"Fame," he repeated, his voice steady, though tinged with a trace of something darker. 

Tiffany blinked, trying to process the gravity of his words. Fame? It seemed like such a trivial motivation, "I don't see how would this work in their favor. I mean if they were going to do this, as in shutting the school decades later....?"

"Then tell me, Tiffany Ashbridge, in your opinion, majority of the students in Edgewood are made up of what?"

"This is a no brainer, from wealthy families. It's a school for the privileged, right? Or else we wouldn't have the infamous slogan: Nobility is Privilege."

The boy in the deer mask nodded slowly, his expression inscrutable. "Exactly," he said, his voice quiet but sharp. "And the minorities are made up of what?"

"Commoners... or those who are on scholarships. But, hold on a minute," Tiffany frowned at the boy, "If those idiots are planning to do a strike-"

"It ain't possible, obviously. But if they have a noble or royal as backers, it would make this easier, will it not?"

Tiffany's eyes widened as his words sank in, her mind racing. The pieces were falling into place, but the puzzle was more dangerous than she had anticipated. "Your fiance...is planning to do that!?" she murmured, half to herself, trying to grasp the magnitude of what this meant.

"Exactly," he said, his tone darkening.

"Huh! That damn girl!" Tiffany clenched her fists, a sudden sense of urgency stirring within her. "I know that she is crazy enough to misbehave, but to go this far as to-"

"She didn't do it without a reason, which makes things so much more dangerous, Ashbridge."

Tiffany froze, her fists still clenched at her sides.  "What do you mean?" she asked, her voice quiet, almost too hesitant. "What could she possibly gain from this? Edgewood is the last place anyone would target for something like... rebellion."

He took a step closer, his presence intense. "The most loved heroine, that is what she plans to achieved."

The boy in the deer mask's words hit her like a slap across the face, and for a moment, she struggled to grasp the full meaning of what he was implying.

"What does that even mean? She's already a princess... what more could she want?"

"Have you...heard of the The Astral Soirée party?"

"I do," Tiffany nodded to him, "I wasn't allowed to go, since I did terrible things to my sister at that time. Though I did hear of it because my sister and him were at that party, she was sent home early, locked up herself in the bedroom for a long time for some reason. Only those who are either fiances of the royal, or highest noble rank are allowed to attend to, why did you ask? I am pretty sure you too happened to be present, given your family status."

"Ok," he said slowly, "Then....did she tell you what was that party about?"

"I think...she did?" Tiffany suddenly recalled her sister attempting to knock the door to let her know, but she was such in a sorrowful state filled with bitterness over the fact that her first love is getting engaged to her sister, everything her sister said about that party was tuned off in the back of her mind.

"Alright, since you are not aware, I will fill you in on this," In all hesitation, he then dropped the unexpected bombshell. "That party....had a projector that projects the future of the attendees present there."

Tiffany's mind momentarily went blank, her thoughts scrambling to process what the boy in the deer mask had just said. A projector that shows the future? The very idea sounded impossible, like something straight out of a sci-fi novel. But the weight in his tone, the seriousness in his eyes—it made her wonder just how much of what he was saying was grounded in truth.

"A projector?" Tiffany repeated slowly, her voice uncertain. "How—how does that even work? Are you....are you bluffing!?"

"I wish I was, otherwise....the two of us wouldn't even be standing here today had I not followed it," he said, his voice calm but laced with a quiet force.

Tiffany's skepticism flickered for a moment, but the gravity in his words made her hesitate. Her instincts told her that he wasn't lying—not with the way his gaze remained steady and unwavering. There was no sign of hesitation in his voice, no hint of trickery. He was telling the truth.

"So...oh dear Lord, what was I going to ask?" Tiffany asked, trying to wrap her mind around the concept. "How can that be? Let alone, why did such a projector exist?"

"Anyway, to cut a long story short, the projector predictability to figure out our future was 90 percent accurate. And uh....let's just say the kids there of all ages....especially my fiance, was very interested in their 'happy fates' to be exact, but at the expense of other kids' misfortunes. Us for instance being one of them."

The weight of the revelation settled over her like a storm cloud, thick and suffocating. After digesting all of this, one hunting thought overcame here, "Was....Christina there-"

"Yes."

Tiffany's breath caught in her throat, the air suddenly feeling too thick to breathe. Suddenly, her years of friendship with Christina, especially the happy memories they both had shared, felt like a lie. 

"Ah, so she was there...." Tiffany repeated, her voice shaky, almost as if she were speaking to herself. "And she saw... what, exactly? Did you get a good look?" She couldn't help but feel a surge of anger rising in her chest. The thought of Christina so casually stepping over others, including Tiffany herself, to secure a better life for herself was unbearable.

The boy in the deer mask hesitated before answering, as if he was weighing his words carefully. "I....witness your downfall between you and your sister."

"....say what now!?"

"You....never gotten over your sister getting engaged to him. So when you both turned 17-years-old, which would've been 10 years from now....you paid people to assassinate her, and even wholeheartedly believed in Christina's lies that he definitely would've chosen you...have you not been born with a sickly body. Especially the part that says 'your sister must have stolen everything from you in the same womb'....."

"No," she whispered, shaking her head in disbelief. "That... that's not true. I never... I never would—"

"I know you wouldn't, even so....you wanting her gone isn't a complete lie either. Christina would later get away with it, saying things like 'I tried to rehabilitate her, but she was too far gone', then ended up getting rewarded by the royal family for 'saving' their engagement and ousting you out of concern."

The more he said it, the more his words felt as if they were a knife, slicing through her in a cold and merciless tone.

"Oh yeah, she even had a family of her own too later in life. As if she deserved any of that, let alone, be qualified to be a parent," The boy in the deer mask continued, his voice steady and cold as he continued, "If I hadn't discovered that Christina surrounded you with those idiot simpletons who kept constantly showering you with praises, saying things like 'you are way better than your sister' or 'it should've been you who His Highness should've engaged you to', anyone in your shoes who got stuck in this cycle for the past 10 years would've turned out that way."

Tiffany wanted to scream, to deny it all, but the truth was there—sharp, undeniable, staring her right in the face. The doubts she had suppressed for so long were now resurfacing, and no amount of denial could push them back. She had been manipulated, yes, but so had Christina. And she had allowed it to happen.

"I..." Tiffany gasped for air, feeling the weight of everything crashing down on her. "I didn't want this. I didn't want to turn out like this. Assassinate!? I mean....what was I thinking!?" Her voice broke as she finally let the tears fall, tears she had been holding back for so long.

It's true, she despise her sister to bits, she want her gone. And if luck would have it, erase her existence.

But not to a point of murder! Anything but that!

How is it that Tiffany hadn't notice any of this right from the start!? That she was reduced to a point that she schemed an assassination towards her own sister 10 years down the line? It sounded absurd—impossible. Yet, the boy's words did made sense whatsoever. His words struck at something deeper within her, something she had buried for a long time.

"The good news is...Christina is doomed," he said finally, his tone flat, almost indifferent. "She will no longer be around to manipulate you into that future you to achieve her happy ending. And it's good that your sister hired our service to look into this to prevent that. Now, the bad news is....I am certain Christina isn't going to let you live happily...."

Tiffany's heart sank even further. She had always tried to tell herself that Christina was her friend, that they had been close once, that their bond was unbreakable. But now, it felt as though that bond had been nothing more than a fragile illusion, shattered by the cold, hard truth.

"But the good news is this: There are other kids besides you and I caught up in this madness. In order to secure our futures, and not let them live happily, we must....become the best versions of ourselves as a form of our revenge." the boy in the deer mask continued, his voice steady but carrying a weight of finality."

"Become the best versions of ourselves?" Tiffany echoed, her voice barely a whisper. She looked down at the parchment still clutched tightly in her hands, as though it might hold the key to what was next. "Revenge... how? How do we even start?"

"Do you recall that your sister hired our services?"

Tiffany's confusion deepened, "Why!? Don't tell me...she didn't pay up?!"

"She did, however," The Boy in the Deer mask flipped through his paperwork before handing it over to the Viscount's daughter to read out the contents, "The other half of the expenses....she isn't sure whether you would want to put an end through...or in this case....'fulfil your obligations'." 

Tiffany's mind reeled as she read the contents of the paper handed to her. The words swam before her eyes, their meaning slowly sinking in. "Fulfill your obligations." 

Though she has no idea what that meant, she eventually did when she notice something surprising, "I have....I have to look after....The Fox?"

"Ranran."

"Huh!?"

"That is her real name, Ranran."

Tiffany's mind struggled to process the new revelation. Ranran. She had known the girl in the fox mask only in passing—an enigma, a shadow among the students of Edgewood Academy. Her sister had hired her to watch over Tiffany, but why? And now, the boy in the deer mask was telling her she had a responsibility toward this strange girl?

"Wait a minute," Tiffany murmured, looking down at the paper once more as if the words might magically make sense. "I—I have to look after her? That is if I decided not to fork out the remaining expenses with my own allowance money? Why?"

The boy in the deer mask's voice was cold, as usual, but there was an edge to it that suggested he wasn't entirely without emotion. "If you can recall, I am now home-schooled for years thanks to my fiance's....plight."

The boy paused for a moment, as if considering whether he should reveal more. He let out a sharp breath, his tone colder than before, as though he was struggling to put emotions he had long buried into words.

"I can't...enter the school premises to scour for the unfortunate victims who may fall under my fiance's sinister schemes that will ultimately end up shutting down Edgewood Academy. The only way plausible is to get Ranran to do the job for me. However....." The boy in the deer mask's voice grew colder, more detached, though Tiffany could sense an undercurrent of something deeper. "If you can tell, she is lacking."

Tiffany's confusion only deepened as she tried to make sense of the boy's cryptic words. The situation felt like it was spiraling out of control, and she was grasping at the edges of something far more complex than she had ever imagined.

"Wait," Tiffany said slowly, her voice faltering. "Why would that matter? She is cunning, isn't that enough?"

The boy in the deer mask's tone remained steady, but there was an unsettling sharpness in his words as he continued. "She had lived in the slums with her family for the first 2 years of her life since she was born, until I tipped her great-grandmother and forced her to end up in Edgewood-"

"Hold on, so that was YOUR DOING!? No wonder, I kept wondering how on earth is it that she ended up there, despite her lack of mannerisms." Tiffany suddenly figures, with a mix emotion of amusement and at the same time, curiosity surfaced onto her features, "Why was she lacking again?"

"Again, let me finished," He cleared his throat before continuing where he last left off, "As you and I are aware, it is common for us to learn basic manners the moment we are born, especially during the first 3 to 6 years are crucial. Ranran on the other hand....only just started coming here since she the 2 years of age, so....."

"Wait, wait," Tiffany interrupted again, her mind racing as she processed what the boy in the deer mask had just revealed. "You're saying she only started learning manners!? Since last year!? Oh....that is too late! She is three now!"

"The boy in the deer mask sighed, clearly impatient with Tiffany's interruptions, but his eyes never left her. He seemed almost amused by her confusion, as though he expected this reaction, but there was a sharpness in his voice that betrayed his irritation.

"Yes, exactly," he confirmed. "She started learning basic manners and etiquette only after her great-grandmother family intervene"

"And yet...why isn't she any better?"

"That is when you come into play," His gaze hardened as he spoke, his voice colder now. "I have a nagging suspicion that my fiance may have gotten some people to 'influence' her. Which is why....."

"....you want me to work for you? By training her?"

"Of course, I ain't going to force you if you don't want to get involve. You can just simply pay this off as a one-time deal, then be done and over with."

"Why....the training part?"

"If you hadn't noticed, I have been making attempts to call you through your sister proxy, but you didn't pick up your phone. Also, I just started this business recently, so it would be difficult to convince other kids of such nature like you to...employ our services. Let alone, listen to us."

"Wait, you've been trying to contact me!?" Tiffany asked, her voice incredulous. "How is it that I have no idea about it!?"

"No clue, the multiple times we tried to contact you was at your house, but some girl claiming to you would call us a scammer, then hang it up. Second time we did was through your phone, but before we could say a thing, the voice said something like 'I wouldn't be hanging out with low lives like you!'."

"Hey, I would not say-wait a minute," Her brows shot up before growling in anger, "Of course, that damn Christina!" she seethed, grinding her teeth.

The boy in the deer mask didn't respond immediately, letting her anger simmer. He seemed unbothered, as if he had expected her reaction. After a beat, he sighed, his voice returning to its usual detached tone. "Anyway, the door is open for you to walk through if you choose to. The reason for this 'training' thing, is that the other children of nobility and royalty will approach Ranran, who is masking as 'The Fox' easily to employ our service without being wary. With a well-mannered girl in a Fox mask, at least it wouldn't make them think it is a scam job, right?"

"In other words," Tiffany started, voice steady despite her still boiling frustration, "You don't want her to show up as if she was some low-born child from the slums playing dress-up, correct?" Her words were sharper than she intended, but she couldn't stop the bitter edge from creeping into her voice.

"Exactly, we can't have her spooking off every wealthy person she meets. She needs to fit in, to be credible as a noble's representative, or no one will take us seriously."

Tiffany frowned, her fingers tapping against the paper in her hands. "Will the future clients of this place will be offered such a deal?"

"Only to those kids who I think is more qualified to do so," He affirmed, "I won't want to put her in harm's way after all, let alone, be 'badly influence'."

"The 'qualified' ones, huh?" Tiffany muttered under her breath. It was clear that he had a plan in mind for who would be worthy of Ranran's 'services,' and judging by his words, Ranran's role was going to be far more than a mere tool. She was being groomed for something much larger, and Tiffany was about to be part of it, whether she liked it or not.

"And let me ask....if I do so, do I get any benefits?" Tiffany asked.

He met her eyes for the first time since the conversation began, his gaze unreadable. "Don't tell anyone about this, but I stole the future telling projector as soon as the idiots at the party kept on cheering for our 'downfall'."

Tiffany's breath caught in her throat. "You did not!"

"I did, I wasn't going to simply just let things happy the way it did for all of us." 

"You can't be serious..." Tiffany murmured, her voice a mix of disbelief and awe. "You really stole it? That projector?"

"They weren't looking far enough ahead. I couldn't just let them replay our misfortune over and over."

"So, you're telling me that if I help you... if I help train Ranran, you'll give me access to this projector? That will in some way....benefit my future!?" Tiffany asked, trying to keep her voice steady, even as her mind whirled.

The boy in the deer mask didn't immediately answer. He seemed to weigh her words carefully, the silence stretching between them. Finally, he spoke, his tone even colder than before.

"Though, I too need to warn you about the projector before I show you the entire thing," he said slowly, his voice almost a whisper. "Some of us....the ending is very cruel, it will....make you sick to the stomach."

"Is it?" Tiffany murmured, her voice trembling slightly despite her efforts to sound unfazed. "What kind of future is so bad that it would make me sick to my stomach?"

The boy in the deer mask didn't answer right away. He watched her, his expression unreadable behind the mask. There was an eerie stillness about him, as if he were contemplating the weight of his own words.

"I'm not sure you'll be able to handle it, honestly," he said finally, his voice flat. "Death."

"Death?" Tiffany repeated, her voice barely above a whisper, her throat dry. Her hand gripped the paper tighter, as if it were the only thing keeping her anchored to the present.

The boy in the deer mask nodded slowly, his gaze fixed on her with an unsettling intensity. "Basically, I can honestly say...... these 'deaths' are not out of natural causes....."

Tiffany's fingers curled into fists, gripping the paper so hard it crumpled under the pressure. Deliberate deaths? Her stomach turned at the thought. She had always known that the world was full of shadowy figures, power struggles, and backdoor deals, but to see it all laid out so clearly... to see it happen to people she knew? The idea made her blood run cold.

"Who's behind this?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper. "Who's causing these deaths?"

The boy in the deer mask didn't answer immediately. Instead, he leaned back slightly, his hands steepled together in front of him, his fingers tracing the edge of his mask. "I'm not sure you're ready for that part yet," he said softly, his tone almost regretful. "But you will find out... eventually."

Tiffany felt her blood run colder. Eventually? What did that mean? Was there a ticking clock to this madness, a point where she would have no choice but to confront the true horror of it all?

"What do you want me to do, exactly?" Tiffany asked, trying to regain some semblance of control over the conversation. Her hands still trembled, but she forced herself to steady them, to focus. "You said you needed my help with Ranran. You want me to train her, but why? What does she have to do with this?"

The boy in the deer mask's lips twitched slightly beneath his mask, though it was hard to tell if it was a smile or a sneer. "Ranran is... important," he said, his voice taking on a strange, almost reverent tone. "She is our.....golden goose."

Tiffany's brow furrowed in confusion, her mind racing as she tried to piece together what he meant. Golden goose? She glanced over at the Fox masked girl from a distance, who seemed oblivious to the conversation unfolding as she is playing games on a smartphone. 

"What are you talking about?" Tiffany pressed, her voice now steady with a mix of determination and curiosity. "She's just a kid. How is she important?"

The boy in the deer mask tilted his head slightly, as if he were considering her words. "When I was going through the contents of the projector, her life story came out the most." he said, choosing his words carefully. "And so far after listening to everything that was projected, I figure....at least out of all of us, we can make good use of her intelligence for our own benefit."

Tiffany's confusion deepened, her gaze flicking from the boy in the deer mask to Ranran, still engrossed in her game. The mention of a "projector" and Ranran's life story only made the situation feel more surreal. 

"Golden goose?" Tiffany repeated, her voice low, almost skeptical. "Why do you call her that?"

"Because my so-called fiance was planning to use her as that so were the others. But she has no idea I am one step ahead of her, by seizing Ranran first."

Tiffany frowned, "Why is she a golden goose, by the way?"

The boy in the deer mask let out a small, almost imperceptible sigh, as if he had expected this question, but still found it irritating. He straightened up slightly, his posture rigid and controlled, and his voice dropped into a lower, more serious tone.

"Because of what she can do," he said, as if the answer should have been obvious. "Her intelligence of knowing how to make a living....it's utterly terrifying," He leaned forward slightly, his gaze piercing. "But the unfortunate tragedy was....once my fiance is done with her, she will ditch her to die."

Tiffany's stomach churned as she processed his words. Her eyes shot back to the girl, still oblivious to the dark conversation unfolding around her, absorbed in her phone screen.

"Wait," Tiffany said, her voice tight with a mix of disbelief and rising anger. "Why.....kill her?"

"Remember when I said that my fiance is one of those kids who plan to shut down Edgewood Academy? Well, I will share with you with what I know...."

As Tiffany perked her ear to listen while he quietly whispers to her, she almost felt a chill run down her spine. His words were like a soft, dangerous murmur, yet the implications of what he was saying were anything but subtle.

The more she digest all of this, the more pulse quickened as she tried to focus on his every word.

Finally, when he was done, anger turned to rage.

"That bloody girl! I know she is vain and stuff, at times even stupid, but to think she would plan this far!" she spat, her voice cold with rage, "To think....she wouldn't even spare a child too!?"

The boy in the deer mask nodded, his expression dark. 

Tiffany's mind was spinning. She had known the girl was ambitious, but this... this was something else entirely. She had never suspected that her own classmate —someone she'd look up to—could be so deeply involved in something so vile. And for what? Money? Power? To be loved? It was beyond her understanding.

"That is why I need you to train her, once she's fully trained and become the noble she's supposed to be—she'll have the power to reach the people who will make a difference in this twisted web. But first, she needs to learn the rules. She needs to know how to play."

A long silence passed between them, the weight of their conversation hanging heavy in the air. Tiffany felt her mind racing, torn between doing what was right and facing the truth of what needed to be done.

"Alright," she said finally, her voice steady despite the turmoil inside. "I'll train her.."

And with those words, Tiffany set her mind on the only path she felt she could walk now. A path shaped by this mysterious organization —and the promise of revenge, redemption, and a future she would no longer allow anyone to control.

This mysterious secretive organization would later be named among the children of Edgewood Academy based on that fairy tale that has been gaining popularity within the academy, known as 'Fox and Deer'.

...................................................................

The way how Fox and Deer operates is amusing as Tiffany soon learns why 'The Deer', which she is to address him as to prevent leaking his real identity,  operates in such a peculiar manner.

For starters, one of the rules states that Ranran isn't to learn of the existence of the projector until she not only turned 4 years of age. His sole reason is that 'she isn't mature enough to understand'.

Even so, the firm itself has to make a living. So one of the unusual ways to get The Fox, Ranran's alter ego, to do their job, was to hand her-

"A book!?"

"Yes, Tiffany, a book." The little boy in the Deer Mask handed her the small random book, its cover plain and unremarkable, save for the faint symbols etched into the edges. Tiffany took it hesitantly, inspecting the book with a mix of curiosity and disbelief.

"But... what is this supposed to do?" Tiffany asked, her voice tinged with skepticism. "How is a book supposed to make Ranran-no, I mean The Fox....to do her duties?"

The Deer, seated across from her, leaned back slightly, his hands steepled together in front of him, as though contemplating her question. "Tell me, Tiffany, have you ever....read those stories that has the stereotype genre of the protagonist transmigrating into the story, then making key decisions that will benefit themselves?"

Tiffany blinked in confusion, her mind racing to catch up. "Not really, since this is the first time I am hearing of this, why?"

"Ok, this is what I found out through Ranran's life in Japan in the projector," the Deer continued, his voice low and deliberate, as if he were about to share something critical. "These kinds of genres are very popular there for some reason. Since Ranran was raised from a family of Japanese, I have learn that she is such a fan of such stories. You see where I am heading with this?"

Tiffany's confusion deepened as she tried to piece together what the Deer was implying. "Wait a minute, don't tell me those books are-"

"When your sister hired our service to follow you, I jotted down all of the important key defining moments within your life from the projector, turn it into a book, then gifted it to Ranran and instructed her to write her own opinions. For example: 'If you were Tiffany, what would you have done if you knew this was going to happen?'"

Staring at the book in her hands, her confusion now turning into disbelief. "You... you mean to say that this book itself....is now someone else's life story? As in....a training manual for her?" Tiffany's voice trembled with a mixture of incredulity and a growing sense of unease. She glanced at the Deer, who nodded serenely, his deer mask almost unreadable in the low light of the room

"Though I wouldn't put it that way if one were to say 'training manual'," He dismisses as he goes, "Once she finishes reading the book, as soon as she delivers the answer sheet of what she would do, I put the plans into action to correct their fates."

"So in other words, you are letting a 3-year-old choose how my story unfolds?" Tiffany's voice wavered, each word dragging a new layer of horror with it before again, frowning, "Isn't this dangerous on it's own?"

"Of course, that is where I come in to tone it down," The Deer's voice was almost eerily calm, as if he were simply discussing the weather. "I won't allow anything too drastic. After all, I am the one who oversees the process. Once Ranran delivers her responses, I review them, evaluate the consequences, and adjust the actions accordingly. Think of it like... fine-tuning a complicated mechanism."

The Deer's voice was almost eerily calm, as if he were simply discussing the weather while Tiffany felt a shiver run down her spine. "Fine-tuning? Did it not occur to you that my life wouldn't gone south if it doesn't go according to plan!?" Her grip on the book tightened, as if she could tear it apart to make sense of the surreal situation.

"Of course, I know it may come to that," The Deer's head tilted slightly, his masked gaze unreadable but still piercing, "Which is why I tested on a couple of few others till perfection before handling your case."

"You tested this on others?" she repeated, her voice barely a whisper, as if she couldn't quite process what she was hearing before curiosity got the better of her,  "Like who?"

"Do you know Ophelia Graves?"

"That country bumpkin from Year 12?! The one who can't even pronounce half of the basic French words in her own books, yet ended up with a scholarship here!?" Her disbelief echoed through the room as she stared at the Deer, who didn't flinch, his gaze unwavering behind the deer mask as she remembers, "Didn't she like...got pregnant or something?"

.....................................................................................

There were several notable incidents about 17-year-old Ophelia Graves that 7-year-old Tiffany knew about took place in Edgewood Academy.

One of which was when she was enrolled here, she secretly had given birth to a kid prematurely in the musical room within the Year 12 campus before fleeing. This incident only came to light due to the stench of smell, not to mention, the puddle of blood that was left there. Since Edgewood Academy is a conservative school, it wasn't strange as to why the students there given her a hard time back then. 

Another incident was when one of the Year 12 teachers there alleges that Ophelia confided to her that the baby's real father was a married man. Then the third incident was when some guy of similar age as Ophelia accused her of 'ditching' her for the married man, slut-shaming her that she was pregnant. Thanks to the combination of misfortunes that had gathered, Ophelia at that time protested it wasn't true and demanded to carry out a pregnancy test.

That backfired too when the report revealed the test to be positive.

When her biological mother found out, the entire campus had a field day when she openly slapped her at some event at that time. Things got so bad, that the same chemistry teacher who alleges that Ophelia confided in her had rallied up a group of angry parents, demanding Ophelia to be expelled from the academy as she was 'hiding her crimes towards the baby' that no one was able to locate.

It didn't help that Ophelia's adoptive parents wholeheartedly believed in her innocence, as the angry parents would everyday head over to her adopted uncle's restaurant to harass them. Even after her family filed a police report to investigate and seek out the missing 'baby', the police did little to aid in the matter, simply filing it as a closed case due to lack of evidence. Patrons who used to support her uncle's restaurant too began to avoided the place, afraid of being associated with Ophelia's scandal.

Being pushed to a corner, Ophelia was doomed and she was about to take matters into her own hands until The Deer approached her to say something surprising.

"You will die in the hands of multiple individuals if you try to expose the truth."

Ophelia froze when she heard the Deer's words. Her heart hammered in her chest as she tried to process what he had just said. Die? She had been backed into a corner for so long that the idea of ending it all, of taking control of her own fate, had crossed her mind more than once. But this... this was something else entirely.

She turned sharply, her eyes narrowed, trying to assess the situation. The Deer, always enigmatic and unreadable behind that haunting mask, stood before her in the dimly lit alley behind her uncle's restaurant. The night was thick with tension, the weight of unanswered questions hanging between them.

"What are you talking about?" Ophelia demanded, her voice shaky but defiant. "Who are these people? And why are you saying I'll die?"

The Deer's gaze, concealed behind the mask, seemed to pierce into her very soul. He spoke with the same calm, detached tone he always did, but his words carried a sense of cold finality.

"Those individuals I am referring to.....you are on the verge of exposing a truth that could ruin their carefully crafted lives. If you go down that path, they will stop at nothing to silence you. Your adoptive parents who even doted on you, they will die by next week after you ended up getting murdered tonight."

Ophelia's blood ran cold at the Deer's words. The mention of her adoptive parents, the people who had believed in her when everyone else had turned their backs, sent a wave of dread crashing over her. Her heart pounded in her chest, each beat a frantic reminder of how close she was to the edge of a precipice she hadn't fully understood.

She took a step back, the alley around her suddenly feeling too narrow, the walls closing in as the weight of his threat settled in. The cold night air seemed to grow heavier with each passing second.

"What do you mean by that?" she whispered, her voice barely a breath. "What have they done? How could you—wait, who are you even?"

The Deer's mask remained expressionless, the shadows of the alley only deepening the enigma of his presence. His gaze was unflinching, cold, and unyielding as he watched Ophelia, who stood before him, vulnerable and desperate for answers. 

"Who am I? You can....call me 'The Deer'." His voice, calm and measured, echoed through the still night, almost soothing in its unnerving detachment. "I am someone who knows the truth of your situation, Ophelia. Let alone, your future." he said, his words weighted with a chilling finality. 

"My...future?"