I slipped into the hall like a criminal returning to the scene.

Thankfully, Gawain had actually saved me a seat.

I squeezed in beside him, trying to look like I had been there the entire time and definitely not sprinting for my life ten seconds ago.

"Where did you go, My Lady?" he whispered, already suspicious.

"I got to watch a live documentary," I whispered back, still slightly out of breath.

"A live documentary?" he repeated, offended. "You get to watch something interesting while I sat here fighting for my life against boredom? What was it about?"

I stared straight ahead. "You don’t want to know," I said quietly.

Because if I told him, I would not survive the lecture.

Or the judgment.

Or the dramatic reaction.

Probably all three.

Before he could interrogate me further, the microphone screeched slightly, and a man stepped forward at the podium.

"And now," Principal Varek Duran announced, voice booming across the hall, "let me introduce to you the members of the Student Council Organization!"

The room immediately came alive with attention.

I looked toward the stage as one by one, students stood up, all polished, confident, and suspiciously attractive.

I raised a brow.

Then another.

Because...

’Why did some of them look familiar?’

My gaze landed on a pink-haired girl who stood up, radiating main character energy like it was her full-time job.

"Hello everyone!" she greeted with a dazzling smile. "To those of you who don’t know me, I am Vivienne Rosenthal!"

The entire hall erupted into applause.

Especially from the boys, who looked like they were ready to dedicate their entire existence to her.

"...Vivienne," I muttered under my breath.

My eye twitched slightly.

Because not only was she the female lead of the novel I was trapped in, she was also the girl from earlier I had just witnessed engaging in a very... enthusiastic "documentary" earlier.

"...I didn’t recognize her earlier," I muttered under my breath.

I slowly leaned back in my seat.

To be fair, it was difficult to recognize someone when their face was being aggressively... occupied.

"My name is Ravian Caspiold," he said smoothly. "President of the Student Council Organization."

’That voice...’

I lifted my gaze and immediately regretted existing.

Because there he was.

The guy I used as a human shield.

The one I shoved.

The one I ran away from.

Standing on stage, holding a microphone, and looking completely composed, except for the fact that his eyes locked onto mine immediately with that same amused expression.

Like he had just discovered his new favorite source of entertainment.

I froze. I was now internally screaming but outside? I was completely still.

He held my gaze for a second longer—then, very clearly—mouthed:

"Found you."

"..."

I felt my soul leave my body.

’I’d rather file myself as a missing person.’

I rubbed my face in despair.

Why.

Why today.

Why here.

Why him.

And most importantly, why did Gawain have to pick a seat this close to the stage?

Out of all the seats in this entire massive hall, we had to sit here front row within eye contact range.

I leaned slightly toward Gawain. "...We’re leaving," I whispered.

"No, we’re not," he whispered back immediately. "We’ll get caught the moment we stand up."

I slumped slightly.

He had a point.

A very annoying, very correct point.

I glanced around, scanning for escape routes like a criminal planning a very poorly thought-out getaway.

Door? Too far.

Window? Impossible.

Under the seat? Tempting, but unrealistic.

I turned slightly and froze again because right behind me was the guy.

The other guy.

The one from the bushes.

The one who had been aggressively participating in the "documentary."

He was staring at me.

No.

Glaring.

I stiffened.

"...What are you looking at?" he muttered, clearly irritated.

I shook my head immediately. "Nothing."

I kept my eyes glued to the front like my life depended on it.

Because honestly?

It probably did.

Stephano Rupera.

Name registered.

Face registered.

Trauma... also registered.

I inhaled slowly, trying to gather my thoughts before they completely spiraled out of control.

’Okay... think.’

————————————

Main Characters:

Vivienne Rosenthal — female lead.

Ravian Caspiold — student council president... and unfortunately, my witness.

Stephano Rupera — aggressive documentary participant.

Silvano Orientaly — ???

Sebastian Grimm — ???

Maximus Raviern — ???

————————————

I mentally listed them like I was cataloging dangerous creatures in the wild.

Rare species.

Highly unpredictable.

Potentially lethal to my peaceful school life.

————————————

Things To Do So The Main Characters DO NOT NOTICE ME:

☐ Avoid eye contact

→ Already failed. Twice.

☐ Do not interact

→ Failed. Spectacularly.

☐ Do not exist in their line of sight

→ Currently impossible. One is staring at me like I’m a new discovery, and another looks like he wants me erased from existence.

————————————

I stared at my mental checklist then mentally flipped the table.

’Whatever.’

New plan.

’Just don’t interact anymore.’

That’s it.

I will not get dragged into whatever chaotic, R18+ nonsense this world clearly runs on.

I paused then slowly frowned.

"...Why didn’t I realize this was R18+?" I muttered under my breath.

What was the title again?

══════⊹⊱≼≽⊰⊹══════

Trapped in the Beast World with My New Husbands.

══════⊹⊱≼≽⊰⊹══════

I stared into the void.

The void stared back.

"...It was literally spelled out for me."

Of course the female lead was out there living her best life.

Of course the male leads were... actively participating in that life.

Of course even the random bystander I encountered was somehow part of the main cast.

I pressed my fingers to my temples.

"This entire academy is a hazard."

I exhaled slowly, forcing myself to calm down.

I just needed to stick to the plan.

Stay invisible.

Graduate.

Make money.

Leave.

That’s it.

"I refuse to be part of this plot," I whispered to myself. "I am a background character. A shadow. A ghost. A financially motivated academic."

"My Lady," Gawain whispered.

I didn’t even look at him. "What now?"

"...Why is the president is still staring at you?"

I froze again as I slowly glanced up.

Ravian was still there.

Still smiling.

Still very much entertained.

Still—

Looking directly at me.

"...This is fine," I whispered. "...I just need to be more invisible...Starting now."

I immediately lowered my head.

"...He’s still looking," Gawain added.

"...I hate this school."

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

As soon as the orientation ended, I grabbed Gawain and dragged him out like we had just committed a crime.

Which, considering earlier events—

We kind of did.

Yes we.

I consider Gawain as my partner in crime. He’ll be my scapegoat while I ran for my life.

"Why are you in such a hurry?" he asked, stumbling slightly as I pulled him along.

"I have somewhere else to go," I said simply, not even slowing down.

"Again?"

"Yes. Again. But this time, I’ll be going outside the academy."

That made him stop completely.

"What?" he said, horrified. "Why?"

"I have a scheduled meeting with a client."

"Client?" he repeated. "Meeting? Who might you be meeting with—"

"Someone."

"Someone is not an answer."

"It is today."

"What are you two talking about?"

A third voice joined in behind us.

We slowly turned around and saw Ravian Caspiold stood there, smiling like he had just found his favorite source of entertainment for the day.

Gawain reacted instantly, stepping in front of me like a loyal bodyguard and using my luggage as a physical barrier between us.

"And who might you be?" he asked, tone sharp.

Ravian didn’t even look offended.

"Relax," he said casually. "I’m just here to invite you that we have an after-party tonight. Starts at seven. Don’t be late."

My ears perked instantly.

"After-party?" I asked, completely forgetting my entire avoid the main characters plan. "What’s that?"

Gawain inhaled sharply beside me, probably sensing the incoming disaster.

"It’s a party held at the start of every school year," Ravian explained. "All students can join. It’s also... a good opportunity to make connections."

Connections.

My eyes sparkled.

Clients.

Potential.

Money.

Networking.

Opportunity.

"I’m sorry, but Miss Blanca and I won’t be atten—"

"Gawain," I cut him off immediately.

He froze then slowly looked at me.

"...What is it, Miss?" he asked carefully.

I leaned closer, covering my mouth as he instinctively bent down to listen.

"I’ve never been to an after-party before," I whispered.

A pause.

"I want to go."

He slowly raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you had a meeting with someone," he whispered back. "Hmmm?"

"I can just postpone it," I said quickly.

He stared at me like I had just personally offended the entire concept of business. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"What kind of businesswoman are you?"

"What?" I scoffed softly. "They’re the ones in need of my service. It’s their loss, not mine anyway."

Gawain looked like he was about to faint.

"That is terrible marketing," he whispered aggressively. "Your business will plummet if you keep that up!"

I waved him off. "Then I’ll just raise my prices."

"That’s not how that works!"

"Yes, it is if I say so."

Meanwhile, Ravian was still standing there watching us.

"..."

He finally cleared his throat.

"In case you both forgot," he said smoothly, "I’m still here. So may I know your names?"

I immediately shook my head.

"No! I mean— you don’t need to know our names," I said quickly. "We’re insignificant. Completely irrelevant. You won’t be seeing us again, so goodbye!"

I grabbed Gawain’s hand and started dragging him away, took three steps, stopped, turned back, and walked right up to Ravian again.

Gawain made a distressed noise behind me.

"By the way," I added brightly, "we will be going to the after-party. So thank you for the invitation!"

Then I finally dragged Gawain away for real.

"Miss Blanca!" he whined as he stumbled after me.

"What?" I snapped.

"We don’t even have clothes to wear!"

I thought for a while then shrugged. "Well, I have mine, so..."

He looked personally attacked. "That’s unfair!"

"Hey!" I shot back. "You’re the one who can suddenly summon weapons! Why not summon an outfit?"

"That’s different!"

"How is that different?!"

"I can’t just summon fashion!" he said, horrified. "Do you know how complicated that is?!"

"Oh, so summoning deadly weapons is easy, but a decent outfit is where you draw the line?"

"Yes!"

I stared at him in disbelief. "This is why you’re single."

"I’m not— that’s not the point!"

"It is now."

He groaned dramatically, dragging a hand down his face. "This is a disaster."

I, on the other hand was smiling.

"Relax," I said confidently. "We’ll figure something out."

He looked at me, already looking tired. "...That sentence has never once brought me peace."

I ignored him completely.

Because tonight, I was going to my first after-party.

’What could possibly go wrong?’