CHAPTER 811: CHAPTER 125 - ODD PAIR TO ODD TRIO (3)

Rose had just announced, out of nowhere, that she wanted to run for the presidency too, and the moment the words left her mouth, I swear, I could almost feel an invisible hammer pounding at the back of my head. My temples started to throb like a warning that a headache was about to set in.

Of all the people here, I would never have guessed that she would be the one to say something like that.

"Hehehehe! With me as president, you’ll all end up kneeling at my feet! And mark my words, I’d do a way better job than someone who just hides behind a pair of glasses! If you vote for me and make this happen, then we’ll all get to have more fun at the academy! And I swear to all of you, I’d become someone truly worthy of it!"

Her voice rang out sharp and loud, slicing through the quiet morning air like an annoying alarm clock that just wouldn’t shut up. She was really turning on that wannabe politician tone, and it was still ridiculously early. The headache in my skull felt like it was getting ready to explode.

Gabrielle showed up right around the same time I did. The moment she stepped closer, she spoke without any warning.

"What is she doing?" she asked, her voice so sudden that it made me flinch a little in surprise.

"Wha...!? Oh—it’s just you," I muttered, trying to steady my heart that had jumped a beat. "As you can see... it kinda looks like she’s lost it..."

"What exactly does she think she’s accomplishing, doing something like this? As I’ve always suspected, her mind must be running on completely different gears than the rest of us. It’s like she’s incapable of basic reasoning," Gabrielle said, her tone cold and dismissive.

I thought, deep down, that the same could probably be said about her too... but I kept that thought buried and my mouth firmly shut.

"Well, whatever. I doubt she’s going to manage anything meaningful anyway. I’m guessing she’s only in this for the fun of it and probably doesn’t even have a real plan. She’s just wasting her time. She’s not going to win," she added, sounding almost bored.

Well, funny thing was, just a few weeks later, reality proved Gabrielle completely wrong.

While Gabrielle struggled to get even a handful of cadets to stand still and listen to her long speeches, Rose’s audience kept getting bigger and bigger. To the point where it wasn’t just a crowd—it was practically a rally.

"This is impossible..." Gabrielle murmured one day, her usually sharp gaze fixed on Rose, who was surrounded by an eager mass of students hanging onto every careless promise she threw out.

Honestly? I could kinda see why it was happening. Rose was promising the cadets the kind of outrageous, over-the-top freedom that no one else even dared to mention.

Her campaign speeches sounded like random, half-baked nonsense spilling out of her mouth—but compared to Gabrielle’s strict, almost suffocating vision of the academy, Rose’s words felt like a sudden gust of fresh air, even if they made no sense.

They were nothing more than whatever popped into her head—but that wildness seemed to be exactly what drew people in.

And honestly, I couldn’t understand why she was even bothering in the first place.

Or... maybe I could.

Maybe it was because Gabrielle, who Rose clearly saw as her personal rival, had thrown her hat into the ring first—and Rose, being Rose, couldn’t just sit back and watch. She had to jump in too, if only to keep pace with her.

Plus, everyone knew Sir Richards, the current president, probably wasn’t going to run again next academic year. That left Gabrielle as the main serious candidate.

But a lot of cadets were already fed up with Gabrielle’s heavy-handed approach. So when Rose came along—someone who promised the exact opposite—they couldn’t help but be drawn to her instead.

"This is stupid..." Gabrielle muttered under her breath.

Even though her voice sounded cool and controlled like always, I noticed, for the first time, a flicker of frustration flash across her eyes.

It surprised me. After spending months around her, I’d gotten used to her expression barely changing. But now, she actually looked... unsettled.

Rose seemed to notice too. In the middle of her rambling speech, she suddenly cut herself off and hurried over to us.

"Hey you!" she called out, her voice loud and smug.

"What?" Gabrielle shot back, barely bothering to glance in her direction.

"It looks like I’m getting a head start on you in this race! What do you think? You’re scared now, aren’t you?"

Gabrielle didn’t even slow down. She didn’t look at Rose and she didn’t even say a single word—she just kept walking.

"Huh? Hey!"

The way Rose’s voice cracked slightly in surprise, it sounded like it might have been the first time someone had completely ignored her like that. She actually looked stunned for a moment.

"What happened to her?" she turned and asked me, genuinely confused.

She really had no clue, did she?

I didn’t bother answering and just left her standing there, staring after Gabrielle’s back.

Day after day, the two of them kept this weird, silent war going with both chasing after as many followers as they could get, even though the election itself was still far off.

They were pushing themselves hard, almost like it was all they could think about.

Rose’s following just kept growing and growing. Even though what she promised sounded like random, reckless things she blurted out without thinking twice, the cadets loved it.

She offered freedom—and even if it was reckless, it felt better to them than Gabrielle’s suffocating vision, which seemed to tighten around everyone’s neck like a noose.

Honestly? I felt bad for Gabrielle. But it was what it was.

And then, just when I thought it was all decided, something shifted.

Out of nowhere, Gabrielle started drawing in a crowd too—and not just a few.

The shock hit me so hard my eyes widened on instinct, and for a second, it felt like a sharp pulse of pain shot right through my head.