"You crazy bastard." Eldric growled immediately, latching onto Alex's hair and curling his fingers through the short strands tied with a ribbon. With his other hand, moving so fast it was almost a blur, he snatched a nearby food tray from one of the students and struck Alex across the face with it, sending the food spilling down in a cascade onto him.
Eldric did not stop. He grabbed onto Alex's coat and drew back his fist, launching it toward Alex's food-drenched face, but the blow did not reach Alex's face. It was stopped midway. By Princess Eva.
Princess Eva appeared with a furious expression, her silver hair seemingly glowing beneath the daylight as the sun's rays poured in through the windows, her black eyes carrying a glare so fierce that it made Eldric freeze entirely where he stood.
Eva had not merely stopped the punch. She had clasped his fist so tightly that the knuckles and bones of Eldric's fingers and palm cracked beneath the force of her grip.
"Stop!" Eldric pleaded, his previously furious demeanor melting away in an instant.
"You have violated the student code of conduct, Student Eldric." The princess spoke in an icy tone, tightening her grip even further around his fist and making him grunt in pain. "Your punishment will be decided by the student council, along with Nack's, who had knowingly placed his leg in Alex's path to make him fall."
"Yes, yes, I am ready to accept my punishment, just let go of my fist." Eldric's voice had taken on a pleading edge.
The princess slowly loosened her hold, but at the last moment she did not miss the opportunity to crack one or two of his fingers before releasing him entirely. Eldric visibly winced in pain, squeezing his eyes shut as he fought to keep from screaming out loud.
"Let go of Alex's coat," Eva ordered.
Eldric, who was already trembling on the very edge of screaming out in pain, flinched at her voice and immediately obeyed, releasing Alex's coat that he had been clutching so tightly until now.
"What about Alex? Don't you see that he spilled his food all over my head?" Eldric protested, he tried to compose himself and not make a fool out of himself in front of everyone watching.
The princess turned toward Alex. Alex's azure eyes trembled as they met with the princess's dark pupils, and for a brief second his breath hitched in his throat.
"Alex will be punished for spilling food on you." The princess said.
Alex felt his blood turn cold.
"But they started it first." Alex protested, tasting the salty remnants of food still drooling slowly down his face.
Alex held the princess's gaze and did not look away. He did not like the way they were meeting like this, not in some peaceful setting but in the middle of what felt like a battlefield, with him standing here drenched in food and protesting against her in front of the entire canteen. It did not feel right, yet Alex could not bring himself to simply accept punishment for retaliating against their bullying. They were the ones who had bullied him first, and Nack had deliberately placed his leg in Alex's path while he was walking with his tray, making Alex stumble and fall.
Alex could not simply swallow the injustice of being punished alongside the very people who had started it all.
Princess Eva's lips trembled faintly, and her eyes shook for just a moment as they settled on Alex, but she drew on a poker face almost immediately. "We will discuss the matter in the student council committee and decide what punishment Alex, Eldric, and Nack will each receive," she said.
She then turned back toward Eldric, seemingly unable to bear looking at Alex in that state for a second longer. "Everyone will meet in the student council's office after the end of recess," the Princess declared.
As if on cue, the recess bell rang out across the hall, announcing the end of recess, and without so much as a backward glance, the princess turned and exited the canteen hall.
Eldric bit his tongue in anger, stomped his feet hard against the floor, and marched out of the canteen hall as well, with Nack following closely behind Eldric with a head lowered.
Alex turned around to look at the students who had remained behind, most of them visibly holding back their laughter while others were deliberately avoiding his gaze, suddenly very preoccupied with finishing the food on their trays.
And, just as Alex took his first step toward the exit, he felt a hand settle on his shoulder. He expected it to be Lara, but instead it was a student he did not recognize, one wearing a black lapel, with four silver blades hanging at his shoulder blade and three golden stars gleaming on his chest. He was handsome, carrying the natural refinement of a gentleman, his build lean yet suggesting a quiet strength beneath the surface. He had light gray hair paired with black eyes and a pale white face, his uniform fitting so precisely around his frame that it seemed tailored to emphasize every inch of that carefully maintained gentlemanly bearing. He wore a gentle smile on his lips, the kind that could have been entirely genuine or could just as easily have been polished and perfected over many years of practiced smiling.
"Do not worry about it. I will make sure that Eldric and Nack receive their correct punishment," the student said, and then turned and walked away toward the exit without allowing Alex to utter even a single word in response, nor did the student look back once before stepping out.
Before he could understand what just happened, an arm looped through his own, and Alex already knew whose it was before he even turned his head.
Bella appeared at his side, smiling brightly and looking as though she was thoroughly enjoying every bit of the situation.
"It looks like the student council president has taken a liking to you," she said with a cheerful lilt in her voice.
"What?" Alex became too baffled by the fact that the president himself had approached him to properly respond, he was unable to digest the fact that the president would talk to him personally. "Is he really the president?"
"He is indeed. Did you not see those three golden stars twinkling on his chest? They signify the head of the student council." Bella explained, already dragging him by the arm toward the exit. "Now, now, let us get going. I will show you to the student council office, and on the way there, please clean yourself up," she added, eyeing his face with a wrinkled nose.
"Mm," Alex nodded, unsure exactly what his face looked like at the moment, though judging by the barely suppressed laughter on the faces of every student he had passed, it had to be thoroughly and miserably riddled with food.
***
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