Elite Argent Academy, a towering institution where heirs to global dynasties gather, glitters with crystal chandeliers and marble halls. It is a gilded cage where reputation is currency and secrets are lethal weapons.
Valentina, a transfer student with striking white hair and pale, translucent eyes, enters for her final year hoping for a quiet new beginning. But her exotic beauty immediately draws the attention of the 'Six Crowns' — six heirs who rule the school as their personal chessboard. To
**White Queen's Gambit** - Dead Little Bird and Gray Eyes
Since the incident in the dining hall, Valentina had unconsciously found herself searching for Sarah.
She couldn't get the warmth of the hand Sarah had extended to her that day out of her head. The neat chestnut bob, the gentle hazel eyes, and those words: "It's okay, I'm here for you."
(*Sarah is an ally.*)
While part of her tried desperately to believe that, something deep in her chest sounded a warning.
But at this academy, no one else spoke to her. In the classroom, the hallways, the courtyard—students who saw Valentina's white hair and clear, lavender eyes kept their distance as if fleeing from a plague.
What dwelled in their eyes was fear, and just a hint of curiosity.
(*They look at me like I'm a lab animal.*)
Valentina wore a faint, lip-only smile and walked with her back straight.
From afar, a shadow observed her figure.
The seat of honor in the dining hall, always the same spot. Jet-black hair slicked back, steel-gray eyes fixed on Valentina—Lucien Ashford.
He manipulated the tablet in his hand, rereading the report sent by Sarah.
*Subject V: Bereavement of mother (age 12), betrayal by best friend in Paris (age 15), disappearance of father (time unknown, details under investigation).*
*Special notes: Extremely high emotional suppression ability. Mental fatigue from standard Placing Phase One (isolation) is observed, but no signs of collapse.*
Lucien's gray eyes narrowed slightly.
"Still only the surface."
He muttered to himself, to no one in particular.
Valentina Ríos.
(*This woman is either worth breaking—or unbreakable.*)
He closed the tablet and looked down at the courtyard outside the window.
At the end of his gaze were Valentina and Sarah, chatting happily.
Sarah's perfect smile. Valentina's reserved one.
Between them, there seemed to be a warm friendship.
But Lucien knew.
That every single word from Sarah was calculated, and every single word from Valentina was being recorded.
(*Entertain me, then, as best you can.*)
His thin lips twisted almost imperceptibly.
It was the expression of a predator, far too cold to be called a smile.
In the morning, the air changed the moment Valentina entered the classroom.
A bright classroom on the second floor of the main building, with a view of the Mediterranean Sea from the window. Old maps hung on the walls, and thick textbooks were piled on the lectern.
As she took her seat, the surrounding students averted their eyes in unison, as if by some prearranged signal.
(*Again.*)
Pretending not to care, Valentina reached into her desk.
—It was empty.
No textbook. No notebook, no pencil case. Everything that should have been there until yesterday was gone.
She searched the inside of the desk again and again. Her fingertips only met the cold wood.
"Why...?"
The girl in the next seat didn't miss that small murmur.
Keeping her face turned away, she whispered to the friend beside her. Her lips twisted slightly.
(*She's laughing.*)
Valentina gripped the edge of her desk tightly. Her knuckles turned white.
(*Calm down. This is nothing.*)
She told herself in her mind. But something ached sharply deep in her chest.
She stood up and headed for the lectern.
"Excuse me, Professor Moretti. My textbooks seem to be missing."
Professor Moretti, fussing with his thinning hair, let his eyes dart nervously behind his silver-rimmed glasses.
"Ah... I see. That is... well, that's troubling."
His voice was small and flat. His eyes, which always seemed afraid of someone, were looking at something behind Valentina.
"Go to the administrative office and get some spare textbooks. However... spares are limited, so don't get your hopes up."
(*This man can't do anything, either.*)
Valentina gave a small bow and left the classroom.
As she walked down the hallway, she noticed the passing students wearing thin sneers.
Two female students glanced at her and whispered to each other.
"Hey, did you see? I heard all her textbooks disappeared."
"Oh dear, poor thing. But once the Crowns have their eye on you, it's over."
Their voices were deliberately pitched for her to hear. Every word reached Valentina's ears clearly.
(*The Crowns.*)
She kept her gaze forward and didn't slow her pace.
She reached Sarah's classroom and opened the door.
The moment she saw the chestnut bob, the tightness in her chest felt slightly lighter.
"Valentina? What's wrong? You look pale."
Sarah noticed immediately and approached with a worried expression. Her large hazel eyes wavered anxiously.
"All of my textbooks have disappeared."
"What! That's... that's terrible!"
Sarah's voice echoed through the classroom, and the surrounding students glanced over for a moment. But they quickly looked away again, as if losing interest.
"Who would do such a thing... No, someone must be doing this systematically. There have been far too many incidents of harassment against you lately."
She lowered her voice and continued with a serious expression.
"But I'm here for you. Let's look for your textbooks together. I'll go with you to the administrative office, too."
"Thank you, Sarah."
Valentina smiled. The smile seemed to convey heartfelt gratitude.
But her lavender eyes caught, just for an instant, the silver bracelet shining on Sarah's neck.
(*This person is my only ally.*)
The part of her that wanted to believe that, and the part that didn't, quietly struggled within her.
It happened before gym class, in the locker room.
Valentina changed from her uniform into her gym clothes and tried to put her foot into the shoe she'd placed on the floor.
The next moment—
"Ah—!"
A sharp pain shot through the sole of her right foot.
The sensation of something piercing her. She reflexively pulled her foot back and put a hand on the floor. Three silver thumbtacks, stained with blood, rolled out of her shoe.
A red stain slowly spread across her white sock.
"Valentina!"
Sarah, who had been changing next to her, rushed over with a cry. She knelt down and supported Valentina's foot.
"How could they... Who would do something so cruel?! It must hurt—let's go to the infirmary, right now!"
Real tears welled up in Sarah's eyes. Her voice trembled with anger and sorrow. It was the perfect reaction of a best friend.
But amidst the pain, Valentina suddenly remembered.
(*Sarah said she would be absent from gym today.*)
Last night, while drinking tea in her room, Sarah had mentioned it.
'Tomorrow's gym class... I'm feeling a bit unwell, so I'll just observe. I also have committee work.'
In other words, this harassment was carried out during the time Sarah wasn't attending gym.
The textbooks had also disappeared during a time when Sarah was in a different class.
The graffiti on her locker had happened when Sarah was away at a committee meeting.
(*...A coincidence?*)
But no.
Valentina's face twisted in pain, but her thoughts alone remained cold and clear.
(*When Sarah is around, nothing happens.*)
Her subconscious had begun to recognize the pattern.
"...Thank you, Sarah. I'm fine."
"There's no way you're fine! You're bleeding! Come on, lean on my shoulder, we're going to the infirmary."
Sarah draped Valentina's arm over her own shoulder and slowly helped her stand. The gesture was gentle, caring, and flawless.
As they left the locker room, Valentina heard the other girls whispering behind her.
"Sarah really is such a nice girl. So kind, even to a transfer student like that."
"But if she gets involved with someone the Crowns are watching, isn't Sarah in danger too?"
At those words, Sarah's shoulders stiffened ever so slightly.
It was a fleeting, almost imperceptible movement, but Valentina's senses caught it.
The white curtains of the infirmary swayed in the breeze from the window.
Valentina sat on the bed, watching intently as the school nurse disinfected the wound on the sole of her foot. The antiseptic stung with a sharp, prickling pain.
"I'm so sorry. If only I had noticed sooner..."
Sarah, sitting beside her, hung her head apologetically. Her hands were clenched tightly in the fabric of her own skirt.
"It's not your fault, Sarah. More importantly, thank you for staying with me."
Valentina smiled. Her lavender eyes were clear, showing no sign of any lingering resentment.
But deep in her heart, a cold calculation had begun.
(*Sarah's absence = harassment occurs.*)
(*Sarah's presence = proof of safety.*)
(*How long have I been overlooking this pattern?*)
Valentina gazed at Sarah's profile.
Her chestnut hair cast a shadow on her pale cheek. Her hazel eyes were moist, her long eyelashes trembling. Her expression was that of a girl pained by her best friend's suffering.
(*If all of this is a lie—then you are a true actress.*)
Murmuring that in her heart, Valentina placed her own hand over Sarah's.
"It's okay, Sarah. I'm truly glad you're here."
Sarah looked up, wiping away tears as she smiled.
"Of course. After all, I'm... your friend."
Those words pierced Valentina's heart like a blade of ice.
After school, Valentina headed to her locker alone.
Sarah had said, "I have a committee meeting," and left the classroom ahead of her, looking apologetic.
(*A committee meeting. Meaning, a time when Sarah isn't around.*)
The hallway was quiet. The light of the setting sun slanted in through the windows.
She stood before her locker and took a small breath.
She unlocked it and pulled the door open.
—Thud.
Something fell at her feet.
White wings. A small body.
It was a small bird, its neck bent at an unnatural angle.
It was still warm. It must have been alive until just moments ago. Its eyes, slightly open, stared vacantly at the ceiling. A faint red stain seeped through the feathers on its chest.
On the inside of the locker, written in red letters, were the words:
*You're next.*
Valentina didn't move.
After a few seconds of silence, she slowly crouched down and gently cupped the bird's remains in both hands. White feathers spilled between her pale fingers.
"...You poor thing."
Her voice was far too calm, far too gentle.
She took a white handkerchief from her pocket and carefully wrapped the bird's body. Then, as if nothing had happened, she closed the locker door and began walking down the hallway.
"Hey, did you see that just now?"
"What's with her? Isn't that creepy? A normal person would cry."
With the whispered voices at her back, Valentina headed for the courtyard.
The Giardino Segreto—the Secret Garden.
The white marble fountain shone gold in the evening sun. The surrounding roses and jasmine filled the air with a sweet fragrance.
Valentina knelt on the soft earth beside the fountain and dug a small hole with her fingers.
Soil worked its way under her nails. Unconcerned about dirtying her uniform skirt, she gently laid the bird, wrapped in the handkerchief, into the hole.
"Rest in peace. At least the earth here is warm."
She covered it with soil and placed a small stone on top.
It was a substitute for a grave marker.
She stood up and lightly brushed the dirt from her skirt.
That was when it happened.
She sensed a presence watching her from the dining hall window of the main building.
She didn't need to turn around to know.
A cold gaze. Calculating, analytical eyes, like a scientist observing a lab animal.
(*Lucien Ashford.*)
Valentina didn't look up.
She just felt the temperature of the ice in her heart drop a little further.
By the dining hall window, Lucien Ashford operated the tablet in his hand.
Displayed on the screen was the latest report sent by Sarah that morning.
*Subject V, additional information: At age 12, around the time of her mother's death, she kept a small white bird. She cherished it as a memento of her mother, but the bird also passed away a few days after her mother's death. Testimony states the subject held the bird's body and cried all night, burying it in the garden the next morning (from interviews with local servants).*
Lucien lifted his eyes from the scre
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