The Academy's Terminally Ill Side Character-Chapter 78: Outcast [1]

"Leo, come on," the sharped-eyed girl exclaimed, casting one final look back at Kiera, who was silently crying on the floor. She then turned to Leo, evidently believing this was done with.

Now that Kiera had received her due, it was time to depart.

However, it appeared that Leo had other ideas.

"You guys go on ahead," he replied nonchalantly.

"Huh? Why?" she questioned, furrowing her brow. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

"I still have something to say," Leo said, his voice steady but unyielding.

The sharp-eyed girl gazed at Kiera once more, confusion dancing across her face.

’What else does he have to say to her?’ she thought silently before she turned back to Leo.

"Then we’ll stay—"

"Just go," Leo broke in, interrupting her without hesitation.

The sharp-eyed girl’s frown grew deeper, but she knew better than to cross Leo.

Yelling back would just make things worse.

"Okay. Just meet us at the restaurant after you’re finished. Don’t be too long," she grumbled.

"Hmm," Leo replied with a slight, uncaring nod.

Thus, Leo’s teammates at last departed, walking away in the distance without so much as a glance over their shoulders.

In the meantime, I remained lurking awkwardly by the fence, sticking my head through holes like a voyeur observer.

What on earth else could he possibly have to say to her?

Hadn’t he already destroyed her enough?

Was he going to humiliate her further?

Whatever it was, it wasn’t my business to interfere.

Other than, Ryen would likely go check on her tomorrow morning after hearing what went down.

Content that it wasn’t my business, I turned around to quietly make an exit.

But then—

"Are you leaving?"

Leo’s voice pierced the quiet air.

I stopped in my tracks.

He wasn’t. addressing me, was he?

Grudgingly, I slowly turned my head.

Leo was staring directly at me, his face a mask.

How did he even know I was here, that is?

"I told you beforehand," he said with a small smile playing on his lips. "You’re awful at keeping your presence a secret. You can’t deceive me."

Damnit.

I got caught red-handed.

I shifted uncomfortably, stepping out from the fence’s cover like a kid who got caught swiping snacks.

Kiera looked up at me too.

Her eyes—God, her eyes—they weren’t mad.

They weren’t even sad.

They were just. hollow.

Totaally hollow, as if someone had extinguished the final candle within her.

Leo didn’t even look at her. He kept his eyes solidly on me.

"I don’t like useless things," he said, his voice solid and cold. "But those I recognize—I think they deserve their rightful place. And their rightful power."

He paused for a second, as if to ensure I got it.

"At least, they shouldn’t be insulted by those who don’t know their place."

The words hung in the air.

I didn’t have any idea what to say.

I didn’t even know how to feel.

But despite all the strangeness and heartlessness of this moment, I could tell Leo wasn’t doing it for himself.

He was doing it for me.

He was. defending me.

Even if it was done in the most Leo manner possible.

But seriously?

I hadn’t requested any of it.

If I needed to teach Kiera a lesson, I would have done it myself—just like I had already done earlier in the sparring match.

I folded my arms and glared at Leo, my voice full of sarcasm.

"So what, am I supposed to be thankful now? To the great Leo Taylor?"

For a fleeting moment, his eye flickered.

He obviously wasn’t prepared for that amount of attitude.

But he covered it up fast, shaking his head slowly.

"No. I’m just clarifying the situation," he said calmly. "And don’t get it twisted. I didn’t fill in for you. My teammates gave her the leash because she was complaining—saying she’d show everyone she was better than you in a week."

I arched an eyebrow. "So you’re telling me this isn’t your fault?"

Leo shrugged. "Not exactly. It’s still my team. If they cause a problem, I own part of it."

The way he said it, so calm and unapologetic, almost made it sound like he was doing me a favor just by admitting that much.

Man, he really didn’t give an inch.

"You’re not making it easy to like you, you know that?" I muttered.

Leo smirked, a glint of amusement in his eyes.

"Good. Being popular with everybody is a waste of time.Apart from that, individuals who get angry over flies flying around them are worse than the flies themselves."

I exhaled a brief breath. Half-scoff, half-laugh.

Honestly, I wasn’t feeling sympathetic towards Kiera at all.

She was the one who started this fight. She was the one who got greedy.

Not satisfied with being the president of Leo’s unofficial fan club, she attempted to ascend higher—to be nearer to him—and it blew up in her face.

And now?

She was paying the cost for it.

Leo said nothing more after that.

He simply regarded me for a moment, like he was verifying whether I grasped—or perhaps determining if it was even worth it to explain anymore.

Then he turned his back on me, his hands laconically tucked into his pockets.

"Don’t waste your time pitying people who dig their own graves," he said over his shoulder. "Think about yourself. That’s all that counts."

With that, he began walking away, his form vanishing down the path his teammates had walked earlier.

I stood there for a moment, watching him leave.

Tch.

What a guy.

He threw people into the fire and then told them not to get burned.

When I looked back at Kiera, she was still on the ground, her knees hugged to her chest, her face buried.

She wasn’t sobbing openly or anything. It was that quiet, nasty type of crying—the type where you knew pride was struggling against sadness, and losing miserably.

For an instant, I felt. something.

Not sympathy.

Perhaps just a little pity.

But it didn’t last long.

She had this coming to her.

I also turned and walked away from her, under the darkening sky, leaving her alone with her broken pride.

Tomorrow wasn’t going to be easy for her.

And for real?

That wasn’t my concern.