<h4>Chapter 390: 390-Bending Backward For Their Loved Ones</h4>
<strong>Rue:</strong>
The watch was in my hand now. I had the power.
I never thought it would be this easy to fool that little girl, but after today, I would no longer look at myself in the mirror and feel like I had failed my sister.
That thought gave me a strange sense of relief.
"I need to use you," I whispered as I stared at the watch, "very carefully," I added.
because I knew there would be only two chances.
One to go back into the past, and the second to return to the present.
Otherwise, I would be stuck in the past. So I had only one option and only one chance to pick the right time.
I thought about going back and killing Clementine during the transition stage so that my sister survived, but then I wondered if that would even help.
If Clementine died early, would my sister survive the rest of the academy without Clementine interfering?
Clementine had killed many monsters. She had saved many crusaders who would have died if she had not stepped in.
My thoughts stopped when I reached the road and received a call from Mr. Rick.
"The headmaster has requested all ringleaders toe to the headquarters," he informed me with urgency in his tone.
"Is everything okay?" I asked, wondering if they had found out that I had something to do with Clementine not reaching the train station or that I had the watch.
"Yeah, juste," he replied before hanging up.
I had no clue what this could be about, but it seemed important for me to go and check it out.
This was going to be my job, and I was going to ruin the future of the academy as well.
If my sister did not survive, others should not either.
I stepped back into the hall, and right at the entrance, I stopped. The headmaster looked extremely anxious.
He stood next to the podium with his hands stretched out on it, and the rest of his body leaned back slightly with one hand on his waist.
I rushed in and stood next to Mr. Rick. The three of us being the only ones there felt odd, and I still did not understand why I had been called in.
I had been let go.
"Sorry we arete," a voice remarked from behind me.
I turned and saw the previous ringleaders, the ones who had been dismissed.
I was confused why they were back, but then again, I was here too.
Ringleader Anna of the blue squad and Mr. Brian of the green squad stepped beside me and gave me a quick bow in greeting.
My attention shifted back to the headmaster. I wondered what was going on.
"As you all know, you are on quick call. Once the new crusaders arrive, you will all be back," the headmaster stated.
I had heard this was the ritual. Once a certain number of crusaders left, the academy would call a meeting and bring in the old ringleaders to prepare them
. But I did not know this was a wipeout session.
Could it be that Clementine not returning had left the crusader count low enough that they would be sent out for a wipeout mission?
"Oh, we are already preparing for that?" Thankfully Mr. Rick voiced what I had been thinking as well.
The headmaster, who used to be full of confidence and knowledge, suddenly looked puzzled.
"There has been some stuff going on. I will be honest with you, I am beginning to wonder how much is enough," he uttered under his breath, and we began to nce at each other.
At this point, we had no idea what was happening with him.
He fixed his coat and faced us again, this time with his hands behind his back.
"What is the status of Crusader Clementine?"
The minute he said her name, my heart skipped a beat. I did not know they were going to talk about her in front of me.
I thought they had already dealt with the knowledge that she had been left behind.
I had to act in a way that did not draw attention to myself.
"Sir, there is a problem. She could not make it. We waited for her at the station and she did not arrive," Miss Lenora exined, and I could already hear the sadness in her voice.
She had been enjoying the idea of getting appraisal from Clementine for being on her squad.
But it was the headmaster’s reaction that caught my attention.
He narrowed his eyes at Lenora and even stepped toward us before stopping himself.
"Well, then go and find her!" he screamed while pointing toward the imaginary north.
"Your Highness, she is left behind. We do not go back to bring in any crusader," Mr. Rick reminded him of his own rules, but the headmaster raised a finger toward him and silenced him.
"I am not asking for advice. If my son finds out that she did not make it..." The headmaster did not finish.
He trailed off, making a fist and bringing it close to his mouth as if trying to control his anger.
"She is my son’s mate. Go send the lurkers. Do whatever you want but bring her back!" he shouted again.
I was already disappointed. All this time, his rules had been unbreakable, but now he was ready to change everything because she was his son’s mate?
"Okay," As expected, the others instantly rushed to their feet and ran toward the door. However, I stayed behind.
"What? Is there something you want to talk about?" he asked, sounding irritated, and I fixed my posture.
"Headmaster, I do not understand why you are so worried for her. She is just like the others. Besides, I remember you were worried she was causing your son a lot of stress," I reminded him.
He had not seemed fond of her after finding out she was his son’s mate, yet suddenly he was worried for her. Why was that?
"It does not matter what I used to think. The point is that she is my son’s mate," he hissed while looking at me.
"Are we changing rules now?" I remarked.
He began stepping toward me, and I had to step back.
"I said, go do whatever you want to do, but bring my son’s mate back," he finished.
I finally looked away and gave him a nod. When I turned around, I slid my hand into my pocket and touched the watch.
I already knew what I was going to do. I would go back in time and kill Clementine, and change things in a way that Ian would fall for my sister.
I saw how they bent rules for the ones they loved.