Meanwhile, in the royal Kingdom, inside the forest, a group of men sat near a fireplace, their expression solemn as they hid their faces behind a muffler.
"So what news do you have?" One of the men asked their leader as their subordinate rushed to them with a neutral expression.
The subordinate bowed to the leader of the group.
"Sir," he said, and the man in front of him nodded.
"Did you see her? What reaction does she have? Has she been trying to tell anyone about what happened? Or is there anything that we need to be careful of?" The man asked, a solemn cold expression on his face as he smoked his cigar.
"No, sir. I have been observing her from the moment she woke up in the hospital. She hasn't particularly lost her memories, but it looks like she doesn't remember anything related to that night. Even she believes that she committed suicide like the rest of them," The subordinate said.
The man took a whiff of his smoke and hummed.
"She thinks she also committed suicide? How is that possible? It would have been okay if she didn't remember anything but-" one of the men started talking, stopping when he looked at his leader's face.
"I am sorry, sir. I didn't mean to interrupt," the man immediately shut up and bowed.
"So what are your next orders, sir? The girl doesn't remember anything. Shall we proceed with our plans?" The leader's partner in crime asked.
The man in question hummed vaguely.
"I don't know. It's been two days only. I think we should wait for a couple more days and observe her. It might be a temporary loss of memories.
Don't forget that she saw your face. If she as much as remembered the slightest of what happened two nights ago, you and I are done," the man said before looking at his subordinate who was given the task of keeping a keen gaze on Delilah.
"Continue watching her. If you think she remembers the tiny bit of what happened, kill her. We can't take any chances.
It has been 10 years since we have been planning this attack. We are almost close to the D-day. In a couple of months, this entire Kingdom would be ours," the man said, and the subordinate nodded before he turned into his wolf form and left the area.
"Can I know why we are wasting our time because of a girl like her? Who is she? Does she even hold any importance? Just kill her already," the man's partner said, and he sighed.
"I know, right? The girl holds no significance. I got all her information covered, and she is as irrelevant as an omega in the pack. However..." The man paused.
"However?"
"However, for some reason, she has caught the attention of the elder prince's secretary. That night also, he was the one who saved her. And even now, for some unknown reason, he keeps roaming around her as if she is some kind of Princess too," The man said.
"Well, if that's the case, we need to be extra careful. Out of all the people in the kingdom, Maximus is the one we need to stay wary of, even more than Prince Elwin. I don't know what it is, but the way he looks at me sometimes, as if he knows something always gets to me.
And let's not forget how even Prince Elwin listens to him because he is the elder prince's secretary," The man said, and the leader hummed.
"Let's go for now. I will call you guys when the next meeting is held. Also, keep in touch with those rogues," The leader said before they dispersed into the forest, going to do their respective works.
~~~~~~
"What did you do?" Tianna walked to Delilah in large steps.
Katherine immediately softened her expression.
"I am sorry, sister. I thought if I backed away, things would become easy for you, and no one would compare our grades. My grades have always been better than yours. I didn't want you to get into trouble," Katherine said, mimicking Delilah's soft nature.
Tianna, who had originally wanted to scold Delilah, looked at the girl before sighing.
She clenched her fists and turned around, walking towards the washroom.
'I can't believe she did that! This girl is so stupid that she only created more problems for me rather than helping me. Now that the Elder Prince's Secretary would write the answers for her, how would I cheat? I can't believe I have to lose to this dumb girl,' Tianna pulled the tissues recklessly before wiping her hands.
"No, Tianna. You can't lose. Don't forget how far you have gone to come here. This isn't just candy that you can give to Delilah. Prince Elwin's gaze is already drifting towards her, if she won, who knows if he takes her hand for marriage? This is not a fated bond. I can't let this happen," Tianna looked at her reflection in the mirror.
Meanwhile, Katherine, who had followed her, stood behind the wall, near the door, hearing what Tianna was talking about.
"So it was indeed like this," Katherine smiled in mockery before turning around, her smile freezing in its place when she saw Prince Elwin standing there, looking at her.
"What are you doing here, Miss Rosewood?" He asked.
Katherine cleared her throat.
Act neutral. She told herself.
"I wanted to use the washroom I was about to go inside. What are you doing here?" Katherine looked at the prince, her gaze flickering to the man who was walking towards the Principal's room.
Without waiting for Prince Elwin's reply, she walked towards Maximus to talk to him.
If both Tianna and Prince Elwin were there, this was the perfect opportunity to talk to him in seclusion and gain some points.
Katherine rushed towards the man, holding his hand to stop him.
"Mr. Maximus," Katherine said, hoping he would hear her, but his next words killed that hope immediately.
"What is it now, Miss Delilah? I have other things to do apart from being around you all the time," Maximus said, his expression clearly unfriendly, and Katherine bit her lips.
She wanted to ask him for some help so they could help Tianna too, which he would obviously tell Prince Elwin later, but seeing him being like this, she didn't want to come off like she was pushing herself on him, not to mention Delilah already had a bad reputation, and she didn't want to add more to it.
"Um... It's nothing," Katherine smiled forcefully before she turned around to go to the room where the test was supposed to happen.
Maximus looked at her back and sighed.
He hurriedly took a couple of steps and held her hand, making her stop.
"What was it?" He asked, subconsciously cornering her behind the pillar.
"I... I just wanted to ask if we could perhaps help my sister with the test. She only has me to rely on. I don't want Prince Elwin to look down upon her," Katherine stepped closer to him to whisper so that no one else could hear them.
Maximus, on the other hand, kept staring into her eyes, her unadulterated expression, her soft, mesmerizing eyes that looked so pure and innocent, like they were meant to be protected from the world, from this evil world.
He raised his hand and pinched her chin softly, his gaze still stern and unapproachable.
"Worry about yourself, Kitten. She will get to study either way. This is just a formality test. Also, don't you think it would be rather right that you two sisters don't fool us royals?" Maximus asked, rubbing his thumb on her soft skin, liking the way she scowled.
Katherine, who only thought that he was making fun of her, huffed.
"If you don't want to help, just say so. Why are you twisting your words?" Katherine scowled and pushed him backward with her good hand, not wanting to be fazed by his intoxicating scent anymore.
But Maximus held her hand and pushed her back into the pillar, making her raise her brows at him.
"Don't show me your back when I am talking to you," Maximus said, his eyes darkening, and Katherine gulped, her gaze trembling a little, her body sensing the danger radiating from his body.
"I... I..." Katherine stuttered.
"Let me see what I can do," Maximus sighed, glaring at the girl who raised her brows happily, scowling at himself that he really agreed with this insolent girl's words.
"Really?" Katherine asked in a mere whisper, and Maximus rolled his eyes.
He can't believe it.
He shook his head and walked to the test room.
Meanwhile, Prince Elwin, who was at some distance and saw Maximus walking away from behind the pillar and then Miss Delilah walking out of there, quirked his brows.
What was going on with them? Prince Elwin looked at Katherine who was busy looking at her cast, intrigued by her even more.