"The world is coming to an end, isn't it?" Elizabeth grimly stared at the bright sky as she let out a sigh.
Ingrid gazed around casually as she carefully scooped a spoonful of ice cream and placed it inside her mouth. Moments later she indifferently glanced at her friend and said, "You're overreacting."
The blonde huffed loudly as she played with her gelato. "You don't understand! You're usually so apathetic about things and now you've bought things except books!"
The Astor girl rolled her eyes and did not reply. They finished strolling inside the largest mall in Pella. Their country was not that large but it wasn't that small either. In fact, the mall that they were currently inside was the largest among their neighborhood countries. It even made Ingrid wonder earlier why people need to invest in these types of business but now, as she observed the steady flow of people, it made sense why they spent a lot of money in these types of trade.
"You know, you should really invest in your emotions." The sudden remark made Ingrid look at the blonde.
The silver-haired girl disinterestedly raised one of her eyes brows at her words. "If everyone would invest in their emotions and at the end, would only turn out like you, wouldn't it be a waste of human resources?"
The blonde stuck out her tongue. "Could you turn off your sarcastic side for a moment? I'm talking seriously here."
"I'm talking seriously too. What makes you think I'm not?"
Elizabeth glared at her with drooped shoulders looking defeated. She took her spoon and played with the gelato turned puddle. In her mind, she thought of the Astor girl as a one of a kind child, a person to look up to and a person to idolize. But it all crumbled when she finally befriended the girl and she discovered that Ingrid could be particularly venomous with her words. She could even do it without cussing and that made her baffled.
Ingrid, finally having a silent environment, ate her ice cream in peace. They got to the mall early in the morning with the blonde's insistence and now it was almost afternoon. This whole trip made her exhausted. Calling her tired would be an underestimation— in truth, she was so worn out she could sleep all day without coming out ever again.
This "window shopping" took a large toll on her and compared to doing drills, she would choose the latter. The energy she spent for this day could equal to the energy she usually use for a month.
Looking back the silver-haired girl thought these past few months were very eventful. The family employed a tutor for her and her mother decided to train her.
They were also nearing the examination date for the entrance exam in Academie Royale. She had no problem about the exam nor its contents, nevertheless, she would waste a day of her life for a simple assessment she did not really want to take. Shrugging her shoulders, she carefully glanced at the ground where the shopping bags were located.
"You're thinking about the things you bought?" Elizabeth gracefully wiped the side of her mouth with a tissue, she then called a waiter and with a 'thank you' she paid the bill. "I thought you never liked using digital things, you even refused when I told you to buy a phone."
"I never said I dislike them, but having a laptop or a computer would be handy." The silver-haired girl closed her eyes as if tired. The noise around had started to irritate her and the presence of the guards around them made her even more uncomfortable.
Alicia and Ralph did not allow her to go out without bringing a few guards. She regretted that she did not insist since now they were crowding around her. Elizabeth also brought her own which were twice as many as hers, recalling it further made her headache. The girl understood that it was for their safety, still, the stares that the people were giving them annoyed her to the core.
The blonde must have felt something off as she supplied words of comfort, "Claud would come back soon. He's just buying some skin products."
Ingrid clicked her tongue as she called a guard to her side and ordered the man to see why the butler was taking his sweet time. In her past, she recalled how her lifestyle did not require constant maintenance. Conversely, she could not really complain since when she was three, her mother already briefed her about things that should be done while she was growing.
Flawless white skin and silky hair had been the standard judgment of beauty in high society and since she was part of the Astor Family, she needed to abide it. Because of this, products for skin, hair and overall body care should be used at an early age to be more effective since it was the most critical stage of growth. Apparently, it was habit wealthy people have and they also needed to abide by it to avoid losing face.
Moments later, the butler came back as well as the guard she ordered to go after him. She heaved a sigh as she stood up and signed at the blonde using her hand. Elizabeth followed her taking a hint.
"Did something happen?" The silver-haired glanced at the man who bowed at her after seeing her. Claud, with his back straightened up, gave the bags he was carrying to the other guard. "It was not a big matter, young lady. There was a small scuffle inside the store."
Ingrid's eyes turned sharp as she glanced at the large red mark on the man's face. "We should go home."
"Yes, Milady."
The silver-haired girl narrowed her eyes as she walked beside Elizabeth. The blonde hearing their exchange of words, clicked her tongue in dismay as she smiled brightly at Ingrid.
"Want me to take care of that?"
"Tell me when everything's done."
The blonde smirked as she jokingly saluted at the Astor. "Yes, ma'am."
• • •
Ingrid firmly decided that she would put the blame on her tutor.
Getting a few marks of the exam would make anyone a genius but perfecting it— she knew was out of the line. It was only a safety precaution to intentionally make some mistakes on her entrance exam. However, her tutor decided to barge inside the testing room when she just finished answering the questions that she had no time to put a few mistakes here and there.
The man, Renaud Caron, was in his 20s and from a well-known family. He was an acquaintance of his father and a known scholar with a pretty face, or that was what Ingrid would like to think. She did not know where did Ralph found her tutor but the man was unusual, to say the least.
He was too… energetic.
She remembered that when she was in the testing site, she was called using the speakers telling her to temporary stop answering. Renaud then entered the site and dragged her out. She was little irritated at what he did but she thought it was something important so she decided to stay silent. Only to find out he was there to say words of encouragement.
By the time she returned to the testing site, they were already gathering the answer sheets and she did not have the time to change her answers.
The man was too lively that it was impossible to determine if he was faking it or if he was really a child inside of a grown man.
Recalling her father's cold face and Renaud's beaming one, Ingrid was baffled as for how did these two people have come across each other.
"Dear, it was great that you've got a high score in the exam. On the other hand, you've decided to not partake the interview portion. Are you sure it would be alright for you?" Alicia who was behind her worriedly looked at her. She brushed her daughter's silver locks trying to braid it.
Ingrid flipped the page of the book she was holding scrutinizing the author's inconsistent words in the third paragraph. "You do not have to worry, Mother. I would still pass and I think that's enough."
The exam of the academy does not solely revolve on the questions that should be answered on the paper since gauging one's IQ would not only rely thereon. That was why the assessment exam consisted of two parts, one of which was the examination while the other one was the interview. The test was 80% of the overall score while the interview was 20%. In any way she looked at it, she would still pass the exam with an average score.
"I'm not worried about your result. I'm worried about what will happen to you after you enter school when they know that you failed the interview." Alicia carefully tied her daughter's hair into a bun while she studied the changes in the girl's features hoping to see some inconsistency.
Ingrid wanted to smile to reassure Alicia but the last time she did that, Elizabeth told her she looked like she wanted to kill somebody so she gave up.
Silence reigned in her mother's bedroom until Alicia finally let out an exasperated sigh. The silver-haired girl perfectly knew that her mother was concerned about her and could not wait to help her in any way. Nonetheless, she was not an ordinary child. Her maturity existed even before she was born.
"I've heard that the only daughter of the Buffon Family refused to go outside of their home." The red-haired woman suddenly diverted the topic as she patted her daughter's shoulder and stood up slowly.
Ingrid was the only one left sitting on the sofa so she also stood up and held her mother's hand. She let out a hum as a sign that she heard what her mother said and nodded. The two of them left the room and made their way to the ground floor where their modernized living room was located. The girl had an inkling where their conversation was going but she showed no signs of interrupting the woman.
Alicia led her daughter to the couch and made her sit there while she proceeded to the bar counter in the living room to get a drink. A sigh escaped her lips as she said, "The poor girl was bullied to the point that she did not want to leave their house."
The silver-haired girl tried her best to stop herself from rolling her eyes. The girl that her mother was talking about was also from a wealthy family that had connections to the entertainment business. Although they were not at the top of the competition, they were surely at the top five. That was why their daughter, a name beginning with an L (she could not honestly remember), decided to be full of herself and would start to insult other people whose social standing was not up to par with her.
The Buffon girl would always frequent malls and would shout nonsense at every moment. No one had the courage to stop her given that meddling would only make the situation worse.
There was a reason why Ingrid hated children. They were too wilful for their own good.
"Mother, you should not worry about those people not connected to you," the girl replied as she swayed her feet and wondered when her feet would finally touch the ground. "The Buffon family and the Astors never crossed paths anyways."
"That was what I thought until I learned the frivolous girl slapped Claud across the face two weeks ago." Alicia hid the smirk on her face as the tip of the wine glass reached her lips. The woman sat beside her daughter and slowly shook her head. "Maybe she got what she deserved," she said with fake remorse.
Ingrid nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders, indifferent to what her mother said. The girl had an idea what her mother was trying to say.
Alicia knew what she and the blonde had been up to for the past weeks. The silver-haired could not really conceal everything from her mother.
The Buffon girl had been so arrogant as to slap their butler and Ingrid had no choice but retaliate.
To alienate the girl and eliminate her social circle, a person needs an awfully large connection with the other children from large families. Alicia was completely aware she did not have that.
But Elizabeth does.
Although the blonde most of the time acts stubborn around her, she was still Elizabeth Bellay, a daughter of a well-distinguished family. Her welcoming personality had given birth to different social circles which often place her at the center. Alicia got acquainted with her because of her wit and maturity that most children did not have. The blonde girl knew when to attack and when to retreat and that made Ingrid wonder how the Bellay family usually raised their offspring.
Elizabeth and Ingrid had a certain kind of rapport where the former was familiar with the thoughts of the latter. Narrowing her eyes, the silver-haired girl raised the corner of her lips and crossed her legs. "Sometimes, you get what you deserve."
• • •
"Sometimes, you get what you deserve."
Elizabeth was flabbergasted as she rolled her eyes at her mother and complained, "Getting grounded for doing an act of kindness? I'm merely showing her that status doesn't do much so that next time she wouldn't offend random people."
Corrine Bellay had an urge to pinch her daughter's ears. "You exactly sound like a spoiled brat right now. " The woman glared at the child she raised at her womb for nine months and suddenly felt she should have left this girl at the church as an infant. "Grounding you at home is the most lenient punishment I could give. Using your connections to isolate another child? Not only that, it was a child older than you. Do you not have a sense of seniority?"
"Time is just a human construct."
The blonde woman had an urge to get a slipper and beat this child with it. "Why are you fighting with me about this? Get inside your room and stay inside there for a week."
"Couldn't you be more lenient and make it just for three days?" The child dragged the last syllable as she winced feeling the situation was too preposterous. "What I did wouldn't make her a hermit forever. I would naturally resolve this issue."
"You think you could discuss the terms with me? Stay inside your room and behave," Corrine reprimanded as she abruptly closed the door to her daughter's bedroom.
As the woman elegantly made her way to the patio, thoughts occupied her mind. One of which was about the relationship of her daughter and Ingrid, the daughter of her friend. Usually in a high society like this, social circles would form and would then have a system of hierarchy. It would be either you lead the group or you'd be the one following. These kind relationships would then dictate whether you would be successful or not in the future. The person who would lead needs to be an intelligent person with quick-wits and talent.
Corrine approached the terrace and saw the man in his thirties sitting there while holding a book. He had a great posture and when the woman approached him, he gently smiled at her. "Did Elizabeth make a fuss?"
The blonde woman hesitatingly shook her head. "No, you know our daughter is a smart girl and understands the consequences of her actions. She had done something she should not have and knew beforehand she would get punished." She sat beside the man and peeked at the book he was reading. Once she saw it was about business, she uninterestedly looked away and crossed her legs. One hand supported her chin as she gazed at the sky with uncertainty. "I thought Elizabeth would take a long time deciding about what she wants to do, Fernand."
At first, the Bellay family thought the child would forge her own path and create a stable connection on her after they saw her skills in socializing. But once she was acquainted with the Astor girl, everything changed and Elizabeth would lose interest in playing with other children. The child would follow the girl everywhere and that action already spoke volumes about what she wanted to do.
Corrine was particularly worried not only for her child but also for her family. The consequences of following the wrong person would end in one's doom dragging their family with them.
Creating a "group of friends" needed a continuous flow of funds that should last until that person's death. That was because as children, they needed to support each other's financial needs. As teens, they needed to have the same aspirations and that also required money, and as adults, they were required to fulfill their dreams using money regardless if it was for business or for politics.
Surviving in this kind of high society where dogs eat dogs would need tons of money, great willpower and luck.
Fernand Bellay offered a smile as he observed his wife with understanding in his eyes. "I trust our daughter, Corrine. We did not raise her for naught after all."
Corrine stared at his husband's eyes and warily replied, "Yes, you're right."