The Teacher of Budding Villains Suffers Today, Too - Chapter 81

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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 81
“As Your Majesty wishes, it shall be done.”
“Lucas!”
Rachel called out to Lucas urgently. Her voice was thick with anxiety.
Rachel stepped closer to Lucas’s side, desperate to convey the alarm that gripped her.
“Relinquishing the Military Authority of the Capital, is it? How amusing.”
The Emperor rested his chin in his hand, his expression one of calculated triumph—as though he’d finally snared his prey. Rachel could not have missed it. She stared at Lucas, her face drained of color.
“There is no falsehood in your words, I trust.”
“No, Your Majesty.”
“From this moment forward, I divest the Crown Prince of his Military Authority of the Capital.”
The Emperor’s decree fell like a blade. The nobility gathered around exchanged murmurs, their eyes darting nervously. Rachel bit her tongue, holding back a cry.
“Your Majesty, I am confident that you, too, will see fit to lower the Magic Tower’s Threshold.”
“That much presents no difficulty.”
Mere moments before, the Emperor had insisted the Magic Tower’s Threshold could never be lowered. Yet the instant Lucas surrendered the Military Authority, the Emperor’s demeanor shifted entirely—as though the Magic Tower were beneath his concern.
“You will come to understand, before long, just how great a thing you have lost today.”
The Emperor bared his teeth in a smile. Rachel felt a chill run through her at the madness lurking behind that grin—a cruel, predatory hunger to plunge his own blood, his own flesh-and-blood son, into peril.
* * *
Rachel could scarcely recall how the ball had unfolded. She walked toward the Crown Prince’s Palace with a heavy sigh, her mind churning with things she needed to say to Lucas.
“He should be here soon.”
Lucas and the Emperor had withdrawn for a private audience—likely to hammer out the particulars of lowering the Magic Tower’s Threshold.
Rachel had no way of knowing what they discussed. All she could do was wrestle with her growing impatience, barely managing to keep it in check.
“The Crown Prince has arrived.”
The attendant’s announcement could not have come at a better moment. Rachel rose swiftly from her seat and turned toward the door. In the same instant, it opened, and Lucas stepped through.
“Lucas.”
“Rachel.”
Though she had so much to say, the moment their eyes met, the words died in her throat. She pressed her lips together hard, refusing to let thoughtless words spill out.
“…Did you truly relinquish the Military Authority of the Capital?”
Rachel asked hesitantly. In her heart, she hoped his answer would be otherwise. But Lucas only offered her a gentle smile.
“Lucas!”
Rachel’s voice rose against her will.
“I know what the Military Authority of the Capital is. I understand it is one of the Crown Prince’s most significant powers. And yet—”
When measured against each other, lowering the Magic Tower’s Threshold was clearly the lesser prize. Even a child of three would grasp that Lucas had sacrificed far more than he received. He had made an unequal bargain, and for her sake.
“It is something I can reclaim whenever I choose. There is no need for such concern.”
Lucas sought to reassure her, but Rachel could not truly hear him. That greedy Emperor, once his fingers closed on power, would never willingly release it. The thought would not leave her.
“I never wanted you to surrender something so precious for me. Not ever.”
Rachel bowed her head low. Tears began to gather in her eyes. No matter how she tried to justify it, she could not shake the conviction that she had obstructed his path, ruined his future.
“Rachel.”
Lucas called her name. Slowly, with difficulty, Rachel lifted her gaze to meet his.
“If we speak of this now, we will only raise our voices. It would be better if we each took time to ourselves.”
Lucas’s words were gentle but firm—a quiet refusal to engage further. Rachel turned his meaning over in her mind. He was right; if she pushed now, they would only quarrel. There was nothing to be gained from that.
“…I will take my leave.”
Quietly, Rachel withdrew from the Crown Prince’s Palace. Her face bore the weight of undisguised worry.
‘Have I become a burden to Lucas?’
For the first time, Rachel wondered if she had become useless. Until now, she had felt she was doing her part, pulling her own weight. But this sense of helplessness was overwhelming.
‘Did I bite off more than I could chew by overreaching like this?’
Rachel’s self-doubt spiraled deeper. Teaching the children was her original work, but extending her reach all the way to the Magic Tower—had that been nothing but ambition? Greed?
‘I have harmed the Crown Prince by attempting something beyond my capacity.’
Despair fed upon itself. Rachel walked through the Garden with a shallow sigh, barely aware of the pointed glances that followed her.
“Oh my!”
She had been walking for some time when a somewhat familiar voice reached her ears. Rachel turned instinctively. There, before her astonished eyes—
“Mare’s mother…?”
stood Mare’s parents.
Mare came from common birth. Yet Mare’s father, despite his plebeian origins, had amassed an extraordinary fortune and risen to command the Empire’s trade in a single hand. Rachel had heard they were occasionally invited to the imperial balls as honored guests. Today, it seemed, was one such occasion.
“We so wished to greet you at the ball, but we never found an opportunity. What a shame that was.”
“How delightful to see you now.”
Mare’s parents approached with beaming smiles. Rachel reflexively returned their warmth with a smile of her own.
“Even after we returned home, Mare speaks of you almost daily. And of the school, as well.”
“It seems the memories from school were quite precious to her.”
Despite the friction with Noah, it seemed Mare’s recollections had ended on a bright note. Rachel felt a surge of relief, and Mare’s image returned to her mind—that spirited, principled girl with such admirable determination.
“Teacher.”
Mare’s father called to Rachel. There was something unusual in his gaze. Rachel met his eyes, sensing what he was about to say.
“Today, through you, I witnessed the Empire’s future.”
“I… what?”
“In the conversation you had with His Imperial Majesty just now. When you asked His Imperial Majesty to lower the Magic Tower’s Threshold, you spoke those very words.”
Mare’s father continued with quiet conviction.
“As a commoner, not a nobleman, I know many talented commoners. If they were given the chance to realize their potential, the Empire’s future would surely brighten.”
“I share that belief,” Mare’s mother added. “I think you spoke on behalf of countless commoners of Tirnesse to His Imperial Majesty.”
Mare’s mother also joined in. Her cheeks were flushed with emotion, as if her heart might overflow.
“I…”
Rachel didn’t know how to answer. Her convictions and principles were wavering. And so, even the simple words of gratitude that would have come easily before now caught in her throat.
“Teacher, thank you so much. This is something we tell only you, but… truthfully, our Mare can also conduct a small amount of Mana.”
“What?”
This was completely new to Rachel. She opened her eyes wide in surprise, staring at Mare’s parents. They lowered their voices further as they continued.
“No matter how much wealth one has, a commoner cannot enter the Magic Tower—that is our reality. Mana Conduction held little meaning for Mare, but thanks to you, our child now has a new dream.”
“Ah…”
My actions can create new dreams for someone else.
Rachel slowly lowered her gaze. For a different reason than before, tears threatened to spill.
‘I wasn’t entirely wrong after all.’
Until moments ago, Rachel had done nothing but blame herself for blocking the Crown Prince’s path. But now, her mind was filled with the image of Mare—that child studying in the Magic Tower.
“Teacher, thank you again, truly. We’ll visit you soon with our Mare.”
Mare’s parents smiled brightly and grasped Rachel’s hand warmly. In that gentle warmth, Rachel found herself smiling, if only for a moment.

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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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