What makes one a saint?

Is it their selflessness, how they help others without caring much about themselves? Is it how much they donate to charity? Or how beautiful and innocent their smile is? According to the logic of villainess novels, this would be it.

Lady Ishtar was none of these things, but the people around her didn’t seem to notice that something was amiss.

In my eyes, the Saintess never smiled, but grinned. She didn’t look at other people as if they were equal, but as if they were her servants. However, perhaps I only thought so because I had read the novel. The only exception was her boyfriend, Gin, but I couldn’t put my finger on their relationship: what made him different from others?

Gin Argentine was a big question mark. He always smiled at me and was kind enough, but kept his distance at the same time. We never clashed after the entrance exam, which was a big disappointment to our classmates. We saw each other everyday, and my eyes were strangely drawn to his, but even after weeks I was as distant from Argentine as that first day in the cafeteria. At that point I had to admit, I was at least interested in him, although I knew better than to put myself in harm's way.

Two months had passed since the beginning of the school year. Life had finally reached a natural flow and I was starting to enjoy my everyday routine. I took pleasure in my daily tasks, and was annoyed when something disrupted it. I had never seen the Student Council president, Levi something, and he hadn’t looked for me either. I would have completely forgotten about him, had it not been for that woman,

One day, as I was coming out of the cafeteria alone, I noticed the Saintess and Lady Aquino were waiting for me. They kindly greeted me, as a snake would greet her prey, that is.

‘Lady Zepheryne, how do you do?’, said the Saintess, and she grinned creepily.

I bowed politely to both of them, as they outranked me. ‘I am doing well, and you?’ 

My question was directed at both of them, but I was ignored. It was Lady Aquino who started the harassment:

‘Is your eyesight okay? I think you need glasses’, she said.

‘I agree, Sasha. She seems to look at my Gin quite often, but doesn’t see he’s way out of her league’, continued the Saintess.

They both started laughing. This was it. It was one of those bullying scenes from the novel, in which Tsisana is picked on because she wants to get closer to Gin. I wouldn’t have been much impressed by it, if the air had not become cold all of a sudden, and the light hadn’t started to fade, even though it was midday. I felt my body grow numb, and I couldn’t move, as if I was having a sleep paralysis episode. It was not simply bullying, it was a warning.

I suddenly heard a voice, and thought it may have been Ari. Ever since our conversation in the bathroom they had kept their distance, and we didn’t see each other as often. I knew they were there, because I felt their presence somehow, but seeing each other was becoming rarer. The voice said loudly and proudly:

‘Ahhh, it’s so dark all of a sudden, and so cold. I wonder why… One would think there was a demon in disguise around here, but it’s only you, pretty ladies’.

It was a tall, dark haired man. His eyes were blue with a hint of gold. He smiled at us, but I could tell he wasn’t pleased with our meeting. The Saintess’s eyes rolled and she clicked her tongue. ‘Levi’, she said, ‘what a pleasant surprise’.

‘Is it really? Now, I have business with Lady Zephyrine, will you excuse us?’

‘Yes, certainly’, the women said in unison, and then left.

The man looked at me and smiled. He seemed more pleased now that they were gone. 

‘I am sure you know who I am by now, right?’, he said.

‘Levi Something’.