The Teacher of Budding Villains Suffers Today, Too - Chapter 20

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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 20
Rachel could not conceal her shock.
“Your Highness…!”
The Epa Mine would later become the Crown Prince’s most vital source of revenue. There was no sense in surrendering such a mine to the Duke over something as trivial as this.
“You spoke of the Epa Mine?”
“I did.”
Duke Regan smacked his lips meaningfully.
Some dismissed it as an unknown mine whose yield remained uncertain, but the Duke was different.
He had already surveyed the surrounding terrain and judged it to hold considerable promise.
Rachel’s pupils dilated.
This cannot happen. I have to stop this.
A mere background extra cannot cut off the original protagonist’s financial lifeline just to settle her own debts.
Meanwhile, before the Crown Prince could change his mind, the Duke seized the moment.
“I’m not about to sell my precious child into the mines, but if Your Highness says so…”
“Wait, Your Highness! Could I have a word with you for a moment?!”
Rachel cut off the Duke’s words, shouting deliberately loud as she seized Lucas by the wrist.
He turned his head to regard her beside him. His gaze was incomparably cold compared to before.
Rachel asked the ducal couple’s pardon, and sensing the shift in atmosphere, they both coughed and promptly excused themselves. Silence settled swiftly over the reception room.
Rachel turned to face him and began her plea.
“Your Highness, you cannot give up the Epa Mine.”
“Why not?”
She scrambled for persuasive reasoning, but in the end, only one thing came to mind.
“Because that mine contains… an enormous amount of gold hidden within it.”
“And how do you know that?”
Well, I transmigrated into this book and know every fact about it. But she could not voice such a thing honestly. Even if she did, there was no chance he would believe her.
“I… I actually studied… Geomancy.”
The instant the words left her lips, she realized she had said something ridiculous.
Geomancy in a romance fantasy world? Rachel squeezed her eyes shut.
‘I’ve ruined myself. This is absolutely wrong….’
But his reaction was entirely unexpected.
A small laugh burst from above her head. Rachel flinched and looked up.
Lucas gazed at her with the expression of someone who had discovered something amusing, his eyes narrowed in delight and a gentle smile playing at his lips.
“Geomancy.”
His voice rolled low, and now it came from much closer.
“How interesting.”
Those golden eyes, gleaming as if studying something of fascination, pierced deep into her.
What Rachel did not know was that in this world, reading the flow of the land was far from mere superstition.
There existed a legend that the Empire’s very foundation had been established through the Dragon Vein, and the Royal Family believed in invisible currents.
But ignorant of this, Rachel’s palms grew damp with cold sweat.
“That mine might indeed contain vast amounts of gold, as you say.”
Lucas continued slowly. The teasing tone gradually faded.
“But what is more precious to me now than gold…”
He paused to steady his breath, then fixed her with a resolute gaze.
“…is the Academy that protects my younger brothers.”
Those words carried a weight that could not be concealed even when spoken softly. Across the Crown Prince’s ordinarily relaxed face, a loneliness born of responsibility flickered and passed.
“I desire that Academy to function properly more than anyone.”
His earnest gaze bore directly into her. His sincerity came through unmistakably.
Rachel slowly released her grip on his wrist. But this time, Lucas held her hand firmly in return.
“Rachel.”
……
“I wish for the Academy to operate as it did before. And I am prepared to pay any price for that.”
“But the Epa Mine… I have a feeling there will come a time when Your Highness will desperately need it.”
She spoke indirectly, but it was a truth that would inevitably come to pass.
Rachel looked up at Lucas, desperately hoping his resolve would waver.
“Where could I find anything more necessary to me than my brothers’ future?”
It was a quiet declaration, yet it wavered not at all.
Rachel found herself unable to hold firm against him. Even as she recognized her own selfishness.
* * *
After that, they visited the homes of the remaining four children.
The process of persuasion proved arduous, and unexpected obstacles arose at every turn. Yet each time, Lucas stood silently beside Rachel, lending her his strength.
Without him, Rachel alone would never have managed this situation.
By the time all the arrangements were complete, the sun had already begun its descent toward the west.
It had been a day spent without a proper meal, and exhaustion crashed over her all at once. All she wanted was to return to the estate, to eat something warm and comforting.
‘Lucas must be tired as well….’
Yet contrary to her expectations, his expression as he gazed out the carriage window appeared perfectly serene.
“Lucas.”
Rachel called out carefully, and he turned his head toward her.
“You must be exhausted, and yet you’ve brought me all the way to the Academy. I’m truly grateful.”
“It’s nothing to speak of.”
“If Your Highness wouldn’t mind, I’d like to offer you a simple meal at the Academy. Would that suit you…?”
Rachel made the suggestion hesitantly. Lucas responded with a gentle smile.
“Are you inviting me?”
“Well… yes, I suppose you could say that.”
“If you ask it of me, I have no reason to refuse.”
The carriage arrived at the Academy entrance right on cue.
As Lucas alighted first and extended his hand, Rachel—now accustomed to his escort—carefully took it and descended from the carriage.
“Is there any particular dish you’re fond of?”
“Anything prepared by you would be welcome.”
“I—I would be the one to prepare it?”
Rachel screamed silently to herself.
‘I barely know how to make ramen and stir-fried noodles.’
Honestly, she’d been planning to simply plate some already-prepared dishes attractively, but somehow the stakes had risen beyond her control.
Yet now that she’d invited the Crown Prince, and given the hopeful gleam in his eyes, she could hardly refuse.
“I—I’m not skilled at cooking, but I’ll do my very best!”
“I can’t even joke with you, can I?”
“Pardon?”
“I’m not so lacking in conscience as to accept a meal from someone who’s been laboring all day. You sit and rest. I’ll handle the preparations.”
Lucas headed toward the kitchen without hesitation. Rachel hurried after him, but he was already kindling a fire in the hearth.
“Wait, Your Highness! Please, let me do it.”
“Do you mistrust me so?”
“Of course not!”
Lucas then laughed playfully and dragged a chair over.
He seated Rachel there, then began retrieving ingredients with practiced ease and set about preparing something.
‘A Crown Prince doing something like this…?’
Rachel couldn’t tear her eyes from him. His movements with the cooking tools were remarkably deft, his hands wielding the knife with no wasted motion.
Soon, a humble yet meticulously prepared meal was laid upon the table.
“You’re staring rather intently.”
Seated at the table, Lucas spoke as he observed Rachel’s slack-jawed expression. She smiled awkwardly in return.
“When one goes to the battlefield, there are times when you must lie in ambush for days on end. In such situations, even simple cooking skills become second nature.”
“Ah, I see. That explains it.”
“And….”
He paused for a moment before continuing.
“I also learned some of this because I wanted to provide something for my mother, may she rest in peace.”
A melancholy reason followed. Even if he were the Crown Prince, he was still a son who had lost his mother.
The Queen Mother, who had passed away not long before the Crown Prince reached adulthood, must have left a profound mark upon him.
“I’ve dampened the mood.”
Lucas set down his fork and knife with a light smile. A shadow of loneliness crossed that smile.
“Even for someone as grown as I am, the absence of a mother is a heavy thing. My younger siblings, on the other hand, grew up without ever feeling her warmth, so their loneliness runs deep.”
…….
“There is a great void in my siblings’ hearts.”
Lucas spoke truly. Just as he said, when Theo and Noah first entered the Academy, the shadow of that emptiness had hung heavily over them.
“You have been filling that empty space for them. I’m always grateful for it.”
Lucas poured water into a glass. Cold droplets beaded on its surface and fell away. Rachel’s eyes followed the flow, glazed and distant.
“Thank you…. Truly.”
Rachel replied politely. Then she picked up the glass of water. Just as she was about to take a sip to clear her mind,
“Ah…, ah…!”
The water in the glass began to bubble and roil violently.
Rachel gasped in shock. There was no flame anywhere—how could the water be boiling?
“Rachel!”
Lucas quickly snatched the glass from her hand.
In that moment, Rachel gazed down at her own fingers. The ring clasped around one of them blazed with an incandescent light.
As though it were begging to be acknowledged for its existence.

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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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