Till Death Do Us Part, Whether I Like It or Not

By the garden there goes little Lily, the flower of the Mondragon family. A little princess, the firstborn of the Mondragon mafia family's leader. With tiny hands holding a flower and a smile blooming on her face, she wanders around the garden, playing as if the world is nothing but sunshine and roses. Unaware of the dark secrets hidden behind her family's name, she continues to enjoy her little world, not knowing that the peaceful life she knows will soon crumble because of the political problems brewing within their circles. The Mondragon family is a mafia group that does the dirty work of the government. Of course, they'll clean it up afterward as if nothing happened. The Mondragon family has only produced male heirs for generations, and only now do they have a girl as the next heir for the group, which scares many of the followers of the Mondragon family because they believe a girl is only for breeding and decoration. The Mondragon family's followers are the children of the leader's siblings, and those followers will be wed to others of the same status, the siblings of other clan leaders. The first child of the leader will automatically become the next leader, while the other siblings will be the followers of their own sibling. The Callas family serves as the Mondragon family's information provider, making them an important partner in their operations. While the Mondragon family handles the dirty work, the Callas family ensures they have the information they need to carry out their missions and cover their tracks afterward. For generations, the Callas family has been their informant, and they have long promised to strengthen their relationship with each other by marrying their children to one another. But of course, there have been cases when a child disagrees with the arranged marriage decided by their own parents and family. That is why the child will have to cut ties with their family. Whatever happens, no one shall provide help for them, not even their own mother or father. Once they refuse the arranged marriage, they will lose their family name, inheritance, and all the privileges that come with being part of their clan. In case any child who has cut ties with their family receives help from them, the family member who provided the help will also be stripped of the clan's name and disgraced by all the next generations. This rule applies to everyone, regardless of their position in the family, even the parents themselves. And to prevent this from happening anymore, the Callas and Mondragon families decided to build a school whose students are primarily their own family members. Of course, they accept students from other families too, but only a few. The school's main purpose is to prepare their children for their future roles within their respective families. From a young age, they are taught to follow their family's traditions, fulfill their duties, and accept the arranged marriages decided by their parents. By allowing the children to grow up together, families ensure that they become familiar with one another before their marriages are arranged, making it harder for them to refuse the marriages in the future. The school also serves as a way for both families to maintain control over their children's relationships and preserve their alliance for generations to come. And they also have a rule where they hold a party every six months to reconnect with their families. It's a huge party that can last up to one week. The next heirs need to take their time getting to know and playing with each other to strengthen their feelings for one another, while the siblings of the next heirs will have to talk with each other about how they'll serve their respective heirs. There are some situations where the heirs and their siblings don't get along. In such cases, the heads of both families will have to choose another mafia family, the lowest-ranking one of all, to become their playmates or, if they're lucky, their future wives or husbands. But it has never happened, not in the 100 years of their peaceful alliance between families. The lowest-ranking mafia family is also the only other family accepted into their school. However, they have separate schools for the main families and the lowest-ranking family. The Mondragon and Callas children attend the main school, where they are taught their family traditions, duties, and the importance of their alliance. Meanwhile, the children of the lowest-ranking family attend a different school, keeping them separated from the main heirs. This separation is meant to prevent the heirs from developing feelings for anyone outside their arranged relationships, ensuring that nothing will interfere with the bond between the heir and the heiress. The families believe that by keeping the children apart, they can maintain control over their relationships and preserve their alliance for generations to come. And there's also an arrangement where, every eight months of the school year, the heir and the heiress take turns visiting the lowest-ranking family's school for one week. They do this to observe how the students are improving, how well they're learning their duties, and whether they're becoming suitable playmates or potential future spouses. The heir and heiress visit separately, taking turns so that each of them gets a week to observe the students. During those one-week observation periods, the heir and heiress also participate in classes to see if the students of the lowest-ranking family are really taking their lessons seriously. Any student who fails to take their classes seriously or fails any of their exams will have to leave the school. This rule applies only to the students of the lowest-ranking family, not the Mondragon or Callas heirs. After all, if the heir or heiress fails their exams, they will have to retake them again and again until they achieve the grades expected of them. Instead, they will be forced to continue their exams until they meet the standards set by their parents. Even if it takes days, weeks, or months, they will have no choice but to continue studying and retaking their exams until they pass. Failure is never accepted for the future leaders of the Mondragon and Callas families.