I Need the True Ending to Graduate - Chapter 55

【 Sincerity 】

As soon as class ended, Lucia led him to the back of a building near the practice grounds, a place where no one’s eyes could reach.

The area behind the building was shrouded in deep shadow, dark even in the middle of the day.

Ruad’s heart pounded at the fact that Lucia had called him to such a dim, secret place.

It couldn’t be, of course, but the spot was perfect for avoiding people’s eyes—perfect for stealing a kiss. That alone made his heart race faster.

And on top of that, the thought that, after an entire week, he might finally have a real conversation with Lucia again made him almost dizzy with anticipation.

Lucia, who had been silently walking ahead, came to a stop. Ruad followed her and stopped as well.

“I’m sorry, but I think it’s time we stop pretending to be friends.”

That was what Lucia said as she turned her body and met his eyes.

Ruad froze as if struck in the back of the head. It was a sentence he had never even imagined hearing from her.

“…What?”

Unlike his stunned voice, Lucia’s expression remained completely calm.

“You don’t need to keep talking to me or acting like we’re real friends anymore. I don’t know if you’re doing it out of guilt or just because you want to keep playing around, but stop talking to me. I’ve had enough of spending time with you.”

“…I don’t understand what you’re saying, Lucy.”

Her words cut into him like knives, and Ruad, still unable to grasp the situation, could only respond weakly.

The foolish hope he’d held before coming here had long since shattered, and his voice trembled as it left his mouth.

“What do you mean, I don’t need to act like we’re real friends? And what do you mean by ‘spending time with me’? We’re friends. I’m your friend, Lucy…”

“Ruad. I know why you approached me.”

Lucia’s reply froze his expression instantly. A cold, sharp blade seemed to slice through his heart.

“You… know? You know about that?”

“Yes. You couldn’t accept that my grades were better than yours, so you approached me to find my weakness. Isn’t that right?”

“….”

Her firm, unwavering tone left no room for denial. Ruad inhaled sharply, his breath rough.

His head spun. In all his plans, he had never imagined that Lucia would one day find out about his original purpose—the purpose he had long since discarded. The shock hit him twice as hard.

For a completely different reason now, his heart started pounding wildly. His mouth went dry, and he bit his lip, feeling as though his heart might leap out of his chest.

Lucia glanced at him, then continued in an indifferent tone, as though she were talking about someone else’s affairs.

“There were others besides you who tried to get close to me to dig up my weaknesses. Or maybe they were just making bets about me.”

“…What kind of bets?”

“A bet on who could conquer me first and sleep with me.”

A cold, bitter smile tugged at Lucia’s lips as she said it.

It was the kind of smile that seemed to mock the fools who made such pathetic wagers, and at the same time, lament her own situation for having to be their target.

At that moment, Ruad’s blood ran cold.

The realization that someone had dared to insult Lucia like that made rage boil inside him. Yet at the same time, the fact that Lucia now saw him as no different from those people was unbearable.

Lucia, leaving the stunned Ruad behind, quietly spoke again, “I’ve gone along with your little friend act, did everything you wanted, and even spread my legs for you. So now, you don’t have to pretend to know me anymore.”

“….”

“You don’t need to feel guilty about deceiving me, and I don’t care if you go brag to your friends about how you managed to drag me into bed just a few days after becoming friends. Go ahead and boast that I was so infatuated with you that I spread my legs and my lips for you. Everyone’s already gossiping about me behind my back anyway, so adding one more story won’t change anything.”

“….”

“We’re done with each other now, so don’t talk to me again. Got it?”

Ruad didn’t answer. No, he couldn’t.

His mind was spinning from her sudden outburst, his legs trembling, his chest tight, and his breathing unsteady.

Lucia looked at him for a brief moment with eyes completely devoid of emotion, then turned to leave. She seemed to have nothing more to say.

Just as Lucia passed by him, Ruad grabbed her wrist.

Lucia stopped walking. His grip tightened around her wrist.

He took a shaky breath, then finally spoke. A dry, cracked voice, one he’d never heard from himself before, flowed out.

“…That’s not true.”

“….”

“It’s not what you think it is.”

Lucia silently watched Ruad, who had used every bit of his strength just to force those words out.

His face looked on the verge of tears as he continued, “I didn’t approach you to play with you. And I never made any bets about sleeping with you. I didn’t go after you because you were hard to get, either.”

“….”

“Even that night, and everything I said then… I meant it. All of it. I really did think of you as a friend, and it’s true that my feelings grew into something more. It’s all real, Lucy. I swear it.”

“Then why did you suddenly start being so nice to me? You didn’t even know I existed before that.”

At Lucia’s sharp question, Ruad fell silent.

Because she was right.

Before Lucia had surpassed him and taken the top spot in the entire class, Ruad hadn’t paid her the slightest bit of attention.

And the reason he had suddenly approached her, acting kind and friendly, was simple.

Because that was the only way she would open her heart to him.

That was the only way to get close enough to find her weakness and take back the top position.

It was something he could never say aloud, even if his lips tore apart trying.

Because it was the truth that contradicted everything he had just said.

When he stayed silent, Lucia let out a quiet, bitter laugh.

“See, Ruad? You did approach me to find my weakness and sleep with me. So what part of that was sincere?”

“Lucy, no… it’s not like that. It’s different from what you think.”

“Different? How?”

At her innocent question, Ruad felt like his insides were being crushed. He could feel how little she believed him.

Drowning in misery, Ruad finally confessed everything honestly, but with every word soaked in desperation.

“At first, it’s true that I approached you with that intention. I couldn’t accept losing the top rank. That’s why I came to you. But….”

“….”

“But as I spent more time with you, little by little, I started to like you. And when you said you liked me, I was genuinely happy. When we slept together, it wasn’t to brag to anyone or to win a bet. I did it because I liked you. It was my choice.”

“….”

“I was planning to confess to you after that. To make it official between us, to go on dates, to deal with the people who bothered you, and then….”

Ruad couldn’t finish his sentence.

The sweet dreamlike expectation shattered, and in that cold shadow with not a hint of sunlight, he felt pathetic confessing his feelings to the person he loved.

But that wasn’t the most miserable part.

After silently listening to his confession, Lucia gave a faint smile. The look in her eyes was distant.

“I see. So, without my knowing, the content of the bet about me must have changed.”

“That’s not what I meant…!”

Just as Ruad was about to open his mouth again to prove his sincerity, Lucia cut him off.

“I have eyes and ears, you know. I pretend not to see or hear, but I do. I see everything and hear everything. Including what you really think of me.”

“….”

“I know you asked the first-year students in your class about me, and that you dug up information behind my back. You even checked my grades, didn’t you?”

Ruad had no words to refute her. Everything she said was true. No one had impersonated him; those had been his own actions, carried out by his own will.

Lucia continued, “You even looked into my social circle in detail. Should I guess what kind of thoughts led you to approach me?”

The Lucia who once smiled innocently at him, her brown eyes gleaming, now performed a cruel imitation of her past self.

“She’s a friendless commoner, so if I’m a little nice to her, she’ll fall for me right away. Once she does, I’ll coax her into telling me how she managed to take first place. Finding her weakness will be easy.”

“Lucy….”

“Oh, and she’s so simple. Give her a little food, and she’ll wag her tail and smile. I can’t believe she fell for a cheap piece of chocolate like this. Commoners really are cost-effective. A little more effort and she’ll probably spread her legs too. Might as well have a taste while finding her weakness.”

“Stop… stop it, Lucy….”

Words that weren’t his, but at the same time were, flowed from Lucia’s lips.

Ruad couldn’t stand it anymore. He covered his distorted face with both hands. Hearing his own thoughts come out of her mouth was so unbearable he could hardly breathe.

Only Lucia remained calm. Even if he had truly approached her with those intentions, she didn’t seem even slightly hurt.

Ruad felt like he understood why.

Because Lucia had never cared for him. Because to her, he was no one.

Lucia had never been his friend. She had never loved him. She had never given her heart, and so she had never truly given her body.

That was why Lucia could stay so indifferent.