Chapter 187 - The Runaway Orphan (1) (1/2)

”I choose none of the options, let go,” I tried to shake his grip off.

”Rika,” Luke tightened his grip on me as if he was warning me.

”Why can't I go? I can go alone, and you can go back to wherever you want!” I shouted.

It was frustrating how everyone turned on me when it went against Luke's wishes. I heaved from not being able to escape from Luke's grasp and gave up struggling to catch my breath. His expression turned into cold ice blocks and I knew I was testing his patience. Luke didn't say another word like he was pressuring me to give up and walk into the hover car with him.

I didn't want to give into him since it felt like I was losing. I was about to flop down onto the ground in my current spot before I noticed someone coming towards us. His oddly angled arm and blood-stained clothes showed that he was the same boy who was unconscious a few minutes ago. I wondered if the children were allowed to readily go out of the orphanage on their own.

I guessed they weren't when Luke's eyes narrowed in suspicion. When the boy noticed we were the same spectators who watched his fight, his eyes widened before he rushed in to place a sharp knife against my neck. My wrist became free from Luke loosening his grip from shock as he wobbled backwards in disbelief.

In turn, the boy was able to gain a dominant position where he had his uninjured arm surrounding my entire neck. I stood still like an icicle, knowing one step would mean one slit to my neck. Maybe I was used to these situations since I felt calm compared to the boy trembling tremendously. I was starting to compare if the gun in the second district was scarier or the knife that would take longer to kill a person.

”If you report me, then this girl won't live,” the boy threatened us.

Nobody dared to move as the atmosphere increasingly became more tense. I coughed as the boy gained more confidence to press the knife directly against my skin. I wondered if I could use teleportation to escape, but since he was a person of the first district, he could notice me chanting the spell. It was possible to use mana without chanting or trying to visualize the result, but it took tons of practice. Unfortunately, I wasn't at that level yet.

”I won't report you,” I decided to go along with him.

”Promise me your word on your family crest!” He spat out.

Family crest? I was sure Luke had one of those, but I came from an ordinary family. There was nothing I had to lose. I guessed promising on one's family crest was an insured version of keeping one's word from common etiquette.

”I promise as Rika Shanes that I won't report you,” I left out the Roselia family name.