Chapter 1 A Little Lie
Emrys bent down to look at the golden kitten on the sidewalk, which was meowing softly. Yellow petals from the amaltas tree above drifted down, and one landed on the kitten’s eye. Emrys watched with a tilted head as the kitten blinked and meowed before trying to brush the petal away with its tiny paw.
Emrys smiled gently and removed the petal from the kitten’s eye.
“I knew you’d end up like this. When I tried to pick you up yesterday, why did you scratch me?”
He flicked the kitten’s forehead lightly, and it mewed in protest.
“I don’t have anything to feed you. Besides, didn’t you reject my food yesterday?”
As if it understood his words, the kitten immediately started acting cute, widening its deep golden eyes. It flopped onto the ground and exposed its tiny belly to him.
Satisfied with its attitude, Emrys picked the kitten up with one hand and rested it on his palm.
“Behave yourself and don’t scratch me again. Otherwise, you’ll end up hungry on the streets. Drenched in the rain.”
Emrys adjusted his school bag and started walking again.
Today was the first day at the elite school he had transferred to.
He wasn’t excited and he didn’t care.
And he hoped to delay whatever the school had in store for him for as long as possible.
Taking a detour to a pet store was the perfect excuse.
He walked to the nearby pet store he had already visited several times. The bell above the door chimed softly as he stepped inside.
“Welcome to Paw Pet Store.”
The part-time worker greeted him warmly.
Emrys cringed at the name.
“What sort of pet are you looking for?”
Emrys placed the pretty kitten on the counter.
“Can you take care of it? I’ll pay.”
The worker carefully took the kitten into his arms.
“Ten dollars a day.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“Have you named it yet?”
Emrys paused for a moment before saying the name he had thought of the previous night.
“Auris.”
The worker smiled.
“It suits her well. Your cat suits you too. Are you planning to adopt her?”
Emrys thought about his current situation and felt a little helpless.
“I don’t have anything except money right now. I’ll decide later.”
Emrys felt a pang in his chest as he left the pet shop, but he quickly picked up his pace.
He was already late for school.
After half an hour of walking—and one damned uphill climb—he finally reached the school’s grand entrance.
The campus looked every bit as majestic as one would expect from an elite academy: castle-like buildings, towering wrought-iron gates, and the school’s name displayed in elegant lettering.
Medville Academy.
Emrys wasn’t the only one arriving late. Several luxurious cars were still dropping off students.
Thinking no one had noticed him, he quietly walked through the gates.
Clearly, he was mistaken.
As the only student who had actually walked to school, he quickly drew attention.
A boy around his age grabbed him by the shoulder.
“I can’t believe people still walk to school.”
His gaze was openly hostile.
Tall, handsome, and impeccably groomed, he looked like someone who had never known hardship.
“Do you even go to this school?”
Emrys blinked and silently showed him his student ID.
The boy patted his shoulder a little too hard.
“Who the hell are you?”
“I transferred here recently. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m late, so f*ck off and stop bothering me.”
The boy’s lips twitched.
“Watch your filthy mouth. Who do you think you’re talking to?!”
Emrys removed the boy’s hand from his shoulder.
“Whatever.”
He rolled his eyes and walked away.
The boy cursed under his breath before shouting after him.
“What are you playing at, you damned pauper?! Are you some scholarship student or something?!”
Emrys stopped, turned around, and yelled back,
“So what if I am?! Don’t mess with me!”
Well... he wasn’t.
He simply walked to school because he was still furious with his biological family.
Looking at the school map on his phone, he navigated toward the admissions office to report to the academic coordinator.
“Ah, you’re finally here.”
The woman smiled in relief.
“I’ve been waiting for you since this morning. I thought you weren’t coming today. I was about to call your parents.”
Emrys frowned slightly at the word parents before answering casually,
“I got lost.”
The academic coordinator was a woman in her forties who had seen her fair share of rich brats.
This one was a special case.
Still a brat, nonetheless.
“I’m Arcelia Grace, your grade’s academic coordinator. Your class teacher is Miss Hemma Watt of Class 11-C. You took Biology, I presume?”
“Yes.”
“We’ll discuss your academic goals later. I’ll take you to your classroom first.”
Ms. Grace stood up from her desk and led him toward a spiral staircase.
“The entire eleventh grade is on the first floor. The laboratories are on the fourth. Don’t wander where you shouldn’t.”
Emrys gave a vague nod.
Five minutes later, they reached the classroom.
From outside, they could hear a teacher explaining the concept of power.
Ms. Grace turned to him.
“Your first class today is Physics, which is also taught by your class teacher. Come on. I’ll introduce you.”
She knocked on the door.
“Ms. Hemma, could I have a quick minute, please?”
Ms. Hemma asked the students to behave themselves before stepping outside.
She studied Emrys for a moment.
“So this is the student you told me about?”
Ms. Grace smiled.
“Ms. Hemma, thank you for your hard work.”
Ms. Hemma sighed before offering Emrys a weary smile. “Emrys, welcome to Class 11-C. I’ll ask you to come in and introduce yourself in a moment.”
Emrys gave a small nod.
Ms. Hemma clicked her heels against the floor as she walked back into the classroom. Clapping her hands to get everyone’s attention, she announced loudly,
“Okay, class, I have great news for all of you! Another student is joining us today!”
A wave of quiet murmurs spread across the room before Ms. Hemma beckoned Emrys inside.
Maintaining a neutral expression, Emrys walked in and surveyed the classroom.
About twenty-three students.
Neat.
Well-maintained.
A hush of surprise rippled through the class.
“So handsome!”
“More like cute.”
“He’s totally my type!”
Emrys’s lips twitched at the comments.
By now, he was used to them.
“Good morning, everyone. I’m Emrys. It’s a pleasure to meet you all.”
Ms. Hemma clapped lightly.
“Let’s make Emrys feel at home, shall we?”
The class responded enthusiastically.
“Yes, ma’am!”
“We’ll definitely take care of him!”
However, a sullen voice from the back interrupted.
“Ha! What’s so special about a scholarship student?”
Emrys: ...
It was the same boy he had met at the school gate.
Another wave of whispers spread through the classroom.
“Scholarship student?”
“Oh my God, a charity case.”
“Wow, I almost fell for a poor guy. Looking closer, his uniform does seem a little worn.”
“But he’s still cute. That just means he’s smart too!”
“Tch. Another one of those bastards who think they’re better than us.”
“Right? How can girls be so stupid?”
“What do you mean by that?!”
Ms. Hemma frowned in confusion and quietly asked Emrys,
“Really? I wasn’t informed of that.”
Emrys shook his head slightly before ending the discussion.
“Teacher, where should I sit?”
Ms. Hemma knew how scholarship students were often isolated by their classmates.
It wasn’t fair.
But there was only so much she could do.
After a moment’s thought, she decided to seat him beside another scholarship student. At the very least, he’d have someone who could relate.
“Take the third-last seat by the window.”
Whether by coincidence or intention, the seats beside the quiet scholarship student—whose head remained buried in a thick practice book as he diligently solved problems—were empty.
Emrys took the seat without complaint.
Thankfully, no one tried to trip him like they did in movies or television dramas.
Not that it mattered.
He had already prepared himself for something like that.
Besides, what could movies possibly show that he hadn’t already experienced firsthand?
He had lived through things far worse.
He hung his school bag on the back of his chair and settled into his seat.
As Ms. Hemma continued teaching about power, Emrys took out one of his own practice books.
It looked old, well-used, and slightly torn around the edges.
At first, he caught snippets of whispers about his books and stationery.
Soon enough, he tuned them out completely.
His attention returned to solving problems.
Nothing else mattered.
If he wanted to achieve his dream, he couldn’t afford to waste his study time.
When the bell rang, Emrys looked up from his work.
He stood with the rest of the class to thank the teacher before she left.
During the five-minute break, a few girls gathered around his desk.
They asked the usual questions.
“Where are you from?”
“What do your parents do?”
Emrys answered calmly.
“My father works in shipping. My mother is in healthcare.”
He couldn’t exactly tell them he had grown up in an orphanage, so he simply ignored the questions about where he came from.
The boy from the school gate slammed a hand onto Emrys’s desk and laughed.
“Just say your dad’s a delivery man and your mom’s a nurse.”
Surprisingly...
Emrys wasn’t angry.
For the first time, the boy had managed to amuse him instead.
He actually smirked.
Imagine his biological parents’ expressions if they ever heard someone calling them a delivery man and a nurse.
“Whatever you want to think.”
The students around his desk quickly dispersed as the next bell rang and another teacher entered the classroom.
Several more classes passed before lunch break finally arrived.
This time, no one approached him.
He quietly slipped out of the classroom.
His plan was to eat outside the school.
There seemed to be a decent restaurant nearby.
Besides, he had no intention of going to the school cafeteria...
...where he might run into a certain someone.
Unfortunately, to leave the building, he had to pass the staff office.
Ms. Grace spotted him immediately.
“Emrys.”
She waved him inside her office.
“Let’s discuss your academic goals and study plan.”
Emrys sighed.
“I’m pretty clear about it. I’m preparing for the medical entrance exam. I want to get into medical school.”
Ms. Grace nodded approvingly.
“Which coaching institute are you attending?”
“I enrolled in an online program. My previous school allowed students to attend online coaching during school hours and even scheduled self-study periods.”
“I know the school,” Ms. Grace said, taking a sip of her coffee. “It was affiliated with a coaching institute.”
She looked at him thoughtfully.
“Are you planning to study abroad?”
“No.”
He answered without hesitation.
“I’ll stay in the country.”
“Very well.”
She bent down beside her desk and lifted a large cardboard box.
“Our school provides premium preparation material for the medical entrance exam. Here.”
She handed the box to him.
Curious, Emrys looked inside.
It was packed with textbooks, question banks, and premium practice material that was difficult to obtain even with money.
A genuine smile appeared on his face.
Maybe...
This school wasn’t so bad after all.
“Thank you very much!”
Ms. Hemma had already assigned him a locker in the classroom.
After storing the study materials inside, Emrys left the now-empty classroom.
The moment he stepped out, he walked straight into something solid.
“Ow...”
He took a step back, rubbing his aching nose.
A deep, condescending voice came from above him.
“So you’re the new one.”
The speaker looked down at him with obvious disdain.
“Watch where you’re going, pauper.”
Emrys paused mid-rub and looked straight into the student’s eyes.
Dark hair.
Grey eyes.
A sharply chiseled face.
And a thoroughly holier-than-thou attitude.
The boy was lean, muscular, and nearly half a head taller than him.
Emrys replied flatly,
“Are you so used to looking down on people that you can’t look down to see where you’re going?”
The boy scoffed.
His eyes narrowed as he casually pressed a hand against Emrys’s head, emphasizing the difference in their heights.
“Or perhaps you’re just too short.”
Emrys was six foot one.
Taller than most people.
Yet the person standing before him was still noticeably taller.
“You’re just a giraffe.”
He sounded genuinely exasperated.
It was the first time in his life anyone had called him short.
Rolling his eyes, Emrys started to walk away.
Before he could take another step, a large hand gripped his shoulder and pulled him back.
The boy grabbed his chin and tilted his face upward.
“Maggot.”
His voice was cold.
“Behave yourself. You’re here to study, so keep your head down and do exactly that.”
Emrys frowned and shoved his hand away.
“Says the one making the most noise.”
The boy’s expression darkened.
As Emrys walked away, the warning came from behind him.
“Don’t show your face in front of me again.”
There was naked contempt in his voice.
“I loathe people like you.”
Without turning around, Emrys narrowed his eyes.
“I’m not a fan of you either.”
He continued walking without another glance.
August Vain.
That was what the name tag on his blazer had read.
Emrys recognized the name immediately.
The heir of the Vain family.
A boy who had been involved in one scandal after another despite not even being an adult yet.
Emrys shook his head.
This guy...
He wanted absolutely nothing to do with him.
...
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