Painful

[Levi's Pov]

"So, how are things going at the academy?"

"It's going well."

Taking a sip of his tea, my equally blue-haired father had come to visit me at the personal estate that he had given me when I decided to accept the role as the heir of his legacy.

Although I had found it a bit too much to live by myself in a mansion, excluding the few maids and personnel that were hired to help me in my day-to-day life, I knew that it was also a show for the masses.

No matter how ridiculous it might seem, even the place I lived could create ripples if it wasn't up to par, with the news spouting absurd lines like the Leviathan not being able to afford proper housing for its heir.

Clad in a suit with the color symbolizing our guild, my father had a gentle smile on his face, as he so often did. A smile that I knew was hiding a lot of the guilt that he felt over my situation.

"I see. From the reports that Mrs. Park has given me, it does seem like you are continuing to make great progress. However..."

"However?"

"I also heard that there was a bit of an incident, and I was hoping that you might be able to tell me more about it."

'Of course, he already knows...'

Not just Mrs. Park, there was no way my father wouldn't have enough ears inside the academy for the information about Aarick and what he did to inevitably reach his ears. But as I had already prepared myself for this, I took a deep breath and started to repeat the lines that I had practiced so many times.

"There's no doubt that Aarick consciously chose to act like that toward me in order to create distance between us and show everyone that he wants nothing to do with me. He most likely did this to make sure that he wouldn't become a burden to me. So there is no need for any further investigation of the matter."

Suddenly, my father stood up from the couch he was sitting on, and before I knew it, I could feel a warm hand land on my shoulder. A hand that always managed to comfort me even in the worst of times, even though it was attached to the one ultimately responsible for most of the challenges that stood before me.

"It must've been painful for you, Levi."

"It...it wasn't..."

"It's okay. I already know how you felt about him in the past, so there's no need to pretend in front of me. Even if your life changed after deciding to inherit the Leviathan, I'm still your father, and even if I also think that boy made the right decision, it's okay to be sad."

Putting my hand over his, I couldn't stop the small trail of wetness that slowly inched down my cheek.

****

[3rd person Pov]

"Sir."

"Ah, please sit down, Mrs. Park."

Mrs. Park was as tense as always when sitting herself down in Mr. Ayim's office. Because no matter how great of a man she knew him to be, she also knew that it wasn't his kindness that had brought him to his position.

No, even if the head between those broad shoulders always did what he thought would be beneficial to his country and family, it had been his conviction that had made it possible for him to create a guild like Leviathan. Conviction and determination to do whatever it took.

Putting down the paperwork that he had been fiddling with, his blue eyes landed on the tanned woman and he explained why he had called her there.

"I want you to make sure we have eyes on a student called Aarick Laupier, another freshman that's currently attending Augustus, and if needed I want you to make sure he knows to stay away from Levi. In the case that he doesn't, I'm afraid that we have no choice but to make sure he can't approach her ourselves."

Hearing Aarick's name come up, Mrs. Park wasn't too surprised. Because she had been Levi's designated teacher for long enough to have heard his name come up many times in the past and she was also aware of his sudden reappearance in her life.

However, this meant that she also knew what Aarick had done and what he had said to her.

"Sir, is that really necessary? From his actions, I don't believe..."

"Mrs. Park."

"I'm sorry..."

Seeing the powerful man's eyes narrow down on her in reaction to her acting out of line, she could only bow her head while apologizing. Standing up, the powerful lines of his body were shown under the rays of the sun entering from the glass walls around them.

"Mrs. Park, I also recognize from both your and Levi's stories about the matter that he has to some extent made it clear that he doesn't want to get involved with our family. However, do you think that can't be subject to change?"

"I'm sorry, Sir, I'm not sure I understand..."

"Did you know? That youth, Aarick Laupier... he has been in a coma for four years. A coma that our guild helped the Phoenix to cover up using a lot of our resources. So no matter what we say, in the eyes of the public, it will be impossible to prove our innocence in this matter even if none of our people was responsible for the act itself."

As this was the first time she actually got to know why the white-haired youth had disappeared, there was no way for her to hide the shock on her face. Still, not caring about that, the guild master of the Leviathan kept on explaining the situation to her.

"Now, I'm not about to punish a powerless orphan just for existing in this world. No, in fact, from the little bits I can remember of him when he was young and taking his story into account, I am more than glad that he continues to walk forward. But that's also why I'm hesitant to trust him."

Taking his position next to the glass, he looked down at the city below him, the city that he himself had struggled in, and the city where he had successfully made a name for himself. And even though he hadn't been born into a house of poverty, he had lived long enough to know about what that world looked like.

"A dog that has managed to survive on the streets on his own will always be scarier than a lion who has been safely raised in captivity. So if needed, I want to you to make sure to put him in a leash. Understand?"

"I understand."

"Good. You may leave."

With Mrs. Park leaving the office, having more than accepted the work that was expected of her, Mr. Ayim was left staring down at the city.

It was so regretful in so many different ways, this absurd kind of situation, and although he just wanted his daughter to be able to grow up happily, he knew that this world wasn't so simple.

Even if he wanted nothing more than to bring back the smile that his daughter had lost, everything had an order that had to be followed. And the first thing he needed to do was to keep Levi safe.

Though people might know the guild master to be an untouchable individual who stood on the very apex of Teton, there were still sharks down below that wouldn't hesitate for a second to lunge at him as soon as they smelled a single drop of blood.

'But still... to think that young man would wake up after all this time...'

The report that Aarick had woken up had arrived at his table way too late for him to do anything before it was too late, not to mention the guild leader of the Phoenix whose son was ultimately responsible for his slumber in the first place.

The decision to put both of their heirs in a public school so they could learn about the normal people around them had ended up in a tragedy, a tragedy that had finally made the boy who always smiled stop smiling.

He could still remember the face of a dirty boy wearing ragged clothes, a boy that his daughter would follow like a puppy who didn't want to accidentally lose track of her owner.

Back then, it was no secret that he understood the dynamic between him and Levi, and in hindsight, Mr. Ayim knew that he should have helped him to get away from his daughter. But at the same time, he didn't want to deprive his daughter of the smile for the second time after his wife passed away.

So, he allowed it. An act of ignorance that ended up in the boy getting violently taught a lesson by a reckless Will that didn't know any better, lost in his youthful passion for Levi.

But the thing that truly permeated his memory about the story of young Aarick was still his smile.

Because Aarick had always smiled, yet never smiled at the same time.

So what would happen to someone like that once they had stopped smiling? What would happen to someone who had always forced himself to move forward with a smile after getting betrayed by the whole world around him?

If the whole world had betrayed him, what stopped him from betraying the world?

Thankfully, he was just a powerless orphan, so in the end Mr. Ayim didn't too think much of it. But what he didn't know was that this was the third time his actions were infused with ignorance.