Daryl’s calm gaze remained unfazed, his tone cold as he spoke. “Class is about to start. You just dealt with that person not long ago and caused enough trouble for yourself. Do you really want your father to come after you again?”

Hearing his words, Daphne gritted her teeth in frustration and flung her hand to the side.

Her undisguised, hateful glare landed on Angelique as she spat out a vicious warning, “Consider yourself lucky today. But if I ever catch you trying to seduce Raymond again, I’ll make sure you have nowhere to bury your corpse!”

Angelique, drenched from head to toe, had no choice but to skip class and head to the locker room to change.

Once she confirmed no one else was around, she could no longer hold back her laughter.

She looked into the mirror, her eyes still red from crying, the slap mark burning against her pale skin—each and every wound now became perfect, irrefutable evidence she could use.

A knock on the door.

“Ms. Monroe, are you alright?” It was Daryl’s voice.

Composing herself, Angelique stepped out.

In his hands, he held a fresh set of school uniforms and a towel. The cold indifference in his eyes from earlier had vanished, replaced by a gentle smile on his clean, handsome face.

“Change into this so you don’t catch a cold. Afterward, I’ll take you to get your face treated.”

Angelique lowered her gaze, her long lashes quivering like dark feathers. The next moment, tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Thank you Mr. Thompson...”

Daryl affectionately brushed his hand against her forehead. “Alright now, go in and change before you really get sick.”

“...Okay.” Angelique nodded. However, the moment she turned around, the warmth in both their eyes vanished at the same time.

A knight standing up for the weak—this fairytale-like act could make any girl fall. Just like her sister did back then.

But from the moment she stepped into the room, Angelique had been watching Daryl carefully.

That expression of his—one of mere amusement—had shifted the moment he heard Raymond’s name. First, a hint of intrigue. Then, when he realized she hadn’t been targeted by Raymond, his hidden smirk completely disappeared.

The person he mentioned to Daphne was her sister.

Anyone who had ties to Raymond was nothing more than a tool for him to exploit.

Did Daryl really think he could use the same trick on her again?

This time, she would make him pay in blood.

—

After changing into the clean uniform, Angelique followed Daryl toward the infirmary.

“How do you know Raymond?” His tone was light, as if he were casually asking what she had for lunch.

“There were too many people on the main path today, so I decided to take a shortcut through the garden to the teaching building. I accidentally stumbled into a greenhouse and met him there.”

Angelique tilted her fair face, blinking innocently. “Is there something wrong? Why do you ask?”

“No reason. Just... he seems to treat you differently.” Daryl’s voice trailed off, almost as if he were talking to himself.

Before she could respond, the infirmary door swung open.

Inside, Raymond was lying on the bed, eyes closed in feigned sleep.

His brows furrowed instinctively at the sound of intruders, irritation flashing across his sharp features. But the moment he realized it was Angelique, the cold malice in his eyes was replaced by a flicker of surprise.

“...What are you doing here?”

Angelique’s expression was a mix of shock and delight, completely unguarded.

For a moment, she was surprised that the most unruly young master had actually listened to her and came to the infirmary to get his wound treated. However, she recalled that Daryl was standing right behind her.

If this led to Raymond’s displeasure, things could turn ugly.

Before she could even answer, he spoke again—

“Who hit you?”

Angelique panicked, covering her cheek as she frantically shook her head like a rattling drum. “No one hit me! You must be seeing things!”

Raymond leaped down from the bed and strode up to her, gripping her wrist to make her face him fully.

“You think I’m an idiot?”

Angelique’s skin was fair and delicate—just the slightest touch would leave a faint red mark. Let alone the glaring, blood-speckled slap print now staining her cheek.

His sharp gaze dropped to her clean, fresh uniform. His eyes darkened. “You changed clothes?”

“I didn’t!” Angelique denied.

“Angeli, have I not told you? The thing I hate the most is being lied to.” His cold eyes flicked down to her sleeve. “Your cuff was stained with my blood earlier. Where is it now?”

As he spoke, his focus had already shifted to the figure behind her—Daryl.

A silent, suffocating pressure filled the space.

Raymond's keen observation and intense possessiveness far exceeded Angelique's expectations.

Meanwhile, Daryl, as always, maintained his gentle demeanor, though his voice carried a teasing edge. “Why don’t you ask your dear childhood sweetheart?”

Raymond’s expression darkened instantly.

“Daphne did this?” His voice was dangerously low. He then turned back to Angelique. “I told you, don’t even think about lying to me.”

“I just didn’t want my mistakes to cause unnecessary misunderstandings between you two,” she answered timidly.

Their gazes locked, and, unexpectedly, it was Raymond who lost the battle.

For some reason, he always felt that Angelique was made of water—fragile, easily shaken, her eyes reddening at the slightest provocation.

They seemed to have an inexplicable connection. Even though this was their first meeting, fate keeps drawing them together through a series of coincidences. He had never believed in fate. But now, for the first time, it felt like an invisible thread was pulling them together.

Raymond wasn’t used to dealing with girls. After all, Daphne was always the one chasing after him.

Faced with Angelique’s teary eyes, he felt an unfamiliar unease—mixed with a strange, indescribable satisfaction.

A chuckle slipped from his lips. “There’s nothing between Daphne and me. Don’t forget—you belong to me. Only I can bully you. Understand?”

Angelique tugged at his sleeve, biting her lower lip. “Daryl is still here... Don’t call me that.”

Her small fingers, whether intentional or not, brushed lightly against Raymond’s waist.

A tingling sensation shot through his body, like an electric current, spreading to every nerve.

He exhaled through his nose, a low, amused hum. “I’ll let you off this time.”

—

Angelique didn’t know what Raymond had done, but in the following days, Daphne had only resorted to minor harassment—stealing her stationery, dirtying her seat.

She hadn’t tried anything more extreme.

But Angelique also hadn’t seen Raymond since.

She didn’t have his contact information, leaving her completely passive.

The uncertainty gnawed at her, a dull frustration pressing against her chest.

Her gaze kept drifting toward his empty seat.

A nudge on her arm pulled her back to reality.

“The teacher is calling you,” Daryl murmured.

On the podium, the teacher’s expression was laced with impatience.

“Angelique, you got into this school purely on scholarship. If you’re not even going to pay attention in class, do you think enrolling in an elite academy suddenly makes you some kind of rich heiress?”

Laughter erupted across the classroom.

Yet Angelique’s expression remained unchanged. Her pitch-black eyes simply settled on the teacher.

She remembered.

Back then, when her sister was on the verge of death, she had called for help again and again.

But what did she say?

“Daphne is such a kind person. Why would she ever hurt you?”

“Stop making trouble for no reason.”

“If you can’t handle it, just die.”

Cold, indifferent words that had pushed her sister into complete despair.

Now, under Angelique’s unwavering gaze, the teacher faltered.

Mumbling something under her breath, she quickly let her sit back down.

Beside her, Daryl adjusted his glasses and said casually, “That was the twentieth time today you looked at Raymond’s seat.”

"Oh? Is that so?" Angelique titled her head.

"Raymond is not a good person. Getting involved with him will only lead to a miserable ending."

Angelique lifted her eyes slightly, her lips moving faintly. "Like Jillian, a year ago?"

Daryl’s hand, which had been writing, paused for a moment. "How do you know about her?"

"There are plenty of posts about her on the school forum."

Silence stretched between them before Daryl finally spoke again, his voice slow and deliberate.

"That's exactly why. Anyone who doesn't know their place and gets tangled up with Raymond ends up dead. So you'd better stay away from him."

Daryl wasn’t the type to meddle in other people’s business. He had to admit that Angelique's appearance was his type. But what truly intrigued him was Raymond’s attitude toward her.

Unlike the calculated amusement he had shown with Jillian, this time, Raymond’s interest was something even he himself had yet to realize.

Before, he had always let Daphne torment her targets however she pleased, stepping in at the last moment to play the role of the shining knight.

But this time, Raymond had gone so far as to confront Daphne’s parents, exposing her misconduct at school. How, he had ended up under house arrest by his own family.

Angelique only nodded, saying nothing more. But in her heart, resentment was taking root and spreading like wildfire.

If only he had warned her sister back then, even once, maybe everything could have been different.

A sharp jab against her back pulled her out of her thoughts.

It was Daphne, holding a gilded invitation in her hand.

"This Saturday is my 18th birthday banquet. I’m inviting you to attend."

Seeing Angelique hesitate, she added with a smirk, "You don’t have the right to refuse."

For such a grand event, Raymond, as her childhood friend, would undoubtedly be there.

Even knowing what she was walking into, Angelique still accepted the invitation without hesitation.

"I'll be there on time."

Because the real show was about to begin.