Ch.104Final Exams (1)

“Just wait and see! From now on, my name will be above yours!”

The villainess confidently declares her intention to steal the top rank.

Her blue pupils were shining brightly.

Perhaps because she had been thoroughly defeated in the last exam, there seemed to be a flickering determination to get revenge this time.

Her elegant lips bore her characteristically arrogant smile.

She looked certain of her victory.

“I should have been at the top from the beginning. I was born with the noble bloodline of Venatti.”

Despite being humiliated several times, her vanity showed no signs of breaking.

The girl provokes me with her shameless sneer.

A gaze as if looking down on the loser.

Although she was walking a different path from the original story, her inherent personality seemed unchanged.

She was truly living up to her reputation as a vain person.

‘Nice.’

I hide my twitching lips.

Indeed, each of her reactions was like dopamine.

Though I initially faced her with quite an unfavorable impression, I now knew that behind that mask was a wealth of pathetic qualities.

No matter how villainously she smiled, she just looked like a dopamine charger to me.

‘This is fun.’

At the thought of breaking that confident expression, even my cold heart seemed to melt softly.

I maintain a complicated atmosphere with a deep breath.

It was to deceive the prey more perfectly.

As I continue to act troubled, the girl becomes more convinced of her victory.

Sensing the right moment, I cast the bait.

“How about we make a bet?”

“A bet?”

“We compete for the top position. The loser grants one request from the winner.”

“Are you sure about this? The exam material this time is particularly difficult… it’s not something you can catch up on with just one night of studying.”

“Of course.”

“Besides, you couldn’t even attend classes properly because you were away.”

Despite seeming to mock me earlier, the villainess shows concern when I suggest a bet.

A mischievous kindness hides behind her vanity.

Unlike her earlier provocations, she seemed hesitant.

I ask briefly.

“Are you perhaps scared?”

That was one phrase she couldn’t ignore.

The girl’s expression hardens.

“What did you say…?”

Perhaps she was flustered at being provoked after doing the provoking herself.

Amelia froze, at a loss for words, then belatedly furrowed her brow and countered my attack.

It seemed I had struck a nerve.

“Who’s scared? I was just worried you might cry after losing the bet!”

“So that means?”

“Let’s do it! I’ll crush you thoroughly!”

“As expected, you’re quite passionate.”

“It’s a bet I can’t possibly lose anyway. You’d better prepare to pay the price of defeat.”

“If you say so, I’ll look forward to it.”

I respond with a sinister smile.

The prey has taken the bait.

A massive wave of dopamine was approaching.

All the girl could do in the coming future was to be ridiculed to the fullest.

I leisurely left my seat.

***

One week later.

After the short vacation field trip, the final exams took place exactly a month later.

The written test results had already been announced.

There were rumors that the difficulty level had overturned the academy’s history, exceeding expectations by far.

The students were utterly crushed by what they described as maliciously difficult questions.

But.

Even in such chaos, there are always those who stand out like a crane among chickens.

The villainess was among the few geniuses.

Amelia was confident both before and after taking the exam.

She had worked hard enough not to fall behind.

Even if a perfect score was realistically impossible, she thought it would be enough to secure the top position.

The girl proudly smiled, celebrating the sweat she had shed.

-This time, victory is mine!

This exam was quite important.

At the beginning of the semester.

Due to her embarrassing incident in front of the entire school, Amelia’s standing had become precarious.

To resolve this issue, she needed constant proof of her abilities.

The timing was also appropriate.

The boy who had taken first place with overwhelming scores in the previous exam had been absent for a long time due to personal business.

He wouldn’t have attended lectures, and probably didn’t even know the exam material properly.

The villainess was internally confident of victory.

On one hand, she wondered if it was an unfair fight, but his blatant provocations had erased any soft thoughts.

The girl’s mind was filled only with the thought of teaching him a lesson.

-It’s a bet I can’t possibly lose anyway. You’d better prepare to pay the price of defeat.

After perfectly completing the written exam, the two checked the results announced a few days later.

The villainess stood beside the snake with confident steps.

There should have been no defeat if things had gone as expected.

However.

“This can’t be…”

There was one fact she had overlooked.

If there is a crane standing tall among many chickens, there is also a peacock that raises its head among those cranes.

Amelia stared at the rankings with trembling pupils.

[Final Exam]

[Comprehensive Written Test Rankings]

1. Judas Snakus

2. Amelia Venatti

3. Sharlotte Little von Staufen

4. Ruska Venatti

.

.

1145. Yuria Perzinas

1146. Janan Craston

Seeing the already announced written test results, the villainess could only grab the back of her neck.

“Impossible.”

Who would have thought?

Even while handling schedules outside the academy, he hadn’t neglected his studies at all.

It was truly insane dedication.

It was also a result created solely with the intention of thoroughly mocking the opponent and causing chaos.

The person in question froze at the unbelievable ranking.

“My lady.”

Beside her, the snake was smiling brightly.

“My lady.”

“……”

“Second place is also an excellent achievement.”

“Don’t do that.”

“Se-“

“I clearly warned you. If you do it again, I’ll seriously get angry…”

“cond place is also an excellent achievement.”

“……”

The inevitable teasing came.

Amelia had to suppress her anger with tightly bitten lips.

What could she do?

Both in the midterm and final exams.

The girl’s rank remained unchanged at second place.

***

On the way back to the dormitory after checking the announced rankings.

The villainess was particularly silent.

Perhaps because I had teased her all day, she had completely shut her mouth.

Judging by the tense atmosphere, she seemed unusually angry.

Finally, as we walked in uncomfortable silence, I carefully spoke while watching her reaction.

A gesture of reconciliation, feeling I might have gone too far.

“I think my jokes went too far.”

“……”

“I’m sorry.”

“…it’s fine. It’s okay.”

“I think my jokes went too far. I’m sor-“

“Hey!!!”

That was just teabagging.

“Is it fun? Are you having fun?!”

“I am enjoying it.”

“Urgh…!”

“I am enjoying it.”

“Be quiet!”

Amelia responds with huffs.

She looked like she was dying of anger.

We had been repeating this conversation for a while now.

Mockery was the privilege of the winner. The loser cannot defy the harsh world of competition.

I do my best to ridicule the opponent.

“This is incredibly childish! Do you think I’ll crumble from such wordplay?”

“Yes.”

“No, I won’t?!”

“Yes.”

“Eek, eeek…!”

The villainess swallows her rising anger.

Perhaps her reason was clouded by the continued teasing, as even her old-fashioned manner of speech was crumbling.

Of course, it was too early for her to crumble.

She hadn’t paid the most important price yet.

“I’ll stop joking now.”

“……”

“Instead, shall I receive the reward we promised?”

“Reward…?”

“Didn’t we make a bet a week ago? The loser would grant one request from the winner.”

“…I remember. So what’s your request?”

“Hehe.”

I laugh ominously.

Without any hesitation, I recite what I had in mind.

“I want to touch your body.”

“What…?”

“I mean exactly what I said. I will squeeze any part without discrimination. My request is that you stay still and don’t resist.”

“S-s-such an indecent request all of a sudden…!?”

“I trust you won’t go back on your word.”

“I did promise, but, but still, this kind of thing… I’m not saying it’s not allowed, but, do you really want that?”

“I have no other requests.”

“Ugh, uugh…!”

The girl’s face instantly turns into a radish.

Where had her winter-like pale complexion gone? Her cheeks were blooming with hot heat like flowers.

Perhaps it was because she received a request she never expected.

She was floundering, forgetting even her characteristic arrogance.

“I shouldn’t have accepted the bet…”

Her own foolishness had caught up with her.

After suffering for a while, the villainess finally speaks as if resigning herself.

Her voice was trembling.

“Do as you please.”