The Teacher of Budding Villains Suffers Today, Too - Chapter 45

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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 45
‘No, that can’t be it.’
What could the Crown Prince of the Empire possibly lack that he’d want from her?
Rachel laughed at herself. The very act of imagining such a thing felt like the height of narcissism.
‘My family isn’t particularly distinguished, and I’m not strikingly beautiful either.’
If she had to name one advantage over others, it would be her ability to channel Mana. But without proper training, even that skill was barely worth mentioning.
‘It’s just… just that, I suppose.’
Rachel settled on that conclusion. In truth, there was no other way to rationalize it.
* * *
“Teacher!”
“…Hmm?”
Rachel, who had been gazing blankly at the Garden, answered a beat too late.
“Teacher, even if it is break time, you seem a bit strange today.”
Noah observed her quietly before speaking. Rachel’s eyes widened involuntarily, though it did nothing to bring her wandering attention back.
“Is something troubling you?”
In the past, Noah wouldn’t have paid attention to what Rachel was doing, no matter what it was.
But he had changed considerably. He no longer carried himself like he had a middle-school affliction, and he made an effort to fit in with the other children. Though the process had been anything but smooth, of course.
“Teacher, it really seems like your mind is somewhere else entirely.”
Mare added her voice as well. Looking around, Rachel noticed the other children were staring at her with peculiar expressions.
Rachel shook her head and tried to gather herself.
“Did it look that way?”
“Yes. Very much so.”
“Is something wrong, ma’am?”
Theo broached the subject carefully. Rachel found it difficult to formulate any response.
‘It’s because of your brother…’
The source of her distraction was nowhere else but Lucas. He kept drifting into her thoughts, making it difficult for her to carry out her daily tasks.
Since their awkward parting, Rachel had been replaying him constantly in her mind. His words and actions kept circling back through her thoughts.
‘Kissing the back of my hand…’
Last night, she hadn’t slept at all for thinking of him. Though it might strike Lucas as absurd to know.
‘Even if I manage to get through today like this, what if I lose my composure again tomorrow?’
She’d been in this state all day, and she doubted she’d be able to focus properly tomorrow either. Rachel tried to scold herself into discipline.
“All right, children. Shall we start the science lesson?”
Rachel, who had been distracted throughout the break, finally mustered her energy. It was time to teach science, the subject the children had been most interested in lately.
Not wanting to dampen their enthusiasm, she opened the textbook. The children followed suit, pulling out their own books.
“Today we’re going to write an essay. It’s about the principle of how we can communicate with someone far away without a Messenger Bird.”
“Without a Messenger Bird?”
“That’s right.”
Rachel circulated among the children, handing out paper.
She hadn’t formally taught them about the telephone, but she had provided some hints. Explanations about what ‘electricity’ was and how it could be utilized.
“Hmm, I’m not really sure of any other method.”
The children sat racking their brains, lost in contemplation.
Rachel moved from child to child, helping them with their writing and teaching them the proper spelling of words.
Before long, the science period ended. Rachel dragged her weary body to the Principal’s Office, hoping to rest a little more comfortably there.
‘In a place like this, without a Messenger Bird, there’s no way to contact anyone. It’s frustrating.’
There was a method using Mana to make distant Magic Stones glow.
But it wasn’t a method everyone could use, and the cost was steep.
‘In every way, things are inconvenient.’
Though the most inconvenient thing was her own heart.
‘I can’t stop thinking about His Highness the Crown Prince.’
Her own heart was in such turmoil, yet she had no idea what Lucas was feeling.
Rachel was consumed by these thoughts, and if Lucas felt nothing at all, there could be no greater injustice. She collapsed onto the sofa and let out a long sigh.
“Isn’t there any way to just talk to him?!”
Rachel vented her frustration at the ceiling, though she knew it would offer no reply.
Knock, knock—
Just as Rachel lay there staring at the ceiling, someone suddenly knocked on the door. She hurried up from the sofa and looked toward the door.
“Come in.”
The door swung open slowly. It was Theo and Noah who appeared in the doorway.
“Theo. Noah?”
“Teacher.”
“What brings you here?”
I’d assumed they’d be running about during the break time. Yet both children approached Rachel with expressions slightly taut.
“It’s just that…”
“The thing is…”
Both children opened their mouths toward Rachel. She leaned in, wondering if something grave had occurred.
“We wanted to ask if we could send a messenger bird to our brother.”
“Your brother—you mean Lucas?”
“Yes.”
“Why a messenger bird to Lucas?”
“Because we have something to tell him.”
“Something that needs to reach him very quickly.”
Both children had made their intention clear: they had something to say, and it was urgent.
“Is it something your teacher shouldn’t know about?”
“It’s just between us siblings. We’d like to keep it a secret from you, ma’am.”
Now that they’d framed it as a matter between brothers and sisters, there was no space for her to intrude. They wanted to speak among themselves as members of the Imperial Family—she had no place in that.
And besides, she couldn’t imagine the children would tell their elder Lucas anything particularly strange.
“All right, I understand. Send one messenger bird, then.”
“Thank you so much!”
“We’ll send it right away!”
The children had learned to express gratitude. Both of them quickly slipped out of the Principal’s Office. Rachel watched their departing figures with a glad heart.
The fact that the children had sent a messenger bird to Lucas slipped from Rachel’s mind.
Until Lucas came back to the School.
* * *
The children had been granted a short summer holiday. Every student returned home to enjoy a week’s vacation.
With Theo and Noah gone back to the Imperial Palace, the Residence had become utterly quiet. As though not a single soul lived within it.
‘It’s strange without the children.’
Before, she’d always emptied her own classroom when summer break began, so she’d never felt such emptiness.
The classroom stood vacant, and Henry and Colo had each taken several days’ leave and gone their own ways—though Rachel had been the one to insist they go, despite their reluctance.
There wasn’t much to do in the quiet Residence. In the end, Rachel found herself passing the time cleaning, broom in hand.
Until the moment she suddenly realized Crown Prince Lucas was standing behind her.
“Oh! Lucas, sir…! W-what brings you here?!”
She’d been thinking of him while cleaning. Unlike usual, Lucas had appeared without the slightest warning.
As if her thoughts had summoned him.
“Theo and Noah have already been back at the Imperial Palace for some time now. Might there be a particular reason for your visit?”
Rachel hurried to the Reception Room and brought out tea, then asked Lucas. He picked up the cup without the slightest concern.
“The weather’s been lovely lately. The Imperial Summer Retreat is quite worth seeing.”
“Is that so?”
“There’s a sea beside the Imperial Summer Retreat, which makes it rather beautiful.”
Lucas continued his description of the Imperial Summer Retreat. Rachel still had no idea why he’d come.
“It may be rather sudden, but I’d like to invite you to the Imperial Summer Retreat.”
“Me…, sir?”
“I’d like to have various conversations with you there.”
Lucas had gotten to the heart of the matter. Rachel could only be taken aback.
The Imperial Summer Retreat was ordinarily where members of the Imperial Family stayed to escape the summer heat and winter cold. She wondered whether someone of her low nobility rank should even be allowed inside.
“I understand what you’re thinking. Consider it simply as a deeper discussion about the children. That should ease your mind.”
They could have spoken about the children in this very Reception Room. Yet Lucas seemed intent on inviting her specifically to the Imperial Summer Retreat.
‘…Could it be…?’
In that instant, Rachel entertained the smallest of hypotheses.
Could it be that Crown Prince Lucas harbored the very same feelings she did?
That their regard for each other was mutual?

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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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