Chapter 4:- First Friend

Shizumi’s hands trembled under the desk. Her voice cracked as she forced the words out, almost a whisper—

“I… I am repenting. I already apologized. Please… just tell him I’m sorry. I beg you… forgive me for that mistake. I never wanted things to turn out like this.”

Itsuki tilted his head, studying her with a look that was far too amused. His eyes glittered with cruel delight, as though her fear was the sweetest entertainment.

“Repenting?” he echoed, rolling the word on his tongue as though tasting something exotic.

“Do you really believe apologies hold value in this academy?”

Shizumi’s throat tightened. “I—I’m truly sorry. I’ll do anything to make it right…”

The grin on Itsuki’s lips widened, sharp as a knife.

“Anything?” he murmured, leaning closer, his voice velvet but suffocating.

“Then you’ll dance on my strings until I decide otherwise. That’s the only forgiveness you’ll ever get here.”

Her breath hitched. “What do you mean…?”

Itsuki’s grin turned wicked.

“You slapped an innocent person and he is my best friend too in front of the entire academy, little desk mate. Do you think guilt alone is enough to wipe that stain? Do you think kneeling and weeping will restore his pride?”

He chuckled low, dark amusement vibrating in his chest.

“No… it won’t. You’ll have to prove your worth. You’ll have to show us all whether a mere scholarship girl can survive among royalty.”

Shizumi swallowed hard, her entire body trembling. “I… I’ll try. Just… please, don’t make things worse for me.”

Itsuki leaned back lazily, smirking, his eyes never leaving hers.

“Oh, scholarship girl… I don’t need to make things worse. You’ve already done that yourself. All I have to do…” His grin deepened, sharp and predatory.

“…is watch.”

The class burst into quiet snickers, some students whispering gleefully, others glaring at Shizumi with cruel amusement.

And amidst it all, Itsuki reclined comfortably, eyes gleaming like a predator toying with its prey.

Shizumi’s trembling words were still hanging in the air when, all of a sudden, a voice rose from between the rows of desks.

Siya.

Her face had gone pale, fear was written clearly in her eyes.

“P… please, Itsuki…” Her voice shook, fragile, as if it could shatter any second.

“Shizumi already apologized… she truly didn’t mean it. She regrets it. Please… don’t torment her anymore. Forgive her.”

The entire classroom fell into stunned silence.

All eyes turned toward Siya—toward her trembling lips, and the courage it must have taken to speak.

Itsuki slowly turned his head toward her. His smile didn’t fade, but in his eyes, a darker, sharper gleam flickered.

“Oh… so even my little audience dares to speak now.”

His tone was soft, almost casual, yet it pressed down on the air like a weight.

“Siya, wasn’t it? …Are you afraid?”

Siya bit her lip hard, her fingers gripping the desk with all her strength.

“…Y-Yes…” she whispered.

“I just… I don’t want this to go any further. Shizumi is innocent. She already regrets what happened.”

Itsuki chuckled lightly—that same soft laugh that carried a chilling edge, crawling under the skin.

“Innocent?” he repeated the word as though it were a joke.

“No one in this academy is innocent. And you…” His gaze bore into Siya’s trembling face.

“…Who gave you the right to interfere with my judgment?”

Siya’s breath hitched. Tears welled in her eyes, but she bowed her head and whispered,

“I’m sorry… Please, I’m only begging for mercy…”

For a long moment, Itsuki looked between the two of them—trembling Shizumi, frightened Siya—like a predator savoring the tension before the kill.

Then, slowly, he leaned back in his chair. His grin stretched wider, sharper.

“Interesting… very interesting.”

Itsuki’s smile faltered for the first time, surprise flashing across his face.

He tilted his head, studying Siya as though she were a puzzle he hadn’t expected to solve.

“…Hey, class president,” he drawled, his tone edged with mockery.

“If I recall correctly, you’re from the Akiuji family… the third most powerful business clan in all of Japan. A girl born with a silver spoon in her mouth. And yet—” his eyes narrowed sharply, “—this is the first time you’ve even spoken to that scholarship nobody.”

He leaned forward on his desk, grin curling back into place, but it was colder now.

“So tell me… for God’s sake, why are you doing this for her?”

The classroom buzzed faintly with whispers, but Siya didn’t answer.

Her lips pressed together, trembling, her lashes lowering to hide the storm in her eyes.

Because in that moment, her mind drifted back—back to the day she’d been showing Shizumi around the academy.

Shizumi’s voice had been soft, almost too soft to hear.

“I… I don’t have anyone. No family. No real friends either. People don’t really want to stick around someone like me. It’s always been that way…”

Her words had hung in the air like a shadow, heavy with loneliness.

But then, Shizumi smiled—small, fragile, but real.

“…But maybe… this time, I found one. You.”

That memory stabbed at Siya’s heart. Her throat tightened.

She was the class president. She was the daughter of Akiuji. She was supposed to stand tall without fear.

But none of that mattered now.

Because Shizumi wasn’t just “a scholarship student.”

She was her first and only friend.

Siya lifted her gaze again, her voice shaking but filled with resolve.

“…Because she’s not just anyone. She’s… my friend.”

Itsuki’s smile sharpened instantly—like a predator that had just spotted a new weakness.

“Oh…?” His voice was silk, but the danger beneath it was unmistakable.

“…What a joke...friend-”

---

The classroom was drowned in silence.

No one could believe what they were seeing—

the daughter of the Akiuji family, Japan’s third-largest business empire, was defending a mere scholarship student.

Itsuki tilted his head, his grin sharpening.

“Oh… now this is interesting.” His voice carried like a blade.

“Class President… if I recall correctly, you belong to the Akiuji family, don’t you? And this is the first time you’ve even spoken to that girl.”

His eyes glinted as he leaned forward, tone dripping with mockery.

“So tell me… for God’s sake, why would you—of all people—throw away your pride and your family’s name for a lonely little scholarship student?”

Siya’s lips trembled.

Her fingers clenched tightly against her desk.

For a moment she wanted to answer—but her mind went back to the day she toured the academy with Shizumi.

“I don’t have any family… I don’t have any friends either. So, if you’ll be my first friend… I promise I’ll treasure it forever.”

Those words still echoed in Siya’s heart like a vow.

She lowered her head, her voice weak but steady.

“…Because she’s my friend.”

Gasps filled the classroom.

Itsuki’s smile deepened, fangs hidden behind charm.

“Friend, huh?” he muttered.

“Then show me.”

He suddenly pointed down—toward his shoes.

“Bow. Bow down to me, Class President. If you really care about her… lick my shoes. Only then, I might forgive your precious friend.”

The class erupted in horrified whispers.

Some students covered their mouths; others froze, too terrified to breathe.

Siya’s face is drained of color.

Her knees buckled, her tears trembling on the edge of falling—

and slowly, painfully, she began to lower herself.

But before she could—

CRACK!

Itsuki’s head snapped sideways as Shizumi’s fist smashed straight into his face.

The entire classroom screamed.

Shizumi stood there, chest heaving, eyes blazing like wildfire.

Her voice shook with rage—but each word was cut like steel.

“Enough, you cross your line, I don't know who you are, whether you are Prince Charming or whatever, I don't care, Siya is my first friend… and I won’t let you trample on her dignity.”

The room went dead silent.

Itsuki straightened, wiping the thin trail of blood from his lip.

Then, slowly, his grin returned—wider, darker, more excited than ever.

“…Fascinating.” His voice was a low purr, almost gleeful.

“Now the real game begins.”

Lunch break had barely begun, yet the entire academy buzzed with a single piece of gossip—

> “The scholarship girl slapped the firstHeavenly Prince… and now she’s gone head-to-head with the ThirdHeavenly Prince!”

Whispers spread through the corridors like wildfire.

“Is she insane?”

“Challenging all three princes… that’s practically a death wish.”

"And what happened to the class president why she takes her side"

"You didn't hear her, she called her her friend!"

Meanwhile, in the academy’s royal garden, two figures sat across from each other—

Akihiro Senzai, the First Heavenly Prince, and Renjiro Kurogane, the Second Heavenly Prince.

Akihiro’s cheek still carried the faint redness from that slap. His fingers tapped against the marble table, cold fury in every motion.

“Unbelievable…” he muttered through clenched teeth.

“She dared to lay her hand on me—me—before everyone.”

Renjiro, ever the calm and calculating one, only let out a soft chuckle.

“You’re angry, Akihiro. But honestly? I find it amusing. Imagine it—a mere scholarship girl, shaking the entire academy like this.”

Akihiro’s eyes hardened.

“Her courage won’t last long.”

Just then, another voice cut through the air.

“Or perhaps… she’ll become the most entertaining game we’ve ever had.”

Both turned their heads.

There stood Itsuki, the Third Heavenly Prince, wearing his usual lazy, wolfish grin as he strolled into the garden.

“You two heard, right? That girl… she’s fascinating.”

He dropped into the seat between them, his gaze sliding toward Akihiro.

“You got the first slap… and now she’s my desk mate and she punched my beautiful face.”

Akihiro’s jaw tightened.

“She's what!? Itsuki… this isn’t a joke.”

But Itsuki only laughed under his breath.

“A joke? No. I think she’s about to become this academy’s greatest test… for us.”

Akihiro’s lips curved into a thin smile.

“Then it’s settled. Let’s see if she survives—or if we tear her apart.”

The three princes exchanged glances, a dangerous silence thickening the air.

It was the silence before a storm.

~To be continue~

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