"I can sense that you've grown stronger," Quinn remarked.
"Huh? You can tell?" I responded with a hint of surprise in my voice.
Quinn looked at for a few seconds, as if gauging before replying, "I've told you before. Shadows don't lie."
...Yeah, whatever that ans, weirdo.
Currently, Quinn and I stood on the terrace of our academy tower.
It was my first ti visiting this place, and I must say, the terrace was huge.
Since we were at so much height, we could see a breathtaking view of the sprawling Global City from here.
Since the class was about to start, not many people were here right now.
-"Muaah~ God, you're so sexy~ Call daddy!"
-"Eww, no! I'm not into that, you fatty!"
-"But you still want to buy you that designer purse, right?"
-"...Yes, daddy!"
Of course, the emphasis is on "many."
I could still clearly see, and unfortunately hear, a few individuals who were here right now.
Most of them seed to be couples who had a free first period and had chosen to spend their ti by coming here and doing the cringy stuff that couples do.
"So, why are we here?" I asked, looking around. "I highly doubt you've brought to this terrace to propose."
"Urgh," curling up his upper lip, Quinn groaned and shot a disgusted glare in response to my OBVIOUS joke.
He took a few steps away from to the boundary and turned to face the city view.
"....."
Oh, co on! It was just OBVIOUSLY a joke! I don't swing that way! And even if I did, you're too ugly to be my type! - is what I wanted to say.
But in the end, I decided to hold my tongue and not throw my life away today.
"He's beco suspicious of you, you know?" Quinn spoke up after a few seconds of awkward silence following my failed attempt at humor.
"Kai?" I raised an eyebrow, urging him to continue.
"Yes," Quinn nodded, his gaze still fixed on the bustling city below us. "Ever since the rumor about Leo taking you as his disciple started spreading, Kai has beco increasingly wary of you."
"Alright then, do sothing to stall him," I suggested casually.
"It's not that simple!" Quinn snapped, turning to face . "He's on guard now. And Grace, with her habit of blabbering about you at every opportunity, isn't helping matters either."
"Alright, then I'll redirect his attention towards soone else," I responded. "I'll fra soone and expose them as the mastermind of our class to Kai."
"No, that won't help," Quinn shook his head. "During the four weeks you were absent, Kai personally investigated every cadet in our class. He even instigated conflicts to gather information. If the mastermind were to reveal themselves now that you've returned, Kai's suspicions of you would only grow. He would ignore the decoy and co directly after you. He's not as foolish as you may think."
I let out a sigh. Yeah, I had thought that would be the case.
"Well, it seems we're out of options," I shrugged.
"Huh? What do you an?" Quinn furrowed his brow, confused.
"I've done everything I could," I replied. "So unexpected variables erged and ruined my plans of staying under Kai's radar. There's nothing more we can do about it."
"So what will you do now?" Quinn inquired.
"What else can I do? In four days, our sester exams will begin. After that, it will be the King's Tournant – that's when I will crush him. Basically, I just need to hide from him for four days."
"But still," Quinn raised his voice. "That ans you've lost the elent of surprise! Your plan of attack failed!"
I turned to face Quinn. "As I said, there's nothing more we can do about it. I'll face him head-on."
"....?!"
Quinn looked at as if I were a madman planning to fight a pack of lions with bare hands.
"Are you out of your mind?!" Quinn snapped once again. "You're speaking so confidently because you have no idea how strong and rciless Kai can be! I can see that you've grown stronger, and maybe the rumors about you being Leo's disciple are true. But you can still not defeat Kai!"
Suppressing a scoff, I replied, "Why don't you sit back and enjoy the show instead of making predictions about who will win, yeah?"
Quinn studied up and down for a mont before stating, "You know, if I were to call Kai right now and inform him about you, he might forgive for my previous betrayal."
eting his gaze, I asked, "Alright, so will you do it?"
"I will do whatever I must to protect Shiya," Quinn declared. "Kai is aware of her existence. If I go against him, he will expose her existence to the academy. The only reason I chose to associate myself with you was because-"
"Because I gave you my word," I finished his sentence. "I will keep your secret safe and make sure that no harm ever cos to Shiya. I will also bring an end to the war."
We locked eyes for a brief mont, and I assured him, "And I will honor my word. I will do as I said."
A troubled expression spread across Quinn's face as I pressed on, "However, if you truly believe that betraying and siding yourself with Kai—a person who couldn't care less about your goals—is a better choice, then go ahead."
Having said what I wanted to say, I turned on my heels and started making my way towards the terrace door, leaving Quinn to sort out his thoughts and ponder over my words.
But just as I was about to reach the door, I halted my steps and glanced back over my shoulder.
eting Quinn's gaze with icy coldness, I spoke in a callous tone, "Oh, and one more thing. It's not only Kai you should fear. As I've ntioned before, I possess concrete evidence of Shiya's existence. If you dare to ever betray , I will not hesitate to send it to the authorities myself."
At that mont, Quinn's eyes widened in disbelief. He stared at as realization hit him.
Now he understood the position he was in— caught between a rock and a hard place.
It's his fault for not expecting sothing like this from the start in the first place.
He can't lose Shiya. If the academy authorities were to know about her, they would make Quinn erase her.
The only two people who know about her existence are at war with each other. If he were to make one wrong move, they would alert the authorities and Quinn would lose Shiya again for the final ti.
Basically, he'll have to keep on playing from both sides, serving both Kai and until we both clash.
Before we both clash, he'll have to predict who'll win and bet on the winning horse.
If he sides with the wrong person and they lose, the winner will call him out for his betrayal and punish him by unraveling his secret for the world.
Not only that but if he's found out by Kai that he's betraying him, his secret would be revealed.
And if he triggers like he almost did today or tries to double-cross , I will also reveal his secret.
"Understood what I'm saying?" I asked, my tone growing colder.
"....." Quinn responded with a silent nod.
Yes, no matter how he may try to look at it, he's fucked. It all cos down to him predicting the winner, and siding with him.
And if he's as smart as I give him the credit for, he'll pick .
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