"It seems we were too naive."
Looking through the windows of the Great Hall at the cards with the parents' names and the folded survey forms on the tables, William couldn't help but sigh with a sense of wistfulness, then said to Melanie, who was beside him with a face full of panic,
"Just as I predicted the worst outcome, the adult world doesn't value trust. The promises they make might not even be worth as much as your religious studies homework... You're not going to escape this beating."
Hearing William's words, Melanie, who was already panicking, stomped her foot in agitation and glared at him angrily.
"What do you mean I can't escape this beating? What you wrote was much worse than mine. If Sister Anna sees it, she'll definitely hit you harder than me!"
William looked at his silly sister with pity, then placed his hands behind his back and said calmly,
"A six or seven-year-old kid saying he wants to conquer the world is just amusing to adults, but a six or seven-year-old kid saying she wants to be a lazybones will surely be scolded severely. *I'm not as stupid as you; if I weren't certain that I wouldn't get beaten, why would I write about my future plans knowing I might be betrayed?*"
After hearing William's response, Melanie was dumbstruck, her eyes widened in disbelief like a little frog struck by lightning,
"You... you knew you would be betrayed, so why didn't you warn me?"
"Why should I warn you?"
William responded with curiosity,
"Your dream is to be a lazybones. If you manage to succeed, I'd have to take care of you for the rest of your life. In theory, to prevent you from clinging to me and causing me trouble for life, I should have reported you to Sister Anna. I haven't told on you to Sister Anna, which is already an extra favor to you out of sibling love. How could I also remind you?"
"You! I... I'm going to fight with you!"
William raised his eyebrows a little, surprised, after dodging Melanie's lunge.
"Your contents are almost blasphemous. I still have that homework that can make the religious studies teacher die of anger, not handed in yet... Melanie, you don't want to rewrite your assignment, do you?"
"Give up your dream of being a lazybones and help me instead!"
William patted Melanie's shoulder seriously,
"I've thought it through. If I want to unify the world, I must first overthrow the Kingdom. To overthrow the Kingdom, I must first acquire enough power, and I've already got a plan on how to gain power.
Charlotte from Level Two is the Prime Minister's youngest daughter. As soon as the parent-teacher meeting is over, I'll buy some hair clips and sugar figurines to confess to her. If she agrees to marry me, maybe I can get a seat in Congress through her father..."
"You're planning this?"
"Despicable! You always go to play with Charlotte because of this?"
William shook his head and said,
"I like playing with Charlotte because she's the prettiest girl in school, and she always brings me snacks from home. It being a pleasant surprise that she's the Prime Minister's youngest daughter is just a bonus."
"Huh? Didn't you just tell Melly from third grade yesterday that she was the most..."
"That's not important, Melanie. The most important thing now is that I need your help!"
Seeing William's serious look, Melanie hesitated and asked,
"Lend me your pocket money."
William grabbed Melanie's shoulders and looked directly into her eyes with a serious face,
"If I keep eating the snacks Charlotte brings to school and never give her any gifts in return, my status in the family will drop once we're married... Melanie, you don't want your twin brother to be looked down upon by your future sister-in-law, do you?"
"Of course I don't... Wait a minute! She hasn't even agreed to marry you yet!"
William said confidently,
"The story my big brother told me said that proposing isn't the call to charge, but the declaration of victory after the war. Since I dare to do this, I'm sure I'll succeed!"
"After Charlotte agrees to marry me, I'll do your homework for next week!"
"Well... You'd better keep your word, don't write something nonsensical to fool me..."
Just as Melanie was reaching into her pocket, hesitantly preparing to take out money, their homeroom teacher came rushing over in a flustered state. Seeing the two tiny figures squatting outside the Great Hall, she breathed a sigh of relief but also spoke in a slightly exasperated tone,
"Didn't I tell you to meet at the classroom door, and then we'd come to the Great Hall together? Why did you..."
"Teacher, why did you just arrive!"
Being the designated scapegoat of the twins, Melanie's cute little face wrinkled slightly, then she pinched her skirt and sniffed her chilled red nose, ready to throw the blame,
"You just said to discuss future matters later and let us come to the parents' meeting first, right? So, we came here and found no one, and we were scared you wouldn't find us, so we didn't dare run around and waited here... Boo-hoo... It's so cold outside the hall, and the wind is strong..."
*Did I really say that? But I meant for you to gather in the classroom, not come directly here... Hmm... It seems I wasn't clear enough, leading to their misunderstanding.*
"Sorry, the teacher didn't make it clear."
After catching her breath, relaxing a bit, the homeroom teacher patted Melanie's little head, opened the door to the Great Hall, and let them in. Then she gently reminded,
"The seats by the windows on the east side are for our Level One. The side door next to the stage leads to the backstage of the hall. If anything happens, knock on the door and find an adult in the hall or backstage to help...
Melanie, William, the teacher will go back once more to bring other students over. Can you wait here first?"
"Okay! We'll stay right here, waiting for you to return."
After the homeroom teacher hurried away, Melanie, who had just been sitting obediently like a good child, immediately jumped up full of excitement,
"Quick, quick, quick! Where's your charcoal pencil? Hurry, take it out and change our forms!"
William sighed, glancing at his silly sister,
"The teacher has already seen them, and we can't imitate the teacher's handwriting. Are you trying to get Sister Anna to spank you even harder?"
Can't change them? Then what to do?
Remembering Sister Anna's angry look, worried she'd be spanked in public, Melanie racked her brain trying to find a way to break the situation.
However, a solution wasn't easy to come by. Even after thinking for a long time, she couldn't come up with a good idea, and footsteps started to scatter outside the hall as the parents called for the meeting were about to arrive.
The parents were almost here, it was too late! Sister Anna would... Wait! Parents!
Just as Melanie was anxiously spinning in circles, she suddenly spotted the name tag from Level Two next door. A sudden inspiration struck her, and she rushed over, swapping Charlotte Mondial's name tag with the one next to it that said William Ryan.
"You have to share the blame with me!"
Under William's puzzled gaze, Melanie took out her bulging purse, waved it in front of him, and then bossily ordered,
"If I'm the only one in trouble, Sister Anna will definitely double punish me. We must distract her attention... William! If you still want me to lend you pocket money, you have to directly ask Charlotte if she'll marry you in front of her parents later!"