Chapter 46: Suspicious
Lima put down her pen and looked at the young man sitting across from her. "Can you drink that tea without making so much noise?"
"Haha, sorry. My bad." Zac laughed and took another sip. Lima shook her head. "I still can’t believe that one of the most dangerous people in the world is your relative."
"Not by blood, but yeah, close enough. Though considering who my father is, I guess it shouldn’t be that surprising."
"Couldn’t argue with that."
The room fell silent for a moment. "So," she finally said, "when are you leaving for the Central City?"
"Are you asking this because you’re going to miss me, or is it because you’re relieved that you’re finally getting rid of me?"
"Nether."
Zac blinked. "Then why bother asking?"
"Because I wanted to know."
"Tomorrow early in the morning. But don’t worry. I’ll still call you every day and check up on you."
Lima immediately frowned. "You’re not planning to leave me alone, are you?"
"Do you really have no feelings for me at all?"
"No," she answered without hesitation.
"Fine." Lima raised an eyebrow. "For the past few days, I’ve probably been the most annoying person in your life."
"But I’m leaving tomorrow." He looked out the window. "And honestly, since my family is also moving in a month, I might never come back, so the chances of us meeting again are also pretty slim."
Zac stood up. "So don’t worry. I won’t call you anymore or bother you in any way," with a faint smile on his face he said. "Goodbye, Lima."
He turned and walked out.
Lima remained frozen in her seat. For some reason, her chest felt tighter with an uncomfortable ache spreading through her heart.
"Why do I feel sad from hearing it? It wasn’t like I loved him or anything. Right? Then why did it feel like something important had just left me?"
Without realizing it, her eyes became slightly red with a layer of tears forming in them.
’Knock. Knock.’
Lima quickly wiped her eyes and steadied her composure. "Come in."
The door slowly opened, and a familiar head peeked inside.
"Hi."
Seeing Zac again, Lima didn’t know whether to laugh or throw something at him.
"Did you leave something?"
"Yeah! My heart."
[Huuuugkkkh! Huuuugkkkh!] The system made a vomiting sound from hearing it.
Zac looked at her carefully.
"Did you cry?"
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
"Your eyes are a little red."
"Really? Probably just some dust." She answered before he could finish.
[Just for how many years they are gonna use the same excuse. Why not think a different one?]
"What would you suggest?"
[Something like, I was writing so fast, my pen’s nib broke and poked my eyes.]
("...")
"Anyway," Zac continued, "I know you have feelings for me."
Lima instantly tried to deny it, but Zac stopped her from speaking. "Before you start lying, hear me out."
"I know you have feelings for me. To tell you the truth, it’s not just you. Even I can’t say for sure whether what I’m feeling is love, a crush, or simply infatuation. The only difference between us is that I’m honest about it, while you’re too afraid to admit it."
"Maybe you’ve never experienced romance before, or maybe you’re just bad at expressing your emotions."
"Anyway, don’t worry. I’ll keep calling you every single day just to annoy you. And when you truly feel that I’ve become a real nuisance, you can simply stop answering my calls."
Lima stared at him for a brief moment before sighing away. "Let’s stop talking about my problems and start talking about yours."
The smile on Zac’s face disappeared. "What problems?"
"The Ritchie Family."
[Once again, talk about a mood killer.]
"What about them?"
"You think deleting the recordings solved everything? The remains of Peter and Lily were found three days ago."
"Their bodies were heavily disfigured and partially eaten by monsters. The authorities could only confirm their identities after an autopsy."
"By now they should have seen the results, and it won’t take long for the Ritchie family to connect the dots."
Lima looked directly into his eyes. "When they get to know about the conflicts between you and Peter, they will surely come after you."
"And judging by their behavior over the last few years, they won’t bother with a proper investigation. They’ll simply decide you’re responsible for it and start making plans for you and your family.
"I did my best to hide your last name so that they can’t use it against you by exposing it, but still, you have to be careful.
A dangerous glint appeared in Zac’s eyes with his body trembling from anger.
"Getting angry won’t solve anything." She leaned forward. "What you should be worried about is reaching Central City safely."
"Once you’re inside the city, they won’t be able to touch you unofficially. Plus, being a student from the top five academy will give you an invincible protective shield."
"But during the journey? You need to stay careful and cautious."
"And my family?"
"Don’t worry, for the next one month they will be in my care."
A smile immediately appeared on Zac’s face. "Taking care of your future in-laws already?"
"Weren’t you angry a moment ago? How can you crack a joke all of a sudden?"
[A mood killer and a mood swinger. Is this what they call match made in heaven?]
"I’m trying really hard not to strangle you right now."
Zac grinned.
"Careful. It’d be tragic if you became a widow before we even started dating."
"And before I leave, do I get a goodbye kiss?"
Lima slowly rose from her chair and walked toward him until only a few inches separated them.
Zac’s heartbeat immediately sped up. "Ahh...L-Lima?"
"Zac."
"Yeah...?"
"Do you know how many toilets there are in New Dawn Academy?"
"...Why?"
"Because if you’re late, Vice Principal Armani is going to make you clean every single one of them."
The color instantly drained from Zac’s face. "You really know how to ruin a moment." He spun toward the door, then stopped halfway and looked back.
"I love you!"
Bang!
The door slammed shut behind him, and silence settled over the office once more. A few seconds later, the corner of Lima’s lips curved upward into a faint smile.
***
Inside a massive mansion surrounded by acres of land, Thomas Ritchie, the patriarch of the Ritchie family, slowly walked through a beautifully maintained garden.
He appeared to be in his late fifties, yet his posture remained straight and imposing.
A middle-aged man with similar facial features hurried toward him.
"Did you find something?" Thomas asked.
"Yes, Brother." The man took a deep breath before continuing. "Peter had conflicts with many people, but recently he had a serious dispute with a student named Zac."
"What happened?"
"It seems Peter developed an interest in the boy’s girlfriend." He nodded in understanding. "I see. What did Peter do?"
"He charmed the girl, cheated behind the boy’s back, and poisoned his mother." The man continued walking as if he had heard something ordinary.
"Did you find who the boy is?"
"Yes, his name is Zac, but his last name is unknown. He participated in the entrance examination alongside Peter. He lives with his mother and younger sister, and his father has been missing for years."
"During the ceremony, he awakened an E-Rank Potential."
Thomas raised an eyebrow. "An E-rank? Leave him be; with that potential, he couldn’t have done anything to Peter."
The younger brother hesitated again. "But there’s something unusual."
"What?"
"He was the number one scorer in the entire entrance examination."
The older man’s eyes narrowed. "What?"
"That’s what surprised me too."
"How does someone with E-rank potential become the top scorer?"
The younger man shook his head. "Maybe there was a problem during the awakening ceremony."
"Hmm." Thomas fell into thought. After a few moments, he asked another question. "Did you review the examination recordings?"
"I did."
"And?"
"Nearly two and a half hours of footage are missing from his recordings."
"Missing? That’s highly unusual."
"But since Peter’s VSB was also destroyed, we can’t prove he was the one responsible."
Thomas Ritchie stopped walking.
His eyes became cold.
"Proof? Who said anything about proof?"
"He is a nobody with no family background or influence, no one would care whether he lives or dies, and anyone who becomes even the slightest suspect in my son’s death will have to pay the price."
"But Brother, he’s the top scorer of the examination. If something happens to him, it could attract attention."
"I don’t care! Do you remember where we came from? The highest talent our bloodline had ever produced was merely B-Rank. We were just average variants, nothing but extras in the eyes of those powerful families."
Thomas’s eyes drifted toward the mansion behind him. "But everything changed when my eldest son, Mark, awakened S-rank potential."
"One S-rank talent. Just one, and suddenly the entire world treated us differently. Business expanded, influence grew, and our family rose above everyone around us."
"Now think what would have happened with an A-ranker added to that. He would have become another pillar supporting our family’s future."
Thomas slowly clenched his fists. "But now he’s dead. My wife was devastated and hasn’t left her room since his death."
"She cries day and night. If this continues...I’m afraid she’ll follow our son."
"So I don’t care about evidence or investigations. I don’t care if he is guilty or innocent. If there is even the slightest chance he is involved...then he has to die."
"We have to show the world what happens if you mess with the Ritchie family."
"I understand, Brother." The younger brother turned to leave.
"Wait."
"Inform Mark about this."
"And don’t use our own people. Hire outside killers. If this fails, I don’t want it leading back to the family."
"I understand." With that said, he quickly left.
Once he was gone, Thomas stood alone in the garden and looked up at the sky.
"Don’t worry, Peter. Your father will soon send the one responsible to accompany you."
