The Teacher of Budding Villains Suffers Today, Too - Chapter 103

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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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Episode 103
‘What in the world am I supposed to do about this?’
Sinclair fell into deep deliberation.
Just as Rachel had predicted, he was the one the Emperor had sent to the battlefield, entrusted with formidable power from the imperial hand itself.
‘That cunning girl saw right through me.’
He clicked his tongue in frustration. He’d believed it to be a secret shared only with the Emperor, yet Rachel Swan had already grasped the entire situation.
‘My troubles are mounting by the hour.’
Sinclair drew a short dagger from his chest. The blade the Emperor had privately entrusted to him gleamed brilliantly in the light.
The power contained in this dagger was extraordinary—with it, he could overcome the magical energy of an Ancient Magical Beast.
‘In truth, he’s asking me to wield it myself.’
Sinclair was, at heart, a coward. He’d spent his life sheltering behind his daughter, the Empress, protecting his own skin. Indeed, he’d even feigned illness to avoid the last continental war.
For such a man, the Emperor’s dagger was an unbearable burden—a blade meant for him to wait until the tide had turned completely against them, then rise up as a hero to vanquish Anareо’s Ancient Magical Beasts.
‘Now that my scheme is exposed, handing it over to that woman might not be the worst choice after all.’
Sinclair exhaled heavily and turned the dagger over in his hands.
To the naked eye, it appeared no different from any ordinary short dagger, yet it harbored immense power. If it were combined with Crown Prince Lucas’s abilities, it might very well turn the entire war on its head.
‘Victory is victory, regardless.’
Sinclair rose to his feet, his mind now made.
His destination was none other than Crown Prince Lucas’s military camp. He entered with an awkward smile.
“Your Highness.”
“What brings you?”
Lucas asked flatly. Only then did Sinclair venture to speak.
“Are you familiar with the Sun God’s Dagger, among the treasures passed down through the Imperial Family?”
There was no way he wouldn’t know. Lucas’s eyes narrowed slightly as he studied Sinclair.
Just as treasures descended to the Empress, so too did many pass to the Emperor—and the Sun God’s Dagger was among the most closely guarded of all.
The fact that Sinclair possessed this knowledge only deepened Lucas’s wariness.
“The Sun God’s Dagger was forged in the ancient days when Magical Beasts ravaged the world.”
Sinclair spoke truth. The Ancient Magical Beasts had indeed run rampant during those times. The Sun God had created this mighty blade for precisely that reason—to grant the Tirnes Emperor the power to protect his people.
“I have… misplaced it here.”
Sinclair withdrew the Sun God’s Dagger from his chest and laid it before Lucas, then bowed deeply.
“May the Sun God’s blessing walk with you.”
With those words, the Duke departed the camp. Lucas’s expression hardened in bewilderment, but he soon picked up the Sun God’s Dagger.
“I can piece together what happened.”
The very act of entrusting the Sun God’s Dagger to that coward Sinclair spoke volumes about what the Emperor had truly intended.
Lucas let out a hollow laugh. The full scope of the Emperor’s blunder had suddenly become clear.
* * *
Katie found herself consumed with anxiety. Though she’d gained freedom of movement since arriving in the Anareо Empire, it felt as though every soul in the palace watched her.
‘I must be of use here.’
Having betrayed her homeland and crossed over to Anareо, Katie’s shoulders bore a weight. And it wasn’t she alone who’d made this crossing.
With her family having abandoned their country alongside her, she had no choice but to prove her value to Anareо in every way.
‘I need to write down everything I know.’
Fully resolved to betray, Katie picked up her pen. She intended to document every weakness of Tirnes that she possessed knowledge of.
‘The true wielder of power in Tirnes is the Crown Prince.’
So she began, with Crown Prince Lucas Maksim.
‘Lucas’s weakness is…’
Katie’s eyes narrowed. Much as she hated to admit it, the person he cherished most was Rachel Swan. She elevated the Crown Prince in ways Katie never could.
Unwilling to acknowledge this truth, Katie had grown spiteful. She’d sought to humiliate Rachel Swan, throwing all her strength into pushing her aside.
But Rachel Swan was unshakeable. She was no one to be dislodged by Katie’s efforts.
‘This is infuriating.’
No matter how often she turned it over in her mind, Rachel Swan remained an infuriating presence. Katie wrote the name beside Lucas Maksim and sighed.
‘Where is Rachel Swan now, and what is she doing?’
She was surely occupied with training Commoner Mages. That meant she was certainly far removed from Dekision River, the battlefield.
‘Attacking Rachel Swan would be the surest method.’
Lucas Maksim was a formidable warrior. Rather than assaulting him directly, it would prove far more effective to strike at his betrothed.
‘I should tell them to target Rachel Swan.’
Katie wrote hurriedly, scratching out her instructions—to attack Rachel Swan by any means necessary. It was undoubtedly the easiest way to bring Lucas Maksim to ruin.
Katie did not know.
That Rachel Swan, occupied though she was with training Commoner Mages, had come to the battlefield and was fighting at Lucas’s side.
She did not realize how greatly this multiplied the danger she now faced.
* * *
“What is this?”
The Crown Prince of Anareо waved the paper as he spoke.
“These are the weaknesses of the Tirnes Imperial Family, which I have compiled.”
Katie answered respectfully.
“At last you’re doing your job.”
The Crown Prince let out a brief laugh.
The Crown Prince of Anareо was a contemptible man. Unlike his father, the Emperor, he had not ventured to the battlefield. He harbored the conviction that the moment his father fell, the Imperial Throne would pass to him without delay.
He had pressured Katie openly, demanding she bring him the weaknesses of Tirnes. With no other choice, Katie had written down every vulnerability of the Tirnes Imperial Family she could muster.
The Crown Prince was reading through the contents with satisfaction when he clicked his tongue sharply.
“So in essence, you’re saying I should kidnap this woman named Rachel Swan.”
……
“She’ll be inside the Tirnes Imperial Palace?”
…Yes.
“How am I supposed to kidnap someone in Tirnes? If you have a plan, let me hear it.”
As the Crown Prince spoke irritably, Katie smiled awkwardly.
“…If we concentrate attacks on the Commoner Mages, Rachel Swan may venture to the battlefield.”
“I’ve heard every manner of nonsense.”
The Crown Prince rolled up the paper in frustration and hurled it away.
“Leave.”
…Yes.
Katie bowed deeply and slipped out through the door. In that same moment, a masked man approached the Crown Prince’s side.
“Your Highness.”
“Ah, yes. You’ve returned.”
The man was a Spy sent into the Tirnes camp. The Crown Prince had chosen a Spy capable of channeling even Mana because he could not afford to underestimate Tirnes’s power. The Crown Prince greeted him warmly with a broad smile.
“What of the new intelligence?”
“Several days ago, soldiers from the capital arrived at the Tirnes camp, and among them were Duke Sinclair, who is the Empress’s father, and Rachel Swan, the Crown Prince’s betrothed.”
“What…?”
“Duke Sinclair….”
“No, wait. You’re saying Rachel Swan, the Crown Prince’s betrothed, has come to the front of the Dekision River?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
The Crown Prince of Anareо could not hide his laughter. It felt as though fortune itself was arriving to grant Anareо victory in this war. He rose from his seat at once.
“I go to the Mage Tower.”
The Mage Tower of Anareо—equal to Tirnes’s, and perhaps even more formidable. The Mage Tower Master of Anareо was the Crown Prince’s instrument, and whatever task he was given, he brought to completion.
The Crown Prince conceived of what he would command the Mage Tower Master to do. With the aid of one so powerful, eliminating Rachel Swan would surely be a simple matter.
‘Victory is within reach. All of Tirnes will be under our rule.’
The Crown Prince’s smile turned cold and cruel as he imagined a glorious future.

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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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