The Teacher of Budding Villains Suffers Today, Too - Chapter 70

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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 70
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Do you believe there’s something wrong with the cake Rachel prepared?”
“Anyone who saw this situation would think the same thing.”
“I don’t believe Rachel did anything that would harm the children.”
Lucas spoke matter-of-factly, and Marianne’s face flushed slightly. It was clear she’d taken offense at having her thoughts contradicted so directly.
“Your Highness, the health of the young princes is more precious than anything else in this world. This is not a matter to be taken lightly.”
“You speak as though I regard my brothers’ lives as insignificant.”
“Surely that’s not what I meant!”
Confronted with Lucas’s sharp rebuttal, Marianne raised her voice. As if this happened often, Lucas gazed at her without the slightest concern.
“When you think about it, doesn’t this seem odd? Food that even a dog cannot eat. You’re saying the young princes were fed something a dog couldn’t stomach?”
“I don’t find it odd at all.”
Lucas placed the cake box on the outdoor table. It was half-damaged.
“From where I stand, there’s nothing wrong with it whatsoever.”
Lucas opened the remaining portion of the cake box. Fortunately, the cake inside remained perfectly intact.
“If I eat this cake and experience no ill effects, then Rachel Swan’s innocence would be sufficiently proven.”
Without hesitation, Lucas took a bite of the cake.
“Your Highness!”
Marianne cried out, but Lucas deliberately took another bite, as if to defy her.
“That outcome you’re imagining won’t occur.”
“Your Highness! Your very life could be in danger!”
“I don’t believe that to be the case.”
Lucas calmly wiped the chocolate from his hands onto a handkerchief, then approached his younger brothers to pat their backs reassuringly.
“Now go finish what you were doing.”
“Ah, understood.”
“Mm….”
The two young princes, slightly dejected, exchanged nervous glances before leaving the garden.
“Your Highness! Should anything happen to you, I wouldn’t know what to do in such a calamity.”
“There’s no need to be troubled. Nothing will happen.”
Lucas spoke with finality and extended his hand to Rachel. She understood it was an invitation to take it. As though enchanted, Rachel placed her hand in his.
Everyone present couldn’t help but stare at their joined hands. All eyes turned toward them.
Marianne had gone pale. Lucas, acting as though nothing were amiss, clasped Rachel’s hand and smiled softly.
“Whenever I’m with you, I forget who I am.”
“You forget who you are?”
“My title as Crown Prince, everything I carry—it all dissolves away, and I become someone simply lost in a dream.”
Someone lost in a dream.
The words stirred something warm in Rachel’s chest. She gazed at Lucas with a pleased smile, her eyes crinkling at the corners.
Someone who protects me. Someone who will always shield me.
Lucas was becoming someone increasingly precious to Rachel.
* * *
Rachel couldn’t tell how the day had passed. After a brief rest, she awoke and gathered her things to head to the Mage Tower.
She’d originally intended to go alone, but Lucas stayed at her side. Rachel, who had begun to protest, let the matter drop. There was something comforting about having someone looking after her.
The Mage Tower Master guided Rachel and Lucas inside the tower. Rachel stepped forward with some nervousness, uncertain what awaited them.
The interior of the Mage Tower was far brighter than she’d expected. From the outside, the windows seemed so small that she’d imagined the inside would be as dark as a prison, but it was bright as a clear noon.
‘Surely they haven’t used Mana Crystals as lighting?’
Using something so expensive and rare as fluorescent lamps? Doubt crept into Rachel’s mind as she glanced upward at the ceiling. Sure enough, an elaborate chandelier hung above, studded with what appeared to be Mana Crystals.
“Beautiful, isn’t it?”
The Mage Tower Master immediately recognized what Rachel was looking at. He too gazed upward, his voice warm with pride.
“That chandelier is a representation of the empire’s wealth. Even for a Mage Tower, few nations could bear the expense of using Mana Crystals on such a scale.”
The Mage Tower Master smiled with evident satisfaction.
“It demonstrates both the empire’s might and the extraordinary power of the Mage Tower.”
The Mage Tower Master slowly raised his hand and murmured something beneath his breath. The chandelier’s light began to shift to a deep blue. Rachel’s mouth opened slightly in astonishment at the remarkable sight.
“Extraordinary, wouldn’t you say?”
“Yes… it’s both wondrous and beautiful.”
“In truth, the chandelier’s purpose extends beyond merely showcasing the empire’s power.”
“What other purpose does it serve?”
“The Mana Crystals in the chandelier are exceptionally sensitive. They respond to a mage’s influence even from considerable distances.”
The chandelier’s light shifted again, this time to a deep red.
“There are times when nobles bring me children who possess no talent whatsoever and ask that I admit them to the tower. When that happens, I give one particular instruction.”
“What instruction is that?”
“Try changing the color of the Chandelier,” he said. “Any color will do—just channel your Mana and alter its hue. It’s a remarkably simple and precise method for discerning talent.”
Rachel grasped at once why the Mage Tower Master had brought this up.
“No matter how much I personally recognize you, Miss Swan, I need something to demonstrate to the mages of the Tower. You understand what I’m asking, I trust?”
“…Yes.”
“The method is straightforward. Focus your mind on the Chandelier while picturing your desired color. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never learned Mana Control before—the Mana Crystal is a tool for measuring talent and potential, not current ability.”
As the Mage Tower Master finished speaking, the Chandelier dimmed. Within moments, the vast interior of the Tower had fallen into darkness as deep as midnight.
“Shall we begin?”
“Yes, I’ll try.”
Rachel nodded. Lucas moved closer to her side, and the grip of their joined hands tightened perceptibly.
“Don’t be nervous.”
Lucas traced his finger slowly across the space between Rachel’s thumb and forefinger.
“My eyes are very precise.”
The darkness deepened. Only a thin beam of light from the small window barely illuminated the ground at their feet.
‘Can I really brighten this vast, dark place?’
Doubt crept in, and with it, her thoughts grew tangled.
‘What should I do?’
She didn’t want to see disappointment in Lucas’s eyes. Rachel tried to focus on the Chandelier, though she could barely make it out in the gloom.
‘Any color will do. Just shine brightly.’
Pouring her yearning into the plea, Rachel called out silently—begging it to change, to hear her voice.
They said that earnest wishes come true. At least, that was what Rachel believed.
“Hm…?”
Yet her plea seemed not earnest enough, for the Chandelier showed no sign of change.
‘Why won’t it change…?’
Rachel faltered. How could it remain so stubbornly dark when she was gazing at it with all her heart?
“Please, change…please….”
Though her behavior might have seemed odd, Rachel forced the words out. She was pleading with the Chandelier.
It was a situation that could have seemed absurd. Yet neither Lucas nor the Mage Tower Master stirred. They simply watched the Chandelier in silence.
“Change, I said—change!”
This time she commanded it firmly. Let it reclaim its brilliant light at once and illuminate this place beautifully.
But the Chandelier remained unchanged.
“The virtue of this assessment method, you see, is this:”
The Mage Tower Master’s voice reached her ears.
“One can judge talent with remarkable clarity and speed.”
His tone was gentle. Yet Rachel could not help but understand what lay beneath those gentle words.
Had you possessed talent, the Chandelier would have lit at once.
‘It seems I have no talent after all….’
She had nursed hopes because Lucas had believed in her. Rachel let out a hollow laugh.
‘That’s right. It was foolish of me. How could someone like me possess such great power?’
In truth, the lack of talent mattered little. What frightened her was the thought of Lucas’s disappointment.
Rachel carefully looked up at his face. He was still gazing at the Chandelier, his expression unreadable.
“…Lucas.”

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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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