Chapter 713: New Club

A few minutes passed before the club members finally settled into their seats in the meeting room.

The room was large enough to accommodate the members, with several rows of seats arranged to face the front.

Some students sat close to their friends, while others occupied the seats beside the aisles.

A few were still whispering to one another, trying to guess what the announcement was about.

At the front of the room stood Vera and Diane.

Vera stood with her usual composed posture, while Diane remained beside her, looking rather relaxed.

Her light-blue eyes were half-closed, and she seemed to be paying little attention to the murmurs spreading through the room.

"What do you think Lady Vera Ashenlocke is about to tell us?"

"I don’t know."

"I think I’m forgetting something."

"Yeah, me too."

Murmurs spread around the meeting room as many of the club members wondered what Vera was going to tell them.

Some glanced towards the two flowers at the front, hoping to catch a hint from their expressions.

Others whispered among themselves, trying to recall whether anything unusual had happened recently.

A few members seemed to have already figured it out, but they weren’t entirely certain.

"Ahhh... Lady Vera Ashenlocke and Lady Diane Bergwyn will be leaving."

Cherry Sailor looked saddened.

Her hands were held together in front of her as she looked at Vera with teary eyes.

She had been quiet for a while, but the thought seemed to have finally caught up with her.

Maxwell, who was sitting beside her, noticed her expression.

"Cherry, why do you look like that?"

He leaned closer to her.

He then took her hands and gently turned her face towards him, trying to get her attention.

"S... Sir... Max... well."

Cherry’s voice broke from shyness.

Her hands trembled slightly in his grasp, and her gaze shifted away from his face.

She seemed to have trouble finding the right words, even though she clearly wanted to say something.

"You said..."

Maxwell was about to speak.

"Good evening, my fellow club members."

Vera’s voice sounded light in the meeting room.

The murmurs gradually settled down.

Several members turned towards the front, and those who had been whispering stopped to listen.

Vera looked across the room. Her dull black eyes moved over the seated members before she spoke again.

"So, Diane and I will be leaving the club from this day on. So, don’t miss us too much."

She delivered the announcement straightforwardly, without slowly building up to it or making a long speech.

For a brief moment, the meeting room fell quiet.

"What?!"

Many of the club members exclaimed almost at the same time.

A few even stood up in shock.

Others looked towards their friends, seemingly hoping they had misunderstood what Vera had just said.

The reaction was much louder than the announcement itself.

"Lady Vera Ashenlocke, please stay! Is it because of how we reacted to Ezra Ashenlocke’s article? If so, I apologize on everyone’s behalf, but please don’t leave us!"

A Senior club member moved closer to where Vera and Diane stood.

She spoke almost immediately after she finished her announcement.

Her expression showed how badly she wanted to convince them to reconsider.

"Please, Lady Diane Bergwyn. You should stay too!"

A First-Year club member voiced her own plea towards Diane.

Diane looked at the crowd with her half-closed light-blue eyes.

Her gaze rested on the First-Year for a moment before moving towards the Senior who had approached them.

"You people were bullying Ez?"

Diane tilted her head slightly as she looked at the Senior club member.

Her expression carried a faint trace of displeasure.

"No one said bullying!"

The Senior club member shouted hurriedly.

She waved both hands, clearly worried that Lady Diane Bergwyn had completely misunderstood the situation.

"Then why are you speaking as if you bullied him? Because if you have..."

Diane’s expression stiffened as she looked at the Senior.

She did not raise her voice, but her words made the man hesitate.

"My Lady, it’s not what you are thinking."

Hermione quickly moved to her mistress’s side.

She leaned closer and whispered into Diane’s ear, trying to explain the situation before the misunderstanding grew any further.

"There were few people who were feeling uncomfortable with Mr. Ezra Ashenlocke’s presence because of the article that accused him of murdering his own family."

She explained the situation to her lady.

Diane listened quietly.

"But isn’t the Ashenlocke family still alive? How did he kill his own family?"

She looked at Hermione, even more confused.

Everyone in the meeting room looked at Diane quietly.

For a moment, nobody seemed to know how to respond.

A few members exchanged glances, while the Senior who had approached them slowly lowered her hands.

There was a clear sense of helplessness on their faces.

Diane’s question was not difficult to understand.

However, explaining the matter to her was proving more troublesome than they had expected.

"Oh, my ice beauty."

Vera turned towards Diane.

She moved closer and gently placed both hands on Diane’s cheeks.

"Ezra is an Ashenlocke, but not a blood Ashenlocke, so they’re talking about his blood family."

She explained lightly.

Her hands remained against Diane’s cheeks for a brief moment before she gently let go.

Diane blinked.

"Oh, I see."

She nodded her head, now understanding what her maid had meant.

She looked towards the crowd again.

"That’s not the reason we’re leaving."

She spoke lightly.

The members turned their attention towards her once more.

"Vera and I have been working on making our own club for a while now, so we’ve finally reached the requirements and will be moving forward with establishing it."

She explained, her tone remaining relaxed.

She didn’t appear particularly concerned about the reactions her announcement had caused.

After finishing her explanation, she turned towards Vera.

"Did I get it right?"

Diane looked at her, asking for confirmation.

"Yes."

Vera replied calmly.

The answer was short, and she gave Diane a small nod.

"So, you have your own club now, Lady Vera Ashenlocke and Lady Diane Bergwyn?"

The Senior club member who had tried her best to convince them to stay spoke again.

Her expression had become saddened, but there was nothing more she could say to persuade them.

"Exactly."

Vera replied casually.

She looked at him briefly before shifting her attention back towards the other members.

The announcement had been unexpected, but the reason behind it was now clear.

Vera and Diane weren’t leaving because of the article or the way some members had reacted to Ezra.

They had already been working towards establishing their own club.

The club members had only forgotten about that information.

"Okay, guys."

Luke walked forward to address the members.

He had been watching the exchange from nearby, and now that the reason for their departure had been explained, he stepped towards the front.

"You all might have forgotten, but the two flowers were always temporary club members. Now that they’ve gotten their club approved, we’ll have to wish them all the best by throwing a goodbye party, if you’re okay with it."

He looked towards Vera and Diane, waiting to hear their thoughts.

"Not interested."

Vera replied flatly.

She didn’t even need much time to consider the suggestion.

"Sounds like a waste of sleep time."

Diane replied plainly.

Her answer came just as quickly.

A few members looked between the two girls.

Luke’s suggestion had been made with good intentions, but neither of them seemed particularly interested in the idea.

Luke paused for a moment.

He looked at Vera and Diane before giving a small, helpless smile.

"Well, now that I’m leaving, I want to make something clear to you all."

Vera spoke again.

She tilted her head slightly to the left as she looked across the crowd with her dull black eyes.

Her earlier casual manner had changed.

She wasn’t smiling, and her gaze moved across the members as though she wanted to make sure everyone was listening.

"If I happen to hear any news of anyone questioning or speaking about that article again in this club, I will use everything in my power to drag Ez out of this club."

She said firmly.

The words fell across the meeting room.

Several members stiffened.

Those who had felt uneasy because of the article were especially affected by her warning.

A few even flinched, while others glanced towards Ezra.

Some were still trying to understand why Vera and Diane called Ezra by the name Ez.

However, nobody seemed willing to ask about it.

Vera held her gaze on the crowd for a brief moment longer before relaxing her expression.

"Okay, bye, guys."

She waved her hand lightly before turning to leave.

There was no lengthy farewell or emotional speech.

She had made her announcement, explained the reason behind it, and delivered her warning.

That was enough for her.

"Bye, Ez, Burnwick, and Maid of Ez."

Diane waved at them.

Her greeting was directed towards Ezra, Ravenor Burnwick, and Lucy, whom she referred to as the Maid of Ez.

Hermione lowered her head politely as she followed her mistress.

The three left the meeting room just like that.

The door closed behind them, leaving the meeting room in an awkward and strange state.

For a few moments, the members remained seated.

Some were still processing the announcement, while others looked towards the entrance through which Vera and Diane had departed.

The goodbye party Luke had suggested was no longer something worth discussing, and their sudden departure had left the room quieter than before.

"Ahh..."

Luke sighed helplessly.

"I will soon step down as president, and my club members are this emotional."

He shook his head.

His gaze moved across the members, some of whom still looked shell-shocked by Vera and Diane’s announcement.

"Well, on the bright side, Latisha will take over your position."

A Third-Year club member said calmly.

"That’s too much pressure. At least wait until Senior Luke graduates."

Latisha said, looking flustered and nervous.

She seemed uncomfortable with how quickly the conversation had turned towards her taking over the club.

Her hands shifted slightly as she tried to respond.

"Don’t worry. You’ll be fine."

Luke gave her a thumbs-up.

He then turned towards the club members, some of whom were still trying to recover from Vera and Diane’s announcement.

"Alright guys, let’s get back to what we were doing and have a peaceful club day."

Luke said calmly, wearing a simple smile.

Immediately after he said those words...

Ezra and Cyrus stood up first and left the meeting room.

Ezra didn’t make any comments about the announcement.

He simply got up and began walking towards the exit, with Cyrus following him.

Maxwell glanced at Ezra as he was about to leave quietly.

He was stroking Cherry’s hair.

Cherry was really sad that her favourite and idol Young Alchemist had left the club just like that.

Maxwell’s attention had followed Vera and Diane when they departed, but now he was looking towards Ezra as well.

The announcement had been sudden, and the fact that the two girls were leaving meant another familiar presence would soon be missing from the club.

Maxwell watched Ezra’s departing figure.

His plainness really does match someone capable of cold-blooded killing.

That senior was really spot on.

Maxwell thought to himself.

What he had heard about Ezra really did seem to be true, but then again...

"Ahh."

He sighed.

I don’t know him well enough to make my own judgments, so I really can’t help that Senior with his suggested plan.

And then he’s just doing it because Ezra is close to the girl he likes?

The more Maxwell thought about it, the less he understood what was even going on within the Academy anymore.

He looked towards the entrance Ezra had disappeared through, then lowered his gaze.

I will just watch what will happen.