The Teacher of Budding Villains Suffers Today, Too - Chapter 30

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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 30
“You expect us to wear this?”
“Really, this is too much. These are the teacher’s clothes!”
The children, dressed in small work pants, grumbled. For children accustomed to fine garments, the floral pattern was nothing short of a visual shock.
“What’s wrong with that? If you wear your usual clothes, you’ll be uncomfortable and won’t be able to move properly.”
Rachel was firm. She had already dressed in work pants herself.
“Come now, no more complaining—board the carriage!”
The children climbed in with the expressions of the defeated. Rachel, humming cheerfully, urged them onward as if nothing were amiss.
“I’d rather sit in the classroom for a lesson.”
Leaving Noah’s grumbling behind—his brow deeply furrowed—Rachel took her place beside the coachman.
At that moment, Lucas approached on horseback, riding alongside the carriage, and opened his mouth as if to suppress a stifled laugh.
“A wheat harvest, you say. An unexpected experience. Your attire as well.”
“The children keep leaving food on their plates. I wanted them to understand that for someone, every grain is precious. How many hands must touch a single stalk of wheat before it becomes bread.”
The Wheat Field was not far away. In truth, Rachel had already purchased part of the wheat harvest beforehand. There was no chance the children would manage a proper harvest, so she did it to prevent the field’s owner from suffering loss.
Rachel answered with a gentle smile, her eyes shining with conviction. Lucas gazed at her for a moment, then asked softly.
“I’m curious about something. Why go to such lengths to venture outside the school, risking accidents? Surely this is content you could teach adequately within the classroom walls.”
“Well…”
Rachel chose her words carefully. He was right. Accidents happened even within the school; how much more dangerous was the world beyond?
“It could be dangerous, yes. But if the children remain confined to the classroom, they’ll never feel the warmth of soil in their entire lives.”
Rachel leaned slightly toward Lucas as she continued.
“What they stand to learn matters more to me than the ‘danger’ you speak of. If I must shoulder a little extra burden, so be it.”
Perhaps what I’m doing is foolish.
Colo and Henry had also suggested it would be simpler to explain everything in the classroom.
Yet Rachel would not yield her position. It was her heart’s desire to give the children a little more.
“Oh! Would you like to try wearing these too? They’re incredibly comfortable!”
Rachel beamed, tapping her pants lightly.
At first, she’d felt terribly self-conscious in them, but now it hardly bothered her. If Lucas wanted a pair, she could give him one. Sincerely.
Lucas looked back and forth between the ridiculous floral pants and Rachel’s even more radiant face.
“…You overestimate my taste considerably.”
Lucas shook his head with an expression of exasperation. But soon he loosened his grip on the reins and slowed his horse’s pace, drawing close to Rachel’s side on the coachman’s bench.
“The clothes are rather amusing, aren’t they? They hardly suit your dignity.”
“That’s not why.”
Lucas met Rachel’s gaze. Through the black hair that stirred in the wind, his eyes held a singular, persistent focus—on her alone.
“Today, there’s someone I wanted to look good for.”
“…What? Someone you wanted to look good for?”
Rachel’s eyes widened as she stared at him. In contrast to her bewilderment, a relaxed smile played at his lips.
“Yes. Someone I wanted to impress. In that attire, I doubt you’ll catch their eye.”
Lucas left a meaningful smile in his wake as he gave his horse a light spur, moving ahead of the carriage.
His broad shoulders, visible from behind, seemed unusually confident.
‘Someone he wanted to look good for…’
Who could this person be that he wanted to impress?
Someone connected to the wheat field? Or perhaps someone from a nearby farm whom he knew?
Rachel couldn’t make sense of Lucas’s words.
‘Could it possibly be… me?’
Rachel’s eyes widened involuntarily. But she shook her head firmly at once.
‘No, that can’t be. I just saw that expression on his face. He was teasing me. There’s no way someone of his station—a crown prince, no less—would take an interest in me. He was probably just joking around, and I’m the one getting swept along.’
Rachel steadied herself. The very thought that someone like Lucas would show her interest was absurd.
He was nothing more than the guardian of Theo and Noah—a partner in cooperation, that was all.
‘What could be special about me that he’d take a liking to?’
Besides, she’d heard Lucas had a fiancée. Political engagement or not, he was a man with a betrothed.
‘No more idle thoughts. Don’t get ahead of myself.’
Rachel tried to rein in thoughts that kept wavering at Lucas’s gaze. Today was a Field Experience Learning day. She needed to focus all her attention on the children’s safety.
The horse and carriage moved slowly onward, and before long, a wheat field bathed in golden light came into view.
“Children, we’re almost there! Are you ready?”
At Rachel’s spirited call, the children poked their heads through the carriage window, their eyes gleaming.
A moment ago they’d been complaining—unwilling to go, unwilling to participate, unwilling to wear work pants—but now, captivated by the vast wheat field spread before them for the first time, their protests melted away.
As the children descended from the carriage, they lined up in two rows at Rachel’s direction, just as they did during regular lessons.
“Shall we greet Mr. Brown, who was kind enough to lend us his field today?”
“Good day to you!”
The children spoke in unison. In the Empire, a strictly hierarchical society, it was unthinkable for noble children to bow their heads before a commoner.
Lucas dismounted and watched the scene unfold, his eyes narrowing with evident interest.
“The children have manners, don’t they? Quite obedient in your presence.”
“I want to raise them to be courteous people. Whatever else, I’ve always insisted on teaching them proper respect for their elders.”
Rachel gazed at the children with evident pride, her expression warm as she began issuing instructions.
* * *
“You need only harvest the wheat within the area marked by the signs. I’ll show you how it’s done.”
Brown, standing beside Henry, raised a sickle and patiently explained the dangers of farm tools and the proper technique for harvesting.
“Shall we give it a try?”
The moment Brown finished speaking, the children bolted into the Wheat Field. Dirt clung to their clothes in seconds, but thanks to her Work Pants, Rachel could laugh without worry.
“Will you be joining us as well, Miss?”
“Yes. I should go in to watch the children.”
Henry, unwilling to compromise his style and having refused the Work Pants, followed after Rachel.
Both Henry and Lucas took their fashion sense far too seriously in this blazing sun.
Watching them move without a single misstep through the dust-laden field, Rachel shook her head. At times like these, there was nothing better than comfortable Work Pants that dried quickly.
Contrary to her concerns, the wheat harvest unfolded quite pleasantly.
Fortunately, no child was injured, and remarkably, the children remained focused on the work for a full three hours—without a single joke or idle word.
‘Perhaps I should have founded a farming school instead.’
She’d never imagined the children would enjoy it so much. Watching their dirt-covered forms concentrated on their work, a satisfied smile bloomed across Rachel’s face.
“Teacher! This is so much more fun than I thought!”
Theo called out loudly, wiping sweat from his brow.
“Is it? What makes it so enjoyable?”
“The sound and feel when you cut the wheat with the sickle—it’s satisfying. There’s a real craft to it, you know?”
At Theo’s surprisingly earnest answer, Rachel burst into genuine laughter. He’d taken on the mind of a true farmer.
In good spirits, she tended to the other children while continuing her own harvesting.
That peaceful contentment seemed as though it would stretch on indefinitely.
“Agh!”

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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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