The Teacher of Budding Villains Suffers Today, Too - Chapter 109

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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 109
The negotiations between Tirnes and Anareо concluded without incident. The Emperor of Anareо had brought numerous Magic Stones. Upon inspection, they were indeed high-grade Magic Stones, exactly as Tirnes had requested.
‘Something feels wrong about how smoothly this is going.’
Lucas frowned slightly. The Emperor of Anareо he knew was not the type to hand over Magic Stones so readily.
‘This is strange. I need to return to the camp at once.’
Seized by instinct, Lucas found his thoughts turning to Rachel. Inexplicably, he couldn’t shake the conviction that something had happened to her.
The entire ride back to camp, his mind churned with unease. Despite achieving what they’d sought in the negotiations, he felt as though they’d lost something far more precious.
“Where is Rachel?”
The moment Lucas returned to the camp, he asked about Rachel’s whereabouts.
“Miss Swan is currently in conversation with Sinclair in the Barracks.”
“With Sinclair?”
That she was speaking with no one else but Sinclair unsettled him in ways he couldn’t articulate. He dismounted quickly and hurried toward the Barracks.
“Rachel.”
Lucas strode into the Barracks. But neither Rachel nor Sinclair was inside.
“What—what…?!”
The soldier who had accompanied him went pale.
“But… nobody left! I swear it!”
The soldier’s face bore no sign of deception.
Then it was one of two things: either Sinclair had betrayed them, or he too had fallen into danger.
Either way, Rachel was in peril. Lucas’s expression hardened like stone.
“Find Rachel Swan. Now.”
* * *
‘My head is pounding.’
Cold sweat traced across her brow. Rachel’s breathing came in shallow, ragged gasps.
‘What was my last clear memory?’
She had drunk the tea Sinclair offered her. The moment she realized something was amiss, her vision blurred, and then—nothing. Rachel forced herself to steady her quickening breath.
‘Did Sinclair betray us?’
No matter how she turned it over in her mind, that was the only conclusion she could reach. It was incomprehensible. The father of the Crown Prince—the very foundation of the nation—had betrayed his own country.
‘I must have lost consciousness.’
Rachel’s eyes opened slowly, but her vision remained clouded. As she forced her heavy eyelids upward, the world began to sharpen.
“Miss Swan!”
A voice called to her. Rachel turned toward it.
“…Sinclair?”
Sinclair came into focus. And behind him, the surroundings.
No matter how generously she interpreted the situation, this was a Prison. Most likely a dungeon.
“What on earth is this…?”
“Don’t ask me! I’ve been deceived too!”
Sinclair spoke with bitter irritation.
Even he, who had betrayed his nation, had grievances. For he himself had been deceived.
A spy from Anareо had approached Sinclair in secret.
The spy whispered that if Lucas Maksim became a war hero, he would inevitably become the next Emperor of Tirnes. Should that happen, the Fourth Prince—son of the Crown Prince—and his unborn sibling would have no hope whatsoever.
Through this intermediary, the Emperor of Anareо promised: help eliminate Lucas Maksim from this war, and he would move heaven and earth to ensure the Fourth Prince ascended to the throne.
Sinclair had weighed everything in the balance.
Looking at the current situation as the spy described it, the Fourth Prince had no chance of reaching the imperial throne—not so long as Lucas Maksim remained alive.
The battlefield was the most natural place to eliminate Lucas Maksim. But he was formidable. To capture him, one would need to exploit his weakness.
His betrothed: Rachel Swan.
The spy handed over the tea. If only Rachel Swan would drink it, the rest would be taken care of, the spy assured him.
Giving the tea to Rachel Swan had been simple. She drank it without suspicion and collapsed.
But then things went wrong.
‘Why did I have to be dragged into this?! Ugh…’
The spy had struck Sinclair’s solar plexus. He lost consciousness, and when he woke, he found himself in this Prison, its location unknown.
“Are you now betraying both Tirnes and the Crown Prince?!”
Rachel’s voice was sharp with accusation.
“Yes. You’re right.”
But the answer did not come from Sinclair’s lips. Startled, Rachel turned.
Standing there was Katie.
“Katie, how did you—”
“Isn’t it obvious from the situation?”
Rachel let out a hollow laugh. Katie was right. This was the painfully obvious picture of her homeland’s betrayal.
“It was me who told the enemy that kidnapping you would make it easy to capture Lucas Your Highness.”
“How could you do this?!”
“That’s my line. You’re the one who destroyed my life—a life I lived perfectly well as the Crown Prince’s betrothed!!”
Katie railed against the prison bars, kicking them with vicious irritation.
“Let you rot in here for the rest of your life.”
Katie’s smile turned murderous. All Rachel could do was stiffen and stare back at her.
* * *
Henry and several other knights and mages had been summoned in secret. Among them were Commoner Mages.
With the negotiation already concluded, none could fathom why they’d been called. They could only speculate that something grave had occurred.
Three knights, three mages. And the Crown Prince Lucas himself. Seven figures sat gathered around the table.
“The reason I’ve summoned you is simple.”
At Lucas’s words, Henry bit his lip. He seemed to have already grasped something.
Rachel Swan’s absence from this gathering made no sense. Something had certainly happened to her.
His rational affection for her had faded, yet she remained to him like a younger sister. What could have befallen Rachel Swan?
“Some of you may have guessed—Rachel Swan has vanished. All evidence points to Anareо’s involvement.”
At those words, Henry exhaled deeply.
“I intend to enter Anareо to retrieve Rachel Swan. If any of you share this purpose, you may join me. If not, you are free to withdraw.”
Lucas laid out his plan quietly. Neither knights nor mages spoke. Not one turned back.
After a few moments passed, Lucas looked toward Henry.
“Henry Chesper will lead this operation.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Our objective is singular: recover Rachel Swan with all speed.”
Strength infused Lucas’s voice. The assembled company nodded in unison, affirming their shared resolve.
“Pack light. We leave at once.”
Lucas tucked the Sun God’s Dagger into his chest, along with Rachel’s Powder Compact—which he always kept close.
* * *
“Ah, this is so tedious. What is this?”
An Anareо soldier guarding the prison muttered to himself.
“Right? And that person is supposed to be a knight? What kind of knight has such delicate hands?”
“What?!”
Sinclair, who had been listening quietly, reacted with irritation. The Anareо soldier found his response amusing and snickered.
“I’m serious. If he were a real knight, he’d train constantly. This one looks like he’s never trained a day in his life.”
“Ha, you’ve got a point.”
The soldiers relentlessly mocked the Duke. Sinclair thrust his hands through the bars, trying to grab them, but they easily evaded his grasp.
Never was there such a commotion.
Yet Rachel remained silent. Her mind was consumed with thoughts of escape.
‘If Lucas leaves the Military Camp to save me, that cannot happen.’
She longed for him to remain safe, but Rachel knew the truth—he was not the kind of man to abandon her.
‘Please, stay safe.’
Even imprisoned, Rachel prayed for Lucas’s safety. Yet he was already walking a perilous path toward her.

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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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