Where Petals of Vengeance Bloom

Chapter 500
She had barely spent a week resting at home before the president of Cresthaven Institute of Technology personally invited her
back to give a speech to the
students.
Naturally, Claire had no reason to refuse.
What she hadn't expected, though, was to spot Mandy in the crowd after her talk.
It wasn't until much later that Claire realized she hadn't just changed her own fate in this life-she'd changed Mandy's as well.
Perhaps, in some mysterious way, she and Mandy had always been destined to become friends.
The first time Mandy saw Claire on TV, she'd felt an inexplicable sense of kinship. She longed to get closer to her idol, but Claire
was a prodigy-enrolled in college at the age of five.
Mandy knew she wasn't a genius herself, but she never gave up. She poured her heart into her studies, consistently ranking first
in her class year after year. She skipped grades whenever she could, and at fourteen, she was accepted into Cresthaven
Institute of Technology, becoming the youngest top entrance scorer in
her year.
After Claire, Mandy was the second youngest student ever admitted to the institute.

With Claire blazing the trail, the school placed great hopes on Mandy as well.
Mandy's biggest dream was to walk the same path Claire had walked. For now, she was Claire's junior, but one day, she hoped
they'd be colleagues.
With that hope, she applied to National Defense Polytechnic and succeeded. She finally met her idol in person.
After Claire's speech, she was quickly surrounded by a pack of younger students, all eager to get close to her. Their eyes shone
with admiration, and every outstretched hand clutched a notebook, hoping for an autograph.
But Claire's gaze sought out only one face in the crowd-Mandy's.

Mandy made it into college? At just fourteen?
Claire had always known Mandy was a bright girl. Sadly, in her previous life, Mandy had gotten tangled up in Claire's troubles.
She'd broken her arm for Claire, and later, in seeking revenge on her behalf, Mandy had even taken lives.
May was the gentlest soul Claire had ever known, and she'd raised her daughter to be just as kind. Everything that had
happened it was all because of Claire. She owed Mandy and May more than she could ever repay.
Claire's eyes stung with tears. The noise around her faded to a distant hum as she stepped toward Mandy, one determined stride
at a time.
Mandy had already been trembling with excitement when Claire took the stage. Now, as Claire drew closer the distance between
them shrinking with every step, Mandy's heart thudded madly in her chest.
Is Claire really looking at me?

Is she walking toward me?
Mandy was too nervous to
understand why Claire's eyes were fixed
her. Her cheeks burned with
excitement, her brain all but
short-circuited.
Her voice quivered as she blurted out, "C-could I have your autograph, please?"
Claire stopped in front of her, took the pen and paper Mandy offered without hesitation, and signed her name in a bold, flowing
script.
The crowd went wild-some even more ecstatic than Mandy herself.
Mandy clutched the signed page, overflowing with joy, unable to find words.
The next moment, she heard Claire ask, "What's your name?"

"M-my name's Mandy."
"Sweet Mandy."
Mandy's eyes nearly popped out of her head.
Did she just call me Sweet Mandy? So tenderly?
Oh my god-Claire's so gentle, so wonderful, I just want to hug her forever!
She stared at Claire, eyes wide with disbelief.
Then Claire said, "Sweet Mandy, to get into National Defense Polytechnic at such a young age, you must be incredibly bright. I'm
sure that once you graduate, you'll become someone truly valuable to our country. I look forward to calling you my colleague one
day."