章 28: Chapter-28 Meeting the nemesis

"Hey, you heard it? One more girl is added to the students' forum for voting. One more human," one of the girls said, and Madeline looked at her as they walked to the cafeteria with the council head and everyone.

"Don't remind me of it. The entire University, including the seniors, went crazy this time, and the traffic was so loud that the student forum's server crashed. It will take some time to repair it," The other girl commented.

Hearing their envious words, Madeline felt slight jealousy against whoever this new girl was since she was one of the candidates for the voting pool. She wanted to know about this human girl that was single-handedly affecting everyone.

"What's her name? Is she from our department?" Madeline asked, and the girls shook their heads.

"I am not sure. I think she is from the E-block. So she is either from the biotechnology department or the Pharmacy," the girl said, and Madeline hummed.

She will just wait for the server to be repaired before checking herself.

"Woah, this girl has guts for sure. Guess who she got to help her find her biotechnology department, the mayor's son. Almost everyone is talking about it. The rumors spread fast indeed, no?" The other girl joined them, and this time even Aditya's ears perked slightly.

The mayor's son helped a human? Why?

"What can we say? Beauty attracts the beasts," the girls chuckled, and though Madeline was laughing along with them, she was highly intrigued with this girl now.

Though Madeline roams with Aditya most of the time to establish her reign over the humans in the university, and because she is a Princess herself, it doesn't mean she doesn't envy those powerful vampires.

The only reason she didn't actively pursue them was because she didn't want to look desperate. Besides, it might affect her relationship with Aaditya.

It was already a hassle getting him under her traps and snatching him from Elliana, who almost had him smitten if not for the lies she spread for Aditya to dislike Elliana.

It would be a lie to say she hasn't imagined being with one of them. If the marriage proposal that came for her had been with another prince who wasn't ugly and the youngest one, she would've married the vampire without a second doubt.

"Even I would like to see who is this human who is being so friendly with the vampires, and they are allowing it to. It is funny how she hasn't once come to report herself to the council head of the humans and is extending her hand from friendship with those leeches who are our enemies," Aditya said, and Madeline didn't have a good feeling about it.

Meanwhile, Elliana looked at the guys, waiting for their answers about whether they would buy her a chocolate shake.

Alcinder looked at the girl for a good few seconds before turning to her.

"Do you even know who I am?" He asked, looking straight into her eyes so that if she was pretending or lying, he would immediately catch it. He tried to look into her thoughts through telepathy, but her mental barrier was so strong that it amazed him.

Very few humans have this kind of impenetrable mind barrier. One of them was the council head's son Aditya himself.

It showed how strong this girl was mentally, even if she looked like an innocent girl who knew nothing about the world.

"No. Like Mr. Daniel here, you never told me your name," Elliana said honestly, and Alcinder looked at her before sighing.

Seriously. She has no idea.

"God, she is with Mr. Honorifics again," Daniel groaned, and the rest of his friends laughed while Elliana openly stared at them. She didn't know what she was supposed to know. Was this boy asking if she knew he was one of the good troublemakers at the university? Or was he asking if she knew his family?

If she answers him about anything, will he ask about her family too? In that case, what will she say? Her mind circled around these questions before the boy caught her attention when he turned to her with his complete attention once again.

"I am Alcinder," Alcinder extended his hand deliberately so that she would shake his hand and he would have a better chance to perform or test his telepathy on her again.

It is more effective if you are in direct contact with the person physically.

"Elliana," Elliana placed her soft hand on his to shake his hand, and Alcinder smiled as he tried to look into her mind again.

As soon as he tried harder, he was pushed out further, and he looked at the girl weirdly. Did her mind barrier seriously push him out? How is this even possible? Only witches have this power over vampires. However, he was damn sure that the girl in front of him was a human.

She was seriously getting more intriguing the more he spent time with her. He was stuck between his curiosity and spending more time with her or minding his business.

He didn't want to get involved with any female, especially a human since that would be too troublesome for him.

Elliana removed her hand from his grip before she turned around and picked up her bag. How could she forget that she was supposed to meet the dean? Even if she hasn't needed anything so far, Mr. Marino had clearly told her to report to the dean, no?

Maybe he did it to respect her opinion of not wanting to get her identity revealed. Whatever it was, she should have gone earlier. Unfortunately, she wasted a lot of time here. Elliana nodded at herself before she took a step forward.

She paused and looked at the boys, "Thank you for your help. It was nice meeting good people like you," She smiled at them before walking ahead, leaving the boys confused.

Was she seriously leaving them after she grabbed Alcinder's hand and demanded he buy her something? Does her mind not work straight and keep changing its demands and thought process?

As Elliana walked past the cafeteria to get something to drink, her gaze fell on two people she didn't want to meet yet. Or should she say she wasn't ready to face them yet?

Madeline was sitting on one of her chairs with humans and some vampires looking at her with envy as they tried to grab her attention and talk to her.

Seeing Madeline engrossed with her phone and sitting alone, Elliana's gaze moved around the cafeteria to search for that one person who never left her stepsister's side.

"Elliana?" She heard a bold voice with a hint of softness, and she froze in her place, her fingers clenching around her bag.

"It's you, indeed. Why are you here again?" Aditya asked, and Elliana took a deep breath before turning to him.

Her earlier soft and innocent expression was gone as she looked at the stupid boy in front of her, who was nothing more than Madeline's puppy since he would always do what she told him.

"Council head's son," Elliana nodded at him in respect.

"I am here to study, of course. Yesterday, I was just here to help a friend. However, when I noticed the ambiance of the university and how lovely it was here, I decided to study and complete my graduation here. He wanted it too," Elliana smiled, not mentioning Mr. Marino directly, and Aditya's heart skipped a beat at the same soft expression he had fallen for.

"So, which department are you in?" Aditya tried the small talk, thankful that Madeline wasn't here to interrupt them.

"Biotechnology," Elliana answered, ready to walk inside.

Madeline, who had been busy talking to one of her friends, looked up to see why Aditya hadn't returned yet. He said he forgot something under his bench and had gone to retrieve it.

"Have you seen Aditya? He hasn't returned yet?" Madeline looked at her friends. However, their attention wasn't on her anymore. They were gazing in a particular direction.

She followed their line of sight and noticed the thing she least expected.

Aditya was standing with Elliana, and judging from their body language, he liked whatever conversation they were having.

No. This wasn't good. It's not supposed to be like this. What the hell is this girl doing here again? Has she not learned her lesson yet? It looks like she needs to ask her mother to invite Elliana home to teach her a good lesson and show her how to mind her business. Madeline gritted her teeth before standing from her place.

"Is everything okay at your...new place?" Aditya asked, and Elliana hummed.

"They are better than my previous family and people around me, I would say. They care for me and treat me like a child, something that I always missed at home," Elliana's sad expression made Aditya look at her, and he was about to step forward and place his hand on her shoulders to comfort her when he saw Madeline coming towards them through the window.

He paused in his actions and cleared his throat, wanting to dismiss the conversation quickly so they could go their ways and prevent the mishap that Madelline would cause.

"It was good seeing -"

"Elliana, what are you doing here?" Madeline's voice was nowhere near calm, and for some reason, it pleased Elliana.

"The same thing you are here for. Education," Elliana smiled.

"Why did you choose the same place as me? You weren't a student until yesterday. I am sure it's a deliberate move to -" Madeline paused when she saw Elliana's eyes turn a shade darker.

"Easy there -" Elliana stepped closer to Madeline.

She was so close that anyone could have assumed they were hugging each other.

"I am sure you wouldn't want everyone to know who exactly I am, no? I mean, what will they do when they know your stepsister is a royal Vampire princess now? You don't want to dim your own charm, right?" Elliana turned her head and looked straight into Madeline's eyes, hitting the nail right at the point.

Seeing Madeline's contemplating look, Elliana smiled before stepping back, and Madeline looked at her in a daze. She was confused if what she saw just now was real or not.

"It was nice meeting you, Princess Madeline, council head's son Aditya," Elliana smiled at them, and she was about to turn when Aditya held her hand, freezing her in her place.

If Aditya thought she was the same innocent girl he could move in whatever way he wanted, he was terribly wrong.

She looked at Aditya and his hand before she did something no one expected. She twisted her hand before grabbing and twisting his wrist upward, making him wince in pain at the grip.

"You shouldn't be mindlessly touching anyone just because you are the council head's son, Aditya," Elliana's voice was soft as if she was explaining something, but her eyes said things she didn't.

"The outcome can be really grave sometimes," She jerked her hand away.

To say Aditya was shocked would be an understatement. She was never the rebellious type. And why the hell did it make her look even more attractive? Aditya kept staring at her.

Elliana stared at him, unaware of the fact that there was someone else observing her actions.