Episodes 121. Repay

The tall pole on top of the hill no longer bound the young prince. Stevent, who had been terrified of being sacrificed, finally breathed a sigh of relief and looked at the pole with a feeling of sadness.

The pole no longer bound him but had replaced his position with someone dear to him. Xander was tied there, unconscious, and still had not come to his senses.

I don't understand what just happened, but I can conclude that Haran is not preparing for a change of era, but something bigger.

Is her desire to destroy Nova still that strong?

Will this device (Hover shoes) be used against that old woman?

Whatever the answer, I have to think about what's in front of me first.

"Sir..." Stevent called out to me weakly without taking his eyes off his bound brother. "Why my brother like this?"

"..." When asked like that, I could only remain silent and didn't know what to say.

This happened because his class rank was at the bottom, and now his career and class were on the line.

From how Stevent was questioning this, I could conclude that the ranking had not yet reached the students.

Then why did Dahlia know it?

"No answer... Is it that horrible?"

"...Yes." It was hard for me to say, but at least a little hint would ease his burden.

"Tch! Why?! I can't just stand still while something happens to my family!" Tears of regret began to show from behind his broken glasses.

"Calm down, Stevent!" Dahlia, who was beside me, shouted at the young man.

"This is my brother we're talking about! How can I be calm?! Something bad happened, and I don't know what it is! If I don't know, how can I help him?!"

Should I tell him?

No, it would only make things worse. Giving him a little hint already made him emotional, let alone telling him what actually happened.

"For now, we should wait for your brother to wake up first."

This was the best advice I could give him.

.......

A princess walked alone on her palace balcony at midnight. The sound of her high heels echoed with each step. The palace, slightly disheveled from the students' exams the previous day, still looked elegant. Without any discomfort, the queen walked with a fan made of strong steel adorned with floral branch patterns in her hand.

Under the bright crescent moon, the princess spread her arms as if to challenge it.

"Widya! Are you the one planning all of this?!"

The moon gave no answer, only shining its light on the princess.

The challenge was not directed at the inanimate shining object, but rather at someone else, someone who might become a future threat.

The nonsensical class rankings, the conspiracy of the second-year teachers to get rid of Rasyid, and the kidnapping incident during the exam, all these problems pointed to one person. That was roughly what the princess thought.

.......

Tak Tak Tak!

The sound of high heels stomping the floor with anger echoed consistently in the night.

In a simple and dusty house, a woman paced around a table. On the table were a map and photos of people. Most of the photos were of second-year teachers.

"It's so hard to get rid of him, even making my ex get emotional wasn't enough." The woman bit her finger in frustration.

"What will it take to bring him down?"

The woman continued to think, staring at the photos of the teachers one by one. "Even they couldn't!"

"Businessmen, rival teachers, even people he respected, why couldn't any of them succeed?!"

Her scream echoed in the dark night of the empty house, like a haunted place.

"Do I have to do it myself?" Her eyes were now fixed on the picture of the teacher. "Yes, I did promise to meet him face to face."

A grin replaced her frustration, her thoughts now surpassing what she should do.

.......

"*Gulp! Gulp! Gulp!"

I made Xander drink some tranquilizers. He would be a big problem if he faced me directly after losing badly.

I gave him the drink not because he was insane, but because his emotions were unstable.

This reminded me of that time, a bit embarrassing, but seeing him in this condition, I could only watch and reflect on my past self in him.

It's truly embarrassing when someone sees us in a depressed state.

"Is this medicine effective?" Stevent asked with a worried tone.

"Don't worry, according to the internet, it's very effective." Dahlia, who was beside me with her innocent smile, answered the question.

But instead of feeling relieved, Stevent became more worried about his brother.

"Hey, don't believe everything on the internet!"

"But is there any other reference we can find right now?"

Her flat yet piercing words silenced Stevent completely. He couldn't argue back and could only clench his fists, grinding his teeth.

Using some plants around the mountain to make herbal medicine might sound strange now, and could even get us into trouble if found out, but there was no other way at the moment.

***

Not long after that little commotion.

*cough cough cough

The man's eyes slowly opened, and his mouth reflexively moved to get rid of the bitter taste.

"What the hell is this?!"

Oh, it seems the medicine failed.

"It's nothing, just the taste of defeat."

"You, Rasyid... Are you mocking me?" His response was different than I expected, but from his facial expression turning away from me, I tried to understand.

Answering that anxiety, I turned my face back and looked between Stevent and Dahlia.

"Stevent, Dahlia, could you give us some time?"

They both looked surprised, but Dahlia quickly and understandingly got the meaning of my words.

"Stevent, let's leave!" Dahlia gently tried to give a hint to the young prince.

"I don't quite understand what you mean, but please, Mr. Rasyid, don't harm my brother!" His tear-filled eyes were visible behind his glasses.

"Calm down, he will be fine..."

I was telling the truth, there was nothing to hide. Besides, Xander was someone I respected, and seeing him in this condition made me want to repay his kindness.

With that, Dahlia and Stevent left us and entered the forest on the hill.

From the direction they went, I was sure they were heading to that abandoned building.

By the way, I was carrying his phone, I'd return it later, he hadn't asked for it yet.

I turned back to Xander, who looked disheveled and was tied to the pole.

He gave me a mocking look, but I let it go for now.

Because he was in my former condition, severe depression.

"What are you looking at?" He was still upset.

I took a deep breath, something like this could only be resolved by a listener.

"Can you let out all your problems? I might not help, but at least you need an ear to express your sadness."

With those words, Xander tilted his eyes and looked away without turning his head.

It seemed he understood.