<h4>Chapter 540: Your savior, Jake</h4>


    "Your Highness, I beg for your apology on my son’s behalf," Jake’s father, Gideon, stepped up immediately, bowing low. "I swear I will discipline my son well." Since the other kids hadn’t physically raised a hand against Idris, they had already been dismissed from the school’s chairman’s office.


    Jake red sullenly at his father, but remained quiet, unwilling to apologize himself.


    "What will disciplining Jake do?" Casaio stated, his tone t. He had already seen how Jake was reacting toward his father’s apology, with resentment, not remorse.


    "He may just learn to be sneakier and bully more kids. Instead, he must learn the empathy of how it feels when someone gets locked in a room for twelve years,pletely alone," he pronounced, referring to Idris’s traumatic past.


    "Of course, I—" Gideon began, ready to agree to any punishment, but Casaio held up his hand, cutting him off.


    "I would like to talk to Jake in private now. Everyone shall dismiss," Casaiomanded.


    The chairman and the others left the office one by one, closing the door and leaving Casaio and Jake alone.


    "Take a seat, Jake," Casaio said in a humble, measured tone while he leaned casually against the mahogany desk.


    "Your Highness can expel me from this school if he wants. I know I made a grave mistake," Jake said, keeping his head low, expecting the worst.


    "Take a seat, Jake," Casaio repeated, not rising to the bait.


    Jake took a deep breath and stepped forward before lowering himself into the chair. He fiddled anxiously with his fingers, showing his nervousness.


    "Why did you do it?" Casaio asked directly. "What kind of pleasure did you find in it? You must be honest with me."


    "I don’t know. I simply did not like Idris’s presence in the ss," Jake truthfully answered, still avoiding Casaio’s direct gaze.


    "Why? What did he do?" Casaio asked the next question calmly.


    "He’s not from here. Maybe that’s why," Jake answered, finally looking up at the Alpha Prince. "He pretends to be too nice. I hate it. That gaze in his eyes seems deceptive."


    Casaio was momentarily unable to understand the boy’s rationale. He then changed his approach to find out what was truly in Jake’s mind.


    "I think you didn’t hear me earlier. I told you Idris was locked in a room for twelve years," Casaio began, his voice taking on a serious edge. "Have you ever been put into such a situation? Have you ever been threatened and had to fight to keep yourself alive? Have you ever encountered dangerous men who are ready to kill you because you’re deemed useless?"


    "No," Jake refused.


    "You know what’s the strange part of this world? Those who try the hardest to act strong are often the weakest," Casaio stated, his eyes fixed on the boy. "You are abused at your home, right? So, to maintain your authority, to show people how strong you are, you take that anger out on kids like Idris. Am I right?"


    Casaio then picked up the confidential file lying on the desk and stood straight after opening it. "This contains all the incidents in which you were the prime used. You were beating children ever since you were six years old. Multiple reports have been made against you, Jake. Your father routinely settled such cases with money. And obviously, your fear among the kids has grown, but not respect."


    "My Beta interviewed many kids from your ss, even outside. Every single kid expressed fear of you, not respect. Every single one wants you to be punished severely. I can do it with a single flick of my finger, since I have that authority."


    He took a brief pause and watched the boy’s reaction. Jake’s face carried unmistakable fear now. The frantic fiddling of his fingers had dramatically increased.


    "Why don’t you help the weak instead? You still have many years to shape yourself into a better person. Don’t you want to be loved by the people around you?" Casaio posed the challenging question.


    Casaio abruptly paused as Jake spoke, the boy finally breaking under the pressure.


    "How’s that possible? No one will even want to talk to me after what I did to Idris!" Jake cried out, the suppressed emotion finally bursting forth. "My own father hates me for being born out of wedlock. It makes me so angry seeing others as a happy family. And Idris, he didn’t even have a future, but suddenly he got lucky! I hate myself. Just punish me, Your Highness, and get over with it."


    Casaio knew he had sessfully broken through the boy’s aggression and realized the deep well of pain and insecurity that had been fueling his bullying. He quietly took out a lighter from the pocket of his zer and, without a word, set the incriminating file in his hand aze.


    Jake looked at him in total confusion, wondering what the Alpha Prince was doing. Casaio threw the burning file into the empty tin dustbin, watching the evidence curl into ash.


    "I will be your savior, Jake," Casaio dered, his voice firm butpassionate, looking past the bully to the hurting child underneath. "But you have to promise me you’ll never look down on the weak again. Of course, everyone wants to show themselves as a strong person. You want the same. There’s nothing wrong with that, except for the ways you choose to do it."


    "I assure you that whatever you’ve undergone all these years, the feeling of inadequacy and the pain, will stop. Maybe you and I had to meet in this manner; maybe that’s why you raised your hand on Idris. But this will be thest time you’ve hurt any kid. Am I clear, Jake? Do you want to change your future? Or do you want to continue being a bad boy?"


    Jake looked intently into the eyes of the Alpha Prince, his own eyes glistening with unshed tears. "I don’t want anyone to be my savior. Mostly, elders are liars. I’ve seen it," he confessed bitterly.


    "Maybe you simply haven’t had good elders like me," Casaio pronounced gently. He walked closer to Jake and ced his big, warm hand on his head, giving it soft, reassuring pats.


    "Idris asked me repeatedly to let this go. His eyes don’t pretend; they arepletely honest. He is an innocent boy, trying hard to fit into a world that was violently snatched from him a long time ago. He’s fighting his own battles, Jake. And trust me, he needs friends. Some truly good friends. You’ll be one of them, won’t you?" A hopeful, gentle smile carved onto Casaio’s lips.


    Jake was quick to wipe the tears from his eyes, defensive even in his despair. "Don’t you want to beat me up? Elders always do that," he said, sobbing slightly.


    "I told you I’m not that kind of elder who belongs in the category of evil," Casaio answered firmly. "I want to be your savior, Jake. You are a bright boy with a bright future ahead of you."


    Jake cried more as he broke downpletely in front of Casaio. He let the boy cry his heart out while keeping his hand over his head until he had calmed down.