Guiding the Male Lead out of His Trauma - Chapter 44.2
No way he’d do something like that…
‘…No, he totally would. That guy absolutely would.’
What else could I expect from my little brother?
If I could do it, then so could he…
I had forgotten a crucial fact.
“What if the two of us end up deserting side by side?”
“I’ll help you, Senior, but him… I wouldn’t know where to start.”
“I appreciate how naturally you say you’ll help me, but still…”
The reason I brought Hyacine to the military academy in the first place was to protect him.
Even if I managed to smuggle him out of the country, he’d still be wanted. If he ever manifested as an S-Class, there would be movements everywhere, even outside this nation, to bring him under control.
That’s why I’d decided it was better to keep him near me and protect him myself, but that had been an arrogant notion.
He wasn’t a fragile child who would starve to death without me. He knew how to take action on his own. I kept forgetting that.
The moment the possibility crossed my mind that he might bolt from this place, I felt like I had to rush to the main building.
Should I disable his bracelet too? What if he got caught mid-escape and ended up dragged into some research facility?
The runaway thoughts spiraling out of control were finally stopped by Acteon.
Flap. Something fell over my slumped face.
It was one of the documents he’d been reading.
“You have a tendency to overprotect him, Senior. It’s fine to worry, but how he chooses to take it is his decision. Also…”
Though he wore a gentle smile, the faint curve of it looked as though it would crumble at any moment.
“When a family member makes a dangerous decision without so much as a word of discussion, it’s only natural to be angry.”
The scolding, delivered in a kind tone, made it difficult to come up with a pathetic excuse.
He was right.
It’s better to take the hit first than delay it. But just as I made up my mind…
“Before it gets any later, you should tell him yourself. The worst-case scenario isn’t leaving without saying anything, or being resented after speaking up.”
Resting his chin on his hand, Acteon looked off into the distance and added,
“Isn’t it if he finds out some other way before your deployment?”
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* * *
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Acteon’s prediction turned out to be exactly right.
There were only two days left before deployment.
I’d expected at least two weeks to prepare, but we only got one. The Crown Prince must have been seriously displeased.
Having become somewhat infamous from bouncing between missions since the beginning of the semester, my social life and daily routine had become a complete wreck.
And in the midst of all the mounting pressure and deployment preparations…
Of all days, tonight happened to be the night of field training.
Night training involved moving as a group to an outdoor encampment after evening roll call.
Before that, we were given dinner and a brief break.
I choked down a meal that wasn’t terrible in quantity, but absolutely vile in taste, and was passing the clock tower when I heard raised voices.
In front of it, Hyacine was yelling at someone.
“Happy now? Now that you’re gonna follow her into a war zone?”
The sun hadn’t fully set, and it became clearer who he had by the collar.
It was Acteon.
Beside them, Millia was frantically trying to stop Hyacine.
“H-Hyacine, stop it! It’s not like Acteon kept it from you on purpose!”
“Doesn’t matter if it was on purpose or not. What were you even doing while Lippey—!”
There weren’t many cadets around, but the three of them were certainly drawing plenty of attention from the few who were.
To an outsider, it probably looked like a messy love triangle with Millia at the center.
But the closer I got, the clearer it became what had actually triggered Hyacine’s outburst.
The cause of the fight… was me.
The worst-case scenario had come true. Hyacine found out before the deployment.
Just like Acteon warned me, it had come true.
And now, instead of confronting me directly, Hyacine was taking it out on Acteon.
In a panic, I intervened before he could go too far and do something irreversible.
“Hyacine Ortis!”
I wasn’t strong enough to pry him off of Acteon, but I did manage to catch his attention.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
The moment he asked, the image of Cassiel barely holding back tears flashed across the back of my mind.
“Why do you keep making me out to be some kind of worthless trash?”
“…What?”
That expression—his eyes fixed on me in betrayal—was the one I most dreaded to see.
His very first question wiped away every excuse I had inside me.
With just that one sentence, he upended me completely.
Hyacine let out a hollow laugh and finally released Acteon’s collar.
Even though his eyes were bloodshot from the surge of betrayal, even though he had every reason to keep yelling…
Hyacine said nothing more to me.
He just glared.
As he walked past, he muttered,
Millia quickly ran after him.
“If you want to go that badly, then go. I won’t get in your way anymore.”
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