Chapter 161 [Blood Of Fallen] [17] [Ethan's Side]

"And this is the monolith where we have the list of all the people who died during the last all-out war."

In the afternoon of a sunny day, a group of students followed a man wearing a guide's uniform and holding a notebook in his hand.

With greying hair, he was in his mid-fifties, showing a tall monolith filled with names written on it.

"It was made fifty years ago," the man explained, showing the monolith, "to remember all those who died for our people."

The man turned around, facing the students standing in front of it. "They were the people your ancestors killed."

"So, it's basically a scoreboard?" Aimar, standing at the end of the group, mumbled, his voice low but loud enough for all to hear.

"..."

The man looked at him dumbfounded before anger blazed in his eyes.

"Aimar," Lauryn, standing right behind them, called, her voice chilling.

"Yes, ma'am," Aimar replied, turning back to look at her.

"Shut your stupid mouth," she snarled, glaring at him.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied, nodding his head as he turned around silently.

"Anyway, this is the last piece of history that is intact," the man said, shaking his head. "We will have a half-hour break before we meet again."

Saying so, he moved away, giving the students time to explore on their own.

"This is so boring," Miley grumbled, standing beside Aimar.

Her orchid-colored hair, tied up in a high ponytail, touched her shoulder as she glanced around the place.

"I should have requested to change the place," Aimar chimed in as well, walking out of the museum.

"Don't you like being with me?" Miley grumbled, slapping his arm.

"No, that's not what I mean," Aimar replied, trying to explain himself.

"It's fine; I would have been with Ruby if you weren't around," Miley shrugged, not arguing with him.

"I see," Aimar mumbled, glancing back.

His eyes drifted until they landed on Ethan and Ruby walking side by side.

They still had distance between them, but not as much as it used to be.

"Am I the only one, or have they grown closer?" Aimar mumbled, squinting his eyes.

He then glanced at Miley as he asked softly, "What do you think?"

"I think she likes Ethan," Miley revealed, glancing back as well.

"Wait, for real!?" Aimar blurted, looking at them with surprise.

"I think so..." Miley mumbled as they walked out of the museum, "...It's kinda obvious, and I'm not dumb like you not to notice it."

'So she can notice that Ruby likes Ethan but can't notice I like her?'

Aimar grimaced, feeling the frustration bubbling in his chest.

He drew a deep breath to calm down before he looked up.

The sky was clear, with a light breeze.

The humidity in the air made him sticky, but it was good nonetheless.

"But what about her family?" Aimar asked softly. "They are not going to like it."

"Her family is declining every day, Aimar," Miley replied, shaking her head. "They would be more than happy to take in a talented son-in-law."

"What about the other nobility?" he questioned. "They will all be stunned—"

"They are in no position to think about that," she snorted, glaring at him. "Not after what Azariah did to them."

"He wasn't at fault—"

"Stop taking his side, Aimar!" she scoffed, glaring at him. "He already knew what would happen when he was humiliating a noble in front of everyone."

"..."

Aimar remained silent as he rubbed his temples.

He knew Azariah was in the wrong, but he still wanted to defend him.

'I'm sure Oliver would have done the same,' he thought to himself before shaking those thoughts away.

"Do you want to eat something?" he asked, glancing back at Miley.

"Sure, but you're going to pay for it," she replied, giving him a cheeky smile.

"Yeah, sure," he replied, not bothered to pay for her.

"Wait, let me call Ethan and Ruby as well," she said, turning around and walking towards them.

Aimar watched her talk them into joining in.

They agreed, walking towards Aimar.

"Okay, they're in," Miley said, looking at Aimar, "and you're paying for them as well."

"When did I agree to that?" he grumbled silently but didn't protest much. fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

Making their way, they quickly arrived at a nearby restaurant.

Miley was the one who chose the best place around before entering it.

They sat down inside the fancy restaurant, looking at the menu.

Ethan looked around the place, prompting Aimar to comment, "Take a good look, man; you might not come to such a place often."

"..."

Ethan slowly glanced back at his smiling face.

An urge to punch him filled his mind for a second, but he controlled himself.

"Can you stop being mean to him?" Miley snarled, making Aimar shrug in response.

"Yeah, that reminds me!" Aimar exclaimed happily, grabbing all their attention. "Oliver and Aaliyah started dating."

"Wait, what!?" Miley gasped in surprise before her face hardened. "Oliver accepted her?"

"He did," Aimar replied, grinning. "He also told me he did a lot of things, but I know he's just boasting."

"...I see," Miley replied quietly, nodding her head.

"What about Azariah?" Ruby asked, surprising everyone. "How is his relationship going with Senior Christina?"

Aimar paused for a second before he glanced at Ethan, a smile slowly creeping on his face as he replied,

"They are doing great... I mean, they are engaged already; they are closer than you think."

He waited for his words to sink in before he dropped the bomb, "It's also Az's birthday today... And I'm pretty sure he has plans with Christina tonight."

Ethan abruptly stood up from his seat and, without saying anything, walked out of the restaurant.

"Ethan!?" Ruby called after him, but he didn't listen.

She also got up, rushing behind him.

"You had to do it, didn't you?" Miley grumbled, glaring at Aimar.

He just shrugged, taking the menu from her.

Neither of them noticed a man with a burned face sitting behind them, listening to their conversation.

His tired hazel eyes glanced back at Aimar.

***

***

[Ethan's POV]

'Fuck! Fuck! Nothing! Nothing goes the way I want!'

The world around me felt blurred. My feet walked, but I couldn't think where I was going.

Pain. Anger. Betrayal. Frustration.

They all filled my mind, like needles stabbing into my skull, making a mess of my thoughts.

'Why?'

Why does this keep on happening?

Again and again and again.

I've been trying to prove my worth. I've been doing all I could, to the best of my capacity.

But still, I kept losing to someone who isn't even trying, who isn't even worth all of this.

'Why does he even exist?'

How much better would things be for everyone if he just wasn't born?

He's the reason for everyone's suffering. If only he hadn't been born.

'I've had enough of it!'

I promised over my family's grave that I would do everything I could to give them justice.

I was letting my own judgment get clouded.

How na?ve I was to think I could take anything from that demon's son.

'He's surely doing something; otherwise, it doesn't make sense!'

Why would anyone even want to be with him?

Just fucking why??

He isn't worth anything!

I wanted fear and desperation in his eyes, but all I see is his happiness.

I stopped running as I found myself at a dead end.

All three directions around me were closed by buildings. I was trapped.

"Why?"

I asked, punching the wall.

"Why!?"

I yelled, punching it again.

It felt painful, but it was the only way to calm my mind.

I punched again and again.

"Ethan!!"

Until a voice brought me back to reality.

Turning around, I looked at the beautiful girl huffing, hands on her knees.

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"Ruby?" I mumbled, my voice harsh and broken.

"What are you doing?" she asked, coming closer and grabbing my hand. "It's bleeding!!"

I looked at my hand as well, broken knuckles, torn skin from which blood oozed out.

Taking out a handkerchief, she applied pressure on the wound as she looked up, glaring. "In the name of Elohim, what did you do—"

Her words abruptly stopped as she silently looked at me.

"A-are you crying?" she asked, her voice shuttering.

"N-no," I replied, rubbing my eyes with my free hand. "I am not."

But her words seemed to affect me, and more tears started to fall.

"I-I am not crying," I whispered, feeling an aching pain in my heart.

"I am not cr—"

My knees gave out, making me helplessly fall down.

"Hey, are you okay?" Ruby knelt down beside me.

I looked up, tears blurring my vision, but I replied, shaking my head, "I am fine."

"Okay," she replied, nodding her head before wrapping her arms around me. "You are fine, don't worry."

"..."

I remained silent, tears kept falling, soaking her dress.

"Tell me what's bothering you," she whispered softly in my ear, pressing her soft body against mine. "I will help you."

"...You can't," I choked out. "No one can help me."

...No one is strong enough to kill her.

...Not even me.

"You won't know until you tell me," she whispered again, her words soothing my mind.

I couldn't see her face, but I was sure it was filled with concern.

"Everything will be alright, Ethan."