Chapter 27 – He’s in Your Hands
Women—whether beautiful or plain—are all the same once the lights are off. What really matters is their figure.
That’s right. Cole did approach Teresa with ulterior motives. But those intentions weren’t entirely his own—he was acting on someone else's instruction. His goal was to persuade Teresa to quit Dylin’s team.
Initially, Cole had been solely focused on completing this mission. But after getting a close-up look at Teresa’s “assets,” he tacked on a new objective.
A Wild Divine Princess without even a surname—she probably hadn’t seen much of the world.
Young, with an unsightly scar across her face, surely she was full of self-doubt and desperate for validation.
Maybe… he could trick her into bed for a good time?
So, Cole started setting the stage. He presented himself as someone experienced, someone who could offer her help and guidance. That would give him a reason to stay close to Teresa.
Then it would just be a matter of time before the rice was cooked, so to speak.
Little did he know—Teresa had seen right through every last bit of his scheming from the start.
Scum…
Teresa felt nothing but disgust.
Going after a girl this young? Beast. That’s a crime, you know??
Elves had extremely sharp instincts. The moment Cole approached her with his twisted intentions, Teresa felt a wave of revulsion.
“I’m done eating. Pardon me.” With this depraved man sucking up beside her, Teresa felt incredibly uncomfortable. She popped the final piece of fruit into her mouth and stood up, intending to end this unpleasant breakfast early.
“Wait, hold on—” Seeing Teresa about to leave, Cole panicked. Without thinking, he grabbed her elbow.
“Let go.” Teresa’s voice turned icy in an instant as she stood with her tray. This time, she didn’t even bother with a polite “sir”—all traces of civility were gone from her tone.
“You—” Cole felt a sudden chill crawl down his spine, which left him shocked and bewildered.
She hadn’t even awakened as a Divine Princess. She couldn’t display a Divine Authority Domain. So how could she exude this kind of pressure, enough to make his heart skip a beat?
“No, I think you’ve misunderstood me, junior. You see, I…”
“Let go.” Teresa’s gaze grew even colder. To her, Cole was nothing more than a bug. Spending even a second of her time or energy on him was a waste.
“You little Wild Divine Princess, don’t be so ungrateful…” That look in her eyes made Cole furious.
Being glared at like that by some defective Divine Princess who couldn’t even use her domain—it was humiliating.
Teresa frowned. With her pitiful combat strength, she couldn’t shake off Cole’s grip. And the Divine Princess dining hall wasn’t crowded right now...
“What are you doing?” Feeling herself being yanked closer to him, Teresa’s eyes sharpened.
“What am I doing? I’m gonna teach you, a rude little brat, what it means to respect your elders!”
As his fist came flying toward her, Teresa closed her eyes.
“Initiating physical contact without consent with a girl you just met is highly inappropriate, Cole.”
“Bullying a girl—especially one younger than yourself—is even less befitting of a gentleman. According to Coleman Academy Regulation #467, students who unilaterally harass classmates are subject to expulsion.” A cold, moonlit voice rang out, steady and clear as it recited the rules, one word at a time.
That voice, so distinctive and familiar—like the light of the silver moon—made Teresa immediately realize who it belonged to.
“A-Astrid?” Seeing the silver-haired, elegantly beautiful elf girl before him, Cole was frozen in place for a long moment before snapping back to his senses. He quickly let go of Teresa’s elbow and backed off.
“Cole, I believe this young lady deserves an explanation,” Astrid said expressionlessly. Her violet eyes, cold as a wintry night, stared directly at him without wavering.
“Sorry, Teresa. I lost my temper just now. Please forgive me—I meant no harm...” With Astrid present, Cole changed his tune instantly. He apologized with what appeared to be sincerity, though who knew what he truly felt inside.
Teresa shook her sore elbow, not even sparing him a glance—as if he were an entirely irrelevant person, not worth a single iota of her attention.
This girl...
Staring at Teresa’s radiant platinum-blonde hair, a glint of cold light flickered in Astrid’s eyes.
She was sure she’d seen that color before...
Unconsciously, Astrid brushed a strand of her own pure silver hair aside.
Golden sun and silver moon—these were the elf totems.
Her gaze shifted to the girl’s ears—very much human ears.
She didn’t know why, but there was something about this girl that gave Astrid a warm, familiar feeling. Maybe it was just her imagination.
“I have class. If there’s nothing else, I’ll be going now.” Still not sparing Cole a look, Teresa turned to Astrid and nodded.
“Thank you sincerely for stepping in, Miss Unnamed Elf.” Teresa gave a slight bow, her words plain and direct. She said nothing more.
“No need for thanks. It was only right to intervene in a situation like that.” For some reason, when Astrid heard the words “Miss Unnamed Elf” come from Teresa’s mouth, her heart twisted strangely.
Seeing that Teresa had no intention of reporting him, Cole finally breathed a sigh of relief.
“Classmate, your name is Teresa, isn’t it?” Just as Teresa had gathered her tray and was about to leave the dining hall, the silver-haired elf unexpectedly called out to her.
“Mm? Is there anything else you’d like to ask?”
“You’re his new Divine Princess, aren’t you?” There was no need to clarify who “he” referred to.
“Such concern from you, Miss Elf.” After a brief pause, Teresa replied with a sentence laden with meaning.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. I haven’t made a point of finding out who he’s teamed up with lately… it’s just, you smell like him. Very strongly,” the silver-haired elf said, her expression still calm—but beneath that calm was a trace of complex, restrained emotion.
“Yes. I’m his Divine Princess.” Teresa still didn’t look back.
“So it’s true...” The silver-haired elf lowered her head slightly, hiding her expression.
“Did you have something more to say, Miss Elf?”
“...He’s got a strong thirst for knowledge. It’s always getting him into trouble. And he’s terribly careless with his life... he’s messy, and a bit rough around the edges... Please, take good care of him.” After a long silence, Astrid finally spoke, her voice tinged with a bittersweet feeling she couldn’t quite dispel.
“I will.” Teresa paused for a moment, then said no more and walked toward the exit.