When the family gathered around the dinner table, Marlene turned to the two girls and asked:"
_So, did you like the school?"
Lilia exclaimed excitedly:"
_Yes!!! I met so many nice girls, and we played together! The teachers were wonderful too!!!"
_"I'm happy for you, sweetheart… Why are you so quiet, my dear Celine?"
Celine took a sip of her juice before answering with a cold expression:"
_Nothing important. It's been taken care of."
Her mother's expression changed, and suspicion began to creep into her mind.
_"Tell me everything that happened. Now. Don't hide anything from me, my daughter."
_"It's nothing serious. One of the girls bothered me and bullied me, but I wasn't too bothered by it. Besides, the student council president stepped in and solved the problem."
_"What?!!! And what gives that arrogant girl the right to bully you?! We need to teach her a lesson."
_"Don't worry yourself over a girl like that. The head boy will deal with her. Besides, I got what I needed in the end. He showed me where the classrooms were and explained the school rules and everything else I needed to know. Ah, right, it turned out that the head boy and I are in the same class. His name is Horselius."
_"Hmm… He sounds like a good boy. I'd like to meet him."
_"Mom, he's just a classmate, that's all."
_"Hmm… Really? I doubt it."
Celine sighed and added:"
_Do you consider helping new students an indication that he has ulterior motives?! Please, we're not living in a Disney movie."
Marlene laughed and replied:"
_You're right, but I only said that based on my feelings and intuition. We'll see."
Celine sighed and continued eating her meal in silence, while Marlene kept staring at her with a smile.
As for Lilia, she remained lost in thought 'What does Mom mean by that? Whatever it is, I won't let anyone take my sister away from me'
After dinner, Celine went straight to her room and shut the door. She had homework to finish, but she wasn't in the mood for it.
She threw herself onto the bed and punched the pillow over and over again, screaming internally:
"AAAAAAAAAH!!! What did that bastard mean by what he said?! What does he mean by saying he isn't used to accompanying girls on a tour around the school? And then he winks!!! I feel like he's just making fun of me and didn't mean anything by those stupid words of his!!!! Just you wait, Horselius."
At the same time, Horselius was in his room, writing some reports for the school principal. What he had discovered about Celine's family had not left his mind 'They shouldn't remember anything right now. I feel like getting involved is a bad idea, but at the very least, I have to make sure my father doesn't find out about this. He's had his eyes on the high school students for some time now. He seems to be planning another insane experiment. He needs to stay away from our school, or he might discover that Celine studies here'
He then sighed and said in a low voice:"Why do I have to bear this burden? I wish my father had never gotten involved in illegal scientific experiments."
A few seconds later, he heard a knock on the door, followed by a voice saying:"Mr. Horselius, the president requests your presence."
The boy frowned and tossed the reports aside before going to answer his father's summons.
When he reached the main office, he took a deep breath and opened the door.
_"Hello, Father. Did you summon me?"
A tall man with sharp features and a terrifying aura turned toward him and said:"
_You were told that I summoned you, so there is no need to ask me a question when you already know the answer. More importantly, what do you have to do tonight?"
_"I apologize for my stupid question. As for tonight, I have some reports to write for the principal, and I've already started working on them."
_"I'm beginning to hate this position of yours. What are you going to gain from being the student council president? You are my only son and my heir. You will inherit my company and my businesses. You need to be competent and experienced. I may entrust our commercial company to you one day, while the other operations are not so simple. You know that overseeing scientific research without the state's knowledge is extremely dangerous, but on the other hand, it is what built our influence and elevated our standing in society."
_"Forgive me for being honest, but I want to choose my own future. I can build a position for myself in society without resorting to illegal methods. I wish you would stop these failed experiments."
_"They would never have failed if it weren't for that fool Ryan and the rats he brought. He took the third child with him, intending to raise him. I never needed that weakling in the first place. He ruined the experiment."
Horselius held his breath, his mind nearly exploding with all the possibilities that raced through it if his father were to find out about Celine.
The boy gathered his thoughts and said firmly:"
_We've had enough of these experiments! Please, Father, abandon these ideas! You've already acquired more than enough wealth, and there's no need to waste it on things like this. I have two years left until graduation, and I'm thinking of pursuing a political position, especially since the principal has promised to recommend me. He has many connections in that field."
_"And what does that have to do with me? I've already started, and I'm not backing down now. So stop your pathetic attempts to change my mind. Now, leave."
_"As you command."
The boy left, burning with anger. He found his own weakness unbearable, and if his father continued down this path, many innocent people would pay with their lives for it.
'I have to meet Celine's father. Perhaps he knows something. He may still have his memories. There's also the scientist Ryan. His desire to raise the child and release him to Celine and Lilia may mean that he is my father's enemy. If so, perhaps with their help, I can submit a report to the police and have my father arrested. If I can protect the world from the organization's evil by putting my father behind bars, I'll gladly do it.'
Horselius thought.
The following day, the head boy was the first to arrive, as usual. He handed the reports to the principal, checked the list of teachers who would be absent that day, gave the vice president a list of tasks, and took care of the other duties he carried out every day.
After this daily ordeal was over, he stationed himself in front of the classroom, waiting for Celine.
The deputy head girl Maria found his behavior strange and asked:"
_Are you waiting for someone, Sir?"
The boy looked at her disapprovingly and replied:"
_And what exactly bothers you about that? And what are you doing here in the first place? I didn't appoint you as my deputy so that you could spend the entire day standing around in the courtyard. Go do your work immediately."
_"Sorry if my question bothered you. I assumed you were waiting for that blonde girl everyone has been gossiping about. The students have started spreading rumors that the two of you are in a relationship after they saw you together yesterday."
_"Get out of my sight, and don't fill your head with such pointless nonsense, that is, if you even have a brain. I'll warn you once, and there won't be a second warning. Focus on your duties, or I'll remove you from your position. And as punishment, you are to write reports containing the names of every student spreading these rumors. If any of them has taken pictures or written ridiculous posts, severe punishment will be imposed on them."
_"Yes, Sir."