"Brother, it''s already toote. You were supposed to be home fifteen minutes ago," she said calmly. Yet somehow, her words enveloped the entire area in total darkness.


    The darkness around us was serene and tranquil, yet so profound it could easily be terrifying. Still, for some strange reason, it carried a faint sense of loneliness. Putting that feeling aside, I silently looked at Azrael. Her neatly styled hair cascaded down her back, her rosy lips and glowing red eyes matched with a short ck dress. In short, she was entirely different from the usual appearance she had at the academy. The transformation was devastatingly striking—her porcin skin adorable and doll-like, further entuated by her petite stature that gave her an almost ethereal charm.


    Even so—"Brother?" I thought, secretly surprised. I nced at Ariel out of the corner of my eye.


    He wore a somewhat awkward smile, sighed slightly, and looked up at the moon in the sky. "Sister… not now, I''m a bit busy," he said with a smile, walking slowly toward Azrael.


    She looked at him, then shifted her gaze to Elizabeth, studying them both. "You lied to me?" she asked, tilting her head slightly, her crimson eyes glowing dangerously.


    "Just a little… but!" Ariel raised a finger, attempting to justify himself. "It was necessary. You know how strict you can be; I had no other options." He shrugged.


    "Even so, this is wrong. We''ll have a talk when we return." Azrael crossed her arms and nced briefly at me. "What''s this about fighting Arthur?" she asked, her tone serious.


    "Oh! That''s because it would be very interesting to watch!" Elizabeth raised her hand and spoke with a bright smile, her eyes lighting up. "It''s just for fun, and it''s necessary too. Don''t you think it''ll be exciting?"


    "I don''t care if it''s exciting or not," Azrael said coldly, looking at Elizabeth. "Tell me, what are you nning?" She turned her gaze to her brother.


    Ariel smiled slightly. "An experiment."


    "Experiment?" Azrael repeated, confused.


    "Yes, exactly. You know what I''m talking about," Ariel said with a mysterious smile. Azrael frowned, remaining silent for a few moments. "If you put it that way, it makes sense, yes." She nodded, then turned to look me in the eyes as if awaiting a response.


    A fight with Ariel, I thought to myself. I didn''t know much about him or Azrael, but now I knew they were siblings. On the other hand, seeing Ariel''s confident, almost carefree smile with a hint of arrogance suggested he was sure of himself. But at the same time, I couldn''t quite figure out what Elizabeth had in mind by requesting abat. From what I understood, these kinds of things were prohibited outside the academy—unless…


    "Exactly. As we all know, the second event was a total failure, and we can''t assign points to the sses for… let''s call them security reasons," Elizabeth said, clicking her tongue slightly. "So, I proposed abat between sses. But since there are five… there''s a small problem, easily solved, but I won''t tell you the details. This will be discussed tomorrow with your respective assigned tutors. But the conclusion is," Elizabeth stood up, "the first ss, being the top one, won''t fight anyone. A bit unfair, but normal, isn''t it?" She shrugged indifferently.


    "So, that means the other four sses will face off against each other, and the winner will challenge the first ss?" That didn''t make much sense. The first ss would have a clear and significant advantage over the other four.


    "Yes, but let me tell you, during the second event, if it weren''t for the chaos, they would have been the winners. That''s why it was decided this way. If you want to reach the top, you''ll have to fight for it. I''m confident ss Two will be the one to challenge ss One," Elizabeth said, crossing her arms. Then she looked at Azrael. "Don''t you want to be with your brother? It would be easy for me to arrange that transfer, you know."


    "No, I don''t want any help from you," Azrael said firmly.


    "Understood," Elizabeth said with a faint smile, then turned her gaze to me. "And what do you say?"


    "What do I say?" I scoffed inwardly. My opinion didn''t matter. Based on what she had just said, as the organizer of this event, it was clear I had no voice. She would do whatever she wanted without issue, even if… "Fine."


    "Good, I like that confidence of yours. If you manage to win, I''ll let you join the council. What do you think?" Elizabeth leaned forward slightly, looking at me. "The council holds more power than the professors and administrative staff. We''re only below the headmaster. That''s a lot of power in your hands. Interesting, don''t you think?"


    For some reason, every time she spoke, it felt like listening to the temptations of Lilith herself. Her words were as sweet as honey, but she couldn''t be fully trusted. I knew her twisted personality too well. "And if I lose?" There are no gains without consequences. That''s something I''d learned over the past few months. There''s always a catch in every opportunity.


    "If you lose, I''ll drop you to the fifth ss," she said bluntly, her smile just as kind and her eyes still gleaming. "It would be a shame to separate you from Leslie, Evelyn, and Dani, don''t you think?"


    "That would be quite unfortunate, yes," I agreed. That made sense, but it also made me realize she had an idea of the kind of rtionship I had with them. Still… joining the council, though it meant more work, also represented an opportunity.n/?/vel/b//jn dot c//om


    "I see we understand each other very well. Take this, it''s my gift to you," Elizabeth said, extending her hand.


    "A candy?" I asked, slightly surprised as I epted it.


    "It''s chocte-vored and very expensive—one of my favorite candies," she said with a hint of sadness as she looked at the candy in my hand. "Well, that''s all from me. It was a pleasure talking to you. Shall we go?" She turned her head and brightly looked at Ariel, extending her hand.


    Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire


    Ariel approached her with a smile, gently took her hand, and with a nod, left with Elizabeth.


    Now it was just Azrael and me. We silently watched them as they walked away hand in hand like two lovers. I have to say, I don''t understand them.


    "You won''t win," Azrael''s delicate, doll-like voice snapped me out of my thoughts.


    "Who knows, maybe I will, maybe I won''t," I replied calmly. When I turned to look at her, she was gone. I was alone in the middle of an alley, the only lighting from the moon.