Disbelief hung heavy in the air of the crowded elevator. Conversations crackled with hushed whispers, punctuated by gasps and wide-eyed stares. "This just can’t be true," a student muttered, shaking his head in denial. "Two students missing? And from the academy grounds itself?"
Another leaned closer, his voice barely a murmur. "Quiet down! The school’s already searching the place high and low. There’s no way they could have vanished without soone noticing sothing fishy."
A third student, oblivious to the hushed tones, blurted out, "But who exactly went missing?"
The first student, glancing around cautiously, lowered his voice even further. "It’s..." he hesitated, then leaned in conspiratorially, "That Luke guy."
A spark of recognition flickered in the third student’s eyes. "Wait, the sa Luke who got us in trouble during combat class?"
"The one and only," the first student confird. "I was just about to unleash a month’s worth of pent-up frustration on him, but alas, he’s vanished into thin air."
"Just him?"
The first student shook his head. "No, the other one is even more unbelievable... it’s Leon, the prince himself! Leon Kingscrown!"
"No way!" the third student began to shout, but a hand clamped over his mouth just in ti.
This conversation was taking place in the elevator back at the dorms. Ryan leaned against the far wall, his mind swirling with the events of the previous day. That’s when he overheard the shocking news: his roommate Luke had gone missing.
’But that can’t be possible. I was just with him before mana class. How could he vanish so suddenly?’ Ryan thought, his mind a chaos of calculations.
The pieces didn’t fit together. And now that he actually had ti to think about it, just when was the last ti he had seen Luke? He hadn’t been in the cafeteria, at least not within Ryan’s line of sight. And he had also missed combat class...
Had soone really abducted him? If so, why?
"Shhh! Don’t yell like that, are you crazy?!" a voice hissed.
"Sorry, I was just shocked. I an, I knew so students went missing, but the freaking prince? Gone?" another whispered, incredulous.
Ryan’s heart pounded. "Well, I’m just as shocked as you are. Apparently, after being taken to the infirmary, he vanished into thin air before the next day." the other student whispered.
The infirmary? Could Helen be involved?
No, there’s no way. Though she had acted erratically yesterday, she had been with him the entire ti. But then again, her docile deanor had shattered in an unforeseen way yesterday, and he never expected such a drastic chamge that was a starck contrast from the Helen he thought he knew. The way things were, he needed to rein her in quickly before another incident like that of yesterday occurred, or perhaps, sothing even worse...
But still on the students that went missing, who else could be behind it? An enemy?
Well there was so much to consider, and there was also...
No, they couldn’t have, given what Luke had tole him they most likely hated him before his disappearance, so the had no reason to do that, or, at least not that he knew of.
Ryan’s mind raced through countless scenarios, but as much as Helen’s involvent seed unlikely, he couldn’t rule it out entirely. The missing students shared one commonality: contact with him before their disappearances. With a sharp ding, the elevator doors slid open, and he stepped out with the other occupants.
...
Entering the classroom, Ryan was greeted by the sa sight as yesterday: Helen seated alone, waving at him as she had before. He contemplated avoiding her, but given her actions the previous day, there was no telling what lengths she might go to if he spurned her. With a deep sigh, he made his way towards her. The mont he took his seat, she grabbed his hand, her expression contrite.
"I am so sorry for what happened yesterday. I..." She blinked back tears. "I just let my emotions get the better of . I got so scared that I... lost control. Can you forgive ? I don’t want you to be afraid of ," she pleaded.
Ryan was taken aback by her drastic change, her reversion to the docile persona he had known. He had expected her to play oblivious or remain cold and domineering. This mont would determine if such an occurrence could be avoided in the future. "I feel really disappointed," he stated, his expression stoic.
"Huh?" she murmured, clearly surprised by his response. She had likely expected an easy return to normalcy with a remorseful apology, perhaps even stirring guilt within him for engaging in the conflict despite her opposition. But her ploy fell flat; he showed no anger, guilt, or discomfort, only indifference.
"Helen," he said, eting her gaze.
"Y-yes?" she replied.
"If sothing like this were to happen again, would you repeat your actions?" he asked.
"Y-No!"
"Because if you would, then that would be the end of our relationship. It would be goodbye," he declared.
"No... No... You can’t," she whispered, her eyes darkening with sinister intent.
"I could, and I will. And just so you know, even if I can’t fight against you, I can still end my own life." He needed to make her detest the idea of him dying before she could conceive of it.
With the intensity of her possession, there was a possibility of waking up to her stabbing him to death, stashing his corpse to belong only to her.
As early as now, he needed to gain control over her, to limit how far she could go.
"No, you can’t do that, you- YOU bELonG To ," she snarled, her features contorting.
"That’s where you’re wrong. I don’t belong to you, I belong to us. So if this relationship breaks, you lose ," he stated, standing and moving to another seat. This, of course, delighted many onlookers, who assud a breakup was imminent. But for Ryan, this was a necessary action. She needed space, and just when she found herself lost, he would swoop in and conquer her, this ti for good.
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