Chapter 926: You... like... who?

"Where is she, Ben?"

Benjamin opened and closed his mouth, watching Hugo tilt his head toward the window. He gulped nervously.

"What—what are you talking about?!" he stammered, his breath hitching. "Se—second Brother, aren’t you listening to me? I said I don’t know! She’s not here! And if she were, I wouldn’t be tied up like this! She’d release me and stand up for me against this humiliation!"

"Oh..." Hugo rocked his head but still didn’t buy it. His instincts were tingling, and he could just feel that Benjamin knew where Penny was. His eyes fell on the desk again as he pushed himself away from the window.

Hugo trudged toward Benjamin, stopping in front of him. This time, his eyes were cold while Benjamin trembled in fear.

"Wha—what?!"

"Move away," Hugo said, dragging Benjamin’s chair away as he checked underneath the desk.

There was nothing.

Benjamin’s breath hitched as he heaved a deep sigh, watching Hugo straighten his back. Slowly, Hugo looked back at him with suspicious eyes.

"I—I told you!" Benjamin yelled. "Miss Penny is not here! Why don’t you listen to me?!"

"Then why are you so nervous when I ask?"

"Because... because I don’t know! Can’t you see this situation, Sir Hugo? I’m tied up here, filled with anger and thoughts of revenge! I want to bury Mark right here and now, but how can I do that when I’m tied up like this? And then you’re treating me like I’m a criminal in an interrogation!" Benjamin continued venting. "Anyone in my situation would feel this way because I don’t know what to think!"

Hugo assessed Benjamin again before he rocked his head. He looked around the classroom, still confused about how Penny had gotten away.

’I was so sure she hid in one of the classrooms on this floor,’ he thought, snapping his eyes back to Benjamin.

"Sir Hugo, please... help me," Benjamin sighed, almost on the verge of tears. "I can’t take this anymore."

Hugo let out another deep sigh and marched toward him. He studied Benjamin’s pitiful face, tilting his head as he pondered.

"Second Brother..."

"Benjamin, revenge is a bad thing," said Hugo. "I’m not saying your feelings aren’t justified, but it’s better to think about your next course of action for now."

Benjamin’s expression faltered, his complexion paling. "Second Brother, what does that mean?"

Hugo didn’t answer, instead flashing him a smile and tapping his shoulder lightly. "I’ll come back for you once you’ve calmed down. I’ll just look for my sister, okay?"

With that, Hugo squeezed Benjamin’s shoulder before strutting away.

"Calmed down...?" Benjamin whispered, his face slowly turning red. "Second Brother, how could you do this to me!? Aren’t you someone who protects the citizens of this country?! How could you turn a blind eye to this injustice and humiliation and tell me to calm down!? Second Brother! Second Sir Brother! Second—"

SLAM!

The rest of Benjamin’s words drifted into the four corners of the classroom when Hugo slammed the door shut. Benjamin clenched his teeth and hissed, looking back at the shut door. When his eyes fell on the gap beneath the door and saw Hugo’s shadow leave, he huffed and quickly calmed down.

"Goodness!" Benjamin quickly wiggled his wrists and arms, causing the ropes to fall off. "Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god."

Once Benjamin was free, he jumped out of the chair. He nearly fell, having been tied to it for at least an hour, causing a little imbalance. However, the adrenaline rush got him through it, and he managed to reach the window.

Standing where Hugo had been moments before, he opened it and looked outside.

"Miss Penny!" he whispered-yelled, watching Penny clinging to the sill. Her feet barely touched the thin concrete design on the wall, but everything depended on her fingers holding onto the sill.

"Oh my goodness!" Benjamin panicked, reaching his hand out to grab Penny’s arm. "Miss Penny, please hold on to me. I’ll pull you out of there!"

As Benjamin pulled, his gut nearly lurched as he hadn’t expected her to be so heavy. But the thought of how dangerous Penny’s situation was fueled his adrenaline. He pulled with all his strength, his veins nearly popping. Thankfully, he managed.

Thud.

Both of them tumbled onto the floor, Benjamin lying on his back, his expression blank. He couldn’t believe what had just happened, and it felt like his soul barely stayed with him. Penny, on the other hand, could only sigh and grin.

She turned to Benjamin, rolling onto her side and propping her knuckles on her jaw. "Hey, do you want to become an actor?"

"Huh?"

"Your acting is very convincing! You’d do well in roles like... cannon fodder." Her smile stretched from ear to ear, her eyes twinkling. "Anyway, thanks for saving me."

Slowly, Benjamin moved his gaze to Penny, who was acting as though her life hadn’t just been in danger. But then again, he felt like pulling her back in here had been more life-threatening for him than for her.

"Miss Penny, why are you even hiding from your Second Brother?" Benjamin asked under his breath.

"Well..." Penny trailed off, looking up as if thinking. "Now that you ask, I actually don’t know why."

"Huh?"

"It just felt like he would kill me if he caught me."

"What the—" This time, Benjamin had newfound energy, sitting up immediately. "Miss Penny, you just risked your life hiding from your second brother and you don’t even know why?!"

Penny blinked, making Benjamin even more frustrated.

"How could you be so careless?!" he exclaimed, distressed. "You could’ve gotten hurt! Do you know how worried and scared I was?! I was so scared I didn’t even know how I managed to pull you back with that bodysuit’s weight!!"

"The bodysuit isn’t that heavy. It was me."

Benjamin ignored her side comment and huffed. "Miss Penny, please don’t do that again! If you’re in trouble, just tell me and I’ll fight for you! Even if it’s against the military lieutenant—or even the general himself!"

"..." Penny blinked again, staring at Benjamin’s red face. However, she couldn’t help but smile at him because she could see the sincerity in his eyes. It moved her a bit. "We should be friends."

"Huh?"

Penny’s smile stretched as she said, "I like you."

But alas, the moment those words left her mouth, the door suddenly flew open again. Benjamin and Penny flinched in surprise, assuming Hugo hadn’t really left. They turned their heads toward the door, their eyes slowly widening.

It was Zoren, not Hugo.

"You... like... who?"