Avoid The Lead!

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The Celia who returned from the mind spell was not the same as before...

Her ruby irises resembled half bloody moons as she sat before a mirror, her eyes narrowing as flashes of the past breezed through her mind... feeding her new-found hatred for Vitav.

Before venturing into her own mind, she had certainly hated Vitav, and she knew he was wicked and ruthless, but her fear led to a selfish decision to avoid Vitav and Novia, while making plans to save herself and the Scarlett Estate when the time was right.

But the Taze in her mind had deliberately sent her back to her twenty-sixth life so she would recall something...

It wasn't just her, or her father, or Sara, or the Scarlett Estate, or even Taze...

The entire Luxia was at stake!

After the first fake life, she had forgotten the faith King Vien and the people had placed in her, and she only sought to be Queen because of Vitav.

Hearing King Vien's words from the last life had reminded her that a Queen must possess certain qualities and the strength to shoulder the weight of the entire Kingdom!

And it was even more important for a King...

She could never let Vitav and Novia rule Luxia!

Fortunately, Taze was still the Crown Prince, but she must find a way to cure him.

In this life, Taze must rule!

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The next day, the air was filled with gasps wherever Celia passed, and she was a bit surprised to see expressions ranging from awe, to shock, to all out disbelief in more than a few faces.

"Who's she?!"

"Has she always been in our school?!"

"Such delicate looks... Where did this flower come from?!!"

The whispers followed her everywhere.

'Did I change that much?!' She wondered, and Carla laughed from her side.

"I can read your expression! The answer is Yes! I told you I barely recognized you! Carla leaned in. "Such an unbelievable transformation!"

Celia had indeed transformed, reverting to her natural style and grace from previous lifetimes.

She had grown accustomed to wearing her hair down in this life, so she left it down, but had styled it so it resembled an elegant silver waterfall, falling down her back, and just one side of her face.

But the major change was in her carriage and aura... She held her head high, and was no longer hiding her aura.

Walking through the corridors wasn't the shadow she had designed to vanish in almost any crowd.

This was a young lady who exuded a bold confidence, as if she had no doubt that she would emerge as a winner in any situation!

"What led to this transformation?!" Carla demanded in a whisper, but Celia just smiled.

That was an easy answer...

Taze had to be King, but she was not generous enough to hand him over to another lady.

Which meant she had to be Queen!

But that left her in a precarious position, as she had spent seven years trying to be invisible!

Seven years trying to avoid the so-called Lead in her life, when it had been Taze all along...

And now?

Now she didn't have enough time to impress King Vien and all of Luxia... She barely even had time to rank at the top of Elfsworth!

Celia and Carla entered Jade Class, and the air was suddenly filled with gasps.

"Hmph!" Carla folded her arms proudly, only to notice that Celia had frozen upon seeing Taze!

Taze's eyes widened at the sight of her, and his lips slightly parted.

~"Wow!"~ He said into her mind, and Celia flushed, using a book to cover her face.

"Tsk tsk tsk!" Carla rolled her eyes, watching her friend hurry over to her seat, and she skipped over to hers.

Celia had barely sat down when a shadow appeared over her, and she looked up to see Lufar smiling down at her.

"F- Fair Lady! What goddess pavilion did you descend from! I apologize for the other day! Marry me, and I'll make you the Queen! The Legal Bride! The Head of the Harem!"

"Idiot!" Larya facepalmed, but gasped when she saw Lufar showered with disgusting sea water.

That was odd... Only she and Lufar could use that spell, and the one who had snapped their fingers wasn't even one of the top students!

Celia had snapped her fingers out of sheer annoyance, dousing Lufar in sea water even more disgusting than theirs!

"Urgh!" Lufar cringed in disgust, examining himself. "How did you use sea magic?!"

Celia barely paid him any attention. "It's not too difficult to comprehend. I'd go and wash off, if I were you... This water is from the southern sea's disgusting parts. You know what they dump in those waters."

"Urrrrgh! Noooooo!" Lufar ran out of the class, amidst bellows of laughter!

The southern seas bordered a lawless Kingdom populated by numerous tribesmen and dark mages who tossed one thing or the other into the waters, and even went as far as upending their chamber pots right into the water!

The Southern Sea King often complained about this, and it was a long standing joke in the magical world!

Celia shook her head and brought out her books, but several more shadows appeared around her.

"Miss Scarlett, don't pay him any attention!" Another boy was saying. "We in the Regar household only marry one wife!"

"Yes... Into poverty!" Another countered. "Fair maiden, look no further than the Meval family. Marry me, and you'll never have worries again!"

"Heh! At least, until your elder brother inherits!" Yet another countered! "Miss Scarlett, I'm an only child! The DeVien family's wealth is at your disposal!"

Celia was severely tempted to stick a finger into her ears, but a loud slam made all heads swivel to the back corner of the class.

Taze had slammed a palm on his desk, unleashing a powerful aura and sending the class into utter silence.

They all watched in shock as he stood and leisurely walked over to Celia's desk.

"Hmm?" He directed a scowl at two of the boys, and they hastily stepped away, so he could stand beside Celia, towering over her.

"Celia." He boldly addressed, making eyes widen even more at the familiar address.

"You can ignore the Nowen Family... But will you ignore me?" He held out a hand.

Celia shook her head without hesitation and placed her hand in his, and he deftly pulled her to her feet and to his side.

"Oh my! My heart can't take such romance!!" Carla's delighted voice shattered the shocked silence, and the class erupted into chaos.

On one hand, most of the ladies were shooting daggers at Celia!

On the other hand, the disinterested parties were applauding and cheering, sending catcalls into the air.

And as for the gents surrounding Celia? They were now glaring at Taze.

"Who do you think you are?!"

"Yes, we got here first?!"

"Strutting around like some Prince!"

"What is this Nowen family?! What can you even offer?!"

Taze held up a hand. "Anyone with a grievance can come and directly challenge me." He smirked. "I have a long list of challenges lined up for willing competitors!"

With that, he snapped his hand and Celia's desk and chair vanished.

"E!?!" Those seated behind found their desks and chairs moving forward to fill the empty space, creating a space at the back of the class, beside Taze's own desk.

Celia's desk and chair appeared there, and he properly pulled out her chair for her to sit.

"This look is an advantage and disadvantage!" He complained, before returning to his own desk!

After the fiasco, the class calmed down as a teacher came in.

But the surprises were far from over!

Before the end of the day, Celia had answered almost every question the teachers had thrown out, and her ranking was rising in almost every class!

Which led to inevitable questions floating round the school...

"Who is this?!"

"Who is this utterly beautiful and intelligent lady?!"

"And why has she been hiding?!!!"

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