.  Raising my head, I uttered, “Oh, he just told me that he would make me see you. Anyway, now that we’ve met, it’s okay.”


  “Are you sure he didn’t do anything harmful?” asked Ruda as if she didn’t feel relieved yet. Scratching my cheek in embarrassment, I murmured, “Um, well… except that he spoke a little bluntly though…”


  I heard that I was an idiot; that was all. As soon as I said those words, Ruda quickly turned her head to scowl at Lucas. A brutal, beast-like spirit struck Lucas; however, he was just smiling leisurely that I realized he was indeed the one who took the same successor training with Ruda.

  Lucas asked with a grin, “Do you have time to waste the moment like this? You should just finish what you have to say.”


  “… Shoot!”


  “I’m not gonna here your chitchats, so take some time to talk.”


  With that being said, Lucas took out his laptop and began to type on the keyboard. ‘Is he trying to play something like Minesweeper?’ I wondered while staring at him doubtfully, then I switched my gaze back to Ruda.

  It was true that we didn’t have much time. Having that in mind, the inside of my head was all messed up. I barely opened my mouth and said, “Ruda, first, it’s about our class.”


  “Uh-huh.”


  “The kids miss you so much.”


  Ruda smiled gently. That slight grin was enough to compensate with the time I spent last night. I met Lucas, sneaked out of my house, ran into the club, got involved in all kinds of happenings, and was caught by the men in black. Her little smile made me feel rewarded for all those troubles that took place last night.

  I continued stammeringly, “So am I, of course. Last time, when Yeo Ryung and I left you like that, we felt a little weird, and then you really didn’t show up at school, so…”


  “Uh-huh,” Ruda nodded her head smoothly.

  “Particularly, Yeo Ryung felt quite sorry for you. She can’t stand owing anybody anything, and so do I.” Giving a pause, I soon kept on speaking, “Oh, I’m not saying that I hate owing somebody something. I wanted to thank you in person and, above all, missed you so much.”


  Speaking that way, I suddenly felt a gaze, so I raised my head and became slightly bewildered. Ruda’s blue eyes radiated with the most joyful light that I had ever seen. It didn’t seem to belong to a person who should be confined in this room now and for many years to come.

  I was suddenly moved to tears. It seemed like I was the prince, who climbed up the window, to meet Rapunzel, and now I had to let her go.

  I was so close to tears, at last, that I began to further my words without context. Nodding quietly, Ruda brought some tissues and sat in front of me.

  She wiped out my tears kindly during the whole conversation, which made my heart bleed even more. The person who should be crying right now was Yi Ruda, not me. Why was I making her concerned? Geez…


  That was when Lucas, who was working with his laptop, opened his mouth out of the blue.

  “Let’s go. It’s about time to get up.”


  “Oh…”


  I looked at Ruda with heartfelt frustration. Unexpectedly, Ruda didn’t look that sad at all. Flaunting a grin, she waved her hand delightfully.

  “I was glad to see you. Take care, bye.”


  At that moment, Lucas’ blunt remark perplexed me, “Take care, bye?? What the heck?! You get ready too.” Looking at Ruda, Lucas smiled naughtily and said, “You’re also going with us.”


  There was silence for a while. Ruda then broke the ice, “… What are you talking about?” A slight resentment was ingrained within her voice.

  ‘Resentment?’ I wondered. Considering what Ruda had done to Lucas in the past, it was Lucas who should blame Ruda; however, Lucas was talking about rescuing Ruda from this place. While I was lost in thought, Ruda flung another question from beside me.

  “What do you mean by that? Lucas, you hate me, don’t you?”


  “What?”


  “You might have blamed me for the last decade, but how can you say that you’re gonna get me out of here all of a sudden?”


  Luda’s following words made me gape at her while thinking, ‘What the hell is going on here?’


  “You never trusted my words that it wasn’t me who attacked you that night.”


  “Ruda,” Lucas called her name in a low voice.

  “That’s why I became the successor, the position that I never ever wanted. It’s because of you, hyeong. Do you get it? Because you didn’t believe my words at all…! Because you told the fact to Yi Jenny!”


  “Ruda, hold on.”


  Lucas sounded the softest that I had ever heard from him. Listening to his gentle voice, I thought I could believe for the first time that they might have been quite close back then.

  Shaking his head, Ruda shouted, “Hold on for what? You never trusted me in the first place, and now you’re saying that you’re gonna get me out of here? I don’t need your damn help!”


  “Come on, Ruda. Hold on for a sec, and listen to…”


  “Get the fu*k out of here!”


  As if he was trying to throw something in Lucas’ direction, Ruda glanced around then soon spread a look of frustration on his face. Inside the room, nothing solid existed maybe because Yi Jenny was concerned that Ruda might attempt suicidal actions.

  Still being empty-handed, Ruda scowled at Lucas and made desperate efforts. The wrath in her voice didn’t sound as if it grew within her for just one or two days, so I trembled in fear wordlessly.

  “How could you trust that? You said someone stabbed you in the darkness, which means you would have not seen who it was. It could have been someone else who dressed like me!”


  Ruda gasped while biting her lips.

  “But you believed that it was me who stabbed you. You never even asked me about it but just dashed into Yi Jenny and ratted on me…”


  “Hold on, and just listen to me for a sec!”


  Lucas quickly intervened. Gasping in fury, Ruda kept his scowl at Lucas and asked, “For what?”


  My eyes opened roundly at Lucas’ following remark. Rubbing his flank, Lucas slowly detached his lips, “I know that it wasn’t you who made this scar.”


  Ruda didn’t seem to trust his words, blurting, “After all this time?” Her sneering face then turned stiff after Lucas’ confession.

  “That’s because the person who made this scar is none other than me.”


  The situation was entering a new phase.

  This time, it was Lucas who broke the ice. Throwing a glance at his laptop nervously, Lucas continued, “By the way, we don’t have any time for this. Ruda, we should go to the rooftop ASAP.”


  Oh… that was when I recalled the existence of Ban Yeo Ryung and Jooin, who headed to the rooftop. I was feeling anxious since we had been out of touch. If Lucas planned to help Ruda escape from this place from the beginning, everything then made sense.

  Lucas sent Ban Yeo Ryung and Woo Jooin to the rooftop first on purpose, so that we could join them afterward.

  ‘I mean, still, what’s going on?’ I observed the situation with uncertainty.

  “What the hell are you talking about?”


  “Ruda, I told you we have no time for this. If we don’t leave ASAP…”


  With reddened eyes, Ruda shook her head and replied, “No, I should hear what you’re thinking about first. What was all the time that I had to spent over the years?”


  “Ruda…”


  “Tell me! Why did I have to become Yi Jenny’s only successor from what you did to yourself? Why was I forced to become a ruthless human weapon? And I… I thought you abandoned me…”


  Tears ran down from Ruda’s eyes again.

  While I stared at the sight holding my breath, Ruda raised her other hand, which wasn’t seizing Lucas by the collar, to wipe out her tears.

  “Huh? Why? For what reason did I…”


  Lucas gazed at Yi Ruda with a complicated look. After a while, he detached his lips.

  “I was aware that you didn’t want the successor position. Of course, I did since you always mentioned it.”


  “So?”