Chapter 67: I am the villainess

I hadn’t intended to fall asleep in someone else’s room, especially Linne’s. But it happened, so…

I glared at Linne, still kneeling, her expression confused. I was still sleepy, and it made me irritable.

“Why are you here?”

Linne looked indignant.

“What? This is my room. You’re the one who barged in.”

“Right.”

She had a point; I couldn’t argue with that. But her logic only annoyed me further. Did she think I was incapable of rational thought?

I pressed on,

“Then why are you arguing with me? Is that how you show remorse?”

“I didn’t do anything…”

“See? You’re doing it again! What, are you going to say a commoner like you can’t talk back to a noble?”

“….”

I smirked, enjoying her silence.

“A pervert like you should be quiet and reflect. And maybe…hold your breath for an hour or so.”

Venting my frustrations made me feel slightly better. I’d planned to make her cry, but I decided to be merciful…just this once.

I left the room, humming cheerfully, leaving Linne fuming, her forehead veins bulging.

“Touch me, and you’ll be arrested and thrown in the dungeon.”

A strained voice echoed from Linne’s room after I left.

“Nina, something’s wrong with me. My heart is pounding. Is this…love?”

“It’s a disease.”

****

It was strange, how quickly people’s perceptions could change. Though I wasn’t exactly thrilled by the sudden shift in attention. Unnecessary attention was…inconvenient.

The students who used to look at me with fear now regarded me with awe and…admiration.

“Should I call you…Lady Linea?”

“I heard you saved the academy yesterday.”

“They said you defeated a giant rock…dragon?”

Linne, who’d been bickering with me earlier, was now surrounded by admirers, leaving me blessedly alone.

I approached one of the students and said cautiously,

“Um…I was there too, you know…”

I wasn’t looking for praise, just…correcting their misguided admiration. They were overlooking a crucial detail.

The student quickly added, as if remembering something important,

“Lady Linea saved a classmate who was injured!”

“I saw it! She carried Lady Elena to safety!”

Their admiration intensified, all directed at Linne.

Wait, I was injured?

I’d collapsed after defeating the monster and woke up on the ground… Which meant…

I glared at Linne, who was fidgeting with her hands, then quickly dropped them, startled by my gaze.

“Actually, Ellie helped me defeat the monster. Or rather, I helped her.”

But her modesty only fueled their admiration.

“So humble!”

“Downplaying her own role to protect Lady Elena…Lady Linea is so noble!”

I was speechless. What could I even say? Their adoration was impenetrable.

I fled the classroom.

****

I walked to the east side of the academy, where the wall had crumbled.

The broken wall, the giant pile of boulders extending into the forest…a stark reminder of yesterday’s chaos.

It was during class hours, so the area was deserted, cordoned off with warning signs and tape.

“Who’s that?”

A student was busily working near the boulder pile, pouring something onto the ground and covering it with dirt, oblivious to the dirt staining her uniform and my approach.

I stood right behind her.

“Boo!”

“Aaaaaah!”

The startled student yelped and scrambled away, rolling on the ground. I watched, amused, my arms crossed.

“Wh…who are you?!”

She yelled as she scrambled to her feet.

“That’s my question. What are you doing?”

She hesitated, her eyes darting around nervously, then suddenly shot a spell at me. I instinctively raised my arm to block it.

Nothing happened. Perhaps it was a delayed effect. I quickly checked myself for any signs of poisoning or paralysis.

Nothing. A curse, perhaps?

A surge of anger coursed through me, directed at this…devious attacker. The student also looked surprised.

“How…?”

More spells flew towards me, and I quickly ducked behind a wall. I had no weapon; a direct confrontation would be reckless.

The wall crumbled slightly under the magical assault. I took off my jacket and threw it over the wall as a distraction.

More spells, and I ran, the distance between us surprisingly short. I saw her startled face, then another spell struck me.

I ignored it and kicked her legs out from under her, then grabbed her hair and slammed her face into my knee as she fell.

“Haa…haa…”

I pushed the unconscious student aside and sat down, too winded to question her. This was my biggest flaw – resorting to violence before gathering information.

I replayed the moment the spell hit me. I’d seen it clearly this time – the magic being absorbed by a swirling black mist before it could reach me. I checked my stomach where the spell had struck; it looked normal, no different from usual. If I hadn’t seen the black mist, I wouldn’t have believed it.

I wanted to… test this strange phenomenon, but I couldn’t do it alone. I picked up the vial the student had dropped. It was still half-full; perhaps I could analyze its contents.

“Hmm…”

I looked at the student, sleeping peacefully, oblivious to the world.

****

The student’s eyes fluttered open.

“What the… Where am I?”

“Such charming words, for someone in your position.”

She saw me and tried to sit up, then realized she was tied up and fell back onto the ground. I couldn’t help but laugh.

“Are you…performing for me?”

“Shut up…! What is this?! Untie me!”

“Why would I?”

I approached her, and she flinched with each step, finally understanding her predicament. She was like a fish caught on a hook.

I squatted in front of her. Her eyes still held a defiant glint, as if she’d rather be burned alive than surrender. I stared back, enjoying the silent battle of wills, until she looked away.

“Um…your panties are showing…”

I slapped her, then quickly adjusted my skirt. These academy students were all perverts. I spoke calmly,

“So, what were you doing back there?”

“You think I’ll tell you?”

She sneered, her cheek red from my slap. I grabbed her hair, anticipating her refusal to cooperate. She glared at me defiantly.

“Go ahead, hit me again! I won’t tell you anything!”

“I’m not going to hit you.”

She looked surprised. I pulled out the vial. She’d poured it on the ground, so it clearly wasn’t meant for consumption. Which made it even more interesting.

“Drink it. Don’t waste it.”

Her eyes widened.

“Are you crazy?! I poured it on the ground! It’s not for drinking!”

“Don’t be such a picky eater. Come on, open wide. Who knows, maybe you’ll get superpowers.”

“Shut up! You drink it!”

She clamped her mouth shut as I approached with the vial. I pinched her nose, and she thrashed, trying to break free.

“What is this stuff? Poison?”

“I…I don’t know! I swear!”

She squeezed her eyes shut, tears leaking out, and spat out the liquid, still insisting she didn’t know anything. I started to believe her. She yelled, desperate,

“I was just following orders!”

“Whose orders?”

Finally, a lead. Just then, a group of students burst into the room.

“What do you think you’re doing, Lady Elena?”

“What…?”

I was surrounded, their gazes hostile. Some of them untied the other student.

“Are you okay?”

“Are you hurt?”

I scoffed. I couldn’t continue the interrogation now, so I turned to leave.

“This isn’t over.”

They yelled at me, accusing me of shaming my family and…disappointing them. How had they even perceived me before this? I ignored them; I was a villainess, after all.