The Teacher of Budding Villains Suffers Today, Too - Chapter 82

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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 82
Upon returning to the Imperial Palace, the first thing Rachel did was clear her desk. She had a feeling that tidying the space around her would somehow put her mind at ease as well.
She arranged everything on the surface until not a speck of dust remained, then sat before it.
‘I’ll write Lucas a letter. If I try to say it aloud, I might stumble over my words.’
Rachel picked up her pen. Simply writing a letter shouldn’t have made her this nervous, yet she found herself trembling as though Lucas stood before her. She exhaled deeply and began composing, word by careful word.
‘There’s no end to it once I start…’
She hadn’t realized until now how much she wanted to tell him, how many things remained unsaid. Rachel steadied herself and pressed on, one thought linking to the next.
The letter took shape around a single thread. She had never wished to hinder him in any way. And yet this situation had arisen, and for that she bore responsibility.
There have been countless struggles, and more surely lie ahead. But one thing remains clear to me.
Whatever anyone else might say, I want to be beside you.
After carefully writing out her thoughts, Rachel blew gently across the page. The wet ink caught the light, and she smiled softly to herself.
‘If I could just send it like this.’
Rachel folded the letter without fuss. She would have liked to present it with something beautiful, but she couldn’t think of what would be appropriate.
‘I’ll go find Lucas tomorrow morning.’
Yet her resolve to see him remained unshaken. Even if it meant feeling a little awkward, she would find him and tell him what was in her heart.
‘I’m exhausted.’
Rachel stretched. Then she rolled her stiff neck slowly.
Tap-tap.
In that very moment, something struck the window. Rachel’s head snapped toward the sound instinctively.
“Hm?”
A Messenger Pigeon sat perched on her windowsill, tapping at the glass with its beak. As if entranced, Rachel opened the window. The bird hopped forward until it stood directly in front of her.
A rolled piece of paper was bound to the pigeon’s leg. Rachel quickly unfastened it. The outer surface bore the crest of the Crown Prince’s Palace.
‘Lucas…’
There was no need to ask who had sent the bird. Rachel steadied her racing heart as best she could and unrolled the letter.
My cherished Rachel.
If your heart finds peace, come to me whenever you wish.
Lucas Maxim
Rachel clutched the letter to her chest. Then she breathed out slowly, her heart hammering against her ribs.
Rachel hurried back to her desk. She picked up her pen and added a single line to the letter she had written to Lucas.
Adding one line took hardly any time at all. She fastened her letter to the pigeon’s leg.
“Go carefully now. You understand?”
She released the pigeon into the air. It rose immediately, its wings carrying it across the sky and into the distance.
‘I should prepare myself.’
Rachel glanced about her room and opened her wardrobe. Inside hung countless gowns. The one she selected was a plain dress—the kind a commoner might wear. She changed quickly and smiled to herself with quiet joy.
Rachel made her way to Ross’s Tavern, the place she had visited once before with Lucas. She slipped cleverly through the gates of the Imperial Palace and arrived at the tavern without drawing attention.
“Oh? Aren’t you Kane’s companion?”
Ross recognized her at once. Rachel gave a slight wave and ordered a cup of tea.
While sipping her tea, Rachel observed the lives of common folk around her. Though she held the title of Baron, poverty was no stranger to her own household—yet this was still a world apart from her own experience.
She found herself thinking that Lucas perhaps understood the common people far better than she ever could.
She sipped quietly and listened to the conversations flowing around her. The topics varied—the weight of daily struggle, the possibility of war, an uncertain future. As she listened, Rachel let out a soft sigh.
“Kane!”
The door opened, and Ross beamed with delight, calling out loudly. Lucas, draped in a dark robe, turned toward him and raised a hand in casual greeting.
“Your companion Nancy is already here. Over there.”
Ross pointed Rachel out to Lucas. Lucas nodded and made his way over to her table.
“Nancy.”
“…Kane.”
Since he addressed her as Nancy, she returned the courtesy by calling him Kane.
“Will you get me a cup as well?”
“The same as Nancy’s?”
“Yes, please.”
Lucas placed his order with quiet composure, then looked at Rachel. His gaze was nothing but tender.
“I’m curious why you wanted to meet here.”
“Because I wanted to talk to you—not as titles or stations, but as human beings, just as you are.”
She had worried that speaking casually would feel strange, but the words came more naturally than expected. Rachel gripped her teacup and gathered her thoughts with care.
“I think that to move forward toward a goal, sometimes we must pause or even step backward.”
Rachel opened her mouth.
“If I could return to the past, I would prevent what happened from occurring. There was clearly a mistake on my part.”
Entrusting command of the capital’s military forces had been an error—one that could not be denied.
“But if this incident becomes a stepping stone to advance two steps, three steps further ahead, then I believe that will be a true and lasting victory.”
How many children like Mare exist in this empire? If such children could discover and develop their talents, the realm would not only grow stronger—a single life could be transformed entirely.
Rachel allowed herself to imagine a different future.
“I don’t want to say that this turned out well, given the circumstances. But I’m going to do everything I can to make sure it does.”
She would watch more carefully, ensuring such a mistake never happened again. Rachel repeated this lesson to herself again and again.
“Kane. I don’t want to be someone who only receives help at your side. I want to be able to carry my own weight.”
Until now, she had only ever received his help. But now she wanted to give him as much as she took from him. With that in mind, Rachel spoke her heart.
“Won’t you accept me not as someone you must protect, but as a companion walking the path beside you?”
It was a timid confession, the best she could offer.
Having said what she needed to say, Rachel slowly closed her eyes. She was prepared to accept whatever answer he gave.
“Nancy.”
Lucas called out to Rachel.
“Yes, Kane?”
Rachel answered carefully.
“Using your words, I think I’ve only ever seen myself as someone who needs to protect you. You felt like a fragile presence compared to me.”
Lucas spoke with honest sincerity.
“So when you say something like that, it catches me a little off guard.”
He probably would be. Here she was, possessing nothing, asking to be his companion rather than someone he protected.
“But I don’t think you lack the right to stand at my side. You’re strong enough, and you have more than enough ability.”
Lucas’s voice was warm and full of tenderness. Without realizing it, Rachel slowly lifted her head. Then she opened her eyes.
Lucas filled her entire field of vision. He wore a smile that seemed painted there. Rachel gazed at him as if enchanted, her attention wholly surrendered.
“There will be much more ahead. We’ll face countless enemies.”
He was right. Those they would meet in the days to come would be more vicious, more terrible.
“Will you stand at my side as a companion down that difficult road?”
He returned her question to her—a question of whether she could be the companion who would stand beside him.
When Lucas finished speaking, the surrounding noise became audible again. But no interesting conversation reached Rachel’s ears.
Her mind was filled entirely with Lucas, and he alone was her whole world.
“…Kane.”
Rachel managed to squeeze out his name. Lucas reached out and gently arranged her disheveled hair, then softly caressed her cheek. Rachel leaned into his touch as if under a spell.
“I…”
Rachel barely parted her lips.
“…will always stand at your side.”
She made that promise—to stand beside Lucas for as long as there was breath in her body.
It felt as though only the two of them existed in the world. In this moment, Rachel thought she would be content if time itself stopped.
She had no idea of the storm of events that would unfold starting the very next day.

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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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