The Teacher of Budding Villains Suffers Today, Too - Chapter 29

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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 29
At that moment, Lucas finished surveying the entire shop and approached Rachel from across the room.
“Oh… oh…!”
Rachel couldn’t hide her flustered state.
Had he overheard her conversation with the clerk? Or worse—did he already know what the brooch meant?
She desperately hoped he knew nothing, but a man of his standing—practically the crown prince of the empire—couldn’t possibly be ignorant of what a left-side brooch signified.
Rachel’s face drained of color.
‘Please don’t come over. Please.’
She thought this inwardly, but unlike before, Lucas approached with composure and sat down beside her.
“I wish the brooch were pinned a bit higher.”
He even mentioned the brooch directly.
“Oh—yes! I’ll pin it higher for you right away!”
If she moved the brooch up, he might not bring it up again. Rachel quickly unpinned it.
“Oh my, it looks like I was about to pin it right over your heart! I do hope the two of you fare well together!”
The oblivious clerk beamed. At this point, Rachel wished she could disappear into the floorboards.
“Here are the items you requested.”
The Sundry Shop Owner appeared at a perfect moment. In his hands was a small gift package.
“I made sure to select only the finest things. The wrapping is quite carefully done as well.”
The wrapping paper alone looked different—the gleam of money spent generously was evident at a glance.
She hoped that the coins invested would bring joy to the children.
The gift came out beautifully, and the awkward atmosphere had shifted, so Rachel smiled with genuine warmth.
“Shall we head back?”
“Yes, that sounds good.”
There had been an awkward moment, but it had been a pleasant day overall. She had no idea what kind of aftershock those gifts would create.
* * *
The long-awaited Children’s Day had arrived.
Standing at the lectern, Rachel opened her mouth with a bright smile.
“Now then, what day is today?”
“Children’s Day!”
The children raised their voices in unison. Having waited for this day more than anyone, they whistled and clapped their hands, brimming with excitement.
Children are children, Rachel thought with quiet satisfaction as she set the gift package on the desk.
“I’ve prepared gifts that each of you should enjoy. And if you happen to dislike any of them, I hope you’ll forgive me?”
Rachel spoke playfully, and the children burst into laughter and nodded.
“Loca, why don’t you come up first?”
The gift distribution began with Loca, whose birthday came earliest. With Loca leading the way, the children lined up and received their gifts one by one.
“When I count to three, you open your gifts all at once. Understood?”
“Yes!”
The children answered in unison.
“One, two.”
The moment Rachel said “three,” the children tore open their wrapping paper.
“Wow!”
“Whoa!!”
The reaction was better than expected. These children, who had received estates and mountains, she hadn’t expected them to be so delighted by such simple gifts.
“Teacher! I haven’t seen anything like this in years!”
Chase, who had received the Toy Sword, made no attempt to hide his joy, as if he’d just become a bandit leader.
“Father took away all my toy swords.”
Chase’s father would do exactly that. He wanted Chase to grow up to be an administrator like himself, not a bandit leader gallivanting through mountains and fields.
Rachel too didn’t wish for Chase to grow up as a bandit leader.
Yet to watch the child find such joy, and to rob him of it—that didn’t seem the right path either.
Her role was to give him room to breathe while guiding him toward the proper way.
“You can only play with it during recess time. Understood?”
“Yes! I will!”
Not just Chase, but every student wore a satisfied smile. Theo and Noah were no different.
Theo, who received the Foreign Traditional Toy Set, and Noah, who received the 100 Questions and Answers on Psychology, both looked pleased.
“Then until lunchtime, you’re free to play with your gifts. Just for today, as a special exception.”
Surprised by this unexpected free time, the children let out cheers and dashed out of the classroom. Rachel gazed at their departing figures with a bright smile.
“I’m glad they all liked them.”
She hadn’t realized how nervous she’d been until they unwrapped the gifts. Especially about Theo and Noah.
Growing up as imperial princes, they’d never lacked for anything—so what could they possibly want? She’d worried over it so much that cold sweat had actually dripped down her spine.
“Are all the gifts distributed?”
Lucas approached from the back of the classroom where he’d been watching the children, and asked, “All finished?”
“Yes, we’re all done.”
The day had wound down without incident, everything concluded smoothly. Rachel smiled brightly, feeling a sense of accomplishment.
Unaware of what Lucas was thinking.
* * *
‘Why do my eyes keep finding her?’
At some point, Lucas had become aware that his gaze kept following Rachel.
He could no longer deny that her very presence radiated an aura too dazzling to simply brush off as the beauty of her generous heart lavished upon the children.
As the crown prince, Lucas faced mountains of state affairs demanding his attention daily. The duties and responsibilities resting upon his shoulders as Tirnes’s crown prince were suffocatingly grave.
Yet all Lucas wanted was to remain at Rachel’s side. There was something compelling about the way she cared for the children—harmless as spring sunlight, smiling with such gentleness. Watching that lovely smile made it difficult to keep his composure.
The most amusing truth was that Rachel herself seemed to hold little interest in him.
Ordinarily, ambitious and cunning noblewomen would spare no effort trying to catch his eye and win his favor. But Rachel’s attention seemed devoted solely to the children before her and their education.
‘Perhaps that’s precisely why she shines so brightly.’
A woman radiant in her work. Unlike the ladies at lavish tea parties who spent their time tearing each other down, Rachel remained entirely absorbed in the children.
‘Objectively speaking, she’s beautiful as well.’
To claim he felt no instinctive draw to her appearance would be a lie.
In that moment, Lucas recalled the mysterious blue of her eyes. Whenever he remembered them, he found himself smiling without realizing it.
‘If I could, I’d want to spend a long time with her.’
The time he’d spent with Rachel had been brief. Precisely because of that, he longed to share more moments with her.
He wanted to discover just how far her charm could reach, how much more she could captivate him.
‘I’ve never felt this way before.’
Lucas began slowly to name his own emotions.
* * *
“Teacher, when are we going on our field trip?”
“I told you—an hour from now. This is the fifth time today, Loca.”
“But I want to go now!”
The children whined, unable to concentrate on their lessons at all.
Rachel was exasperated. She’d said it until her voice grew hoarse—it wasn’t a “trip,” it was “Field Experience Learning.”
The children seemed happy at the mere prospect of leaving the school building.
“Let me say it again: we’re not going to play.”
“We go outside, eat sandwiches, and play while we’re there. Isn’t that right?”
Theo asked with an innocent expression. Rachel smacked her forehead. She had no idea where to even begin explaining.
“Theo, listen carefully. Field Experience Learning means leaving the classroom to experience and gain knowledge from a different place.”
“What kind of experience?”
“In our case, it’s a wheat harvest—to understand the hard work farmers do.”
“What?! I thought we were just going to play!”
The children recoiled as if hearing about a wheat harvest for the first time. Rachel was at her wit’s end. How many times had she said we were going to harvest wheat?
“Will you please pay attention to what I’m saying?”
“This is unfair! Why do we have to do work farmers do!”
“That’s exactly why we’re going on this learning experience—because you think that way.”
Rachel spoke firmly. The children’s faces fell.
“I don’t want to do that kind of work.”
“I’m trying to show you that the sandwiches you eat don’t come about so easily.”
“Ugh, I really hate this.”
Eckard openly groaned. Rachel looked at him steadily, and Eckard flinched slightly.
“Then go to your rooms and get ready. You have thirty minutes.”
Rachel ushered the children along, and they shuffled off toward their rooms, grumbling and dejected—so different from their excitement just moments before.
‘They’ll love it once we get there.’
Rachel knew these children inside and out by now. No matter how much they protested now, their attitudes would shift entirely once they arrived at the learning site.
Thirty minutes later.
“Well, is everyone ready?”
Rachel looked at the children who had come back dressed and prepared. Their expressions were, quite literally, sour.
Of course, part of their reluctance came from not wanting to go on the field experience, but the true reason their faces looked so grim was something else entirely.

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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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