A Warm Marriage After Rebirth

Seraphina Sterling spoke in Chinese, her soft voice making the already quiet atmosphere even more eerie.

Simon’s arrogant eyes immediately locked onto Seraphina Sterling in the crowd. "How dare you say our skills are poor?" His serious tone was greatly undermined by his heavily accented and off-key Chinese pronunciation.

"You can’t blame me for that. It’s the impression your actions have given everyone," Seraphina Sterling said, her lips curving into a smile. "If your skills were truly so great, you wouldn’t need to use your linguistic talents to attack us."

"By the same token, if I spoke in Apex’s classical language, you probably wouldn’t understand. The only reason we haven’t done that is because we are hosting you with the utmost sincerity."

Simon’s expression softened slightly at that, and an arrogant smile spread across his face. "So, you’re admitting that Apexian students are all terrible at foreign languages?"

The atmosphere, which had just started to ease, instantly tensed up again at Simon’s words.

The Marshal’s heart skipped a beat, worried Seraphina Sterling had just made a huge mess.

Michelle Galloway shot her a vicious glare, resentful that she had acted on her own.

The students from Aethelgard First High and Veridia First High could only watch her worriedly. If she answered this question poorly, the reputation of all Apexian students would be utterly ruined.

Seraphina Sterling met Simon’s arrogant gaze. ’What a difficult person,’ she thought. ’And a clever one, too.’

"Apexians tend to be very modest. In Apex, humility is a virtue, much like your arrogant self-confidence. A lot of the time, our silence doesn’t mean we’re incapable or ignorant; it’s simply an expression of that humility. It’s an integral part of our esteemed traditional culture. I’m sure you’ll come to experience it for yourselves during the rest of your visit."

Seraphina Sterling delivered this speech in French, German, English, Korean, and Japanese, one after the other. Her authentic pronunciation and flawless transitions between the languages stunned the entire audience.

Every single person there—and you could count them one by one—might include some who had mastered two, or perhaps even three, foreign languages. But not a single one of them had mastered five. If there had been, the recent unpleasantness would never have occurred.

Watching this unfold, the Marshal was more certain than ever: Seraphina Sterling’s background was anything but simple. ’Someone who dares to calmly threaten me, even knowing full well who I am... How could she possibly be ordinary?’

Seeing the looks of admiration and awe on everyone’s faces, Michelle Galloway clenched her fists. ’Is showing off all she’s good for?’ she fumed. ’People like her are just asking to be taught a lesson!’

The most shocked person of all, however, was Simon. He had intended to intimidate the Apexians right from the start, but he’d never imagined he would meet someone who, like himself, had mastered so many foreign languages. "You’re impressive! What’s your name? And which high school are you from?"

"Hello. I’m Seraphina Sterling, from Tollan High."

"Simon. From Country M."

As they shook hands, Seraphina Sterling was initially wary he might try some underhanded trick, but Simon did nothing. ’Maybe he isn’t as bad as I thought,’ she mused.

"I thought this trip to Apex would be a complete waste of time, aside from some sightseeing," Simon said. "But now, with you here, Sterling, it seems I actually have something to look forward to. I hope your performance over the next few days won’t disappoint me."

A roguish smirk played on Simon’s lips, his handsome features taking on a devilish charm that made the other girls in the room want to scream.

"You might not know much about schools in Apex," Seraphina replied. "I’m just from a small, remote high school. Every student here has their own unique talents. I’m sure that over the next few days, Simon, you’ll be so dazzled you won’t know where to look."

Seraphina Sterling responded with a warm, gentle smile. ’Trying to make me a target?’ she thought. ’His methods are far too crude. A more vain person might have fallen for it, but unfortunately for him, I’m not that person.’