[Music Recommendation: "Usui Takumi" theme (Kaichou wa Maid-sama OST)-available in Youtube or Spotify] ~ Please listen to it in a loop while you read this part to experience the utmost beauty of this chapter ~

[Please note: This chapter is written in Kaiden's POV - that moment Senara saw him talking to Marie at the school's parking lot]

"You called for me, Mr. Kaiden?" Marie asked as soon as she arrived.

"Yeah," I sighed. "It seems you weren't properly briefed."

"I apologize about that. But yes, I wasn't given much instruction."

"What do you know so far?"

"I was informed by my father that Mr. Callan needed me for a mission and that you were the client. It involves closely protecting a girl—which is your girlfriend. Father said Mr. Callan will send out her details but I have yet to receive it. Then, I was given papers for transfer and was immediately sent out here. I was planning on asking the rest of the details to Mr. Callan later but since you already called for me, do let me know the conditions, boundaries and the specifications of the mission I am tasked with."

"Ugh," I groaned. Seriously, that stupid Callan. "That is very vague. I'll send the details to you now."

Quickly tapping on my phone, I emailed her the soft copy of the contract, details about Senara, and other important things.

"There. That's a highly confidential document so be careful with it. It should have all the things you asked for. Make sure to review it properly later and if you have questions, let me know."

"Understood."

"Basically, yes, you need to protect Senara Lee—you already met her. She's currently being targeted by bullies all around school and we can't pinpoint yet who's the mastermind. So I want you to keep close attention to her and her surroundings and send me a daily report of what's going on. Your first priority is to protect her. I added a report of the recent bullying incident that happened in my email. Review that part as well. Then, investigate it after."

"Understood."

"Any questions so far?"

"No. All clear. I will review the documents later."

"Good. That's all, you may—"

"Ah. There is one thing."

"Hm?"

"I left my wallet. Please allow me to get an advanced payment or lend me some money and deduct it from my salary later."

"Oh. So that's what you were trying to say earlier." Taking out my wallet, I took out some cash since it's probably what she'll need going home. "Is this enough?"

"That's too much. I won't need 5,000 yuan (around $780) to pay for a fare to go home."

"Hmmm… is that so? I don't have a smaller bill than 1000 yuan (around $156)."

Marie sighed and murmured, "Tsk. Rich people."

She really had an attitude. That's nice, she should be able to protect Senara better with her guts.

"I'll take 1000 yuan then," she decided and laid out her palm to me.

I gave her the money and she quickly turned her back.

"One more thing. Don't let Senara know about this. Just be a normal friend for her."

Looking back at me, she nodded once and took off. Sigh… I covered up all the important details, right? Did I miss out on anything? Hmm…

After that, I checked on my watch. It had been almost half an hour since class ended and they still hadn't come. Getting my phone again, I called Senara.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

"H-hello? Kaiden?" she answered quickly. Hearing her voice made me smile in an instant. It's been a long time since we last talked over the phone.

"Yes. I was just wondering if something happened. You haven't arrived yet."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I met with Hora and Crystal along the way so we ended up talking and walking slower. Sorry for making you wait."

"I see. That's fine. I was just worried if something bad came up. I'm fine with waiting. Take your time. I'll just be inside the car."

"We're near! Actually, I can see you now."

Turning around, there she was, with Hora and Crystal. They were standing near the pillar. Senara smiled and waved her hand. Ahhh… so cute. I smiled back at her but I noticed Crystal smirking so I lost the urge to smile. I just waved my hand back.

Soon after that, I drove everyone home. Once home, I went straight to my room and soaked my body in the tub. I wanted to relax and think.

So far, I had already started investigating that shower room incident at the school. I should be able to get the footage by this week and have it reviewed by professionals. I also placed Marie near Senara to protect her. Hmm… What else was I lacking? Once I gather enough evidence, I could report it directly to the Dean for immediate actions.

'I don't want Senara hurt again… in any way at all. Once I know whoever did that to her, I swear to pay them a hundredfold for the pain they caused her. Like what mother told us—always pay our debts with interest, especially those who aggravated us.'

Ugh. I'm getting pissed off just remembering it.

After bathing, I got up from the tub, put on a bathrobe, and went straight to the walk-in closet to change. By the time I finished changing, I heard a knock on my door. If they were servants, they would have come in already and done their usual task which was cleaning the room or sending food. It wouldn't be Crystal, too, since she would just normally barge in without knocking.

'Did Callan come over? Or Verrill?'

Wondering who it was, I walked towards the door and opened it. Much to my surprise, it was none of the people I thought about.

"Senara?" I asked, surprised by her sudden appearance. She was alone and not even accompanied by maids. Good thing she didn't get lost. Or… "Are you lost again?"

"Huh? What? N-No, I'm not. I met a few maids along the way so I'm not lost, thank you. Hmf!"

Oops. I upset her.

"Sorry, I was just—I didn't think you'd come," I replied, trying to hide my chuckle. "What can I help you with?"

"Well, ahm… Kaiden, we need to talk," she said with all seriousness on her cute face.

"Sure. Come in."

And so, I let her in my bedroom to talk.