Cocolia was now eagerly waiting to send Raiden Ryoma to prison.
Doing so would increase her influence within Anti-Entropy.
Unbeknownst to Raiden Ryoma, he had already been targeted.
All factions knew this was part of a grand play, except for Anti-Entropy.
Oh, dear Welt, let's guess who wasn't invited to this magnificent drama? Oh, it's you.
Days passed uneventfully until one day, several months later.
"Breaking news, breaking news! ME Corporation's president, Raiden Ryoma, has been arrested on charges of embezzlement, bribery, and corruption."
"How is this possible? My father would never do such a thing!"
In the schoolyard, Raiden Mei, who had been casually checking her phone during a break, nearly lost her balance upon seeing the news.
She couldn't believe her father was capable of such actions.
"No, my father must have been framed. There's no way he would do something like that."
As his daughter, Raiden Mei firmly believed her father was innocent.
But she was the only one who held onto this belief.
Her classmates quickly began to turn on her.
Since the charges hadn't been fully confirmed, no one took any action yet.
Kiana, however, continued to approach Raiden Mei as usual, chatting with her as if nothing had happened.
A few days later, when Raiden Ryoma was officially convicted and sent to prison, the classmates who had once fawned over Raiden Mei quickly changed their tune.
The moment Raiden Mei stepped into the classroom, she was met not with the usual greetings, but with mocking voices.
"Oh, look, it's the criminal's daughter. No wonder he climbed so high—embezzlement and bribery, huh? Tsk tsk."
"Who would've thought? And with a father like that, she probably inherited his nasty traits."
Hearing the insults, Raiden Mei clenched her fists.
She wanted to shout that her father wasn't that kind of person.
But faced with the overwhelming evidence, she couldn't bring herself to speak up.
She knew that if she did, she would only invite more ridicule.
So she silently returned to her seat.
But her once-pristine desk was now covered in graffiti.
Words like "Die, criminal's daughter" and other insults were scrawled across it.
Raiden Mei remained silent, quietly pulling out her books from the drawer.
But her books were now torn and tattered.
When the teacher arrived, Raiden Mei hoped the teacher would stand by her.
She raised her hand. "Teacher, my books are damaged. May I request new ones?"
"If you can't even take care of your own books, why are you even here? Borrow from your classmates. There are no extra books."
The teacher, who had once been polite to Raiden Mei, now spoke with disdain.
Perhaps it was some twisted satisfaction in seeing the once-privileged girl fall from grace.
Hearing this, Raiden Mei bit her lip, forcing back her tears.
She then turned to her usual friends, hoping to share their books, but they all refused, even saying they didn't want to be friends with a criminal's daughter.
At that moment, Raiden Mei felt as if her world had collapsed.
Why? Everyone had been so different before.
Raiden Mei couldn't understand why her friends would act this way. Shouldn't friends stand by each other?
Silently, she returned to her seat, staring at her ruined books. She wanted to cry.
Then, a cheerful voice broke the silence.
"Sorry, teacher! I was helping an old lady cross the street, so I'm late."
"Same excuse as always. Fine, just sit down. I don't want to hear it."
The teacher glanced at the panting white-haired girl and let her return to her seat.
Kiana scratched her head with a sheepish grin and sat down.
"Hey, Mei-senpai, why are your books all torn?"
"I... I didn't take good care of them."
Seeing the girl who had always stuck by her, Raiden Mei feared Kiana would abandon her like the others.
"Oh, well, you can use my books. I don't really study much anyway, hehe~."
Kiana handed over her pristine books with a grin.
Raiden Mei opened her mouth but couldn't find the words. She silently accepted the books.
By noon, Raiden Mei still couldn't accept what had happened and approached her other friends.
But they all rejected her, making her realize that they had only befriended her for her connections.
Sitting on the rooftop, Raiden Mei ate her lunch alone.
Then, the white-haired girl appeared again.
"Mei-senpai, I forgot my lunch. Can I try some of yours? It looks delicious."
Kiana eyed Raiden Mei's lunchbox eagerly.
Raiden Mei was stunned for a moment.
After a pause, she handed her lunchbox to Kiana.
"Don't forget to bring your own next time."
"Thanks, Mei-senpai! You're the best!"
Kiana immediately dug in, her Kaslana appetite on full display.
In less than five minutes, she had finished the entire lunchbox.
"That was delicious! Mei-senpai, your cooking is amazing."
"I didn't make this. It was... prepared by the housekeeper."
"Really? I'd love to try your cooking someday. I bet it's even better!"
Kiana patted her stomach, looking at Raiden Mei with hopeful eyes.
Raiden Mei wanted to say she had never cooked before, but seeing Kiana's expectant gaze, she couldn't bring herself to say no.
"I'll cook for you sometime."
It wasn't that Raiden Mei wanted to cook, but she knew that soon, she wouldn't be able to afford a housekeeper.
With her father convicted of embezzlement, their assets would be seized.
The money she had saved wouldn't be enough to keep the housekeeper.
So, she would have to do many things herself from now on.
But Kiana didn't care about any of that. All she knew was that Raiden Mei would cook for her someday, so she raised her hands in excitement. "Yay!"
"Tsk tsk, my daughter sure knows how to flirt."
Watching Kiana interact with his future daughter-in-law, Siegfried nodded in approval.
She had clearly inherited his genes when it came to charming girls.
But the next second, his ear was grabbed.
"Darling, care to explain what you mean by 'inheriting your flirting skills'?"