The Teacher of Budding Villains Suffers Today, Too - Chapter 67

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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 67
Slipping out of the Imperial Palace was no difficult feat. Lucas moved through the secret passages with practiced ease, and Rachel followed close behind, their hands clasped firmly together.
‘I’ve grown quite close to the Crown Prince, it seems. Hand-holding feels perfectly natural now.’
There was a time when even touching hands made her nervous, uncertain what to do with herself. Now it felt familiar. Their distance had narrowed by exactly that much.
Time changes many things and closes many gaps—like the one between her and Lucas.
“Nancy.”
“Yes?”
“It’s old-fashioned, but quite common among commoners.”
She had no idea what he was getting at. Rachel’s mind raced as she tried to decipher his meaning.
“The name I use outside the palace is Kane. And I think Nancy suits you well enough.”
Now Rachel understood. He couldn’t use his well-known name outside the palace walls, so he’d chosen another. And he intended for her to use Nancy instead of Rachel.
“Yes, I like it.”
She nodded with a bright smile, and Lucas called out her new name several times.
“Then you’ll call me Kane, won’t you?”
“Yes, I will.”
“I’d like you to try it now.”
Rachel hesitated, then opened her mouth.
“K-Kane.”
Just saying a fake name shouldn’t have made her this nervous. She could feel her voice trembling.
After calling him by his other name, Rachel’s eyes darted everywhere. Embarrassed and tense, her heart began to pound heavily.
“That’s it, Nancy.”
Lucas answered in a tone she’d never heard before—light and casual, like some carefree scholar lounging in the street. For reasons she couldn’t explain, Rachel’s face flushed immediately.
Had Lucas ever shown this side of himself? His unexpected manner left her so dazed that she could barely think straight.
“Are you… dropping the formal speech?”
“Shouldn’t we? Shall we speak informally from now on, Nancy?”
“I… yes.”
Dropping formality with the Crown Prince—it felt deeply strange. Her already flushed face grew even redder.
“Once we pass through this door, we’ll be outside the palace.”
Lucas pushed open an old, weathered door. A rush of grass-scented air wafted toward them. It appeared to be an entrance hidden among wild grass.
With Lucas’s help, Rachel climbed the steep stairs and looked around. Indeed, the door was concealed in a thicket of grass.
After confirming he’d closed the door behind them, Rachel reached for his hand again. She couldn’t shake the eerie feeling of the place.
“Hm?”
Something felt off about her surroundings. Sure enough, graves lay scattered about. A cemetery in the dead of night—perfect for breeding fear.
“Ugh.”
Rachel let out an involuntary whimper. Lucas squeezed her hand tighter.
“Nancy, are you afraid of graves?”
“A little.”
“It’s all right. I’m here with you.”
He spoke gently. ‘I’m here with you’—the kind of thing lovers would say to each other.
His words were so sweet that Rachel couldn’t help but smile.
“Shall we walk a little further?”
Lucas led the way toward a distant light. There was no hesitation on her part. Rachel followed him forward, and as they walked, the light grew stronger until the Commercial District came into view.
“Is there anywhere you’d like to go?”
“No… not really.”
Some time had passed, but speaking informally still felt deeply awkward. Yet addressing him here as “Your Highness the Crown Prince” with formal speech was absurd.
Rachel did her best to speak naturally as she hurried after Lucas.
“Kane, is that you?!”
Someone called out his other name warmly. Rachel’s head turned instinctively toward a group of about five or six men.
“How’ve you been?”
Lucas answered calmly. The men stepped closer, their eyes settling on Rachel.
“Good, good. But who’s this with you? Holding hands, no less?”
The one who seemed to be their leader asked who Rachel was. She turned toward Lucas, stammering.
“My lover. Nancy.”
“…!”
His lover? Rachel’s eyes widened to their absolute limit.
“Oh? So you’re bringing a lover around—that’s a first for you.”
“Kane’s lover? How nice to meet you.”
“Wow, I thought you didn’t care about dating at all! You’ve really surprised me!”
With so many voices, the reactions varied. In an instant, Rachel became the center of attention.
“Kane, Ross opened a tavern while you were gone. Let’s go say hello.”
“Hey, shouldn’t you ask the lady’s permission before you go?”
“Nancy, would you mind if we went there?”
The men looked toward Rachel. As their attention converged on her, she felt flustered. She nodded hurriedly.
“Then Nancy, why don’t you spend a little time with my friends?”
Rachel answered by nodding again.
The tavern was tucked away in an alley—so well hidden it was almost difficult to find at first glance—yet the storefront bustled with patrons, a testament to Ross’s wide network of connections.
“Ross! Kane’s here!”
The man who’d introduced himself as Michael raised his voice. At Michael’s call, Ross, who’d been busy at work, turned his head. The bearded man had a pleasant face.
“Kane didn’t come alone! He brought his lover with him!”
“His lover?”
“This is Nancy.”
Michael introduced Rachel to Ross. The moment he did, Ross hurried forward and greeted her.
“Pleased to meet you.”
“The pleasure is mine.”
“You’re quite beautiful. That Kane fellow certainly has a knack for finding them.”
Ross cracked a lighthearted joke and gestured for them to sit. Rachel, Lucas, and the other friends settled around the table.
“How’s everyone been lately?”
Lucas broached the subject as casually as if it were nothing.
“Don’t even mention it. They say a conflict’s broken out at the border, and the tension’s been unbearable. I’ve lost count of how many medicinal herbs are already cut off from supply.”
Michael groaned.
“At least I deal with more than just medicine, so I’m managing, but those traders who deal in only one commodity—they’re really in trouble.”
Not only Michael but all the other friends sighed and continued their laments. Lucas listened intently to every word they said, absorbing it all.
‘He’s trying to understand how commoners live.’
Had he remained within the Imperial Palace, he would never have heard such a living, breathing conversation. That was why Lucas had concealed his true identity and immersed himself in the lives of commoners.
Perhaps he was truly cut out to be an emperor. Rachel thought so.
“Is there anything else?”
“Nothing but war, war—we’re just terrified there’ll be war.”
“If war breaks out, ordinary people like me get conscripted.”
“Exactly. I don’t want to lose my life.”
War was always at the center of the conversation. It was something Rachel had hardly felt firsthand.
‘Coming out like this does seem to have its advantages.’
For Rachel, understanding the commoners’ lives directly and grasping their hardships were matters of course.
Yet in an Empire where class lines were sharply drawn, for someone at such a lofty height to look down and truly understand those below—that was not easy. And Lucas was doing precisely that.
There had to be a reason why Lucas carried so few prejudices and such an open heart. How could someone who mingled so freely and naturally with commoner friends ever draw the line of rank so rigidly?
It was hard to say which came first—whether his comfort among commoners led him to believe in the equality of all people, or whether his belief in human equality enabled him to mingle with commoners so naturally.
Yet regardless of which came first, the fact that Lucas was a remarkable person did not change.
“By the way, Kane.”
Ross, having finished his pressing duties, stood beside the table.
“You’re at an age—are you seeing Nancy with marriage in mind?”
At the word “marriage,” Rachel’s lips parted slightly. Marriage—no matter how much it was a fiction they were acting out, it was not a topic to mention carelessly.
“Right. Are you two getting married?”
Rachel wished the conversation would stop. But her friends showed no sign of letting it go.
“What? Kane?”
“Tell us. We’re curious.”
In that moment, all eyes fell on Lucas.
“Well.”
He opened his mouth with a gentle smile.
“I’m waiting for her answer. I’m ready whenever she is.”

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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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