The System Favors Me Too Much

38  Chapter 38: Grandpa, I messed up

Lucy watched him with a curious expression, unaware that Sam's consciousness was in the anthill.

To her, he appeared to be merely standing there with his eyes closed.

She sighed. She couldn't understand why his presence always bothered her.

Ignoring him was impossible, and approaching him was out of the question because Yuki and Isabelle were always in the same room. She wanted to avoid them at all costs.

The only time she found herself alone with him was during his early morning training.

When she noticed him opening his eyelids, she moved in front of him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked.

"You looked like you were in a daze," Lucy replied.

"Why do you care?" Sam asked, scoffing.

"...I care," Lucy said, hesitating for a few seconds.

Sam was taken aback by her response.

He secretly activated his charm as he began monitoring her emotions.

"What do you mean, you care?" Sam asked again.

"I said I care. Why are you always seeking clarified answers?" Lucy asked, crossing her arms.

"Usually, when someone tells me they care about me for no apparent reason, I ask why. It's kind of my thing, similar to how stalking me seems to be your thing," Sam said sarcastically, all the while carefully monitoring her emotions.

Lucy looked at him with an irritated expression. She did have an answer to his question, but she was unsure whether to say it or lie.

Sam watched her closely. Ever since he arrived at the academy, he had felt that this girl was up to something, though he couldn't pinpoint what.

"I care about you because you are my junior and the best student the academy has seen in its thousand-year history. I don't want to see you wasted, and I like you," Lucy said.

"Are these reasons satisfactory enough?"

But she was lying, or rather, not telling the whole truth.

Everything she said was true, but she didn't reveal the main reason why she was following him and doing the things she did. Not because she didn't want to, but because once she told him the truth, there would be no turning back.

There was a big chance she would screw things up if she told him the truth. Many people had high hopes for the man standing before her, and she didn't know if he was ready for the truth, even though she had every right to tell him.

Sam just looked at her blankly, his eyes reflecting disappointment as he constantly observed her emotions.

"Tell me, Lucy, do you know what kind of emotion a person feels when they lie?" Sam asked, his expression stony.

Lucy's face shifted from expressionless to concerned, but Sam didn't wait for her to respond.

"They feel guilt. No matter how cold or detached people are from society, they always feel at least a little guilt. Of course, there are some who lack a conscience, who have no heart to feel guilt, but I'm guessing you are not one of them."

"What are you trying to say?" Lucy asked, unease creeping into her voice.

She didn't like where the conversation was heading.

"I'm saying you are probably a person with a conscience because you are feeling an awful lot of guilt," Sam said, shaking his head while smiling, though it was clear he was anything but happy.

"I'm not lying," Lucy said, her voice tinged with desperation.

"Another lie to cover the first," Sam said, turning his face away from her as if it pained him to look at her.

"I'm not lying! You're just going insane. How do you even know what I'm feeling? You're not an empath. You don't understand the millions of emotions I'm experiencing. Don't speak as if you know everything about me," Lucy screamed, her face turning red with anger.

This anger welled up inside her, but the worst part was that it wasn't directed at Sam.

It was aimed at herself.

She hated that she was lying to him, and she hated herself even more for having every right to tell him the truth but choosing not to.

Sam looked into her eyes and silently scoffed.

He brought his hand in front of his face, and a small magenta-colored flame appeared.

It wasn't hot; it was soothing and calm, and Lucy felt entranced by the flame.

"Do you know what this is?" Sam asked, his eyes fixed on the flame dancing around his hand.

"So yes, I can sense what you are feeling... I can feel the guilt you felt just now when you lied to my face," Sam said.

Lucy met his gaze and felt a sudden urge to confess everything.

But she quickly turned her face away before she said anything.

"I... I have to go," she stuttered, trying to walk away, but a firm hand stopped her in her tracks.

"Don't walk away. What are you hiding?" Sam demanded, locking eyes with Lucy.

"If it's something about me, I have the right to know. Please, don't lie."

"I can't tell you, I'm sorry," Lucy replied softly, admitting she was keeping something from him.

"Why can't you?" Sam pressed.

"Because it's not just my secret to tell,"

"Are you kidding me?" Sam scoffed. "If this is about me, I deserve to know."

Suddenly, a realization struck him, and his gaze sharpened as he turned to Lucy, who met his eyes with a guilty expression.

"Whatever you're hiding, it's not just you who's keeping it from me, is it?"

Memories flooded back one by one—his secretive grandparents, Grace's evasive answers, his mother's insistence on Isabelle living with him, even the Hero King's strange request to watch over his daughter for no apparent reason.

"My family... everyone's hiding something from me," Sam muttered, his expression darkening.

He glanced at Lucy, who didn't deny it, confirming she knew his family was keeping secrets from him, and perhaps she was involved too.

The more he thought about it, the more betrayed he felt by those around him.

He turned to Lucy, his expression sour. "You know, every morning when you came here, I thought you liked me. Turns out, I was wrong. You're just stalking me, but not for the reasons I expected."

With that, Sam turned away and walked off, leaving Lucy standing alone, her face filled with disappointment and her eyes glistening with tears.

...

Principal Agor and Vice Principal Ragnar were engrossed in conversation when a figure suddenly appeared before them.

It was Lucy, her eyes darkened and a tired look etched on her face, as though she hadn't slept well in days.

"Lucy? What happened?" Principal Agor's eyes narrowed with concern at her disheveled state.

"Grandpa, I-I messed up," Lucy said, visibly shaking.

"What is it, dear?" Agor asked gently, guiding her to sit beside him.

"I... I didn't mean to, but..." Her voice faltered.

"It's alright. Just tell me what happened," Agor reassured her calmly.

"He knows..." Lucy muttered.

Agor understood immediately whom she meant and what she was referring to. "Does he know about... it?"

Lucy began to ramble uncontrollably, recounting how Sam had first questioned her actions, how he somehow uncovered her guilt, suspecting everyone else, and now knowing that they were all keeping something from him.

Ragnar listened intently to the conversation unfolding.

After Lucy had detailed everything that had transpired, Agor couldn't help but sigh heavily.

"It's alright, dear. I'll talk to him. I'll convince him he's just being paranoid," Agor consoled, gently patting her back.

"No, you can't... He has some sort of ability to sense emotions. He'll know if you lie, and I don't want to hide it from him anymore," Lucy said, shaking her head.

"Did he yell at you?" Agor inquired.

"No, but he was so upset, and it hurt me to see him like that," Lucy replied softly.

'It's only been three weeks. I'm not even sure if she's exchanged ten sentences with him, but she seems so connected already. Is it because she's a Saintess?' Agor pondered silently.

"Do you think we should just tell him about it?" Ragnar interjected.

"Not yet. We should inform his family and the girls' families. I can't make that decision alone," Agor replied, before sighing once more.

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