The Teacher of Budding Villains Suffers Today, Too - Chapter 89

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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 89
The Central Garden was renowned as the most beautiful place in the empire. It was equally famous for having been closed shortly after the First Empress’s death.
Needless to say, there was no possibility of Rachel ever setting foot inside that garden. She had only read about it in books, heard tales of its existence—never imagining she would one day come to see it with her own eyes.
“Rachel, do you know where this is?”
“Yes, of course. It’s far more beautiful than any picture I’ve ever seen…”
Rachel covered her mouth with both hands in astonishment, her eyes drinking in every detail of the Central Garden.
The garden glowed in patches from Magical Stones, and countless flowers bloomed in full despite the night. The sweet fragrance of the blossoms mingled with the gentle spray of fountains—every element harmonized in perfect accord.
What struck her most was that across this vast expanse, there were only two souls: Rachel and Lucas.
“Lucas, thank you for bringing me to such a beautiful place.”
Rachel spoke with unguarded sincerity, and Lucas answered with a soft smile, as though what he’d done was nothing at all.
“It pales beside what I’ve received from you.”
Rachel didn’t know how to respond. She had received so much from Lucas, yet when she tried to think of what she had given him in return, nothing came to mind.
And yet Lucas insisted he had received much from her.
“No—I’m the one who has received far more from you.”
“Theo and Noah have grown as they have because of you.”
Lucas spoke to Rachel with genuine warmth.
“While your Family Portrait was being painted today, both boys came to understand what it means—that I’m going to war.”
“They… did?”
“Commissioning a Family Portrait is a sign that war lies ahead.”
No matter how thoroughly she had studied imperial customs through books, Rachel could never know everything.
Theo and Noah had already understood. Rachel let out a shallow sigh as she thought of the children.
How must it have felt for them, sending their only older brother to war? It must have broken their hearts. And yet neither boy had shown a hint of it—no complaints, no tantrums, nothing.
‘That’s how much they’ve grown.’
She could still vividly recall what they were like when she first met them—children who had been nowhere near well-behaved, who would do anything to slip out of a lesson.
To see how far they’d come filled Rachel with profound satisfaction.
“Theo and Noah were quite troublesome as children,” Lucas said, turning to their past.
Rachel listened intently as he spoke.
“Both boys were headstrong, and once they set their minds to something, they would see it through no matter what. The Imperial Palace had its hands full with them.”
Rachel knew this well enough. Why else would Lucas have sent them to the school she ran outside the palace walls?
“When Theo and Noah were still living in the Imperial Palace, whenever they did something seriously wrong, they would hide here in the Central Garden. A place so full of traces of their mother.”
Rachel hadn’t known this. She waited, wondering what more Lucas would say, her ears open to every word.
“After Mother passed away, the Central Garden was closed. Only His Majesty the Emperor knows the true reason, but I have my suspicions—he didn’t want her memory to fade. Didn’t want this place to change.”
The Central Garden, where the First Empress had spent so much of her time. The Emperor, unable to bear the thought of it changing, had had it sealed away.
“Since it holds so many precious memories of Mother for me as well, I wanted to show it to you before I leave for war.”
In the end, the subject of war could not be avoided. Rachel’s head bowed of its own accord, and tears threatened to spill over.
“Rachel.”
“Yes, Lucas?”
“There’s something I want to tell you.”
Lucas gently drew her left hand toward him. Rachel watched, uncertain what he intended to do.
“Rachel.”
His voice came soft against her ear. She lifted her head with effort to meet his eyes, and their gazes collided somewhere in the space between them.
“I make you this promise.”
Lucas whispered the words.
“I will return to your side without fail, unharmed.”
The simple assurance that he would return to her unharmed was enough to break her. Rachel bit her lip, but her vision blurred despite her efforts.
Lucas caressed her fourth finger.
Then he slipped a ring onto it—one with a ruby diamond that blazed with light. Rachel gasped, speechless, and could only stare at her hand.
“…Lucas.”
“It’s an Heirloom that has been passed down through the Imperial Family—one that only the Crown Prince’s betrothed may wear.”
“……”
“You are more than worthy of it.”
Lucas spoke to her with infinite gentleness.
Rachel struggled to find words. She searched for the right thing to say, but speaking felt impossibly difficult. She wanted to pour out her entire heart, but it was no easy task.
“Lucas…”
Rachel finally found her voice. Lucas smiled at her tenderly.
“I promise you, I will become someone worthy of wearing this ring.”
The imperial court had been in uproar when a mere baron’s daughter became the Crown Prince’s betrothed. Yet Lucas had never wavered in his conviction.
And now he had entrusted her with a Family Heirloom. Rachel could not begin to fathom the depth of his heart.
“I swear it.”
Rachel gripped his hand tightly, and he drew her into his embrace. His warmth had never felt so precious as it did in this moment.
* * *
“This is insane. Completely insane.”
Katie muttered to herself.
Now utterly hollowed out, Katie laughed like a madwoman as she stared at her reflection. The face looking back at her bore no resemblance to before—only dishevelment and ruin.
Once, she had loved gazing into the mirror. Now, with each glance, her mood soured. She hurled a vase at the glass.
Crash—
The vase struck the mirror with a sharp, shattering sound. A maid standing nearby flinched, drawing herself inward. The thought seized her: this time it was the mirror, but next time something might come flying at her instead.
“Why?! Why at all?!”
Katie’s voice rose to a shout.
She could not fathom it. Why had she been cast out from the Crown Prince’s betrothal? What did she lack that Rachel Swan possessed?
“Miss.”
As she glared at the shattered mirror, a servant approached.
“There is someone who wishes to see you, Miss.”
“Get out of my sight.”
Harsh words spilled from Katie’s lips. The servant, discomfited, extended a letter toward her.
“He said that if you read this, your thoughts will change, Miss. He asked me to convey that.”
Katie’s eyes narrowed on the letter. Without another thought, she snatched it and tossed it into the brazier beside her.
“Do I look like I have time for visitors right now?! If you had any sense, you’d handle things like this yourself!”
Katie’s voice sharpened. The servant bowed his head, visibly distressed.
“My apologies, Miss.”
The servant withdrew quickly, and Katie hurled a cosmetic jar at the wall. She looked utterly deranged.
“Is this really how I’m meant to live?!”
Katie cried out once more. At that instant, the door opened, and the same servant who had just departed stepped back inside.
“Miss, I…”
Katie’s eyes flashed with a look that promised dire consequences for any foolishness.
“He has sent another letter. He asks that you reconsider, Miss.”
A hollow laugh escaped Katie. Her teeth ground audibly as she seized the letter with violence, intending to cast it directly into the flames.
……
But she stopped. The dull glaze that had clouded her eyes lifted, and sharpness returned.
“Everyone out.”
Katie commanded. The servants and maids in the room hurried toward the door.
Alone in the chamber.
Katie sat with her legs crossed, staring at the sealed envelope.
The wax seal bore a mark unmistakable—the royal insignia of Analeo itself.

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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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