Transmigrated as the Cuck.... WTF!!!

Back in the base, Celeste's steps carried a quiet determination. Her destination was clear, Mia's house. If there was a thread that tied together the mystery of Cassius's change, then it was Mia, and Celeste was determined to tug at it until the truth unraveled.

Her train of thought broke when she saw a familiar figure ahead. Verena. The girl walked in the same direction as her, her posture relaxed.

Their eyes met. Neither spoke. For a few moments the air between them thickened with unspoken tension, their mutual dislike simmering beneath the surface.

Then Verena scoffed, the corner of her lips curling in disdain. "Why are you here, miss princess?"

The word princess ignited some well hated memories. It struck Celeste where it hurt. Rage flickered inside her chest. Her fists clenched at her sides, but outwardly she remained composed.

She tilted her head slightly, letting a soft smile grace her lips. "Nothing much… I simply thought I'd pay a visit. I had a fight with my group yesterday and, well… boredom is a cruel thing, you know? So, I decided to drop in and… crash."

Verena's suspicious gaze lingered on her face, searching for cracks in the mask. Eventually, she clicked her tongue and looked away. "Yeah, fair enough. But still… you really are trash."

Her voice grew sharp, cutting. "I antagonized Cassius too, but even I never went so far as to mock his death. Playing with that isn't something I would ever do."

Celeste's wry smile was practiced, but her eyes betrayed a faint tremor of shame. "Ah, don't remind me. I'm ashamed myself. It was a momentary intrusive thought, nothing more. Besides… you can't really blame me. Art and Evelyn have visibly gotten closer since Cassius's death. Anyone would notice that."

"Hmm." Verena nodded slightly, acknowledging the truth in that observation. For reasons only they knew, Art and Evelyn had indeed grown closer ever since Art had returned from confirming Cassius's death.

They whispered to each other in the dark hours of the night, their conversations hushed but unmistakably intimate.

"Though," Verena added, her tone leveling, "they were also the closest to him. It's not strange for them to confide in each other now. If anything, it makes perfect sense. Maybe you're just being paranoid."

Celeste shook her head firmly. "No. That's exactly the problem. I've known them long enough to understand their nature. Both Art and Evelyn are secretive to their very core. The type who would rather bury their pain than show it to anyone, even to each other. And yet, suddenly, they're clinging together? That doesn't sit right with me. If you ask me… Art is hiding something."

Verena rolled her eyes, her lips curling into a mocking smile. "Okay, Miss Detective. Whatever you say. Whatever keeps your boat afloat." She waved her hand dismissively, brushing off Celeste's suspicions like dust.

Celeste, however, didn't falter. Her expression remained calm, though her eyes sharpened. "You know," she murmured, "this talk of nature reminded me of something important."

Verena raised an eyebrow, curiosity piqued despite herself. "And what's that?"

Celeste's gaze softened, with thought. "It's about Cassius. I've known him since birth. Out of everyone in our group, I can say with certainty that I've spent the most time with him."

Verena's lips curved into a smirk, edged with ridicule. "And what exactly are you insinuating?"

"I mean…" Celeste's voice dropped, her words deliberate, weighted. "Cassius has changed. Not in the way people grow from childhood to adolescence, no. This was different. Almost… unnatural. I knew him in his teenage years, I knew the way he moved, the way he hid behind his meekness. And the Cassius at the academy?" She shook her head, almost in disbelief. "He was a different being entirely. The contrast was too stark. They were almost opposites."

Verena's brows furrowed, the mocking expression fading into something sharper, more attentive. "Opposites? Explain."

Celeste's tone grew colder, yet steadier. "The Cassius I grew up with was timid, almost afraid of himself. He hunched his shoulders, turned his back on his own strength, and undermined himself constantly. But the Cassius in the academy? He was confident. Haughty. Brazen even. The kind of person who would never back down."

Seeds of doubt began festering in Verena's mind despite herself. She tried to brush them off, reminding herself it was perfectly normal for children to change, even for teenagers to shift their personality as they grew, adapted, or hardened through circumstances.

But this?

Full-blown, opposite natures? That wasn't just "change."

'Yeah… no. That's not something common.'

She tried to silence the gnawing thoughts with reason. 'I shouldn't get mixed up in a dead man's grave. Cassius is dead. Whatever he was, whatever he became—it doesn't matter now. What does a corpse's life amount to, anyway?'

Even as she reminded herself, curiosity lingered like a thorn pressed deep beneath her skin. It wouldn't leave.

"You know," Celeste spoke lightly, her tone casual yet every word deliberate, "maybe it's because of Mia. Maybe she was the one who changed him to that extent. I mean—she did get adopted just a few months before his admittance to the academy."

'...Mia!' Verena's mind churned with sudden clarity. 'If Mia is tied to this… if she had that much influence on him… then maybe that explains why they were so close. Why she was the only one who could reach him. Why she grieves him with such raw, unrestrained sadness.'

Celeste chuckled softly to herself, as though amused by her own private joke. "Honestly, I wanted to talk with Mia for that exact reason. Maybe she can give me some pointers… some insight into how she managed to change Cassius so completely. Who knows? If she teaches me well enough, I wouldn't even mind being a bad Celeste."

Her lips curled at the last words, tone laced with mockery.

Verena's response was flat, expressionless. "Who told you that you're good in the first place?"

"Oh?" Celeste's brows twitched, the tiniest crack in her mask of composure. Under her breath, almost too low to hear, she hissed, "Bitch…"

Verena's head snapped. "What did you just say?"

Celeste's face remained perfectly still, her lashes lowered innocently. She had whispered it so quietly the sound had dissolved into the air, but Verena wasn't a fool. She didn't need to hear the word to know what it had been.

Her jaw tightened.

"Tsk." With her mood soured, Verena chose to ignore her, striding forward with firm steps.

Celeste, however, took no offense—or pretended not to. She followed behind without hesitation, her tone light and airy, as if they were old friends out for a stroll.

"Why are you following me?" Verena asked irritably, her patience thinning.

"I don't know." Celeste gave a careless shrug. "Maybe because I said something along the lines of: I'm bored."

"No. You didn't," Verena snapped back, her voice edged with disbelief. "You never said that."

"Oh?" Celeste let out a small gasp, raising her hand to cover her mouth dramatically. "Then I must have insinuated it. I'm sure I did. You just don't know how to read between the lines. That's your problem, for sure."

Verena stopped, her brows knitting tightly together as she arched her back slightly to stare into Celeste's eyes.

Celeste's gaze glittered with such practiced innocence, such radiant, incandescent light, that it almost blinded. It was infuriating, how someone could wear mockery and purity in the same look.

"Tsk." With a sharp click of her tongue, Verena spun around again, refusing to give Celeste the satisfaction of a longer stare. She strode forward with stiff shoulders, but Celeste, of course, trailed behind her—like a golden retriever wagging its tail, relentlessly loyal in her unwanted company.

Finally, they reached their destination. Verena pushed the door open with a slow creak, and the sound was immediately swallowed by the silence inside.

The air was heavy, stale. The house was dim, with every window sealed shut, curtains drawn so tightly that not even a sliver of daylight filtered through. Doors were closed—some properly, some just awkwardly stuck.

It was lifeless.

"This place feels like a cemetery…" Celeste muttered under her breath, before quickly raising a hand to cover her lips and smile wryly at her own slip.

Verena's eyes sharpened. Inwardly, she cursed Celeste a thousand ways. Outwardly, she let her voice cut with calm sharpness.

"You should really work on those intrusive thoughts," she said flatly. "One day, they'll bite your ass."

Celeste flashed her a thumbs-up. Flashing an infuriatingly innocent smile, she puffed her chest. "Don't worry about that I'm sure I wouldn't get in trouble. My background saves me from such meaningless obstacles."

She dramatically twirled around, "I can be what I want~ how I want~"

Seeing her dancing like a monkey wearing a skirt only raised Verena's anger levels. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and waved her hand dismissively. "Yeah, Yeah. Now, shut up and stay silent. I don't want your nonsense to disturb Mia, if you somehow disturb her. I swear I'm gonna hang you!"