Something in my heart began to wake up when I saw the Marquis and Marquess standing so casually in the center of the school as if nothing was wrong.

Why were they even here in the first place...?!

I thought the couple announced to the entire aristocratic society that Mattius went missing during a trip to the capital...

No one knew that they were the main reason behind Mattius' death.

And we couldn't even tell any adults about the Marquis and Marquess' real self...if we did...Deux's identity as Mattius' half would have a high chance to be discovered.

The fact that Deux was the one who ended Mattius' suffering would be found out as well...

The world...isn't a very accepting place for people like Deux.

I can't let him go through all that.

Anyway, the Marquis and Marquess didn't have any reason to be here.

So...Why were they at Greenwood Academy when they supposedly had no son to enroll?!?!

I looked over at Deux slowly to see his reaction.

He wasn't saying anything...he was just staring at his parents blankly.

I felt a small twist in my heart...

Deux...had been empty and emotionless...for a very long time.

Even now...he didn't even show a single change of emotion even though his most hated parents were right in front of him...

But there was nothing I could do right now to help him.

Nothing.

I couldn't cause a commotion here...or make the others worried...and I couldn't let the Marquis and Marquess find Deux with us by grabbing their attention...

It was frustrating.

Really...really...really...frustrating.

I hated it.

"Are you having mood swings...? Why are you suddenly so upset, brat," Ash asked with confusion clearly written on his face as he watched my face with a frown.

Whoops.

I was accidentally glaring.

"I-Uh...I'm fine..." I said slowly.

My voice was really shaky.

...Seeing the Marquis and Marquess must have really messed me up...

"Humph. Whatever. I don't care," Ash sighed as he turned his head out of the window again.

Deux gave me a small sideways glance, but he slowly averted his eyes away from me after a short while.

I was about to change the mood of the carriage by changing the conversation, but Ace spoke before I was able to say anything.

"...Who are they...?" Ace asked as he slowly pointed to the Marquis couple.

Ace was staring at me with questioning yet...troubled...eyes.

He looked perplexed as if something was heavily burdening him.

...Ace...why do you look so hurt...?

...Is there a chance...you remember them...?

Can you remember...?

"They...those people...are completely unrelated to us...Ace. Why are you asking...?" I asked with a forced smile.

I couldn't talk about the Marquis and Marquess with Ace in front of all the others. The others didn't know anything and it was meant to be that way.

But...It was weird.

Ace's memories were completely wiped away by that time-warping man.

So why, out of everyone in Greenwood Academy, did he notice the Marquis and Marquess?

I looked at Ace.

No matter how much I tried to help him regain his memories for the past few weeks...nothing worked.

Nothing...

Absolutely nothing worked...

This was the first...the very first time that I have ever seen Ace act as if he were close to remembering something.

It almost gave me a little hope.

This was good, right?

"I...I see...Yeah...I don't know why I asked that...I-I'm sorry for asking something so foolish..." Ace also forced a smile while folding his hands and averting his eyes away from me.

Shoot...

I messed up again...

I shouldn't have shot down his question like that...

"N-No...I didn't mean it like that, Ac-" I tried to say before the coachman of the carriage interrupted from the front.

"Excuse me for interrupting, but we're almost at the student drop-off area of the academy! I'll call a few guards to help you grab your bags and guide you to where you need to be!" the coachman yelled so we could all hear.

"Thank you, sir," Grey called out in reply to the coachman with a sigh.

"We're almost here, brat...so shut up and let me prepare myself mentally before I get swarmed..." Ash murmured as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Slowly the carriage came to a stop and I never had a chance to say anything to Ace...

...I'll talk to him later then...I guess...

Suddenly, the reality of the situation hit me.

I was at Greenwood Academy.

I was going to meet my mortal enemy who was also known as the heroine, Lilly, soon.

I was the future crown princess and my entire friend group consisted of male leads who had the possibility of turning on me in the future.

I was...scared...yet excited...?

I took a deep breath and the carriage door opened.

Grey left the carriage first to grab my bags with his magic and he was followed by Ace and Deux.

A royal guard stood outside the carriage door and held his hand out for me to hold onto as I stepped out.

I nodded my thanks to the guard and turned to face my fate.

Stares.

I could feel hundreds of eyes staring at me and the guys who came with me.

Was there something on my face?

Ash stepped out of the carriage after me and gave a small groan.

"Everyone will always keep staring. You better get used to it soon, brat," Ash sighed in frustration.

Wow...It looked like Ash was already used to all of this.

But...the number of people staring at us was making me slightly...embarrassed...

I know that the four guys with me were HOT.

All the boys with me were SUPER hot.

BUT DON'T STARE AT ME TOO!!!

Was there something on my face?!

Do I look weird?!

What if they think I'm ugly?!?!

...I swear that the majority of the crowd was looking at me...

I wonder why they were staring at me instead of the godly boys standing next to me...

They don't even know who I am yet!!!

It's weird.

Were they all blind or something?!

I tried giving them a small smile...but after I smiled...

...about a fifth of the crowd passed out to the ground.

WHAT?!

WAS SOMETHING HAPPENING?!

OH GOD...

ARE THEY ALL DEAD?!

"W-What happened?! Is this a weird school tradition?!" I yelled as I turned to face the others.

None of them replied back to me right away.

Instead...Ash gave me a look of disbelief and sighed with irritation.

WHY?!

WHAT DID I DO?!

"Brat...don't smile at school...ever..." Ash muttered to me as he knocked me on the head.

I was about to reply to Ash before I heard the loudest and most piercing sound in my life.

The shrieks of fangirls...

"AHHHHH!!!!! SIR CYLLIA IS HERE!!!!! SIR CYLLIA!!!!! PLEASE NOTICE ME, SENPAI!!!!! AHHHHH!!!!! YOU'RE ALWAYS SO HANDSOME!!!!! MY EYES!!!!! THE LIGHT IS TOO BRIGHT!!!!! MY EYES!!!!!" screamed dozens of girls to my brother, Ash.

But Ash wasn't the only one who seemed to have a really...loyal...fanbase.

Deux seemed to be struggling too.

"DEUX!!!!! DEUX!!!!! I MISSED YOU AND YOUR EYES SO MUCH!!!!! AHHHHH!!!!! LOOK, DEUX IS ACTING SO COOL!!!!! HE'S A STATUE!!!!! HE'S AS BEAUTIFUL AS A GOD!!!!! MY EYES!!!!! SOMEONE SAVE ME!!!!!" a huge group of people screamed.

I unconsciously covered my ears.

Fangirlism...is a religion that shouldn't be underestimated...

Actually...there were plenty of fanboys in the mix too...

Thankfully, none of the people attempted to move closer and swarm us like I thought they would.

Instead, they stayed farther away from us to watch us from a distance.

I looked over at Ash, who was just giving out calm smiles to his fans as if he was already used to this.

Deux was using his wind magic to warp the air around him, which is magic he recently came up with in order to block out loud sounds. Basically, he was the only one here who was lucky enough to be able to ignore the screaming people from far away.

"I-Is this normal?!?!" I yelled at Ash so he could hear me over all the noise.

Ash just nodded his head and continued giving his fake smile to the hoards of second-year girls.

I was about to escape the area with the help of my magic...until someone with the most powerful voice I have ever heard spoke.

"SILENCE!!" a loud booming voice yelled in order to quiet everyone.

The fangirls stopped screaming and we all looked around to see who was talking.

Footsteps could be heard as a powerful aura of a strong person enveloped the entire area.

The presence and power of this person...was probably on the same level as the king.

I naturally tensed up.

Who was this person...?!

"Seriously...You guys all need to give me a break! I'm tired and I need to take my afternoon nap..." the booming voice continued with a yawn.

Finally, the footsteps stopped and I finally saw who it was.



"It's nice to meet all of you, new students! It looks like a lot of interesting people will be joining our school this year," the cute little adorably fluffy boy of absolute cuteness said as he lowered the volume of his voice.

The boy was obviously wearing pajamas and had a clueless sleepy face.

S-SO CUTEEEEE!!!!!

HE LOOKS LIKE A LITTLE PLUSHIE THAT I CAN SQUISH TO DEATH!!!

I WANT TO SQUEEZE HIM UNTIL HIS HEAD POPS!!!!

AHH! HE'S SO CU-

Whoops.

I almost turned into a psychotic pedophilic fangirl for this little boy.

I AM NOT A SHOTA-CON!

But what is this little fluffball doing here?!

And why is the aura surrounding this fluffball so...powerful?!

"AHEM! All of you little kids are already so loud on your first day of school...How will I ever get any sleep?" the little boy said with another yawn.

D-Did this little kid...call everyone here a little kid...?!

"...Hmm? Who do we have here...?" the little boy said as he walked toward me.

"G-Good afternoon...?" I said with confusion as the boy kept moving toward me.

The little boy reached his hands upward to grab my hair and pulled me down so he could properly look at me straight in the eye at the same level.

"You're not too shabby, kid! I sense a lot of magic from you! Who are you?" the little boy asked in a childish-sounding voice with curiosity shining in his eyes.

Gah!

This little boy was way too cute for me!

I was resisting every urge I had to grab this little boy's squishy cheeks.

But I had to stay focused!

I couldn't let myself succumb to the temptation!

I couldn't embarrass myself in public!

"Hello, my name is Cordelia," I said with a soft smile to the little boy in front of me.

"..."

The boy seemed to be waiting for me to continue.

"Excuse me...? Did I say something strange...?" I asked with confusion.

"Aren't you going to tell me your family name? I won't know what your social status is otherwise...Wouldn't most people automatically try to brag about it to me?" the little boy asked with the cock of his head.

"Oh! Should I have told you my last name? I'm very sorry...my last name is-"

"Nah. It's fine. I don't need to know people's last names...They're a little hard to remember up here..." the little boy explained as he adorably pointed to his head.

S-SHO CYUTE!

"Anyway...I think I like you, Cordelia! Hmm...I'm going to kidnap you for a little bit. I'll return you to the others later!" the boy smiled cheerfully.

"Oh, sure. Of course, that's fin- Wait. What?!" I yelled as I suddenly realized what was happening.

The little boy snapped his fingers before I could object to what he was saying.

Within a millisecond, I was already in a completely different place.

Was I just...teleported with magic?!

Who was this kid?!

Instead of being outside of Greenwood Academy, I was now inside of a pretty large office.

The room was somewhat organized but was also somewhat messy at the same time.

There was only one window. The room also had a desk that had papers all over it and couches positioned to surround a coffee table in the center of the room.

The strangest thing about this office was that there was a hammock strung in the corner of the room with stuffed toys surrounding it.

"This is my office! Welcome, Cordelia!" the little boy announced with his arms out wide to showcase the room.

Wait.

Did he say this was his office...?!

"Uh...Sorry if I seem uninformed or rude...but I am deeply confused about this situation right now..." I murmured.

First, I met an adorable fluffball of a kid.

Then, that adorable fluffball teleported me to his office.

Now...I'm just plain confused.

Who even is this kid???

"Well...Can you guess who I am yet?" the little boy asked with small twinkles in his eyes.

"...Are you a mage?" I answered with the obvious.

"You aren't wrong...but well...to be more specific, I'm the principal of Greenwood Academy!" the little boy answered with a huge grin.

HUH?!

EXCUSE ME?!

"My name is PomPom! I'm known as Principal PomPom!" the boy squeaked.

HOLD UP!

SLOW DOWN!

HE'S THE PRINCIPAL OF THIS PRESTIGIOUS ACADEMY?!

THIS FLUFFBALL OF A KID...IS THE PERSON RUNNING THIS PLACE?!

"ARE YOU SURE?!" I accidentally yelled loudly.

"Last time I checked...I'm the principal and the chairman!" the little boy smiled.

"I...Uh...WHAT?!" I yelled again.

"Yep~"

"...H-How old are you...?" I asked slowly.

"Hmm...I think...I'm...648-years-old right now..." the boy answered with a little uncertainty.

I passed out right then and there.

---------------------------------------------------

A/N: Principal PomPom has now been introduced~ And, yes, Principal PomPom is always a sleepyhead.

All I can say is that the storyline will probably be peaceful...for a bit...maybe...

Yay!

Peace is good!

Anyway, there will still be a LOT more characters I need to introduce, so I'll probably update a 'character description' chapter if you guys want to take a look at it~

The 'character description' will be out sometime within the next week or so. You guys don't have to read it if you don't want any extremely minor spoilers of course, but if you guys want to know a little about new characters beforehand, I'd recommend reading it!

Thanks, again, to all my readers/voters/commenters!

Okie byeee!

Word Count: 2370