Arriving at Trinity Academy in style, Bell bid Jerman farewell as he stepped out of the car.
The two girls who exited after him immediately drew attention, students whispering and wondering why the three of them had arrived together.
Sarakit wasn't particularly well-known at the academy yet but her beauty that was deserving of a female protagonist did draw eyes; she hadn't had the chance to showcase her talents since she'd spent most of her time searching for a cure for her grandfather.
Maya, however, had her share of admirers. As the head of the News Club, the one responsible for publishing the academy's weekly paper, she'd become something of a minor celebrity within its walls.
"Why is Maya with him?"
"Isn't that Bell Agnus? Do you think the two of them…"
"Who's that pink-hair girl standing next to Bell? Who does that nobody think she is?"
"Look at that car he came in. I'll have to ask my dad for one later."
"I'm jealous. I want to come to school with two girls by my side. That's badass. Maybe I should get his signature."
A collection of comments and opinions, most of them worth less than a pile of dirt.
"See you two around," Bell said casually, parting from the girls as he made his way toward the headmistress's office.
He had received a letter a few days prior, requesting a meeting before the start of classes. The headmistress had assured him he wasn't in trouble, merely that she had a few questions for him. Once the conversation was over, he could attend his classes as usual.
As he walked down the hallway, juniors who recognized him nodded or waved in greeting. Some girls — shy or bold — called his name with a smile. If they could catch a big fish like him, they could eat their fill and still have enough left over for multiple lifetimes.
Also, he had only grown more striking over the summer break.
Bell felt… strange.
If only they knew the secret the Duke had worked so hard to hide from the academy.
He would have preferred if they looked at him with disgust instead, if their smiles had been replaced with glares. But no. They saw him as a fellow student, most of them with admiration.
Just as he was about to reach the headmistress's office, he saw her.
The other half of that incident. The victim.
The incident, or more accurately, the crime, that made Bell Agnus the most hated character in the novel.
It was Diana Watson, one of the female protagonists who would someday be known as the Ice Queen as she rode on her tamed ice dragon into battle.
Bell's heart sank.
'Is it too late to kill this shitty person?' he thought bitterly, referring not to her, but to the body he inhabited.
It felt like the cliff was calling his name.
* * *
Diana's summer break had been nothing short of miserable.
She spent nearly all of it shut inside her apartment, ordering food through delivery, avoiding any contact with the outside world.
Several times, she'd tried to step outside, but every time, her courage failed her.
"Next time."
"Tomorrow."
"I'll try again later."
She kept telling herself these things.
If not for the sponsorship money from Trinity Academy, awarded for her outstanding grades as an honor rolls student enrolled through the talent program, she wouldn't even have been able to afford her rent or bills.
To be honest, that sponsorship was the only reason she'd forced herself to return to the academy, so she could keep her grades up, continue receiving the money, and then hide away again once the semester ended.
Her friends hadn't seen or heard from her all summer. So when she arrived at the academy, her hunched posture and downward gaze shocked them.
In a way, the original Bell and Diana were quite similar in personality before the incident.
"Diana?" one called out.
She flinched before lifting her head, relaxing slightly when she recognized the voice.
"...H-Hi," she managed, forcing a twitching smile.
"Are you okay?" another asked.
"I… I'm okay," she lied.
"Then why are you like… this?"
"Like this?" Diana echoed softly.
"Sorry, but yeah. You're acting weird. Don't tell me you got into drugs?" they asked, concerned for their friend. If their friend were into drugs then they would do anything in their power to help them get out of it and recover.
"Drugs? Hah… n-n-no," she shook her head quickly, then muttered under her breath, "I wish it had been drugs."
Her friends pressed her with more questions, but she dodged around them, unwilling to lie outright yet unable to tell the truth. To open up, even to her friends, would hurt too much.
The shame. The pity. The looks.
She couldn't bear them.
It was already bad enough that every morning she woke up to a cold shiver that would gnaw away at her sanity. She had already sunken down to the bottom of the ocean, taking hours into the day before her body could even peak above the surface.
Her feet felt heavy.
Every step she took, it felt like she was dragging the world along with her.
She wanted to collapse and give up.
But the hatred in her, the anger she had, it kept her going and staying alive.
She was going to pay that son-of-a-bitch back someday.
…Someday.
She didn't know when that day would come. Her days that once used to be bright with beaming rays of light were now dark and grey.
But, that day would eventually come, she told herself every day.
"Are you sure you're okay?" her friends asked again.
"I'm f-fine."
'I'm not okay. I want to die. I want to give up. I want to sleep until I rot.'
When they realized she wouldn't tell them anything, they moved on to lighter topics, understanding that their friend must've gone through something she didn't want to say to them, at least for now.
As their group laughed at a joke one of them said, Diana laughed along, though nothing about it felt real.
She hadn't found anything funny since the incident.
But she laughed because that's what old Diana would've done.
She smiled even though it hurt to smile because that's who Diana of the past was.
She had to play this role.
She had to weak this mask.
She had to cover up the darkness that was eating her from the inside.
She had to pretend to be strong.
Because only then… only then could she pretend that she wasn't scared. Only then could she pretend that the wonderful Diana she was proud of being wasn't long gone.
It was only a mask but she hoped that if she kept it up long enough, the mask would fuse to her face and become reality.
"Bye," she said as she waved at her friends who were leaving for their classes.
She didn't share the first period with any of them so she was now walking in the hallway alone.
Step. Step. Step.
Her feet were heavy but she kept walking.
'Someday.'
As she turned the corner of the hallway with her head down, staring at the tiles of the floor, she couldn't help but notice that the hallway was louder than normal.
Loud hallways wasn't an unusual thing this early in the morning when the first period hadn't start yet as students would hang around. But it wasn't usually this loud.
'Is something going on?' she pondered.
As she lifted her head, the anger and hatred she had immediately hid away, jumping under the bed as if they were a little child hiding themselves from a drunk father that was about to beat them. Her blood ran cold.
That spark of courage she had was extinguished by a bucket of water.
All that was left in her was the fear.
Total… absolute… fear.
Her throat closed up as if she was being choked. Her heart was simultaneously beating a thousand beats a second while also being clenched and squeezed by a virtual hand.
She wanted to run. Scream. She wanted to do anything at all but she couldn't even lift a finger or twitch a single muscle.
Not even a squeak left her.
That's just how uterally terrified she was.
All the sound in the hallway vanished for her. She couldn't see anyone expect for her demon — Bell Agnus.
He was taller than she last saw him. He was bigger. He looked more beautiful than ever, too beautiful, almost ethereal — and if he was grow out his hair and apply makeup, perhaps he could've even been mistaken for a masculine lady.
Diana's mind blanked. Fear overwhelmed her entire self and she wanted nothing more to shrink and shrink until she was an atom, a dust so small that he wouldn't notice her.
"PLEASE DON'T SEE ME!" was what her soul was screaming.
She knew that her plea was for naught as he had made eye contact with her and was getting closer and closer to her with every step.
Why was he heading towards her?!
Don't get closer!
He was getting larger and larger until he was the size of a mountain. She would've had to lift her head all the way up just to see his face but she couldn't move her head whatsoever so she just stared at his chest.
Her soul was begging not to be hurt. It was apologizing, pleading, stating that it was in the wrong — even though it had did nothing to deserve these words.
She knew she did nothing wrong.
She knew she didn't deserve to have been subjected to that crime, to be treated like that.
But the fear took control of her mind and in that moment of true fear most humans would never feel a day in their life, she started to blame herself.
But just as she thought he was going to stop in front of her, he walked past her.
He didn't acknowledge her.
He didn't apologize or gloat that he got away with it.
He just continued walking.
Still frozen in place, it took a while for the ice to thaw before she finally mustered the strength to let out a quivering exhale.
Beads of sweat was dripping down her back.
The fear was starting to settle and the anger/hatred that hit itself under the bed began to poke its head out.
Biting down, she clenched her teeth, her jaw shaking, and her hands closed into fists.
"Is it just me or did it get colder all of a sudden?" a student asked his friend.
"Did it? Hmm… you're right, it did. Weird."