Chapter 4

The day after the ball incident, I learned what social death felt like.

The moment I stepped into the classroom, the noisy chatter died instantly. Everyone turned to stare at me, their eyes filled with disdain, jealousy, and cruel amusement.

I walked stiffly to my seat. Laughter and whispers followed me.

"She actually dares to show up..."

"Shameless, seducing Prince Cassian..."

"I heard she went to that secluded spot on purpose, just so the Prince would save her..."

I spun around. The girls who'd been talking immediately shut up, but the malice in their eyes remained.

Seraphina arrived late. When she saw me, something complex flickered across her face, but she quickly came over and sat beside me.

"Elara, are you okay?" she whispered. "I heard... there are some awful rumors going around."

"Rumors about what?" I looked straight at her.

She bit her lip, looking troubled. "They say... you have ulterior motives for getting close to the Ashfords. That you want their fortune, and that you deliberately... deliberately seduced brother."

I snorted. "What do you think?"

"Of course I don't believe it!" She immediately grabbed my hand. "Elara, I've been trying to clear your name, but no one listens."

She paused, her eyes shifting. "Maybe it's because... you've been getting too close to brother? After all, he dragged you away in front of everyone last night. It's normal for people to misunderstand."

I stared at her face, catching a hint of smugness at the corner of her mouth. So she was the one spreading these rumors.

"Seraphina," I said slowly, "there's nothing between me and Cassian. Let whoever wants to misunderstand, misunderstand."

She hesitated, then smiled. "I know, sister. I believe you."

But her eyes told me she desperately wanted me ruined.

Over the next few days, things got worse. Students who used to greet me started avoiding me, crossing the hall to get away. Someone wrote "blood bag" on my desk. Someone else stuffed my locker full of artificial blood packs. Every time I opened it, the sickly sweet smell made me gag.

Seraphina still accompanied me every day, but I noticed she was always a step too late when someone bullied me. By the time she "intervened," the damage was already done. And her comfort sounded more like a reminder: You're an outsider. You don't belong here.

Worse, even the atmosphere at home changed. During dinners, Draven and Lillian's attitude toward me grew noticeably cooler. They were still polite, but the genuine warmth was gone.

One night, passing the study, I heard them talking inside.

"That child has been a bit... troublesome lately," Draven's voice was low.

"Perhaps we were too hasty," Lillian sighed. "She is human, after all. It's hard for her to truly integrate into our world."

"Seraphina came to me today. There are many rumors about Elara at school."

"What rumors?"

"That she has ulterior motives for getting close to Cassian, and that she's connected to human radical groups outside..."

I clenched my fists, nails digging into my palms. Seraphina was poisoning them against me. And Draven and Lillian believed her.

"I think we need to observe further," Draven finally said.

I slipped away quietly, returning to my room. Leaning against the door, I took deep breaths. They were starting to doubt me. Seraphina's plan was working.

The only surprise was Cassian. He still wore that cold expression, but every time we passed in the hallway, he would glance at me a second longer. A few times when I was bullied, although he didn't intervene directly, the perpetrators would mysteriously face punishment afterward. I knew it was him.

But why was he helping me? He'd explicitly told me to stay away.

On Friday afternoon, I sat alone on a bench at the academy, watching other students pass by in groups, feeling utterly isolated. This feeling was familiar. Back in Boston, I'd been alone like this too. My pureblood human status made me an outcast—no friends, no sense of belonging.

I'd thought coming to Ashford Manor would be different, but it seemed I was still an outsider.

"Hey, you're the human princess?" a cheerful voice interrupted my thoughts.

I looked up to see an unfamiliar girl standing before me. She had sleek black short hair, curious crimson eyes, and wore a knight-style uniform that gave her a bold, confident air.

"I'm Bella Brook," she said, dropping down beside me. "Heard you've been having a rough time lately?"

I eyed her warily. "What do you want?"

"Relax, I'm not here to pick a fight," Bella laughed. "I just can't stand those self-righteous idiots." She pulled out a pack of artificial blood from her bag, bit open the straw, and took a sip. "I don't believe a word of the garbage they're spreading."

"Why?" I was puzzled. "You don't even know me."

"Because I know Seraphina," Bella rolled her eyes. "That vampire is two-faced—acts like a saint, but she's actually vicious." She looked at me seriously. "I think someone's targeting you, and it's probably Seraphina. Be careful."

My heart jumped. Finally, someone who saw through Seraphina's act.

"You..."

"Don't ask how I know," Bella cut me off. "My family is military. I've had observation training since childhood. Seraphina's little tricks might fool others, but not me."

She stood up and patted my shoulder. "If anyone bothers you from now on, come find me. I mean it. You're under my protection now."

With that, she waved and strode away with confident grace.

Watching her retreating figure, I felt warmth for the first time in days. Maybe there were still people in this world willing to believe me.

But that warmth didn't last long. The next day, Bella wasn't at school. When I asked other students, they said she'd been urgently recalled by her family for an important mission.

Standing before Bella's empty seat, I knew it was too convenient to be coincidence. Bella had just promised to protect me yesterday, and today she was recalled? I didn't believe it for a second.

That night, lying in bed, I sorted through everything that had happened. I opened my phone, created a new folder, and started organizing the information I'd collected. I didn't have definitive evidence yet, but it formed a clear pattern.

"Seraphina, you think I'm a lamb for slaughter? You're dead wrong."

Just as I was thinking, my phone buzzed. A text from an unknown number.

[Leave Ashford Manor, or you will die here.]

My heart lurched. I sat up immediately. Who sent this? Seraphina? Or her accomplice?

I stared at the message, fingers trembling as I tried to call back, but it was a virtual number.

A bird suddenly cried outside the window, making me jump.

The manor was eerily quiet at night, only the whisper of wind through branches.

I pulled the blanket tighter, forcing myself to calm down. Threatening me meant I was getting close to something. My existence was a threat to them. That only strengthened my resolve to stay.

I wouldn't leave.

I would expose Seraphina's true nature. I'd let everyone know who the real victim was.

I took a screenshot of the threat, saved it, and put the phone under my pillow. Closing my eyes, I repeated to myself: Don't be afraid, Elara. You have nowhere else to go.

But just as I was about to fall asleep, I heard those familiar footsteps again. Light, stopping outside my door. I knew who it was. Cassian was here again.

He stood outside for a long time. Finally, I heard his voice, so soft it was almost inaudible.

"Hold on, Elara. Just a little longer."

I opened my eyes, staring at the ceiling in the dark. What was he waiting for? For me to break? Or for me to fight back?

I didn't know the answer.

But I knew the storm was coming.

And I had to be ready to face it.