CHAPTER_12 Act 1

"Why didn't you confess your sins sooner, Mr. Arios? Haven't you cared for Ms. Hollows?" I said.

"I care about her, so that's why I'm here, Mr. President," Mr. Arios replied to me.

"Why now? Let me guess, don't you have a plan or something?"

"Plan, you say?"

"Don't try to play fool, Mr. Arios. I know what your intentions are."

"If you are aware, why didn't you tell them ahead? Besides, you know that expelling Lisa puts your life in danger, but still..."

"That's a small price to pay. My life is meaningless anyway."

"...What do you mean by that?" He asked.

In recent years, I've felt hollow and empty, working and serving everyone as their President with a mask on. Nobody cares about my life; they only value my position.

Regardless, since 'that' day, I don't even appreciate my life anymore. I'd done my best not to bring up my past, but the only person who knew about it was Ms. Zei Wyte, which puts me on edge.

"You don't need to know. Anyway, I'm just waiting for you to act up, Mr. Arios," I continued.

"Me?"

"Can I ask you a question? Do you really love Ms. Hollows?"

"...Why do you ask all of a sudden? That's not even worth mentioning," he says, slightly bothered by it.

"You see, that's a simple question, yet you refused to respond, so why is that?"

"Don't make any wild thoughts, Mr. President."

"Alright, let me state one thing: you murdered a member of your own football team because of Ms. Lisa Hollows, right? And you do believe you can protect her?"

"Stop talking nonsense."

He appears enraged.

Generally, most students have high respect for all members of the Student Council. But right now, his manner changed drastically.

"Because of your greed, you wanted to get rid of Mr. Flavin," I added.

"That's... not it... You're wrong..."

"You've come here not because you are in love with Ms. Hollows, but because you are obsessed with her, am I right? That's why you're here, ready to throw away everything you have."

"Shut up!" He yelled.

"You see, Mr. Arios, that's a peculiar kind of love you've got there."

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"..." He remained mute. I'm not sure what's on his head right now, but I need to keep up the pressure on him.

"In fact, you were involved in the recent case about Ms. Hunt--"

Instantly, he grabbed my neck, and to my surprise, he was holding the knife from what I had personally prepared for him along with Ms. Steward's cakes.

He was probably planning to kill me from the start.

"How did you come to know all of that without doing anything, Mr. President?" He said while seriously staring at me.

"Threatening someone's life is a crime, Mr. Arios. Why don't you calm down?"

Unexpectedly, even if we were alone in this room, I am calm in this situation.

"Silence!" He yells at me, tightening his grip on my neck. "This is a perfect opportunity to kill you, Mr. Reginald, but I can't right now."

Those words caught my attention. Based on what he has said, he was plotting something from within.

Perhaps...

"A person tells you to do this, no? It's definitely not Ms. Hollows. Then, who is it?" I asked.

"Why should I say anything to you?"

Without hesitation, the name that comes to my mind is...

"Is this Ms. Frestia's doing?"

With that, he easily caught off guard.

"..."

He still appears quiet and tries not to give any hints after I state that name. However, that silent reaction means he knows something about Ms. Frestia. Still, the possibility is low since Ms. Hollows was a friend of Ms. Frestia, and maybe Mr. Arios just only knew her name.

"Why are you silent, Mr. Arios? Did you know something about her?" I said.

"How come you picked her out of all people?"

"It is just a wild guess."

"I highly doubt that," he said, slightly piercing the knife into me.

When it comes to Ms. Frestia, it appears that Mr. Arios is uncomfortable discussing her.

Notably, he didn't help Ms. Hollows in finding Ms. Frestia. Furthermore, I had information that he secretly went to her; though it's still just speculation.

"Again, you were so obsessed with Ms. Hollows that you tried to kill Ms. Frestia, right? She was aware and tells me before she leaves the school, and she even gave me a favor that I keep an eye on you."

"I see. That explains everything," he mumbles.

Later on, Hiram Frestia warned me about my imminent death. And that's the case right now. She also indicated that she and Mr. Arios had an agreement. That is, Mr. Arios provides information about contacting other schools, which Ms. Frestia didn't explicitly explain. In exchange, Ms. Frestia will leave him be in order to make space and time for both Mr. Arios and Ms. Hollows.

Ms. Frestia probably favors the whole situation because she's planning something, and it's up to me to figure out what it is.

Fortunately, I know where she went since it is required to write it down and notify me and the Principal before leaving the school.

"I can't give you what you want. You're too late, Mr. Arios." I tightly grasped his wrist and twisted his arm to attempt to release the sharp knife he was holding.

But he further resist, saying, "Again, Mr. President, I'm asking you to--"

"There's nothing I can do. Didn't you recently go to Ms. Frestia for help? Why didn't you tell Ms. Hollows you knew where Ms. Frestia was?"

In terms of strength, I can tell he was on same level with me, but something was off here. And so I grab a book from my back and hurl it at him. He instantly reacted, so I took the chance to grab and break his other arm. With that opportunity, I pinned him down.

"Your love is obesession; and in some ways, we are the same. But I'm more calculating than you, Mr. Arios."

"Get off of me!" He shouted.

However, I'm skeptical how he responded to my provocation.

"On Ms. Hunt's case, didn't you plan to trick Ms. Hunt?" I asked curiously.

Our conversation immediately stops at that point. However to my amazement, his reaction abruptly shifted. "No, you have been wrong the whole time, Mr. President," he laughs.

"What?"

"I am not obsessed with Ms. Hollows; I am simply carrying out orders."

"What do you mean?"

Wait... This is not what I was expecting. Am I being duped?

"I am not here to explain things. All I can say is that she wants you, Mr. President."

"...Me? Tell me more about it."

"..."

He was just silent, so I am certain he will not talk it out even if I force him to.

"All right, then why are you here?" I said.

"She's right about you. I guess I'll go with the plan. I'm just here to deliver this message from someone: "If you want to be saved, follow me," he said emphatically.

"From whom is it?" I asked.

"From Ms. Frestia."