"Leo!? What are you doing here?" asked Elizabella as she stared at the tall blonde who smiled gently at her.
"Are you surprised? Well, so am I!" replied Leo with a pleasant laugh. "I did not think we would see each other so soon."
"Yes, especially since you said you had no opening in your group," said Elizabella, a little upset that she felt she could only join a group through the back door. "Amazing how an opening just appeared after we spoke yesterday."
"Yes, well, once it did, I thought of letting you try," said Leo as he smiled widely, and Elizabella mirrored his smile.
"My goodness! This guy's acting is top-notch! If I did not know that my father had something to do with me joining this group, I would believe his lies! I am impressed," thought Elizabella as some group members came closer to see her and Walliams.
"Who is this, Leo?" asked a very handsome young man who smiled at Elizabella and Walliams.
"This is Bella who will be joining our group and her friend Walliams," responded Leo as the new guy smiled brilliantly at them and bowed politely as he introduced himself.
"How do you do? My name is Sabastian de Olea de Reynoso, or just Bash for short," said the handsome young man as Elizabella felt his last name familiar.
"I think I have heard of your last name. Do you have any relation with de Olea de Reynoso family of the Kingdom of Stado?" asked Elizabella as she remembered hearing his surname when learning about prominent families of neighboring kingdoms.
After Elizabella spoke, the air seemed to freeze around the group as it became eerily quiet. The strange atmosphere made Walliams on high alert as he smoothly went into a fighting position while pulling Elizabella behind him. Seeing him acting quickly, the air around them became tenser before Bash smiled at them.
"Hey! Take it easy! We did not think that someone here would be knowledgeable about our background. I am sure Bella did not mean anything by it," Bash turned to look at the others who had firm looks before relaxing.
"Humph!" one girl seemed upset and was not afraid to express herself, making Bash give her a look.
"Odette, come on, she did not know. Play nice," said Bash as Elizabella seemed confused as to why they reacted so strongly.
"Did I say something wrong?" asked Elizabella, and before Leo or Bash could reply, Odette crossed her arms and looked down at Elizabella, who was shorter.
"What would a privileged girl like you know? You would best keep your nosy nose to yourself!" said Odette as Elizabella felt even more confused.
"…Alright… I will," Elizabella spoke unsurely as she tried to read the mood as she missed the hostile moments when Walliams had to block her.
"It is fine. The longer you stay with us, the more you will learn about our backgrounds," said Leo with a reassuring smile to Elizabella while he gave a warning look to the others around him.
"I see. Still, I am sorry for being insensitive to the matter," said Elizabella as she looked apologetic to the group and especially to Odette.
Soon the group introduced themselves to the newcomers tersely while keeping civil, and no one else dared give out their surname. Elizabella noticed but did not want to ask anything as she was sure it would bring her trouble. In her excitement, she failed to notice the weary gazes they were giving her as they would secretly glance at Walliams.
While Elizabella was getting to know each group member, Bash quietly made his way out to a window balcony and stuck his body out as he sat in a saddle position with one leg in and one leg out. Leo had followed him to make sure he was alright. Leo also sat on the windowsill as he sat on the window next to Bash.
"Are you alright, Bash?" asked Leo as they looked out to the forest behind the facility.
"Yeah. I just did not know that someone would recognize me so far from home. Or rather my old man's name," said Bash as they stared aimlessly into the woods.
"Well, I think this one is special because she brought a Beastman as a guard," said Leo. "She may be more of a Princess than you a Prince."
"Are you saying she is not like the rest of us? More like you?" asked Bash as he looked up at Leo, who seemed dazed.
"She may be like me with a prominent lineage," began Leo after a long pause and paused again before continuing. "Unlike me, she grew up loved."
Bash pondered over his statement when he remembered Walliams, who was a special guard.
"You mean Walliams her 'friend?' I thought he was weaker than you. Could you not have taken him down?" asked Bash as Leo smiled.
"I probably could have in a fair dual, but I meant the Shadow Guards that followed her. Walliams was not the only one who was ready to spring into action. I felt four other presence encroaching at the same time Walliams moved. If we had continued to show a hostile reaction back then, I am afraid that we would be in danger," Bash was shocked to hear Leo say that there were so many guards surrounding the new girl before remaining quiet to ponder in his thoughts.
"She did grow up loved. Even the golden child of that old man would not receive such treatment. What are they doing in this godforsaken school? Surely, they can find better schools or tutors for her," said Bash as he thought out loud before turning to look at Leo. "Why is she here? Out of all of us, you should know, right?"
"I received a message yesterday to accept her to join our group. I have no idea why," said Leo as Bash remained in thought.
"Who messaged you?" asked Bash as Leo sighed.
"Who else? The same person who allowed us to stay here," spoke Leo as he massaged his temples, making Bash remain silent as he focused his gaze on the sky.
"Yep. Even my lucky brother, the Crown Prince of Stado, is not this privileged or well cared for. No wonder she knows my family. I would not be surprised if she met my old man with that spoiled lucky brother of mine. I wonder who she really is…"
**********
"That was close," thought Walliams as he thought how bizarre the atmosphere became when his Lady asked an innocent and simple question. "I do not understand how they could have been triggered by what she said. And not only Bash, whom she originally asked, but the whole group became upset. I am certain there would have been bloodshed if the other Shadow Guards had joined the fray."
Walliams sighed as he remembered that Leo seemed to notice the Shadow Guards right behind them.
"I get it, though. Leo is a Beastman like me. I can tell he is even stronger than me. If he could not figure out that there were extra people behind us, he failed as a Beastman. But… Leo is not the only Beastman here," thought Walliams as he kept his gaze on Odette, who was glaring at Elizabella from where she stood. "This girl seems difficult to handle."
Odette moved towards Elizabella as she stopped right in front of her. For the first time, Elizabella was able to see her face clearly and was stunned as she realized that Odette was gorgeous. Even her scowl seemed to give off a sexy charm. Elizabella remained frozen as she was mesmerized by her mature vibes. Seeing her standing foolishly, Odette rolled her eyes.
"By the way, what are your strengths? We cannot have a nobody join our group," said Odette aggressively as Leo and Bash came to join them.
"Odette, do not be rude," said Leo as he thought it was his duty to protect the newcomer as he was the only one there who understood her background the best, granted he did not know much. "We can ask her slowly as not to overwhelm her on her first day with us."
"Leo, the talent competition will soon start, and we need to figure out what we will perform as a group before then. Should we not take this opportunity to learn her weaknesses?" asked Odette with a warm smile and concern look.
"Here, I thought Leo was good at acting. Even I can tell this girl does not like me, and she even asked me to humiliate me. From an outsider's perspective, I am sure she sounds warm and caring," thought Elizabella as she thought this was her only chance to join a group; even if the members were against her, she needs to prove her worth to them.
"We should figure out what she can do," said Odette as she turned to look at Elizabella with a beautiful smile, making Elizabella feel that Odette was fabulous at changing her facial expressions. "Can you act?"
"I have been taking lessons with Mrs. Vita. I heard that she had won awards for her excellent teaching skills," said Elizabella as she mirrored Odetts's smile, making Odette look a little tense.
"Can you sing~?" sang Odette, every note going higher in scale.
"Yes, I can~!" echoed Elizabella in the same notes as she mentally smirked and continued to sing in the same notes but an octave higher. "Perfect pitch~!"
The onlookers applauded as both girls stared at each other, with tension budding between the two. Odette smirked and took a few steps back.
"Can you dance?" said Odette as she positioned herself to dance with an invisible partner and to soundless music.
She took a few steps as Elizabella watched and smiled proudly as she picked up on her tempo and rhythm. She began to let Odette lead as there was an invisible wall between the two dancing girls. Seeing that Elizabella could keep up with her, Odette stopped her steps and changed to another tempo. A different dance altogether.
Elizabella only stopped to study her steps before she followed along with her, still to the soundless music as everyone in the room watched intently. Odette stopped her dancing as Elizabella, too, stopped her steps.
"Not bad. Do you play any instruments?" asked Odette as her gaze turned serious.
"Of course," smiled Elizabella as she thought that she would have more fun in this group than the one she had auditioned on yesterday.
"Play something," commanded Odette as she stood tall and crossed her arms.
"What do you want me to play, and what instrument?" said Elizabella confidently as Odette and the others looked at her with stunned looks.
"Play anything," said Odette as she looked thoughtfully. "No, play what you are most confident in."
Hearing this, Elizabella looked up in thought as she wondered what she should play before turning to Walliams.
"Pass me my violin," said Elizabella as she assumed that Walliams would go outside and pretend to fetch her violin from a different room.
She was surprised when she saw Walliams looking at everyone thoughtfully before pulling out her violin from his shadow. Only his soft steps were heard as he approached Elizabella with her violin case. The group was surprised to see that someone as young as Walliams could be a Shadow Guard with his swift actions.
Elizabella did not know how to respond as she took her violin case and took out her violin. She noticed that everyone was still staring at Walliams, who had stepped back nonchalantly to his original position. She sighed as she wondered what Walliams was thinking.