The Mercenary Queen Strikes Back (Lily Hastings) novel Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Sophia thought she’d see fear on Nova’s face, just like any other girl would react.

But instead, Nova wasn’t scared one bit. She just answered calmly, almost like nothing had happened, “Oh, well.”

It was like the Taekwondo Club picking a fight with her wasn’t even worth her attention.

Sophia was shocked. “Wait, you’re really not scared at all?”

Nova just raised an eyebrow. “Why would I be?”

Sophia was left speechless. Nova was just built differently. Even with the whole Taekwondo Club gunning for her, she acted like it was no big deal, cool as ice.

“Does she really have no idea how ruthless the Taekwondo Club can be? Or… is she honestly just not scared at all?‘ Sophia couldn’t help but wonder.

She thought about it for a second and decided it had to be the first one, so she dropped the subject.

Right on cue, the bell for class started ringing.

At Saint Laurel Royal Academy, every student came from a family with serious clout.

That meant even the teachers could hardly do anything about them sometimes.

So, to keep things in check, the school had some pretty strict rules.

For example, just like in high school, students had assigned classrooms and seats every day.

“I’m gonna head back to my seat now. The academic advisor will set you up with a desk soon. After class, let’s get lunch in the cafeteria together,” Sophia said.

She gave a brisk wave and dashed back to her seat.

Less than a minute later, the academic advisor walked in.

Zoey Cole, the academic advisor, was a young woman just past twenty. She wore a sharp, form–fitting uniform and a black pencil skirt that hugged her curves, topped off with chic gold–rimmed glasses—definitely the type to catch your eye.

Zoey was fresh out of college, and since she’d only just taken over this class a short while ago, she was still figuring things out, looking a little nervous as she scanned the room.

She didn’t ask Nova to stand up and introduce herself to everyone.

Instead, she kept it short–just a quick mention–before turning to Nova. “Nova, you can take the seat by the window in the back row.”

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Nova nodded, sticking one hand in her pocket like she owned the place. With over forty pairs of eyes staring at her, she stayed cool as ever–not even a trace of nerves like you’d expect from most girls.

She headed straight off the podium and down the aisle, making her way toward the window seat in the back

row.

She walked with a steady stride, neither rushing nor dragging her feet.

Just as Nova reached the middle of the aisle, a guy in the back row, slouched against his desk with that typical rich kid swagger, suddenly stuck his foot out.

Gossip spread like wildfire at Saint Laurel Royal Academy–way faster than at any regular school.

By the end of just one break, half the class already knew who Nova was: the younger sister of Maxwell and Hannah.

The guy who stuck his foot out was obviously a member of the Taekwondo Club.

The Blake siblings were notorious in the Free Combat Club, and their rivalry with the Taekwondo Club was an open secret–those two clubs just never got along.

Word had already spread that Nova was nothing but the “disgraced heiress“-dragged back home, with zero skills to her name. Basically, a total pushover in everyone’s eyes.

He stuck out his foot, trying to trip her up and humiliate her in front of the whole class–classic sneaky move to make her eat dirt.

The other students saw what he was up to, but nobody tried to stop him. Instead, they just snickered and grinned, clearly getting a kick out of someone else’s trouble.

Some even let out catcalls and whistles, ready for the spectacle to unfold.

Sophia was sitting up near the front, with a whole crowd between her and the commotion.

When she realized what the guy was planning, she called out, “Nova, watch out.”

However, it was already too late.

Nova was still walking down the aisle, clueless, and was just about to get tripped up by that jerk in the back

row.

The Blake family’s newly returned heiress was about to be totally embarrassed in front of everyone. By tomorrow, this could be all over the school rumor mill.

The other students were already imagining the scene: pathetic Nova, tripped up and sobbing all the way out the door, hands over her face, unable to handle the humiliation.

The jeers and snickers crescendoed, echoing through the classroom.

But with Nova’s ears tuned for trouble, did anyone really think she’d miss a stunt like that?

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A cold, dangerous glint flickered in her eyes. She kept moving like she was totally clueless–playing the part of the helpless new girl, just as everyone expected.

But right when she should’ve fallen for the trick, she froze, stopping on a dime.

Nova didn’t even glance at the guy’s foot. Her suspended foot slammed down without warning, landing squarely on his instep–fast, precise, and ruthless.

Two sharp snaps cut through the classroom–everyone heard his foot bones break under her heel.

A sly, almost mesmerizing smile tugged at her lips.

Before the guy could even process what hit him, Nova was already moving.

She planted her foot hard on his broken instep, crushing down with brutal force, and yanked him off his chair like he was nothing but garbage.

In one slick, unbroken move, Nova took him down like she’d done it a hundred times before.

The guy crashed to the floor on his backside with a loud thud.

The pain hit so fast and so viciously that he lost control and screamed out loud.

But Nova wasn’t done yet. Not even glancing his way, she slammed her foot down on his head. Standing over him, she had that fierce, untouchable vibe, like a queen who ruled them all.

The sound exploded through the room like a thunderclap, ringing in everyone’s heads all at once.

Everyone jerked in shock, their mouths left hanging open. They couldn’t believe what they’d just witnessed.

Nova didn’t snap the class out of their shock until she flashed that innocent smile and threw a side glance at the guy on the ground.

She acted like she’d only just realized her foot was on his head, casually lifting it off with an exaggerated look of surprise.

She said, “Oh, I was sure it was just some clueless cockroach getting in my way. I’m sorry.”

But that little smile she wore made it obvious she couldn’t care less about his pain.

Everyone there knew exactly what just went down.

Nova’s cockroach diss was throwing shade right at that guy.

Seriously, that wasn’t just a stomp–she absolutely demolished him and didn’t even give him a chance to fight back.

“Who said the newly returned Blake heiress was just some useless good–for–nothing? This girl’s a demon straight out of hell, everyone thought, jaws dropped.

All forty–nine students in the class froze in shock–every single person was suddenly dead silent.

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Sophia’s eyes went wide in the stunned silence, unable to believe what she’d just seen.

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Meanwhile, Nova just acted completely unfazed. With one hand casually in her pocket, she made her way to the back row and dropped into the window seat.

Her relaxed vibe said it all–like the chaos from seconds ago might as well have happened in another

universe.

Well, except for the noisy scramble as the teacher and some students rushed to carry that guy out of class and get him to the nurse. Compared to Nova’s chill, the whole classroom was a mess of shouting and confusion.

*****

After class, it was lunchtime.

Just like she promised, Sophia came running over to Nova, ready to head to the cafeteria together.

On the way there, Sophia just couldn’t stop talking, her excitement spilling over in a constant stream.

Sophia said, “Nova, how are you this amazing? I seriously thought you were just a regular girl who got brought back and couldn’t do anything special. You…”

Her voice just kept running the whole way, barely giving herself a chance to breathe.

Nova wasn’t bothered by Sophia’s nonstop chatter at all. Hands in her pockets, she strolled along, looking so relaxed that it was almost comical.

Compared to the deafening roar of gunfire she once lived with on the battlefield, this little bit of noise felt almost soothing.

To Nova, Sophia’s lively voice wasn’t annoying–it was practically music, a welcome change from those days of chaos.

“Yeah, this noise is pretty sweet, Nova mused to herself with a half–smirk.

Saint Laurel Royal Academy really lived up to its name—even the cafeteria here looked straight out of a luxury magazine.

It’s two full stories of pure extravagance, with the first floor alone stretching across a colossal 20,000 square feet–basically, palace vibes everywhere you look.

All the cooks? Certified five–star chefs, top of their game. Whatever kind of fancy food people craved, this place could dish it out.

Nova just ordered the simplest thing on the menu–a combo enough for three people.

She sat right across from Sophia, looking completely chill.

Her appetite was unreal–she could easily eat three times as much as a normal person.

After spending years surviving in brutal war zones, her body was used to burning through calories fast, so she

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needed way more fuel than any average student.

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Sophia gawked at Nova in disbelief–how could someone so slim and graceful demolish chicken drumsticks like that, one after another, as if calories didn’t exist for her at all?

Sophia gasped, “Wait, Nova, you can actually eat all that? Seriously, how do you stay so hot with a monster appetite like that?”

“Working out,” Nova replied with a lazy shrug.

After a beat, she added, “Like, a ton of it.”

When Sophia suddenly marveled at how much food Nova could eat, it made Nova think of someone from her past.

A comrade from back in the day, someone who now worked under her–part of her crew.

This guy was a beast at the dining table, a soldier who could eat 20 burgers in one meal without even blinking.

After getting thrown into Devil’s Isle half a year ago, then being released and caught up with all the family drama, Nova still hadn’t found a moment to reconnect with her old squad.

She had no idea which corner of the world those guys were causing trouble in now–or hell, if any of them had bitten the dust in some wild firefight.

With that thought, Nova took out the phone Fiona had specially picked out for her.

With Sophia openly watching, Nova’s fingers danced across the screen, not the least bit concerned by the attention.

It only took a moment before she was on a website–a default green background, packed edge to edge with Aurevian text, and right in the middle was a blood–soaked severed head, a creepy skull graphic looming right behind the web address.

This was the official website of the Bloodblade Mercenary Corps–the world’s top mercenary organization, renowned across the globe.

It was the exclusive platform where clients could log in, register accounts, and hire international elite mercenaries for any mission.

Nova herself had built every inch of this site–from the design to the very last line of code.

You guessed it–she was the boss of the Bloodblade Mercenary Corps.

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