Mateo hurried to sit across from Hugo, asking anxiously, “Mr. Hugo, Henry’s situation was a failure on my part as an educator. You’re not planning to leave Governance University, are you?” The moment he asked, Mateo’s heart filled with unease. Based on Hugo’s personality, if this had happened in the past, he’d have been long gone by now, not a second thought. With Hugo’s accomplishments, he could easily take a few students and teach them on his own. After all, anyone who studied under Hugo never had to worry about their future. Out in the world, people naturally gave him respect just for being who he was. Mateo knew full well — it was Governance University that benefitted from Hugo, not the other way around. If Hugo wanted to leave, he could do it anytime. His reputation was already well-established; with or without Governance University, he was a professor everyone revered. But the university wasn’t so lucky. Without Hugo anchoring its faculty, Governance University’s standing in the education world would never be the same. Hugo shot him a sharp look. “If you hadn’t leaked that news, I would’ve taken my students and walked today.” Mateo sucked in a breath. He really had been planning to leave. Silently, Mateo gave thanks. Good thing I made the right call. Thank God I had enough sense! Hugo kept going. “Just look at the kind of students you’re admitting. Every other day they’re buzzing around my student like flies — constantly picking fights, constantly annoying. Do they not have anything better to do? They think Arthur can’t breathe without them nearby? What is their problem with him?” Now that he’d found an outlet, Hugo let all his pent-up anger loose. “And that Finley! I never liked him from the start! Always scheming, desperate to become my student, full of tricks and lies — and yet you treated him like a gem! You couldn’t even see through those cheap tricks?” The more Hugo talked, the angrier he became. “If we weren’t longtime friends, I would’ve quit this place a long time ago!” Then suddenly, something else came to mind. “And Zac! Do you have any idea what kind of person he is? Do you know how he treated Arthur when they were kids? And you still accepted him? What were you thinking?” The moment Hugo brought that up, the brightness that had just returned to Mateo’s eyes instantly faded. He sighed in frustration. “You think I wanted to? Of course, I know about Zac’s history with Arthur. And I know exactly what kind of person Zac is.” “Then why’d you still take him in? Are you trying to make life harder for us on purpose?” Hearing that Mateo had knowingly made such a decision only reignited Hugo’s fury. Mateo quickly explained, “It wasn’t up to me — it was Solivair. He’s got people in the education bureau. He went straight to them and had it arranged without telling me a thing. What could I do?” Hugo’s anger paused mid-rise. Solivair’s influence had already spread into the education system?Was it for Finley’s sake, or had he been planning something all along? But Hugo quickly dismissed the first idea. Finley — sure, he walked around Governance University acting like the future heir to the Tremo family, and even the Tremo matriarch seemed to favor him. But Hugo had always sensed that Solivair didn’t truly trust Finley. He definitely hadn’t named him as his successor. Finley was never present at any major events. It was as if, in Solivair’s mind, someone else had already been chosen to inherit the Tremo legacy. Finley felt more like a pawn — someone Solivair kept around for show. For some reason, Hugo suddenly thought of Solivair’s long-lost daughter. Lately, Solivair had been secretly searching for her — his daughter, missing for years — but it seemed like nothing had come of it yet. It had been a long time since Arthur’s kidnapping, and still, there’d been no news. On top of that, Solivair had suffered a string of business failures recently. Hugo’s eyes went wide with a sudden realization. Without saying another word to Mateo, he shot to his feet, flung the door open, and ran. His sudden urgency left Mateo confused and speechless. Hugo raced toward Arthur’s dorm in a near panic. As he ran, he pulled out his phone and quickly dialed Arthur’s number.The call rang and rang — but no one picked up. A terrible feeling bloomed in Hugo’s chest — getting worse by the second. Normally calm and composed, the professor who was always addressed respectfully as Mr. Hugo was now sprinting in a panic, all trace of his usual dignity gone. When he reached Arthur’s dorm, he found the door wide open. The inside of the dorm was empty. He called Arthur’s name several times, but there was no response. Not even Ashley’s voice could be heard. As Hugo stepped deeper into the quiet room, he tried to calm himself down with rational thoughts.