The Academy's Terminally Ill Side Character-Chapter 77: Proper Humiliation [2]

"You’ll only get dirtier by talking to her," Leo said, his voice sharp and cold.

"She’s not someone you should waste your breath on. Just pathetic."

Kiera’s shoulders stiffened like someone had jammed a knife straight into her spine.

It wasn’t just an insult—it was complete rejection.

As if even acknowledging her would somehow lower him.

As if she wasn’t even worth feeling angry at.

For a moment, she just stood there, frozen, her mouth slightly open like she was trying to say something—

—but no words came out.

She looked like she couldn’t even breathe properly.

Then, in a whisper so small I almost didn’t hear it from behind the fence, she said,

"...I’m not pathetic."

No one responded.

No one even looked at her.

The sharp-eyed girl just smirked and crossed her arms, turning away with a bored shrug.

Like Kiera’s pain was nothing more than background noise.

After a while, she looked back at Leo and said, half-laughing,

"But Leo, she’s annoying. There’s nothing special about her. No talent, no presence—nothing worth noticing."

Leo didn’t even glance in Kiera’s direction.

He just replied, casually, like he was talking about dirt on the road,

"Are you going to kick every annoying thing you see on the street? You’ll only dirty your shoes."

And with that—

the last fragile thread holding Kiera together snapped.

Tears started welling up, slipping down her cheeks faster than she could wipe them away.

Ah, she’s crying.

It wasn’t loud or messy.

It was that silent, helpless crying you do when your heart gives up but your pride still tries to stand.

It was understandable.

She wasn’t just being insulted—She was being discarded by the person she admired most.

Treated like trash, like she didn’t even deserve anger or hate.

Anyone would cry after that.

Then, the sharp-eyed girl snorted,

"Look at her," the sharp-eyed girl sneered. "Did we lay a finger on you? Did anyone even touch you? No, right? So why are you crying like some helpless brat?"

She stepped closer, her voice dripping with mockery.

"You had no problem running your mouth about others, did you? Spreading rumors, getting every idiot who liked you to do your dirty work, harassing people you didn’t even know. But now that you’re the one getting humiliated, you’re bawling like a kicked puppy?" ƒree𝑤ebnσvel.com

Leo, as expected, didn’t rush to defend Kiera.

He didn’t even frown.

He simply said, cool and detached,"Watch your language. At least insult her properly."

He didn’t deny a single word.

Just asked for a better choice of phrasing.

Classic Leo.

Sharp. Dispassionate. Ruthless.

The sharp-eyed girl chuckled, full of contempt, and tilted her head mockingly at Kiera.

"Honestly? I should be thanking you.

No matter what, I was going to make sure you stayed far away from Leo. But you? You made it easy."

She leaned in a little, twisting the knife with a cruel smile.

"You know what’s funny? Leo doesn’t just hate delinquents. He also hate girls like you the most. The ones who play with people’s hearts, stir up shit behind the scenes, and then whimper like victims when karma finally smacks them in the face."

Kiera visibly recoiled, each word cutting deeper than the last.

And me?

All I could do was stand there and watch.

Watch as she crumbled, crying quietly under the weight of it all—

—abandoned and crushed by the very people she worshipped.

Maybe she had it coming.

Maybe she didn’t.

But damn...

It was brutal.

Honestly, it felt kind of satisfying to see her like this.

I should probably feel bad, right?

As an adult (meantly), I should try to step in and stop the bullying. But the truth was, Kiera had made the last few days miserable for me.

She was annoying, overbearing, and downright infuriating at times. So at least this would be a wake-up call for her.

A reality check. Maybe she’d finally understand where she stood.

Kiera stood there, her eyes lifeless, her gaze fixed on Leo—like a believer staring up at a god.

Leo tilted his head slightly to the left, studying her as if he were a curious spectator watching a strange creature. He raised an eyebrow and looked at her with a detached calmness that only added to the tension.

"Hate?" Leo’s voice was casual, almost bored. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

There was a long pause.

For a moment, Kiera didn’t move. Her eyes locked with his, searching—no, desperately searching—his gaze for something, anything to hold on to.

Maybe a shred of kindness, or maybe an ounce of sympathy.

But what she found in his eyes wasn’t compassion. It wasn’t even indifference.

It was a deep, unshakable emptiness.

"Do you really think you’re even worth hating?" Leo’s words were sharp, cutting through the tension like a blade.

Kiera blinked, the words hitting her harder than any whip or insult ever could. Her mouth opened slightly, but nothing came out at first.

"Huh?" was all she managed to mutter.

And that’s when it hit me.

That’s the same line she said to me earlier today.

—Do you really think you’re even worth hating?

I could almost hear Kiera’s voice echoing in my mind. She had said it to me after our sparing match this afternoon.

I never expected Leo to use the exact same words on her.

And based on the shock spreading across Kiera’s face, she realized it too. Her eyes widened, her lips parted in disbelief, and for a brief moment, she seemed to stagger under the weight of those words.

The irony was palpable.

Leo had just used the exact line she’d said to me earlier, but there was a difference. The venom was gone. There was no fire in Leo’s words—just cold, indifferent clarity.

Kiera had tried to provoke me, tried to make me feel small, and now here she was, standing in front of Leo, receiving the same cruel question that had made her look at me with such disdain.

But what Leo said next didn’t give her any relief either.

"You’re not even worth the effort to hate," he added, his tone flat. "You’re just... insignificant."

Kiera’s face was frozen in shock. For a moment, I thought she might fall to her knees, but she didn’t. She stood there, staring at Leo as though she didn’t know how to process what had just happened.

I didn’t know what to feel. Was this karma? Was it just fate catching up with her?

But either way, Kiera was finally getting a taste of what she’d dished out to others—cold, indifferent rejection.