The Red-Class students stared at Arthur for a long time, shocked that he asked to buy them lunch. Then the boy laughed mockingly."Do we look broke to you?" he snapped sharply. "We're Red-Class. We don't need a Blue-Class charity case buying us lunch."Arthur didn't flinch."Listen," he said. "Maybe I acted too high and mighty on my first day. Maybe I came in hot and stepped on some toes I shouldn't have. But I want to make it right."He paused, maintaining steady eye contact with them. "We shouldn't be enemies. How about we become friends? Let's hang out."One of the girls, a blonde with icy eyes, crossed her arms."A Blue-Class student and a Red-Class hanging out as friends?" she said, incredulous. "That's unheard of. The hierarchy doesn't work that way."Arthur smirked. "That's funny, because I'm friends with Jamie Bush."The reaction came instantly.The boy's eyes opened wide. The blonde's mouth dropped open. The third student, a quiet girl wearing glasses, gasped audibly."Jamie

Tension hung heavily in the air inside the Student Council chamber as the two heirs sat at the round table.Roseline Zenith sat at the head of the table, her black hair neatly gathered into a bun. Her fingers drummed impatiently on the polished table.Reiner Blackwell reclined in the chair next to her, his silver spectacles catching the light as he crossed one leg over the other. He swirled the wine in his glass but didn't take a sip.A large screen had been mounted on the far wall, waiting for connections. An attendant moved silently around the table, refilling wine glasses while waiting for instructions.Roseline checked her wrist watch for the third time."Why is Andrew taking so long?" she said, her voice sharp. "He's thirty minutes late. We can't begin the meeting without him."Reiner slowly sipped his wine. "Patience, Roseline. You know Andrew doesn't stick to time. He'll be here soon."Roseline shot him a glare but said nothing.Almost immediately, the doors burst open. Andrew

The afternoon sun hung warmly over the private tennis courts behind the Imperial Tower. The courts were reserved exclusively for Tower residents, which meant Arthur and Jamie had the entire facility all to themselves.Arthur moved across the court with surprising agility. His racket struck the ball, sending it arcing gracefully over the net. Jamie scrambled to return it, but the ball bounced past him and rolled toward the fence."Point," Arthur called out, a bright smile lighting up his face.Jamie leaned forward, hands resting on his knees, breathing hard. "You're... you're actually really good at this.""I've had a lot of practice running after things," Arthur said, walking toward the net.Jamie laughed despite himself. Then his expression grew more serious."Master Arthur, there's something you should know," Jamie said, straightening up. "There's a rising protest being organized by the Red-Class students."Arthur nodded slowly. "I know. My Red-Class course mates told me about it.

Earlier that day...Andrew lounged on a leather sofa inside Reiner Blackwell's private suite, resting one leg on the armrest while scrolling through his phone.Across from him, Reiner stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the academy grounds."I want you to disrupt the party tonight," Reiner said without turning around.Andrew looked up, a slow grin spreading across his face. "Now, that sounds like fun. How exactly do you wanna disrupt it?"Reiner turned to look at him. "You're good at stirring trouble. This should be a piece of cake for you."Andrew put his phone down. "Yeah, I can do that. But what do you hope to gain from it?"Reiner walked toward the sofa, his silver spectacles reflecting the light."The Golden Student is making his first public appearance tonight," Reiner explained. "Everyone will be watching. In their minds, they've built him up to be like some kind of god. I want to strip that off. I want to make him look ordinary and weak. If he leaves a bad impres

Andrew's face went white as his father's voice continued to roar through the phone. "Dad, what's going on?" Andrew managed, his voice barely above a whisper. "I'll tell you what's going on!" his father thundered. "Volkov Industries is gone! EVERYTHING IS GONE! Our accounts are frozen! Our assets are seized! Our holdings are being liquidated as we speak!" Andrew's mouth opened, but no words came out. His hand shook violently as he gripped the phone, the device almost slipping from his grasp. "The banks won't return our calls!" his father continued, his voice breaking with desperation. "The board has turned against us! We have nothing! NOTHING! Because of YOU!" "Me?" Andrew stammered. "I didn't do anything—" "You son of a bitch!" his father roared. "You hit the Golden Student, didn't you?!" The blood drained from Andrew's face. His legs felt like they were made of jelly. "How did you—" "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?!" his father screamed. "The Golden Student acquired Volkov Industrie