Chapter 449
Miss Rue:
Ever since Oriana and the others came back from the North, I had been waiting for a moment to speak with her.
When I saw that she had also killed the Shadow Earth Eater, I realized she must have spoken her wish.
There was no way Oriana would be stupid enough not to uphold the deal and kill the Shadow Earth Eater before using her last wish.
The problem began when Ian barged in.
I remembered clearly that I had asked her to tell the Shadow Earth Eater to kill both of them, because I had a feeling that if Clementine had met Ian then Clementine must have told him everything about me.
A few hours later, things changed when Ian went live on the biggest show and exposed everything about the Academy, the North, and the monsters.
When I watched him go on alone and noticed Clementine was not with him, I thought that maybe Oriana could not get the Shadow Earth Eater to kill both Ian and Clementine.
Or maybe Ian and Clementine never saw each other and Ian had to leave the North disappointed.
That might have been why he became aggressive and exposed everything. By then, everything was already over for me.
Once Ian asked his father where Clementine was, and said the last time he saw her was when she was leaving to meet the council members, I knew Ian and Clementine had been together.
I slipped into the basement to avoid Ian’s attention. I knew the moment he saw me, he would start screaming.
I stayed there until I was certain he had left with his father. When I came out, everyone else had gone to their rooms.
The ringleaders were told to gather the lurkers and inform them that their service would not be needed for now.
There was no way anyone could be sent back to the North, at least not until we were certain how people were reacting.
I called Oriana to speak with her because she had avoided me like a plague. When she finally faced me, she showed her true self. I was enraged. I felt betrayed, like a fool.
“Miss Rue, you have not said a word,” Miss Lenora remarked as we sat at the table together.
I was looking outside the hall’s windows.
“I’m sorry, what were you all talking about?” I asked.
A whole day had passed, and I had not been able to get Oriana’s words and tone out of my head. She had fooled me.
I helped her out of the academy, and here I was with nothing. Soon, Ian would come back, and it would be chaos. I did not know what I was waiting for at this point.
I had tried to leave earlier, but Mr. Rick saw me and practically dragged me here to have a cup of tea with him.
“I was saying that the very first time I laid my eyes on Clementine, I had a feeling she would be trouble,” Ms. Lenora uttered, earning nods from everyone.
“Wait until they start talking about the green squad,” Mr. Rick hissed.
I remembered the green squad. They were the ones who found out the academy had been watching them the entire time.
“Wasn’t it you, Mr. Rick, who went in there and killed all three of them?” I asked.
The moment I said those words, Mr. Rick snapped his head up and glared at me.
“Come on, Rue. We talked about this. We will never mention it,” he replied. “It was a small mistake. We let information slip, and they caught on. We had to kill them, because if the headmaster had found out that we had slipped information, he would have fired us p>
Ms. Lenora tried to justify the killing of three boys out of fear of the headmaster finding out.
“Right,” I said, noticing the way everyone was looking at me.
“And it seems Miss Rue is really sad about the academy closing. Maybe she was enjoying it a little too much,” Mr. Rick commented.
Obviously, he would strike back.
“I’m not the one who was harsh toward the crusaders. I was everyone’s favorite,” I mumbled, clicking my tongue.
The blue and green squad ringleaders watched us in silence.
That was when the door to the hall opened, and the headmaster walked in. I immediately stood up.
From the way they were grunting, I knew I had to get out of Ian’s sight. I had a feeling they had left the council’s office disappointed.
And knowing Ian, he would take his anger out on me, the one who had last shot Clementine.
As soon as I rushed toward the basement, I felt a pull on my hand. When I looked up, I saw Mr. Rick grabbing my arm and smirking.
“Why does it seem like you are running away from something?” he asked, turning me by force to face the headmaster.
“Don’t worry, Ian. I have asked everyone to gather information on anyone who visited the council leaders in the last twenty-four hours and beyond,” the headmaster said to his son, who was red with anger.
Haiden and Troy stood right behind them, and there was no Clementine.
I tried to step back again, but Mr. Rick grabbed my arm once more.
He must have noticed how uneasy I was around the headmaster, so he was making sure I stayed.
“Let me go,” I hissed at Mr. Rick, pulling my arm free.
I spoke softly, but the moment I opened my mouth, the room fell silent. Even though my voice was barely above a whisper, everyone heard it.
“And there we have the biggest snake of all,” Ian commented, just as I had feared.
The room went still. Heads snapped in my direction.
“Is there a problem, Ian?” I asked, swallowing hard.
There was only one thing I could do.
Lie.
They had no physical proof against me, so all I could do was keep lying until they believed it.
Ian started walking toward me at a brisk pace. When he reached me, he grabbed my arm and dragged me away from the ringleaders.
They gasped, except for Mr. Rick. He looked pleased to see me fall after I had spoken to him the way I did.
Ian shoved me forward, and a kick to my back forced me onto my knees in front of the headmaster.
The moment felt like the worst insult. I did not think I deserved such treatment.
“Ian, what is wrong with you? Is that how you treat your elders now?” his father snapped.
The other ringleaders began to whisper among themselves, showing their disapproval of Ian’s behavior toward me.
I tried to get up, but Ian kicked me in the back again, and I fell once more. I did not cry.
I did not beg him to stop. I clenched my jaw, closed my eyes, and tightened my fists. I knew he would not show me mercy.
He was angry because he had lost his mate. And of course, she had told him about me.
“Wait, what is going on, Ian? Is she somehow related to Clementine’s disappearance?” Troy asked as he stepped out from behind the headmaster.
I remained on the ground, my knees pressed down, my fists against the floor, my head lowered. Still, I could see some of the others from the corner of my eye.
“Ask her, Father. Ask her why she joined the academy, especially after her sister passed away,” Ian said.
As soon as he spoke, whispers and murmurs filled the hall again.
“That is what many siblings did when their brothers or sisters died in the North, they came here to work as staff members, chefs, cooks, or anything they could. It helped them stay close to the last place their siblings had died. So what are you trying to prove?” the headmaster asked.
Of course, he knew I was Riv’s sister.
“Wait, who was her sister?” Haiden asked.
“Riv,” Ian replied with a scoff.
I looked up and saw Haiden and Troy staring into the distance before realization struck them.
“Wait, you’re telling me she was against our team all this time?” Troy asked, pointing at me as he looked at Ian.
“No,” Ian shouted. “More than that. She came here to take revenge on Clementine p>
Gasps filled the hall again.
“That is ridiculous. She always spoke well of Clementine,” the headmaster argued.
I had not spoken a single word in my defense. I was waiting for the right moment.
“Really?” Ian snapped. “Then ask her why she gave Clementine a key to the back side of the fence. Ask her why she wanted the time clock. Did it never occur to you that Clementine went into the North to fetch the clock and never returned? Then she came back with me because she had the clock, and Rue tricked her and shot her, thinking she had the real one p>
Ian spoke in one breath, exposing me to everyone.