The Lie About Seeing Within -2-
"Throw it out."
Ruin said it in a voice thick with irritation. His tone, like a lion growling as it suppressed its rage bite by bite, held no consideration for others. He was just gnashing his teeth to vent his displeasure, simultaneously channeling his anger over the rejection of the gift he'd prepared.
To no one else but Ricardo, of all people. Ruin had never liked Ricardo from way back. It pissed him off that a nobody was stronger than everyone else, that he lacked any sense of decorum in duels yet reaped the winner's privileges. Above all, what grated on him most was how close Ricardo was to Yuria.
He couldn't explain why. He didn't know why he was so fixated on Yuria. But whenever he saw Ricardo hanging around her, it turned his stomach like he'd been staring at food waste right in front of his face.
Watching Ricardo eat with Yuria twisted his guts. Seeing her smile at that guy made his blood boil. He hadn't felt this way before getting close to her...
Ruin couldn't understand Yuria. After all the bullying she'd suffered from Ricardo, how could she just accept his gift? There were witnesses to prove his misdeeds. She'd experienced it firsthand. Why was she still in contact with that bastard? That was one of his burning questions.
And the dress Ricardo had given her had to be incomparably trashier than the one he'd gifted her. The fabric quality. The color. From top to bottom, it was bound to be inferior to his, Ruin was certain.
Ricardo was a beggar, after all. The rumors said he'd racked up a massive million-gold debt from black magic fines, leaving him financially strapped. A guy who served cheap green tea wouldn't have splurged on a dress for Yuria, Ruin was convinced.
So he couldn't fathom Yuria's refusal.
Ruin stared at Yuria's frozen expression. Her face, filled with doubt as if she'd misheard, brimmed with worry.
In a trembling voice, Yuria asked Ruin, What did you say?
"What?"
Ruin kindly recited his thoughts to her. He figured she must be thinking the same thing. Yuria had probably only accepted Ricardo's gift out of obligation. She was soft-hearted like that. He believed she couldn't bring herself to reject Ricardo's feelings. Whenever Ricardo's name came up, she always made that displeased face, so he was sure they shared the same sentiment.
Thinking he was speaking for her heart, Ruin slowly opened his mouth.
"The dress Ricardo gave you. Throw it out, Yuria."
Ruin extended the paper bag toward her again.
"You don't know what that creep did to it. Why would you even take something like that?"
Ruin said it kindly, smiling with his eyes. Knowing her heart, he told her gently not to feel burdened—just toss it. But to Yuria's ears, his words sounded utterly ridiculous.
"No..."
Who the hell are you to tell me what to do? That's the negative emotion that surged up. They weren't even that close. Just friends, yet here he was, being so pushy. It made Yuria angry.
"What kind of thing is that to say?"
Yuria raised her voice a bit toward Ruin. His overbearing tone rubbed her the wrong way. More than that, she couldn't tolerate him dismissing Ricardo's gift.
"Ruin. Even between friends, there are things you say and things you don't. I'm grateful you thought of me and gave me a gift, but telling me to throw out someone else's present isn't polite, is it?"
"Yuria."
"Think about it. How would you feel if it were you? Ricardo might have given it with the exact same feelings you have. Aren't you judging him too harshly?"
Ruin replayed her words in his mind and clenched his fist tight.
"The exact same feelings...?"
That single phrase—"the exact same feelings"—made veins bulge menacingly on his knuckles.
It was profoundly unpleasant. What kind of feelings did I pick that gift with? Thinking of Yuria's happy face while I chose it. And you say it's the same as that smug bastard's? It infuriated him.
Swallowing his rising anger, Ruin said to Yuria,
"Yuria. Do you trust Ricardo?"
"What?"
"Think about it. How many times has that guy betrayed you and hurt you? And you're gonna trust him again?"
"..."
"I'm right, aren't I?"
"No. Ricardo and I have made up, and we're starting over from the beginning..."
"From the beginning? You think that guy's changed? Don't you remember? At the academy, he and Olivia bullied you into isolation?"
"...Stop."
"You think that's all? He put thumbtacks in your shoe locker, wrote curses on your desk—you know it was him."
"I know. So stop."
At Ruin's needling remarks, Yuria clenched her fists and bowed her head. Confronting him face-to-face with anger wasn't her style. And his words, all too true, made it hard for her to lift her head.
He wasn't wrong. She'd tried to forget, but Ricardo was the perpetrator, and she the victim. They were like oil and water—impossible to mix.
But.
"I know. So just stop."
Ruin was no different. When she'd been bullied, he'd ignored it, sitting at his desk watching with idle curiosity like it was a show. Now he acted all righteous? It grated on her. Maybe the bystander Ruin was even worse.
Horrific memories flashed through Yuria's mind like a montage. The day she'd opened the classroom door and filth poured down from above. Ruin had been propping his chin on his hand at his desk that day. He could've stopped it, said just one word to make them quit. But he'd said nothing, just watched like it was an amusing toy.
And who are you to judge?
If they hadn't been paired for a project, if she hadn't had healing talent, Ruin never would've approached her.
As the whirlwind of the past raged in her head, Yuria gripped her fists tighter and said in a trembling voice,
"Then what were you doing?"
"...What?"
"When I was getting bullied, what were you doing?"
"I helped you."
"No! Not now—back when Ricardo was around! Before we got close, you did the exact same thing as those guys."
"No. I never did anything."
"Liar. You just watched."
A crack began to form in their relationship. A gift meant in good faith was losing its meaning due to someone's blame. A single word spat from a sense of superiority became an arrow, ripping open deeply buried wounds.
Yuria hadn't wanted to say any of this. She'd harbored resentment toward Ruin deep down, but they were good friends now. They'd leaned on each other in tough times, shared stories to overcome hardships. She'd tried to bury it all in her heart.
But seeing Ruin so shamelessly claim he was innocent snapped the thin thread of her reason.
"You just watched back then... You have no right to judge Ricardo, do you?"
"Yuria."
"No matter how much you hate Ricardo...! It's you who hates him, not me!"
"Yuria!"
"Ruin. You...! You don't have the right to say that!"
Ruin hardened his expression coldly and said to her,
"I'm different."
"..."
"I'm the one who truly sees you."
"..."
"I didn't approach you just for your looks or your magic like that guy did."
"What's different? To me, you're all the same! You just stood by and watched...!"
"That was because we weren't close then. I thought if a nobody like me suddenly helped you, it'd backfire. And...!"
Ruin spat out the heat rising from deep in his chest.
"Things are different now."
"..."
"I'm looking at you now. Sure, it started with curiosity, but now it's different—even if you changed completely..."
"..."
"Even if you became someone I don't recognize, I'd know because I'm your closest friend. I might've let you down before, but now it's different."
Ruin thumped his chest with conviction.
"I'm not like that guy."
Ruin's words were a lie that would never come true.
*
On the way back to the dorms, Yuria trudged heavily toward the dormitory.
"Haa..."
She pitied herself for the pointless fight. Ruin had given her the gift with good intentions—had she been too cold? Head bowed, she walked with heavy steps, the dress from Ruin in her hand.
-You choose. But I'd love it if you wore the one I gave you.
Ruin's face, head down as he offered the paper bag, flickered in her mind. They'd fought, but there was no malice in his heart. Besides, she understood his position. He'd been thoroughly crushed by Ricardo. Honestly, she couldn't deny Ricardo was a pain in the ass, so maybe she'd overreacted.
Yuria walked on with tangled thoughts. And when she reached the dorms.
"Yuria~"
The group she hated most was approaching, purple drinks in hand. The ones who bullied her. Who cursed her to her face. Who treated her like a ghost.
Yuria gave them a awkward smile. They smiled back at her and spoke.
"We're sorry for everything up till now."
"Huh?"
"We've thought a lot, and we were too harsh on you."
They opened with the words Yuria wanted to hear most.
"Come hang out in our room and talk?"
Yuria accepted their dangerous invitation. She chatted happily. Trusting people made her a fool, but she wanted that lifeline. In her desperation, grabbing the rope dangled before her might open a brighter future—that hope made Yuria seize it.
The next morning.
"Uh...?"
Yuria's face was hideously ruined. Her skin was warped. Her clear eyes had clouded over. Her lips were parched dry, twisted into the grotesque visage of a witch lurking in shadows. All that remained of her beauty was her pink hair.
Staring into the mirror, Yuria froze, unable to move.
"Ah... ah... ah..."
"Kya啊啊啊啊!!!"
Current students must attend the ball.
*
Another peaceful day at the Desmont mansion. Olivia, sucking on a massive lollipop, looked at Ricardo in his suit and asked,
"Where you off to, Ricardo?"
"Why?"
"You look all sharp."
"Ah... Off to become a prince."
"Huh?"
Ricardo smiled and headed to the ball.
"Wonder if they'll let a leave-of-absence guy in?"
If not, I'll smash my way.