I Bought the Villains With Money - Chapter 81

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 81.
A Letter from the Queen.
A letter recruiting Umberler, no less!
Umberler accepted the position of Imperial Studies professor without hesitation.
Once he did, the department head who was his classmate, and even the Academy’s chancellor, began treating him differently.
He had found solid backing at last.
But nothing in this world comes free. Julia made exactly two demands of Umberler.
“Please look after Dayson and Yumire. They’re good children. Since Botany involves so much fieldwork, won’t there be many classes outdoors? I want them to learn in the field.”
Few parents requested outdoor fieldwork in such cold weather.
Yet Julia actively pushed for hands-on practice, reflecting the very nature of Botany itself.
Umberler was moved.
Julia truly possessed a remarkable educational philosophy. How excellent must Dayson and Yumire be, born to such a mother?
Unfortunately, that rosy impression shattered in the first class.
Yumire slouched throughout, nodding off repeatedly, while Dayson worked hard but somehow seemed to miss the point entirely.
By contrast, two students Julia had never mentioned—Diana and Casion—stood out.
Both sat straight-backed, hung on his every word, took meticulous notes, and submitted work of exceptional quality.
It was natural his attention turned to them. Then one day, Julia summoned Umberler.
“Shouldn’t we venture outside soon?”
Heavy snowfall over recent days had closed several mountain ranges. By Umberler’s judgment, this was hardly ideal timing for fieldwork.
Yet beneath Julia’s frigid gaze, he could only say, “As you wish.”
At last, the day of the fieldwork class arrived. Fortunately, the weather was clear.
The children appeared bundled in layers upon layers of clothing.
One child, two, three, four.
Umberler couldn’t help but smile at their endearing sight.
These were Petrola’s future. The pride swelled within him—he was doing something truly significant.
“I’ve distributed reports to each of you. Your task is to locate the plants listed in your report and observe your surroundings carefully, then record your findings.”
Petrola had a unique native plant that bloomed even in winter. Because it flowered after breaking through ice, the flower proved remarkably effective against influenza.
If they could only cultivate it in large quantities, conquering influenza would be within reach.
Currently, many in Petrola perished each winter from influenza.
To conquer the disease, they needed to thoroughly investigate the Botany of Aifli.
“Where might we find it?” Casion asked, raising his hand.
Casion asked, raising his hand.
“Surely you’re not asking us to search blindly without telling us the location, are you, Professor?”
Dayson’s tone was sharp. They were all royal children, and one was the child of Irenberg.
All had received the same level of courtesy training, yet Dayson’s manner toward Umberler was unusually impertinent.
Rather than reprove him, Umberler produced two sealed document packages.
“I’ll divide you into teams. His Highness Casion and Lady Diana form one team. His Highness Dayson and Her Highness Yumire form the other.”
Each team received a sealed map.
“You may open the map once you’ve left the palace. The carriages are prepared—simply take them. Safe travels.”
Umberler hurried the four along, citing time constraints. Two carriages soon departed the Royal Palace.
Umberler waved after his students. Out of professional responsibility, he intended to visually confirm that the escort carriages had properly set out.
One escort carriage immediately departed.
‘Why is only one escort carriage following?’
The two teams had different destinations, yet only one escort carriage had gone after them. It seemed odd.
Umberler waited for a second escort carriage to appear. But no matter how long he waited, no second carriage emerged.
“Did they forget?”
Forget? This was no small oversight! If something went wrong, his own safety couldn’t be guaranteed!
As Umberler turned to lodge a complaint with the administrator, a second escort carriage leisurely passed before him.
Umberler relaxed. He was bothered by how late one had departed, but what did it matter now?
‘It’s all near the palace anyway.’
With this complacent thought, he quickened his pace toward the professor’s office in the Royal Palace.
‘The locations are all set near the palace grounds, easy to find, and the weather’s fine—they’ll be back before long.’
A cup of tea would be time enough.
Humming softly, Umberler opened the office door.
***
When Anderson found Julia, she was arranging flowers.
Only a handful of nobles and royals could adorn their chambers with large, luxuriant blooms even in the depths of winter.
Flowers grown in the greenhouse were rare and expensive. The fact that one could procure such costly winter blooms in abundance was itself a display of power.
So Julia particularly enjoyed flower arranging once winter arrived.
“Your Majesty, I’ve brought the documents.”
Anderson, bearing the chill of the outdoors, pressed two document envelopes into Julia’s hands. She remained absorbed in her flower arrangement as she questioned him.
“Were there people around?”
“Professor Umberler’s quarters were deliberately assigned to an isolated location. There was no one passing by.”
“And you’re certain the professor hasn’t noticed the documents were switched?”
“Yes, entirely certain. What should we do with these documents?”
Julia turned her attention to the envelopes Anderson held out.
Inside these envelopes lay the genuine maps that Umberler had prepared to give the children, including Dayson.
The fact that these maps were here meant the maps the children had taken were different ones—precisely the maps Julia had swapped in.
“Burn them. We can’t leave any trace.”
Anderson thrust the document envelopes into the blazing fireplace without so much as verifying their contents.
Should questions arise later and he face interrogation, any knowledge of what was inside would only deepen suspicion.
‘Know nothing.’
That was the only thing either of them could afford to say if anything went wrong.
In truth, Julia and Anderson had now become people who knew nothing.
The documents Umberler had prepared were now nothing but a handful of ash.
Anderson tidied the fireplace with the poker, then stepped to Julia’s side.
“What of the Crown Prince? According to that map, he’ll be traveling quite far.”
Not knowing which documents were bound for whom, Julia had been forced to swap both maps for ones pointing to equally dangerous locations.
Naturally, the destination on the map Dayson carried was exceedingly perilous.
“Sometimes one must face danger. He’s lived far too sheltered a life.”
Julia spoke with perfect composure. Anderson was certain she would never actually put Dayson in genuine jeopardy.
“The Escort Knights went with him, Anderson.”
So Julia did have her safeguard, after all.
“I assigned only capable men. There’s nothing to worry about.”
Anderson exhaled in relief. He had been too preoccupied with the map switching to give Dayson much thought.
He had worried that if anything happened to the Crown Prince, Julia would lose her mind entirely—and he alone would bear the full brunt of her fury.
But that fear had now evaporated.
Even if Dayson and Yumire found themselves in danger, the Escort Knights would extract them.
Still, Anderson reminded himself of his precarious position—one that demanded caution until the very end.
“Your Majesty.”
At the note of concern in his voice, Julia raised her hand.
“Dayson and Yumire won’t return entirely unscathed. If they returned perfectly fine, it would look exactly as though someone had deliberately targeted only Casion and Diana.”
“You’re right. It would appear that way.”
Anderson did not say that this was precisely what had happened.
“This must end as an accident born of Umberler’s excessive zeal. For that, Dayson and Yumire must bear some risk.”
Anderson understood Julia’s meaning perfectly. She meant to sacrifice the small to gain the great.
Julia snipped the stem of the last flower and placed it in the vase, then settled onto the sofa.
“I do have one question, Your Majesty, if I may.”
Anderson pushed the flower-arranging tools aside and opened his mouth. Julia, settling into the sofa, flicked her hand in permission. At her gesture, Anderson stepped closer and spoke with proper deference.
“Why specifically Professor Umberler? Wasn’t he recommended by His Majesty? We could have managed far more easily with our own faculty.”
Julia laughed softly.
“Precisely because His Majesty recommended him, Anderson.”
“I’m not sure I follow.”
“Since His Majesty recommended him, His Majesty can never suspect me.”
“Ah.”
Anderson often found himself in awe of Julia’s thinking. This was one of those moments.
So her consistent kindness to His Majesty’s people had been deliberate—a means of creating opportunities to use them as her pieces.
“I’ve learned well today, Your Majesty.”
Julia smiled faintly and spoke.
“Spare me the flattery. Bring me writing paper instead. This has gone smoothly enough that I should compose a letter of gratitude. This opportunity was made possible by the money my mother sent.”
Julia’s voice carried unusual brightness.
***
I opened the documents, saw the map, and gasped.
“What is it? What’s wrong?”
Casion craned his neck over my shoulder.
“We can’t go there!”
The location Umberler had marked on the map was the Wind Valley.
It was a ravine of treacherous terrain that, come winter, turned its waterfalls into jagged ice spears.
“The path is incredibly harsh. And the wind—it’s no joke. We should abandon this, Your Highness.”
There was no need for deliberation. In this cold, venturing into the Wind Valley meant frostbite was certain.
Moreover, Casion’s health was far from robust.
Though he attended Gardian’s treatments and lessons regularly, his condition remained essentially stagnant.
‘Remarkably improved compared to before, though.’
Still, if he exposed himself to the cold wind for too long, he’d cough; and after coughing through the night, he couldn’t rise until afternoon the next day.
Take Casion to Wind Valley in this state? I couldn’t do it.
“I have to go. I’m going.”
But Casion insisted on it unconditionally.
“Why?”
“I won’t lose to Dayson.”
“Your Highness, you must consider when to indulge your competitive spirit.”
Sometimes letting yourself lose is the true path to victory.
“Diana, this is a fair fight. We chose the documents ourselves. We’re taking responsibility for our own choice. If we lose even in such an impartial competition, there’s no recovery for our record.”
I recalled my grades hovering near failing marks. It was the first time I’d ever received such a dismal evaluation.
“But that’s the evaluator’s fault, Your Highness. And your grades don’t define who you are.”
“Diana, if we lose here, there might not be a next time.”
By “next time,” Casion meant becoming Crown Prince.
Unprecedentedly, all those with claim to the throne now studied Imperial Studies together.
Competition was inevitable, and the process and results would likely serve as objective data in selecting the Crown Prince.
Already fighting with half the battle lost, if I surrendered in the remaining half as Casion said…….
I Bought the Villains with Money (Serialized)
Author │ Lee In-hye
Publisher │ Kim Joo-hyung
Published by │ J Plus Media Co., Ltd. – Tiramisu
Marketing │ Han Jae-hyuk
Address │ 11F, Ace Techno Tower 8, 11 Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul (Guro-dong, 1101)
Email │ [email protected]
Website │ http://blog.naver.com/jayplemedia1
ⓒ Lee In-hye 2021
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder,
and no part of its contents may be used in any form or by any means without permission from the publisher and author.
Violation of this will result in criminal and civil legal liability.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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