Saving the Villain

Since Maynard asked his sons to accompany Cosette, Luke happily took her to the garden. Asher didn't want to come, but between dealing with the adults and watching his foolish brother, the latter was far more entertaining.

"Don't you attend the same academy as ours?" Luke inquired, sitting on the bench sandwiched between Cosette and Asher.

Cosette shrugged while holding a saucer of biscuits from the event hall. "Not anymore," she answered before munching a cookie. She offered Luke some, and he accepted happily.

"Not anymore? Why? Were you kicked out?"

"I transferred to another school," she kept her answer short, as it wasn't truly a big deal for her.

Cosette was aware Luke was the same year as her. However, they were in a different section. She was in the first section since she only aimed to be the best, while Luke was in the last section. Her personality—the real Cossette, the villainess—was perfectionist and aloof. She was stuck in her own world and barely socialized. In other words, even when they attended the same academy, with her personality, she wasn't able to be friends with the Quinn brothers or anyone in the school.

"You transferred? Is there any better school than ours?" Honest as he was, Luke tilted his head while munching the cookie. "Or were you rebelling? I don't think you have a terrible relationship with your father, though."

Little did he know, Asher was listening ‌carefully to this conversation, hoping this 'mystery' would finally be answered. What would be Cossette's real reason for transferring?

"Because it's fun." Luke stared at Cosette. The misplaced innocence in her naturally sharp eyes somehow looked unbelievably sincere. "It's not terrible. I made a lot of good friends too and my new classmates eats lunch with me."

"Huh?" the Quinn brothers blinked in puzzlement.

Asher leaned back, catching a glimpse of her honest visage. "Fun?" his voice came out of his mouth even before he could realize it.

"Mhm! I think the Academy is the best in terms of education and facility. It's a good place and would open countless doors of opportunity. It's the perfect place to plan my future, but where's the fun in that?" she giggled, a little bit too happy to be sitting on the same bench and spending time with the Quinn brothers.

"I can always try to excel in the future if I worked hard for it. But for now, I want to be dumb and stupid who makes mistakes. So when I look back, I can cringe and laugh at the same time." Her carefree attitude and her energy — mostly because of these two handsome species — made her look dazzling and awe-inspiring.

In the Quinn's brother's eyes, she was… very warm.

As children who were born in a suffocating environment where they had to exceed everyone's unrealistic expectations, her words were akin to a breath of fresh air.

Mistakes? Be stupid? Be children? That was very unheard of. Although Maynard, their father, was a carefree person, they didn't want to disappoint him. Or rather, they didn't want others using Maynard's children as some kind of dirt they could use against him.

This barely applied to Luke because, one way or another, even if he was a little rebellious, he still thought of his actions. Probably less than Asher, but it was still suffocating in a way.

In other words, Cossette was like a fearless young lady who was brave enough to step out of their world. She was brave enough to dismiss other people's opinions, expectations, and feelings just to live.

It might sound selfish or foolish, but it was a decision worthy of respect. What they didn't know was that Cosette just didn't care because she was in a novel and she wanted to save Maxen. It was just as simple as that and very unlike the conclusion in their heads.

"Cookie?" she held the saucer to Luke and cocked her head, seeing that the two of them were just staring at her blankly. Her brows rose when a minute passed and they didn't respond.

"Uhm… hello? Are you still there?" she waved her hand in front of Luke, snapping him back from his trance.

To her surprise, before she could retract her hand, Luke suddenly grabbed her with both his hands. His eyes were glimmering as if looking at his idol.

"That is amazing," he remarked and nodded encouragingly. "Are we really at the same age?"

Cosette tried to suppress her flattered smile as she snapped her tongue. "Gosh… it's really nothing. My father supports anything I do. I always thought he would get upset if I do something like this, but he's very happy. I mean, his opinion matters the most to me, so I don't think I should think about what others think." It wasn't entirely a lie, but that was just another excuse to justify her actions.

"I think I'm in love."

"Huh?" she blinked and tilted her head again as Luke's sudden confession came out of the blue.

"We should get married when we become adults!" Luke exclaimed, making Asher scrunch his nose up in dismay. Asking Cosette's hand in marriage was already ridiculous, but how he put it wasn't even considered a proposal! It sounded more like an order!

"Luke…" Asher arched a brow when Cosette's lips curled up into a smug grin. 'She liked it?' he wondered while studying the young lady's face.

'Yes, she did…' For a split second, Asher's mind went blank as he assumed she would laugh it off or find it rude. With that smug grin, almost looking evil, on her face, one could tell she would say, 'I do,' without a second hesitation.

Was this truly the same top student in her class? Asher couldn't truly trust the word of mouth anymore. Cosette was not anything like what he heard from the other students.

"What do you say?" Luke blinked cluelessly, serious about his proposal.

'Although I am flattered, I can't ditch Maxen.' She mentally wept. Never in her wildest imagination did she ever think Luke would propose to her.

Unlike her inner regrets, Cosette sported a warm smile. "Marriage isn't as easy as giving out cookies. You should work hard for it and it should be mutual."

"If I work hard, will you marry me?"

"Well, if I fell in love with you." She shrugged, going with the flow, since she was confident that would never happen. "But isn't it better to be friends first? I mean, even if we don't end up together, friendship is just as important and long lasting."

"We should hang out more often then!" Luke cheered excitedly, as becoming friends didn't really sound so bad.

As the two had grown closer by the minute, Asher remained silent. He couldn't be bothered by these two. Still, he would constantly glance at the two of them, as it seemed they were forgetting him, especially Luke.

When he glanced at them again ten minutes later, he arched a brow when he caught her gazing at him. But instead of saying anything, Cossette simply offered a kind smile.

His jaw tightened as he looked away. His first time averting his eyes first.

'It's because of Luke,' he justified in his head. 'I don't want her to be my sister-in-law.'