"The students who I wounded were just simply little goons that were tasked to terrorize him. Turns out, there was a group of people from prestigious families that were behind Aril's bullying. And when they found out that their little lackeys were wounded, they grew angrier at Aril."
"And so, on the night, before Aril's planned renewal exams, these masterminds showed up at the Lily class dorms. I was by the food storage area at that time trying to get my dinner when I heard their numerous thundering. At first, I was confused since usually at those times, students would be leaving, not trying to enter. And so, curiously, I drew closer to the door to find out who they were and I was able to get a good look at their faces… and their numbers."
"They were as many as the numbers on my age at that time. Some of them were most likely upperclassmen because they were tall enough to cover the windows as they peered through it. They all held furious expressions as they tried to peek on the inside of the dorms, probably checking for signs whether the prefect was still awake or not. Well, it was way past lights out and the visiting times were supposedly over but then again, the prefect didn't care much of the lily class so people were able to come and go once they break the seal of the doors. Hence, when they saw no traces of the prefect in the room, they started to break the door seals using brute force."
Raghnall took a deep breath before continuing. He seemed to have trouble holding in his anger as he remembered the scene. But Inna somehow felt that the anger wasn't directed at the people he was talking about but instead, it felt like it was directed towards himself.
"I knew what they were after… They were obviously there for Aril and they were surely planning to hurt him. But seeing about ten people constantly banging on the door with angry expressions, I… I panicked."
"Hell, I was just ten at that time. And imagine my fright when I saw them all trying to break in. I had no proper training for combat or even any experience with any physical fights. I was trained for magic ever since I can remember and have been sheltered since then. But with my magic alone, I knew that I can take on five or six people. Yet still, ten was a bit too much for me. And they were all from high classes as well. Sure, I was stronger than every one of them in terms of ranks but if they gang up on me, even I could make a mistake that will cost my life sooner or later. So I decided to go ask my father for help."
"I thought that was the best solution because at least I knew that my father could end it all. And so, I finally used my teleportation spell. I haven't used it ever since I ran away because I knew that it was a spell that would certainly make my identity obvious. But at that time, I didn't really care anymore because saving Aril was my first priority."
"And so, when I arrived at the familiar manor, I swallowed my pride and hurriedly went to where he most likely would be. And just as I thought, he was there in his office, wearing his nightly robes, buried in his paper works as though the country wouldn't run without him."
"I tried to hurry and explain everything to him but he had his tired eyes stuck to the papers, not even looking in my direction. When I started to scream furiously, he just sighed, saying that he had no time for me while still looking at his papers. To say that I was pissed was an understatement. It took me so long to actually convince him to look up from his papers and when he did, he just waved me off to play somewhere saying that he's far too busy to 'play' with me."
Raghnall clenched his fist as he gritted his teeth in anger.
"I… At that moment, I just… I gave up on my father and decided to just do it myself instead. I no longer cared what would happen to me, I just wanted to make sure that Aril was alright."
Raghnall sighed as he tried to relax his tense jaw. He didn't want to talk about this moment but he knew he had to for the sake of finding even the smallest amount of comfort that would help him move on.
"I… So, yeah… I gave up on my father and decided to return back to the dorms. I immediately went to my room to check up on Aril and w-when I arrived, I… I… I can't… I'm sorry."
Raghnall buried his face on his hands as he tried to stop the tears that just unconsciously formed on his eyes.
"Let me just… I'm sorry. I… a moment please..."
Inna reached out and patted his back softly as she spoke.
"It's okay. Take your time."
Raghnall exhaled loudly as he finally raised his head.
"I… I saw... The lights were out, with only the moonlight illuminating through the windows of the room as the source of brightness. Aril sat by a chair, his back to me as he looked out the window. I stood there, confused. I thought that they went here to hurt Aril but when I inspected the room, it didn't seem to look like there was a fight or even any struggle."
"Out of my confusion, I began to optimistically think that maybe the men gave up and just left. I failed to notice how Aril was eerily silent despite my abrupt arrival. And so, with an optimistic view, I approached Aril to check whether he was okay."
"B-but when I called out to him, there was no response coming from him. He just continued to face the window as his back faced me. I felt that something was wrong so I figured to go to his side immediately. And when I did, the sight of the pool of red below him began to be visible and it greatly startled me, making me panic as I tried to turn him around to face me."
"A-and… I… I looked at Aril's face and was horrified at what I saw. The tears at that time just bursted out and I immediately tried to cast all the healing spells I could think of, hoping it would help him recover."
Inna's hand tensed up on his back as she hesitantly asked.
"What… what happened to him?"
Raghnall looked at Inna with anguish in his eyes as he recalled the ghastly sight.
"H-his… His eyes... T-they took his eyes…"