I Need the True Ending to Graduate - Chapter 34

“……?”

‘Why isn’t he hitting me? He was clearly about to…’

I blinked in puzzlement.

He was the type who constantly discriminated against commoners, spewing contempt and insults, taking pleasure in tormenting others.

There was no way such a person suddenly felt guilty about raising a hand against someone, nor that some dormant morality had awakened from the darkness to restrain him.

Then I realized.

The man’s gaze wasn’t on me, but beyond me.

In other words, he had stopped what he was about to do because he was startled by something he saw.

Looking closely, it wasn’t even really surprise. It was closer to deep embarrassment. Like someone caught red-handed doing something they absolutely shouldn’t, with no way to deny it.

‘There’s no way a professor would be mixed up in this mess…’

Just as I turned my head to check who it was that had shaken him, the person who had caused his embarrassment walked toward me.

“Ruad?”

“Hey, Lucy.”

Ruad greeted me with his usual warm smile. But beneath the curve of his smiling eyes, the blood-red pupils seemed strangely sunken.

Whether it was that he was forcing down an eruption of fury, or masking his emotions with a smile, his eyes were undeniably murderous.

For the first time, I thought Ruad was a little frightening.

“I was worried you wouldn’t show today, but I didn’t expect you’d be caught up in something like this. What happened?”

As he spoke, Ruad casually brushed away the hand clutching my collar.

The hand that had looked so firmly locked on me, with no intent of letting go, fell away as lightly as a leaf at his slight gesture.

And the other hand, the one that had been raised high to slap me, had already dropped quietly back down long ago.

I calmly straightened my rumpled clothes and answered without a hint of agitation, “I don’t know. On my way to the library, they called out to me and started picking a fight first.”

“When did I ever…!”

The man shouted, raising his voice in anger, but Ruad turned his head and glanced at him.

I couldn’t see Ruad’s expression, but judging by how the man bowed his head, lips clamped shut, trembling all over, it wasn’t anything pleasant.

After subduing him with nothing but a look, Ruad’s face softened again as he turned back to me.

“So? What happened after that?”

The question, though wrapped in a smile, radiated menace.

From the corner of my eye, I saw the man’s desperate gaze fixed on me. He was clearly begging me to speak well of him.

‘But how could I, when there’s nothing to soften?’

So I told Ruad everything exactly as it had happened.

How they had provoked me, saying I wasn’t answering a noble who called, how they claimed nobles and commoners were on different levels, how they told me to service them like I had a professor, and finally, how he had proposed a death match, saying he’d show me what a true wizard was.

“…And after that, he grabbed my collar, and when I declared I’d kill him, he lost his temper, said he’d fix my attitude, and raised his hand. That’s what you just walked in on.”

“I see. So that’s what happened, hm?”

Ruad’s smile deepened as he listened carefully to the whole story. The anger he felt only seemed to grow.

In contrast, the faces of the group who had so proudly incited the fight grew darker and darker.

Sweat poured down as they stole nervous glances at each other, watching Ruad’s mood. Even standing still, their unease was palpable.

I didn’t know why, but it was clear—they were terrified of Ruad.

‘Why…? …Is he just good at fighting? Or is it because he’s also a noble?’

As curiosity bubbled up inside me, Ruad didn’t even spare a glance at the frightened ones. Instead, he looked only at me and asked gently.

“No other injuries? Aside from being grabbed by the collar, nothing else happened?”

“Not really… Just that my clothes got a little wrinkled. Other than that…”

I paused for a moment, then recalled the physical contact.

“He poked my shoulder with his finger… And he lightly slapped my cheek. It didn’t hurt, but it was… humiliating.”

“Ah, so that’s why your cheek…”

Ruad let out a low sigh, then reached out his hand. His large hand softly cupped my cheek in an instant.

Then, right at the exact spot where that man had struck me, he gently stroked with his thumb.

The sudden closeness made me blink blankly up at him.

Though I had been fairly close with Ruad, this kind of direct contact was a first. It startled me a little, but at the same time, my heart pounded, and it didn’t feel bad. The closeness felt overwhelming, yet strangely not unpleasant, a complicated feeling.

Ruad, on the other hand, looked completely unaffected. Neither touching me nor stroking my cheek seemed to trouble him in the slightest.

It was the opposite of the look he had shown before, when he had draped his jacket over me while I napped and I had thanked him.

At last, his hand withdrew.

Just like then, he slipped off his jacket and draped it over my shoulders, saying, with the familiar cool yet faint rose scent enveloping me:

“Lucy. I think you should go into the library now.”

I asked, “Why? I’ve decided to fight him, and I haven’t repaid the insult yet. I don’t want to run away like this. No, I can’t leave like this.”

“This isn’t running away. I’m the one handling things here in your place.”

Ruad carefully adjusted the jacket on me and spoke calmly, persuading me.

“Don’t worry, Lucy. You don’t need to step in yourself. I’ll make sure to beat those bastards enough to satisfy you.”

“……”

“And besides, you have to present at the conference in two months. You’ll be busy preparing for that, so is there really any need to waste your time dealing with scum like them?”

“……”

Ruad’s reasoning was very tempting.

Even with two months left, with my pitiful knowledge, every minute was precious if I wanted to prepare for a conference presentation.

And judging from the reactions around us, leaving it to Ruad seemed far more efficient to break them half-dead than if I did it myself.

But at the same time, it also made me wonder.

“Then why are you fighting in my place?”

It was a simple question, but Ruad’s expression hardened as if I had hit a nerve.

I went on, “They picked a fight with me and insulted me. They didn’t insult you. You don’t really have a reason to get involved.”

“……”

“This has nothing to do with you.”

“No. It does, Lucy.”

Ruad, for once, spoke with a completely serious face, without a trace of a smile. He was deadly earnest.

“Insulting you is the same as insulting me. If your honor and dignity are dirtied, it’s as if mine are dirtied too.”

“Ruad. You’re Ruad Rochef, and I’m Lucia Even. You and I are not the same.”

“Maybe not to you. But to me, yes.”

When I pointed out that he was equating me with himself, insisting we weren’t the same person, that was his reply.

“Lucy, you don’t have to see me as the same as you. You don’t have to step in if I’m insulted. But to me, you are the same as me. Lucia Even is the same as me, Ruad Rochef. I can’t stand by and watch those bastards spew that kind of filth at you. Especially not when you try to step in yourself.”

“……”

“And did you forget? I told you, if you were ever in danger or needed help, you only had to tell me, and I’d always help you.”

“……”

“So leave this to me, Lucy. I have plenty of time, and I can deal with those bastards more cleanly than anything you could want or imagine.”

In the end, I decided to give up trying to persuade him.

The fact that he was even quoting what he had said the first time we met, and the way his red eyes flashed with unshakable determination, made it clear he wasn’t going to listen to a single word I said.

I couldn’t tell why the Ruad who normally hovered around me like a loyal puppy, always reading quietly at my side, was suddenly acting this way, but for now, I thought it best to step back.

“…Fine. If you insist that much, I’ll leave it to you. I’ll be at my usual seat, so don’t take too long.”

“Don’t worry. It won’t take long. I’ll be there soon.”

Ruad relaxed his stiff expression and smiled brightly.

Unlike the forced smile he had worn earlier to suppress his killing intent, this smile wasn’t much different from the one he usually showed me.

I nodded at him, then turned and walked with confidence.

The wall of bodies that had surrounded me so tightly, as if they would never let me through, parted to the sides like the Red Sea the moment I stepped forward.

The ones who had laughed and mocked me with glee now stood frozen in place, their faces no longer the least bit amused.

Naturally, I passed through them and entered the library.

Whether they were troubled or unhappy didn’t matter to me.

‘But… how did Ruad know that I was going to present at the conference?’