Different yet similar

In front of Lucas, at the entrance gate of the apartment complex, Grace was talking about something with Alberto.

For that Alberto to talk to someone from our class without being angry.

Lucas was able to get a general idea of the situation just by seeing the both of them together.

It was clear that Grace Goodwill was also working for Kai Wiseman.

How someone as arrogant as Grace was working under someone else is a mystery to Lucas but if that were not the case, Grace wouldn't be talking to Alberto right now.

Without minding them, Lucas casually started walking toward the main entrance.

"Lucas!?" and sure enough, Grace noticed him.

In response to her call, Lucas completely ignored her and kept walking.

 "W-Wait!" she shouted, but Lucas just ignored her.

"The lady is asking you to wait."

And just as he had expected, Alberto suddenly appeared before him and blocked his way.

It was evident that Grace and Alberto were in collusion, and they couldn't pass it off as a coincidence anymore after Alberto stepped in for Grace.

He sure is tall.

Now that Lucas was seeing him up front, he couldn't help but be surprised at how tall Alberto was.

"And who are you?" Lucas asked as a smile formed on his lips. "This lady's knight in shining armor?"

"No, I'm the man who'll beat the shit out of your face."

Lucas just indifferently glanced at Alberto who seemed to have forgotten his strength even though he helped him in the cafeteria.

"Is that so? But do you have the ability to accomplish that?"

Lucas said as he gradually removed his hands from his pockets.

In response, Alberto's expression turned into a frown as he seemed to remember the incident at the cafeteria. But in the next moment, he raised his hands, ready to fight.

Lucas casually glanced at Alberto who seemed ready to fight with him and turned towards Grace.

"Forget it. I am not in the mood for it right now. So, what do you want to talk about Ms.Goodwill?"

"Wh-What?"

Alberto was confused by his actions but Lucas just ignored him and continued to look at Grace.

"what's with that way of addressing....no forget it.." Grace's face contorted at Lucas's words but stopped herself from talking about it and decided to come to the point.

"Did you hear anything?"

"If you are talking about the conversation you both were having now, then no," Lucas replied without a pause as he shook his head. Although he had seen them talking from afar even he couldn't make out the contents of their conversation.

"I see," in reply to his words Grace closed her eyes. "You can go."

"Very well then," nodding his head, Lucas quickly exited the scene and went inside the complex.

†

As Grace watched Lucas's fading back, a deep frown formed on her face.

"Are you sure about letting him go?" right then, Alberto asked the blonde girl.

"Of course not," she replied almost immediately. "The way he acted, I think he might be onto us."

"What do you want me to do? Should I go and beat him up?"

Grace couldn't help but roll her eyes at Alberto's suggestion.

Does this man know nothing else but violence? Did he even forget how Lucas saved him?

Grace disliked such people who take action without thinking for a moment.

Another thing she didn't like about him was that he always had to have someone telling him what to do.

It was like he couldn't function without a master.

That's the reason that despite being almost as strong as Kai, Alberto was working as his henchman.

Yes, Grace herself was also working under Kai, but that was only to achieve her goal of gaining power.

In a way, both Grace and Kai were very much alike.

They both craved power and influence and were willing to do whatever it took to get it.

Whereas Kai wanted to become the Cadet Council President—the King, Grace wanted the position of the Cadet Council Vice President, the Queen.

The other reason Grace was associating herself with Kai was that, out of all the first-year cadets, not only was he one of the strongest but also the smartest.

In fact, she recognized the fact that he was even smarter than her, despite her valuing her own intellect very highly.

Of course, he was very arrogant.

She knew she could never tame him and make him her pawn due to his level of arrogance, so she decided to work for him instead by being a part of the Young Elites.

For her, Kai Wiseman was nothing but a free ticket to her success in the Academy.

"Grace, I asked a question. Should I go beat–"

Like a puppy, Alberto was waiting there for orders. But before he could repeat his question, Grace cut him off.

"No need," she said while rolling her eyes again. "Did you forget his recent showcase of power? At the very least he isn't someone who can be defeated so easily. We should just leave him be, no one would believe him even if he were to reveal our plan."

"But him exposing us could still make at least some cadets suspicious."

At Alberto's response, Grace couldn't help but think to herself:

Huh, for a dog who only knows how to follow orders, he does make some pretty logical arguments.

Crossing her arms, she touched her chin as she said, "It's fine. I'll just frame him as the real traitor since he has a history of helping you."

Grace's calm and confident demeanor caused Alberto to agree passively by meekly nodding his head.

Despite his intimidating physique, he was submissive toward her. The power dynamic between them was apparent.

However, even though Alberto couldn't dispute her further, he desired to propose taking action against Lucas immediately.

He wanted to neutralize him right here and right now.

Since he came from slums, Alberto has lived his life by fighting on the streets. But soon he figured out he was not like other kids his age.

He was tall and strong. He was physically gifted with brute strength.

So to no one's surprise, he started using his monstrous brute strength to dominate the streets and not long after, he made a name for himself.

The rush of adrenaline he used to get while drawing the blood of his enemies was a feeling unrivaled for him.

Over the years, he engaged in numerous fights and learned from both his victories and defeats, and created his own empire— his own gang.

Sure, they weren't the strongest in the city, but he and his 165 gang members were proud that they were at least the strongest in their area.

Well, this belief of theirs shattered when one boy came knocking on their door, looking for a fight.

His reason was that he wanted to beat up the person who dared to hit on one of his girlfriends. That person was in Alberto's gang.

Everyone thought that the boy had lost his mind or something.

After all, who in their right mind would challenge more than a hundred people to a fight alone?

They tried to send him off and spare him a beating of a lifetime, but the boy didn't budge.

So naturally, they decided to thrash some sense into him.

…However, they soon found out that they were no match for the boy.

In only about little more than an hour, that boy single-handedly took down the whole gang and made their leader, Alberto, grovel before him.

That day, Alberto became acutely aware of the despair that comes through the difference in strength.

That day, for the first time, Alberto sensed an unfamiliar feeling quelling up deep within his heart—fear.

So many years have passed but to this day, Alberto still can't forget the look in that boy's eyes—the look of sheer insanity and dominance.

That boy was Kai Wiseman.

Kai, being the opportunistic bastard he is, used the fear he drilled into Alberto and made him his pawn.

That was the first and last time Alberto experienced that kind of fear— that kind of darkness from someone.

Until…

Earlier when Alberto matched Lucas' gaze, he saw a very similar look in his eyes—the look of sheer insanity and dominance.

In a way, he felt an even deeper darkness looming within him.

Although in his mind, Alberto knew that Lucas wasn't stronger than him, his instincts, on the other hand… were telling him to run.