Chapter 8

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《K10:The Leading Edge》

Things were normal in the Student Council room. Normal meaning that princes Alber and Ciel were arguing again while Charles and Alexis tried to placate them.

And when their efforts don't work, which happens most of the time, either Gion or Ailana ends up stepping in to stop them. It depends on whichever one of them gets irritated first.

And since Ailana seemed extra bothered by her leg today, Gion was the one to stop the argument this time. Once that was done, they were able to carry forward with their meeting

"This month, opinions from the student body increased twice compared to last month. This shows they are increasingly believing in the Student Council." Alexis reported.

"So we must work hard to fulfil everyone's wishes!"

"Of course! Not only do they trust us, we are even treated like idols! Look, this is a letter from my fan. I took it from the mailbox." Said Ciel.

"Hey! How did you open this?"

"Like Prince Ciel says...Most letters come from the princes admirers like..."

Surprisingly, the one with the most better was Ailana with a total of 45 letters. Yet it looked like it irked her even more with each letter she opened.

"What's with the sour face? You got more mail than moi!"

"If they were normal letters, then I wouldn't have minded..." She began.

"But?"

"43 out of 45 of them are love letters. The things they write are as sappy as a soap opera, and my eyes hurt reading them! Seriously, don't they have anything better to do?" Ailana huffed and tossed one of the letters she mentioned.

"It can't be that bad..." Felix took the letter she tossed and began reading it out loud. With each line, he and the others started to get awkward and cringed.

"Dear Mademoiselle Ailana, I hope this letter finds you well. I'd like to begin by expressing my strong admiration for the work you do and your radiant beauty. You are like a beautiful rose that blooms in late spring. I would very much love to have the chance to get closer to you even with all your thorns. Your eyes are like pearls shining in the -" Suddenly, out of nowhere, Felix was hit with a slipper.

"Hey! Who did that?!"

"Wasn't us!" His friends denied. Unknown to them, Livio was looking at his prince in confusion. Although Gion hid it behind his stoic mask, Livio still saw him throw the slipper at Felix. Livio had an inkling of why he did it, but it's not something he would dare to say out loud.

"Let's discuss the current issue."

"Other than fan mail, we also received a few complaints." Alexis started.

From there, their topic of discussion moved to the conditions of the dormitories. Due to low safety security, students were lodging complaints that they didn't feel safe with their privacy, even though none of their item were missing. If last time, their goal was to reduce money, this time they had to find a way to up security.

Though they weren't able to solve the problem in this meeting, they agreed to think about it and discuss it again in the next meeting.

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That night, Ailana was busy finishing up her Student Council work. While doing so, she noticed that things felt quiet. Almost eerily quiet to her.

Yet she just chalked it up to her nerves since the anniversary of her mother's passing was nearing. A day that became the first of many scars in her childhood.

While she was doing her work, Ailana suddenly received a call.

"Yes, who is this?"

"It's Gion." Huh, that was weird. Why would he of all people be calling her late at night?

"How can I help you, Your Highness?"

"...It about a few things regarding..." And so the two went back and forth discussing Student Council work that required Ailana's input. But Ailana, for her part, knew that it was a matter that didn't necessarily need her.

"....Before you go, there's something I need to ask you."

"Go ahead."

"Why did you call me and not Leon? From what I see, this is more general affairs than financial affairs." She questioned.

"I wouldn't get anything done if I called him, considering those bafoons would be causing a ruckus in the background." He stated as a matter of factly.

Suddenly, the lights in her room started flickering. Her room went dark for just a few seconds. But in those few seconds, she heard a daunting voice echoe around her.

'Ailana~~~'

Images of flames going wild floded her mind. And in the middle of it, a lone hand with burnt, falling off skin, reached out and nearly caressed her cheek if not for the familiar voice calling out to her.

"Ailana!" Gion yelled from the other end of the phone. It made her snap out of the nightmare and stand up abruptly, scattering the contents of her table to the floor.

"I-Im sorry.... I'm just really tired, so I dozed off for a second." She stammered, her trembling voice betraying how she really felt.

'Ailana....Come with me...'

Ailana closed her eyes shut while her free hand gripped the table so hard it left cracks in the wood.

"If there's nothing else, I'm retiring for the night. Good night, Your Highness." And with that, Ailana ended the call. Once she did, Ailana collapsed to her knees while covering her ears. Horrifying memories that she tried to suppress played in her mind.

'Forgive me...my daughter...'

On the other end, Gion sat staring at his phone, where just a few moments ago, Ailana hung up in a hurry.

"Is there something wrong, Your Highness?" Livio asked when he came in bring a tray of tea and snacks.

"....It's nothing."

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During their meeting to discuss what to do to improve security, Ailana was absent due to health issues. The meeting went on as usual, with Charles suggesting that they install a smart door for each dorm so that invasion privacy can be avoided.

Leon, who was disinclined to relying too much on modern technology, was opposed to the idea. One thing led to another, and not only did they decide to install smart door, but Leon somehow ended up becoming Shintarou's servant for a month.

"Why can't they settle things peacefully for once?" Ailana sighed, reading her tablet that had the meeting tentative that was sent to her. Which funnily enough, also had a video of Leon's showdown with Shintarou's robot.

Ailana had a feel that this would no doubt spark up more trouble. And she was right. From what she heard from Alexis, Felix got into an argument with Shintarou, which led to his two precious robots getting damaged. Though he was thankfully able to repair them.

She could only hope that that was the end of it. Yet as she looked out the window, Ailana couldn't help the shiver that ran up her spine, as if mocking her for having such positive thoughts.

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