The Florist: This Tree Requires Scary Offerings!

Chapter 9: Second Position

Ivy gasped as he was pulled underwater abruptly.

Janis’s eyes widened. “What?!” He plunged underwater after the black-haired and heard chains clanking. He glanced around. “Water chains... but who?” 

He swam to Ivy and saw him struggling against the chains as they squeezed his limbs so much they bled. He gasped as an additional chain wrapped around his neck. Janis touched his face and traced his touch down to his neck, feeling the chain. He tried to grip them but couldn’t. Ivy stopped struggling gradually, his body relaxing underwater as he no longer released bubbles from his mouth. Janis then couldn’t feel the chains anymore. He hugged Ivy’s torso and swam back with him to the surface. He took Ivy’s chin and frowned, not feeling his breathing. He carried him to the side of the pool and called for the others. “Does anyone know how to do first-aid?! He drowned! I don’t know how to do it. Help!”

The students gathered around them and stared at Ivy in silence. Jonas sighed. “Fine. I’ll take him to the infirmary.”

“Don’t.” They heard a female voice and glanced behind to see a woman with long black hair and red eyes gazing at Ivy. “I will handle this.”

She sat on her knees and started performing CPR. Ivy coughed water and gasped for breath momentarily. She then carried him in her arms and left the pool without saying anything. Janis sighed and sat down. “That was so nerve-wracking.”

“Why? Ivy is safe now, right?” Ludovic asked. 

“That girl... She’s the student council vice-president.”

They all gasped. “I-If we misbehaved, we would have...”

“Yeah...” Janis laughed weakly. “Glad nothing like that happened.”

That night, Ivy returned to the dorm at eight. He sat on his bed, his clothes crooked and shredded. He smelled food and found Ludovic cooking. Ludovic smiled at him. “Hey, man! How are...?”

He watched the bandages on his chest and neck. Ivy seemed nonchalant, and Ludovic didn’t ask.

“Yuma will be back soon. He went to get me some ingredients. I have some soup ready. Do you want to eat?”

Ivy shook his head. “I’ll just sleep.”

He walked towards the bathroom. “You eat.” He smiled. “Thanks.”

Ludovic turned to him. “Huh? Thanks for what...?”

The bathroom door closed behind Ivy. Ludovic shrugged and cooked until Yuma returned. “Ivy is here. He’s taking a shower.”

Yuma placed the ingredients on the table. “Hm... Okay.”

He sneaked towards the bathroom and heard the sound of the water. He locked the door from the outside and returned to eating. He smiled, hearing Ivy trying to leave as they were having dinner.

“You’re not going out until you apologize!” he screamed.

Ludovic raised his eyebrows. “Apologize? Did you two have a fight? When?”

“Apologize for treating me as if he owns me.” Yuma carried on eating. The sound of the doorknob clicking stopped shortly. Ludovic stood up. “That’s not nice. He looked really tired.”

He opened the door and found Ivy standing in silence. He gazed at Ludovic for a few seconds then walked past him. “Thanks.”

He started gathering his clothes in his bag. Ludovic frowned. “What are you doing?!” He took his bag away. “Don’t be like this! He was just joking! You don’t have to leave!”

Ivy took the bag from his hands and left the room without saying anything. His vision grew blurry with every step he took. He climbed the stairs towards the ceiling. 

“What’s the matter?” He took a step back, hearing a voice he recognized well, “You don’t find the room we provided you with comfortable?”

Ivy stared at the man with blue eyes gazing down on him. Ivy shook his head. “I just needed a change of scenery.”

“Is that so?” The man took a step towards him, and Ivy retreated. “That’s all.”

“Where will you sleep?”

Ivy dropped his bags and ran away. The blue-eyed glanced at him in silence.

Ivy blinked as a wall of glass blocked his path. He scratched it with his nails, panting. He fell to his knees, holding his heart. His blue eyes grew darker until they went entirely blank. He whined in pain and fell to the side, unconscious.

The man knelt beside him and watched the pain on his face. He wiped the blood on his chin and nose. 

“Zalia. Take him to my room. He had another seizure.”

“Yes, sir.” The woman with black hair and red eyes appeared behind the man and carried Ivy away.

The man licked the blood on his fingers, watching the red droplets on the glass.

Yuma wore his sweatpants. “I’m not a morning person, really...”

“Nobody is,” Ludovic answered robotically.

Yuma glanced at him. “Are you still angry about what happened last night?”

“You’re an absolute piece of shit.”

“Fine. Whatever!” Yuma threw his jacket on Ludovic. “Do you think I should get a part-time job?”

Ludovic shrugged. “What will you do?”

“I don’t know... What do you work?”

“I work in a restaurant!”

“Figured...”

They walked towards the running track with the other students. “Will we just run today?” Raylan asked. “I’m not really fond of running.”

“I’m really good at running.” Ludovic smiled proudly. “I always run to get ingredients from the farmer’s market in my current part-time job.”

“That’s too sad. You’re their errand boy; don’t be proud!”

They started running. Raylan glanced around. “Ivy isn’t here today. Is he still feeling unwell?” 

Yuma shrugged. “Whatever.”

Raylan clapped. “How about we go to a good restaurant I know? Actually, I’m desperate to get a girlfriend. I want to organize a mixer. I know some people.”

Yuma blinked. “Oh... Yes! I would love to try.”

“Don’t tell me, Yuma! You never had a girlfriend!”

Yuma laughed. “Is that weird?”

“Don’t worry, my friend!” Raylan slapped his back. “I will be sure to find you a great girl!”

Ivy gazed at them from afar, sitting next to the university building. He watched Yuma laughing with his classmates. He wiped the blood on his chin. He stood up and took a step back, seeing frigid blue eyes observing him. He took his bag and ran towards the administration. Reis and Elena blinked as he ran past them. Elena chased after him. “Stop right there! You’re skipping class again!”

He stopped in front of the chairman’s office, panting. Elena and Reis stood behind him. 

“What are you doing?” Reis asked.

“I will leave.”

“Leave?!” Elena pushed Ivy to the wall and slapped her hand beside his head. “Why? Did someone bully you?”

Ivy closed his eyes. “Just leave me alone. This is none of your business.”

“Don’t you dare speak to me like that!”

He gasped as she grabbed his neck and squeezed it. “I asked a question. Answer me.”

He gritted his teeth as blue lightning flashed in his eyes.

Reis pulled Elena back. “Stop.”

He glanced at Ivy. “What’s wrong?”

Ivy lowered his head. “Nothing. I just made the decision.”

“Declined.” Ivy raised his eyebrows, hearing slow footsteps. Reis bowed his head. “Good morning, president.”

The blue-eyed stood in front of Ivy. “Your punishment isn’t over yet. You have no right to leave.”

“When will it end?” Ivy asked.

“When it ends.” The blue-eyed grabbed his chin, “Did you move your stuff back in your room? I don’t want to see you outside again. I let it slide yesterday, but it won’t happen again.”

Ivy removed his hand and entered the chairman’s office. He found him lying on the table with three women and men. He clenched his jaw. “Sir, there’s something I wish to discuss.”

The chairman glanced at him and smiled, zipping his pants. “Sure, Ivy. What is it?”

Ivy took a step forward. “I want to leave.”

The chairman started laughing with the others present in the room. “You don’t seriously think that you can do that, do you?”

Ivy clenched his fists.

“I own you.” The chairman stood in front of him. “And you can do nothing to escape me. I own every single person in this damn university. Know your place, will you?”

“I can.” Ivy pulled a dagger. “I definitely can escape. As many times as it takes...”

He pointed the dagger at his own neck and was about to stab himself when the blue-eyed held his hands from behind. “Stop it.”

Ivy attempted a kick, but crystal grew from the ground and trapped his leg. Ivy raised his eyebrows, seeing the chairman pick up a gun. “That was very rude. You can’t do that!”

Ivy tried to free himself from the blue-eyed’s hold but couldn’t. He gasped, feeling the gun sticking to his belly. The blue-eyed squeezed Ivy’s hands. “Calm down.”

Ivy frowned, staring down at the gun and panting. His eyes flashed wide as the chairman shot his belly. He gasped, throwing up blood. He leaned on the blue-eyed’s hold.

“Orpheus. This is the second time he attempts this. Seal his access to his main and secondary weapons and deprive him of holding any kind of physical weapon.”

The blue-eyed nodded, carrying Ivy in his arms. “I will leave then.”

He left the office and looked down at the bleeding Ivy. He glanced at Reis and Elena. “We will go to the infirmary. Call the doctor.”

“Y-Yes!” They ran ahead.

Ivy was panting heavily as he clung to Orpheus’s shirt with bloodstained hands. Orpheus leaned down and kissed his forehead. “I won’t let you die. Don’t worry.” He gazed into Ivy’s eyes. “I won’t let you escape so easily.”

Ivy’s head tilted back as his hand slid off Orpheus’s chest. 

Orpheus licked the blood on his lips. “I won’t let you escape again.”

Yuma worked on his assignments in silence. “Did Raylan set up the mixer yet?”

Ludovic licked the sauce off the spoon. “Yeah. He said he will invite Janis too. It will be the four of us, but he didn’t tell me about the girls. He said it’s a surprise.”

“Hmm... When will it be?”

“Next weekend. Saturday night.”

“Huh?! That’s in three days. He works fast.”

“Raylan is pretty popular after all.”

“How comes?”

“Well, his looks are top-notch, and he’s the chairman’s son.”

“He is?”

“Yep. You didn’t know? Man, you really don’t know anything!” Ludovic laughed, setting the table. “By the way, the student council members returned Ivy’s stuff to the room earlier. They said he has to live here. He might come tonight. You should apologize for what you did.”

“I won’t. He’s the one who’s acting all high and mighty. That will teach him.”

Ludovic sighed. “You know, you should really try to–”

The door opened, and Ivy entered the room. Ludovic glanced at him and observed the bandages around his belly. Ivy sat on his bed without talking to them. Ludovic sat beside him and rested a plate in his lap. “Can you eat?”

Ivy shook his head. “I have vitamin and mineral injections. Don’t worry about me.” He smiled, patting his head.

“Go eat. I’ll be fine.”

Ludovic’s gaze saddened. “Okay...” He returned to the dining table. Ivy laid down on his bed and shut his tired eyes. His lips quivered as he pursed them, covering himself. This time, he didn’t remove his clothes. His feet, hands and neck were also covered. Yuma glanced at him from the table.

“Go talk to him!” Ludovic whispered. “I’m sure he will accept your apology.”

“I have nothing to apologize for.” Yuma shrugged and went to bed. “Thanks for the food.”

Ludovic sighed. “Whatever. Tomorrow, we don’t have any classes together. Good luck.”

“No worries. I only have morning classes anyway.”

Two days passed, and Ivy wouldn’t wake up. Ludovic checked on his pulse and breathing. “He seems to be okay...”

He rolled him on his back. “Why is he wearing such tight clothes under the uniform? It’s uncomfortable.”

He began to lower Ivy’s collar and saw chain marks around his neck. He looked away. “Anyway...”

He covered the black-haired. “Should we call the nurse?”

Yuma huffed. “He’s breathing, so he’s fine. Don’t bother.”

The door knocked to announce Orpheus. “May I come in? I came to check on Ivy. He hasn’t shown up in two days.”

“O-Oh, sure...” Ludovic moved back. “He… He wasn’t skipping. He slept the entire time. I was going to call the nurse to carry him to the infirmary…”

Orpheus stood beside Ivy’s bed. He rested a hand on his cheek and removed the hair stuck to his lips.

He knelt down and rested a hand on his chest. A green light oozed from his hand. Ivy coughed briefly before opening his eyes. He tilted his head to the side and gazed at Orpheus, panting. The blue-eyed stood up. “Come with me. I want to talk to you.”

Ivy stood up using Orpheus’s help. They sat on the stairs leading to the lower floors.

Orpheus took his chin. “Explain to me. What did I feel back then?”

Ivy sat down, trembling as the wind blew from the open windows. He blinked as Orpheus covered him with his jacket. “I’m not your enemy. Whatever I do is because of my position. I only wish to apply the law.”

Ivy was about to stand up, but Orpheus took his wrist. “Don’t go.” He gazed at him seriously. “Stay.”

Ivy whined in pain, holding his belly as he slid down to the ground, panting. Orpheus folded his arms on his knees. “When I held you in the chairman’s office, I felt it. In your eyes, in your heartbeat, I felt it.”

Orpheus frowned as he glanced at the window. “But I can’t help you. I also can’t change my attitude towards you. I apologize. It’s my nature. I dislike giving special treatment or playing favourites. That’s against the rules.”

“I wasn’t expecting anything from you,” Ivy spoke, “Why did you wake me up? I want to sleep. I’m tired.”

“You skipped two days of punishment. Your punishment lasts for an entire year.”

Ivy clenched his jaw. “Fine. Let’s go.”

Orpheus stood up. “Were you really the one who manipulated those two to help the rooster?”

Ivy nodded. “It was me.”

Orpheus watched him walk in front of him. “Fine.”

They walked along the corridors towards the administration building. Ivy fell to his knees midway, vomiting blood. He looked up to Orpheus. “A favour,” he whispered.

Orpheus sat in front of him and wiped the blood on his chin. “What is it?”

“I... don’t need to study anymore... so I...”

“Rejected. You go back to class tomorrow.” Orpheus stood up.

“Let’s go.”

Ludovic brushed his hair. “How do I look?” He grinned. “Attractive? What do you think, Ivy?”

Ivy was sitting on his bed, reading a book. He looked up at Ludovic. He patted the bed. “Come here.”

Ludovic sat down and closed his eyes as Ivy brushed his hair with his fingers and straightened his tie.

“Have fun.”

He returned to his book.

“Thanks!” Ludovic laughed. “We might not come back tonight.”

Ivy nodded. “Sure.”

They left the room, and Ivy walked towards the bathroom. He took makeup wipes and started wiping his face. He washed his face repeatedly and took a deep breath, straightening. He caressed the scars on his face that extended down towards his lips and neck. He closed his eyes, his shoulders sinking.

He turned to the window that overlooked the garden and saw Yuma, Ludovic, Raylan and Janis leaving the university grounds towards the city.

He sat down against the bathtub as blue feathers floated midair. “Lucifer...”

The blue-haired appeared in front of him. “What’s up?”

Ivy wore a mask before looking up. “How’s that Esler doing?”

Lucifer sat beside him. “She’s okay. Her kid is growing up.”

“Did you tell her about our deal?”

“Yes. She agrees. However, she has a condition.”

“Name it.”

“She wants to be your escort.”

“I have you.”

“In addition to me.”

Ivy straightened. “I’m coming over.”

His hand reached out as he pulled the handle of a deep blue door and entered, the door disappearing behind him.

He stepped into the castle and removed his mask, his face returning back to how it used to be, scar-free.

Lucifer glanced at him. “I want to ask you something.”

“Ask.”

“That kid... Yuma. Why does he have so many points?”

Ivy folded his arms behind his back as he watched red roses in the garden. “He probably inherited them.”

Lucifer’s eyes widened. “You don’t mean...”

Ivy turned his back to the flowers. “Yeah... He must have Jewel’s blood in his veins.”

“Jewel... You mean the first branch’s late wife?” Lucifer frowned. “But... It’s too late now. Ivy is dead. What’s the point of Jewel’s heir appearing now?”

Ivy nodded. “I know. Still, that explains why Yuma has so many points. He probably took them from his ancestors. However, he doesn’t seem to have King Ivy’s blood in his veins.”

“Then... How?!”

“Out of love for his wife, the first king gave all of his energy points to his wife after she tricked him. Then, those points were transferred down to her children. That’s how they got to Yuma. However, he can’t make use of these points... not until the first king allows it. Without his approval, Yuma can only use his very own points. I believe he has around a thousand points.”

“True.” Lucifer sighed. “So he’s at the mercy of a dead man who never had any descendants? That’s tough.”

Ivy smiled. “Yeah.”

“You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

“A bit.”

“You look worse than usual. Are you okay?”

“A little beat up.”

Lucifer saw the blood dripping down Ivy’s fingertips. “Liar.”

Ivy stood in front of Esler. “I heard about your condition.”

She stood up. “Please... Accept my offer! I’m sure that I will be useful!”

She gazed at him, determined. His gaze softened. “I see you’re not wearing your mask today.”

“I-I was! But I wanted to remove it when I saw you coming...” She blushed. “Am I... too ugly?”

He shook his head. “I want you to look at me very well and check if you still want the condition to stand.”

He placed the mask on his face then removed it. Her eyes widened slowly, staring at the scars carved into his face. “Y-You’re... so...”

“Ugly?” He nodded. “I know. This is my real face. I use this mask to seal most of the damage, and I use make-up to hide the superficial scars.”

He removed his gloves and shirt. “This is my body, deformed and scarred from head to toe.”

He tilted his head to the side. “Do you still want to serve someone like me?”

Her eyes watered as she hugged him tightly. “I’m so sorry! You must have been through a lot! I’m so sorry!”

He gazed ahead with frigid eyes. As his hand touched her back, blue ribbons flew around them with sentences and voices written on them. Ivy closed his eyes for a moment before smiling, squeezing her. “So you still want me?”

“Yes! You sheltered me when nobody wanted to help me... I will... do my best to return the favour!”

“What can you do?” he asked.

She nodded several times. “I can open the portal to the sacred realm!”

He raised his eyebrows. “Can... you?”

Lucifer poked her shoulder. “Can you really do that? It’s important for us.” He pointed at Ivy. “The sacred realm contains archives about everything, so we were trying to go there for a while. We’re looking for certain information.”

She nodded. “I can take you! I can! But... the... I’m not friends with the residents... They might attack us.”

“That doesn’t matter.” Ivy stood up. “I will leave for now.” He put on his mask and returned to his former scar-free face. “I accept your proposal, but you mustn’t die.”

“Y-Yes!”

Ivy returned to his room in the dorm and sat down, pattering the ground with his foot. He heard a crow cawing and walked to the window. “Raven...” He caressed the crow’s head. “Would you go check on him for me?”

The crow flew away.

Ludovic laughed, slapping Raylan’s back. “Those were such good girls you introduced, man!”

He chugged the liquor down. “Too bad, there was no spark. We’re still single.”

Yuma was walking, hands in his pocket. Raylan patted his shoulder. “Are you okay? You seem upset.”

“Hm? No. Nothing.” 

“Are you thinking about Ivy?” 

Yuma’s eyes widened. “Of course not!”

“I always wanted to ask,” Janis asked, “What is the relationship of you two?”

“Nothing... He just helped me out before, that’s all.”

“Is that so? He seems to be very clingy if you ask me.”

“Not really. In fact, I hate him now. He’s always so silent and discreet.” Yuma gritted his teeth. “Who does he think he is, always putting me in the second position?!”

“Is that why you agreed to date Norma?”

“No, she asked me out, and I accepted. It’s that simple.”

Ludovic sighed. “You lucky beast!”

Raylan smiled, amused. “Well, have a good night, you two.”

“Not so fast, weaklings.”

They blinked as they were surrounded by masked people holding weapons. 

“You’re from the Eastern uni, right? We’re the west,” one of the men spoke, “Would you be nice enough to tell us where we can find the uni? We would like to break some bones.”

Janis frowned. “Why would you do that?”

“Because this is how things should be, you weakling!”

“What did you call us?!” Ludovic yelled.

“We will teach you what it’s like to underestimate the West!”

“We should run!”

“No need.”

A woman walked towards them, unbuttoning her ankle-length black leather coat. She gazed at the crowd surrounding the four men. “Let me handle this.”

“Hah?! Who’s that chick?!”

“Who do you think you are? This is a war between the east and west unis! A stranger has nothing to do with it! Scram!”

“That’s right! SCRAM!”

“SCRAM!”

She lit up a cigarette. “Anyway. I just received approval from the West.”

Her lips parted with a wide smirk as her shadow extended in a round circle that covered the yard. “To eliminate this troublesome bunch.”

Her grey eyes shined under the moonlight. A girl ran towards them with a sword. “You will regret standing in our way, b***h!”

“Ho?” The woman grabbed the girl’s sword and broke it with her bare hands. “Aren’t you a brave little lady?”

She pulled the girl by the face and burst her head against the ground. The others screamed in fear and tried to run away. Then, they noticed shadows gripping them and rooting them into the ground.

The woman looked up to them, licking the blood on her hand. “Disgusting.”

She spat on the corpse as the shadow underneath her swallowed it. “You may have it.”

The shadow then swallowed the rest of the gang except for Yuma and his friends. The woman turned to them after her shadow returned to normal. “My mission here is over.”

“Who... are you?” Janis asked.

“Raven.” She rested her hands on her hips. “I’m Ivy’s familiar.”

“Familiar?! Like... Like that blue-haired?”

“No. It doesn’t matter.” She started walking away. “He sent me here because he felt that something was wrong. Be careful on the way home, kids.”

"You’re so strong!” Ludovic clung to her arm. “Will you be my big sister?”

She sighed. “Not interested. Scram.” She disappeared in a black flash. Raylan clenched his fists. “So he didn’t even come here in person. I see that you’re right, Yuma.”

Yuma glanced at him. “About what?”

“He really doesn’t value you at all...”

Yuma scowled. “Right?! I know! He’s always sitting in his corner acting all cold and distant. He thinks he’s cool, but he’s just an asshole, honestly.”

“Well, he’s not very well-liked at university.”

“How comes?”

“Leave the fact that he failed the same grade for fifteen years aside,” Raylan started, “I heard he always ran away from the battlefield, and his teammates always complained about his lack of discipline and laziness. He’s not only weak. He’s also a coward. That’s why the student council members are always on his tail. I’m so sorry you’re tangled up with a guy like that.” He narrowed his eyes. “If you want to get rid of his for good, just let me know. I can help you with that.”