บท 59: Lies
As soon as Ace said those words, the pressure towards Hugh seemed to have multiplied. Hugh could feel a prickling feeling on his skin, and he was trying his hardest not to crack under pressure.
The pressure did not just come from Ace, but also the room itself. Hugh's vision started to blur and made it seem like the walls were becoming closer and enclosing him on the four walls.
Hugh steeled himself and balled his fist until his nails dug on his palm. His fist trembled until he cut his own skin, flowing out a small bit of blood.
This pain allowed Hugh to ground himself and focus on keeping his wits by himself. He knew that Ace was starting to pressure him to tell the truth, but he would never relent.
"I did not kill him."
Hugh's eyes were clear, and it fought back against Ace's sharp eyes. He was showing his resolve not to crack under pressure.
Ace furrowed his eyebrows as he saw Hugh resist the pressure weighing down on him. Most of the students that were forced to go through this pressure relented their secrets in no time.
Most of the delinquents were B-level talent and above, so it was weird that the F-level talent Hugh was able to keep his composure.
"You killed him when he went after you! Tell me the truth! *BANG*."
Ace raised his voice into a shout as he punched the table to try and intimidate Hugh. Ace looked at Hugh and did not see him flinch nor break his gaze. He knew that he would not be able to crack Hugh with this kind of technique.
Ace decided to change his tactics in making Hugh confess his crimes. He sat down and released the pressure on Hugh. He unbuttoned his collar as if he was now taking it easy.
Hugh panted and took a big breath as he felt the pressure release. His body was sweating, yet his face showed no fluster nor any indication of fear. He was going to double down on his lie to try and get out of the situation.
Ace put both of his elbows on the table and leaned towards Hugh. He now had a disarming voice that seemed like he wanted to help Hugh.
"Hugh, let me help you. Tell me you killed Joub, and we will let you off easy. We value honesty, and we will reward those who give us that respect."
Ace had an earnest smile as if he was starting to pity Hugh. If Hugh had his guard down, he might have fallen for that false sense of security.
He knew that he should not trust the Student Council because he had heard bad things about them. He was already deep in this hole of lies so that he would go through it to the end.
"I. Did. Not. Kill. Him."
Hugh enunciated each word as he tried to convince Ace of his innocence. His voice was clear and full of resolve.
"Do not play with me, Hugh. If you do not help us, we cannot help you. Murder is an offense that will warrant the CDA to interfere. If you do not have our help, they will send you to hell."
Ace had a fierce face as he tried to warn Hugh of the outcomes of his crimes. Ace was trying to paint a picture of a better result if Hugh relied on the Student Council.
Hugh was not afraid of being found guilty of murder. The CDA already wanted him just by the nature of his Desire.
With Ace's attempt to make Hugh confess, Hugh gathered that they do not have sufficient evidence to convict him. They would have already sent him to the CDA if they had enough evidence, so all Hugh had to do was deny everything they said.
With this confidence, Hugh was able to stay strong in his lies and not let Ace persuade his decision. Hugh just stayed silent and did not respond to Ace.
Ace stood up and made his chair squeak from the floor. He crossed his arms and looked at Hugh with furrowed eyebrows. Ace figured out that Any of his techniques would not work on Hugh.
Ace took a big breath and took his uniform back from the chair. He opened the door and went outside, leaving Hugh all to himself.
Ace walked towards the next room and opened the door. Inside, he could see his fellow Student Council members fiercely discussing with each other.
They were all looking towards the wall to their right, and they could see Hugh sitting quietly. This was where they observed their detainees when it was time for the interrogation.
Ace ignored the Student Council members arguing and went directly to a man sitting in a luxurious chair in the middle of the room. This man had a distinct thin smile and thin eyes, and Ace recognized him immediately.
"Felix, I could not crack him."
Felix had his elbow on the arm of the chair, and his chin was on his hand while watching Hugh sitting alone in a room.
"Yeah, I saw that."
Ace crossed his hands and turned to look towards the wall where they could see Hugh. He spoke towards Felix.
"I could make him speak, but that would mean it was off the records."
Felix heard this suggestion and shook his head. It was usual for them to inflict some torture on the detainee to get them to speak, but it was illegal to do so. To circumvent this, the torture took place deep underground their headquarters.
"No. We still do not know who Veer is, and Hugh is one of Veer's favorite subject. If we torture Hugh, Veer could expose us."
Ace nodded as he heard Felix's reason. Felix was in charge of everything that happens in the Student Council, and he was the one who gets his hands dirty. They all had to follow Felix's words.
"What do you think? Did he kill Joub?"
Ace asked the critical question. They had no concrete evidence against Hugh, so it was all just a hunch. In fact, the evidence suggested that Joub died of suicide.
Further inspection of the crime scene depicted three people during the incident. They could tell that Hugh and Joub were there during the night, but they did not know who the third person was.
Felix was usually able to tell if a person was lying or not, so Ace trusted Felix's instincts.
Felix furrowed his eyebrows as if he was in deep thought. This surprised Ace because Felix was never confused. Felix always had a plan and an answer. It was rare to see him speechless.
"He's lying, but I know that he did not kill Joub due to the evidence. He seems to believe that he killed Joub."
Ace furrowed his eyebrows and looked at Hugh. This had never happened before, so he did not know what to do. The only way to convict Hugh was if Hugh confessed to his crimes, but that seemed like it was unlikely to happen.
"He's also hiding something, but I do not know what it is."
Felix still had his eyebrows furrowed as he told Ace of his remark. Felix was usually able to observe a lot about a person, but Hugh had a veil of mystery around him.
"Is he a spy from another school?"
Ace told Felix of his assumptions. They were currently seeing many movements from the spies from other schools, so he thought that Hugh was part of the spies.
"No. His background is clean; he is not a spy."
If Hugh were a spy, it would explain why he had a conflict with Joub since different spies from different schools usually eliminated each other.
"Then, does he truly have a hidden power?"
Ace then asked about the rumor that Veer spread throughout the school. Ace was also curious if that was true, so he asked Felix.
"I do not care if he has a hidden power. I only care that the students should not believe Veer."
Ace nodded and agreed with Felix's point. With the appearance of Veer, they could not control the information inside the school. Misinformation could spread and cause chaos throughout the school.
"We'll have to get rid of him some way until we catch Veer."
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