Elysium: Desired by the Cold-hearted Princess [GL]
Chapter 119 119: The unexpected question

Electra's Pov

As Yuna and I walked back to the dormitory from the infirmary, I could feel her eyes darting toward me every so often. She hadn't stopped fidgeting since we left, and I knew that meant she was building up to something.

Sure enough, after a few more moments of awkward silence, she finally spoke.

"Was it Seraphina?" she asked, her tone cautious but curious.

I raised an eyebrow, faking a gasp of surprise. "Wow, how did you guess?" I said, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

Yuna rolled her eyes, a small smile tugging at her lips despite my tone. "You didn't have to be that sarcastic," she said, shaking her head. "I just wanted to confirm. I mean, I heard the rumors, but…"

I shrugged. "Well, the rumors are true," I said flatly. "It was Seraphina. As humiliating as it is, I was handcuffed and left on the rooftop by a girl who's almost a foot shorter than me."

Yuna turned to me with a confused expression, tilting her head slightly. "What does her height have to do with anything?" she asked, genuine curiosity in her tone. "Just because you're tall doesn't mean you can escape the wrath of someone like Seraphina Vale, Electra."

I smirked at her words, masking the twinge of annoyance I felt. "Oh? And what do you mean by 'someone like Seraphina Vale'?" I asked, feigning surprise. "Are you saying she's some kind of tyrant?"

Yuna sighed, her expression shifting to something more serious. "Well… yeah," she said, her voice quieter now. "She's a violent bully, and everyone in Elysium High knows that. She takes pleasure in hurting people, like some kind of psychopath, and the worst part is, she knows she'll get away with it because she's the princess."

Her words made me pause, and for a moment, I felt a strange mix of emotions I couldn't quite name. Part of me wanted to laugh at the irony of hearing Yuna describe Seraphina this way, knowing full well that I had been the one to wear that crown of tyranny in another life. But another part of me—the part that still felt the sting of my humiliation on that rooftop—couldn't help but agree with her.

"A psychopath, huh?" I said, keeping my tone light. "That's a bit harsh, don't you think?"

Yuna looked at me like I'd just said the most absurd thing she'd ever heard. "Harsh?" she repeated, incredulous. "Electra, she handcuffed you to a rooftop in your underwear and left you there all night. That's what's harsh."

I let out a dry laugh, kicking at a loose pebble on the ground as we walked. "Fair point," I admitted. "But I can't help but wonder… why does she even do it? What's the point?" I asked, curious to hear what she'd say about someone who was technically me.

She shrugged, her shoulders slumping slightly. "I think it's just who she is," she said after a moment. "She's always been like this, even before I came to Elysium. From what I hear, she enjoys being in control, making people feel small. It's like… I don't know. Like she gets a thrill out of it. In my conclusion, she's an unloved brat, who has nothing fulfilling to do with her life, and instead of taking it up on her family for making her lonely, she takes out her rage on innocent people to feel better about herself."

Her words hit me harder than I expected, and I felt a strange knot form in my stomach. Was that really how people saw me—how they saw the real me? A tyrant, a bully, someone who thrived on other people's pain, and was unloved at home? I'd known the first three, and usually, it sounded like a compliment, but knowing I was also seen as an unloved child, which wasn't exactly false, and hearing it put so bluntly was… unsettling.

"Sounds like you've thought about this a lot," I said, trying to keep my tone casual.

Yuna hesitated, her gaze dropping to the ground. "I guess I have," she admitted softly. "It's hard not to, you know? When someone like Seraphina is in a school like this, it's like she leaves a mark on everything and everyone. You can't ignore her, even if you'd like to, and one way or another, you get dragged into her madness. If someone like her slumps and dies today, no one, except maybe her equalled pathetic friends, would mourn her. That's how bad she is."

I didn't know how to respond to that, so I stayed quiet, letting her words hang in the air between us. For the first time in a long time, I felt… uncomfortable. Not because of anything Yuna had done, but because her words were forcing me to confront parts of myself I wasn't ready to face.

"Anyway," Yuna said suddenly, breaking the silence. "Enough about her. What about you? Are you okay?"

I blinked, caught off guard by the question. "What do you mean?"

"I mean…" Yuna gestured vaguely. "That whole rooftop thing. You were up there all night, and then you had to deal with everyone staring at you when you came down. That can't have been easy."

I let out a bitter laugh, shaking my head. "No, it wasn't," I said honestly. "But I'm still here, aren't I? So I guess that means I survived."

Yuna suddenly stopped walking, and I almost collided with her, halting just in time. I stared at her back, confusion flashing across my face as I straightened myself.

"Why'd you stop?" I asked, my tone sharper than intended, though it was more out of curiosity than annoyance.

She turned around slowly, her face now void of the lighthearted expression she had a second earlier. Instead, her gaze was more serious, piercing even, as she locked eyes with me. "Does what I said about Seraphina make you uncomfortable?" she asked softly, but there was an intensity to her question that made my chest tighten.

I blinked at her, caught off guard. "What?" I said, furrowing my brows. "Why would that make me uncomfortable? I don't even know her."

Yuna's lips curved into a small, almost knowing smile, though it didn't quite reach her eyes. "Maybe it would make you uncomfortable," she said slowly, her voice calm, "because you're Electra Vale. How about that?"

The words hit me like a thunderbolt, and I froze, my blood turning to ice. For a moment, I couldn't breathe, couldn't think, couldn't do anything but stare at her in shock. How could she possibly know? How could she even guess?

"Excuse me?" I finally managed to choke out, my voice sounding more strained than I'd intended. I tried to keep my expression neutral, but I could feel the cracks forming as my mind raced.

Yuna didn't waver. If anything, her gaze sharpened, and she tilted her head slightly, watching me like she was waiting for something. "You heard me," she said simply. "You're Electra Vale, aren't you?"