I Bought the Villains With Money - Chapter 85

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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 85.
“You won’t gain anything by looking. You haven’t proven those documents are genuine.”
“That’s true. Perhaps I can’t prove it. But I can.”
Diana’s lips curved upward. Rather than confirming Julia’s intentions again, she withdrew a small orb from her pocket.
“Our entire conversation has just been recorded on this Magic Orb. Even if these documents aren’t authentic, you’ve effectively revealed the location of the real ones, Your Majesty.”
Disbelief washed over Julia’s face—the first raw expression Diana had ever seen from her.
Julia squeezed her eyes shut, then opened them again.
“Wait. Sit down.”
“I’m afraid I don’t have time, Your Majesty. I have assignments piling up——”
“What do you want?”
“Remove Anderson from court.”
“Pardon?”
“You said it yourself just now. That Anderson did it.”
The muscles beneath Julia’s eyes twitched. Diana pressed on without pause.
“Once this recording reaches His Majesty, Anderson will face severe punishment anyway. You yourself could be implicated as an accomplice. Wouldn’t it be better to dismiss him preemptively?”
Anderson had certainly not acted alone—that much was certain. Yet with only forged evidence and this conversation as leverage, the most Diana could extract was the removal of Anderson, Julia’s right hand.
‘If only I were certain of His Majesty’s affection for Cassion, I’d push harder.’
Karman’s true feelings toward Cassion remained a mystery.
“Speak plainly. What exactly do you want done with Anderson?”
Diana answered without hesitation.
“Banish him, Your Majesty. Send him abroad.”
Banish Anderson?
Julia lurched to her feet.
Anderson was her instrument, her loyal hand. The only person Julia trusted—and Diana was demanding she cast him out.
“His life and mine are worth far more than that, I think. Banish him. There’s no room for compromise.”
Diana’s voice was absolute.
“And one more thing: withdraw all the people you’ve placed around Cassion and me.”
Julia’s face drained of color. Diana gave her no time to think.
“If you won’t agree, then I’ll take my leave. Goodbye.”
Julia’s eyes flew wide, fierce anger blazing in their depths.
Diana watched with interest to see what Julia would say.
“……Fine.”
At last, Diana had her answer.
“If I banish Anderson, you’ll delete the recording?”
Julia asked, eyes clenched shut before opening again. Diana nodded. This was a one-time weapon.
“I trust you’ll keep your word. I’ll take my leave now. Until we meet again, Your Majesty.”
Diana bowed with propriety. Julia clenched her jaw and did not return the courtesy.
And the moment Diana slipped from the room,
“AAAAAAHHHHH!”
A shriek shattered the silence of Braiting Palace. Julia’s roar.
“I won’t forgive this. Never!”
Julia’s curse, venomous with rage, echoed through Braiting Palace.
***
The next day, Anderson vanished from the royal palace. I sent the Magic Orb back to Julia and carefully stowed the forged documents in a Magic Pouch.
“You could’ve pressed Julia harder while you had momentum.”
“These documents are counterfeit.”
Forgeries lose their power eventually. If Julia ever revealed that the evidence against her was fake, the backlash would fall on me.
Simply removing Anderson, Julia’s right arm, was already an enormous victory.
And the sweeping evaluation of the Imperial Studies faculty worked in both Cassion’s favor and mine.
Going forward, the professors wouldn’t dare grade us based on Julia’s whims.
“Still, Cassion remains locked in Gardian’s chambers, doesn’t he?”
Rumdracks asked. I nodded.
“I have no idea what he’s doing in there. I wonder if he’s actually healing……”
I’d wanted to share the news of landing that blow against Julia and celebrate together—but what could Cassion be doing?
***
“AAAHHHHH!”
While Diana fretted over Cassion, screams filled Gardian’s chamber.
“Please, Your Highness, stop!”
But it was not Cassion’s voice—it was Gardian’s.
“It won’t stop, Master.”
Cassion held Gardian’s hand in a tight grip, drawing his Mana in with greedy hunger.
Yet something was different about Gardian today.
In just a few days, he had aged dramatically. It was Cassion’s fault—draining his Mana so relentlessly.
‘I’m trying to save my student, and I’m the one dying.’
Gardian reached out with one hand. The Staff that had been leaning against the wall flew through the air and snapped into his palm.
Without hesitation, Gardian swung it. Cassion stumbled backward to avoid the blow, and their contact broke.
“Gasping for breath—it seems you need a lesson in respecting your elders.”
“And perhaps you need one in child protection, Teacher.”
Here was a man barely clinging to life, yet his tongue kept wagging.
Still, the way he kept talking back made Gardian’s chest warm.
When they’d found him in Wind Valley, Gardian had truly thought he was dead.
Gardian wiped the beads of sweat from his forehead and settled into his seat. Cassion sat across from him.
Both men picked up their forks to eat the now-cold food.
A long silence stretched between them as they ate.
“Your Highness.”
When Cassion’s plate was half empty, Gardian spoke.
His voice carried an unusual weight when he said Cassion’s name.
Cassion swallowed a piece of salmon he’d just eaten and set down his fork.
“You’re stopping already?”
At Gardian’s words, Cassion laughed softly.
“How could I swallow my food when you’re calling me in such a frightening tone, Teacher?”
The two of them exchanged words with unusual formality. Gardian rinsed his mouth with water.
“Besides, the food doesn’t suit your taste anyway. There’s no point in forcing yourself to finish it.”
After spending these past days tumbling through life with Cassion, Gardian had noticed his student’s particular tastes.
“You’ve found me out. Why all this preamble before saying what you mean?”
Cassion squeezed lemon juice into his water glass. The fishy taste still lingered in his mouth, irritating him.
Gardian waited patiently for Cassion to finish rinsing.
“There is nothing more I can do. Not anymore.”
Cassion’s eyes widened. In the next instant, his gaze filled with sorrow and fear, like a puppy abandoned by its master.
Gardian gave a bitter laugh.
He knew the hopes both children placed on him were enormous. He himself had been confident he could treat Cassion’s condition to some degree.
But when Cassion had teetered on death’s edge, Gardian had recklessly attempted a cure and nearly lost his own mind in the process.
Cassion’s Mana Core was greedier than any ordinary Mana Core.
“What did I do wrong?”
Beneath the table, Cassion’s fist clenched and trembled.
Though they’d known each other only a short time, affection had grown between Cassion and Gardian.
It wasn’t merely a matter of sentiment. By becoming Cassion’s teacher, Gardian had also changed Karman’s attitude toward him.
Gardian was the sort of person whose mere presence became a help.
Setting aside all calculations of gain and loss, Cassion simply liked Gardian.
He was an adult who treated Cassion with honesty.
“Your Highness has done nothing wrong. If there is fault to find, perhaps it lies with the Will of Heaven itself.”
The Will of Heaven.
There was no other way to explain why Cassion had been born with such a voracious Mana Core.
“Couldn’t I simply avoid absorbing your Mana?”
“You mean to avoid all contact with me entirely?”
Cassion nodded vigorously.
“That would be difficult. My hand reaches for you of its own will.”
The way he struggled so desperately to live was heartbreaking; the way he pushed forward even as blood dripped from his nose was tender; and when he occasionally talked back to Gardian, it was endearing.
Watching Cassion, Gardian sometimes wondered if this was what a parent felt.
“I will be more careful! So please…….”
“I will grow stronger and return. My cultivation is still incomplete.”
Gardian made his decision. He would enter the Magic Tower and find a way to make Cassion well.
The Magic Tower held vast resources, and he could devote himself entirely to research there.
“You have the strength to endure about one year in your current state. Of course, you must continue your physical training and eat properly. Give me one year. I will certainly find a way to cure your illness.”
Seeing the unwavering resolve in Gardian’s eyes, Cassion bowed deeply.
He understood there was no point in trying to persuade him otherwise.
“Peach Pie for dessert would be pleasant, wouldn’t it?”
Gardian spoke. He rang the bell, and a Peach Pie filled the room with its sweet aroma as it was brought in.
In the end, the only one left at Cassion’s side was Diana.
‘Diana is here, so it will be all right.’
Cassion unclenched his fist and picked up the fork. Yet he couldn’t understand why his chest felt so hollow.
***
At last, Cassion’s confinement was lifted.
Karman heard the news but was too busy to visit Cassion himself. Instead, he ordered Kaleth to send a gift to Cassion on his behalf.
That afternoon, Gardian came to find Karman.
“Still busy, I see.”
“If I weren’t busy, that would be a lie. Sit. Still, I have time for my child’s teacher and the one who saved his life.”
“As it should be.”
Despite interrupting the king’s work, Gardian spoke with unshakeable confidence. Karman asked an attendant to bring refreshments.
“Ah, if it’s anything sweet, I can’t abide it—bring nuts instead, if you would.”
The attendant laughed, acknowledged the request, and not long after, refreshments were laid out for Gardian.
Karman issued a dismissal order to everyone except Gardian. As the attendant left, Gardian crunched through the nuts while surveying Karman’s office with a wandering gaze.
“And how is Cassion faring?”
“Are you worried?”
At Gardian’s provocative tone, Karman’s brow furrowed.
“It’s just that for someone so worried, you seem to have left the boy rather abandoned.”
“A family matter.”
Karman’s clipped response drew a shrug from Gardian.
“How can the affairs of the Petrola royal house be merely private concerns? They will shape the future of the entire Petrola Kingdom.”
“But you’re a mage, aren’t you? You should have no interest in the politics of a mere kingdom.”
Gardian nodded in acknowledgment.
Karman was right—Gardian cared nothing for who became king of the realm, nor for the hidden struggles waged over the throne.
His interest lay in magic alone.
Gardian wasn’t unusual in this; most mages were the same.
“Indeed, I remain indifferent. I have no desire to become interested. Not so long as my student’s life is not in danger. This incident was no accident, was it?”
Karman’s eyebrows rose sharply.
I Bought Villains with Money (Serial)
Author | Yi In-hye
Publisher | Kim Joo-hyung
Publishing House | J Plus Media Co., Ltd. – Tiramisu
Marketing | Han Jae-hyuk
Address | Suite 1101, Ace Techno Tower 8th, 11F, 11 Digital-ro 33-gil, Guro-gu, Seoul
Email | [email protected]
Website | http://blog.naver.com/jayplemedia1
ⓒ Yi In-hye 2021
※This work is published by J Plus Media Co., Ltd. pursuant to a contract with the copyright holder,
and its contents may not be used in any form or by any means without the permission of the company and author.
Violation of this restriction may result in civil and criminal 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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