The Teacher of Budding Villains Suffers Today, Too - Chapter 18

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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 18
She tore off all the wrapping paper and covered her mouth with one hand.
“Do you like it?”
“Like it? This is the most precious gift I’ve ever received!”
Rachel answered in a voice brimming with delight, and the children who had been holding their breath released a soft sigh of relief.
“So this is how you see the School….”
Rachel gazed at the School Model before her without blinking once.
The School Model, crafted from clay and painted with watercolors, was impossibly charming. The seven student figurines and three teacher figurines arranged in the courtyard were endearingly proportioned.
Thinking of the children who had molded the clay with clumsy, earnest hands, her chest tightened. Before she could help it, she brushed away a tear.
“Thank you, truly. I’ll treasure this forever.”
Rachel reached out and gently stroked each child’s head one by one.
“Promise me we’ll meet again at School. All right?”
The children answered aloud, each in turn.
Rachel laughed brightly and locked her pinky finger with each of theirs.
Swearing they would absolutely, without fail, meet again at School.
* * *
With the children gone, the Hospital Room fell utterly silent.
Colo, Henry, and Rachel—all three gazed at the School Model the children had given as a gift.
“So this is what they call a sense of purpose,” Colo murmured.
“Indeed,” Henry replied.
Both men wore expressions of genuine contentment. What had begun as work driven by necessity had transformed—somewhere along the way—into sincere dedication to teaching the children.
“It’s truly gratifying. I never imagined the children would come to cherish our School so deeply.”
A soft smile curved Rachel’s lips.
“Through this work, I too have learned and felt much. Especially in circumstances like these,” Henry said quietly.
For him it was the same. A man who knew only how to march to battle—when would such opportunities ever have come his way?
This was surely his first time making the effort to truly understand another person.
“My only wish is that the School is restored well. Both internally and externally,” Colo said thoughtfully.
More than the School itself, a deep affection for his house radiated from him. He had devoted considerable attention to restoring the mansion, even if it meant delaying the School’s opening by several days.
Rachel was grateful for someone who cared for his house as much as she did for hers. She nodded to him repeatedly, in complete agreement with his words.
“However, the parents’ reactions do concern me,” Colo ventured carefully into the thornier subject.
Rachel had been avoiding this topic, but knew in her heart it could not be ignored.
“During each Home Visit, the parents expressed considerable displeasure regarding the Fire Incident at the School.”
“The same was true everywhere I went,” Henry confirmed.
Rachel’s expression grew graver. The children wanted badly to return to the School, but if their guardians refused—the situation would become complicated indeed.
“No matter how many times I assure them such a thing will never happen again, nothing seems to get through.”
“What are we to do about this?”
Rachel’s face grew somber.
While recovering, she had tried to keep her mind off work, but this particular matter demanded her full attention.
“The greatest problem is that my credibility has been shaken by this arson. That’s the real issue.”
A teacher’s most vital asset is trust. Parents will not entrust their children to a teacher they cannot trust.
This was the one problem she absolutely had to resolve.
‘I really do need to be discharged sooner,’ she thought.
Henry and Colo were capable, but ultimately she was the headmaster. She wanted to visit the parents directly and convey her true intentions.
As she sat troubled, lost in thought, a knock sounded at the door.
She had assumed it would be medical staff, but when Colo opened the door, an unexpected figure appeared beyond it.
“…Lucas?”
Rachel stared at him in surprise, her mouth falling slightly open.
He stepped into the Hospital Room with natural ease.
When Rachel hastily tried to sit up, he quickly moved to her side and gently stopped her.
“You don’t need to get up.”
He placed a light hand on her shoulder and eased her back onto the bed. In that instant, she noticed Henry’s expression stiffen slightly.
The air around them grew awkward, and Rachel broke into a cold sweat, but thankfully Colo remained quick-witted.
He forcibly pulled Henry from the room, and the Hospital Room door closed behind them.
After a moment of silence, Rachel carefully opened her mouth.
“Your Highness, what brings you here?”
“I came regarding an investigation into the Fire Incident.”
……
“Well, you might call that an excuse. The investigators are already at Swan House, after all.”
He sat down in a simple chair beside the bed and offered her a gentle smile.
“The truth is, I was worried about you.”
Rachel felt her face grow warm at those words. Worried about me? Why had he been saying such heart-stopping things so suddenly these days?
At this rate, her heart wouldn’t survive.
Ever since the two of them took an evening walk a few days ago, Rachel had found herself unable to ignore his words and actions.
“Still, I’m glad you look well.”
“Yes… thank you for your concern.”
She spoke in deliberately measured tones, trying not to let on how his words were affecting her. He gave a soft laugh before his expression turned serious, and he gazed at her intently.
What now? What was he about to say?
“By the way, I wanted to ask you about that fire incident.”
The unexpected question made Rachel tilt her head in confusion.
“According to those who witnessed the fire from outside the residence, they saw a yellow light in addition to the flames.”
“They… did?”
Truth be told, she’d been so panicked that day and her mind so scattered that she hadn’t even noticed what kind of light had appeared.
Rachel’s eyes widened and she turned the question back on him, whereupon Lucas’s gaze narrowed.
“You don’t remember anything?”
“I’m… sorry.”
“There’s no need to apologize. By the way, did the children come by?”
He spoke while gazing at the crude School Model the children had made.
“I wondered what Theo and Noah were working on so intently. It seems they wanted to capture your image so badly.”
She’d assumed that Noah and Theo, who had to remain at the Imperial Palace, would have difficulty participating, but it appeared they’d carved out time from their busy schedules to help.
Rachel broke into a bright smile, her heart overflowing with gratitude for those two children.
“Since it was an accident caused by Theo’s mischief, I have nothing to say. I can only apologize.”
“No, Your Highness, that’s not it at all. The children didn’t do it on purpose—it was an accident. We’re just fortunate everyone is safe.”
As Lucas apologized formally, Rachel was startled and waved her hand in protest. Yet it seemed he carried a heavier burden in his heart than she’d realized, having a younger brother who constantly caused trouble.
“Since the other children suffered significant harm as well, as the guardian of those two, I have my own responsibility to bear.”
Lucas’s expression stiffened slightly. In that moment, Rachel grasped what he was about to say. She watched him without blinking.
“Rachel, if there’s anything you need to convey to the children’s parents, leave it to me.”
Just as she’d anticipated, Lucas spoke the words she’d expected.
The Crown Prince’s assistance.
That would certainly be a tremendous advantage. If he helped, the parents would be persuaded relatively easily. To be honest, it was difficult to resist such temptation.
“If you write a letter, I’ll deliver it. If you wish to meet with the parents directly, I’ll gladly accompany you.”
When Lucas laid out the specific methods, Rachel was so delighted she nearly sprang up from the bed.
Though lacking the strength to do so, she could only shift her weight on the mattress.
If he were with her, the worries that had been weighing on her mind would be resolved easily.
Rachel smiled radiantly up at him.
“I’ll recover as quickly as I can. Thank you so much.”
After thanking him several times over, Lucas called out to someone beyond the door. The door opened, and attendants who had been waiting in the corridor entered.
The moment Rachel saw them, her mouth fell open.
“It’s nothing much, but I hope you’ll like it.”
The attendants’ arms were laden with gifts—a bouquet of flowers, a cake from a well-known dessert shop, and even a novel that was said to be popular among young ladies.
“Am I… really allowed to accept all of this?”
It would be a lie to say she felt no burden.
Rachel pursed her lips slightly and searched his face for reassurance. Lucas then placed the bouquet of flowers in her arms as if to say it was perfectly fine.
“I wish you a swift recovery.”
“Thank you…”
In his dark eyes, she saw her own reflection.

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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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