To you:After the end

"Good morning, gentlemen. You know the procedure, right?" The guard greeted us with a polite nod before stepping forward to search our bodies.

This all started after a noble smuggled a rifle into the university, hidden in his clothes. He'd snapped after enduring relentless bullying, and in a moment of fury, shot three students dead, each bullet landing squarely in their temples.

After a thorough pat-down, the guard motioned me forward. Another guard stood by the door, holding a small register. He offered it to me without a word. I signed it instinctively, returning it before stepping aside to wait for Johan.

Johan was next, and I couldn't help but notice his nervousness. Sweat beaded on his forehead, trickling down in streams. Despite this, his face remained unnervingly blank, as if carved from stone. My face darkened seeing him behave like this.

The guard's hands moved quickly and efficiently, checking Johan's tuxedo. His fingers slid into every pocket with practiced ease. But when he reached Johan's waistband, his body stiffened. Without hesitation, the guard stepped back, pulling a sleek black revolver from his waist belt.

"Hands in the air! Both of you!" he barked, his voice sharp enough to make my ears ring.

Before I could react, the second guard, the one holding the register, had his gun trained on my chest. Around us, chaos erupted. Guards on the walls above turned their rifles in our direction, their barrels gleaming ominously. From behind, the heavy sound of boots thundering against stone grew louder.

I sighed inwardly. Of course, university guards didn't care whether you were a noble or a commoner. If you were deemed a threat, they had the right to shoot first and ask questions later. Although they might "disappear" after killing someone of importance.

I glanced at Johan, hatred flashing in my eyes. Without a word, we both raised our hands and dropped to our knees.

"Drop the weapon, you with the blonde hair!" the guard shouted, gesturing at Johan with his revolver.

Johan. Of course.

I turned toward him, my gaze icy and sharp. His expression remained unreadable, but I could see his fear and panic beneath his calm mask easily.

Then, without so much as a word, Johan pulled something from inside of his pants and tossed it onto the ground in front of him.

A butchering knife.

He still had that damn thing on him?

The main guard crouched down, carefully picking up the knife. He turned it over in his hands, examining it with a furrowed brow.

I clenched my fists, trying to mask the icy dread pooling in my stomach. Damn it, Johan. What were you thinking? Or... was this his plan all along, to get me arrested? My gaze darted toward him, suspicion gnawing at me.

Johan looked like he was on the verge of tears, his face pale and beads of sweat rolling down his temple. His heart was pounding so loudly, that I swore I could hear it from where I knelt. Yeah, definitely not a mastermind. This idiot has no clue what he's doing.

"It's a misunderstanding, sir!" I blurted out, desperate to de-escalate.

The guard with the revolver aimed at my chest shifted slightly, nudging the cold barrel closer to my heart. "Quiet!" he barked, though his posture relaxed ever so slightly.

The guard examining the knife straightened up, his sharp eyes darting between Johan and me. "Explain yourselves," he ordered his tone firm but less aggressive. After all, it was just a knife—not a gun or something more deadly.

Johan froze like a deer caught in headlights, struggling to form coherent words. His jaw worked silently for a moment before the guard sighed and pressed further. "Carrying any weapon is illegal, especially in the University. Which house are you from, boy?"

The question was loaded, and the guard's tone hinted at an expectation. Likely, he assumed Johan was from some wealthy family that could pay their way out of trouble. Nobles always had a way of "settling" things, even when criminal charges were involved.

I noticed the guard subtly motion to his colleagues on the wall, and the rifles aimed at us lowered. For now, at least, the situation seemed a little less likely to end in a bullet.

"My name is Johan Von Adlerhof, I was here to study in this said to be world-renowned university, It was my first day, And amazing what excellent treatment, as expected from the greatest University in the world." Johan's cold laughter echoed all over the place.

'Wow, he can act well.' I complimented him in my heart, I could never be this shameless. I shook my head with newfound respect.

"But…Sir, you were carrying a weapon, please forgive our rude behavior, we can never be too careful. It's all to make this place safer for gentlemen like you." The main guard spoke respectfully, almost sucking up to Johan. The one who was aiming a revolver at my heart silently withdrew it, and got back to his seat, like he was never threatening to kill someone just now.

I shook my head 'Oh, Johan the arrogant noble won't work in front of guards, it's just for the students. Ah, I got a better plan.' I smiled maliciously in my heart.

"Johan….He suffers from PTSD," I said, lowering my voice and glancing at him with what I hoped looked like concern. "His parents… they used to beat him over the smallest mistakes. They're gone now, but the trauma lingers. I'm basically his guardian and forgot to disarm him before we came here. Please, can you let this go? I promise to be more careful in the future."

The guard's stern expression softened, and he cast a pitying look at Johan. "Poor lad," he murmured. "Not all parents deserve children."

I nearly winced at how thick he was laying it on, but Johan's clenched fists and trembling shoulders told me he was fuming. 

"Come on, little brother," I said gently, taking Johan's arm as though guiding a fragile child. "It's okay now. I'll give you your medicine after class."

We both passed right through guards, the guard with the register automatically offered it to Johan, who signed it without showing any emotions.

The guard patted Johan's shoulder, treating him like a wounded puppy, and stepped aside. "Be careful, There won't be any next time lads!"

'Yeah right Madman, like you were not just aiming at my freaking heart.' I cursed the guard under my breath.

Johan looked at me coldly, mumbling something in his mouth. Probably threatening to kill me or something.

"You are welcome" I flashed my white teeth to him, a bright smirk creeping up on my face. 

To be continued…..

Author's Note: I need a good book cover! Ah, It's so fucking ugly, the one I am currently using. I mean there could definitely be better ones. For AI it's not that bad, but still it doesn't speak like just look at RI or Lotm.'s I want my cover to be that good. Any thoughts? 

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