The Teacher of Budding Villains Suffers Today, Too - Chapter 115

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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 115
Strangely, sleep eluded her even as midnight deepened. Rachel lay awake through the night, and by the time dawn’s edge crept across the sky, she had not closed her eyes once.
‘Perhaps….’
There was really only one reason she couldn’t sleep. None other than Lucas’s words.
‘What could it be?’
Rachel released a shallow sigh. What on earth could warrant such a cryptic message? Her mind kept taking flight, spinning possibilities in every direction.
‘Could Lucas be in danger?’
After enduring a war, one’s imagination runs wild with every conceivable fear. Rachel gazed down at her own hands. The feeling of Lucas taking her hand seemed as fresh as if it had happened mere seconds ago.
‘Perhaps I should take a walk in the garden.’
A stroll through the garden was the only remedy for a troubled mind. Rachel rose quietly from her bed and made her way toward the garden.
The garden at night was still. Not a sound disturbed it, and one could lose oneself in a world of solitude.
‘Whatever Lucas chooses to do, I will stand beside him.’
Recalling the weight of his words, Rachel clenched her fists tightly.
Morning was drawing near.
* * *
He had summoned the Nobles’ Assembly and now sat with utter composure, regarding the assembled lords.
Until recently, more than half of the nobility had opposed the Crown Prince. Yet through this war, a considerable number had shifted their allegiance.
They had quietly changed sides. It was evident to anyone that Crown Prince Lucas would become Emperor—there was no reason to stand against him.
Though Lucas himself harbored little interest in the throne.
“Your Highness the Crown Prince. All are seated.”
Duke Reus opened his mouth quietly, and Lucas turned his gaze upon the assembled nobles.
“…….”
His stare seemed to pierce right through them, and the nobles held their tongues. They began to hazard private guesses as to what matter the Crown Prince might raise.
“I have an announcement for you.”
An announcement, not a discussion. Even Duke Reus, a staunch supporter of the Crown Prince, could not hide his surprise.
Yet Lucas, as though indifferent to the nobles’ reactions, pressed on.
“I intend to appoint my betrothed, Rachel Swan, as Crown Princess.”
“…I beg your pardon?”
The nobles erupted in murmurs. Each seemed to have much to say, their mouths opening and closing in succession.
The nobles’ reaction stemmed from a single fact: the authority to appoint the Crown Princess lay with none other than the Emperor.
Designating the Crown Princess was the Emperor’s exclusive prerogative. Lucas could hardly be ignorant of this. Yet he had appointed the Crown Princess with such casual authority.
It was an unmistakable challenge to the Emperor.
‘What on earth is he thinking….’
How much better it would have been had he consulted Duke Reus first. The Duke released a hidden sigh.
No matter how popular Lucas was throughout Tirnes or how much glory he had won in war, he remained the Crown Prince. He could not lay a hand upon the Emperor’s authority.
‘Surely he doesn’t intend to seize the throne….’
If he did, it seemed entirely within his capabilities.
‘If that is his aim, then I must lend him my support.’
The minds of Duke Reus and the other pro-Crown Prince nobles alike grew heavy with deliberation.
Thus the spark was lit.
* * *
“What?! Lucas said such a thing!”
“Yes…. Your Majesty.”
The Emperor struck his palm against his forehead with a sharp blow.
He had long suspected that Lucas would one day threaten his position. But he had not expected that day to arrive so soon.
‘What in the world is he thinking!’
Until now, Lucas had shown little ambition for the throne. That such a man had suddenly appointed the Crown Princess with his own hand meant he was ready to clash with him directly.
‘Lucas… this fool…!’
The Emperor’s expression twisted in anger. The Crown Princess beside him was no different.
She had been trembling with anxiety all along. For one reason: her father had committed a grave blunder during the war with Anareo.
It was a miracle she had not been cast out from the Imperial Palace. Had she not been with child, the Emperor would have expelled her at once, for he offered her no protection.
She stroked her belly and gathered her thoughts. She had to find a way to escape this crisis.
“All of you, withdraw.”
The Emperor dismissed his attendants and servants. Once they had vacated the space, only the Emperor and the Empress remained in the vast chamber.
“Empress, what are we to do about this?”
The Emperor released a weary sigh and spoke to the Empress.
“Your Majesty….”
It was not only the Emperor who felt the weight of helplessness. The Empress too sighed and shook her head slowly.
“At this rate, I shall lose my very throne to that wretch Lucas!”
“That shall not come to pass, Your Majesty.”
The Empress set the Emperor’s mind at ease. Her thoughts raced quickly—how she might push Lucas into the pit of ruin.
“Your Majesty.”
Perhaps crisis sharpened the mind. An idea flickered through the Empress’s thoughts.
“What if we were to try this approach?”
The Empress began to whisper something into the Emperor’s ear. The more she whispered, the more sinister his expression became.
The Emperor and Empress. Both stood ready to spring the trap on Lucas.
* * *
“What? You’re appointing me Crown Princess?”
“Yes, ma’am. It’s a good thing, but…”
The Tutor trailed off. Rachel couldn’t bring herself to rejoice either.
Since arriving at the Imperial Palace, she had learned much—among other things, that the Emperor held sole authority over Crown Princess appointments. That authority was his alone, and to meddle with it meant challenging the Emperor’s power directly.
‘Lucas wouldn’t have simply appointed me Crown Princess without reason.’
Rachel narrowed her eyes slightly, trying to divine his deeper intent.
‘No matter how I think about it, it feels like a direct challenge to the Emperor himself…’
She turned the matter over in her mind from every angle, yet the answer remained the same.
‘Could he be thinking of taking the throne?’
If that was what he desired, she would support him without hesitation. She was his lover, after all—they were in the same boat.
“Miss Rachel.”
A maidservant’s voice came from beyond the door. Rachel approached to see who had come.
“What is it?”
“The Emperor’s Palace… they’re summoning you, Miss Rachel.”
“Me?”
To summon her to the Emperor’s Palace right after Lucas’s announcement about the Crown Princess—it was obviously connected to that matter.
It was plain as day what awaited her there: questions about the Crown Princess appointment. But her own thoughts were still tangled, her response unprepared.
‘What should I do…’
Rachel’s face fell, yet despair solved nothing. The imperial attendant waited for her with quiet patience, and eventually she found herself moving toward the Emperor’s Palace, unwilling though she was.
“Sigh…”
Rachel exhaled heavily. What the Emperor would say was painfully obvious. And the Empress would almost certainly be there.
She already knew the Empress disliked her. Though the Empress had lost most of her power, enough authority remained for her to speak a cruel word or two.
‘Still, I have to steel myself.’
Rachel forced her spirits upward.
“Miss Rachel.”
A maidservant approached her with words.
“Yes?”
“The Crown Prince is approaching the palace.”
“Lucas is coming here?”
“Yes. He said he would go with you to the Emperor’s Palace.”
In that moment of darkness, no words could have been more welcome. Rachel stopped at once and waited for Lucas.
In less than a minute, he came into view.
Lucas approached Rachel with long, purposeful strides. His expression was remarkably serene. Watching him maintain such composure while she wrestled with anxiety, Rachel felt her own fear subside.
“Lucas.”
“Rachel.”
“Thank you for coming with me.”
“Of course. It’s the only thing to do.”
Lucas brushed her cheek with a casual tenderness, then extended his hand to her. Rachel took it without hesitation.
“Rachel, whatever the Emperor says, I will take responsibility for it. Don’t worry.”
“…Lucas.”
“I will protect you, no matter what it takes.”
Lucas spoke with absolute certainty. He would protect Rachel.

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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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