Right, I forgot to mention — Thalia’s dorm was in the same complex as mine.
It made sense. I lived in one of the most expensive buildings on Ascent, after all.
But since she was on the other side of the wing, I hardly ever saw her. And I preferred it that way.
I even made an active effort to avoid her – taking the back entrance, using the stairs instead of the elevator, or anything to minimize contact with her.
But today in my rush to run away from Michael, I’d made one crucial mistake…
I forgot that Thalia had an impeccable talent for showing up in my life precisely when I needed her not to.
And judging by the company she kept today, it was about to get worse.
Alice and Willem stood beside her.
Why they were with her, I had no idea.
From the looks of it and from what I had heard, they were now living together or something?
Or, more likely, the royal twins had invited themselves over to Thalia’s place. Because knowing my sister, she’d never willingly agree to share a roof with them.
Whatever.
This had nothing to do with me.
So, without bothering to give them another glance, I tried to walk past the trio—
But of course, it wouldn’t be that easy.
Willem casually stepped in front of me, his towering frame blocking my path like a wall. I looked up to see an infuriating smirk plastered on his strikingly handsome face.
At the same time, Alice placed a hand on my shoulder, mirroring her brother’s expression.
And Thalia? She simply stared at me with a chilling sense of superiority. “Come now, little brother. Were you going to leave without properly apologizing?”
I gritted my teeth. “I did, Lia. I apologized.”
“Properly,” she emphasized.
“And you didn’t even say hello to us, Sammy,” Alice chimed in, her voice practically singing with amusement.
“Careful, Ali,” Willem told his sister. “Last time you called him that, he went feral and attacked us like a rabid dog in need of being put down.”
“Oh, you did, didn’t you, Sammy?” Alice grinned, putting extra effort into the nickname just to get under my skin.
I closed my eyes, exhaling slowly. Patience. Patience.
“Look,” I sighed, rubbing my eyes. “I’ve had a long couple of days, and I’m really not in the mood for this. So if you’ll excuse me—”
“Ah-ah,” Willem cut me off, his smirk widening. “What’s the rush? We haven’t seen each other in so long, and you’re already trying to escape? That hurts, Sammy.”
I twitched. “Stop. Calling. Me. That.”
“But it’s so cute!” Alice cooed, her red eyes gleaming like burning embers.
Thalia remained silent, simply watching with that same frosty expression.
Michael, meanwhile, was frozen behind me, glancing between us like he’d just wandered into a minefield and wasn’t sure where to step.
Smart.
“Alright,” I spat sharply. “What do you want?”
Thalia crossed her arms. “Oh, I just want to catch up, dear brother. It’s been so long since we’ve had a proper conversation.”
“Yes, because the last time we had a conversation, I nearly killed you,” I scoffed. “Remember the Team Test? You foolishly challenged me to a one-on-one and got put in your place?”
Thalia’s eyes darkened — then, to my annoyance, a spark of amusement lit up in their golden depths.
“Flaunt your little single victory all you want,” she mused, tilting her head, “but you’ll always be as weak as the day I proved you were nothing but a pathetic failure. Unworthy of our family name.”
Her lips curled into a grin. “Remember our Rite of Valor? The one that decided Father’s successor? Where I put you in your place?”
My heart raced and my fists curled into a ball.
But I stayed silent.
The air crackled between us as she smiled. “Touched a nerve?”
She did.
But I refused to give her the satisfaction.
“Oh my!” Alice giggled, putting a hand on her mouth as her voice dripped with mock delight. “I don’t think he has anything to say, Lia!”
“Let’s leave him alone,” Willem chuckled, shaking his head. “If you girls keep going, he might start crying again. Like he used to. I wouldn’t want to babysit a crybaby again.”
Alice giggled again.
Thalia also chuckled before baring her teeth at me. “Oh, and I heard you botched your first mission. Not that I’m surprised. What were they expecting from a disgrace like you? Honestly, I don’t know why Father didn’t disown you complet—”
Before she could finish her sentence, a sharp voice cut her off. “Hey! Enough!”
I resisted the urge to palm my face.
Why did he have to speak?
Michael stepped forward from behind me and looked at Thalia with a challenge in his eyes. “I don’t know or care what your issue is with him, but don’t you dare talk about our mission like you were there.”
Thalia’s gaze flicked toward him, turning sharp like a blade. “How dare you speak to me in that tone, peasant?”
She lunged to reach for his collar.
But I stepped in between them just in time, stopping them by raising an arm in front of my twin sister. “Okay, back off, Lia.”
Before I could blink, Willem shoved me back a step in response. “How about you back the fuck off, man?”
Michael stiffened beside me, fists tightening as he prepared to fight..
Alice and Thalia looked ready to summon their Cards as well.
Willem was already invading my personal space.
A small crowd had gathered around us by now. Most of them had taken their phones out, eagerly wanting to capture the fight that was about to go down.
But nothing happened.
Because I raised my voice first. “Enough!”
The word echoed through the hall.
Then, I pointed at the security cameras overhead near the elevators and gestured toward Willem. “Those CCTVs recorded you pushing me first. And we have plenty of witnesses here. If we fight now, I’ll be acting in self-defense. I’ll use no Cards, since we’re unsupervised. Royalty or not, high-noble or not — if you lay a hand on me, you’ll be facing real consequences for assaulting your Ace.”
Silence washed over the hall.
Willem’s eyes flicked to the cameras, then settled back to me.
His hand trembled at his side, debating whether smashing my face in was worth the risk.
It wasn’t.
Thalia crossed her arms and spoke in a ridiculing tone, “Aww. So this is what you’ve become? A sniveling little rat hiding behind rules and regulations? How disappointing.”
I shrugged nonchalantly. “Call it what you want. But if you wish to come after me, do it properly. Don’t try to provoke me into a duel. I won’t fall for your petty childish games anymore.”
Alice rolled her eyes.
Willem’s angered expression shifted to that of amusement — too fast to be natural. It was as if he was acting up until now. Like he’d been caught playing a part.
“Forget it,” Thalia finally said, brushing past me. “I have better things to do than waste my time on failures.”
Alice hummed in amusement and followed after my sister. Willem smirked, trailing behind them.
And just like that—
The show was over.