The Teacher of Budding Villains Suffers Today, Too - Chapter 11

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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 11
As Lucas gazed at Rachel without so much as a blink, Rachel found herself acutely uncomfortable.
To overcome the unbearable awkwardness, she spoke first.
“Theo is adapting reasonably well, but Noah seems to be taking a bit longer to adjust.”
“What do you mean by taking longer to adjust?”
“Ever since that big argument with his schoolmate, he barely speaks to anyone and just stares out the window all the time. When I ask him what’s wrong, he won’t answer.”
“Theo and Noah seem similar, yet they’re quite different.”
Lucas, who had been listening quietly, spoke up.
“As you know, there’s only a year between them. Theo received his mother’s love for at least that year, but Noah never did.”
Rachel knew this much from the records she’d reviewed. The Empress had passed away not long after Noah’s birth.
That’s why Noah was sent to his maternal grandfather’s care before he’d even reached his hundredth day.
“Watching Noah, I’m constantly reminded of how crucial childhood is. Theo, having received a mother’s affection for at least a year, has some emotional foundation, but Noah, who was entrusted to his grandfather so soon, is different.”
Rachel had heard something about Noah’s maternal grandfather being an unusual man. She also knew that his influence had shaped Noah’s temperament in somewhat peculiar ways.
“His grandfather was Noah’s entire world. Now that even his grandfather is gone, he has no one to rely on. The only person he might still trust is his brother Theo, but seeing how well Theo is adapting here may have made him feel anxious.”
“I think what Noah needs right now is someone he can open his heart to and depend on. Someone other than Theo.”
Rachel had assumed that being such a busy man, Lucas would hardly pay attention to Noah properly. Yet he understood Noah with remarkable clarity. This gave her the confidence to speak openly with him.
“I want to become someone Noah can trust without reservation. It may be difficult at first, but I’m going to work at building his relationship with others more than just his reliance on Theo.”
Rachel laid out her approach to Noah carefully and thoughtfully, adding that she was making efforts to gradually ease the hostility he harbored toward her.
“You seem to genuinely care for the boys.”
Lucas, who had been listening intently, opened his mouth to speak.
Rachel chose her words carefully. She didn’t want to sound conceited, yet she wanted him to understand that her affection for the children was sincere.
“They’re my students. No matter what anyone else says.”
The words she’d selected so carefully turned out to be remarkably ordinary. For a moment, she regretted the banality of what she’d just uttered.
But when she glanced at Lucas’s face, his expression was far too serious. Had her sincerity reached him?
“Hearing you say that puts my mind at ease.”
Suddenly, Lucas leaned forward and reached out his hand. As if possessed, he brushed a strand of hair back from her face.
‘……!’
The moment his hand touched her ear, Rachel’s breath caught.
Physical contact with none other than the Crown Prince. It was enough to make her faint.
The awkwardness and embarrassment flushed her cheeks crimson.
Yet Lucas, as if nothing had happened, straightened himself and spoke again.
“I hope Noah doesn’t get hurt. That’s what I wish for.”
Rachel looked into Lucas’s eyes.
They were remarkably clear. He gazed at her reflection in those dark irises and smiled softly.
“Finish the day well, and I’m counting on you tomorrow too.”
A gentle arc curved across Lucas’s lips.
‘He must have just been bothered by how messy my hair looked.’
Soothing her racing heart with this thought, Rachel returned his smile with equal warmth.
* * *
Even after returning to the Imperial Palace, Lucas found himself thinking of Rachel. He couldn’t fathom what power she possessed.
He recalled Rachel’s pink lips.
The way they moved as she spoke softly was so endearing that the image kept circling through his mind.
‘This is strange indeed.’
In all his years living, this was his first experience of its kind. For Lucas, the most important things in life were protecting his brother and maintaining his position as Crown Prince.
Everything else he’d deemed insignificant. Yet somehow, when he was with her, that moment felt more precious than anything.
It had been the same when Noah caused trouble. There was no reason to seek out the Duke’s Residence and help her.
Yet he had gone there with only one thought: that he must help Rachel.
And even though his brothers were now enrolled at the School, he could have simply let his attention slip.
But for some reason, he kept finding excuses to draw closer to her under the pretense of checking on his brothers. He couldn’t comprehend his own heart.
‘I truly don’t understand it.’
As he’d brushed her hair back, his hand had barely grazed her ear. Yet even that slight contact sent a subtle tremor through him.
‘Perhaps she feels the same way I do.’
Lucas was becoming aware of this truth, slowly but undeniably.
That he was interested in Rachel Swan.
* * *
Rachel’s favorite time of day was the evening.
She hummed as she organized the Study Materials to distribute to the children. Then she tucked her disheveled hair behind her ear.
“…….”
As she tidied her hair, a certain person came to mind.
‘I hope no one noticed my face turning red.’
The Crown Prince might have thought nothing of it—a casual gesture—but she didn’t want to read too much into it.
Rachel exhaled softly.
‘He’s clearly a good person,’
He was an exemplary Crown Prince who cherished his siblings, and possessed genuine humanity besides.
It was only natural to harbor ‘official’ affection for such a Crown Prince.
‘Who wouldn’t like him?’
Was there another member of the royal family who would set aside hierarchy and treat a baron’s daughter with such grace? Rachel bit her lip.
‘But I can’t tell what color my own feelings are.’
She certainly harbored affection for Lucas Maxim. Yet she couldn’t say whether that affection was directed at ‘Crown Prince Lucas Maxim’ or at ‘the man Lucas Maxim’.
The former posed no real problem, but if it were the latter, she’d only invite heartache upon herself.
‘Harboring feelings for the Crown Prince would only bring cold reality in return.’
Rachel deliberately steeled her heart to one conclusion.
Her affection was directed not at the man Lucas Maxim, but at the ‘Crown Prince’ who looked after his siblings well.
She was lost in such thoughts when—
The sound of hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor, and the headmaster’s office door burst open.
“Miss!”
The one who pushed through the door was Collo.
“Noah is beside himself—he’s screaming.”
“Noah?”
Noah had been unnaturally quiet for days after the meeting with the Crown Prince. What on earth could have driven him to lose control?
Rachel bolted to her feet and rushed toward Noah’s room with Collo.
“Noah!”
“Aaah!! No! No!!!”
Screams poured ceaselessly from Noah’s open room. The boy was tearing at his own hair, shrieking.
She couldn’t make sense of it. Rachel hurried over and began trying to calm the child.
“Noah, calm down and look at me.”
She tried to grip his shoulders and meet his eyes, but he thrashed his head violently from side to side.
“What on earth is wrong with you?!”
“Those… those mad… bastards…!”
When Noah’s hands fell from his hair, a note slipped from his grasp onto the floor. Rachel quickly snatched it up.
…….
She rarely lost her composure, but the moment she read the note’s contents, words abandoned her.
As her body stiffened, the butler Collo approached. He too read the note and darkened his expression.
-A parasite born by stealing our mother’s life-
The words were scrawled in an illegible hand, as if written with the left hand deliberately.

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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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