"Don't you feel any guilt at all?"
Raghnall raised his eyebrows as he peered at her.
"Guilt? Well… back then, I did. I felt it immensely that I haven't been able to forgive myself for the past ten years. But it's different now."
Raghnall smiled innocently as though all remorse just flushed out of his system.
"Didn't you say that Aril's death isn't my fault? That the fault lies in the main cause of it all? Well, in that case, it's their own fault. If they didn't harm Aril, then I wouldn't have to do anything. And besides, didn't you say that everyone always had a choice? Well, they had the same choice as Aril had. With their tongues and eyes gone, they could have asked help from their friends, right? Or they could have tried hard to live on their own, right? Unlike Aril, they all had no debts. Unlike Aril, they all had a complete, noble, and rich family. Unlike Aril, they didn't suffer from countless injuries and horrifying memories of being bullied. But they still chose to follow what Aril did. So, technically, they had a choice, did they not? It was just that they chose to end their lives then and there."
After hearing what he had to say, Inna couldn't find any words to retort back at Raghnall. She was too shocked at his way of thinking that she barely even let out a squeak.
She didn't know where to start in pointing out the absurdity in his reasoning. Well, she felt as though she was to blame for his views. After all, he used the same points she made while comforting Raghnall as the basis for his reasoning.
And although he had a point, ethically speaking, for her, it just doesn't feel right. But she had no idea how to tell him that. Because she knew, he had the right to have a different view on things and have different opinions on what the 'right' thing should be. So, with a heavy sigh, she just held her mouth shut.
Raghnall felt that his words somehow made Inna unsettled. He saw her face contort into a small unsure grimace and he couldn't help but be slightly hurt by it.
He shouldn't have told her.
Feeling regret starting to seep through, he decided to just shut his mouth and stare at the statue.
Inna saw him being fixated by the statue again and she couldn't help but ask him.
"Uh, if you don't mind me asking, why are you so attached to the statue?"
Raghnall snapped out of his trance as he looked at her in confusion.
"What do you mean by the statue?"
Inna gestured at the beautiful statue by the center of the pond.
"That. I noticed that you look at it almost every min--moment."
Raghnall smiled lightly as he gazed at the statue again.
"Actually, that woman was the reason why the lily class was founded. My respect for her knows no bounds. She was the very first teacher in that class. And back when it was still a new class, it was heavily respected as the class of the talented eccentrics. She had a great knack for finding people with unique talents among the sea of students in the academy. And originally, the lily class was a special class that was greatly hands-on towards their students. Their schedules were customized because they had specialized requirements in order to improve their power levels. But when she… disappeared, it just turned the lily class into something… horrific and toxic. And this time… it was all… my fault."
Raghnall mumbled the last few words quietly, making Inna unable to hear them as his eyebrows furrowed slightly. Meanwhile, with after digesting that interesting bit of information, Inna couldn't help but feel respect at the beautiful woman. She thought that it was simply one of those statues they place on ponds to beautify it but to think it used to be such an amazing person. But, she recalled the strangeness in his words that she couldn't help but be curious about.
"What do you mean she 'disappeared'?"
Raghnall sighed as his eyes hardened.
"She… died. In… an accident."
Inna waited for him to elaborate more but it seemed as though that was all he was willing to say. So, taking the hint, Inna didn't pry anymore.
After a few seconds of both of them just staring at the statue, Raghnall started to feel uncomfortable with the silence. So, he decided to ask Inna a question that's been bugging him for the longest time.
"Ninny… where exactly did you come from?"
Inna's eyebrows shot up in shock at the sudden question.
"W-what? What made you ask that?"
Raghnall gave her an obvious flat look as he cocked his head to the side.
"I think you should be more surprised at the fact that I DIDN'T ask you that sooner. It's pretty obvious… After all, you're not that well… acquainted… with y'know, common knowledge…"
Inna didn't know how to retort to that so she just huffed in annoyance. But inside, she was panicking at what to reply to his question.
Should she just make up a lie?
Say something about having amnesia again or like, being born in a country that's supposedly part of this world?
Or should she get it out of her system and just say the truth?
But… if she told him the truth, can Raghnall really be trusted?
Well, so far, looking back on his actions in the past year, she can say that Raghnall is trustworthy. She didn't even know why such a question popped in her mind.
And thinking about it, even if she did lie, it'll be quite obvious. After all, as what Raghnall had said, she wasn't that informed with the common knowledge so, if she were to spout bullshit, Raghnall could immediately sense it.
On the other hand, if she told him the truth, aside from him seeing her as a legitimately crazy person, she couldn't really find any possible bad consequences.
Instead, she'll get the chance to finally talk to someone about her situation. And besides, there's a hundred percent chance he wouldn't believe her anyway.
So, with a decision in mind, she finally answered him.
"I… uhh…"