Saving the Villain

Cosette didn't even have a hard time going out of the enormous mansion of the Blac residence. She only told the butler she needed someone to drive him to a place — no excuses needed or anything of the sort — and a black sedan was already waiting for her outside.

Thanks to her excellent memory, she knew the school Maxen attended. It was a school of delinquents, situated in a town far away from the capital.

'I looked it up on the internet and classes are still ongoing. I am only allowed to take a leave because sister Cozie came from a prominent family and the school she attends is… well, a school for the rich. In other words, the Academy understands the situation of the heiress and heirs of each family so they allow such a rule.' She nodded while rubbing her chin at the thought.

'I feel nervous, though.'

A deep sigh slipped past her lips as she looked outside the window on the back passenger seat. From the novel's brief explanation, Maxen was a delinquent who used to skip classes but still passed the class, barely. But his poor grades were intentional since he didn't find the need to do better in school or top the class since his view of this world was… nothing but gray. Dull.

'If this dream started early, I could've saved Maxen from his horrible childhood.' Her frown deepened, eyes flickering with sadness.

Maxen had a horrible childhood. Her mother died when he was around two years old and he was left in his uncle's care — his mother's biological brother. There, Maxen went through horrible things where he was physically, emotionally, and verbally abused.

That was why when he reached the age of fourteen, he ran away from home. He did multiple jobs to survive and not end up begging for food in the streets. Now, three years later, Maxen had his own small apartment, still doing part-time by night and attending school by the day.

'That was what was written in the novel,' she whispered inwardly, wondering what Maxen would appear now. She was truly looking forward to it, but there was this lingering fear in her heart. Knowing someone's entire life, secret, and future was something that left a bitter taste in her mouth.

She might end up bawling her eyes the second she meets Maxen.

"Young Miss, we're here."

Cosette snapped her eyes as her thoughts trailed off, checking the street where the car stopped. The street looked unfamiliar, but she could just ask around.

"Thank you." She smiled as she opened the door. As soon as she went out, she bent her head down and spoke.

"Please don't wait for me. I will take the bus later." She didn't wait for the driver to respond as she slammed the door closed.

What she didn't notice was, the driver, who had been driving her for years was rattled by her appreciation. There wasn't a single time where Cosette spoke to him, nor did she ever thank him for driving her anywhere.

"Young Miss…" the old driver gazed at Cosette's figure as she already walked down the pavement. "… is she alright?"

******

"There it is!" Cosette's eyes brightened up as she stood in front of the gates of Winter Highschool. The gates were closed; meaning the classes were ongoing.

"Did I come too early?" she cocked her head to the side, rubbing her chin as she paced back and forth. "Well, I did, since it's fifteen minutes before lunch break."

A frown instantly dominated her face as she gazed at the school gates once again. She wanted to meet Maxen immediately, but she failed to consider that she was an outsider. Even when this school was one of the worst high schools which produces many bad adults, there were still rules to follow.

"Ah!" Just then, Cosette remembered something during the redemption arc of the novel. "The back of the school!"

Her eyes lit up as she hastened her steps to find that area. In the novel, Maxen usually skipped schools and his primary route was jumping off the wall on the back of the school, where there were no guards.

"I'm not even sure if he came to school," she mumbled, thinking that going in here was actually a gamble. "It is written that during the last two years of his high school, the days he was absent increased and he would get in more trouble. Right… I think it was said that during his last two years in high school, Maxen…"

Suddenly, Cosette stopped as her complexion turned pale. She was so lost in thought because the moment she made a turn around the school, what welcomed her eyes was a group of youngsters ganging up against one.

Her eyes fell on the boys, who were kicking a chubby boy simultaneously while laughing. The poor boy could only receive their kicks, protecting his head while lying on the ground.

'In the last two years of Maxen's high school life, the reason he couldn't attend school is that he would get beaten to the point he would pass out.'

Cosette's heart thumped against her chest loudly, balling her hands into a fist until they trembled. Although she was unsure if the person getting beaten up was Maxen, she could feel this anger swelling up in her heart.

"Hey!!" she yelled her lungs out, catching the delinquents' attention as they stopped. All reasons were tossed out of the window as she rushed towards them, holding her luxury bag and swinging it to scare them away.

"What the…" Surprised at this courageous girl, the delinquents backed away until she stood in a protective stance in front of the boy on the ground. "What the hell? Who is this…"

Before one delinquent could finish his sentence, she raised her phone to show the ongoing phone call to the police hotline. Seeing that they understood what that mean, she placed the phone in front of her phone.

"Father, help!! There are gangsters trying to take advantage of me! I'm at Winter High...!"

Cosette kept yelling and watched the delinquents run away, thinking she was the daughter of the police. How they believed that blatant lie was not of her concern — maybe because they were too shocked at her sudden appearance and caught up in confusion, but she didn't care.

"Oh, gosh…!" Cosette covered her lips with her palm, seeing the pitiful state of the boy. His uniform was dirty and his arms were littered with bruises. Her breath hitched as soon as her eyes caught the traces of blood on the concrete ground.

"My god…" Her body uncontrollably shook, having this dreadful feeling of reality. It felt real, everything felt and seemed real. How could a dream feel so vivid, as if it wasn't just a simple dream?

Suddenly, Cosette caught an ID not far away from him. She was too scared to check the boy's face after seeing his mangled lips, but it seemed he had passed out. So, she picked up the school ID only to freeze upon reading the name printed on it.

Maxen Cloven.