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** - A smartphone in the bathroom and shattered trust
In a corner of the courtyard, Valentina quietly brushed the dirt from her hands. The cold body of the little white bird was no longer visible. Only a small mound of earth indicated that something was buried there. The feel of the soil still lingering on her fingertips felt raw.
(*So small...*)
Her chest tightened with a sharp pang. She had felt this way when her mother died. And when she was betrayed in Paris. Every time she lost something, a piece of her heart was scraped away. All that remained was a gray resignation.
"There you are."
A voice suddenly came from behind her. Turning around, she saw Sarah Valcourt standing there, her chestnut bob swaying. The dimples on both her cheeks were softly illuminated by the setting sun. In her hand was a single, small flower. A white flower, whose name she didn't know.
"Val, your hands are cold."
Sarah crouched down and took Valentina's hands. Her warm fingers enveloped Valentina's dirt-stained hands. Her hazel eyes narrowed with worry.
"Some people do such cruel things."
Her voice trembled faintly. It sounded as if she was angry, as if it had happened to her.
"Why don't we take a bath together tonight? It'll help you relax."
Sarah stood up and gently put her arm around Valentina's shoulders. Because of their height difference, the slight stretch she had to make seemed somehow childlike. A faint floral scent of shampoo drifted from her.
Valentina nodded silently.
(*Sarah is kind.*)
(*She's my only ally.*)
She wanted to think that. She wanted to believe it.
But—
Deep in her chest, something sounded an alarm. Lucien Ashford's gray eyes, which she had met in the library. A cold gaze that seemed to appraise its prey. The message from "L.A." that had appeared on Sarah's smartphone.
(*What if it's all a lie?*)
She desperately pushed the thought away.
(*I mustn't doubt her. Sarah is my only friend.*)
Valentina put a smile on her lips and squeezed Sarah's hand back.
"Thank you, Sarah."
Her voice was as calm as ever.
The bathroom at the west end of the second floor of the Villa Luna girls' dormitory was a large room with individual locks. A white marble floor, frosted glass partitions, the sound of water falling from golden faucets. Soft indirect lighting was embedded in the ceiling, and high-end skincare products were lined up on the vanity against the wall.
"I'll go in first, okay?"
Sarah said this in a light tone and began to take off her white blouse. Her movements were practiced, as elegant as if she were removing a stage costume. Her shoulder blades rose faintly on her back. A thin silver bracelet glinted on her left wrist.
(*She's always wearing that bracelet.*)
Valentina folded her clothes while casually observing.
Sarah disappeared behind the frosted glass of the bathroom. Soon, the sound of the shower began to echo.
Alone, she stood before the vanity.
Her reflection in the mirror—hair as white as snow, translucent pale lavender eyes. Those eyes looked a little tired. It was only natural. The daily harassment, the isolation, and the dead bird.
She took a deep breath, and just then—
A small vibration buzzed.
On the vanity. Sarah's smartphone screen was quietly lit.
A notification. The icon of a messaging app signaled a new message.
Valentina casually glanced down at the screen.
—And felt the blood freeze throughout her entire body.
A message displayed on the lock screen. The sender was "Leon."
*'About that white-haired princess, ready to really break her soon? I'm betting 500 that I'll make her cry first. You just keep scattering the bait like always.'*
Valentina's fingers trembled.
(*What... is this?*)
Her breathing became shallow. Her heart pounded violently. Her hand moved on its own and picked up the smartphone. Sarah was still in the bathroom. The sound of the water continued.
She tapped the message.
The screen opened. The history went on and on.
*'Sarah: Today's report. Subject made contact with Lucien in the library. Her wariness remains high, but her dependence on me is increasing.'*
*'Leon: Well done. Any progress on identifying her weaknesses?'*
*'Sarah: Mother's death (age 12, illness), betrayal by a close friend in Paris (age 15, details to follow), memories of a pet bird (trauma from losing a bird she kept in childhood), suspected night terrors (heard her crying out from the next room last night).'*
*'Leon: Good. The bird has been arranged. It'll be in her locker tomorrow. Report her reaction in detail. The betting odds are updated—Lucien's put 200 on "makes her cry within 2 weeks." I'm putting 300 on "mental breakdown within 1 week." You just scatter the kind-best-friend bait as usual.'*
Her heart pounded painfully.
—Her mother's death. The betrayal in Paris. The memories of the bird. The night terrors.
She had told Sarah everything.
"Don't worry, I'm here for you."
Because she had said that.
"I want you to share just a little of the burden in your heart."
Because she had said that so kindly.
It was all a lie.
The isolation in the dining hall. The graffiti on her locker. The disappearing textbooks. The thumbtacks. The dead bird. And Sarah's kindness, which always appeared immediately afterward.
(*I should have known.*)
(*Ever since I saw that message on her phone.*)
(*Even though I suspected.*)
A heat rose behind her eyes. But no tears came.
Her fingers trembling, she scrolled further back through the history.
*'Sarah: Phase one isolation progressing smoothly. No one approaches her in the dining hall anymore. Subject still maintains outward composure, but signs of mental fatigue are present.'*
*'Leon: Begin preparations for phase two. Update the weakness list—especially her mother's death and the Paris betrayal. Those are her greatest points of vulnerability. Target them thoroughly.'*
*Sarah: Understood. Leave it to me.*
—"Leave it to me" (*atashi ni makasete*).
Not her usual "I" (*watashi*).
Sarah's real way of speaking.
A cold, emotionless, mechanical tone.
Deep in Valentina's chest, something shattered with a sound.
It was her last hope for friendship.
The sweet illusion that she might be loved.
She took a deep breath.
Then, she returned the smartphone to its original position, precisely and carefully.
The bathroom door opened.
"Ah, that was a nice bath. Val, it's your turn now."
Sarah, wrapped in a white bathrobe and trailing steam, approached with a smile. Her wet chestnut bob clung to her cheeks. Her usual, perfect smile.
(*This woman knows everything.*)
(*My mother's death, Paris, the bird...*)
(*It was all material for their bets.*)
(*My suffering was just a "game" to them.*)
Sarah stood in front of the mirror and began drying her hair. The warm air from the hairdryer gently lifted her hair.
Valentina stared at Sarah's back through the mirror.
Her pale eyes began to take on a cold, clear, icy gleam.
They were the eyes of a predator appraising its prey.
"I feel refreshed, Sarah. Thank you for inviting me."
Valentina plastered a soft smile onto her face. Her voice sounded surprisingly calm and gentle.
"Yeah, good. Well, I'll head back to the room first. Take your time warming up."
Sarah noticed nothing. With her usual light step, she left the bathroom.
The door closed.
Alone in the bathroom, Valentina turned on the shower.
Hot water poured down over her head.
She bit her lip. Her back teeth ground together audibly.
—*Ugh.*
A faint sob escaped, lost in the sound of the water.
Just once.
Only once.
She covered her face with both hands, her shoulders shaking. A single tear streamed down, mixing with the water.
(*Why?*)
(*Why would they do this?*)
(*All I wanted was to live peacefully.*)
A tearing pain filled her chest.
(*The warmth of Sarah's hands, that smile... it was all fake.*)
(*"Don't worry, I'm here for you"—those words too.*)
She raised her face.
Her wet white hair clung to her back.
She looked in the mirror. Her own face reflected there.
—She wasn't crying.
The tears had already stopped.
Her eyes weren't red. Her cheeks weren't wet.
Only her pale eyes burned with an icy coldness.
(*I will never be broken again.*)
She quietly told her reflection in the mirror.
(*I am not prey.*)
(*I am the hunter.*)
Her self as a victim died in that bathroom.
The person here now was a new Valentina, an avenger.
Late at night. Room 208.
Outside the window, the courtyard fountain shone silver in the moonlight.
Valentina sat at her desk and opened a notebook.
The fingers gripping her pen trembled faintly.
She opened to the first page and wrote the heading for a new chapter.
*'Operation: Double Mirror'*
(*Sarah is monitoring me.*)
(*In that case, I'll turn that surveillance against her.*)
She ran her pen across the page.
*'Phase One: Let Sarah run free. Continue to play the "best friend" as before, without her noticing. That woman believes I'm a "target on the verge of breaking"—I will exploit that perception.'*
*'Phase Two: Feed false information to the Crowns through Sarah. By "pretending" to show my weaknesses, I will guide their actions. Sarah's reports will become the bait for the Crowns.'*
*'Phase Three: Gain periodic access to Sarah's smartphone and probe the Crowns' internal structure, the twins' weaknesses, and Sarah's own secrets. The specifications of her bracelet—that listening device—will also be investigated.'*
*'Final Objective: The complete social annihilation of all Crowns members. Especially the twin leaders and Sarah—they will be destroyed last, in the most agonizing way possible.'*
Only the sound of the pen tip running across the paper echoed in the quiet room.
*'I will play their "game."'*
*'But—I will decide the rules.'*
She closed the notebook and tucked it deep into a drawer.
The trembling had already stopped.
She stood by the window and looked up at the moon.
(*Sarah, you betrayed me.*)
(*But that betrayal made me strong.*)
(*I thank you—by sending you to hell.*)
Her lips twisted slightly.
It was a smile.
The next morning. The dining hall.
The light of the chandelier reflected off the silver cutlery, and the smell of toast mingled with the aroma of coffee.
Valentina was sitting at the same table as yesterday. The students around her avoided her as usual. But that no longer mattered.
"Good morning, Val! Did you sleep well?"
A light voice. Sarah sat down next to her with a tray. Today she wore a pale pink cardigan and a small pearl pin in her hair. As always, a perfectly calculated loveliness.
"Good morning, Sarah. I wonder what kind of day today will be."
Valentina responded with her usual smile. Her voice was calm, with a slightly cheerful tone.
(*Today, I'll be taking one of your secrets.*)
She murmured this quietly in her heart as she brought a forkful of scrambled eggs to her mouth.
"How about tea in the courtyard after school today? I heard they got some new cakes in."
Sarah smiled innocently, trying to probe for Valentina's weaknesses.
(*She seems a bit more energetic this morning—I wonder if something happened. The effect of last night's bath? Or some other change? I have to report this.*)
"Yes, I'd love to. I'm looking forward to it."
Valentina smiled softly.
Behind that smile, icy eyes observed Sarah.
(*If you're going to feed information to the Crowns through me, then I'll feed poison to the Crowns through you.*)
Valentina knew that a sharp gaze from the head of the dining hall was fixed on the two of them.
Lucien Ashford, drinking coffee in his usual seat, had his eyes down on the tablet in his hands—or pretended to, while monitoring her from the corner of his vision.
(*Just watch, Lucien Ashford.*)
(*I'll make use of that "observational eye" of yours, along with everything else.*)
Valentina brought her cup to her lips, capturing Lucien in her peripheral vision.
Her slender white throat moved faintly as she swallowed her tea.
She could feel Lucien's gray eyes staring intently at that throat.
The prey had com
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