The Killer Queen (Noella Briony)

The slap resonated crisply in the silent classroom, turning heads and dropping jaws.

Oriana clutched her cheek, disbelief painted across her face as she stared at Malvina.

Pride had always been Oriana's cloak, worn since childhood; never once had she faced such public humiliation. Fury quickly replaced her shock.

"Are you insane? Hitting me, here? Which department do you even belong to? I'm reporting you! Good luck trying to study here after this!"

Malvina's reply dripped with sarcasm. "Oh wow, such a big deal, huh? Telling me I can't study here. Geez, you must really think you're something. Why don't you just ban me from Earth while you're at it? What, you think you're the dean now? Or maybe the queen of Earth? I wasn't aware you were the dean Garrick's secret love child. Oh wait, are you... the nanny?"

"What did you just say!"

Malvina covered her mouth, barely suppressing a chuckle. "I meant, you must be hard-working. Where did your mind wander off to?"

Oriana, red-faced and fuming, could barely muster a response. "You're shameless!"

Malvina's retort was swift and dismissive. "Rebound."

Having mastered the art of verbal sparring since she could barely walk, Malvina had always been the bane of the Gruber family. Her wit and sarcasm was honed to perfection. How could a bookworm like Oriana ever hope to compete?

Oriana, burning with anger, turned only to find Noella as serene as if the altercation hadn't occurred. Noella’s calm demeanor stood in stark contrast to the chaos, her elegance making her seem almost

ethereal. She appeared to be bathed in a light that seemed to favor her alone.

It was infuriating! What was Noella trying to prove?

Why should her be the villain in contrast to Noella's saintliness?

"I just wanted to genuinely apologize to Noella," Oriana lamented amid tears.

"I didn't mean to upset her. Noella, please don't force Stirling to leave me."

Malvina, feigning innocence, glanced at the book Noella was reading and the offensive photos sprawled across the desk before letting out a whistle.

"Go on, report me. A slap might cost me a fine for medical expenses, but your slander? The Schnabel family's lawyer is no joke.

I could see through your little plays because I used to put on such acts as well. But I’m smarter than you. You worked hard to get into college, so why not just focus on your studies?"

Knowing she was at fault, Oriana could do nothing but retreat with tears streaking down her face.

Noella hadn't been sleeping well, regretting her decision to agree to Horatio’s request for her to go out, which now left her exhausted.

Just as she was about to leave with Malvina, a few people approached them.

Noella raised an eyebrow in confusion, her beautiful eyes shimmering with fatigue, which made her look pitiful in the eyes of others.

While they knew Noella was attractive, they had only seen her from a distance. Being confronted with such a face made several of them blush.

Noella casually inquired, “Is there something you need?”

One of the girls blushed and apologized, "I'm sorry, Noella. Oriana spoke ill of you, and we didn't intervene. We're really sorry!"

"I don't mind what was said. What you believe doesn't concern me," Noella replied with a dismissive grace.

"No! Allowing someone to tarnish a fellow classmate without knowing the full story, displaying poor judgment, which led to you being harmed, was our mistake, and we deeply regret it!"

Looking at their sincere and innocent faces, brimming with the vibrant energy and growth typical of student life, Noella also smiled gently. “I’ve encountered such situations before, and I truly don’t hold it against you. However, I appreciate your apology.”

The lead girl, Ingrid, spoke earnestly, "I’m the class president. Feel free to approach me if you ever need anything!"

"Got it, I'll keep that in mind."

Ingrid added, "We'll inform the teachers about Oriana's matter and handle it together. We hope it won't affect you, and we look forward to seeing you in class in the future!"

Noella raised a slight eyebrow. Were they assuming she skipped classes due to malicious rumors?

Noella didn't bother to clarify, but she heard Malvina, seated beside her, speak in a sweet tone. "Ah, our dear Noella mustered the courage to attend class, only to encounter such a situation. Noella is naturally reserved and timid. How is she expected to cope? If I hadn't been here today, would you have left her, a gentle and lovely young lady, to face malice alone?

Ingrid, if I'm not mistaken, you all deliberately avoided sitting next to Noella. Don't say it’s a coincidence. When I was in college, the most coveted seats were always in the back row."

The back row seats were always the most sought after; it was normal for the front row to be empty, even for students at Imperial University. They had deliberately isolated Noella!

Malvina scoffed, "I've seen my fair share of people hurling insults at me. I usually brush it off as nonsense. But just because Noella prefers not to dwell on such matters doesn't mean you all can turn a blind eye to it, understand?"

Upon Malvina's remarks, Ingrid recalled Oriana's earlier slander against Malvina.

"We sincerely apologize!"

"Let it go. I'm not even part of your class. Noella is the one owed an apology."

Ingrid and a group of class representatives then offered their heartfelt apologies.

"No need to dwell on it. I've already accepted your apology. The blame doesn't solely rest on you, so let's leave it at that."

Lacking sufficient evidence to judge, they had relied on Oriana's casual remarks and fabrications. Besides, Noella herself hadn’t been coming to college these days, so even if they wanted to verify, they wouldn’t have had the chance.

People naturally tend to seek advantage and avoid harm, so it's understandable for them to keep their distance from Noella.

"I hope what you've witnessed today was an eye-opener. The fact that you came to apologize shows you have a basic sense of right and wrong. I'm not one to hold grudges."Belongs © to NôvelDrama.Org.

Ingrid's eyes sparkled with admiration!

Noella, with her stunning beauty and her talent on the zither that had become a staple across the music department, not to mention her wealthy background and kind personality, was truly understanding!

The thought of Noella, such an exceptional student, feeling uneasy about coming to college because of Oriana's issue made Ingrid deeply upset.

Noella handed a book to Ingrid. "Could you please pass this on to Ms. Darcy for me? I've got to head out."

She had already taken photos of the book's content and sent them to Jasper.

"Of course, you can count on me! We won't let this kind of problem happen in our class again!"

"We'll see."

As Noella and Malvina left the classroom, Noella raised an eyebrow slightly, just in time to see a boy approaching them, presenting Malvina with a bouquet of roses!

"This for you."