Chapter 7
Right as Miranda’s fist swung toward her, Narissa moved like a bolt of lightning. Her foot snapped up in a blur.
Thwack!
The kick slammed into Miranda’s gut, faster than any punch.
Miranda crumpled, clutching her stomach, face twisted in pain as she hit her knees, too winded to even mutter a curse.
The crowd froze, eyes bugging out, jaws dropped.
A collective gasp ripped through the air as they thought, ‘No freaking way… how’s this even possible?
Isn’t Narissa just some ordinary girl? How’d she just floor Miranda, Sinney City’s notorious “Little Tyrant“?”
“No… this can’t be real!” Miranda wheezed from the ground, her face a mess of shock and rage.
She couldn’t believe a nobody had just owned her. “That scrappy girl? Beating me? Something’s seriously messed up!”
Most onlookers stood frozen, eyes wide like they’d seen a ghost. A few were too stunned to even blink.
Narissa? Cool as ice, not a flicker of doubt.
“Lame,” she said with a smirk, her voice dripping with shade.
4
‘Does this girl seriously think she ca
take me?‘ she wondered.
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Narissa was a beast. She’d squared off with Bastien, the Rothialand War God, and held her own. World combat champ, multiple titles.
Fighting, spying, stealing, tracking, even blowing stuff up–she was a pro at it all. Miranda’s boxing skills? Total small–time.
If Narissa hadn’t been dragged back to her family, she wouldn’t have even noticed someone like Miranda. Total nobody.
“You… you’re gonna pay!” Miranda hissed, trying to stand but wincing as pain shot through her gut.
She wasn’t done, though. “Big whoop, you got me once! I’m just average in this school’s fight club.
“Wait till you meet the real pros. They’ll mop the floor with you!”
Narissa just raised an eyebrow. “Yeah? Why would I bother with them?” She turned to bounce, done with this circus.
That set Miranda off.
“Because of that cocky attitude!” she yelled, practically choking on her own rage. “Nobody’s rolling out the welcome mat for a janitor!
“You’re just some muscle–head, probably from hauling trash. Don’t kid yourself–you’re no hotshot. Someone’s gonna school you in a real fight!”
The crowd jumped in, piling on.
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Chapter 7
“Yeah, she’s all brawn. Against someone like Jaylen Presley? She’d be done in a heartbeat!”
“Exactly! A janitor’s a janitor, even if she’s playing rich girl now. If I were her family, I’d keep her locked up so she doesn’t embarrass herself.”
Miranda, fueled by the crowd, doubled down. “You hear that, Narissa? You’re just a lowlife.
“You got lucky with a cheap shot, but wait till combat class. You’re gonna crash and burn!”
More voices chimed in. “Yeah, reality’s gonna hit her hard!”
The shade kept coming, but Narissa let it slide off her like nothing.
She didn’t even flinch. Her? The Intelligence Office’s top agent, codename 001, getting worked up over these clowns? Please.
If word got out that she, the office’s best, was bickering with a bunch of loudmouth kids, her old crew would never let her live it down.
She had better things to do–like finding a spot to chill.
Right then, a gorgeous piano melody swept through the room.
生
IFT
”
The song started fierce, with bold, fiery notes that hit like a storm, but it had this deep, soulful vibe that seemed to sink right into one’s bones.
9 ”
4
It was the kind of music that grabbed one’s heart and didn’t let go. The crowd went dead quiet, totally entranced, like they were under a spell.
#
EATE
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27
This wasn’t some classic piano piece anyone knew by heart. It felt raw, like the player was just letting their fingers fly, making it up as they went. But those notes were so perfect, they had everyone hooked from the jump.
With skills like that, it didn’t take long for people to clock who was behind the keys.
“It’s Cressida! Only she could whip up something this fire!”
Л
L
“Totally her!”
Sure enough, all eyes swung to Narissa, and the shade came flying.
But playing a banger like that right now was practically begging for a showdown..
H
4440
进
h
“Man, both girls are Evertons, but Cressida’s a queen, and Narissa? She’s just… ugh, basic.”
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A16
“No lie. Even twins got a pecking order.”
“Some folks just don’t have that high–class vibe. You’re born with it or you’re not.”
“Hey, Narissa! You even heard a piano before, janitor girl? Bet you grew up in a dump, never seen one up close!”
Narissa just raised an eyebrow, unfazed.
She wasn’t ignoring them because their jabs hurt. That piano piece? It was ringing way too many bells.
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Chapter 7
To the crowd, though, her silence screamed “outta her league.” Like she’d never even been near a piano.
“Look at her, not saying a word. Bet she’s clueless.”
“Sad!”
“All she’s got is grit. Zero finesse.”
When the song ended, Cressida strolled out of the piano room, all swagger and smirks.
“Narissa, know your place, yeah?” she said, voice dripping with shade.
She’d played a piece Narissa couldn’t possibly know, setting this whole scene up to flex–showing her sister how wide the gap between them was.
Cressida clearly wasn’t feeling her sister.
Narissa smirked. “That so? I ain’t impressed.”
“What?!” Cressida’s face twitched, pissed.
At Regality Academy, Cressida was straight–up royalty. So when Narissa clapped back at her own sister, the crowd lost it.
“Narissa, who do you think you are, coming at our Cressida? She’s the best pianist we got!” someone barked, glaring.
“Damn straight!” another voice shouted.
“Only that masked piano legend Melissa, who Cressida totally stans, is even in her league,” a third person threw in,
“Yeah, how you gonna talk to our queen like that?”
Narissa let the chatter slide, but when they name–dropped “Melissa“-Cressida’s idol, the world–famous masked pianist–her brain lit up.
‘No freaking way,‘ she thought.
The moment Cressida played that one piano piece, Narissa should’ve put it together. This “world–class Melissa” everyone was hyping up? That was Narissa.
A fake name she’d tossed out during an assassination gig. That piano piece was just something she’d made up on the fly to blend in during the mission.
Wh lege
at her
ned he
