Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]
Chapter 113 113: A Hot Problem

Seraphina's Pov

As soon as I stepped out of the rooftop door, I pulled the key from my pocket and slid it into the lock, twisting it until I heard the click that sealed the door. There. The rooftop was now inaccessible to anyone else.

The last thing I needed was some nosy student sneaking up there later tonight or before school hours early in the morning, and ruining the plans I had for tomorrow.

I stood there for a moment, the key still in my hand, and allowed myself a small sigh. A part of me—a deep, hidden part—felt guilty about what I'd just done. This wasn't the real me. The real Seraphina wouldn't have left someone handcuffed to a rooftop railing, stripped down to nothing but her underwear, shivering in the cold night. The real me didn't revel in such humiliation or cruelty.

But then again, I reminded myself, this wasn't about who I used to be. This was about leveling the playing field. I'd been given an extraordinary opportunity—the chance to step into Electra Vale's shoes, to live her life and make her feel the consequences of her actions.

The same Electra Vale who had tormented others, who had manipulated and hurt without a second thought. She deserved this. Every ounce of it.

I squared my shoulders, gripping the bundle of Electra's clothes tightly in my hands. "It's not cruelty. It's not petty revenge," I whispered to myself, almost as if trying to convince myself. "It's justice."

Electra had spent her life as a tyrant, and now, for the first time, she was powerless. She needed to know what that felt like. She needed to understand the fear, the vulnerability, and the helplessness she had inflicted on so many others.

When I reached the hallway, I saw Irina leaning casually against the wall, her arms crossed and her expression skeptical. Her eyes immediately fell on the bundle of clothes in my hands, and she arched an eyebrow as I approached.

"Did you really have to take the clothes?" she asked, her tone laced with mild disapproval.

I shrugged as we walked down the hallway, carrying Electra's clothes in one hand like a trophy.

"I don't trust her not to find a way out of those cuffs," I said simply, my voice calm. "She's stubborn. You've seen it yourself. Better to be safe than sorry, so I took the clothes with me, and locked the door, of course. Now she's precisely where she needs to be."

Irina nodded, though her expression didn't exactly scream understanding. It was more like she was agreeing just to keep things moving. "I guess that makes sense," she said after a moment, her tone nonchalant. "Though, it's a bit extreme, don't you think?"

I let out a small laugh, keeping my steps measured as we walked toward the dormitory building. "Maybe," I said, "but extreme times call for extreme measures. Besides, I'm not about to let her, or anyone else, ruin the plan."

We continued walking in silence for a while, but the energy between us was awkward because of the way Irina kept glancing at me out of the corner of her eye, like she was working up the nerve to say something.

Finally, as we stepped outside, she spoke. "You know," she began, "you talk about this Electra girl like you've known her for much longer, but she's new, right? She's only been here for, what, three days?"

My heart skipped a beat, though I made sure my expression stayed neutral. Of course, she'd notice that. Irina wasn't exactly the kind of person you could slip something past—she paid attention, even when you didn't want her to.

I offered a casual shrug, my gaze fixed ahead as we walked. "Some people are just… obvious," I said smoothly. "You meet them once, and you instantly know they're going to be a problem."

Irina scoffed, her lips curling into a smirk. "Okay, sure," she said, clearly unconvinced. "But if you knew she was going to be a problem, why did you sleep with her literally on her first day here?"

The question stopped me dead in my tracks, and I turned to look at her, narrowing my eyes slightly as I tried to gauge just how serious she was. The amused glint in her eyes told me all I needed to know—she wasn't going to let this go.

"Why does it matter?" I asked, shrugging as if it were the simplest thing in the world. "She's hot. Problematic or not, that doesn't change the fact that she's ridiculously attractive."

Irina let out a bark of laughter, throwing her head back like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. "Of course that's your answer," she said, shaking her head in mock disbelief.

I couldn't help but smirk, though I kept walking, not wanting to linger too long on the conversation. "What can I say?" I said over my shoulder. "I'm a sucker for pretty faces."

She let out a short laugh, still shaking her head at me like I was the most ridiculous person in the world. "Unbelievable," she muttered, though there was no real bite in her tone. "You're impossible, you know that?"

"Maybe," I said lightly. "But you can't deny I have good taste."

"Good taste?" Irina repeated with a raised brow. "You're talking about the girl you just handcuffed to a rooftop. How can someone you cuffed be your definition of good taste? You literally just said she's a problem?"

"And?" I asked, my voice dripping with mock innocence. "One thing has nothing to do with the other, Irina, dear. Electra Hook is a hot problem, a problem I don't mind sleeping with, but also won't hesitate to punish when necessary."

Irina rolled her eyes, muttering something under her breath that I didn't quite catch, but she didn't press the matter further, and for that, I was grateful. The last thing I needed was to slip up and say something I couldn't take back.