Desired by The Kings

Chapter 4

We stayed like that for a moment. Eyes are having a staring contest, with my face getting hotter by the minute at the intensity of his stare. We were in an awkward position that you will often see in Asian dramas, but just because I’m Asian doesn’t mean I want to be in the same position. In this case, I would be embarrassed if someone were to see us in such a cheesy situation.

Why are you walking without looking at where you're going, and where did he even come from?

I finally broke our staring contest by blinking first before gently pushing him away and standing straight. I dusted my pants with invisible dust to hide my embarrassment and cleared my throat.

"Thank you," I muttered under my breath, forcing myself to stare at his blue eyes again.

But can you blame me? He has such a beautiful pair of eyes. It’s bluer than the ocean and the sky! Too bad it's hidden behind his glasses and their thick frame.

"You're welcome." He responded in a calm and almost cold manner, and I figured he was not the friendly type.

As I stared into his eyes, I tried to figure out what his rank was. Ethan said you can tell it by their eyes, but why can't I read his eyes at all? Why... Why do they seem almost lifeless and void of any emotions?

"New student?" He asked, and I let out a nod, my eyes looking past him at the building that I was supposed to go to, but now I have no chance anymore because there’s a witness that could possibly be suspicious of me.

"Where did you come from? I didn't see you earlier." I asked him and looked around to see if there was any hiding place nearby.

The guy did not say anything and pointed at the large tree on our left side. It has large branches that someone can lie on, and I only nodded while scratching my chin.

"Did I disturb you?" I asked in hesitation as he sat on the nearby bench.

He removed his glasses and fished out a handkerchief before wiping the lenses with it. "You would have if your head had cracked open."

I blinked at his answer and was unsure if I should feel offended or grateful for his concern. As I look at him, I begin to wonder if he could be my friend. I figured I needed to befriend someone. Someone who can possibly have the knowledge about Kings University. I’m not friendly and I stay away from people as much as I could, but sometimes, you need to change yourself for a great cause.

I sighed deeply before taking the initiative and sitting a few inches away from him, before opening a topic. "How long have you been here? You see, I just got here today, and I don't know much about the university."

He turned to look at me, and I almost got lost in his eyes now that there was nothing to cover them. It's like getting drowned in them. It's like staring into an endless space that you need to find a way out of.

And I wasn't the only one studying his face because I witnessed how he looked at every part of my face.

"What?" I asked him, and he did not seem startled or embarrassed that I just caught him checking me out.

He looked away and put his glasses back on. "You remind me of someone I knew."

My eyes almost widened at what he said, and my heart pounded nervously. Is he referring to Majara by chance? He mentioned someone he knew; either they are gone or they left him. And I knew I needed to know him more.

"I'm Majiko, by the way. What's your name?" I warmly introduced myself for him to think that I just wanted to be friendly and not sound suspicious.

"Linus,” he replied shortly, crossing his arms. "What do you want to know?"

I beamed at that and almost scooted a little closer to him in excitement. "Everything I need to know and what you can tell me. Like, I heard there are ranks here, but I saw the students earlier, and they have no particular way of knowing what rank they are."

"Easy. You'll know by how they treat you. Pawns like you will be skittish and shy at first. Like a lost puppy. Much like you earlier and perhaps like a curious cat, too. The guards think highly of themselves, so most of them will walk with their chests puffed up. Their eyes will dart around to look for something to make a big deal out of. Scholars will only literally just study most of the time and they won't even care about you or anyone. Ministers are the easiest to find. If someone treats you like dirt stuck under their shoe or any of the traits I mentioned earlier, they are a minister."

I nodded my head a few times, absorbing all the things he said and also appreciating how he talked longer when he seemed to be the type to not talk much.

"How about the kings?"

He was silent for a few seconds before he shrugged his shoulders. "A scholar like me won't know. No one knows or has seen them aside from a small number of ministers."

I resisted the urge to sigh in disappointment. Just who do I need to talk to to know more about the kings?

"Can I ask you about the rules? Are they real or are they just made to scare the students? Surely you don't need to do those things to have a small amount of money, right?"

"They're real."

My blood ran cold, and my stomach twisted at the confirmation. Just thinking about myself doing those things is enough to turn my stomach into a twist!

"How could the kings come up with such childish rules?" I thought out loud and kicked the small rock at my feet with a huff.

"The kings do not make rules. They are the rule itself."

I blinked in confusion and watched him stand up before putting his hands in his pockets.

"If there's nothing more, I'll leave now."

He was about to step forward when I stopped him by calling his name. "Linus, can we be friends?" I asked once I mustered up the courage to.

What he said earlier bothers me, and that could mean that he knew my sister, and I want to find out. Plus, he seems to know much about this God-forsaken university.

A gush of wind passed by between us, and it blew my hair before I tucked it behind my ear.

"I don't do friends."

I frowned a little at what he said, slightly offended that he refused to be my friend when it took everything in me to ask him that.

He was a few steps away when he stopped again and turned his head to the side. "Stay out of trouble and just obey the rules."

And after leaving a rather mysterious message, he left without looking back.

"He's a scholar, of course; he'll say things like that. Strange that he isn't what scholars are according to Ethan, and not even what he told me they are like." I talked to myself before I looked up at the tree and back at the building before sighing under my breath.

"Then again, maybe that's just their observation. Now that I think about it, surely not all of the ranks are like what they described. That would be stereotyped."

Promising to come back another day, I went back to my dorm to unpack and put my things where they belonged. Well, with what I have in my room, that is.

Halfway through it, Ethan sent me a text and a screenshot of my frozen account as evidence I'll need to show Kings U. He apologized that he forgot about it and told me he would personally give me my weekly allowance, and told me to be careful.

I smiled a little before typing back. 'Thank you for creating one for me, and I will.'

That night, I did not sleep a wink as I stared at the ceiling that I'd be seeing for only God knows how long. Before I knew it, the sun was already up and waving at me. I reluctantly stood up and groaned before practically dragging myself to the bathroom to take a bath and wake myself up.

"Well, at least they have a hot shower," I said, laughing to myself before leaning my forehead against the bathroom wall. "Ugh! Won't I go crazy talking to myself before I even find out about the truth? They could have at least given us a roommate."

I moved like a robot with no emotion, but deep inside, I was just conflicted and unsure of what to feel. Do I need to act excited? Nervous? Calm?

"Okay, calm down, Majiko. Go out there and just be yourself."