"Good Afternoon Prince Ezekiel!"

Ezekiel looked at the noble girls and boys who just greeted him from the side and smiled at them in return. The group sighed in awe as they felt overwhelmed by his magnificent shining aura.

He was walking through the garden to go to the Student Council's office when his eyes caught sight of a familiar figure lurking around. It was Nadia, and she was wearing an aggravated expression while walking briskly to and fro.

'Nadia?'

Ezekiel doesn't know if he would stop and greet her or continue walking without saying anything and decided to do the latter. Just then, Nadia's eyes locked on him and suddenly stopped. He had no choice but to stop as well.

"Good Afternoon Prince Ezekiel," Nadia greeted with a smile that didn't reach her eyes. She was still looking annoyed and he wonders why. .

After greeting him, Nadia started ignoring him again which made him a bit surprised. He thought because Nathan wasn't around, she would start clinging to him like before. The last time was just a show, he thinks.

Ezekiel's brows scrunched together and stared at her slightly frowning face.

"You are acting weird," He mouthed.

One of Nadia's eyebrows raised in question.

"Why does Prince Ezekiel thinks so?"

His head tilted slightly to the side as he regarded her.

"Because you're calling me that and you are not annoying me like always," He stated.

Nadia took a step back and blinked at him, feeling shocked. Afterward, she started laughing out loud which made Ezekiel stares at her in confusion.

"I apologize for being annoying Prince Ezekiel," Nadia utters, still giggling. "I promise that I will never do that again," She said and sported a small smile.

Ezekiel was taken aback but didn't show it to his face. Instead, he bored his eyes on her once more, trying to fathom what's running on her mind.

'She is really strange.'

Narrowing his eyes slightly at her, the corner of his mouth lifted in his version of a smirk.

"Heh, so you are not going to call me your prince charming again?"

Nadia who saw it, almost got a heart attack looking at his handsome face smirking like that.

'Gosh, what a handsome man! This face should be illegal! Ugh, too bright!'

Nadia's face flushed for a moment and averted her eyes.

"That was me being young and foolish. I was just appreciating Prince Ezekiel's handsomeness. I like handsome men after all" She replied.

"Was? So I'm not handsome in your eyes anymore?" Ezekiel teases.

'Heh. Blushing Nadia? That's new...'

Nadia's eyes slightly narrowed from the prince's teasing.

'This guy! He's having fun picking on me!'

"You still are, but my brother looks better in my eyes now" Nadia responds and beamed at him.

This made Ezekiel laugh out loud, causing Nadia to stand there looking stunned by his sudden outburst. The Prince's head was thrown back from the action and his laugh resonated around the garden.

'What the heck. The prince is laughing? This prince? I made him laugh!'

Nadia stares at the laughing Prince that looked even more handsome in her eyes now. He was already good looking by just wearing that same smile every single day but it tripled!

'I am not going to wonder why novel Nadia chases him like a psycho. He sure is a sight for sore eyes.'

Ezekiel stifled his chuckles and gazed at Nadia, eyes dancing in merriment.

'This girl sure is funny.'

He then looked at one of his retainers that were walking in his direction now and glances back at her.

"I have to go now. See you again next time," He says, fully meaning it.

Nadia smiles at him and waves a hand.

"See you~"

Ezekiel then left and he was joined by his retainer. Inside the council room, he was still preoccupied with the scene from earlier. He can't help but think that she honestly was like a different person, but in a good way. She's much more amiable and tolerable now than before.

'I hope it's not just an act.'

He couldn't help but think that she might just be acting and has a hidden agenda. She might be planning something and this is just a ploy for me to get down my guard around her. After all, Nadia was a cunning girl.

'It doesn't feel like it though. Maybe she's truly changing for the better? But how did that happen? And why?'

Just as he was mulling about this, the door to the council's room flew open. Two guys came in and the once silent room was filled with noise.

"Yo! You wouldn't believe what we saw!" Conrad yells as the two of them flopped down on the sofa, looking like excited kids.

"It was very awesome!" Eon seconded, eyes sparkling in elation.

Ezekiel regarded them, "What is?"

Conrad looks at the prince and grinned broadly, "We just saw Nathan's sister kicking some asses in the cafeteria!"

He cocked his head to the side, looking clueless.

'Kicked ass? That's some crude words right there Conrad.'

It was so like him.

'And what does he mean by kicking ass? Did she went on a rampage?'

Ezekiel couldn't help but feel like taking back his words a while ago. She might be still the same as before and he was just being duped.

"Yeah! She was so cool!" Eon exclaims.

"What are you two talking about?" Luther comes in just in time and joins them on the sofa.

Conrad looks at him and smiled languidly, "Something amazing."

Luther's head went up and blinked at him.

"What? What is it? Tell me!"

"We just saw Nadia came in in the cafeteria alone. She was looking around, maybe trying to spot for a place to sit when these girls invited her to their table." Conrad started.

"Right! At first, they were all very friendly you know! We weren't that far from them so we could hear what they were talking about. Then these girls just suddenly started insulting her!" Eon leans forward and puts a hand on the table, "Saying things like she has dull skin and more shitty things!"

"Yeah and then they just spilled tea on her and said it was an accident," Conrad added and laughs. "I felt like I was watching a theater play."

Both Eon and Conrad burst out in a fit of laughter. Eon was nodding like he is also thinking about what Conrad had said.

"Nadia was just sitting there taking it all in! Amazing! She didn't even utter a word of rebuttal after they slighted her." Eon declared after a while.

"They seriously did that? Are they all idiots?" Luther commented and made a tsk sound. "Don't they know she's the Crown Prince's cousin? Don't they think about the ranks at all?" He rambles. "Why would they do that?"

"Right? And that's not all!" Conrad added.

Eon bobbed his head up and down, getting more and more excited.

"Yes! Did you know what she did? She seriously told them off! And then she purposely poured her tea to the lady who spilled hers on her dress! HAHAHAHAHAHA That was hilarious!" He clutched his stomach as he doubled over from laughing too much.

"And she did it twice! Saying it was an accident too! HAHAHAHAHA" Conrad burst out as well.

The room was filled with the cacophony of laughter from the two and Ezekiel watched them as they gasped for air after laughing that hard.

"-HAHAHAHAHA That was epic to watch!" Eon mumbles and wipes the tears from the corner of his eyes.

Luther, who was watching them too, shook his head. The corner of his mouth lifted as a sign of amusement.

"Man, girls are scary..." He muttered.

"Nadia was scarier though! Hahahahaha" Conrad butts in and chuckles.

As the two began to calm down, Ezekiel was still silent, contemplating inwardly. He doesn't know what to think about that but judging from those two's story, Nadia wasn't in the wrong. She didn't hit first but actually endured the whole ordeal and had only struck back when they got even more obnoxious.

He can't blame her for bursting out like that. Those girls were childish and petty. And Luther's right, they disregarded Nadia's position in society. Hierarchy doesn't matter to them, it seems.

Or maybe they were trying to rile her up. But for what reason?

Hmm...

Ezekiel ponders even more. Zoning out the three stooges who were still talking about the event from the cafeteria.

Maybe those girls thought that Nadia was still the same insufferable lady from before who would get in your face if she gets irritated. They might have planned to rile her up so she would make a scene which then would make her reputation plummet. But their plan failed, of course, because Nadia is different now.

She's not the same naive and intolerable lady everyone knows.

'She's... better?'

"Hmmm..." Ezekiel hums.

"Yah Prince! What are you thinking about?" Conrad calls out, shaking him off from his reverie.

Prince Ezekiel's eyes twitched from the way Conrad called out to him.

'This douche...'

Well, had gotten accustomed to it. It just that, he might start doing that on wrong occasions which would get him into trouble.

"Do you think Nathan would get mad if he knows about it?" Eon mumbles suddenly at the side, looking at them with interest sparkling in those eyes of his.

"Heh. I bet he would track down all of those girls! Especially that lady who spilled tea on her," Conrad grins. Like he finds that funny.

Luther's eyebrows went up and stare at them, "Nathan? That frigid guy?"

"Who's frigid?" A voice suddenly says and all four of them looked at the source of it.

Nathan closes the door behind him and looked at Luther coldly, the latter then smiled awkwardly.

"No one," He answers.

"Yo!" Eon

"'Sup!" Conrad

Nathaniel didn't answer but just nods at them in acknowledgment and made his way to the other side of the room.

After sitting down, his eyes moved to the group. "You were talking about something?"

The three guys sitting on the sofa looked at each other, unsure if they're going to tattle or not.

"W-well..."

"..."

"..."

Nathan's brows rose in question as he waited for their answers. Silence permeated the room and it became awkward all of a sudden.

Sensing the discomfort of those three stooges, Ezekiel cleared his throat.

"It's about Nadia."