Aibar slipped and fell toward Nikita. He had noticed a sharp rock on the ground just before falling. While falling, he instinctively covered Nikita's head with both of his hands to protect him. However, Aibar lost his balance completely and ended up crashing down on top of Nikita.
Everyone around them froze in shock.
Because… Aibar and Nikita accidentally kissed.
Nikita's face instantly turned bright red from embarrassment, and he quickly shoved Aibar away. Both of them stood up.
Aibar calmly got up and, with a completely emotionless expression, muttered:
"...Taste of strawberries."
Nikita blushed even harder. He bent down toward the ground in panic.
"Tch, tch, tch—!"
He started spitting onto the ground repeatedly before lifting his head again. His face was red both from anger and embarrassment as he glared at Aibar with disgust.
"What are you… are you gay?!"
Aibar answered calmly:
"What kind of gay…? I'm not like that. Did you eat strawberries for breakfast?"
Nikita became even more flustered.
"What… what are you even saying…? You… you… agh… I'm literally dying from embarrassment over here, and you're just—"
"Huh?" Aibar tilted his head slightly. "Why should anyone be embarrassed? It was just an accident."
Meanwhile, the other students began whispering and laughing among themselves.
"Those two are totally that kind of pair, hahaha…"
"They actually look pretty good together…"
Suddenly, Aibar slowly turned toward them with a cold expression.
His crimson eyes began glowing.
A dark red aura started spreading from his body, and the students instantly fell silent under the pressure of his terrifying gaze.
Fear swallowed the school stadium whole.
Ding… Ding… Ding…
The bell rang.
All the students headed toward the locker rooms to change into their school uniforms.
Aibar suppressed his irritation and looked toward Nikita calmly.
"Don't worry… they won't mock you. And I won't allow them to."
Nikita's face turned even redder.
"Idiot…! That's not the problem! The problem is you! You bastard… you stole my first kiss! Because of you, girls won't even come near me anymore!"
But before Nikita finished speaking, Aibar had already walked off toward the locker room.
Nikita calmed himself down and eventually entered the locker room too, waiting for the other boys to finish changing first.
Some of the boys laughed jokingly.
"What are you, a girl or something? Just change with us already."
Bakzhan stepped forward calmly and spoke warmly:
"Honestly, Nikita… you've never once changed clothes together with the guys. During every PE class, you always wait until everyone leaves before changing alone. It's honestly pretty suspicious…"
Before he could continue, Aibar grabbed Bakzhan by the shirt and shoved him backward.
Then Aibar slowly walked toward Nikita with his usual emotionless expression.
Step by step.
Until Nikita's back hit the wall.
Aibar placed one hand beside Nikita against the wall, leaning slightly forward so they stood face to face.
Nikita immediately started blushing again.
The other boys stared in complete shock.
But then Aibar simply removed his hand from the wall, stepped back calmly, and began changing his clothes as if nothing had happened.
After changing quickly, Aibar looked toward the boys with his glowing crimson eyes.
"Hurry up and finish changing… then get out and go home."
Nikita silently stared at him in confusion.
Aibar looked back at him calmly.
"Don't misunderstand. I just wanted to take a closer look at your face. Your eye color… it's red. Almost like mine."
He paused slightly.
"But yours is darker than mine."
Soon, all the boys finished changing and left the locker room.
Aibar stopped near the exit and glanced back over his shoulder at Nikita.
"Don't worry… I'm not peeking. Go ahead and change. I'll guard the door and won't let anyone enter until you're done."
Nikita silently nodded.
Aibar stepped outside and closed the door behind him.
As promised, he stood there guarding the entrance while Nikita changed.
A few minutes later, Nikita came out, and the two of them went home separately.
After arriving home, Aibar immediately returned to his usual routine — training, work, responsibilities, chores… his schedule was packed to the point that he practically had no free time.
Nikita also returned home.
Dead silence filled the house.
"Uff…"
Nikita dropped something onto the floor.
Hair? No… something that only looked like hair.
Alexei smiled faintly.
"Welcome back."
Nikita immediately began ranting angrily:
"Damn that Aibar…"
Alexei smirked slightly.
"My dear little sister…"
His smile widened a little.
"Did that bastard do something again today?"
At that moment, Nikita's true appearance was revealed.
Long snow-white hair tied back neatly. Crimson eyes. A small black mole beneath the corner of her right eye. An overwhelmingly beautiful appearance.
Nikita was merely a fake name.
Her real name was Maria.
Maria entered her room and began changing clothes. She removed the cloth wrappings and bindings around her body that had flattened her figure and helped her resemble a boy before changing into feminine clothes.
Then she sat down across from Alexei.
Alexei calmly asked:
"Why are you so angry?"
Maria leaned against him slightly while pretending to remain upset.
"That… Aibar… because of that jerk, I have to go through so much trouble. I hate that bastard…"
Alexei rested his chin on his hand thoughtfully.
"The Guardian of Order… did he do something?"
Maria's face reddened again.
"That bastard… today he kissed me…"
Alexei instantly turned serious.
His voice became cold.
"What…? That bastard… how dare he…"
Anger visibly appeared on his face.
Maria quickly tried calming him down.
"No… it was an accident…"
Then she explained everything that had happened earlier.
Alexei slowly calmed down, though his voice remained icy.
"You're sure it was accidental? That bastard Guardian of Order has started acting more and more freely lately… If he ever does something to you… I won't stand by and watch. I won't spare him."
Maria sighed softly.
"Brother… please calm down. It's fine. I know you're only worried about me, and I appreciate it. But honestly… neither of us might be able to beat him in a direct fight."
Her eyes sharpened with determination.
"But I won't give up. I'll show him. I'll surpass him and humiliate him in front of the whole class."
Alexei gave a sly smile.
"Of course… I'll always support you."
Maria fell silent for a moment.
(Inside her mind)
Aibar… I will defeat you someday soon. No matter what, I'll surpass you.
The next morning, as usual, Aibar and Nikita arrived early and cleaned the classroom together.
But Nikita completely ignored him.
Aibar tried speaking to him several times, but Nikita ignored him the entire day.
During history class, the students finished writing down notes from the lesson.
Twenty minutes before class ended, the teacher divided the class into four groups by lottery.
Symbat, Aibar, and Maria all ended up in separate groups.
The game rules were simple:
Students had 5 minutes to review their notes.
Teams would answer questions about today's lesson one by one.
Correct answers earned 1 point.
If one team failed, the question passed to the next team.
If another team answered correctly, they would steal that point.
The match became extremely intense.
Time passed quickly.
Eventually, the final question arrived — the one that would decide everything.
Team 2, led by Symbat, had the chance to tie all three leading teams.
Symbat actually knew the answer.
But because of her feelings for Aibar… she intentionally passed the question so his team could win.
However… Aibar deliberately passed the question onward to Nikita's team instead.
Nikita answered correctly immediately.
Team 4 won first place.
Nikita looked genuinely overjoyed.
Symbat quickly realized that Aibar had intentionally allowed Nikita to win.
But she didn't get angry.
Aibar walked over and congratulated Team 4. The students were incredibly excited that Aibar himself was praising them.
"You're actually not that bad, Nikita. Thank you…"
Aibar then stepped toward Nikita and extended his hand sincerely.
"Congratulations. You beat me. How about becoming friends?"
The entire classroom froze.
Students whispered among themselves:
"No way…"
"Nikita is insanely lucky…"
"He's literally living everyone's dream right now…"
But then—
Nikita acted like he was about to accept the handshake…
Only to suddenly smack Aibar's hand away.
Symbat instantly became angry.
"What the hell?! How dare you—"
The class exploded into shock.
"You idiot…!"
"He threw away such an amazing chance…"
Maria smiled smugly.
"Hm… I don't want to be friends with you."
(Inside her thoughts)
I said I'd humiliate you… and I really did.
Then she walked out of the classroom proudly.
Aibar simply stood there calmly without reacting.
Symbat approached him warmly and gently grabbed his still-outstretched hand.
"Don't leave your hand hanging."
She smiled softly.
"Good game. Thanks."
Later, during chemistry class, the chemistry teacher, Gulnur, wanted to stop the conflict between Aibar and Nikita.
(Inside her thoughts)
No matter what… I'll make my two favorite students become friends.
A mischievous smile appeared on her face as an idea formed.
She stood before the class.
"I'll give you all a special deal. The upcoming assessment won't be made by me…"
The class immediately became attentive.
"It'll be created by two excellent students instead. One of them is the Guardian of Order."
The students instantly became nervous.
"He knows everyone's academic level very well, so he might even make the questions easier and more balanced for all of you."
The teacher intentionally tried persuading the students.
"Wouldn't that be convenient? You might not even need cheat sheets because the Guardian of Order will help you."
Aside from Symbat, the students nervously looked toward Aibar with pleading eyes.
Aibar silently nodded in agreement.
Gulnur teacher smiled.
"However… the test questions must be made together with Nikita."
Nikita immediately refused stubbornly.
Aibar quickly understood the teacher's plan and decided to cooperate.
He looked at Nikita calmly.
"I'll ask Alexei for permission."
Nikita's eyes widened slightly.
"You… have a good relationship with my brother?"
"Fifty-fifty," Aibar answered calmly. "We've met several times before. Though honestly… it felt more like he was secretly investigating me. I just assumed he was some kind of fan and ignored it."
He paused briefly.
"That happened back when I first transferred here. Don't worry about it."
Nikita became irritated.
"No… he won't agree. If I say something, he treats it like law because he's my brother. He always supports me."
"Fine," Aibar said calmly. "I know your address."
Nikita shook his head stubbornly.
"I refuse. Go away."
"3:30," Aibar replied calmly. "Be home at that time."
"Who gave you permission?! I completely refuse!"
Aibar looked at him calmly.
"So if you become a Guardian of Order someday… you'll actually become a worse tyrant than me."
Nikita tried ignoring him.
"I'd rather you stop talking to—"
But Aibar interrupted him.
"A Guardian of Order isn't just a title. It means helping people. But right now, you're proving you'd be worse than me."
His crimson eyes narrowed slightly.
"Look. If students had to choose between us after this… they'd pick me. Even if they disliked me. Because you failed to meet their expectations."
Nikita finally snapped.
"Who said I lost to you?! Fine! I agree, you bastard!"
That afternoon, Maria returned home furious.
"That jerk… who does he think he is…"
Alexei calmly looked at her.
"The Guardian of Order again?"
Maria removed her wig and disguise.
"Yes! That bastard forced me into this. He said he's coming here at 3:30…"
Alexei thought quietly.
"I won't be home at that time. I have business to handle."
Maria froze.
"Wait… brother… I'll be alone with that idiot?! No, postpone your plans!"
But Alexei reminded her that he had already promised his classmates.
"Agh… fine…"
At 2:30, Alexei left the house.
Maria eventually fell asleep while lying on her bed lost in thought.
Exactly at 3:30, Aibar arrived at the address.
He knocked on the gate.
After receiving no answer, he pulled out his phone and called repeatedly.
But Maria's phone was on silent.
Eventually, Aibar lost patience and started calling out for Nikita loudly from outside.
Maria suddenly woke up in panic.
She hurriedly put on her disguise and opened the door.
"Why did you take so long?" Aibar asked calmly. "I called you several times."
"I fell asleep…" Nikita answered while catching his breath.
Blushing slightly, Nikita let him inside, and the two began working together.
The assignment turned out to be extremely easy for them.
After all, they were the two strongest students in the school.
As they nearly finished, the adhan suddenly began playing from Aibar's phone.
Aibar calmly pulled out his phone and waited silently until it ended.
Then he looked toward Nikita.
"It's time for Maghrib prayer… Nikita, do you have a prayer mat?"
Maria looked genuinely surprised.
"You… pray?"
"Yes."
For the first time, Nikita began realizing that Aibar wasn't as terrible as she had imagined.
With a little more respect in her eyes now, Maria quietly prepared everything he needed for prayer before leaving the room so she wouldn't disturb him.