"..."
I completely forgot about it.
Shirayuki immediately grabbed her phone to check the WaveTalk notifications that had been appearing for a while now.
[Tenshou Aizen]
Where are you?
And just as expected—there was already one message from Aizen.
Panicking, she quickly typed a reply.
[Kujo Shirayuki]
Sorry.
I was a little tired and forgot to tell you beforehand that I couldn't come.
After sending the message, Shirayuki immediately hugged her own head.
"..."
This is embarrassing.
Not long after, a reply from Aizen appeared again.
[Tenshou Aizen]
I see.
Then get some rest.
Shirayuki stared at the short reply for a few moments.
For some reason, it only made her feel even guiltier.
And even worse—this Saturday, she had to go to Aizen's house for the group assignment.
***
Saturday morning.
The weather that day was bright and clear.
A complete contrast to Shirayuki's mood.
Because she had been thinking about too many things, she could not sleep properly the entire night.
As she stood in front of the mirror, Shirayuki could see that her face looked slightly paler than usual.
Just from lacking sleep, my face already looks like this.
My body really is weak...
Not wanting to keep thinking about it, Shirayuki finally entered the bathroom to get ready.
That day, Shirayuki wore an ivory-colored dress made of soft fabric that fell lightly to slightly above her knees.
The dress had a shoulder cut-out design on the sleeves, revealing a little skin on her shoulders without looking excessive.
Her long hair was left flowing softly, while a small section of hair at the sides was braided thinly and tied together behind her head.
Her appearance looked neat, elegant, and gentle as usual.
Even so, her pale complexion still could not be completely hidden.
Ding!
Another WaveTalk notification appeared.
Without wasting time, Shirayuki immediately picked up her phone and checked the message.
[Mikazuki Yuu]
Ryuusei and I are already in front of the station.
Akira-san, where are you?
Not long after, another reply appeared.
[Kanzaki Akira]
I've arrived already.
Which side are you guys on?
[Mikazuki Yuu]
Do you see the black car in front of that shop?
Shirayuki only stared silently at her phone screen.
That WaveTalk group felt far livelier than she had imagined.
In the end, she still chose not to join their conversation.
After making sure she had not forgotten anything, Shirayuki picked up her bag and walked out of her room.
For a moment, Shirayuki considered pretending to be sick again.
But unfortunately, that would be far too suspicious.
"Take care on your way, Milady."
Aoi bowed politely as he escorted Shirayuki out.
Not long after, the Kujo family car began moving, leaving their residence and heading toward the Tenshou family estate.
The trip from the station to the Tenshou residence took around twenty minutes.
Meanwhile, from the Kujo residence, the journey only took around ten to fifteen minutes.
Even so, both families did live in the same elite district.
At the very least, she would not have to wait alone for too long.
.
.
.
In front of the rather crowded station, a black BMW could be seen parked by the roadside.
Inside the car, Mikazuki Yuu was playing with his phone while occasionally glancing out the window.
Meanwhile, Kirishima Ryuusei sat quietly in the back seat, still looking slightly sleepy.
The atmosphere between them was filled with comfortable silence.
Not long after—
someone was finally seen walking toward their car.
Her long black hair was tied into a ponytail.
She wore short denim overalls paired with a white and purple inner sweater.
That girl was none other than Kanzaki Akira.
Seeing Akira approach, Yuu immediately stepped out of the car to greet her.
"Good morning, Kanzaki-san."
He greeted her with his usual smile.
"Yes. Good morning."
"Are you ready? You didn't leave anything behind?"
"Nothing."
Akira's answer was as short as usual.
"Then, please get in."
Yuu then opened the car door for her.
Akira paused for a moment before finally getting into the car.
"Thank you."
Yuu simply responded with a light smile before entering the car as well.
After that, he immediately asked the driver to begin heading toward the Tenshou family residence.
After several minutes of travel, they finally entered the residential district where the Tenshou family lived.
Unlike the city center, the area was filled with a calm atmosphere without tall buildings or the noise of heavy traffic.
As their car was about to arrive in front of the Tenshou residence gate, Yuu noticed another car had already stopped there first.
The Kujo family car.
A guard immediately approached to carry out a brief inspection.
Not long after, he bowed politely.
At the same time, the massive gate of the Tenshou residence slowly opened automatically.
After the Kujo family car entered first, it became Yuu's car's turn to stop in front of the gate.
The guard stationed there immediately walked closer.
After checking the vehicle plate and confirming their identities, his attitude instantly became more respectful.
"Welcome."
He bowed lightly before signaling for them to enter.
Not long after, the massive gate opened once again.
And their car slowly entered the grounds of the Tenshou family residence.
Even just to reach the main courtyard of the Tenshou residence, it took around five minutes by car.
From behind the car window, Yuu could see the Kujo family car that had already stopped in front of the main building.
Not long after, a male servant stepped out first before politely opening the car door.
He then extended his hand to help Shirayuki out of the car like an escort.
Shirayuki's platinum blonde hair swayed softly in the wind as she slowly stepped out of the car.
Her appearance that day looked far more elegant than usual.
***
As soon as they arrived at the Tenshou family residence, Saeki—Aizen's personal aide—immediately welcomed Shirayuki politely.
Not long after Shirayuki stepped out of the car, a black BMW entered the main courtyard once again and stopped right behind the Kujo family car.
The car door opened.
And the first person to step out immediately showed a bright smile upon seeing Shirayuki.
Mikazuki Yuu.
After that, Kirishima Ryuusei and Kanzaki Akira also got out of the car.
Unlike usual, this time Shirayuki was the one who greeted them first.
"Good morning."
"Good morning, Kujo-san."
Yuu returned the greeting with his usual gentle smile.
Beside him, Akira bowed politely in response.
Meanwhile, Ryuusei did not look like he had any intention of responding to Shirayuki's greeting at all.
It's still morning, and he's already irritating me.
Ignoring her annoyance, Shirayuki maintained the elegant smile on her face.
"Welcome to the Tenshou family residence."
Saeki bowed politely toward the three of them.
"Young Master Aizen has already informed us about your arrival."
"Please come this way."
After saying that, Saeki began guiding them into the Tenshou family residence.
After passing through several long corridors, Saeki finally stopped in front of a large door.
"Young Master is waiting inside."
And the moment the door opened—Tenshou Aizen could already be seen sitting calmly inside the room.
The four of them entered the room.
And upon seeing their arrival, Tenshou Aizen slowly stood up from his seat.
"You've all arrived."
His crimson gaze swept across them one by one before he spoke again.
"Sit wherever you like."
In the center of the room was a fairly large round table.
Five chairs had been prepared around it, as though everything had already been arranged from the beginning for the five of them.
Ryuusei and Yuu stepped forward first to choose their seats.
Yuu sat on Aizen's right.
Meanwhile, Ryuusei chose the seat beside Yuu, followed by Akira, who sat next to him.
And naturally, the only empty seat left was the one beside Aizen on his left.
In the end, Shirayuki sat there.
Afterward, she took out her tablet and placed it on the table.
Not long later, the room's door opened again.
Several servants entered while pushing trolleys filled with snacks and drinks.
With practiced movements, they began arranging everything neatly and carefully on the table.
Warm tea, light snacks, and even sliced fruits had all been prepared for them.
"You may leave now."
"I'll call for you if I need anything."
Aizen spoke in a calm tone.
Hearing that order, the servants immediately bowed politely.
After that, they quietly walked out of the room.
Once the servants had left, the room was filled with silence.
And as usual—Yuu became the first person to start the conversation.
"Alright, let's begin the group assignment."
Yuu lightly clapped his hands together while smiling faintly.
"The topic of our assignment is social hierarchy and social status among teenagers, right?"
Akira gave a small nod.
"Elena-sensei said we have to make a group presentation and present it next week."
"A presentation..."
Ryuusei let out a soft sigh while leaning back against his chair.
"What a pain."
"Then don't fall asleep during the discussion."
Yuu immediately replied casually.
"I'm not sleeping."
"Your face looks like someone who just woke up."
"..."
Seeing Ryuusei starting to look annoyed, Yuu merely chuckled softly before shifting the conversation again.
"Then, how about we start by dividing the tasks?"
"We need someone to organize the material, gather data, make the slides, and explain everything during the presentation later."
Shirayuki, who had remained silent until now, finally opened her tablet.
"For the presentation structure, we can divide it into definitions, the effects on teenagers, case examples, and the conclusion."
"Case examples..."
Ryuusei repeated quietly while leaning deeper into his chair.
"Isn't the answer already obvious?"
He rested his chin on one hand.
"People with high status will always be treated better."
The atmosphere in the room suddenly became slightly quieter.
"Environment, family, popularity, money."
"All of them affect the way people look at you."
Ryuusei spoke in a flat tone as though he were explaining something completely ordinary.
"And our school itself is no exception."
"..."
No one refuted his words.
Because they all knew it was the truth.
"Let's start dividing the tasks."
Aizen, who had remained silent while observing their conversation until now, finally spoke up.