The walk to my assigned class, which is Class 1-D, felt longer than it should. Mostly because I spent that quarter of an hour just to find it by myself. My footsteps echoed against the marble hallway, each one sounding louder in my head than in reality. I was lucky this girl infront of me volunteered to take me to my class. What a gentle soul, I hope most of the students here are like this.
This morning had started the way all good mornings should. Which is with reluctance. I'd sat on the edge of my bed for a good minute, rubbing my eyes while the faint noise of the dorm seeped through the door. Earliest of the four. Eventually, I dragged myself to the showers.
The steam hit me first. Thick, warm, and smelling faintly of soap. It was crowded enough that I couldn't pick out individual conversations, just overlapping voices over the hiss of running water. No one seemed interested in me, which was a relief. A couple of quick nods, a mumbled "morning," and I kept to myself.
Luckily, I didn't drop the soap. Nor did anyone there.
Then, I returned to my room and Alejandro was already awake. He told me to not wake them both up, as their first class actually starts at 10:00 today. Just set up an alarm that rings about half an hour from that time.
Breakfast was next. I headed alone as Alejandro were taking a shower. The smell of bread, eggs, and something sweet pulled me into the dining hall before I even realized I was hungry. Since I was early, I'm pretty much one of the very few students there. Which doesn't make me feel that awkward. I ate quietly, enjoying the loud silence corrupting the air.
Now, the part where I did not know where my class is completely out of my mind. Moreover, both Alejandro and Nayuta only showed me around the dormitory.
I must've worn my confusion plainly on my face, because a girl I didn't recognize stopped in her tracks and tilted her head at me.
Her hair was a pure, silvery white. Like fresh snow under moonlight, flowing in loose strands all the way down to her waist. It caught the light every time she moved, swaying softly behind her like it had a life of its own. Her golden eyes were sharp, but not in a cold way. It's more like as if they saw everything and kept little secrets for fun.
She wore the academy's uniform neatly, but somehow made it look like it was tailored just for her. The white shirt was crisp, the navy blazer fitted, and her skirt had just enough flair to match the easy confidence in her walk. She carried herself like she'd been here forever, like every hallway was her territory.
"You look new and lost." she said, half curious, half amused.
"Yeah, I'm trying to find my class." I admitted.
"Which one?"
"1-D."Her eyes lit up slightly.
"Hmm.... I know where that is. Come on, I'll take you there."
I hesitated for a second. There was always that instinct to just decline and figure it out myself. But I already spent 15 minutes walking around in circles. Plus, her tone made it sound less like an offer and more like a settled matter. "…Sure. Thanks."
The girl set off at an easy pace as her shoes tapped lightly against the polished floor. I followed beside her, hands in my pockets.
"So," she began after a few steps, "what's your name?"
"Faulker," I replied.
"Just Faulker?"
"That's what people call me. What about you?" I said, shrugging.
She gave a small hum, as if filing the answer away. "Call me Lyna. Where are you from, Faulker?"
I glanced at her briefly, then back at the hallway ahead. "Far enough that I had to transfer here."
"That's not an answer."
"It's the only one I've got right now."
Her lips curved in a faint smirk, but she didn't push further. We passed a row of tall windows, the sunlight painting gold stripes across the floor. Took a few turns and walked to higher floors too. Even walked to the other wings, which explains why I haven't seen my class despite checking everywhere at this building.
"You don't talk much, do you?" she asked after a pause.
"I thought I were speaking a lot, honestly." I said.
She chuckled under her breath. "Fair enough. But you're going to have to talk more in 1-D. They're not exactly the quiet type."
"Good to know," I murmured.
The rest of the walk was quieter, save for the occasional turn where she'd motion with her hand. And then, almost without realizing it, we were at the bronze-plated doors that read out: Class 1-D.
"Here we are." she said, stepping aside. "Try not to get lost again."
I gave a small nod. "I'll try."
Then I reached for the handle.
The moment I stepped inside, the air in the room shifted.
Dozens of eyes turned toward me. some curious, some indifferent, a few downright judgmental. Conversations thinned out, replaced by the low scrape of a chair or the shuffle of a notebook being closed.
I took a breath and scanned the room for an empty seat.
"Hey, who's that?" someone whispered from the back.
"No clue. Transfer student maybe?" another replied.
Before I could move, the door opened again. Lyna strolled in like nothing was out of the ordinary, her expression calm.
"Oh, you're in this class too?" she said to me with a smile, as if she'd just found a pleasant coincidence.
"You know him, Lyna?" the boy asked, leaning forward with interest.
And then, without even blinking, she dropped it.
"Yes. He's my well-beloved boyfriend. He came all the way from the other side of the world, just to see me."
She smiled like it was the most normal thing to say. "We've known each other way back in elementary school. My knight in shining armor."
As she said all that, she then clings on my right arm, chin on my shoulder, acting chummy with me even though I gave one of if not the most dry reaction in the room.
A couple of students gasped. One group of boys muttered "No way…" while the other group clapped. All the group of girls giggled into their hand, some shouting "Kyaaaa-" as if a spirit had descended from the heaven.
Meanwhile, I froze mid-step. Boyfriend? Other side of the world? Elementary school? I opened my mouth to say something, but the weight of everyone's stares told me that anything I said now would only dig me deeper.
The boy who'd asked in the first place whistled low. "Man…. crazy dedication. Massive aura gains."
Yeah. Great start to my first day.
Lyna pulled my hands, and brought me to the table at the farthest back, closest to the window. Same seating as my old school. I assume that this seat is without an owner.
"Sit here, daaa~rling."
As she said that, the whole class stares at me. I could feel the pressure that they're putting on me.
"yes....honey." I replied in my low voice.
"Kyaaa~" The girls cheered.
"It should've been me, NOT him" The boys jealoused
I slouched into the empty seat, trying to ignore the eyes still lingering on me after Lyna's little boyfriend from across the world announcement. Meanwhile, Lyna walked towards the group of girls that I assume is her circle of besties.
My hand idly drifting into my pocket. A force of habit, fishing around for nothing in particular. Until my fingers brushed paper.
I pulled it out. A small, neatly folded note. On the inside, just a string of numbers.
I glanced sideways at her. Lyna was lounging in her seat like she hadn't just detonated a social bomb in the middle of the classroom. She caught my look immediately, her golden eyes glinting, and with the subtlest motion, she lifted her hand and shaped her fingers into the universal sign for a phone call.
How the hell did she even…?
I replayed the last few minutes in my head. From walking in, to the introductions, to the low chatter that followed… she must've slipped it in when she was clinging to my arm, without me noticing at all.
Now for note, I had grown up being able to notice even the faintest of touch. I wasn't sure whether to be impressed or concerned. Probably both.
I slid my phone under the desk, keyed in the number, and sent a quick text:
Faulker: Why did you say all that?
A moment later, she picks up her phone from her pocket. Lyna's reply came through almost instantly.
Lyna: Because it's fun.
I stared at the screen. That was it? That was her grand explanation?
Before I could type anything else, another message popped up.
Lyna: And because it keeps people from bothering you.
Lyna: Think of it as like… a social camouflage.
I glanced to my right. Because she was sitting right beside me. At some point while my eyes were glued on my phone, she had slid into the empty seat next to mine like it was preordained. She was pretending to read her textbook now, flipping a page with the most studious expression imaginable. The faintest smile tugged at the corner of her lips. At this point I won't be surprised if she is a professional Assassin or a Spy. Maybe even a stalker.
Faulker: That's not how normal people do camouflage.
Lyna: Who said I'm normal?
I felt my brow twitch. She clearly enjoyed watching me squirm, and worse, she was good at this game.
Faulker: And the "we met in elementary" part?
Lyna: Would you prefer it if I told them we met five minutes ago, while I was rescuing a lost puppy of a boy?
I exhaled slowly, shoving my phone back into my pocket before I said something I'd regret. Whatever her angle was, she was playing it with absolute confidence.
She leaned closer to her left, her golden eyes glinting with mischief as she whispered, "Relax, boyfriend. We both have something to gain from that stunt."
The moment her whisper left my ear, the classroom door banged open. A tall, wiry boy strode in, eyes locking on Lyna like a tiger spotting its prey.
"Hey." he said flatly, planting himself beside her desk. "Move. You're in my seat."
Lyna didn't even blink. "I'm buying it."
The boy snorted. "Oh yeah? And how much are you gonna pay for that? €10k?" His tone dripped mockery, the kind meant to make a person back down.
Lyna tilted her head, golden eyes narrowing in thought. Then, without hesitation, she said, "No, just one hundred."
The boy laughs. "One hundred?"
"Yeah, €100 thousand." she replied calmly, as if announcing the weather. "It's already pending, waiting for your approval."
The boy frozed. His face twitched, then broke into a wide, greedy grin. He might be experiencing the three stage of acceptance as of now. "Deal." He walked off without another word, practically humming to himself, then slouching on Lyna's old seat.
I, on the other hand, almost dropped my jaw on my desk. Are all the students here the sons or daughters of an Emperor?
"What was that about?" I asked Lyna.
Lyna finally turned to look at me, her expression, eerily similar to one that both Alejandro and Nayuta gave me yesterday, when I asked them about The High Council. As if I just asked for an eggless omelette in a restaurant.
"…You mean you don't know?" she said slowly.
"Know what?"
"Faulker.... everything in this school can be bought."
I stared at her. "No, I don't know that."
Her lips curled into the faintest smile. "Well… now you do."
I leaned back in my chair, still trying to process what I'd just witnessed.
"Everything?" I repeated. "Like… what, snacks from the cafeteria?"
Lyna's golden eyes flicked toward me, amused. "Snacks, homework, club positions, exam questions… seats in class, obviously." She paused, her tone light but deliberate. "Even teachers can be persuaded to… bend the rules. For the right price."
I raised an eyebrow. "You're telling me if I had enough money, I could just.... Buy my way to the top of the class?"
She smirked. "If you had enough money, you could buy the teacher's desk and make them sit at the back."
I didn't know whether to laugh or be concerned. "So… why pay €100K for a seat? Is it like, a throne or something?"
Her gaze lingered on me, unreadable for a moment. "Let's just say… I like the view here. And now, I get to make sure you're next to me."
That last part caught me off guard, and I quickly pretended to busy myself by checking my bag. My mind was racing. Not just because of her words, but because the entire school system here was apparently a twisted open market.
I muttered under my breath, "This place is insane…"
She heard me. "You haven't even see the craziest thing people buy here."
The bell rang. The chatter in the room dying down as the teacher walked in. His sharp suit and polished shoes hinting that he probably wasn't immune to the "everything has a price" rule either.
"Want to see something cool?" she whispered.
"Sure, I guess?" I said, though my voice carried the hesitation of someone who wasn't sure what "cool" meant in her vocabulary.
She rose without hurry, heels clicking against the floor, and walked straight to the front. The professor saw her, and unlike the polite curiosity he'd shown others earlier, his expression flattened into professional stillness. Without a word, he reached into the side drawer of his desk.
A red-inked form slid across the polished surface.
"Name and ID number?" he said, as though she asked for nothing more than a pencil.
Gasps whispered at the edges of the room before being swallowed by silence.
Lyna pulled a sleek, black metal-edged card from her coat. No numbers. No name. Just an engraved gold sigil that caught the light in a way that made my stomach knot.
She placed it in his palm. The professor didn't count, didn't check. Instead, he passed it under a small reader hidden beneath his desk. A soft chime rang.
"Transaction complete." he murmured. Then, still without raising his voice, "And the recipient?"
Her gaze cut through the room and landed on me. "Faulker." she said, letting the name hang like a challenge.
The professor adjusted his glasses and wrote it down. "Immunity granted. Midterms only." His tone suggested the words carried more weight than they sounded.
When she returned and sat beside me, my heart was pounding.
When she returned, she dropped into her seat with a satisfied expression.
"You just bought my midterm?" I hissed under my breath.
"Yes. €75k. Cheap. Considering it's your first week," She twirled her pen idly. "Think of it as a welcome gift."
I didn't know whether to thank her, question her sanity, or start worrying about what kind of place I'd gotten myself into. Actually, what kind of place did my father decided to send me to? Did both my parents sent me here fully-knowing how absurd it is?
"Wait, you bought the seat beside me for €100k, but then the midterms pass for €75k? Are you sure a seat is more expensive than that pass?" I asked curiously.
Lyna's golden eyes slid toward mine, the faintest smirk curling her lips. "Because Faulker, my dear… the seat is permanent. For the whole year, at least."
She tapped the desk lightly with one finger, like knocking on the surface of a chessboard.
"Immunity? That's one game, and I don't need it. This spot, however..." she glanced my way with a light smile before finishing her sentence "...means I can move my pieces anytime I want."
She leaned back in her chair, the glint in her gaze saying she'd already factored me into her strategy long before today.
"I'm joking, darling~" she said lightly, but there wasn't even a shred of humor in her voice. She leaned sideways, her long white hair brushing against my arm, and whispered, "I simply wanted to sit beside my well-beloved boyfriend… and get to know him better."
It sounded almost sweet—if not for the way she held my gaze, as if she was already pulling threads I couldn't see.