260 | Exchange Program

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"IT'S ONLY BEEN A week, but you look different, Master Leigh," Étienne says while looking back at Max through the rearview mirror.

     Max, who was still reading St. George Academy's student handbook on his phone, didn't even remove his eyes from the screen as he answered, "A lot of things happened. Even I'm having a hard time keeping up with everything."

     "But knowing you, I'm sure you already have a plan, or maybe even an objective," Étienne tells him, and Max finally lifts his head up to look at his butler. He chuckles, and then he answers, "An objective? Of course I have one. Who do you think I am?"

OBJECTIVES:

(1) Help serfs produce 50,000 MP for next week's tax collection ✓

(2) Find clues on who's working with Payton Wolfe.

(3) Prove there was foul play to get PHD back in J.S High.

(4) Ask about the previous president who proposed the Divisions Program. (Old Saints President: Klyde Vitus Von Hatzfeld, brother of Klaus, member of Paradox)

- Serfs mistreatment(?)...why are serfs treated like this?

- House of Bishops' involvement with PARADOX (Klaus & Klyde Vitus Von Hatzfeld)

- WHO IS THE ARCHBISHOP?

(5) NEW: Help get the White Uniform Protection Code approved.

- Do all this in 1 MONTH: April 22, deadline.

    "I have only accomplished one, but I'm working on it. There's a lot to be done, but I'm not giving up on that school just yet," Max adds, making Étienne smile proudly.

    Max wasn't the type to care about others in the past. He only did things that would benefit him, and he wouldn't be scared of admitting it to everyone involved. Max was the perfect heir his mother always wanted. He was a businessman. He knew who to use and who to ignore. But now Max has become more grounded. He became a teenager who saw things differently. He wanted to help, knowing full well that he could do it. Of course, the fire he once had still remained, but it's quite different now. And this difference was something Étienne could happily live with.

     "Étienne, what do you do when someone is too stubborn to listen to you?" Max asks while Étienne continues driving.

     "Are you referring to yourself?"

     "Ha ha...very funny," Max sarcastically says, making Étienne chuckle.

     "Well, if you want a genuine answer, then you can do three things. One: be very understanding. Understand why they refuse to listen. Wonder where they're coming from and try to fix that. But if that doesn't work, you can do number two: Scare them."

     "Scare them? That's it?"

     "Show them the consequences. Fear is your greater weapon. If you don't listen, bad things will happen. That simple," Étienne explains next, making Max scratch his chin, thinking about it carefully.

     Will fear work with the students of St. George Academy? With all the punishments they already receive there, Max thinks it might not fully work as much as he would imagine.

     "Alright, but if fear doesn't work, what else? What's the third way?"

     "Well, number three is the most complex, but it's the most effective. The only way to make a stubborn person listen and follow you is to make them believe it's their idea, not yours. Lead them to the path you made yourself and guide them to the conclusion you already predicted. They think they thought of it themselves, but the truth is, they've been doing everything you laid out for them. It's the most effective way. I usually do that to you," Étienne answers, making Max nod his head in understanding while ignoring the last statement that his butler just said.

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