UNDER THE LUNAR ECLIPSE

CHAPTER 2- THE TEMPTER

"Let me go!" Lessa immediately pulled her body away from the unexpected grip of the second man who had caught her, holding her so she wouldn't fall and kiss the ground.

The man looked surprised at Lessa's reaction, who seemed displeased with the rescue mission he had just carried out.

"Ahahaha... really? Who does this girl think she is? How dare she snap at Rendall?" The slender girl who had just deliberately collided with Lessa tossed her long, blonde, curly hair back. She then stood by the side of the man who had just released Lessa, Rendall.

Lessa sneered, unafraid. "Forgive me, Mr. Rendall. I should have taught her some manners." Percy came forward, bowing his body in front of Rendall.

Lessa glanced at him briefly and saw Percy's thin body trembling slightly as he did so. The girl didn't understand why Percy was behaving excessively and apologizing for something he didn't do.

"Ah, a new student! Rendall, relax a bit, isn't this girl too pretty to be punished?" The first man who came with Rendall acted friendly, moving to suddenly embrace Lessa's shoulders.

Lessa tried to free herself, but the man's grip was too strong. The girl could only stare at him with raised eyebrows, angry. Grebb!

"Keep your hands off, Lucas!" Rendall roughly grabbed his friend's collar with one hand and held him until Lucas released Lessa from his grip.

Lessa truly didn't understand why the people in front of her seemed to have issues with emotional control.

"Oh! Relax, buddy!" Lucas exclaimed, raising both of his hands high in the air. His expression remained unchanged; it seemed this guy was very difficult to talk to seriously.

Rendall released his grip, then his sharp eyes found Lessa's bright brown eyes, which were staring at him intensely. By his side, Percy was standing tall again.

For a few seconds, both were silent.

Bukkk!

"You better teach the new kid the rules of this school first."

Lessa could hear Rendall whisper something to Percy after hitting the thin man's shoulder until he groaned in pain.

"See you, beauty!" Lucas immediately followed Rendall, who had elegantly left the source of the commotion earlier.

Lessa turned to see both of them walking away. The girl could see two broad backs moving away, both walking like models who knew how to capture the attention of the entire room. "Tch!" The slender girl in front of Lessa followed suit and left.

People are strange," Lessa muttered reflexively, and it seemed like her voice reached Percy's ears.

Percy immediately turned to face Lessa, then gripped both of her shoulders to fully get her attention.

"Lessa, listen. Rendall Midnight, there's only one unwritten rule about him in this school. Never disturb him! And Lucas Midnight, his cousin, you'd better avoid him if you don't want to end up with a painful heartbreak. Do you understand?" Percy glared and waited for a positive response from Lessa, who reluctantly nodded to quickly free herself from Percy's painful grip. At least she just learned some important information: that two people with the Midnight family name should never enter her life if she wanted a peaceful life, free from troubles.

"Can we go to the cafeteria now?" Lessa asked hopefully. The girl wore a sad expression because she couldn't hold her hunger any longer.

Percy stared at Lessa with an incredulous look, starting to suspect that the only thing on her mind was a menu of food.

"After the library," he stated and walked ahead, not accepting any refusal. Lessa groaned but still moved to follow him with reluctant steps.

They walked in silence, Lessa was too tired to observe her surroundings because she was truly hungry. The mention of the library, a place she probably would never visit during her time at school, made her even less interested in anything now.

They had to climb stairs to reach another floor. Three floors had been covered by Lessa, and she felt her calves starting to ache. She struggled to control her breathing and asked Percy for a moment to compose herself. The girl frowned when she saw Percy didn't seem tired at all. "Is he not human?" Lessa thought to herself.

"We're almost there, don't be spoiled. Where's the spirit you used to yell at Rendall earlier?" Percy sarcastically remarked.

"Is shouting at that guy really such a taboo here?"

"Of course. The Midnight family is the most respected family in this school. You should take a history class when registering for classes later to learn the important history of their family."

Percy continued walking, and Lessa reluctantly followed him again. The girl, of course, would prefer not to take a history class rather than take one just to learn about the dramatic family of two men she had just met. "Flame Boarding School Library," Lessa read the sign with a restrained voice.

"We're here," Percy announced in front of a door whose upper end almost touched the ceiling. Lessa admired the beautiful lion head carving with intricate details on the surface of the door.

"Wow!" she exclaimed in awe.

"There's more amazing stuff inside." Percy pushed the door open effortlessly.

It didn't seem heavy at all as he could do it with ease.

"Enter and look around; I have to deal with some documents with Mrs. Robert. Your time is ten minutes from now," Percy explained and left Lessa, letting the entrance door wide open. Lessa walked in, feeling excited.Now that she was free to do anything without having to follow Percy, who she felt was too controlling, Lessa spun around to see giant-sized bookshelves neatly lined up, each equipped with a wheeled ladder that could be easily moved to reach books stored too high.

"Wow!" Lessa turned to see a row of wooden chairs and clean, tidy tables, but no one was sitting there reading anything. On the other side, there were soft cushioned seats that looked comfortable for use as beds, along with small round tables in the middle to put things on. It seemed like some people occupied those cushions, as the seating on that side appeared more comfortable than the stiff wooden chairs. A smile adorned her beautiful face with wide eyes, a small, pointed nose, naturally reddened plump lips, and healthy-looking white skin.

Her eyes wandered again, and this time, she noticed a newspaper lying on a table nearby. The girl immediately read the name of the newspaper written in the largest font.

"Daily Great Madison."

Then her eyes went down to read the main headline that occupied half of the front page of the newspaper.

"The Tragedy of the Great Madison Palace Explosion on Princess Elena Madison's Coronation Day."

A picture of the charred and horrific ruins of the palace made Lessa uninterested in reading what was written in the news. Lessa was more interested in looking at a photo of a beautiful blonde-haired girl wearing a beautiful crown displayed at the bottom of the front page.

"Official: Elena Madison as Princess of the Great Madison Kingdom. Perfect with Inner and Outer Beauty."

Lessa frowned as she read the headline above the crowned girl.

"Elena Madison?" Lessa tried to think with her sugar-deprived brain; she felt the name of the princess written on the newspaper was familiar. However, she couldn't recall the details.

"Absolutely perfect. I hope to date her someday."

Lucas suddenly appeared behind Lessa and peeked at what she was doing. He uttered the sentence after realizing that Lessa was looking at the newspaper page with a large photo of a royal princess.

Lessa immediately turned around in a startled reflex. The girl almost bumped into Lucas' chest, which was as tall as his forehead when they were close. "Are you following me?" Lessa instantly accused Lucas with what was in her mind. The girl looked around to check behind Lucas to see if he came with his brother. And, Lessa breathed a sigh of relief when she found out that there was no one else there.

Lucas smirked with his thin, reddish lips. He then bit his lower lip and bent his body so that his face was level with Lessa's unhappy face. "Do you want me to follow you?" Lucas landed his right palm on top of Lessa's head, making her instantly push it away roughly.

"Don't touch me!" Lessa snapped in disbelief.

Lucas chuckled oddly. His voice sounded crisp.

"You're right, I'm following you. Did you manage to get into this school because of your amazing fortune-telling ability?"