Inside the silent study room, a man sat calmly on a red sofa while turning the pages of the book in his hand.
The room was almost excessively neat.
Minimalistic, clean, and without anything unnecessary.
Just like its owner.
Soft silver hair fell neatly around him, contrasting with his crimson eyes that looked cold and difficult to read.
Tenshou Aizen. The sole heir of the Tenshou Group.
Another page of the book was turned.
"Young Master."
Hearing his aide call out to him, Aizen finally stopped moving his hand.
"What is it?"
"I heard news that Miss Kujo fell into the pond at her grandfather's residence."
"And she is currently ill."
...
For a moment, the room fell silent once again.
Aizen's crimson eyes slowly lifted from the book in his hand.
"I see."
After saying that, his gaze returned to the book he was reading.
"You may leave."
"Yes, Young Master."
The aide named Saeki bowed respectfully before finally leaving the study room.
The room became silent again.
Only the faint ticking of the clock echoed throughout the study.
After the family banquet between the Tenshou and Kujo families in Kyoto at the end of February, Shirayuki had started to change.
She had looked restless after going to the shrine at night to pray.
And this time, she had even carelessly fallen into a pond.
Unlike her usual self.
.
.
.
Kujo Shirayuki.
The eldest daughter and youngest child of the Kujo family.
As a member of the Kujo family, there was hardly any flaw in her.
Because of the strict upbringing she received since childhood, her academic abilities, musical talent, and even social skills were beyond doubt.
As the fiancée of the heir to the Tenshou Group, she was the perfect partner.
It was just that...
her body was weak, and she got sick quite often.
When we were still children, we met several times at various formal banquets.
And three years ago, our engagement was finally decided.
However, for several reasons, both families chose not to make it public yet.
After the engagement, we were scheduled to meet at least once every month.
To get to know each other.
So that our relationship would appear more natural in the eyes of both extended families.
Because in the end, this relationship was still part of the business cooperation between the Tenshou and Kujo families.
Our relationship had always been filled with respect.
It never crossed any boundaries. And often felt like nothing more than a formality.
I did not have romantic feelings for her.
And I think...
the same was true for Shirayuki as well.
***
April 7th, Monday.
The first day of school.
As usual, I went using a car driven by my personal chauffeur together with my aide.
That morning's journey felt boring.
There was nothing particularly interesting enough to catch my attention.
Once we arrived at the school, Saeki immediately opened the car door for me.
And the moment I stepped out—a countless number of eyes instantly turned toward me.
Soft whispers began to rise from various directions.
Something I was already used to.
I calmly walked into the school building.
The people in my path naturally stepped aside to give me space.
When I arrived in front of the announcement board, several students seemed to be searching for their respective names and classrooms.
As one of the biggest investors in this school, information regarding the class assignments had already been given to me beforehand by Saeki.
As I was about to head to the principal's office to greet my uncle first, I accidentally noticed Shirayuki standing not far away from me.
She was staring at me.
Compared to usual, Shirayuki's face looked slightly paler.
Most likely, she still had not fully recovered yet.
However, unlike usual, Shirayuki's expression looked slightly surprised when our eyes met.
.
.
.
Once I arrived in front of the principal's office, I knocked on the door.
Knock knock.
"Please come in."
After hearing the permission, I opened the door and stepped inside the room.
My uncle, who noticed my arrival, immediately showed a faint smile.
"Ah, Aizen. Come in."
"Good morning, Uncle."
I greeted him while slightly lowering my head as a sign of respect.
"How have you been lately, Aizen?"
"There have been no problems."
"What brings you here so early in the morning?"
"I just wanted to greet you."
I looked at him calmly before continuing,
"Is that not allowed?"
"Ahaha, of course it is."
My uncle chuckled softly after hearing my answer.
After that, we spent several minutes having a casual conversation.
Until finally—the school bell rang, signaling the start of the new student entrance ceremony.
***
The new student entrance ceremony proceeded smoothly without any significant problems.
After making sure that most of the students had returned to their respective classrooms, I leisurely walked along the school corridor.
In the middle of my walk, my gaze caught sight of three female students dragging a scholarship student toward the women's restroom.
That girl was the student who had delivered the speech during the opening ceremony earlier.
"..."
It was not difficult to guess what was probably happening inside.
I could have simply ignored it and continued on my way.
However, for some reason, leaving her alone like that felt slightly bothersome.
I suppose I'll trouble myself this time.
Besides, it is still the first day of school.
I calmly stepped into the restroom.
And in the very next moment—
Splash!
A cold sensation immediately covered my body as a bucket of water was thrown directly at me.
The restroom suddenly fell silent.
I slowly lifted my gaze toward the person who had just splashed me.
Water slowly dripped from my hair and uniform.
Calmly, I brushed my wet hair back before calling out their names one by one.
Instantly, the faces of the three female students turned pale.
Their bodies even began trembling in fear.
"...Annoying."
Just a single word.
Yet that alone was enough to make them freeze in place.
My eyes narrowed slightly.
"Leave."
I then shifted my gaze toward the victim of the bullying.
Her long black hair was completely soaked from the water that had been thrown earlier.
The same went for the uniform she was wearing.
Because I felt that her actions were too passive, I even advised her to fight back if she got bullied like that again.
However—instead of thanking me, the girl actually blamed me for getting in her way.
Hah.
What an irritating girl.
.
.
.
After changing into a spare uniform at the infirmary, I returned to the classroom together with the girl.
The moment we entered the room, curious whispers immediately rose from every direction.
However, I did not pay much attention to them.
As I walked toward my seat, my gaze accidentally met Shirayuki's.
Unlike usual, her expression today was far easier to read.
Her sky-blue eyes were wide open in surprise.
For a brief moment, she looked slightly cute.
.
.
.
At last, the self-introduction session began.
The students were asked to introduce their names, previous schools, and hobbies.
One by one, the students began introducing themselves.
And just as I expected, some of them came from families that could not be considered ordinary.
For example, the Mikazuki and Kirishima families.
The Mikazuki family was one of the influential old-money families.
And just like mine, that family also only had a single heir.
Even so, our personalities could be said to be complete opposites.
Meanwhile, Kirishima Ryuusei was the stepson of the Kirishima family.
The current head of their family married his mother when Ryuusei was still eight years old.
By the way, the girl who had been bullied earlier was named Kanzaki Akira.
A scholarship student.
And also the owner of the highest score in this year's entrance exam.
Then it became my turn to introduce myself.
"Tenshou Aizen."
Instantly, the classroom atmosphere became slightly quieter.
"A graduate of Seiran Private Middle School."
"Your hobby?"
I paused for a moment.
"None."
And after my turn ended—it was finally Shirayuki's turn.
"...Kujo Shirayuki."
Immediately, several pairs of eyes turned toward her.
"A graduate of Seiran Private Middle School."
After a brief pause, she spoke once more.
"My hobby... is taking walks."
"..."
"?"
For a moment, I thought I had heard wrong.
Taking walks?
Didn't she once say that she hated that activity?
Especially when I invited her to walk through the flower garden at my residence during our first meeting.
After a while, Saegusa-sensei closed the papers in his hand.
"Alright. That will be all for introductions."
His gaze swept across the entire class.
"For the remaining time today, you are free to interact with one another and decide on your class representatives."
Some students immediately looked more relaxed.
But—not all of them.
"Once you've decided, the class representatives can report to me in the faculty room."
He turned and walked toward the door.
"Use your time wisely. For Tenshou Aizen and Kanzaki Akira—you two, come to the faculty room after school.""
Slide—
The door closed.
After this, the selection of class representatives would begin to be discussed.
And honestly speaking—becoming the class representative who had to manage all the students in this class sounded rather troublesome to me.
"Kujo-san?"
At that moment, I heard Mikazuki call out Shirayuki's name.
"Are you alright?"
"Hmm?"
I shifted my gaze to the back—right at the moment Shirayuki's body suddenly staggered.
And before she could truly fall, Mikazuki Yuu caught her first.