The Teacher of Budding Villains Suffers Today, Too - Chapter 12

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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 12
“W-who could have…”
As everyone froze in shock, Noah’s breathing began to shift into something irregular. Hyperventilation—it was undeniable. If this continued, the situation could become dangerous.
“A paper bag! Any paper bag!”
At Rachel’s shout, Henry produced one from somewhere and rushed over.
Rachel held the bag to Noah’s mouth, guiding him to breathe slowly and deliberately.
“Noah, it’s all right. You’re all right.”
She said it was all right, but she knew better than anyone that it wasn’t.
“Colo, could you prepare a warm cup of tea?”
At Rachel’s instruction, Colo vanished immediately.
Noah’s erratic breathing gradually returned to normal.
Rachel exhaled with relief, studying the boy’s complexion. Thankfully, his color hadn’t taken on an alarming pallor.
“Here, I’ve brought the tea.”
Colo appeared with perfect timing, cup in hand. Rachel took it and offered it to Noah.
“It’s chamomile tea. It’ll help you sleep tonight.”
“I don’t want it!”
Still worked up, Noah refused with flailing arms. Rachel didn’t relent. After persistent coaxing, the boy finally ran out of fight and brought the cup to his lips.
As the calming effects took hold, Noah’s large eyes began to blink slowly.
“Let’s sleep for now and talk about it tomorrow.”
Noah, whose eyelids had grown heavy with drowsiness, let out a deep sigh.
His fists remained clenched—he clearly had no intention of lying down. His anger was far from spent.
Putting herself in his place, Rachel would have been furious too had she received such a letter. And it wasn’t just any matter—it concerned his deceased parents. For a child as young as Noah, such fury was, in a way, inevitable.
Yet allowing him to express that rage unchecked wasn’t sound pedagogy either. Learning to compose one’s emotions even in distressing moments—that was part of growing up.
“Noah, you look tired. Let’s get you to bed.”
Drained from his anger, Noah didn’t resist and lay down on the bed without protest.
Once Rachel saw his eyes close, she pulled the blanket up to his chin, then caught Colo’s eye with a slight nod.
“Let’s step outside and talk.”
Click.
The moment the door shut, all three of them exhaled heavily.
“Who on earth would do such a thing?”
“The handwriting doesn’t help us.”
It would have been useful to identify someone by their hand, but the writer had deliberately used their left hand, making the script illegible.
This level of premeditation meant someone had genuinely set out to hurt Noah badly.
‘Even so, this is too far.’
There were things one could touch and things one couldn’t. There was always a line. Whoever had written this letter had crossed it—and crossed it thoroughly.
Excluding Noah, the School had exactly six students: Roca, Ekard, Mare, Chase, Kana, and Theo.
“We can rule Theo out.”
Theo wouldn’t betray his brother this viciously, not even while bringing up their mother. That left five suspects.
Rachel touched her chin thoughtfully.
“Do you have any students in mind?”
Without solid evidence, she couldn’t simply suspect a child.
“I need to think more carefully. Noah hasn’t gotten along with any of the other students.”
An awkward silence had settled when Henry spoke.
“Actually, there’s something I should have mentioned regarding Noah today.”
At those words, both Rachel and Colo turned to look at Henry.
“This evening, Noah and Mare got into an argument while standing in line for dinner. It was resolved well enough that I didn’t think it necessary to report it, but—”
Children quarreled so frequently that the teachers on duty usually smoothed things over on the spot. Then, after sending the children to their rooms each evening, the staff would gather to share what had happened.
Today, Rachel had been unusually busy and hadn’t had time for that briefing. She listened intently to what came next, her face growing taut.
“Noah said something insulting to Mare, and Mare lost his temper and shouted quite loudly. They both apologized and admitted fault, and we considered the matter settled, but—”
“You’re saying that resentment is still festering?”
Colo asked, his brow deeply furrowed. Henry nodded.
“Yes. At least, that’s my impression.”
Rachel bit her lip. She didn’t want to suspect Mare, but based on what she now knew, Kana seemed the most likely culprit.
‘But suspecting a child based on mere suspicion alone isn’t right.’
She needed solid proof.
Haste makes waste, as they said. She needed to think this through methodically.
“Miss?”
At Colo’s prompt, Rachel lifted her head and spoke with firm resolve.
“Even if Mare’s behavior seems suspicious, it’s not right to assume that child is guilty without evidence. Let’s think of another way to find who did this.”
How could she find the culprit without wounding any of the children? Rachel’s mind began to work in earnest.
‘…Ah, that might actually work.’
A plausible answer surfaced in her mind as though something had struck it loose. The moment the idea took hold, Rachel bolted straight for her room.
Colo and Henry, left in the dark, could only stare blankly at her retreating figure.
* * *
“Teacher, what’s that on your arm?”
“Oh, this?”
Rachel held up her right hand, wound round and round with a bandage, as though displaying a prize. The children’s eyes sparked with curiosity.
“I fell out of bed yesterday while I was sleeping and hurt my right hand.”
“Really?”
The Classroom without Noah. The children’s reactions were varied.
Some questioned how a teacher her age could fall out of bed, while others chimed in with their own similar mishaps.
Rachel smiled gently and raised her left hand.
“So it looks like I’ll have to write on the Blackboard with my left hand for a while.”
Her left hand, gripping the Chalk, trembled uncertainly.
“Want to see me practice?”
Rachel lightly wrote her own name on the Blackboard. Of course, it came out completely illegible—squiggly, serpentine letters that sent the children into peals of laughter.
“Teacher, you really can’t write!”
Rachel maintained her composed expression and listened quietly to their remarks. It was exactly the reaction she wanted.
“Should I try writing something else?”
Smiling cheerfully, she wrote: “Let us begin our studies today.” The longer sentence was even worse than her name—utterly incoherent. The children laughed openly.
“Even accounting for your left hand, isn’t this too much?”
Ekard twirled a pen ostentatiously with his left hand, his tone dripping with sarcasm. Rachel simply smiled at him.
“Is that really what you think?”
“Writing vowels like that is seriously beyond the pale.”
Roca chimed in with similar skepticism. At his words, Rachel’s expression shifted slightly, her mouth falling open in feigned surprise.
“My. That bad?”
“Yeah. I’d write better than that with my feet.”
At that, Rachel set down the Chalk and looked at the children. Then, as if issuing a challenge, she called out loudly:
“Who here is confident they can write prettier than me with their left hand?”
Immediately, hands shot up from every corner. “Me! Me!”
“Then Ekard, come up and give it a try, will you?”
“Sure.”
Ekard took the Chalk from Rachel and stood before the Blackboard. Without hesitation, he wrote: “I’m the best one here.”
“You wrote just as badly, so what are you criticizing?”
Chase and the other children, giggling, came forward to the Blackboard and wrote eagerly. The board filled with colorful, picture-like letters.
“Mare, why don’t you try too?”
Rachel offered the Chalk to Mare, who sat quietly alone at her desk.
“…No, I’d rather not.”
“Why?”
“Yeah, why won’t you do it?”
Even the children absorbed in their Blackboard scribbling turned to Mare with questions.
“Just…”
As all eyes fixed on her, Mare’s head drooped downward.
“Are you embarrassed because you can’t write with your left hand? It’s all just for fun—why are you being so serious about it?”
Kana asked casually. At that, Mare suddenly clutched her stomach.
“Teacher, my stomach hurts.”
“Do you need to see a doctor?”
“No. I think I just need to use the bathroom.”
Rachel nodded in permission, and Mare sprang up from her seat, hurrying out of the Classroom.
“Wow, look at her—the moment she wants to get out of something, she bolts.”
Ekard didn’t miss the chance to mock. Under normal circumstances, Mare would never back down, launching into her usual talk of rules and precedent. But today, her behavior was different.
“Since when does she move that fast?”
Chase tilted his head in genuine bewilderment.
Rachel alone said nothing, her gaze fixed on the firmly closed door.

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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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